Chapter 6: The Three Sacred Sites

Moreover, as his sword Dao improved, Li Hao’s mastery of the “Sea Without Shore: Tides” advanced from (Perfect) to (Supreme)! The rich memories of sword techniques made him feel as if he had wielded a sword for decades.

The Tide Sword Art, once perfected to its peak, now revealed flaws in his eyes.

These were flaws inherent to the technique itself.

Or rather, the limitations inherent to this particular sword move.

After all, no sword technique can cover every possibility.

Like a perfectly crafted staff—capable of slashing and smashing—but unable to cut.

Now, through his own insights into the Dao of the Sword, Li Hao had compensated for that one missing element.

Li Hao recalled the military sword instructor who had taught Li Ganfeng—how the man had said that beyond the three traditional levels, there existed a fourth.

Now, Li Hao had reached that fourth level: Supreme!

But.

Though his sword Dao had improved and the Tide Sword Art had reached Supreme, Li Hao had never once practiced it.

He had only refined it to its utmost in his mind.

Yet, Li Hao felt that if he held a sword in hand, he could unleash it exactly as he envisioned.

But how much strain it would impose on his body, he could not predict.

His current child’s body was far too fragile—even if he one day reached adulthood, an ordinary physique would likely be unable to bear the weight of that dazzling sword technique.

He needed an exceptionally strong body.

“No matter how refined a sword technique, if you cannot wield it, it is merely moonlight reflected in water.”

“Perhaps I should find a body-refining scripture—wonder if it can be recorded…”

The Li family’s martial arts manuals were countless and comprehensive.

All were stored in the Listening Rain Tower within the Divine General’s Mansion.

In Qingzhou City, there were three world-renowned sacred sites, coveted by countless martial cultivators.

One was the Black-and-White Hall of Tan Gong Academy; another, the Hundred Sparrows Garden of Yanzhi Pavilion; the third, the Listening Rain Tower of the Divine General’s Li family.

Li Hao planned to find an opportunity to visit.

But before that, the rare blood prepared for him by the mansion had been fully blended.

This year, like Bian Ruxue, he would undergo blood fusion at the same age.

The rare blood used for fusion remained the finest quality—crafted from the bones of a thousand-year-old demon beast, a sixth-tier supreme elixir.

Moreover, rumors said that Xing Wu Hou, his so-called father, far away on the Yanbei frontline, had personally slain a three-thousand-year-old demon beast and transported its remains back to the Divine General’s Mansion, elevating the fusion elixir to its ultimate tier.

A three-thousand-year-old demon beast—its lifespan nearly rivaled that of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Li Hao, in awe, gained a faint sense of his father’s power.

With Lin Haixia’s aid, the blood fusion began.

A crimson, fragrant fluid coated Li Hao’s body.

Li Hao’s heart trembled.

Soon, familiar characters flickered before his eyes.

{Detecting unknown substance… Beginning analysis…} {Analysis failed. Automatically isolated.} “...”

Li Hao was utterly speechless.

But this time, he felt a pang of sorrow.

This was something that man had risked his life to prepare for him—and now it was wasted.

Lin Haixia was equally heartbroken.

When he saw Li Hao’s body show no abnormal reaction, his frame trembled slightly, appearing even more agitated than Li Hao.

Yet everything seemed to follow a pattern; having failed once during Foundation Establishment, he did not lose composure again—only closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his disappointment and grief.

“Uncle Lin, did it fail?”

“Mm…”

Lin Haixia opened his eyes slightly, his gaze weary. He looked at Li Hao’s small face and silently smiled bitterly—this child had been reborn into the Divine General’s Mansion, a golden cradle, yet none of the mansion’s countless top-tier martial resources could be enjoyed by him.

Was this fate good or bad?

“Uncle Lin, can this rare blood still be used for that little girl?”

Li Hao asked.

Lin Haixia nodded slightly. Now that the child had no such fortune, it could only go to the little girl.

“Wonderful!” Seeing no waste, Li Hao smiled.

Lin Haixia also offered a faint smile. “Young Master, let me scrape it off. You rest now.”

His smile was forced; his eyes carried sorrow.

“Mm.”

Li Hao nodded, saying nothing further. …

News of Li Hao’s failed blood fusion quickly reached the ears of the various ladies.

In Shuifhua Courtyard, Liu Yuerong heard her maid’s whispered report, raised her brow slightly, yet showed no joy—only a faint shake of her head.

She had secretly visited Wuliang Mountain and confirmed with that person—the pill had no such side effect. Meaning, this child was born with a naturally defective body, merely fortunate to be reborn into the Li family, into Ji Qingqing’s womb.

Had she known this, she wouldn’t have needed the pill at all.

A defective body—what good would divine blood do?

It would only make her own son, Qianfeng, shine all the brighter.

After all, when both were third-generation Li heirs, both bearing divine blood, one a waste, the other a true dragon among men—everyone knew how the old matriarch would choose.

After Li Hao’s failed fusion, the little girl’s fusion was exceptionally successful.

Absorbing the rare blood meant for Li Hao, Bian Ruxue’s martial aptitude improved further.

In the coming days, she only needed gentle nourishment until her five-year bone measurement, when the results would become clear.

Upon hearing this, Li Hao was glad for the little girl—but he now faced his own trouble: his chess games no longer granted him chess Dao experience. He had to find servants to play with him.

Though the maids dared not defy the young master’s usual commands, they hesitated and refused to play chess with him.

These servants knew Li Hao had failed blood fusion—he had no martial talent—and now he wanted to play chess…

Though they knew the young master had played on the chessboard since infancy, seemingly born with chess talent.

But in a martial household, such talent meant nothing…

It was even considered a distraction, a waste of time! If the senior ladies learned they were indulging Li Hao in such “unproductive” pursuits, they might vent their fury over his inability to cultivate on them.

These servants in the Divine General’s Mansion were sharp—they dared not invite such misfortune.

Thus, forced, Li Hao turned to Lin Haixia.

Upon learning Li Hao wanted him to play chess, Lin Haixia was speechless—he understood nothing of such things, and found the young master’s cheerful ignorance somewhat exasperating.

Yet he did not refuse outright.

“Perhaps… this final year before bone measurement is the child’s last moment of joy…” Lin Haixia thought.

He agreed to Li Hao—after handling Bian Ruxue’s situation, he would play chess with him.

From then on, the courtyard often showed this scene: two figures, one large, one small, playing chess beneath a pavilion, with a little girl standing on tiptoe beside them, watching.

And frequently, the child hunched over the board would cry out: “That’s wrong! You must play on the intersections, not inside the squares!”

“That’s not cheating—that’s capturing!”

“That’s already surrounded! You can’t play there anymore!”

“You’re so slow—I told you three times already!”

After one game, Li Hao was utterly exhausted—and gained only one experience point.

It was far more tiring than playing himself.

If his opponent broke the rules, the game was void—so he had to teach the rules as they played.

Lin Haixia had thought he was merely amusing a child, but now faced so many rigid rules—he could barely keep his composure.

After playing for several days, Lin Haixia vanished. Li Hao stamped his tiny foot in frustration, and with no other choice, headed for the Listening Rain Tower.

…

The Listening Rain Tower stood on the northern edge of the Divine General’s Mansion, built against the mountain.

The mansion’s grounds were vast—carriages could even be driven within.

Beyond the ladies’ courtyards, it featured peaks, lakes, and gardens.

Weathered by time, the Listening Rain Tower appeared merely an old, unremarkable building halfway up the mountain.

Yet countless eyes across the world longed to glimpse its true form.

But none dared trespass beyond its golden walls.

Accompanied by Zhao Boyi, the old steward of Shanhe Courtyard, Li Hao arrived before the tower. Zhao Boyi set him down and pleaded earnestly: “Young Master, this is a sacred Li family site—even the ladies of the various courtyards must seek permission from the senior lady. Let’s return.”

Aside from direct second-generation Li family members, only two ladies could enter the Listening Rain Tower freely—one being the senior lady.

“Didn’t you send someone to notify her? I’m just coming to look—surely that’s fine?” Li Hao said, hands behind his back.

Zhao Boyi was used to the young master’s old-fashioned mannerisms—he didn’t know who he’d learned it from, but sighed: “But we haven’t received a reply yet. The senior lady may not approve. Though you have the right to enter, you’re still too young…”

“So what if I’m young? Are you looking down on me?” Li Hao’s face hardened.

“I would never dare, Young Master!” Zhao Boyi hurriedly said.

Li Hao found it boring, quietly studying the tower before him—an ancient seven-story building. It was said that after Li Ganfeng’s bone measurement revealed his ninth-rank martial body, that woman had immediately petitioned the senior lady to seek a martial scripture for her son—and chose the “Sea Without Shore” stored atop the tower.

The “Sea Without Shore” had four forms.

Each was extremely difficult; rumor said only the third uncle had mastered the final form, nearly cleaving half of Jingzhou with a single sword.

……

(Chapter ends)