Three Holy Lands

Three Holy Lands

Furthermore, as his Sword Dao improved, Li Hao's mastery of "Boundless Sea - Tide" rose from (Perfect)) proficiency to (Supreme Perfection)! The abundant memories of the Sword Dao made Li Hao feel as though he had wielded a sword for decades.

The Tidal Sword Art he had originally mastered to the pinnacle of subtlety now revealed certain flaws in his eyes.

These were flaws inherent to the sword art itself.

Or rather, they were areas this sword move itself could never reach.

After all, no sword technique could cover every possible angle.

It was like an exceptionally perfect staff: it could split and smash, yet could not cut another person.

But now, that sliver of inadequacy within the sword art had been remedied through Li Hao's own comprehension of the Sword Dao.

Li Hao recalled the military swordsmanship instructor who had taught Li Qianfeng. The man had said that beyond the Third Level Realm, every technique possessed a fourth level.

And now, Li Hao had reached that fourth level: Supreme Perfection!

Only...

Although his Sword Dao had improved and the Tidal Sword Art had reached Supreme Perfection, Li Hao had never actually used it even once.

He had merely deduced it to the utmost limit within his mind.

Yet Li Hao had a feeling that, so long as he held a sword in his hand, he could execute it exactly as it was meant to be.

He simply could not foresee what kind of burden it would place upon his body.

His current child's body was simply too frail. Even after reaching adulthood, an ordinary body would likely struggle to bear that dazzling sword art.

He needed an exceptionally powerful physique.

"No matter how exquisite a sword art is, if it cannot be used, it is ultimately like gazing at the moon's reflection in water."

"Perhaps I should find a body-tempering cultivation method. I wonder whether it can be recorded..."

The Li Family possessed countless martial arts manuals, covering every category.

They were all stored in the Listening Rain Pavilion within the Divine General Residence.

Within Qingzhou City stood three holy lands famed throughout the world, places countless martial artists dreamed of and yearned for.

One was the Black White Hall of Tan Palace Academy, one was the Hundred Birds Garden of the Rouge Pavilion, and the last was the Listening Rain Pavilion of the Divine General Residence Li Family.

Li Hao planned to find an opportunity to take a look around there.

But before that, the Strange Blood carefully prepared for him within the residence had already been compounded.

This year, he would still undergo Blood Fusion in the same year as Bian Ruxue.

And the Strange Blood used for the Blood Fusion was still of the finest quality—a sixth-grade top-tier Precious Medicine refined from the demon bones of a thousand-year great demon.

Furthermore, he heard that Xingwu Marquis, his nominal father on the distant frontline battlefield in Northern Yan, had personally slain a great demon with three thousand years of cultivation and transported it back to the Divine General Residence, raising the grade of this Blood Fusion Precious Medicine to an even greater extreme.

A three-thousand-year great demon—its lifespan was nearly catching up to the age of the Great Yu Dynasty itself.

While astonished, Li Hao also gained some sense of his father's strength.

With Lin Haixia's assistance, the Blood Fusion began.

A scarlet slurry emitting a strange fragrance coated Li Hao's body.

Li Hao felt uneasy.

Before long, familiar words flickered before his eyes once more.

{Unknown substance detected. Beginning analysis...}{Analysis failed. Automatically isolated.} "..."

Li Hao was rendered utterly speechless.

Only, this time, he felt somewhat distressed.

After all, this was something that man had risked himself to prepare for him, and it was being wasted just like that.

Lin Haixia was equally heartbroken.

When he saw that Li Hao's body displayed no abnormal reaction whatsoever, his body trembled slightly. He looked even more agitated than Li Hao.

Yet everything seemed traceable. Having experienced the previous failure at Foundation Establishment, he did not lose control this time. He merely closed his eyes in silence for a moment, restraining his disappointment and grief.

"Uncle Lin, did it fail?"

"Mm..."

Lin Haixia slightly opened his eyes. His gaze carried a trace of weariness as he looked at Li Hao's little face and laughed bitterly to himself. He had clearly been born into a golden cradle like the Divine General Residence, yet the countless top-tier martial resources prepared by the Divine General Residence for Li Hao were blessings this child had no fate to enjoy.

He did not know whether this counted as good fortune or bad.

"Uncle Lin, do you think this Strange Blood of mine can still be used on that little girl?"

Li Hao asked.

Lin Haixia nodded slightly. Since Li Hao lacked the fortune for it, it could only benefit that little girl instead.

"Great." Seeing that it had not gone to waste, Li Hao smiled.

Lin Haixia also revealed a faint smile and said to Li Hao, "Young Master, I'll scrape it off for you first. Go get some rest."

His smile was forced, and sorrow lingered in his eyes.

"Mm."

Li Hao nodded without exposing him.

News of Li Hao's failed Blood Fusion quickly reached the ears of the madams in each courtyard.

Within Water Flower Courtyard, Liu Yuerong listened to her maid's quiet report. Her brows rose slightly, but there was not much joy on her face. She merely shook her head faintly.

She had secretly gone to Boundless Mountain to ask that person. That pill would not have such side effects. In other words, this child had been born with a useless body; he was merely fortunate enough to be born into the Li Family, from Ji Qingqing's womb.

Had she known this earlier, she would not even have needed that pill.

What could a useless body amount to, even if it possessed Divine Blood?

Instead, it would only make her own child, Qian Feng, appear even more outstanding.

After all, when the time came, both would be third-generation members of the Li Family and both would possess Divine Blood. Yet one would be trash, while the other would be a true dragon among men. Everyone knew what choice that old madam would make.

After Li Hao's Blood Fusion failed, the little girl's Blood Fusion proceeded exceptionally well.

Having absorbed the Strange Blood prepared for Li Hao, Bian Ruxue's martial aptitude improved yet another step.

All that remained in the days ahead was to nurture it gradually and wait for Bone Measurement at the age of five, when the specific results would become clear.

Li Hao was also happy for the little girl upon hearing the news. However, he had encountered a troublesome matter of his own: playing chess against himself could no longer grant him Chess Dao experience. He could only seek out the maids around him and ask them to play chess with him.

Though these maidservants dared not defy the young master's usual orders, they all shrank back from this matter, too afraid to agree.

These servants knew that Li Hao's Blood Fusion had failed and that he had no martial talent, yet he still wanted to play chess...

Although they knew the young master had been bent over a chessboard playing since childhood and seemed to possess an innate gift for the Chess Dao.

Within a military family, however, such talent was not worth mentioning...

It was even a case of indulging in play and neglecting one's aspirations! If First Madam and the others learned that they had accompanied Li Hao in such "unproductive pursuits," they might vent their anger over Li Hao's inability to practice martial arts upon them instead.

The servants of the Divine General Residence were all exceedingly shrewd. How would they dare touch such bad luck?

Left with no alternative, Li Hao could only seek out Lin Haixia.

Upon learning that Li Hao wanted him to play chess with him, Lin Haixia was equally speechless. He knew nothing about such things, and felt somewhat helpless toward this young master's optimistic ignorance.

Still, he did not refuse outright.

"Perhaps this final year before Bone Measurement is the child's last happy year..." Lin Haixia thought.

He agreed to Li Hao's request. Once he had dealt with matters on Bian Ruxue's side, he would play chess with Li Hao.

From then on, a scene often appeared in the courtyard: one large and one small figure playing chess in the pavilion, with a little girl standing beside them on tiptoe to watch.

And from time to time, the child sprawled over the chessboard could be heard shouting, "That's not right! You have to place it at the intersections of the lines, not inside the squares!"

"That isn't breaking the rules. It's called capturing!"

"It's already surrounded to death! You can't place another piece inside!"

"You're so dumb. I've told you three times already."

After a single game, Li Hao was exhausted and gained 1 point of experience.

This was far more tiring than playing against himself.

Once his opponent broke the rules, the entire game became invalid. Therefore, he had to teach while playing, explaining the rules as they went.

Lin Haixia had thought he was merely entertaining a child, never expecting there to be so many rules and regulations. Even his expression was becoming difficult to maintain.

After playing for several days in a row, Lin Haixia disappeared without a trace. Li Hao stamped his little feet in anger. With no other choice, he could only go take a look at the Listening Rain Pavilion first.

The Listening Rain Pavilion stood in the northern part of the Divine General Residence, built against a mountain.

The Divine General Residence covered an enormous area; one could even travel through it by carriage.

Apart from the courtyards of the various madams, there were mountain peaks, scenic lakes, gardens, and other landscapes.

Weathered by wind and frost, the Listening Rain Pavilion looked like nothing more than an ordinary old building halfway up the mountain.

Yet throughout the world, countless eyes wished to behold its true appearance.

But none of those gazes dared cross that golden high wall.

Accompanied by Uncle Zhao, the old steward of Mountains and Rivers Courtyard, Li Hao arrived before the pavilion. Uncle Zhao set Li Hao down and earnestly advised, "Young Master, this is an important site of the Li Family. Even the madams from the various courtyards need First Madam's permission to come here. We should go back."

Aside from the direct second generation of the Li Family, only two madams could freely enter and leave the Listening Rain Pavilion. One of them was First Madam.

"Didn't you have someone report it? I'm only here to take a look. There shouldn't be a problem, right?" Li Hao said casually, his little hands clasped behind his back.

Uncle Zhao had long grown accustomed to the young master's old-fashioned manner. He could not understand who Li Hao had learned it from, but he could only say with a pained expression, "But there's been no reply yet, and First Madam may not agree. Although you have the qualifications to enter, you are still too young..."

"What's wrong with being young? Are you looking down on me?" Li Hao said, putting on a stern little face.

"I wouldn't dare, Young Master," Uncle Zhao hurriedly replied.

Li Hao found it dull and quietly examined the Listening Rain Pavilion before him. The ancient, weathered building had seven floors. He had heard that after Li Qianfeng's Bone Measurement revealed a Ninth Grade Battle Body, that woman petitioned First Madam that very night to find a martial art for her child, and so she found "Boundless Sea," which was placed on the top floor.

"Boundless Sea" had four forms in total.

Every form was exceptionally difficult. It was said that only Third Uncle had mastered the final form, and he had nearly split half of Jing Province apart with a single sword strike.