All-Around Body Refining

As Sword Wudao left with Bian Ruxue, the madams and young ladies filling the courtyard also came to see them off. Those warbler-and-swallow figures all wanted to squeeze forward before he departed and say a word to him.

Some even arranged for their own children to practice swordsmanship on their own along the path out of the residence.

But none managed to draw Sword Wudao's attention.

The Sword Hermitage was not so easy to enter, and that was precisely why people yearned so desperately to step inside.

The colors filling the courtyard seemed to be drawn away along with the madams and young ladies from each residence, returning once more to the empty quiet of drifting autumn leaves.

Li Hao held the sword Bian Ruxue had used for practice, quietly gazing at the courtyard gate. Only after a very, very long time did he slowly withdraw his gaze.

Then he handed the sword to Li Fu behind him and said, "Uncle Fu, put it on the sword rack in my bedroom for me. Tell the maids they don't need to clean it every day."

Li Fu took the sword in low spirits. Looking at Li Hao's profile, his eyes showed reluctance, along with a trace of self-reproach and guilt. In a low voice, he said, "Starting today, I won't indulge you anymore. I'll confiscate the chessboard. You should cultivate!"

Li Hao was stunned and looked up. "Uncle Fu, you don't think that old man didn't take me as a disciple because I was playing chess, do you? That's an injustice!"

"I don't care."

Li Fu's face was dark. "Thousand-li horses often exist, but Bo Le does not. When opportunity was delivered right before your eyes and you failed to grasp it, that means you weren't fully prepared. From now on, you must always keep yourself in your best state and wait for those one or two chances that could fall at any moment."

"Opportunities in life are few to begin with. Once you miss them, what prospects can you still have!"

Li Hao cried injustice. Seeing that Li Fu was serious, he asked, "Then Uncle Fu, what do you think counts as having prospects?"

"A son of the Li Family should make his name known throughout the world, guard the borders, and defend the people of a nation. That is having prospects!" Li Fu said solemnly without even thinking.

"Then being a member of the Li Family is far too bitter," Li Hao said with a wry smile.

"Since you bear the Li surname and have enjoyed this wealth pouring down like the sky itself, you should shoulder this responsibility," Li Fu said coldly.

Have I enjoyed it? Li Hao smiled bitterly inwardly, but then he thought of the pastries and fresh fruit Fifth Madam had sent, and the nourishing porridge First Madam had given him, which had also been very tasty... that could be counted as having enjoyed it, he supposed.

"Uncle Fu, by cultivation, do you mean body refining?"

"Of course."

Li Fu glanced at him, the meaning clear: other than body refining, did he have any other path to take? The reason body refining was not popular was because cultivating it was bitter, its upper limit was low, and it required extremely high comprehension. Only when paired with techniques could it contend with other experts.

And among those forced to choose body refining, some could grit their teeth and endure hardship, but they might not necessarily have enough comprehension.

After all, the carving of pain might become exquisite, but it could also twist the soul.

Li Hao wrangled with Uncle Fu for a while, and in the end, both sides reached an agreement. Li Hao was willing to cultivate, but the chessboard could not be confiscated. Uncle Fu had to play with him for a while every day.

Li Fu could only agree, planning to wait until Li Hao first set foot on the path of cultivation before saying anything else.

In the days that followed, Li Hao was forced to spend some time cultivating according to a basic Body Refining Manual Li Fu taught him.

But with his understanding of the Path of the Physical Body, he cultivated quite quickly. This pleasantly surprised Li Fu; he had not expected Li Hao to actually be a good seedling for body refining.

Li Hao slightly controlled his cultivation progress, lest this fellow completely deny him any time for amusement. Only after three months did he cultivate that basic Body Refining Manual to greater mastery.

Even so, this result already moved the battle-hardened man to tears. That very night, he wrote a letter to Northern Yan, sharing this good news and joy with the couple at the border.

And after a long accumulation like dripping water wearing through stone, Li Hao's third rank in the Dao of Chess finally rose.

Name: Li Hao

Age: 7

Cultivation: Power Through Realm, tenth level

Sword Dao: second rank (Flying Section) (Hidden Bow)

Skills: Boundless Sea Tide (Supreme Perfection) Falling Snow Sword Art (Supreme Perfection)

Path of the Physical Body: first rank (Myriad Manifestations) (Tiger Pressure)

Skills: Stone Skin Hundred Refinements (greater mastery) Thousand Dragons Sacred Body (Dragon Body minor mastery) Primordial Beginning (Star Body entry level) Wild Bull Strength (greater mastery)

Dao of Chess: fourth rank (1/10000)

Chess manual illustrated collection: Myriad Manifestations, Tiger Pressure, Flying Section, Hidden Bow

State of mind: Chess Heart

Art Skill Point: 1

Li Hao glanced at Li Fu, who followed at his side like a shadow, and did not choose to add the point and improve immediately.

If it were the Sword Dao, that would still be easy to explain, since it was only an infusion of memories. But he wanted to use this Art Skill Point on the Path of the Physical Body first. Only by ensuring his own strength would he feel secure.

And insights into the Path of the Physical Body would inevitably cause changes in his Body Refining Manuals, and his body would be affected accordingly. The movement would be too great.

On this day.

Li Hao followed Li Fu to the Listening Rain Pavilion.

After learning that Li Hao had talent in body refining, He Jianlan gave Li Hao special permission, allowing him to enter and leave the Listening Rain Pavilion at any time and choose manuals inside.

Of course, Li Fu could not enter.

Although he was Li Tiangang's trusted aide, he was ultimately not a direct core descendant of the Li Family. Their statuses were different.

Li Fu did not mind either. The Listening Rain Pavilion was an important place of the Li Family. Although there did not seem to be many people guarding the area, absolutely no one would be willing to come here to steal or snatch treasures.

This place was safer than any madam's courtyard.

Li Fu guarded downstairs, and Li Hao went upstairs alone.

Now that he was considered old enough to know better, He Jianlan no longer had Xue Jian accompany and watch him. He went upstairs by himself.

Li Hao had heard that the old Sword Saint had sent over a Body Refining Manual two months ago, placing it on the sixth floor. He immediately walked straight to the sixth floor.

Very soon, he found a newly added manual.

"Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body"

Li Hao flipped through it.

With his first-rank understanding of the Path of the Physical Body, he soon entered the superficial level.

Recorded.

Very soon, this body-refining secret art appeared on the panel, and it entered the second layer, greater mastery.

Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body had six layers. With each layer refined, a different physique could be condensed.

The first layer was the Still Cicada Body, which could perceive the faint traces of air flowing across the surface of the body.

The second layer was the Crouching Dragon Body, which stored up strength like that of a Dragon Elephant within the body.

The third layer was the Leaping Shell Body, which allowed one to exert force and step through the air.

His body made faint cracking sounds. Li Hao could sense that, as he entered the Crouching Dragon Body, another force had grown within him, estimated to be over ten thousand jin!

Although he was still at the tenth level of the Power Through Realm, compared to an ordinary Power Through Realm cultivator, his strength was as different as heaven and earth.

A thought moved in Li Hao's mind. If he cultivated several more Body Refining Manuals, would he be able to accumulate even more strength? Once the thought came, he acted on it, immediately searching through each floor of the Listening Rain Pavilion.

Before long, he found seven or eight Body Refining Manuals. They were all middle-to-high grade, and if cultivated to the peak, they could barely allow one to step into the level of a first-rate martial artist.

Very soon, as manual after manual was recorded into the panel, Li Hao felt strange changes continuously occurring in his body. His hands and feet became sturdier.

The cultivation on the panel did not change. Li Hao had originally thought his strength would rise again, but it did not. However, some of these Body Refining Manuals refined claw techniques, some trained the legs and feet, while others tempered the bones and refined the organs.

He could feel that although they had not increased his strength much, those areas had undergone a qualitative strengthening.

Li Hao guessed that his physique was already too strong and had already stimulated most of his physical strength, so these slightly inferior manuals could no longer draw out more physical strength. However, they could improve the corresponding areas.

His Stone Skin Hundred Refinements manual could increase the hardness of his skin, but it was covered by the Dragon Demon Body of the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body.

The strengthening of the outer skin brought by the Dragon Demon Body was like dragon scales, far stronger than the effects of Stone Skin Hundred Refinements, so the effects of Stone Skin Hundred Refinements were very hard to make apparent.

But the other Body Refining Manuals took care of places that the previous body-refining arts from the sixth floor had not yet covered.

His bones, liver, ears, eyeballs, and other areas all improved accordingly.

Although his strength did not change much, his power in actual combat was transformed as thoroughly as the heavens overturning and the earth flipping.

Li Hao came to a realization. He had to collect different body-refining arts and temper himself. If he could cultivate every part of his entire body to the same standard, he would be without flaw! At this moment, the rich heritage of the Listening Rain Pavilion made Li Hao truly feel how precious this place was to martial artists.

There were not many chess manuals, but as for Body Refining Manuals, there were plenty here! Li Hao was wild with joy as he searched everywhere in the building for Body Refining Manuals, recording them one by one.

Time passed.

By the time the sun set and dusk arrived, Li Hao finally walked out of the building with a Body Refining Manual in hand.

In the distance, there seemed to be crows at twilight sweeping across the horizon. He could also smell the faint fragrance of food and firewood drifting over from the front courtyard. It was already time for dinner.

Li Hao stretched and loosened his muscles and bones.

There were too many manuals in the Listening Rain Pavilion. He had searched for an entire afternoon and had only found one-tenth of them, and that was only within the body-refining category.

Li Hao had not recorded every manual. Like the Wild Bull Strength that Li Fu had forced him to practice earlier, it had no real improvement for him and had been covered by something stronger.

For example, if two manuals were both claw techniques, after cultivating the stronger one, cultivating the inferior one would have no effect, because the stronger one had already trained his palms to a very high level.

Unless the inferior one trained a slightly different area. In that case, it could supplement what was missing.

"You're finally out."

Seeing Li Hao walk out, Li Fu was somewhat speechless. He had waited the entire afternoon. This fellow could not have been dazzled by all the choices, could he?

He picked up the manual in Li Hao's hand and looked at it. A middle-grade Body Refining Manual, "Dragon Spine." At a glance, it was clearly a manual mainly for training the back.

"You only picked this?" Li Fu felt a little helpless. "You didn't go to the sixth floor?"

"I did. I couldn't understand them," Li Hao said casually.

Li Fu thought about it and felt that made sense. The manuals on the sixth floor were all supreme grade. Let alone Li Hao, even he himself would have to painstakingly cultivate for several months before he could grasp a little of the surface.

"Don't rush to practice this one yet. Later, I'll ask First Madam and see which one in the Listening Rain Pavilion suits you. This one is too narrow."

Li Fu hoped Li Hao could cultivate a comprehensive body-refining art that took care of every part of the body, so he would not have too many weaknesses.

"Fine." Li Hao did not refuse either. He said casually, "Come on, let's go back and eat first. I'm starving. What would be good to eat tonight?"

Seeing that Li Hao's thoughts were not on martial arts, Li Fu felt somewhat helpless. The adult and child turned and left from in front of the Listening Rain Pavilion.

Before long, they ran head-on into an old man wearing a straw hat. A fishing rod rested on the man's shoulder, and he carried a fish basket in his hand. He was dressed simply and looked utterly ordinary.

When Li Fu saw him, his pupils shrank, and his expression instantly turned solemn. He hurriedly stopped and turned sideways, saying respectfully, "Li Fu greets Second Uncle."