Chapter 33: Inheriting the Soul

“That mischievous monkey…”

Li Hao broke apart the crispy biscuit, savoring it slowly as he told the three eager little ones the next part of the story.

In the pavilion, Zhao Bo and Li Fu watched from afar, both offering helpless smiles.

The young master must have picked up these storybooks from somewhere—if only he applied this same passion to body cultivation, he would surely achieve great things in the future.

But after watching Li Hao’s carefree nature for so long, they had come to accept it, letting things unfold naturally, just as the second master had said: the vast Li family didn’t lack another body cultivation expert, but the child might lack a happy childhood—after all, without parents beside him, this was likely the only joy he had.

As the sun set into twilight, the story ended, and Li Hao shooed away the three little ones, adding a warning to the most restless among them, Li Yun:

“Go home and behave yourself—don’t get beaten by your mother again.”

Earlier, when he heard the part about causing chaos in heaven, he had been ecstatic, already showing rebelliousness at such a young age—he’d argued with his mother about switching from sword to staff—but under his mother’s direct guidance, he’d ultimately decided the sword suited him better.

“Mm.” Li Yun’s face flushed red as he sprinted off.

“Big Brother Hao, I’ll come see you again tomorrow,” said his sister Li Zhining with a soft, gentle smile.

“Big Brother Hao…” Little Fatty Li Yuan also opened his mouth, then hesitated.

“Go on, scram.”

Li Hao waved them all away.

After the children had left the back courtyard, Li Hao settled his mind and resumed painting.

After gaining dozens of painting cultivation points, the moon had risen over the horizon.

After dinner with Li Fu and Zhao Bo, Li Hao returned to his room and opened a martial arts book he’d taken from Tingyu Tower.

This book was not a cultivation technique, but a general introduction to the various realms.

“The Realm of Inheriting the Soul—literally, inheriting the ancestral soul!”

“Without background, ordinary cultivators may enter a Martial Temple; if blessed by the spirit of a hero, they may inherit it.”

Alternatively, joining the military allows one to honor the spirits of fallen soldiers from Emperor Da Yu’s countless wars, receiving a fragment of their heroic soul’s legacy!

“Also, joining renowned mountains, masters, or sects—there are ancestral heroic souls within as well…”

Li Hao flipped through the pages in silence, his eyes gleaming.

He called up his panel.

【Name: Li Hao】

【Age: 8】

【Cultivation Base: Zhou Tian Realm, Level 10】

【Sword Dao: Stage 3 (Flying Segment) (Hidden Bow)】

【Sword Techniques: Sea Without Shore · Tides (Perfected), Falling Snow Sword Art (True Form)】

【Body Dao: Stage 5 (Myriad Phenomena) (Tiger Press)】

【Body Techniques: Stone Skin Thousand Refinements (True Form), Thousand Serpent Sacred Body Level 4 (Entry to Thousand Serpent Body), Primordial Three Level 3 (Completion of Void Body), Dragon Cicada Void Body Level 4 (Entry to Dragon Soul Body)…】

【Control Dao: Stage 3】

[Control Techniques: Heavenly Gang Zhou Tian Technique (Perfected), Hundred Battles Zhou Tian Technique (Perfected), Dragon River Divine Vein (Perfected), Nine Turns Star Technique (Perfected)...]

【Chess Dao: Stage 4 (28/10000)】

【Fishing Dao: Stage 2 (97/1000)】

【Painting Dao: Stage 2 (231/1000)】

【Cooking Dao: Stage 2 (736/1000)】

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

【Fishing Spectrum Collection: None】

【Famous Painting Collection: Thousand Mountains with Flying Birds, Snow Mountain Spirit Fox, Qilin Steed】

【Cooking Recipe Collection: None】

【Mental State: Chess Heart (Embedded)】

【Art Technique Points: 0】

…

His panel was now clearly longer than before; even after omitting dozens of body cultivation techniques, it remained densely packed. The six Art Technique Points gained from Painting, Cooking, and Fishing had all been spent—his Body Dao had risen from Stage 3 to Stage 5, and when crossing from Stage 3 to 4, he’d encountered a threshold like in Chess Dao, requiring inner attunement to advance further.

At this point, prompted by the panel, the previously condensed Chess Heart could now be embedded, just like a chess spectrum.

Yet even after successfully embedding the Chess Heart into Body Dao and passing the threshold, his love for chess showed no decline.

Conversely, though Body Dao had passed the mental barrier, his affection for Body Dao had not increased either—it remained exactly as before.

The panel could transfer mental states, but it could not transfer emotional power.

When Body Dao reached Stage 4, the numerous low-grade body cultivation techniques he’d previously mastered underwent strange transformations, evolving into higher-tier methods on their original foundations.

Stone Skin Hundred Refinements became Stone Skin Thousand Refinements; Ox Strength became Ox Demon Mighty Strength—the techniques strengthened, their effects amplified, granting massive boosts to his body.

The same occurred with many other low-grade techniques, causing new transformations and enhancements across all his organs—his raw physical strength alone now reached eighty thousand jin. Several supreme body cultivation techniques, though unchanged in rank, had all advanced to Level 4.

Yet at Level 4, he encountered special limitations.

Purely relying on heavenly energy could no longer satisfy the cultivation conditions of these supreme techniques—even if his Body Dao advanced further to Stage 5, the external requirements remained unremovable.

For example, to cultivate Thousand Serpent Sacred Body Level 4, he must personally slay a dragon, capture its soul, refine himself, and subjugate and imprison its dragon soul to break through Zhou Tian and enter the Realm of Inheriting the Soul.

Dragon Cicada Void Body was the same—Level 4, Dragon Soul Body, required a single drop of true dragon blood to complete.

Without resolving these external conditions, no matter how much body cultivation insight he gained—even if he knew exactly how to practice—it was like a skilled housewife unable to cook without rice: powerless.

Fortunately, these two cultivation requirements were not difficult for Li Hao to fulfill.

If he asked, Li Mu would solve them in an instant.

But the inheritance methods of these two body cultivation techniques were unconventional paths—even if successful, they would only place him in the middle tier of the Realm of Inheriting the Soul, far from outstanding.

The strength of the Realm of Inheriting the Soul depended entirely on the power of the ancestral soul inherited.

Thus, major sects still held overwhelming advantages, creating vast gaps between themselves and ordinary cultivators.

For instance, renowned mountain masters could guide their direct disciples to kneel before the ancestral spirit hall—if fortune favored them, they could receive the ancestral soul’s legacy and ascend instantly—this was the highest tier.

After all, those capable of leaving behind soul legacies were ancient monsters, at least Fourth Standing Realm beings who had defied heaven and altered fate!

Such power was rare even across all of Da Yu.

A single fragment of their soul’s legacy was like a key to a treasure vault—endless benefits.

Without such background or lineage, cultivators had no choice but to rely on exceptional talent, seek out renowned masters, or settle for inheriting power at a Martial Temple.

The heroic souls in Martial Temples were all legendary figures of great merit, varying in strength and quality—success depended entirely on the inheritor’s own talent and character, and which hero chose to favor them.

Lastly came the likes of dragons, demons, mountain spirits, and other monstrous beings.

These great monsters were not stingy with granting souls, but the soul fragments of mountain spirits and ghosts were too weak, offering only limited inheritances.

Born into the Li family, Li Hao had countless options—the best being the Li Family Ancestral Hall.

There, the Li family’s ancestral spirits were enshrined—from the founding general who helped Emperor Da Yu carve out the Da Yu realm, to over a dozen generations since, none lacked supreme strength.

Moreover, due to bloodline ties, inheritance was easier—this was one reason why martial clans endured through the ages.

What is “foundation”? It is the ability to pass down legacies layer upon layer.

After successfully inheriting in the Li Family Ancestral Hall and continuing to cultivate these two supreme body techniques—capturing the dragon soul and true dragon soul fragment—it would merely strengthen himself, not alter the fundamental gap.

Yet before that, Li Hao planned to further enrich his accumulated foundation.

Control Dao, as he suspected, corresponded to normal cultivation.

Breathing methods, meridian opening—future Control Soul in the Realm of Inheriting the Soul, even Divine Travel Realm, would largely depend on Control Dao.

With Control Dao at Stage 3, he had fully cultivated both of the Li family’s supreme breathing techniques, achieving perfection.

Others, even prodigies, dared cultivate only one—each technique required re-cultivating Zhou Tian Realm Level 10!

But with Control Dao Stage 3’s insight, Li Hao accomplished it effortlessly, completing it in mere trials.

These two supreme breathing techniques differed slightly from the body cultivation breathing methods naturally tied to his body techniques, resulting in minimal overlap—instead, they intersected extensively, producing an astonishing outcome.

Li Hao’s breathing Zhou Tian cycles surged from 143 to…

248! Yes, an astonishing figure—exceeding the imperial family’s Celestial Zhou Tian Technique’s 168 by a full 80 cycles!

(End of Chapter)