Chapter 90: The Sword Dao Amidst the Red Dust

The family banquet was held in Shanhe Courtyard.

The ladies of each courtyard arrived one after another to congratulate Li Tiangang.

Outside the courtyard, many other concubines and illegitimate descendants had also come, clinging to the outer walls, staring eagerly inside, wondering what kind of six-armed, three-headed monster this boy—whose talent surpassed all previous Li family generations—really was.

Li Hao’s name had spread throughout the Li mansion; servants, maids, even the cooks and wood-choppers in every kitchen were talking about this extraordinary and formidable young master of the Li family.

He lay dormant for fourteen years, then shook heaven and earth in a single day.

The news did not merely spread within the Li mansion—it crossed the high walls of this noble residence, fluttered over the rooftops of countless homes, and drifted to the secret intelligence branches of major powers stationed in Qingzhou City.

Soon, these pieces of intelligence spread like threads on a spider’s web, swiftly and secretly reaching every corner.

Every power, every observer watching Qingzhou, learned of the news—and none were unmoved.

The Li family’s fallen true dragon from fourteen years ago.

Now, after fourteen years, it seemed to have revived once more—with a new form, even more dominant than before!

And as this fame spread rapidly, amid the joyous atmosphere of the family banquet, Li Hao, guided by Old Zhao, arrived before a cold, quiet house deep within the inner courtyard.

He pushed open the door and saw the scrolls neatly arranged inside.

With his spiritual sense sweeping through, Li Hao counted them—none were missing.

Young Master, don’t be angry with Master. Yu Xuan has served him for many years, fought life and death battles on the battlefield, and is an orphan—he’s only been protected because of his service, not because Master truly intends to be angry with you.

Old Zhao stood behind Li Hao, sighing softly.

An orphan… Li Hao murmured to himself.

Though he had parents, wasn’t he himself no different from an orphan?

He let out a quiet sigh, telling himself not to dwell on it further.

After all, this was the man who had waited fourteen years. After all, this was his father in this life.

He had not accepted him.

He had simply let it be.

“Young Master, now that you’ve revealed your cultivation, the world will know your name. No one will ever look down on you again.”

Seeing the mood grow heavy, Old Zhao shifted to the day’s joyous news, and as he thought of Li Hao’s cultivation, his face flushed slightly with excitement.

Li Hao smiled and said, “Didn’t the whole world know my name the moment I was born?”

Old Zhao froze, then realized—it was true. Li Hao had been named by Emperor Yu himself at the moment the Li family’s true dragon fell, and that imperial decree had been proclaimed across the land.

“But so many years have passed…” Old Zhao chuckled awkwardly. After all, back then he was just an infant—who cared? The world’s gaze had all been fixed on that peerless Li family ninth son.

“So you see, everything passes.”

“In this vast, endless span of heaven and earth, even a sage is but a speck of dust in the flow of time.”

Li Hao turned and stepped out of the room, gazing at the empty courtyard as starlight and moonlight poured down, starkly contrasting the brilliant lanterns of the front courtyard:

“Let’s go. Let’s join the celebration.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Old Zhao exhaled in relief—he had come here specifically to persuade Li Hao to attend the banquet.

…

At the banquet, Li Hao’s arrival made the atmosphere even more lively.

Li Wushuang and her brother, along with third-generation direct descendants like Li Jiangying and Li Rumeng from the Eighth Lady’s line, sat together at one table.

Most of the other ladies’ children had not yet returned.

Their eyes immediately fixed on Li Hao, their expressions varied.

“Big Brother Hao is amazing!”

The most excited was Li Yuanzhao—he had witnessed Li Hao’s strength in Cangyu City and had long awaited this moment. Seeing others stunned, he felt as if he’d swallowed winter ice in the height of summer, his whole body tingling with delight.

He cast a smug glance at Li Yun beside him, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

But Li Yun and Li Zhining paid no attention to Li Yuanzhao—their expressions were deeply complex. This scene was so familiar: the day before, when their elder sister returned, she too had been surrounded like the moon among stars.

Yet today’s scene was even more boisterous and shocking.

“Hmph, so what if he’s at the Fifteen Li Realm? Big deal. Only when you reach the Master Realm do you truly have skill.”

At another table, Li Rumeng suddenly sneered.

Li Yuanzhao was startled—he hadn’t expected such an discordant voice. He turned to see it was the Eighth Lady’s precious pair.

He had seen these two when he went to pay morning respects to the First Lady as a child, but they’d never spoken to him.

After paying respects, they wouldn’t say a single word to him or Li Yun or anyone else—their demeanor was haughty.

They never came out to play with them, never chatted in the training grounds, treating them as if they were illegitimate descendants.

The two of them ate and trained together, forming their own little world, never interacting with outsiders.

And the Eighth Lady doted on them endlessly. When Li Yuanzhao was young, he once saw an illegitimate boy accidentally scratch Li Jiangying during a sparring match.

It was just a tiny sword cut—Li family healing herbs could have healed it overnight.

But the Eighth Lady stormed onto the training ground, ordered the boy dragged out, and had his arm broken on the spot.

Word had it the boy had decent talent, but the trauma drove him to quit the training grounds soon after.

His mother had wept and begged at the Eighth Lady’s courtyard for forgiveness.

The incident caused a major stir at the time—even the children watched the spectacle. It was only after the First Lady intervened that things calmed down.

The Eighth Lady came from a powerful family—her surname was Wang.

She married into the Li family, and among all the aunts, her temper was among the most dangerous to provoke.

But now, hearing Li Rumeng’s sneer, Li Yuanzhao could no longer sit still—he sneered back:

“Not impressive? Then tell me—your brother’s sixteen, you’re fifteen—what realm are you both in?”

Li Rumeng, already seething with jealousy, froze at the taunt, then erupted in fury: “We never grovel to Second Master like he does! He cultivates so fast because Second Master favors him!”

Li Yuanzhao grew angrier: “Then why doesn’t Second Master favor you?”

“Because he’s cunning—he’s better at flattery than you!” Li Rumeng sneered.

Li Yuanzhao’s face flushed red with rage as he glared at her.

Li Yun and his sister frowned, glancing at Li Rumeng. They kept their distance from Li Hao, but they feared and disliked the Eighth Lady’s children and avoided provoking them.

They didn’t want to risk a clash that would lead the Eighth Lady to complain to their own mother.

“Hmph. All are Li family children. To be jealous of others without any talent—pathetic!”

Li Wushuang spoke coldly. Li Yuanzhao stared at her in surprise—she had never defended Big Brother Hao before.

Big Brother Hao had once beaten this cousin…

“You—you’re saying who has no talent?!” Li Rumeng shouted.

Li Wushuang looked down with icy disdain: “Whoever shouts the loudest—that’s who I mean! You’ve just reached Soul Continuation—how dare you say Fifteen Li isn’t impressive? Do you think Soul Continuation is so great?”

“They reached Soul Continuation?”

Li Yuanzhao and Li Yun’s siblings were both startled.

They trained in the same grounds, had similar talent—yet these two had advanced ahead of them.

“It’s nothing impressive,” Li Jiangying said coldly, defending his sister.

Li Wushuang, don’t think that reaching Spirit Traveling makes you superior to all others. The road ahead is long—everyone beneath Heaven’s Threshold is but an ant. Wait until you cross that gate yourself before you speak!

Li Wushuang’s eyes turned icy and sharp: “How bold! You don’t even call me Cousin? You dare speak my name directly? Is this how your mother raised you? As for that gate—I’ll cross it before you. Wait until you reach Spirit Traveling to talk!”

“You only have an elite teacher—that’s all. We don’t even want to bow to one!”

Li Rumeng snapped.

Li Wushuang laughed bitterly, about to retort, but Li Yun pulled her back.

“Sister, don’t waste your breath. They’ll just drag our mother into this,” Li Yun said sarcastically.

“What do you mean?” Li Jiangying glared at Li Yun.

Li Yuanzhao’s face hardened: “Calm down. This is Shanhe Courtyard, not your Miehe Courtyard. Even if your mother came here, she’d still have to call Tian Gang Uncle!”

Li Jiangying and his sister paled slightly. Though spoiled and arrogant, they sensed the gravity of the situation and dared not escalate the conflict.

Seeing them quiet, Li Wushuang rolled her eyes and ignored them, though she found it laughable—how wild and unreasonable the Eighth Lady’s children had become.

At that moment, Li Zhining noticed Li Hao walking straight toward the First Lady’s table and asked: “Why won’t Big Brother Hao sit with us?”

Li Yuanzhao glanced over and grinned: “Big Brother Hao doesn’t eat at the children’s table.”

…

On another side, Li Tiangang was being “tortured” by the ladies.

They demanded to know why he had hidden Li Hao’s cultivation, and how Li Hao had trained at all.

Li Tiangang’s head ached—he’d endured the roars of ten thousand soldiers on the battlefield, but not even that compared to the chatter of seven or eight women.

Still, he smiled and answered each question.

He’d originally assumed Second Uncle had helped, but now that he learned it wasn’t so, he couldn’t explain it—so he simply said Li Hao was naturally gifted.

Who would believe that? No one spoke it aloud, but all suspected.

Li Hao had grown close to Second Uncle and Fifth Uncle, then suddenly began cultivating—so prodigiously. It was impossible not to suspect they had altered his fate.

When Li Hao arrived, the aunts immediately swarmed around him, pressing him with questions. The elders couldn’t get answers, so they turned to the younger ones—but Li Hao’s lips were tighter than Li Tiangang’s.

Liu Yuerong extracted nothing. She ground her teeth in fury, hating the pair of them.

…

…

From nine thousand li south, in the Sword Hut:

“Master!”

Three or four figures rushed into the thatched hut and reported the newly received news to their master, who was studying a sword manual.

“Fifteen Li Realm?”

Hearing the disciples’ report, Jian Wudao froze in surprise.

Could it be Xue’er’s young fiancé? Slowly, long-buried memories in his mind unsealed, faintly coming back to him.

Eight years ago, when he descended the mountain, in that bustling human city, within that lavish yet empty courtyard, that child with an old-fashioned demeanor.

Fourteen years old… only a few months older than Xue’er.

And Xue’er had only just entered the Spirit Traveling Realm last month.

A full major realm ahead! Jian Wudao’s expression shifted, growing grave.

Such talent far surpassed his own in youth—even the previous generation’s True Dragon of the Li family couldn’t match it.

“The Li family is about to produce another True Dragon!”

“With such talent, if he becomes the next heir, the True Dragons of the other Divine General mansions won’t be able to sit still.”

“Over the past century, the Li family has truly been blessed by heaven, chosen by fate.”

Several disciples murmured in awe; they all considered themselves geniuses, yet upon hearing this news, they were left speechless.

“Master, I heard you almost brought this Li family’s Qilin child back to join us—you nearly made him your disciple. We nearly became fellow students with such a monster.” A young disciple said.

Jian Wudao immediately recalled the day he considered taking him in, and shook his head slightly:

“Back then, it was widely rumored he was a martial cultivation waste body. Now it seems either the Li family deliberately concealed it, or those few old men of the Li family intervened to defy heaven and alter his destiny.”

“Still, no matter how extraordinary his talent, he will never join my sect.”

“Master, why not?”

All the disciples listened.

“He is not a swordsman. He does not walk the same path as us,” Jian Wudao said.

The others instantly understood.

He was indeed a genius—but not a sword cultivator.

“Pity. If he’d been our senior or junior brother, it might’ve been quite motivating,” someone chuckled.

“Fourteen years old, Fifteen Li Realm—truly terrifying,” someone nodded.

Jian Wudao glanced at them and said: “I’ve always told you that beyond the sky lies higher sky. Now do you understand? Though your talents are decent, you’re still far from dominating the next sixty years. Go practice your swords!”

The disciples immediately wore bitter smiles. How many heroes roamed the world—who could dominate the entire realm for sixty years?

“Has Xue’er descended the mountain yet?”

Jian Wudao thought of something and asked again.

One of the handsome young disciples smiled: “As soon as Little Miss broke through to Spirit Traveling, she immediately said she wanted to return to her mansion—she’s already set out.”

Jian Wudao frowned slightly, then sighed: “She owes the Li family a debt. I hope this journey allows her to settle it. Sword Dao and worldly affairs—she must choose one.”

(End of Chapter)