A letter from the Sword Hermitage? Li Hao felt a flicker of surprise. The image of that little girl who loved to cry rose unbidden in his mind.
She had been at the Sword Hermitage for several months now. He wondered how she was doing and whether she had grown used to sleeping there.
Opening the letter, Li Hao read it carefully.
The elegant yet unpracticed handwriting seemed to be the little girl's own. She told him she was safe, and that she missed him.
Perhaps opportunities to write and send letters were rare, for she had filled every inch of the paper with accounts of her daily life at the Sword Hermitage over the past few months: taking a master, meeting her fellow disciples, cultivating, studying sword manuals, and more. No detail was too small; she had set it all down, word by word.
Though she described only everyday matters, every line spoke of how much she missed him.
At the end of the letter, the little girl seemed finally to realize she was running out of space. She said she would cultivate diligently and strive to come down the mountain soon, and insisted that Li Hao wait for her return.
Li Hao finished reading in silence, then gently folded the paper again, slipped it back into its envelope, and tucked it into the breast of his brocade robes.
Beside him, Li Muxiu asked Li Fu what the matter with the Sword Hermitage was.
Clearly, this old man, who spent his time either fishing in the wild or staying in the Listening Rain Pavilion, knew little about the affairs of third-generation youngsters like Li Hao. Had the news of Li Hao's Martial Dao Wasteland Physique not caused such a stir that everyone throughout the residence had discussed it, he would never even have heard about that.
After learning the whole story, the old man's first reaction, Li Hao noticed, was unmistakable relief.
His expression seemed to say, Oh, so Hao'er isn't gifted in the Sword Dao. For a moment, I thought that Sword Saint wanted to take him away to cultivate.
Though he did not concern himself with Li Hao's cultivation, he would not stand in his way if Li Hao truly possessed exceptional talent.
Then Li Muxiu gave another cold snort, his expression displeased.
"That old fellow Sword Wudao! He throws his seniority around, bullying Sword Lan because she doesn't dare talk back to him. Hmph! A ninth grade battle body and a prodigy of the Sword Dao-any renowned school out there would fight to take her! He gets a bargain and still plays the aggrieved party. One lousy body refining manual was supposed to settle the account? One of these days, I'll go up to the Sword Hermitage and argue this out with him!"
Cold sweat broke out on Li Fu as he listened. He smiled bitterly inwardly and dared not pick up that thread.
Anyone else accepted as the Sword Saint's disciple would be too thrilled to sleep. Who would dare haggle over the terms?
"Second Uncle, how was today's catch? You must have had quite a haul!"
Li Fu changed the subject, knowing the old man enjoyed lavish praise for his fishing skills. This veteran, always upright, stern, and iron-faced in the army, now actually wore a fawning smile, though it looked terribly awkward and strained.
Forcing flattery when you had no knack for it was the deadliest mistake of all.
Li Muxiu gave him a cool glance and said to Li Hao, "See that, Hao'er? This is why our fishing tradition matters. You must let people get as many looks at your catch as possible. Otherwise, those who don't know will think you came home empty-handed."
If you went straight home, who would even know you'd been fishing? And even if they knew, who would care...? Li Hao grumbled inwardly.
"Let's go."
Ignoring Li Fu, Li Muxiu led Li Hao into the Listening Rain Pavilion.
Li Fu wanted to speak but held back, standing there hesitantly. Just before entering the pavilion, Li Muxiu suddenly stopped, though he did not turn around, and said:
"Little Fu, you needn't worry about Hao'er's cultivation anymore. He does have a talent for body tempering. I'll teach him a little while we're fishing."
With that, he walked straight into the light and shadows beyond the doorway.
Li Fu froze. The tangled, conflicting thoughts in his heart suddenly seemed to unravel, and he felt as though a great stone had been lifted from him.
He hurriedly bent into a deep bow and offered his thanks, unable to help feeling happy and excited for Li Hao.
If Second Uncle personally guided and taught him, that would far surpass anything Li Fu could teach. After all, this Second Uncle was a man in no way inferior to that Sword Saint...
Though Li Muxiu looked like an old man with no sense of propriety, he always kept his word, influenced to some extent by the ancestral teachings of his military aristocratic clan.
Once inside, Li Muxiu fetched some firewood and set up a stove on the pavilion's terrace. As he gutted the fish demon he had caught that day, he casually said to Li Hao, "If there's anything you don't understand about your cultivation, just ask. I'll explain it for you."
Li Hao shook his head slightly. "Nothing for now."
"Nothing?"
Li Muxiu said irritably, "Are you saying you haven't hit a bottleneck yet? Hmph, this body-tempering art is tremendously powerful. Being able to understand it at all is already impressive. Never mind. Go through it once and let me have a look."
There's really no need, is there? Li Hao thought. But seeing that the old man sincerely wanted to teach him, he did not spurn that kindness. He obediently took his stance and demonstrated the routine once.
Li Muxiu had intended to offer some pointers, only to discover that there really were no flaws. He could not help taking another look at the little fellow.
To reach such a level through self-study showed truly astonishing comprehension!
"Not bad. Your cultivation should have reached the tenth layer of the Power Through Realm by now, right?" Li Muxiu said. Though he had not carefully sensed Li Hao's cultivation, anyone who had attained the second stage, the Dragon Body, must have reached completion in the first realm.
Moreover, compared with ordinary Power Through Realm completion, body tempering brought greater physical strength, making its practitioners slightly stronger than others at the same realm. Of course, that advantage applied to the early stages of cultivation.
As for the later stages...
Body tempering had no later stages.
As everyone said, it was a bitter road. Ordinary cultivation was already extremely arduous; for even cultivators to call it a bitter road showed just how grueling body tempering must be.
Thus, few could persevere to the later stages. Even those with truly great resolve often progressed so slowly that their lifespans ran out before they could break through, and they died in despondency.
"Yes."
Li Hao nodded in acknowledgment.
"Not even eight years old, and already at Power Through Realm completion. At that pace, you could be said to be catching up to the heels of those top geniuses."
Li Muxiu said, "Next comes the Circulation Realm. When strength reaches fullness, it becomes qi, and qi circulates through the heavenly circuits. You have two ways to break into the Circulation Realm. The first is to attain the Hundred Dragons Body and force your way through with your physical body. The Hundred Dragons Body also includes a qi circulation method. Cultivate it to completion, and you can reach the supreme level of one meridian, one hundred circuits."
"That is precisely why this body-tempering technique qualifies to be kept on the Sixth Floor."
Seeing Li Hao sitting cross-legged and listening attentively, Li Muxiu explained in greater detail:
"The Circulation Realm has ten layers, but the differences between practitioners are immense. In the Power Through Realm, powerful techniques that increase strength and the awakening of divine blood can widen the gap. In the Circulation Realm, top-tier qi circulation methods separate heaven's chosen from the mortal dust."
"Ordinary martial artists without powerful backing mostly practice low-grade methods, achieving around one meridian, ten heavenly circuits."
"Mid-to-high-grade methods can achieve a thirty-six heavenly circuit cycle in a single meridian!"
"Superior methods achieve one meridian, seventy-two heavenly circuits."
He looked at Li Hao and said, "As for the very finest methods, they achieve one meridian, one hundred circuits! That is the essence contained within the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body. Even setting body tempering aside, it qualifies as a top-tier qi circulation method."
"So that's how it works." Li Hao nodded slightly.
He had leafed through some books about the Circulation Realm and knew a little about it. If one heavenly circuit in a single meridian represented one times his own strength, then ten heavenly circuits meant ten times!
One hundred heavenly circuits meant one hundred times. That was the difference.
Especially as one advanced through the Circulation Realm and opened another meridian at each layer, the disparity accumulated. By the tenth layer of the Circulation Realm, the difference between ordinary qi circulation methods and top-tier ones was like clouds above and mud below.
With major factions, renowned schools, and prodigious talent combined, top Circulation Realm martial artists would achieve at least seventy-two heavenly circuits, if not one hundred. They could easily sweep aside ordinary Circulation Realm martial artists and wandering heroes without powerful backing.
"In any renowned school, a supreme qi circulation method comes close to being a sect-guarding treasure. Most are taught only to personal disciples or a master's final disciple."
"And the Listening Rain Pavilion holds three such supreme methods. The Hundred Dragons Chapter of the Thousand Dragons Sacred Body counts as one."
Li Muxiu said, "But even so, here in our Divine General Residence, they are taught only to the legitimate line, not the concubine-born branches, lest the proper order be overturned and people's ambitions sow chaos."
"Ultimately, differences in martial cultivation serve the struggle between people. Some cultivate not to pursue the greatest strength, but to surpass others. Thus, when they cannot surpass someone, cutting that person down is another way to get ahead, one even easier than improving themselves through arduous training."
"That is why top factions and renowned schools keep peerless techniques sealed away rather than sharing them outside. Once one leaks, whoever obtains it may instead invite a fatal disaster."
Li Hao asked, "Isn't cultivation meant for slaying demons?"
Li Muxiu paused and glanced at him, then said mockingly, "Slaying demons is the business of a minority of martial artists, such as our Li Family and the other Divine General Residences. Most people live in prosperous, peaceful lands where demons are forbidden to roam. How many opportunities do they have to slay demons? And even if they do, how many dare?"
"Have you ever seen an ordinary hunter go kill fierce tigers and giant bears for no reason, with nothing to gain?"
"Our Great Yu enjoys an age of prosperity. In prosperous times, all beneath heaven seek fame. Slaying demons is for fame, competing in duels is for fame, and founding sects and schools is also for fame!"
"For fame, rank, wealth, and reward, how many people surge forward, one after another, counting their deaths as nothing!"
"Who wouldn't want to be remembered by the world ten thousand years after death, enshrined in the Martial Temple with a golden body cast in their likeness, savoring the incense offered for a thousand years?"
His voice carried some agitation, but it was not the excitement of yearning. Rather, it seemed to hold some suppressed anger.
"I wouldn't."
Li Hao shook his head slightly and said, "If I could choose, I'd want to keep living forever."
(End of chapter)
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