Chapter 50: A Half-Day of Idle Ease

In Jia Courtyard, after half a month of living together, the fifty students had grown familiar with one another.

At the very least, they could call each other by name.

“Yuanzhao, your Divine General’s Mansion folks are truly formidable—you’re newcomers, yet nearly swept the top ten.”

Sitting on the grass, the slender Du Qiuyue sighed to Li Yuanzhao.

She was an upperclassman, eighteen this year, at the prime of her youth, yet already considered an “elder” within Jia Courtyard.

Before the term began, she was still among the top ten on the Martial Rank List; now she had slipped beyond fifteenth place.

It’s just that this year’s newcomers are too fierce—seven alone from the Divine General’s Mansion, plus two imperial princes, making comparison impossible.

There’s also the child of a Grand Master, a princess from some city—all with terrifying backgrounds, totaling thirteen in all.

We upperclassmen trained for years to reach Zhou Tian Realm’s peak, yet these newcomers arrive already at Zhou Tian Realm’s peak, or nearly so, entering with immense family backing.

And though their realms are the same, differences in their cultivation methods and meridian-opening techniques cause their power to differ by nearly double—they’re no match at all, thoroughly shaken by these scions of the highest Da Yu authority.

“Not bad—I’m only sixth, still a bit short.” Li Yuanzhao scratched his head.

“...”

Du Qiuyue fell silent.

Beside her, Zheng Bai, a young master from Liangzhou, gave a bitter smile.

As a newcomer too, he ranked only thirty-eighth.

Only these sky-high-background types can bully the upperclassmen; us noble family sons still must behave properly and accept the upperclassmen’s guidance.

Inside the courtyard, someone was practicing techniques.

Du Qiuyue gazed at the Martial Rank List, her eyes complex.

Of the current top five, only one upperclassman clung on, seemingly representing the last shred of dignity for all of us.

The two imperial princes rank first and second—the royal meridian-opening and qi-circulation techniques are unmatched worldwide, and naturally, they’ve trained them.

Third is Wang Han of the Tianzhao Divine General’s Mansion; upon seeing his name, Du Qiuyue’s gaze shifted slightly—outside the princes, Wang Han is currently the most feared in Jia Courtyard.

Though only fifteen, his strikes are ruthless and decisive, his techniques ferocious, unlike anyone else—he looks as if he’s been baptized in blood and fire.

Someone dug up that this Wang Han apparently served for a year in the Mo River Office.

Fourth is the Grand Master’s daughter; rumor says she’s already awakened the Sword Heart, her swordplay divine and terrifying.

Fifth is that upperclassman, formerly the top-ranked martial artist, whose spear technique has reached the supreme perfect level; yesterday he narrowly defeated Li Yuanzhao by half a move.

Beside him, Li Yuanzhao ranks sixth, followed by his two fellow clan siblings, Li Yun and Li Zhining.

“Strange—where’s your Hao-ge?”

Du Qiuyue shifted her gaze, scanning the courtyard curiously.

She was more intrigued by Li Hao—after all, Li Yuanzhao constantly called him “Hao-ge,” and anyone could see how deeply Li Yuanzhao respected that boy his own age.

That alone was astonishing.

Yet every time class ended, he vanished like a flash, as if rushing to the latrine.

In these spontaneous sparring sessions or Martial Rank challenges, they’d never once seen him—he seemed detached from Jia Courtyard entirely.

Even during lessons, whenever she glanced his way, he was either napping face-down or scribbling on something book-shaped.

So diligent? She’d initially admired him secretly, until one accidental glance revealed the book held not a single character—only sketches.

Drawings of monstrous beasts, mostly aquatic ones…

Also interspersed were sketches of Teacher Su Ye, many of them, some with cat ears and tails, depicting Su Ye as a half-transformed beast.

It was pure nonsense.

Yet even so, Du Qiuyue could tell the artistry was exquisite, lifelike—impossible to achieve casually; he must have labored intensely.

But everyone here is a martial cultivator—who has time for such frivolity?

“Hao-ge probably went out to play.” Li Yuanzhao shrugged.

He was long used to Li Hao’s ways—train with us? Ha! Even his mother’s desperate pleading hadn’t drawn him to the training ground.

Since childhood, Hao-ge never mixed with kids his age unless they went looking for him.

“Play…” Hearing Li Yuanzhao say it so casually, Du Qiuyue and Zheng Bai were stunned.

Whips on their buttocks and vines on their backs had long branded “diligence” into them.

Play?

They wanted to—but dared not.

As their fathers said:

“You’re playing with time now; later, you’ll be playing with your life!”

“If you can’t endure hardship, how can you rise above others?”

“The family’s prosperity rests entirely on you—if you slack off, how can you face your ancestors?!”

“Play” was such a frivolous word, yet so distant from them—like a taboo, unspeakable.

“Won’t he join the Martial Rank List? If he doesn’t, students from Yi Courtyard will challenge him—he’ll be demoted to Yi Courtyard.” Du Qiuyue hesitated.

Li Yuanzhao narrowed his eyes slightly: “Who dares? If anyone challenges Hao-ge, I’ll drop to Yi Courtyard myself and challenge them right back!” Du Qiuyue: “...”

Zheng Bai: “...”

Damn, that’s downright tyrannical.

“You’re backed by the Divine General’s Mansion—no one dares challenge you, but next year’s Mo River Trial will be up to you alone.”

Du Qiuyue muttered bitterly: “Outside, for demon-slaying missions, you can rely on your family’s hidden elite guards—but the Mo River Trial demands you go alone, no companions allowed; the trial river permits only one person at a time.”

“That’s true.”

Li Yuanzhao frowned slightly, then thought: “I’ll tell Hao-ge about this later.”

Du Qiuyue had no reply—the Divine General’s Mansion’s young master clearly didn’t care about this at all?...

Behind Jia Courtyard, atop a waterfall.

Two figures sat on the cliff’s edge above the waterfall, drinking wine and playing Go, chatting and laughing.

Suddenly, a figure leapt from the waterfall’s base, soaring over the fifty-zhang drop without a single drop of water touching him, landing before them holding two skewered wild rabbits.

“You little rascal…” The two elders playing Go laughed, then sniffed: “Smells delicious!”

Li Hao handed the roasted rabbits to the two elders and grinned: “Try them.”

The two playing Go were Zhao Zongyuan and Shen Yun, both instructors in Jia Courtyard—over the past half-month, Li Hao’s cooking had utterly conquered them.

“Tsk, your cooking is truly impressive,” Shen Yun bit into a rabbit, unable to stop praising.

Right now, both were smiling and relaxed—but during class, they always wore stern, authoritative teacher faces; even the two princes had to behave properly before them.

The princes were noble, but those who came to Tan Palace Academy weren’t necessarily favored—they might not even outlive their instructors—so the two didn’t need to grovel before the golden token at their waists.

“You’ve lost two games to me today—shouldn’t you go train now?”

Zhao Zongyuan, chewing the rabbit, eyed the eager Li Hao and said.

He loved Go… but hated losing.

Playing with Shen the Fat was more pleasant—he didn’t have to strain so hard, and he could still win.

“Training is boring—it’s not like the Black-and-White Palace’s martial arts,” Li Hao said.

“You just arrived and already want ultimate techniques? How dreamy.”

Both elders shook their heads helplessly—when Li Hao first came to play Go, they’d tested his martial skill; he wasn’t a dissolute noble brat, even more formidable than most in Jia Courtyard.

Yet this boy showed zero interest in martial training; whenever they tried to give him private lessons, he’d turn around and scold them: “You’re about to lose—why are you wasting time on other nonsense?”

“Can’t you take this seriously? Pick up the pieces! Pick up the pieces!”

“Shall I give you five stones?”

The two elders were half-broken—both annoyed and fond of Li Hao.

“Shen Lao, the wine.”

Li Hao gestured toward Shen Yun’s waist: “You owe me two sips—you haven’t given them yet.”

Shen Yun’s lip twitched—he’d only been sharing with Zhao Zongyuan, now another mouth to feed, his Drunken Breeze Brew was nearly gone.

But a gambler accepts his loss—he snorted and tossed the wine gourd to Li Hao: “Take it easy—you’re still young.”

Li Hao grinned, uncorked the gourd, and drank two big gulps, then wiped his mouth and sighed contentedly: “Tastes truly excellent.”

He could brew fine wine himself—cooking the Six Paths covered a vast range—but it took too long, and he was lazy.

Seeing Li Hao’s casual, carefree demeanor, the two elders could only shrug and resume eating their rabbits.

Li Hao returned the wine gourd to Shen Yun, patted his backside, and said: “I’ll come again tomorrow.”

With that, he leapt—his figure like wind—landing on the white rocks beyond the waterfall.

Then he strolled off, humming a tune, leisurely disappearing.

He’d climbed the waterfall only for two sips of wine and to deliver rabbits as a gift to the elders.

“This kid…” Watching his back, both elders sighed—they’d never seen such a strange boy.

“By the way, the movement he just used—wasn’t that your upper-class White Phoenix Art?” Zhao Zongyuan asked.

Shen Yun chewed the rabbit, mumbling: “Correct—and this kid’s already perfected it. I really wonder if he truly mastered the Wind-Cutting Fist the very same day…”

“Mastered to perfection in half a month…”

Zhao Zongyuan pondered, murmuring: “Could the Li family’s official announcement have been a cover-up? The Xing Wu Hou has long been stationed on the frontier, and his wife isn’t around either…”

The sentence didn’t need completion.

Shen Yun swallowed the rabbit meat, drank a gulp of wine, sighed so deeply his eyebrows nearly fell off: “Noble houses are as deep as oceans—who knows? But this boy is undoubtedly a prodigy. Next year at the Mo River, he’ll surely astonish everyone.”

Zhao Zongyuan nodded slightly, not denying it—only time would tell if Li Hao was willing to show himself.

Suddenly, he noticed Li Hao’s silhouette disappearing around the corner, and raised an eyebrow: “This kid, did he take the wrong direction?”

“Huh? Didn’t you tell him that way leads to the Dead River?”

(End of Chapter)