```
As Jian Wudao left with Bian Ruxue, the courts were filled with the ladies and their attendants, all eager to catch a moment before departure and to say a word.
Some even arranged for their children to practice swordsmanship on the path leading out of the estate.
Yet none managed to attract Jian Wudao's attention.
Access to the Jian Villa was not easy, which made the desire to enter it all the more coveted.
The colors of the courtyard seemed to fade with the departure of the ladies, returning to the empty silence of the falling autumn leaves.
Li Hao held the sword Bian Ruxue had practiced with, silently watching the gate of the courtyard for a long time before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
He then handed the sword to Li Fu behind him and said, "Uncle Fu, put this on the sword rack in my bedroom, and tell the maids they needn't clean it every day."
Li Fu took the sword with a sense of loss, looking at Li Hao's profile with reluctance and a touch of self-reproach and guilt, he solemnly said, "Starting today, I will no longer indulge you. I will confiscate your chessboard, and you need to start cultivating!"
Li Hao was startled and looked up, saying, "Uncle Fu, you don't think that this old man refused to take me as his disciple because of chess, do you? That would be an injustice!"
"I don't care."
Li Fu said with a stern face, "It's common to find a good horse, but not a good horse trainer. Missing an opportunity that comes your way because you were not well prepared is your fault. From now on, you must always be ready in your best form, waiting for that chance that could come at any moment."
"Opportunities in life are rare, what hope is there if you miss them!"
Li Hao protested the injustice, seeing that Li Fu was serious, and asked, "Then, Uncle Fu, what do you think constitutes a successful person?"
"As a son of the Li Family, you should make a name for yourself, defend the borders, and protect the people of the nation—that is success!" Li Fu said without hesitation and with conviction.
"Being a member of the Li Family is indeed tough," Li Hao said with a bitter smile.
"Since you bear the Li surname and enjoy its immense wealth, you must take on this responsibility," said Li Fu coldly.
Have I really enjoyed it? Li Hao mused with an internal wry smile, but then thought of the pastries and fresh fruits sent by Fifth Lady, and the nutritious porridge from the eldest lady… well, that did count as enjoyment.
"Uncle Fu, when you talk about cultivating, do you mean Body Refinement?"
"Of course."
Li Fu glanced at him, as if to say, what other path is there for you besides Body Refinement?
Body Refinement was unpopular because it was hard to cultivate, had a low upper limit, and required great insight coupled with technique to compete with other experts.
And among those who were forced to choose Body Refinement, some could persevere through hardships but might not necessarily have the insight required.
After all, the sculpting of pain can lead to beauty, but it can also twist the soul.
After some wrangling with Uncle Fu, Li Hao made a deal—he was willing to cultivate, but his chessboard could not be confiscated, and he had to have someone to play with every day.
Li Fu could only agree, planning to talk about further cultivation once Li Hao had started.
In the days that followed, Li Hao was forced to spend some time cultivating using a basic Body Refinement secret technique that Li Fu had taught him.
With an understanding of the Physical Body Path, his progress was swift, which surprised Li Fu, who did not expect Li Hao to be such a promising candidate for Body Refinement.
Li Hao deliberately controlled his progress to prevent Uncle Fu from completely taking his leisure time away and only reached Great Accomplishment in the basic Body Refinement technique after three months.
Even so, the results excited the battle-hardened man to the point of tears, and he immediately wrote a letter to Northern Yan overnight to share the good news and his joy with the couple on the border.
And after a long and relentless accumulation, Li Hao's Chess Tao level finally advanced.
[Name: Li Hao]
[Age: 7]
[Cultivation Level: Power Passage Realm, Level Ten]
[Swordsmanship: Level Two (Flying Phase) (Hidden Bow)]
[Skills: Endless Sea·Tide (Peerless) Falling Snow Sword Skill (Peerless)]
[Physical Body Path: Level One (Myriad Forms) (Tiger Press)]
[Skills: Stone Skin Hundred Refinements (Great Accomplishment) Thousand Jiaos Holy Body (Minor Accomplishment in Jiao Fiend Body) Taichu (Entrance into Starry Body) Barbarian Bull Strength (Great Accomplishment)]
[Chess Tao: Level Four (1/10000)]
[Chess Manual Collection: Myriad Forms, Tiger Press, Flying Phase, Hidden Bow]
[State of Mind: Chess Spirit]
[Skill Points: 1]
Li Hao glanced at Li Fu, who was always by his side, and chose not to immediately use the Skill Point to upgrade his skills.
If it had been Swordsmanship, simply infusing the memory would suffice, but he wanted to use his Skill Point on the Physical Body Path first to ensure his own strength and safety.
The insights of the Physical Body Path could inevitably lead to changes in the Body Refinement techniques and his body, which would cause too much commotion.
On this day.
Li Hao followed Li Fu to the Listening Rain Tower.
Upon learning of Li Hao's talent in Body Refinement, He Jianlan granted him the privilege of entering and leaving Listening Rain Tower at will, allowing him to select secret techniques indoors.
Of course, Li Fu could not enter.
Though he was a confidant of Li Tian Gang, he was not part of the core members of the Li Family's direct lineage, so his status was different.
Li Fu didn't mind, the Listening Rain Tower was a heavily guarded place of the Li Family. Despite the absence of many guards around, no one would dare to come here to steal treasures.
This place was safer than any lady's courtyard in the estate.
Li Fu stood guard downstairs while Li Hao went upstairs alone.
```
Now at an age where he is considered sensible, He Jianlan did not let Xuejian accompany and watch him anymore; it was just him ascending the stairs alone.
Li Hao had heard that the old Sword Saint delivered a Body Refinement secret manual to the sixth floor two months ago, and he immediately headed straight to the sixth floor.
Soon, he located a new secret manual that had appeared.
"Dragon Cicada Void Body"
Li Hao started to flip through it.
With the understanding of the first segment of the Physical Body Path, he quickly grasped the basics.
Collected.
Soon, the panel displayed this Body Refinement secret technique, and it advanced to the second layer, Great Accomplishment.
The Dragon Cicada Void Body had six layers; each layer refined would forge a different physique.
The first layer was the Static Cicada Body, which could sense the slight trajectories of air flowing over the body.
The second layer was the Subdued Dragon Body, storing within the body the strength comparable to a dragon or elephant.
The third layer was the Shedding Shell Body, granting the ability to exert force and tread through the air.
…
His body made slight cracking noises, and Li Hao could feel that upon entering the Subdued Dragon Body, another surge of power was born within him, probably weighing over ten thousand pounds!
Although he was still in the Power Passage Realm, his strength was vastly different compared to the average practitioner in the same realm.
With a thought, Li Hao wondered, if he cultivated several more Body Refinement secret manuals, could he accumulate even more strength?
Thinking leads to action; he immediately began to search for them on each floor of the Listening Rain Tower.
Before long, he found seven or eight Body Refinement secret manuals, all of middle to high quality. With enough practice, they could just barely reach the level of first-rate martial artists.
Quickly, as one secret manual after another was collected into the panel, Li Hao felt unusual changes taking place in his body, making his limbs more robust.
There was no change in his Cultivation Level on the panel, and Li Hao originally thought his strength would increase again, but it did not. However, some of these Body Refinement secret manuals were Claw Refining Skills, some practiced the legs, others Bone Tempering or Organ Refining.
He could feel that although the strength did not increase much, these parts received a qualitative enhancement.
Li Hao guessed that it might be because his physique was too strong, having already stimulated most of the Physical Strength, so these slightly inferior secret manuals were unable to provoke more physical strength but could enhance the corresponding parts.
His Stone Skin Hundred Refinements manual could increase the hardness of the skin, but it was overshadowed by the Jiao Demon Body from the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body.
The epidermal enhancement brought by the Jiao Demon Body was akin to dragon scales, far superior to that of Stone Skin Hundred Refinements, making it hard for the latter's effects to shine through.
But other Body Refinement secret manuals complemented areas not yet covered by the previous ones on the sixth floor.
Bones, liver, ears, eyeballs, and other parts all improved accordingly.
While the strength did not change much, the power in actual combat underwent an earth-shattering change.
Li Hao had an epiphany that he needed to collect various Body Refinement techniques, temper his body with them, and if he could practice every part of his body to a consistent standard, he would be invincible!
At that moment, the rich heritage of the Listening Rain Tower truly made Li Hao realize how precious this place was for martial artists.
There were not many manuals on Chess Tao, but there was an abundance of Body Refinement secret manuals – this place had plenty!
Li Hao excitedly searched for the Body Refinement secret manuals within the tower and collected them one by one.
Time passed.
It wasn't until sunset that Li Hao walked out of the tower holding a Body Refinement secret manual.
In the distance, it appeared as if dusk crows were flying across the sky, and the faint scent of food and firewood came from the front courtyard, signaling that it was time for dinner.
Li Hao stretched lazily and flexed his muscles and joints.
There were so many secret manuals in the Listening Rain Tower that after searching all afternoon, he had only discovered a tenth of them, and that was just the Body Refinement category.
Li Hao did not collect all the secret manuals. For instance, the "Barbaric Bull Strength" that Li Fu previously forced him to learn provided no enhancement for him as it had been surpassed by stronger ones.
For example, if two manuals both focused on claw skills, having researched the stronger one, practicing the inferior would yield no effects since the stronger manual would have already trained the palms to a high level.
Unless the inferior manual targeted different areas for training, in which case it could serve to fill any gaps.
"You finally came out."
Seeing Li Hao emerge, Li Fu was a bit speechless, having waited all afternoon; this fellow hadn't gotten confused by the choices had he?
He picked up the manual in Li Hao's hand to look, a middle-grade Body Refinement secret manual,"Dragon Spine", focusing primarily on strengthening the back.
"Is this all you picked?" Li Fu felt somewhat helpless, "Didn't you go to the sixth floor?"
"I did, but I couldn't understand it," Li Hao said offhandedly.
Li Fu thought about it and realized it made sense. The manuals on the sixth floor were all peerless, and even he would have to practice them for months to grasp the mere basics.
"Don't rush to practice this one for now. I'll ask the Fifth Lady later to see if there's a suitable one for you in Listening Rain Tower. This one's too specialized," said Li Fu, hoping that Li Hao would practice a more comprehensive Body Refinement technique that covered the entire body so there would be fewer weaknesses.
"Alright then," Li Hao did not decline and casually said, "Let's go, I'm starving. What's for dinner tonight?"
Li Fu felt a bit helpless regarding Li Hao's lack of interest in martial arts; the two turned and left the front of Listening Rain Tower.
Before long, they bumped into an old man wearing a straw hat, shouldering a fishing rod and carrying a fish basket. Dressed simply, he looked utterly ordinary.
Upon seeing the man, Li Fu's eyes narrowed, his expression immediately became solemn, and he quickly stopped and stepped aside, respectfully saying, "Li Fu pays respects to Second Uncle."