"A letter from the Sword Pavilion?" Li Hao was slightly surprised. A small, teary-eyed girl appeared in his mind.
*She had been away at the Sword Pavilion for several months. I wondered how she was doing. Can she even sleep well there?*
He opened the letter and read it carefully.
The neat yet unfamiliar handwriting seemed to be personally penned by the little girl, conveying wishes of safety and expressing her longing.
Perhaps she rarely had the chance to write and send letters. The paper was filled with every detail, describing her daily life at the Sword Pavilion over the past few months, including apprenticing, meeting fellow disciples, cultivation, recognizing sword manuals, and so on, all of which were written down word by word.
Although she only described her daily life, what she expressed was deep longing.
At the end of the letter, the little girl seemed to realize that she had little space left for her own words, saying that she would cultivate diligently and strive to come down the mountain soon, telling Li Hao to wait for her return.
Li Hao silently finished reading the letter, then gently folded it again, slipped it back into the envelope, and tucked it into his chest pocket in his robe.
Beside him, Li Muxiu asked Li Fu about the situation with the Sword Pavilion.
It was clear that this man either fished everywhere or stayed in the Listening Rain Tower. He knew nothing about the affairs of the third generation like Li Hao, and he wouldn't have heard anything if not for the sensational news about Li Hao's martial arts being ruined, which had sparked discussions throughout the mansion.
Upon understanding the situation, Li Hao saw the old man's first reaction was a noticeable sigh of relief.
His expression seemed to say, *Oh, so Hao Er doesn't have a natural gift for the Sword Dao, I almost thought that Sword Saint was going to take him for cultivation.*
Though he didn't care about Li Hao's cultivation, he wouldn't obstruct him if he genuinely had exceptional talent.
Then, Li Muxiu let out a cold snort, his expression displeased,
"That old rascal Jian Wudao, taking advantage of his high status to bully Jian Lan because she doesn't dare to confront him, hmph! With a ninth-level War Body and being a sword prodigy, any prestigious sect would fight to have him. He got such a benefit and still feigns modesty, offering a broken Body Refinement secret manual as a substitute? Someday, I'll have to go to the Sword Pavilion and reason with him!"
Li Fu heard this and broke into a cold sweat, inwardly smiling bitterly, not daring to interject.
Getting accepted into the Sword Saint's tutelage already drove others sleepless with excitement; who would dare haggle over it?
"Second Uncle, how was today's catch? Must have been a big haul, right?"
Li Fu tried to change the topic, knowing the old man loved being praised for his fishing skills. This otherwise upright and stern old warrior from the army now showed a fawning smile, awkwardly and uneasily.
Nothing is deadlier than forced flattery.
Li Muxiu glanced at him indifferently and said to Li Hao, "Hao Er, did you see that? This shows the importance of our fishing tradition. You have to make sure others get a good look at your catch; otherwise, people might think you're returning empty-handed."
*Return home directly, and who knows you went fishing? Even if they did, who would care…* Li Hao thought to himself.
"Let's go."
Li Muxiu ignored Li Fu and led Li Hao into the Listening Rain Tower.
Li Fu hesitated behind, unsure whether to follow, until Li Muxiu suddenly paused before entering, saying without turning back,
"Xiao Fu, don't worry about Hao Er's training anymore. He truly has a talent for Body Refinement; I'll teach him while fishing."
After saying this, he walked into the light and shadow within the tower.
Li Fu stood stunned, the complex contradictions in his heart suddenly relieved as if a great stone had fallen.
He hurriedly bowed deeply in gratitude, feeling joy and excitement for Li Hao.
Receiving Second Uncle's personal guidance was undoubtedly better than his teaching; after all, this Second Uncle's prowess was no less than that of the Sword Saint...
...
...
Despite appearing unserious, Li Muxiu was a man of his word, something influenced by the family tradition of his esteemed military family.
Inside the building, Li Muxiu gathered some firewood and built a stove on the terrace. While dissecting the Fish Demon he caught today, he casually said to Li Hao, "If there's anything you don't understand in your cultivation, just ask; I'll help answer it."
Li Hao shook his head slightly, "Not for the moment."
"Nothing?"
Li Muxiu scolded impatiently, "You're saying you haven't hit any bottlenecks yet? Hmph, this Body Refinement Technique is incredibly powerful. It's already remarkable if you can understand it. Forget it, go practice it once more for me to see."
Li Hao thought it unnecessary, but seeing the old man sincerely wanting to teach him, he didn't want to waste the goodwill and obediently demonstrated the practice again.
Li Muxiu intended to offer pointers but found no flaws, so he couldn't help but reassess the young fellow.
To be self-taught to such a level demonstrated truly astonishing perception!
"Not bad. Your current cultivation should have reached the Tenth Layer of the Power Passage Realm, right?" Li Muxiu said. Though he hadn't carefully sensed Li Hao, reaching the second layer of the Jiao Body meant his cultivation had to be perfected in the First Realm.
Compared to the usual Power Passage Realm Perfection, the physical body's strength from Body Refinement would be greater, slightly stronger than those in the same realm. Of course, this was advantageous in the early stages of cultivation.
As for later stages…
There was no "later" stage in Body Refinement.
As people often said, it was a path of hardship. Regular cultivation was already arduous, and if something was called the "hard path," one could only imagine how tough Body Refinement must have been.
Consequently, very few persisted long enough; even those with great determination often faced stalled progress and life force decline, unable to break through, ending in a gloomy demise.
"Yes."
Li Hao nodded in acknowledgment.
"You're not yet eight, and reaching Power Passage Realm Perfection at such a pace qualifies you to almost catch up to the heels of those top talents."
Li Muxiu continued, "Next is the Zhou Tian Realm—force transformed into qi and circulated throughout. You have two ways to break through. The first is entering the Hundred Jiao Body, forcibly breaking through with the physical body. The Hundred Jiao Body elaborates on Qi Circulation Skill, and achieving Perfection equates to reaching the peak with a circulation of one hundred周 (Zhou)."
"This is precisely why this Body Refining Technique is shelved on the sixth floor."
Li Muxiu saw Li Hao sitting cross-legged, listening intently, and he became more detailed in his explanation,
"The Zhou Tian Realm has ten layers, but the differences between them are vast. In the Power Passage Realm, leveraging Divine Blood with powerful cultivation techniques creates gaps, while in the Zhou Tian Realm, controlling the gap between heavenly pride and the mundane relies on superior Qi Circulation Skills."
"Martial artists without background mostly cultivate lower-level methods, usually achieving ten circulations of one meridian."
"Superior methods can reach thirty-six circulations per meridian!"
"And the supreme methods reach seventy-two circulations."
He looked at Li Hao and said, "As for the unparalleled methods, they reach one hundred circulations! This is the essence within the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body; disregarding the Body Refinement aspect, it's a top-tier Qi Circulation Skill."
"I see," Li Hao nodded slightly.
Regarding the Zhou Tian Realm, he had read some books and had a cursory understanding. If one circulation indicated one's strength doubled, ten circulations meant tenfold!
A hundred circulations meant a hundredfold; that was the gap.
Especially with the rise in the Zhou Tian Realm, each meridian opened compounded the disparity, making the difference between standard and top-tier Qi Circulation Skills akin to heaven and earth by the Tenth Layer of the Zhou Tian Realm.
For the top Zhou Tian Realm martial artists from great clans or renowned sects, if not reaching a hundred circulations, they still achieved at least seventy-two, easily surpassing ordinary Zhou Tian Realm martial artists without a background in Jianghu.
"An unparalleled Qi Circulation Skill in any prestigious sect is nearly on the level of guarding the sect's heritage, usually only taught to the sect's most treasured or inner disciples."
"In the Listening Rain Tower, there are three such unparalleled skills; the Hundred Jiao section within the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body is one."
Li Muxiu explained, "But even then, in my Divine General Mansion, these are passed down solely to the direct line, not collaterals, lest it disrupts the Tiangang and breeds chaos."
"The difference in martial artist cultivation ultimately concerns combat between individuals. Some don't pursue ultimate dominance but merely seek to surpass others. When they can't, suppressing others becomes a means of transcendence, often easier than self-improvement through arduous training."
"This is why top forces and renowned sects restrict the spread of unmatched skills. Once leaked, the possessor might, ironically, face a deadly threat."
Li Hao asked, "Isn't cultivation meant for slaying demons?"
Li Muxiu's speech paused. He glanced at Li Hao mockingly, "Slaying demons is the task of a few warriors, like those in our Li Family and other Divine General Mansions. However, most people live in safety and prosperity, where demons dare not roam. How often do they get the chance to slay demons, and how many truly dare?"
"Have you seen an ordinary hunter, without reward, willingly hunt ferocious tigers or giant bears?"
"Dayu is in an era of prosperity, and in prosperous times, the world seeks fame. Slaying demons seeks reputation, dueling and fighting seek reputation, establishing sects and schools—in all, it's for fame!"
"For fame and fortune, countless people advance despite dangers, their deaths deemed insignificant!"
"Who wouldn't wish that after ten thousand years, they are still remembered, be enshrined in the Martial Temple, and have their Golden Bodies revered with enduring incense?"
His speech was animated, but the agitation came not from longing, rather, it brimmed with a certain suppressed anger.
"I do not."
Li Hao shook his head slightly, saying, "If I had a choice, I'd rather live forever."