Tan Palace Academy

The "Qingyuan" era name had been established the year Li Hao was born, a clear sign of the Yu Emperor's profound favor toward the Li Family.

This dynasty, which had stood for over three thousand years, was still like a mighty lion. Though age was gradually sapping its strength, its accumulated awe-inspiring prestige remained formidable, sheltering most of its lands in peace, keeping the demons of the eight wildernesses and four wilds from freely invading its interior, and ensuring that its vassal nations still bowed their heads and paid tribute year after year!

That year, in the Secluded Valley Mountain Range on the border of Yun Prefecture, the eighty-six-year-old veteran Jiang Tianshou marched out amid the cheers of frontier herders. Leading over thirty thousand imperial cavalry, he exterminated a hundred thousand members of the Tiger Leopard Demon Race that had been harassing the border in just three days, expanding the frontier by a thousand li and spreading his name throughout the Nineteen Provinces!

That year, the Young Phoenix Bright Moon Sword, only twelve years old, passed the Nine Gates of Heaven and entered the Qian Dao Palace as a Personal Disciple. Listening to a sage expound the Dao, the youth's name shook the world!

The old grandmaster who had secluded himself on Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain for thirty years also descended that year, fighting a duel on the shores of Red Water Lake that drew spectators from across the realm. Yet no one knew who ultimately won or lost.

Now, it was late autumn, in the tenth month.

Withered yellow leaves carpeted Qing Prefecture.

Tan Palace Academy, Qingzhou City's sacred ground for cultivation, known as the "Leaping Immortal Gate," also opened its gates after six years of closure.

The news swept through every province.

Countless young talents, noble heirs, and princesses flocked from provinces throughout the realm like carp crossing a river, vying for this chance at distinction and fortune.

Yet in a small courtyard within the Divine General Residence, not far from Tan Palace Academy in Qingzhou City, a young man sat at leisure.

He listened to the sound of falling leaves in the courtyard, brewed a pot of green tea, and quietly played a game of chess.

It was as though the clamor and struggles outside the courtyard

had nothing to do with him.

"Fifth Master, you've lost again."

A black stone landed, sealing the white stones' final escape route. A killing move.

The young man lifted the teacup beside him, took a gentle sip, and spoke with a smile.

His lips were red, his teeth white, and his eyes like brilliant stars, clear yet deep. His still-youthful face had soft contours and distinct lines. His fair skin seemed long untouched by sunlight, carrying a hint of moon-white coolness. The fingers holding the stone were slender and strong, his nails translucent and free of the slightest blemish.

When he finished speaking, the old man seated opposite him twitched at the corner of his mouth. He frowned and scrutinized the board, but finally, unable to find a way out, angrily tossed the white stone between his fingers back into the stone bowl.

"Your chess skills keep getting sharper, brat."

Fifth Master Li Qingzheng praised the young man, though his gaze was particularly aggrieved.

The Chess Dao he had immersed himself in for most of his life, his greatest source of pride, had lately been repeatedly defeated by this brat. He could only win an occasional game, leaving him thoroughly frustrated.

"It's all thanks to you practicing with me, Fifth Master." The young man was none other than Li Hao, who grinned modestly.

"You little rascal!"

Li Qingzheng rolled his eyes at him irritably. He wanted another game, but looking at the board before him left him somewhat deflated.

He still had not figured out how he had lost that last game.

Just then, dry leaves crunched underfoot, and a snow-white figure darted over. Without a word, it leaped into the young man's arms-a white fox.

The white fox's ears were reddish-orange, those two vivid splashes of color lending her a lively air.

Li Hao rubbed the white fox nuzzling affectionately in his arms, then sniffed and frowned. "Why do you smell of medicinal herbs? Where did you sneak off to steal food this time?"

At his words, the white fox burrowed her head deeper into Li Hao's arms, seemingly trying to avoid answering.

Just then, Li Hao heard footsteps and looked up. A figure in green hurried over-a maid of sixteen or seventeen, with bright eyes and white teeth, quite pretty.

She reached the pavilion, panting. Seeing Li Qingzheng, she quickly lowered her head, bowed, and offered a greeting before hurriedly telling Li Hao, "Young Master, Xiao Rou went to the First Madam's kitchen again and knocked over her beauty tonic. Everyone in Evergreen Courtyard is searching for the culprit now..."

Li Hao was speechless. He dug the little head out of his arms and said irritably, "I told you not to run around making trouble. Do you want another beating?"

The white fox tried desperately to turn her little head away, not daring to meet Li Hao's eyes. She seemed to know she had done wrong.

"Keep this up, and I'll hand you over to the First Madam so she can give you a proper lesson and pluck all your fur!" Li Hao threatened.

Seemingly imagining that scene, the white fox trembled all over in fright, then turned back to look at Li Hao with an aggrieved expression.

"You're already in the circulation realm, so why can't you speak yet...?" Looking into her wounded eyes, Li Hao felt rather helpless.

He turned to the maid Qingzhi. "Go apologize to the First Madam on my behalf later, and take her a plate of the Perilla Cake I made. Also, what about today's Cotton Jade Crisps? Did you buy them?"

Qingzhi pouted and muttered, "You're sending me again. Every time she makes trouble, I'm the one who gets scolded."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll go buy the Cotton Jade Crisps first." Qingzhi hastily replied, then ran off like a wisp of green cloud.

"That little girl is getting less proper by the day." Li Hao lifted his tea and shook his head helplessly.

Li Qingzheng glanced at him. "How many people in your courtyard are proper?"

Li Hao nearly spat out his tea. He looked speechlessly at the old man. "Fifth Master, you can't just say things like that."

Li Qingzheng snorted. "Your servants can't even stand properly, and your maids walk around like lunatics. Go look at the other courtyards-which of them isn't orderly? This little fox demon is the same, making trouble everywhere. Sooner or later, someone will catch her and stew her. When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams follow. You're the main problem. You had a bright future, yet insisted on making a mess of it yourself. Could our ancestors possibly be inferior to some demon dragon?"

At that, his anger surged, his beard bristling and his eyes glaring.

Clearly, even after several years, the matter still rankled.

At eight years old, Li Hao could clearly have entered the soul succession realm, yet had stubbornly delayed it for a year.

Then, when the ancestors in the Ancestral Shrine could no longer contain themselves and sent him to question the boy, he discovered that Li Hao had already completed Soul Inheritance.

He had slain a flood dragon with a body-refining technique and inherited its demon soul.

Though he had inherited a dragon soul, how could a mere little dragon compare with the Li Family's ancestors?

Moreover, demon souls carried their nature with them. Inheriting one inevitably made a person bloodthirsty and brutal.

Fortunately, Li Hao had shown no such tendencies over the years. That was probably because he had spent so much time playing chess with him and absorbing his influence... He stroked his beard in satisfaction.

Still, that demon dragon soul had lowered Li Hao's Soul Inheritance potential, dooming him to rank only in the upper-middle tier of the soul succession realm.

He would fare reasonably well against most in the soul succession realm, but compared with the top cultivators of the various sects, he would pale beside them.

After all, when their soul avatars emerged, they were ancestors of the four establishments realm, while his was only a demon dragon.

And those ancestors had slain countless demon dragons in life. The dragon-slaying aura their soul avatars inherently possessed would probably be enough to frighten Li Hao flat on the ground.

Thinking of this filled Li Qingzheng with anger.

The ancestors in the Ancestral Shrine had also been beside themselves with rage.

A son of the Li Family had inherited a demon dragon's soul. Where were all those ancestors supposed to put their faces?

One ancestor had even proposed severely punishing Li Hao by locking him in the Li Family's Heavenly Prison to teach him a proper lesson.

Even Li Muxiu, who had stayed beside Li Hao for years and served as something of a guardian, had been reprimanded by the ancestors one after another...

Still, his second brother deserved it!

It was precisely because his second brother indulged and pampered the boy too much, refusing to rein him in at all, that he had become so lawless!

If not for Li Hao's fine chess skills, he would certainly have given the brat a harsh lesson himself.

At that thought, looking at the chessboard before him, Li Qingzheng's anger burned a little hotter.

How had I lost?

Ever since leaving the Ancestral Shrine that year, he felt that the serenity realm he had maintained for decades seemed to be growing increasingly troubled.

"I think it's rather nice. The servants are comfortable, and so am I."

Li Hao gave the old man a sheepish smile.

"You're so lax, and your servants are just as lax. When your father comes back, we'll see how he straightens you out." Li Qingzheng snorted.

Li Hao asked, "What if he won't let me play chess with you anymore?"

"He wouldn't dare!"

Li Qingzheng immediately glared.

Li Hao chuckled. Just then, another set of footsteps approached, though they did not sound like Qingzhi's.

He looked over in surprise and saw a familiar face: Xue Jian from Evergreen Courtyard.

Several years had passed, and the young girl from back then now carried an increasingly dignified grace.

Two little maids followed behind her, their eyes lowered and their footsteps silent. They were clearly much more disciplined than those in his courtyard... and had a much harder time of it, too.

Seeing that the Fifth Master was there as well, Xue Jian quickly bowed. Surprised, she could not help glancing at Li Hao. Everyone in the residence knew that this young master of Mountains and Rivers Courtyard spent his days neglecting his studies and accomplishing nothing, yet got along remarkably well with both old masters.

"Young Master, the First Madam sent me to inform you that Tan Palace Academy has opened this year. These invitations were delivered to the residence by the academy, and Madam asked me to bring you one."

Xue Jian respectfully lowered her head and handed Li Hao an invitation bearing a pair of black and white fish.

Though she might not hold much respect for Li Hao in her heart, her manner was beyond reproach.

Li Hao had long known that this young woman had an excellent sense of propriety. He accepted it with a smile, then casually tossed it beside the mat. "Thank you, Miss Xue Jian."

Xue Jian's gaze dipped. Seeing that precious invitation, which martial artists throughout the realm fought desperately to obtain, so casually set aside, she thought of this young master's temperament. He was indeed just as Madam had predicted.

(End of chapter)