Chapter 73: The True Dragon of the Li Family

A soldier from the Yuan Company glanced at the young monk, recognized his identity, nodded, and turned to enter the Vajra Heart Hall to report.

Not long after, a young boy in a blue robe and half-draped in a dark yellow-brown kasaya stepped out of the Heart Hall.

He stood tall, with swordlike eyebrows and starlit eyes; beneath his sharp brows lay a pair of cold, resolute eyes.

A sword hung at his waist; his bearing was noble and imposing, like a proud dragon.

“Senior Song.”

Seeing the young monk, Li Qianfeng gave a slight nod.

“Li Qianfeng, do you still remember me?”

The beautiful woman beside him spoke, fixing her gaze on the boy, her eyes brightening instantly.

Li Qianfeng glanced at her and frowned: “Who are you?”

“A year ago, Qingfeng Ridge!”

The woman’s eyes glowed with hope: “Do you remember?”

“Qingfeng Ridge…” Li Qianfeng’s eyes flickered with memory; he pondered: “The demons there were all cleared out.”

“It’s me, Murong Qiulan. You shielded me from that Yin Wind Snake Demon’s attack back then—if not for you, I would have died!” Murong Qiulan hurried to say.

Li Qianfeng frowned slightly and looked at her: “What are you doing here?”

“I swore then that I would repay your kindness—I, Murong Qiulan, will marry no one but you for the rest of my life!”

A blush flashed across Murong Qiulan’s face, but she still forced herself to speak, teeth clenched.

“So now you’ve come to repay kindness with betrayal?”

Li Qianfeng raised an eyebrow.

Murong Qiulan: “...”

The young monk beside him stared at Li Qianfeng in awe—facing such a beautiful woman, he could still speak such harsh words. This younger brother truly lived up to being the Buddha Master’s direct disciple.

“I only want to repay you…” Murong Qiulan bit her lip, voice trembling with hurt.

She had traveled thousands of miles, used connections to climb the mountain, only to meet this icy face.

“What is your family background?”

Li Qianfeng remained unmoved by her pitiful appearance, asking calmly.

Murong Qiulan blinked, then quickly replied: “My Murong family is the foremost clan in Baifeng City. My father is the clan head—he reached the Fifteen Li Realm in his youth, roamed freely and built wide connections; now he has entered the Celestial Mortal Realm. With the right opportunity, he may even have a chance to break through to the Three Immortalities.”

“How old is your father?”

“He just turned fifty-four.”

“He is already old.”

Li Qianfeng shook his head slightly: “With such talent, breaking into the Three Immortalities is difficult. Even if he truly reaches that realm, he means nothing before my Li family. Your family background is far too humble.”

Murong Qiulan opened her mouth, speechless.

She knew full well—among all of Great Yu, how many families could compare to this boy’s?

She clenched her teeth: “But my mother said—if two people truly love each other, why care about family background? I don’t care—I’m willing to forgo the bride price, give up everything—I only want you!”

“Your words themselves are greedy.”

Li Qianfeng spoke coldly: “I myself surpass countless bride prices. Marrying me is like gaining half a province. My marriage will be decided by my mother. I will only wed someone of equal standing—princesses of the imperial family, marquises’ daughters. Your family background? My mother would likely look down on it.”

Murong Qiulan’s face turned as white as snow; she was left speechless.

She never imagined this—she, a woman, had taken the initiative to confess, even offered to give everything, yet still been rejected.

The young monk beside him was stunned by Li Qianfeng’s words—this younger brother was terrifyingly blunt. “But what if the person you marry one day… you don’t even love?”

Murong Qiulan bit her lip hard, her heart aching as if bleeding.

Li Qianfeng replied indifferently: “Marriage is a transaction—what is there to talk about love? My entire life, I carry only my sword; everything else is mere clutter.”

At these words, both fell silent, stunned.

The astonishing boy before them, a dragon blazing like sun and moon, possessed peerless talent—but he had devoted every thought to the three-foot sword in his hand.

Clearly, matters of romantic love meant nothing to such a person.

Murong Qiulan remained silent for a long while before saying: “I understand. What if… what if I’m willing to become your concubine?”

As she spoke, she lifted her gaze once more to the towering youth.

Beside them, the young monk’s expression changed; he glanced at the woman, then quietly turned his head away, unable to bear it.

Is this what the Master meant by worldly attachment? “A concubine…” Li Qianfeng pondered for a moment: “The daughter of a Grand Master is barely acceptable—but I must marry first before taking a concubine.”

“I can wait!” Murong Qiulan said at once.

“Fine.”

Li Qianfeng nodded, said no more, and turned to the young monk: “Senior Song, did you bring the registry? I’m leaving the mountain for a while after this retreat.”

The young monk snapped back to attention, nodded, and pulled a registry from within his kasaya, then took out brush and ink.

“Senior Qianfeng has been on the mountain over ten years—is this trip home?”

“I do need to return home, but before that, I must earn some merit.”

Li Qianfeng took the brush and ink, registering as he spoke.

The young monk blinked in surprise: “Oh? Senior Qianfeng still needs merit?”

“Senior Song, you jest. All Li family members must earn their own merit. This return home is to compete for the True Dragon seat—having some merit on my record will only help.”

Li Qianfeng now seemed remarkably approachable; with a few swift strokes, he finished the registration and handed the brush and ink back to Senior Song.

The young monk blew on the registry, closed it, tucked away the ink, and smiled: “Senior Qianfeng is too cautious. With your cultivation, who could possibly challenge you for the True Dragon seat?”

Li Qianfeng smiled faintly, his gaze drifting to the distance.

A figure surfaced in his mind—the one his mother mentioned when she visited him on the mountain.

Li Wushuang.

A year ago, when he descended to slay demons, he’d heard her name—she had already entered the Qian List of the Qiankun Rankings!

Nine-rank combat posture, trained under a renowned master, one and a half years younger than him—she had already risen to fame in the martial world, outpacing him in reputation.

This time, she is his greatest rival.

Though they had never met, Li Qianfeng felt a mysterious sense—he sensed she was closing the gap behind him.

Thinking of this, his lips curled slightly—he would make his cousin know: his back was not something anyone could catch up to. He believed in himself, and in the sword in his hand.

“Can I go with you?” Murong Qiulan seized the chance, asking timidly.

She gazed at Li Qianfeng with pitiful eyes, still haunted by the memory of that back—sword in hand, shattering the Yin Wind Snake Demon.

“If you can keep up, come along.”

Li Qianfeng spoke indifferently, paying no mind to her feminine demeanor.

…

…

In Cangyu City.

After resolving the demon crisis, Li Hao and the others prepared to return home.

The Demon Suppression Office’s duties had grown quiet—aside from clearing demon corpses outside the city, there was nothing else to do.

For now, no demons dared invade Cangyu City, unless they were foolish, low-intelligence creatures reckless enough to defy the odds.

Meanwhile, Li Hao had been collecting calligraphy, paintings, and poetry throughout the city, gathering considerable treasures.

【Name: Li Hao】

【Age: 14】

【Cultivation: Peak of the Fifteen Li Realm】

【Sword Dao: Sixth Stage (Flying Stage) (Hidden Bow)】

【Sword Techniques: Sea Without Shore (True Form), Snowfall Sword Art · Avalanche (True Form)…】

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

【Body Techniques: Golden Skin Hundred Refinements · Vajra (True Form), Thousand Serpent Sacred Body · Serpent Transformation (True Form), Tai Chu Level Five (Tai Chu Body True Form), Dragon Cicada Void Body · Dragon Soar (True Form)…】

【Control Dao: Sixth Stage】

[Control Techniques: Heavenly Gang Zhou Tian Method · Heavenly Gang (True Form), Hundred Battles Zhou Tian Method · Peerless (True Form), Dragon River Divine Vein · Dragon Breath (True Form), Nine Turns Star Method · Nine Turns (True Form)...]

【Fist Dao: Sixth Stage】

【Fist Arts: Half-Invincible Fist Sixth Layer (Perfected), Heaven-Earth Penetrating Fist (Perfected)】

【Movement Dao: Second Stage】

【Movement: White Phoenix Walk (Perfected)】

【Chess Dao: Fifth Stage (18322/50000)】

【Painting Dao: Fifth Stage (8273/50000)】

【Poetry & Literature: Third Stage (4999/5000)】

【Music: Third Stage (4999/5000)】

【Fishing Dao: Fifth Stage (21827/50000)】

【Cooking Dao: Sixth Stage (99999/100000)】

【Chess Pattern Collection: Myriad Phenomena, Tiger Press, Flying Stage, Hidden Bow, Concealing Light and Nurturing Obscurity, Seven Phoenixes Lighting Lamps】

【Painting Collection: Thousand Mountains with Flying Birds, Snow Mountain Spirit Fox, Qilin Steed, Blood Sea Fierce Serpent, Panshan, Qiongqi Mountain】

【Poetry & Literature Collection: Zhao Xinhuan’s Poetry Anthology, Song Yuan’s Poetry Anthology】

【Music Scores Collection: Phoenix Seeks Phoenix, Quiet Orchid, Moon Chime, Minor Hu Jia】

【Fishing Collection: None】

【Cooking Recipe Collection: None】

【Mental State: Chess Mind (Consumed), Painting Mind (Consumed), Fishing Mind (Consumed), Cooking Mind (Consumed)】

【Skill Points: 1】

……

This journey yielded two chess manuals: “Conceal Brilliance and Nurture Obscurity” and “Seven Phoenixes Lighting the Lamp.”

Li Hao chose to embed “Conceal Brilliance and Nurture Obscurity” into his Body Dao, and soon, its effect properties manifested.

Conceal Brilliance and Nurture Obscurity: In a relaxed state, the body rapidly heals itself; severed limbs regenerate slowly.

This effect is good, but he rarely suffers injuries.

“Seven Phoenixes Lighting the Lamp” is a chess manual designed to trap and eliminate an array.

Li Hao considered applying it to Sword Dao, then to Control Dao; after deliberation, he ultimately chose Control Dao.

As it was embedded, its effect properties appeared.

Seven Phoenixes Lighting the Lamp: After seven rounds of cultivation, one can temporarily double one’s cultivation power.

Seeing this effect, Li Hao was stunned.

Is this effect too strong? “Cultivation rounds” refer to the Meridian Opening Method and Qi Circulation Method—if performed seven times in succession, power doubles? He already had advanced his Control Dao to the Sixth Stage, and most of his techniques had reached the True Form level.

Some lower-grade techniques, under profound Dao comprehension, could even evolve into superior-grade techniques.

As many of his techniques improved, Li Hao’s number of opened meridians surged dramatically—from 69 to 98! His Qi Circulation cycles rose from 248 to 369.

Just from his own Qi Circulation, his total force reached over eight million jin.

With the instantaneous doubling from his Yin-Yang meridians, it reached over seventeen million jin! Even imperial clan members possessed only two million jin—nearly nine times less. Now, with this effect, it would be eighteen times greater. The gap was like heaven and earth.

But Li Hao knew such an increase strained the body—it was a brief, explosive burst.

Moreover, he had not yet opened all 108 major meridians; he still had room to grow.

The only thing he had fully reached the limit with was Soul Continuation—he had condensed a Heavenly and Earthly Manifestation.

This journey yielded great gains: besides the two chess manuals, there were three famous paintings, two poetry collections, and four famous musical pieces.

Li Hao temporarily chose not to embed any of them.

He felt that, with his current strength, only a Heaven-Man Realm cultivator could force him to use his full power.

Then he would know which areas were his weaknesses and make up for them.

(End of Chapter)