[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity":3,"chapter-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-38":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Name That Echoes Through Eternity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282587,4466,"Chapter 38: Tan Palace Academy","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>The era name \"Qingyuan\" was established in the year Li Hao was born, a clear sign of Emperor Yu’s profound favor toward the Li family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This dynasty, standing for over three thousand years, still resembled a mighty lion—though gradually aging and weakening, its accumulated prestige remained deep, safeguarding much of the nation’s peace and ensuring that demons and monsters from the eight corners dared not trespass upon its lands, while the vassal states that bowed in submission continued their annual tributes! In this year, the eighty-six-year-old veteran general Jiang Tianshou marched out amid the cheers of border villagers, leading over thirty thousand imperial iron cavalry; within just three days, he eradicated one hundred thousand tiger and leopard demons from the border, expanded territory by a thousand li, and became famous throughout the nineteen provinces!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this year, the twelve-year-old prodigy Mingyue Sword breached the Nine Gates of Tianmen and, as a direct disciple, entered Qiandao Palace to hear the Sage’s teachings, stirring the entire realm!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That same year, the old master who had secluded himself on Wanshan Mountain for thirty years descended the mountain and fought a duel by Chishui Lake, drawing spectators from across the land—but no one ever learned who won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, deep autumn in the tenth month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dry yellow leaves blanketed the land of Qingzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivation holy site of Qingzhou City, known as “Yue Xian Men,” the Tan Palace Academy, opened its gates after six years of closure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The news swept through every province.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless young elites, princelings and princesses, like fish crossing a river, flocked from all corners of the realm to compete for this honor and opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet within Qingzhou City, in a small courtyard near Tan Palace Academy, a young lad sat leisurely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He listened to the rustle of falling leaves, brewed a pot of green tea, and quietly played a game of weiqi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if the clamor and struggle outside the courtyard,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had nothing to do with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fifth Master, you lost again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black stone fell, sealing the last escape route of the white stones—checkmate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young lad lifted his teacup, took a sip, and smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lips were red, his teeth white, his eyes bright as stars—clear yet profound; his youthful face had soft yet distinct contours, his pale skin, untouched by sunlight, carried a cool, moonlike hue; his fingers, holding the stones, were long and strong, nails translucent, flawless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, the old man across the board twitched his lips, frowned intently at the board, found no escape, and angrily tossed his white stone back into the weiqi box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You brat, your weiqi skill keeps improving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifth Master Li Qingzheng said, praising the boy but his gaze was deeply resentful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had devoted most of his life to weiqi, his proudest art—and now this boy had repeatedly defeated him, leaving him barely able to win a single game, filling him with frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s all thanks to your practice, Fifth Master,” said the boy—Li Hao—who grinned humbly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You little rascal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qingzheng shot him a disgruntled glare, wanting another game, yet looking at the board, he felt deflated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still didn’t understand how he’d lost that last game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the crunch of crushed dry leaves sounded, and a white figure darted over, leaping straight into the boy’s arms—a white fox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fox’s ears were crimson-orange, two vivid streaks adding liveliness to its appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao rubbed the fox snuggling in his arms, sniffed, and frowned: “Why do you smell of medicine? Where did you sneak off to steal again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fox buried its head deeper into his chest, avoiding his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Li Hao heard footsteps and looked up—a young woman in green robes ran over, a maid of sixteen or seventeen, bright-eyed and lovely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She panted as she reached the pavilion, bowed low upon seeing Li Qingzheng, greeted him, then hurriedly told Li Hao: “Young Master, Xiao Rou ran off to Auntie’s kitchen again and knocked over her complexion tonic—Changchun Courtyard is now searching everywhere for the culprit…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao was speechless, pulled the fox’s head out of his arms, and scolded: “I told you not to be so mischievous—do you want another beating?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fox strained to turn its head away, unable to meet Li Hao’s eyes, as if aware of its wrongdoing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you keep this up, I’ll hand you over to Auntie—she’ll strip every last hair off your body!” Li Hao threatened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fox, imagining the scene, trembled violently, turned its head back, and gazed at Li Hao with pitiful eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve reached Zhou Tian realm—how come you still can’t speak?” Li Hao sighed, gazing at the fox’s forlorn expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the maid, Qingzhi: “Later, go apologize to Auntie on my behalf, take her a plate of my purple perilla cakes, and—did you buy the cotton jade oil pastries today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qingzhi pouted softly: “Again? Every time it causes trouble, I’m the one who gets scolded.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing—I’ll go buy the cotton jade oil pastries right away,” Qingzhi said quickly, then vanished like a streak of green cloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That little maid is getting more and more disrespectful,” Li Hao said, lifting his tea, shaking his head in exasperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qingzheng glanced at him: “How many people in your courtyard are even proper?” Li Hao nearly spat out his tea, staring blankly at the old man: “Fifth Master, don’t say things like that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qingzheng snorted: “Your servants stand like lazy bums, your maids run like madwomen—go look at other courtyards; where is there such chaos? Even this little fox demon is mischievous—it’ll get caught and boiled one day. It’s all because the top is crooked, so the bottom follows. And it’s all your fault—you were destined for greatness, yet you insist on messing things up. Can our family’s ancestors really not compare to some demon dragon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he grew furious, puffing his cheeks and glaring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this matter, years past, still rankled him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At age eight, Li Hao could have entered Jihun realm—but deliberately delayed it for a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the ancestral elders in the clan hall could no longer wait and sent someone to find him, they discovered Li Hao had already entered Jihun realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had severed a dragon’s spirit using a body-refining art and inherited its soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he inherited a dragon soul, how could a mere young dragon compare to the Li family’s illustrious ancestors?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, inherited souls carry their nature—inherit a demon soul, and you risk becoming murderous and cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, over these years, Li Hao had shown no such traits—likely due to his long hours playing weiqi with me… he stroked his beard, satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet that demon dragon soul had lowered Li Hao’s Jihun potential, dooming him to only middling-to-high rank within Jihun realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to most Jihun cultivators, he was decent—but against the top Jihun cultivators of other sects, he paled in comparison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, their soul manifestations were ancestral elders of Four Standing realm; his was a demon dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And their ancestors had slain countless demon dragons in life—their soul manifestations alone carried the aura of dragon-slaying, likely enough to terrify Li Hao into collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Li Qingzheng’s anger swelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancestral elders in the clan hall were equally furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a Li family scion, inheriting a demon dragon soul—where was their dignity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some elders even proposed punishing Li Hao severely, locking him in the Li family’s heavenly prison to teach him a lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Li Mu, who had long accompanied Li Hao as his unofficial guardian, was scolded one by one by the ancestors…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Second Brother deserved it! He spoiled this brat too much, indulged him too deeply, never disciplined him—hence his lawlessness!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not for Li Hao’s exceptional weiqi skill, he would have beaten him soundly long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Li Qingzheng’s anger flared again as he stared at the board.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How had he lost again?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since leaving the ancestral hall, he felt his decades-long tranquil mind was growing increasingly turbulent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I feel fine—my servants are comfortable, and so am I.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao gave the old man a sheepish smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re so lax, your servants are lax too—wait until your father returns, see how he deals with you,” Li Qingzheng snorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao said: “What if he forbids me from playing weiqi with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He dares!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qingzheng instantly glared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao chuckled. Just then, footsteps approached—these were not Qingzhi’s light steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up in surprise and saw a familiar face—Xuejian from Changchun Courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Years had passed; the once-girl had grown into a woman of quiet dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind her walked two maids, heads bowed, footsteps silent—far more disciplined than his own servants… and far more exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Fifth Master present, Xuejian bowed deeply. Though inwardly surprised, she glanced at Li Hao—everyone in the mansion knew this young master of Shanhe Courtyard did nothing but idle, yet he got along well with both old masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, Madam sent me to inform you: Tan Palace Academy has opened this year. Here is the invitation sent to the mansion—I’ve brought you a copy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuejian bowed low and handed Li Hao an invitation with a black-and-white yin-yang design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she may not have held him in high regard, her demeanor was flawless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Hao had long known this girl possessed impeccable judgment; he smiled, took it, then casually tossed it beside the mat: “Thank you, Miss Xuejian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuejian’s eyes flickered downward, seeing the priceless invitation—coveted by warriors across the realm—discarded so carelessly. She thought of the young master’s nature, just as Madam had predicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1602,"2026-06-20T02:15:40.176Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0f68e750e8e60736410bd845bf3751a8af9ed5deb134a896d2a9a8642600faa1","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-39","the-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-chapter-37",929,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-name-that-echoes-through-eternity-cover.jpg"]