Ancestral Hall

Several months later.

Beside Blackwater Demon Lake.

Li Hao hauled up a Fish Demon at the eighth level of the Circulation Realm, killed it with a casual stroke of his sword, then built a fire and set up a large pot to cook it.

He scaled the fish, skinned it, and removed its bones, his movements flowing like clouds and water.

This time, he added no chilies. He was making a nourishing soup, tossing in an assortment of wild mushrooms he had found to simmer together.

The rich fragrance of mushrooms drifted out with the steam around the iron lid. Both old men fishing by the lake sniffed lightly, casting frequent glances his way.

As soon as Li Hao announced, "Time to eat," the two old men appeared beside the pot like phantoms, their own utensils already in hand. Exquisite jade chopsticks and crude chopsticks whittled from branches dipped into the pot at the same time.

"Tsk, tsk. Not bad!"

Li Muxiu slurped down a slice of fish and gave Li Hao a thumbs-up.

Old Feng was smiling too. He ladled himself a bowl of fish soup and savored it slowly.

This fish had contributed quite a lot. Besides fishing experience, it had also earned Li Hao several dozen points of cooking experience. He reckoned his Path of Cooking would be the first art to reach the third stage after his Chess Dao.

"Here, little fellow. Have a taste too."

Li Hao picked up a slice of fish and dropped it onto a nearby leaf. A snow-white figure darted out and immediately ran over to the leaf to nibble at it.

"That's a fox, but you've raised it into a dog," Old Feng said with a laugh.

He had been back for several months now. As for what he had gone off to do, he had told neither Li Muxiu nor Li Hao, and naturally, neither of them had asked.

"There's not much difference," Li Hao said with a smile.

Halfway through the meal, Li Hao felt the timing was about right and said to Li Muxiu, "Second Master, I'm planning to attempt the Soul Succession Realm soon. Do you have time to take me to the Ancestral Shrine?"

"Hmm?"

Both men stopped eating at once and looked at Li Hao.

Li Muxiu stared. "You're going to attempt the Soul Succession Realm? You've already perfected the Circulation Realm?"

"Yes." Li Hao nodded.

He had deliberately waited several months before telling the old man, afraid that progressing too quickly would shock the world.

"Are you serious?" Feng Boping forgot all about eating and drinking, staring at Li Hao in astonishment.

He knew that however much this boy fooled around, he never joked about cultivation.

But attempting the Soul Succession Realm at eight?

Wasn't that a little too outrageously far-fetched?

"You've already cultivated your Dragon River Divine Meridian to perfection? How is that possible? Never mind your Martial Dao Wasteland Physique-even your father only entered the Soul Succession Realm at nine."

Li Muxiu looked at Li Hao doubtfully. He knew the boy would not be so bored as to tease them about something like this, but it simply could not be true. He had seen even the most monstrous geniuses. Li Junye, for instance, had only undergone Soul Inheritance at eight and a half!

And Li Junye had cultivated tirelessly, day and night, possessing both keen intelligence and extraordinary diligence.

But Li Hao... he spent every day fishing with him, sometimes for an entire day at a stretch. When did he have time to cultivate?

"Um, it's true." Li Hao felt he might have overestimated the old man's ability to take the news, but things had already come this far. He could only grit his teeth and continue.

"Could your meridians have opened on their own?"

Li Muxiu scrutinized Li Hao. "Your talent for body tempering is exceptionally high, but you should still have been stuck for at least seven or eight years before attempting Soul Inheritance, perhaps even a dozen years or your entire life. How could you have perfected Meridian Opening in just one year?"

"Isn't that easy enough to check? Just have Little Mouse show us," Old Feng said.

Li Muxiu nodded at that. "Right. Let me see."

"All right."

Li Hao immediately stood up and moved farther from the pot. Then he stirred the power throughout his body, activating his 54 Great Meridians. Vast waves of energy coursed through him. He temporarily withdrew the concealment effect of his "Myriad Manifestations" attribute, and the waves of energy instantly surged out of his body.

Li Muxiu's and Feng Boping's eyes went round with disbelief. Li Muxiu's reaction was even more dramatic: his chopsticks dropped straight into the pot.

He stared at Li Hao in shock, his mouth hanging open.

"It... it's really true?"

As a Four Establishments Realm expert, how could he have misjudged it?

All 54 meridians were full and complete. This was unquestionably the absolute perfection of the Circulation Realm!

Yet the child before him was only eight!

Feng Boping stood stunned for a moment before turning to Li Muxiu, speechless. "Your Li Family really can raise monsters of every sort. First that boy Li Junye, and now this one. If the other Divine General Residences find out, they'll probably turn green with envy and submit a few more accusations against your family!"

Li Muxiu still had not recovered. He simply stared blankly at Li Hao.

This was not merely monstrous talent capable of perfecting the Circulation Realm. It also proved something else: Li Hao's meridians were clear!

That meant Li Hao no longer had a Martial Dao Wasteland Physique. He could cultivate!

And this talent was even more terrifying than Xiao Jiu's. He would unquestionably be the greatest of the next three generations!

Even looking back over the previous ten generations, his talent deserved first place without dispute!

Countless thoughts raced through his mind in that instant. Suddenly, guilt and self-reproach welled up in Li Muxiu's heart.

Such a genius, yet he had spent every day taking him out to eat, drink, and play, fishing in the wild everywhere instead of attending to proper pursuits. Hadn't he gravely held the boy back?

"Second Master?"

Li Hao withdrew his energy. Seeing Second Master lost in thought, he called out to him.

Li Muxiu came back to himself. His first instinct was to pick up his chopsticks and maintain his composure, but they had already fallen into the soup. He could not help giving a bitter chuckle, then gazed deeply at Li Hao.

"How did your meridians clear?"

"I think it happened in a dream."

Li Hao said, "One day, I dreamed I was cultivating. Suddenly, when I exerted myself, my whole body felt light and relaxed. After I woke up, cultivation felt incredibly easy. I opened my meridians one after another without any obstacles."

"..."

The two old men were struck speechless.

He had cleared them on his own in his sleep?

Surely he was still talking in his sleep right now.

But aside from Li Hao's explanation, they could think of no other possibility.

"Could this boy's blocked meridians have been a false blockage?" Feng Boping stroked his pointed white beard thoughtfully.

"I've heard that some Martial Dao Wasteland Physiques are temporary. Some people keep cultivating, and their meridians suddenly clear. He might be one of those."

"Perhaps." Li Muxiu nodded. He had heard of that possibility too, but the odds were extremely low.

"Now that this boy can cultivate, your Li Family really is remarkable. One true dragon fell, and another rose to his feet. Tsk, tsk." Feng Boping marveled repeatedly.

Li Muxiu sighed instead. "If I'd known, I would have nurtured him properly. He's wasted so much time hanging around with us every day."

Li Hao jumped in alarm at that and hurriedly said, "Old man, you're not going to force me to cultivate from now on, are you?"

"What do you mean, force you to cultivate?"

Li Muxiu said irritably, "Now that your meridians are clear, don't you want to cultivate properly and win illustrious honors in the future?"

"Please don't joke about that."

Without even thinking, Li Hao hurriedly said, "Second Master, don't ruin my life! I don't want to join the army and fight wars. Life is so comfortable right now. Honors? Even a dog wouldn't want them. Whoever wants them can have them!"

Li Muxiu was left speechless. Anyone else would already have been eager to make their name known throughout the world. But this boy-what nonsense was he spouting?

"Hahaha..."

Beside them, Feng Boping burst out laughing. "Looks like Little Mouse is nothing like Junye. I think he has a point. Honors? Since ancient times, honors have sprung from the young, yet when wealth and glory arrive, they're no longer among the living!"

Li Muxiu's expression shifted slightly. It felt as though a fishbone had pierced his heart, sending a sharp stab of pain through it.

How dazzling Li Junye had been when he burst onto the scene.

But afterward, he had fallen as swiftly as a shooting star, his brilliance as fleeting as a night-blooming flower.

He looked at Li Hao, who was watching him nervously.

Li Muxiu's heart felt like a flower crushed in someone's hand. If he sent this child onto the battlefield, who could guarantee he would not become another Li Junye?

Forget it... Li Muxiu heaved a deep sigh. "If you don't want to compete for honors, that's fine. From now on, just be like this old man. Stay with the Li Family, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. Be an obscure old good-for-nothing."

Feng Boping laughed. "Who would dare call the Fist Saint obscure? Unless you haven't knocked his mouth crooked yet."

Li Muxiu shot him an irritated glare, then said to Li Hao, "When your parents hear about this and come looking for you, I'll swallow my pride and take their scolding. Boy, come over here and eat!"

With that, he flicked a finger, sending the chopsticks flying out of the pot. Then he pulled over a branch, stripped its bark, made another pair of chopsticks, and began eating. Yet he was clearly less relaxed and cheerful than before, as though weighed down by heavy thoughts.

Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever happened, being able to keep fishing with the old man was enough.

Although he could go fishing on his own, fishing with the old man at Demon Lake meant both protection for his life and a chance to land a big catch. That was a wonderfully sweet deal.

Sitting down beside the pot, Li Hao resumed eating.

"Second Master, about Soul Inheritance..."

"Hmph. Just eat. I'll take you there afterward." Li Muxiu glanced at Li Hao, then dug forcefully into the fish.

Reassured, Li Hao began eating and drinking heartily too.

The Li Family Ancestral Hall stood in the deepest part of the Divine General Residence, on a hollowed-out hillside.

Security outside the hill was tight, with warriors clad in heavy armor standing guard. Yet the steps up the hillside were empty, scattered only with fallen leaves.

On the level square outside the towering, solemn Ancestral Shrine stood several great cauldrons, wisps of burning incense curling from within.

Two figures swept down from the sky and landed in the square outside the Ancestral Shrine. Only then did they walk up the steps.

Here, even Li Muxiu put away his easygoing smiles and playful manner. His expression calm, he led Li Hao slowly inside.

"Second Brother, what brings you here?"

A calm voice came from within, like a tranquil lake. The sound alone seemed to settle the many thoughts stirring in one's mind.

Li Hao looked over and saw numerous ancestral tablets displayed inside. Among them stood a golden statue: the Li Family's ancestor, the Founding God General, Li Tianyuan!

Beside the cushions before those many tablets, an old man with long eyebrows and a long beard sat alone on a cushion. A chessboard was actually laid out before him, and he was playing against himself, gently setting down his pieces.

"Of course, I'm bringing a younger member of the family for the ancestors to have a look at," Li Muxiu said, stepping over the threshold.

At those words, the old man raised his head slightly. His gaze swept over Li Hao, who followed closely across the threshold, and a ripple appeared in eyes as still as an ancient well.

"Soul Inheritance? This child looks even younger than Junye was. Second Brother, surely you're joking?"

(End of chapter)