Chapter 20: Comprehensive Body Refinement

As Jian Wudao led Bian Ruxue away, a crowd of ladies and madams from all the courtyards accompanied them, their fluttering figures pressing forward in hopes of saying a word before departure.

Some even arranged for their children to practice swordplay along the path out of the mansion.

But none managed to catch Jian Wudao’s attention.

The Sword Hut was not easy to enter, which was why everyone craved so desperately to step inside.

The vibrant colors of the courtyard seemed to drain away with the departure of the ladies, returning to the quiet emptiness of falling autumn leaves.

Li Hao stood silently, holding the sword Bian Ruxue had practiced with, gazing at the courtyard gate for a long, long time before slowly lowering his gaze.

He then handed the sword to Li Fu behind him and said, “Fu Bo, put it on the sword rack in my bedroom—no need for the maids to clean it daily.”

Li Fu took the sword with a heavy heart, studying Li Hao’s profile, his eyes filled with pity and a touch of guilt, and said lowly, “Starting today, I won’t indulge you anymore. I’m taking away your chessboard—you must cultivate!”

Li Hao blinked in surprise. “Fu Bo, you don’t think I wasn’t taken as a disciple by that old man because of chess, do you? That’s unjust!”

“I don’t care.”

Li Fu’s face darkened. “Good horses are common, but connoisseurs are rare. When opportunity comes to your doorstep and you fail to seize it, it’s because you weren’t prepared enough. From now on, you must always be at your best, waiting for the one or two chances that may come.”

“Opportunities in life are scarce—once missed, what future can you possibly have?”

Li Hao protested. Seeing Li Fu was serious, he asked, “Then Fu Bo, what do you call having a future?”

“A Li family son must earn fame across the land, guard the borders, and defend the people of the nation—that is having a future!” Li Fu replied solemnly without hesitation.

“Then being a Li is too hard,” Li Hao muttered bitterly.

“Since you bear the Li name and enjoy this boundless wealth, you must shoulder this responsibility,” Li Fu said coldly.

Had he truly enjoyed it? Li Hao smiled inwardly, then remembered the pastries and fresh fruits sent by Fifth Lady, the nourishing porridge from First Lady—it was true, he had enjoyed some of it.

“Fu Bo, when you say cultivate, you mean body refinement?”

“Of course.”

Li Fu gave him a look that said: besides body refinement, what other path do you have? Body refinement isn’t popular because it’s grueling, has a low ceiling, and demands exceptional insight paired with precise techniques to compete with other experts.

Those forced into body refinement sometimes endure the suffering, but rarely possess sufficient insight.

After all, painful refinement may sculpt beauty—or twist the soul.

After a long back-and-forth, Li Hao and Li Fu reached an agreement: Li Hao would cultivate, but his chessboard would not be taken away—he must be allowed to play daily.

Li Fu reluctantly agreed, planning to wait until Li Hao had truly begun cultivation before acting further.

In the days that followed, Li Hao was forced to spend time cultivating according to a basic body refinement manual Li Fu had given him.

But with his understanding of the Body Dao, he progressed rapidly, astonishing Li Fu—who hadn’t expected Li Hao to be such a promising body refinement talent.

Li Hao slightly slowed his progress, fearing Li Fu would deprive him of all leisure time, and took three months to reach peak mastery of the basic manual.

Even so, this achievement moved the battle-hardened man to tears; he wrote a letter that very night to Yanbei, sharing the good news with the couple on the northern frontier.

And after the slow, persistent accumulation of water wearing away stone, Li Hao’s chess skill finally advanced.

【Name: Li Hao】

【Age: 7】

【Cultivation Base: Tongli Realm, Level 10】

【Sword Dao: Level 2 (Flying Segment) (Hidden Bow)】

【Skills: Hai Wu Ya · Tides (Perfected), Falling Snow Sword Art (Perfected)】

【Body Dao: Level 1 (Myriad Phenomena) (Tiger Press)】

【Skills: Stone Skin Hundred Refinements (Mastery), Thousand Serpent Sacred Body (Minor Serpent Body Achieved), Tai Chu (Star Body Entry), Mighty Ox Force (Mastery)】

【Chess Dao: Level 4 (1/10000)】

【Chess Manuscript Collection: Myriad Phenomena, Tiger Press, Flying Segment, Hidden Bow】

【Mindset: Chess Heart】

【Art Point: 1】

Li Hao glanced at Li Fu, who never left his side, and chose not to immediately spend his Art Point.

Sword Dao was easy enough—just memory infusion—but he wanted to use this Art Point on Body Dao first, to secure his strength before anything else.

Insights into Body Dao inevitably altered his body refinement manuals and triggered physical changes—too dramatic to risk in public.

That day.

Li Hao followed Li Fu to Tingyu Tower.

Learning of Li Hao’s talent in body refinement, He Jianlan granted him special privilege: he could enter and exit Tingyu Tower at will to select manuals.

Of course, Li Fu could not enter.

Though he was Li Tiangang’s trusted retainer, he was not a core bloodline member of the Li family—his status was different.

Li Fu didn’t mind. Tingyu Tower was a Li family stronghold; though no guards were visible nearby, no one would dare steal or plunder here.

It was safer than any lady’s courtyard.

Li Fu waited below as Li Hao ascended alone. He was now old enough to be responsible; He Jianlan had dismissed Xuejian from accompanying or monitoring him—he went up alone.

Li Hao heard the Sword Saint had delivered a body refinement manual two months ago, stored on the sixth floor, and headed straight there.

Soon, he found a new manual that hadn’t been there before.

《Dragon Cicada Void Body》

Li Hao flipped through it.

With his Level 1 Body Dao understanding, he grasped its fundamentals quickly.

Collected.

Instantly, the panel added this body refinement technique, and it advanced to Level 2 Mastery.

Dragon Cicada Void Body has six layers; each layer refines a different aspect of the body.

Layer One: Still Cicada Body—allows perception of subtle air currents flowing over the skin.

Layer Two: Crouching Dragon Body—accumulates dragon-elephant strength within.

Layer Three: Leap Shell Body—enables stepping through air.

…

His body emitted faint creaks; Li Hao felt a new force surging within—estimated at over ten thousand jin!

Though still at Tongli Realm Level 10, his strength dwarfed that of ordinary cultivators in the same realm.

Li Hao pondered: if he cultivated more body refinement manuals, could he accumulate even greater strength? He acted on the thought, immediately searching through every floor of Tingyu Tower.

Soon, he found seven or eight body refinement manuals—all mid- to high-grade, each capable of bringing one to the threshold of a top-tier martial artist when mastered.

As each manual was collected into his panel, Li Hao felt his body undergo strange changes—his limbs grew harder, denser.

His cultivation base on the panel remained unchanged; he expected his strength to rise further, but it didn’t. Yet these manuals focused on different areas: claw techniques, leg training, bone tempering, organ refinement.

He sensed his overall strength hadn’t increased much, but these specific areas had undergone qualitative enhancements.

Li Hao deduced: his body was already so strong that most of his innate physical power had been unlocked; thus, these lesser manuals couldn’t stimulate further strength—but they could strengthen specific body parts.

His Stone Skin Hundred Refinements manual enhanced skin hardness, but its effect was overshadowed by the Thousand Serpent Sacred Body’s Serpent Skin.

The Serpent Skin’s enhancement resembled dragon scales—far superior to Stone Skin Hundred Refinements—so the latter’s effects were barely noticeable.

But these other body refinement manuals covered areas untouched by the six-floor manuals he’d already mastered.

Bones, liver, ears, eyeballs—all improved.

His raw strength hadn’t changed much, but his combat power transformed utterly.

Li Hao realized: he needed to gather diverse body refinement techniques, refining every part of himself. If he could bring every limb and organ to the same high standard, he would be flawless! At that moment, the vast depth of Tingyu Tower’s collection truly struck him—how invaluable it was for a martial artist.

Few chess manuals, but body refinement manuals? There were countless! Li Hao eagerly scoured the tower, collecting them one by one.

Time passed.

By sunset, Li Hao emerged from the tower holding one body refinement manual.

Distant crows glided across the horizon; faint aromas of food and woodsmoke drifted from the front courtyard—it was time for dinner.

Li Hao stretched, loosening his muscles.

The tower held too many manuals; he’d spent the entire afternoon and found only one-tenth of them—and only among body refinement texts.

He hadn’t collected every manual; for instance, the Mighty Ox Force manual Li Fu had forced him to practice offered no improvement—it was overwritten by stronger techniques.

For example, if two manuals were both claw techniques, mastering the stronger one rendered the weaker one useless, since the superior one had already refined the hands to a high level.

Unless the weaker manual targeted a different area, it could still complement the stronger one.

“You finally came out.”

Seeing Li Hao emerge, Li Fu sighed. He’d waited all afternoon—had the boy been overwhelmed by choice?

He picked up the manual Li Hao held: a mid-grade body refinement text, 《Dragon Spine》—clearly focused on the back.

“You picked this?” Li Fu said, slightly exasperated. “Didn’t you go to the sixth floor?”

“I did. Couldn’t understand it.” Li Hao replied casually.

Li Fu nodded—it made sense. The sixth-floor manuals were top-grade; even he needed months of grueling cultivation to grasp even a fraction.

“Don’t rush to practice this one. I’ll ask First Lady later—see if there’s a more balanced manual suited for you. This one’s too specialized.”

Li Fu hoped Li Hao would cultivate a comprehensive body refinement technique, strengthening the whole body evenly, avoiding glaring weaknesses.

“Fine,” Li Hao agreed without protest. “Let’s go eat—I’m starving. What’s for dinner tonight?”

Li Fu sighed inwardly at Li Hao’s lack of seriousness toward martial arts; the two turned and left the front of Tingyu Tower.

Soon, they met an old man wearing a straw hat, carrying a fishing rod on his shoulder and a fish basket in hand, dressed plainly, utterly ordinary.

Li Fu’s eyes narrowed; his expression turned solemn. He halted, stepped aside, and bowed respectfully. “Li Fu greets Second Uncle.”

(End of Chapter)