Chapter 144: Fatal Attribute

Snow fell in swirling profusion, cloaking heaven and earth in silver.

Cold winds swept through the pass.

Inside a fenced courtyard.

Ren Ren Qianqian practiced swordplay in the snow, her blade howling as it whipped the falling flakes into spirals; her movements were light and fluid, darting like a butterfly, the sword's motion graceful.

"Sword techniques are merely surface—learn the trajectory, rhythm, and true essence of the sword."

Beside her, Li Hao squatted in the snow, carefully building a snowman.

He patted and shaped the snow, trimming it here and there, occasionally glancing up at the girl practicing and offering brief advice.

Ren Ren Qianqian paused, puzzled: "The sword's trajectory?"

"Mm."

Li Hao nodded, saw the snowman lacked branches for arms, stood up, bent down, and picked up a branch from outside the firewood shed: "Look, like this."

He held the branch, gave it a gentle shake—the accumulated snow fell away—then flicked it lightly; the branch darted back like a flower petal caught in wind, catching every falling flake and restoring it to its original state.

Ren Ren Qianqian stared, stunned.

"Your sword must resonate with its surroundings—that's how you achieve cohesion, how you become sharp," Li Hao said.

He returned to the snowman, shook the snow off the branch again, then stuck it into the snowman's sides as two twig arms.

Ren Ren Qianqian fell into thought, staring at her sword, then resumed practice moments later.

These past days, besides Li Hao's occasional guidance, Li Li Hongzhuang and Song Song Qiumo also offered her pointers during their free time.

But their advice, like Li Hao's, never stopped at surface techniques—they spoke from the perspective of a Tianren Zongshi, delving deeper into their own understanding of the Sword Dao.

The downside was their words were vague, like wind or mist, hard to grasp.

The upside: if one had sufficient insight, grasping their meaning would propel sword progress by leaps and bounds—using sword intent to wield the blade meant prematurely sensing and pursuing one's own path to Mastership.

Ren Ren Qianqian continued practicing.

Li Hao resumed building his second snowman.

Outside the pass, an old horse galloped toward them.

The Crimson Blood Horse sprinted into the pass and halted outside the courtyard.

Li Li Hongzhuang, tending the stove, sensed the disturbance and dashed out like a gust of wind.

"You're… Liangzhou's Yu Xuan Company?"

Seeing the silver insignia on the veteran's armor, her eyes brightened: "Has Fifth Brother arrived in Liangzhou? Has he come to reinforce us?"

The veteran dismounted swiftly, bowed deeply, and offered the military report with both hands:

"The General just arrived in Liangzhou and sent me specifically to deliver this report to the Commander."

Li Li Hongzhuang reached out, snatched the report, and flipped through it rapidly.

Soon, her expression shifted slightly; her gaze turned sharp and icy:

"These demons actually dare plot against Liangzhou!"

Closing the report, she drew a deep breath and said to the veteran: "The journey was long—why not come in and rest?"

"No, the General awaits my reply. Commander, do you have any message for me to carry back?"

The old man bowed low, voice respectful, inwardly astonished—he'd ridden hard from beyond the pass, seeing demon corpses along the way; even the once-mighty Cangya City, as rumors claimed, had been erased. He'd expected a grim military camp, not this warm, fenced courtyard.

Reply… Li Li Hongzhuang recalled the report's contents: not only demon intelligence, but also a letter brimming with familial concern.

It warned her to beware demons, asked after her well-being, urged her to care for Hao'er, and advised immediate retreat if needed—few words, yet she felt Fifth Brother's fervent care.

"Wait a moment."

Li Li Hongzhuang turned back into the courtyard, asked Li Hao for brush and ink, swiftly penned a letter, and handed it to the veteran waiting in the snow.

The veteran tucked the rolled letter into his sleeve, mounted his horse, bade farewell to Li Li Hongzhuang, and spurred away at full gallop.

After the veteran departed, Li Li Hongzhuang summoned Li Hao and handed him the military report.

"Fifth Brother says demons beyond Liangzhou are stirring; some cities have already been infiltrated. These demons plan to open the gates from within—they're moving to swallow Liangzhou whole, so he's come to take personal command."

Li Li Hongzhuang glanced at Li Hao: "Our Tianmen Pass may soon face a major demon assault."

Li Hao took the report, saw the warm words from his Fifth Uncle, and immediately recalled the family banquet, their brief exchange, and the impression left.

He shook off the thought and replied: "Troops come, we meet them with soldiers; water rises, we block it with earth. When demons come, we boil a big pot."

"…."

Li Li Hongzhuang smiled wryly, then remembered two Fourth-Stage Masters were stationed here—no need to panic. If things turned dire, retreat was still possible. She just didn't know when the demons would strike.

She tucked the report away. Li Hao called everyone to lunch.

After the snowfall, water sources in the pass had become abundant.

With no demon attacks these past days, Li Li Hongzhuang had relaxed; after washing her hair, it now flowed like dark ink, cascading over her shoulders.

The blood-stained crimson battle armor had been cleaned, still worn at all times for readiness—but her hair now flew freely, making her look far more refreshed, like a warrior maiden stepped from a painting.

Li Hao had built several large wooden tubs; at night, he melted snow into water and made his own hot spring.

Soaking in the tub, eating roasted meat, drinking wine, chatting casually with Old Feng—it was blissful.

This frontier outpost had truly become a retreat.

Though snow blanketed heaven and earth, cold and bleak, the courtyard sheltered them—wind and snow no longer mattered.

In the days that followed, Li Hao spent mornings hunting demons with Song Song Qiumo, returning to the courtyard each night—life was orderly.

Hunting demons had granted him substantial Painting Dao experience—he was nearly reaching Level Six.

Meanwhile, his fishing experience also grew slowly, inching toward the bottleneck of Level Six.

Regrettably, the nearby Three-Imperishable Great Demons had apparently heard news and evacuated from around Tianmen Pass.

Li Hao found several caves, reeking of demon aura, but after interrogating captured lesser demons, learned the great demons had left days ago.

Li Hao casually collapsed the caves, leaving subtle fish-mark signs behind—so if any demons passed later, they'd be able to detect them.

Days passed one by one.

While hunting demons, Li Hao's Tianren Zongshi mindset slowly refined itself.

Originally, he'd been arrogant, asking heaven, earth, and all things for the path to Mastership.

This was far harder than the ordinary Tianren Zongshi's path.

The gate he'd kicked open revealed a world vaster than he'd imagined.

What were all things?

What was their origin? Li Hao kept pondering this.

Mountains, rivers, fish, insects, beasts—all were all things.

But there were too many. To learn each individually, even with a hundred-thousand-year lifespan, most couldn't complete it.

Li Hao had Level Six Flesh Dao insight—he could grasp the essence of any thing with a single glance. Mastering them all wasn't hard. But what Li Hao sought wasn't variety—it was unity!

He wanted to fuse all things' essence into one. This was self-imposed torment—he alone could accomplish it.

During his hunts, Li Hao and Song Song Qiumo also traveled the mountains and rivers beyond the pass.

From understanding himself, to glimpsing heaven and earth.

Li Hao saw shrubs and flowers, the bright moon and small streams.

He saw snow melting under sunlight, and tender leaves stubbornly standing firm beneath heavy snow.

All things possessed power—but what was their common thread?

Snow could freeze all things, yet a single ray of sunlight pierced through.

Though weak, tender leaves could not be crushed by snow.

Birds and beasts could walk, destroy trees, yet shivered in snow, hurriedly returning to nests after feeding.

So what was the power of all things? A cold wind brushed his face; Li Hao gazed at distant mountains and nearby woods—something stirred in his heart, then vanished instantly.

As winter deepened, snowy days grew more frequent.

Today, they hunted two Level Fifteen-Li demons and returned together.

The number of demons in the wild beyond the pass still vastly outnumbered those within.

Outside the fenced courtyard, Li Hao had casually built several more houses.

With no demon attacks, there was no fear these structures would be destroyed immediately.

Li Li Hongzhuang asked: "Are you planning to rebuild the original city?"

Li Hao only smiled: "If demons never come, why not?"

Li Li Hongzhuang fell into thought. These days, she occasionally left camp to search for demon traces.

But demons near here had been cleared by Li Hao; she'd reached the outer edges of the Ten Thousand Mountains Demon King's territory, dared not venture deeper, yet even there, demon numbers had sharply declined—no sign of a demon army gathering.

This contradicted Fifth Brother's report somewhat.

Yet she didn't doubt his intelligence—only a thought arose in her mind.

Could it be that, with two Fourth-Stage Masters stationed at Tianmen Pass, the demons planned to bypass it?

This theory couldn't be verified. She'd wait a while longer—if Tianmen Pass remained silent, she'd send a letter to warn Fifth Brother to guard other areas.

…

Every few days, Song Song Qiumo traveled to nearby towns to procure supplies: vegetables, noodles, seasonings, and the painting paper Li Hao needed.

Today, upon returning, Song Song Qiumo brought Li Hao extra treasures.

A chess manual, two scrolls of famous paintings.

These were items Li Hao had asked Song Song Qiumo to find.

Li Hao received the manual and paintings, overjoyed, and immediately added them to his panel.

The chess manual was "New Studies of the Chess Classic."

It is a chess manual designed to help beginners quickly get started.

After pondering, Li Hao integrated it into his Control Dao, and the corresponding trait immediately appeared: *The New Study of the Chess Classic*: Increase object control speed by twenty percent.

Compared to the other chess manuals, this one's trait seems ordinary—not as spectacular as Seven Stars Lighting the Lamp—but like the Ten Thousand Forms attribute, once equipped, it continuously activates, making it a passive skill.

It requires no additional expenditure of Li Hao's power, has no side effects, and provides a permanent percentage boost.

When his object control speed reaches higher levels in the future, this twenty percent increase will become even more significant.

As for the two famous paintings, Li Hao could not determine what special traits they would grant, so he tried embedding them separately into his Body Dao and Control Dao.

One painting, *Bright Spring Shrimp*, when embedded into the Body Dao, granted a twenty percent water affinity boost.

Li Hao didn't understand what this trait meant, but he felt a peculiar sense of closeness whenever he touched snowflakes.

He also felt more comfortable when soaking in hot springs.

If he cultivated ice-based techniques, it seemed to provide a bonus.

Otherwise, it was currently useless.

The other painting, embedded into the Control Dao, was *The Yellow Sparrow Hunting Insects*, depicting the classic tale of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware the yellow sparrow lurks behind.

Its trait was peculiar:

When an attack remains hidden, it has a one percent chance of being lethal! This effect resembled *Hiding the Bow*—concealing a killing strike to double attack power when undetected.

But *Hiding the Bow* doubled damage with one hundred percent probability.

This one was only one percent—pathetically low.

Yet the words "lethal effect" stirred some unsettling thoughts.

Could it mean, regardless of realm or defense, a one percent chance of instant death upon landing a hit?

If so, this painting's effect was terrifying.

But after careful thought, Li Hao felt something was off—it seemed rather mediocre.

Against lower-rank opponents, a single gesture could kill them outright; no lethal effect was needed.

Against higher-rank opponents, they could easily detect his attack and make concealment difficult.

Only in the heat of battle, if he caught them off guard, might he land a surprise strike.

But such opportunities were rare; even if he did strike, the one percent chance made landing it unlikely, and if it did land, the sheer luck required was absurd—he'd have to walk carefully just to avoid tripping and killing himself.

Still, adding any extra trait was better than having none.

This extra power required no cultivation—it was like finding gold on the ground.

Song Song Qiumo, seeing Li Hao's delighted expression, smiled and added another piece of good news:

"Besides these, I've learned the whereabouts of another famous painting—it's said to be in the possession of a Tianren Zongshi."

"Oh?"

Li Hao's eyes brightened slightly: "Can we buy it? What are his demands?"

"I've only heard rumors—I haven't contacted the Tianren Zongshi yet, but I've tracked his movements. He should be heading to Dàyuè City in Liangzhou soon."

Song Song Qiumo said, "It's said a grand gathering was recently held in Dàyuè City, where Huang Tianji Mountain Man invited Masters from across the land to exchange Dao. The Tianren Zongshi is likely going for that event."

"Tianren Zongshi-level Dao exchange?"

Li Hao was surprised.

The *Tingyu Tower* records mentioned this event—it occurred once every sixty years.

Masters from across the land were invited to test and validate their martial Dao.

These Masters often brought their young disciples along; even merely listening from the sidelines greatly benefited their martial cultivation.

Most Masters had retreated into the mountains, cultivating in solitude, rarely stepping into the mortal world, devoting themselves entirely to their own Tianren Zongshi-level Dao. Only such grand gatherings could draw them down to exchange and prove their arts.

Rumor had it that in past gatherings, some astonishing young disciples, after listening, had immediately shattered the Heavenly Gate, leaping from Fifteen Li Realm straight into Heavenly Person Masterhood, becoming famous across the land!

Each gathering always produced one or two such prodigies.

Thus, besides the Masters, all Fifteen Li Realm geniuses rushed toward the event.

"Dàyuè City is quite far from here—even at full speed, it would take a full day to go and return…" Li Hao mused.

Song Song Qiumo said, "Dàyuè City has a city array. Though I hold an imperial travel permit issued by the Emperor Da Yu Dynasty, it's only valid within Qingzhou—I can move freely between Qingzhou cities, but to enter Liangzhou, I must first register and be vetted at the provincial capital, requiring Song Song Yufeng to vouch for me."

Li Hao knew Song Song Qiumo couldn't handle this for him.

Registration and vetting were time-consuming processes.

Especially for a Fourth-Stage Great Demon King—each province treated such beings with extreme caution.

Once a travel permit was issued and the Great Demon King entered the city, if he suddenly went on a rampage, he could destroy the entire city in moments.

By the time news of the city's destruction reached higher authorities, the Great Demon King might already have swept into another region, causing chain destruction—a massive blow to the entire province.

Moreover, the nobility and royalty within the city strongly opposed such things.

A Great Demon King was like a caged tiger let loose—even if told it wouldn't harm anyone, no one dared risk it.

Li Hao looked at Li Li Hongzhuang and said, "Aunt Li Hongzhuang, could you go to Dàyuè City for me?"

Li Li Hongzhuang hadn't expected Li Hao to be so obsessed with a single painting, but after watching him paint these past days, she could understand—this nephew seemed to pour all his focus into these fringe arts, showing little interest in cultivation.

Aside from that night, she had never seen him cultivate.

He possessed terrifying cultivation speed, yet had no interest in cultivation, yet still held the highest realm among his peers. Li Li Hongzhuang could only say: Heaven had spoon-fed him his meal and forced him to eat it.

"I'm too lazy to travel. If you want it, why don't you go yourself?" Li Li Hongzhuang said.

She had no interest in these paintings. As a child, she had loved them, even embroidering and copying them onto handkerchiefs.

But after picking up her sword, she never touched a needle again.

The only paintings in her eyes were the snowstorms beyond the pass and the countless demons she had to slay.

Li Hao sighed helplessly, then thought it over—and decided it was feasible.

In recent days, all demons within three hundred li of the pass had been wiped out by him.

Demons farther away seemed to be fleeing; the number he could hunt now was minimal.

Leaving for a few days wouldn't matter much.

"If you're going, I'll guard this place for you a few days," Song Song Qiumo said, lounging lazily on a chair padded with soft fur.

Li Hao smiled: "Thank you, Elder."

Song Song Qiumo gave him a slight side-eye, clearly displeased with the word "Elder," but said nothing.

With Song Song Qiumo watching over things, Li Hao could rest easy.

His presence here was nowhere near as effective as hers.

These past days, the lack of demons was likely because news of Song Song Qiumo's clash with the Dragon Lord had spread through the demon circles beyond the pass—now even though the Tianmen Pass stood empty, its former army long gone, it had become more terrifying than when it was garrisoned.

Unless a Demon King personally came, risking a bounty, this place would remain unshakable!

"Then, Ren Qianqian, get ready—we're going to Dàyuè City. There's a Martial Temple there; you can go and inherit your soul there too," Li Hao said, rising.

Ren Ren Qianqian's eyes brightened slightly, and she quickly replied.

Li Hao rubbed the white fox's head: "You've reached the Soul Inheritance realm—where should you go to inherit your soul?"

(End of Chapter)