Three, Six, and Nine Grades

It was a bright, sunny day.

The military expert assigned by the Divine General Residence arrived at the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard to establish Li Hao's foundation.

He was a short, compactly built middle-aged man with dark skin, yet he wore flowing blue robes. His name was Lin Haixia, which sounded like a girl's name. Li Hao later called him Uncle Lin.

A little girl had returned with Lin Haixia.

She was about Li Hao's age, only two months younger.

Apparently, she was the orphaned daughter of a comrade of his father, Marquis Xingwu, who was far away on the Yanbei Battlefield.

Before disaster struck, the little girl's father had entrusted his young daughter to Marquis Xingwu. Before his death, the two men had agreed to betroth their children.

Li Hao had no words for this marriage that had fallen out of the sky.

Good grief. Go fight your war, then. Fine, don't even come home.

But did you ask my opinion before deciding something this big?

Resentful though he was, Li Hao did not take his accumulated grievances out on the little girl.

And so.

From that day onward, another little figure joined Li Hao in the vast Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.

The little girl was named Bian Ruxue. Her features were exquisitely sculpted, her skin pink and delicate, like a porcelain doll.

New to this unfamiliar place, the little girl was timid. Every day, she would stop anyone she could find and ask, "Where's my daddy? Where did my daddy go?"

The little girl wanted to find her daddy.

But no one in the courtyard dared answer. Some of the softer-hearted maids could only hide in corners and wipe away their tears when they heard her.

The little girl had no appetite and grew thinner by the day. Seeing that not one of the servants in the courtyard knew how to soothe a child, Li Hao felt annoyed. Apparently, he had behaved too well to give these people any practice.

He had no choice but to step in himself, half frightening and half coaxing the little girl:

"Your daddy is hiding somewhere. You have to be good, do as you're told, and eat your meals. Only then will your daddy come out."

The little girl looked at him with innocent, tearful eyes and asked, "Has Xue'er been naughty? Why is Daddy hiding from Xue'er? Where is he hiding?"

Where?

Looking at her pitiful little face, Li Hao softened too. He pointed at the sky and said something painfully clichéd:

"Your daddy is up there, on one of those stars."

From then on, every night in the courtyard, a little figure stood gazing up at the sky.

The silver light of countless stars shone down on her lonely little back.

Meanwhile, the other little fellow, sprawled over a game board indoors, instructed the servants each day to fan the little girl and keep the mosquitoes away, so she would not end up covered in bites.

Half a month passed in a flash, and the military expert, Lin Haixia, finished preparing the Foundation Establishment Liquid for Li Hao and Bian Ruxue.

The two began foundation establishment in the same year.

Foundation establishment, as its name implied, laid the very foundation of the Martial Dao!

Foundation Establishment Liquid was refined from countless precious medicinal ingredients. Through daily soaking in these medicinal baths, it forged a child's body for martial training!

The Divine General Residence was one of Great Yu's most prestigious houses, with immense resources. From the moment Li Hao began foundation establishment, countless precious medicinal ingredients and rare treasures poured into the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard like snowflakes, in an inexhaustible supply.

Foundation Establishment Liquid came in three grades.

Common, rare, and supreme!

Naturally, Li Hao used the finest Foundation Establishment Liquid, with thousand-year-old precious medicine as its catalyst, supplemented by countless other valuable medicinal ingredients. It could nurture a seventh grade battle body.

Once he set foot on the path of cultivation, he would be able to break through the first realm in just two or three years!

The Martial Dao was a furnace that burned gold. A portion of this top-grade Foundation Establishment Liquid was consumed every day for six months to a year. Only a great house like the Divine General Residence could afford to use it so freely.

In the courtyard stood two enormous medicinal tubs.

Li Hao and Bian Ruxue soaked in one each.

However, curtains screened off the little girl's tub, with a female guard attending her inside.

Female guards were different from maids. They had some cultivation and were essentially the residence's female personal guards.

Li Hao, meanwhile, was attended by Lin Haixia himself.

At that moment, the dark-purple medicinal liquid, a mark of privilege, washed against Li Hao's body. Even his chin was submerged, leaving only his nose exposed so he could breathe.

An indescribably strange medicinal smell filled his nostrils, as though he had swallowed bitter lotus, keeping him wide awake at every moment.

Li Hao asked, "Can I drink it?"

Lin Haixia said, "Better not."

The medicinal liquid was extremely potent. A child's stomach could not absorb it and would instead be damaged.

Besides.

It was for external application.

Just as Li Hao held his breath and focused, a string of text suddenly appeared before his eyes:

[Unknown substance detected. Analyzing...]

[Analysis failed. Automatically blocked.]

Li Hao: ???

What was going on?

Damn!

Don't tell me it means what I think it means?

Li Hao was filled with uncertainty.

Beside the medicinal tub, Lin Haixia's calm expression gradually grew grave. As time passed, his brows slowly furrowed into deep lines.

Li Hao noticed his expression, and his heart sank. He asked:

"Uncle Lin, is... something wrong?"

Lin Haixia was not surprised by Li Hao's perceptiveness. Over the past few days, he had already realized that this young master was more precocious than other children his age, very clever, and about as developed as a five- or six-year-old.

However, he was in no mood to talk to Li Hao now. He suddenly lifted the curtain and quickly checked the other side. Soon, he returned to Li Hao, his expression exceptionally grim.

"Uncle Lin?"

Lin Haixia reached into the edge of the tub and carefully sensed the liquid. His gaze grew complicated. Looking at the child in the tub, he wanted to speak, but the words stopped at his lips.

"Uncle Lin, just say whatever you want to say," Li Hao could not help urging.

Somewhat surprised, Lin Haixia glanced at him. Precocious though Li Hao was, he was still only three years old. He could actually tell that Lin Haixia was hesitating to speak?

Still, he was in a terrible mood and did not dwell on it. Regardless of whether Li Hao could understand, he said directly, "Aside from being clearly revealed during bone measurement at age five, martial talent actually begins to show during foundation establishment."

"The faster you absorb the Foundation Establishment Liquid, the greater your martial aptitude. But young master, you... are absorbing it far too slowly!"

He glanced at Li Hao in the tub, his eyes filled with bafflement and pity.

Then, after a moment's thought, he muttered to himself, "Perhaps today was just an accident, and I made a mistake in refining it. I'll check more carefully tomorrow."

Li Hao's heart went cold.

So the substance that text referred to really was the Foundation Establishment Liquid?

Absorbing it too slowly? It's all been blocked! How the hell am I supposed to absorb anything?

Li Hao was speechless. Was this panel determined to follow the game's settings to the bitter end?

He had discovered something while exploring the panel over the past year.

The game had no combat system, so he seemed to be cut off from the Martial Dao as well.

Or rather, cut off from martial training.

Practicing combat skills awarded no experience. Only the arts included in the game had experience bars.

Although he could still improve through hard training, he would be better off returning to the arts.

At least then, his experience would soar, he could allocate points to enter the Dao, and cultivation methods would take shape on their own.

A single morning could surpass decades of bitter training.

It was just a shame about all the resources piled up around him. If he could use them all, surely they would be enough to raise at least a first-rate martial artist.

Come to think of it, if I can't absorb this extraordinary medicinal liquid that goes beyond anything in the modern world, why did that poison work before?

Or did it not work? Did I simply fall asleep and miss the text notification?

Perhaps he could judge that by whether he awakened divine blood in the future.

But that woman had said awakening divine blood was a matter of probability, not a certainty.

Forget it. Whether you managed to hurt me or not is down to your own ability. This debt certainly won't be written off.

"Don't lose heart. I'll try again tomorrow. If it really doesn't work, I'll inform the marquis. He'll definitely find a way for you."

While Li Hao was thinking, Lin Haixia offered these words of comfort, though he did not know whether Li Hao could understand.

"No need."

Li Hao waved a hand slightly and started climbing out of the tub.

Since the panel had blocked the Foundation Establishment Liquid, there was no point in soaking any longer.

"Don't get out yet. Try again. Soak a little longer and see," Lin Haixia said at once when he saw Li Hao getting out.

Li Hao shook his head. "It won't help."

"Do as you're told!" Lin Haixia's face sternened as he grew serious.

Li Hao was at a loss for words. He could only say, "I'll go check on the little girl first."

As he spoke, he lifted the curtain and walked over to the little girl's tub. He immediately saw that the Foundation Establishment Liquid, identical to what had been poured into his own tub earlier, had turned from purple to almost transparent water in hers. Only faint purple wisps of medicinal liquid still drifted through it like clouds of mist.

"Brother Hao?"

Bian Ruxue looked at Li Hao in puzzlement from inside the tub. She was too young to know to cover herself and merely wore a bewildered expression.

"Uncle Lin, what sort of talent does her absorption speed indicate?"

Without turning around, Li Hao asked Lin Haixia, who stood behind him.

Lin Haixia had been feeling troubled and confused, but the question struck him as amusing. They were clearly the same age, yet this little fellow always acted like a solemn old man in front of Xue'er.

"Her absorption speed is very good."

Lin Haixia had already checked earlier. Now, a hint of wonder entered his eyes. "If blood fusion goes smoothly when she's four, then with the Divine General Residence's top-grade resources, her battle body could leap to the eighth grade, or even the ninth, by the time she undergoes bone measurement at five. She would rank among the very finest prodigies!"

"Ninth grade?"

Li Hao was puzzled.

Lin Haixia was quite patient with his commander's young son. Whether the boy understood or not, since he had asked, Lin Haixia ought to answer as his temporary teacher.

After listening to Lin Haixia's detailed explanation, Li Hao finally understood.

As it turned out, foundation establishment, blood fusion, and bone measurement had a collective term: three, six, and nine grades!

Foundation Establishment Liquid came in three grades.

The strange blood used in blood fusion came in six grades!

And the aptitude revealed by bone measurement was divided into nine grades!

First through third grade battle bodies indicated ordinary aptitude and belonged to the lower tier.

Fourth through sixth grade battle bodies belonged to the elite, dragons and phoenixes among men, and made up the middle tier.

Those of the seventh grade could be called geniuses.

The eighth grade was enough to make a name throughout a province.

A ninth grade battle body was already among the very finest physiques for martial training, worthy of the title Peerless Prodigy.

With such a supreme physique, breaking through realms was as easy as eating and drinking. Those who possessed one could generally enter the fourth or fifth realm!

As for higher realms, besides talent, other things were required, such as personal comprehension, perseverance, fortune, and opportunities.

Li Hao turned to look at the little girl in the tub and clicked his tongue in wonder.

Would this little girl become a genius whose name shook the world?

An image appeared in his mind: the little girl standing proudly amid a crowd, a snot bubble dangling from her nose... He could not help laughing aloud.

Lin Haixia glanced at Li Hao, but his eyes held worry.

A child after all. He seems clever, but he's still only three.

He doesn't yet understand just how serious what happened today is.

The chance that anything had been wrong with that portion of Foundation Establishment Liquid was vanishingly small.

And that meant... he most likely had a martial Dao wasteland physique, incapable of cultivation!

In this aristocratic military family, especially as a son of the Li Family, to be unable to cultivate-Lin Haixia himself could scarcely imagine how cruel a fate that would be.

(End of chapter)