When consciousness drifted, a massive influx of information suddenly poured into his mind.
Li Hao held his head, feeling a swelling sensation, as if it would burst.
This made him show a look of pain.
"Hao Er, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Yue Rong noticed something off with Li Hao, got startled, and quickly asked with concern.
Li Hao gritted his teeth tightly.
The turbulent thoughts in his mind gradually calmed down, and only then did Li Hao realize that there was suddenly a lot of knowledge about swords in his mind.
It was as if he had been arduously practicing swordsmanship day and night for two or three years.
*Damn it, this headache feels the same as when I improved my level in Chess Tao...*
Li Hao rubbed his head, panting heavily. He was still too young, his brain not fully developed, and the overwhelming information from Chess Tao and Sword Dao was a terrifying impact on his fragile brain.
He did not speak, trying hard to calm down.
"Could it be that Lin Xue fell ill?" Liu Yue Rong touched Li Hao's forehead, but felt no fever, and couldn't help but wonder.
By this time, Li Hao had completely recovered. He looked at his second mother with a surprised gaze, pointed to his mouth, and mumbled in a childish voice, "Bit... bit my tongue."
Liu Yue Rong paused, then let out a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes with exasperation.
Li Hao brushed it off, ignoring her, and secretly checked his personal panel.
Name: Li Hao
Age: 1 year
Cultivation: Mortal
Sword Dao: First Segment
Skill: Endless Sea・Tide (Perfect) [Forbidden]
Mastered Art: Chess Tao
Chess Tao: First Segment (82/500)
Chess Collection: 0
Skill Points: 0
Li Hao was somewhat shocked. The final skill points were gone, but the Sword Dao actually went from 'Uninitiated' to 'First Segment'!
Moreover, the skill below, Endless Sea・Tide, also advanced from Uninitiated to Perfect!
He had heard the army instructor teaching Li Qianfeng mention this before.
Any skill technique had three levels, Initiate, Agile, and Perfect!
Initiate meant proficiently rehearsing a full set!
Agile indicated not only proficiency but also the ability to apply it flexibly, fully comprehending and doing it effortlessly!
Facing different situations, one could counter moves effectively and not just stiffly stick to routine moves!
As for Perfect,
it meant the technique was completely mastered, as naturally as directing one's own arm. Even when performed in reverse, it could be done easily without exposing any flaws!
Unless it was a flaw in the technique itself!
It was said that above Perfect, there existed an even higher realm.
In that realm, one could even overcome the flaws of a technique, elevating its power to a new height!
And at this moment, after advancing to the first segment in Sword Dao, Li Hao had astonishingly reached Perfection in the first level of Endless Sea's sword technique.
This would have taken at least ten years of hard work to achieve!
The current Li Qianfeng, it was said, had only practiced Endless Sea for half a year and had already initiated the first level of Tide, making him a swordsmanship prodigy.
So what was he now? A monster?
Seeing that his second mother was not paying attention to him, Li Hao's gaze returned to the courtyard.
At this moment,
the children in the courtyard were still practicing their swordplay, but in Li Hao's eyes, they no longer seemed impressive. Instead, he could instantly see their immature techniques and stiff postures!
If it were someone who really knew how to use a sword, a light strike could knock the wooden sword out of their hand!
"Not bad," a burly middle-aged man expressed his great satisfaction with Li Qianfeng's performance.
With excellent aptitudes and great perception, he would reach Agility in the first level in two more years.
It was noteworthy that Li Qianfeng was still a child, his mind not fully developed, yet he was already extremely promising.
As time passed.
Li Hao, while watching and nibbling on snacks fed by his second mother, gradually felt a hint of drowsiness and boredom.
He yawned, lay down in his second mother's arms, and slowly closed his eyes.
It seemed like something flitted before his eyes, but Li Hao was already asleep.
Hearing the gentle breathing in her arms, Liu Yue Rong lowered her head, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes.
But when she looked up at her son practicing swordplay in the snow, the complexity in her eyes disappeared, and her gaze returned to tranquility.
She got up, carrying Li Hao out of the pavilion and back to her room in the backyard, gently laying Li Hao on her own bed, and covering him with a blanket.
Her movements were gentle, like those of a biological mother.
Li Hao, drowsy in his sleep, felt himself being laid down and stirred slightly.
He felt warmth in his chest, slightly hot. It was the Dragon Blood Jade Pendant bestowed by Emperor Yu, which he always wore close to him. That was also the reason he didn't feel cold standing in the snow.
Just as Li Hao was about to turn over and continue his deep sleep, he suddenly heard a low voice from outside the room.
"Did you really give that child that thing?" A strange man's voice.
"The situation is already like this, I have no choice."
It was his second mother's voice, but it lacked the tenderness and intimacy, replaced by the indifferent tone used towards house servants.
"You have seen it too, how hard my son strives, and he is a talent of the century! People from Mount Wuliang have already visited. When Qianfeng turns six, they will take him to Mount Wuliang for cultivation. When his Divine Blood awakens, inheriting the power from his father's lineage, he will surely make a name for himself in the world!"
"I must pave the way for him!"
Li Hao opened his eyes slightly, his mind muddled with fatigue and doubt.
*Who was second mother talking to?*
"We still don't know what talent this child possesses, this move may be too reckless," the low male voice sighed.
Outside the door, there was a brief silence.
Soon after, Liu Yue Rong's voice rang out, colder, with a hint of mockery:
"Parents' love fosters deep plans for their children!"
"Originally, I didn't want things this way, but the heads in the Li Family are so foolish, unforgivably so!"
"This child should blame only his father, for being such a monster as the Marquis of Punishment. Others don't know, but I do know he reached that realm by the age of twenty-three…"
"Meaning his child has a significant chance of awakening Divine Blood as well!"
"What?!"
The low male voice was shocked: "Twenty-three, and he reached the 'Three Immortalities'?!"
"That's right. The Li Family ancestor was Emperor Dayu's founding Divine General, with potent lineage. The father followed the ancestors' aspirations, as did he."
"In the previous generation, aside from Qianfeng's father, that Marquis of Punishment was also a monster, as were the third and sixth brothers, and the ninth! Especially Jiro, who was even more terrifying, fortunately, he died early, leaving no descendants…"
"The wife of the third brother is here watching over him, and being a woman, she will eventually marry out, so it won't have much impact. Although the sixth brother also entered the Three Immortalities early, it was after marriage…"
Liu Yue Rong coldly said, "The only one who can compete with Qianfeng is this child, or else why would Emperor Yu bestow blessings upon him? Even if, in the future, his Martial Arts aptitude is mediocre, with the awakening of Divine Blood, he can still contend with top-tier prodigies!"
A bout of silence ensued outside the house.
The low male voice let out a sigh, saying, "Since the lady has made such a decision, I won't say much more."
"You needn't worry. This medicine was obtained from Mount Wuliang. Once ingested, it leaves no trace and causes no pain. I even wrapped it in sugar, so it doesn't taste strange, and though he is still young, it won't leave him with any lasting memories. After all, children have eaten so many sweets."
"To take a step back, if they later find out he cannot awaken the Divine Blood, they can't definitively say it's our doing. Anyone in this Divine General's Mansion might have done it!"
"Moreover, the likelihood of awakening that realm's bloodline isn't a certainty. Maybe the child wouldn't have been able to anyway?"
As she finished speaking, Liu Yue Rong sneered, "Thanks to the wars in Northern Yan, Ji Qingqing and the Marquis of Punishment being deeply in love, went off to the battlefield, giving us such an opportunity. Otherwise, if the child grew a few years older and they returned, there would surely be Military Generals secretly guarding him, making it hard to act."
The man did not respond anymore, only letting out a low sigh.
After a brief period, the footsteps of both gradually faded away.
Inside the room, Li Hao was now fully awake, his mind in a daze, finding it hard to believe.
*Second mother actually wanted to harm him?* *The tender care and concern he received daily were actually fake?*
Li Hao did not want to believe it, but the facts were right in front of him.
*Even though he didn't understand what this Divine Blood was, second mother wanted to destroy him because she felt he would obstruct her plans for her own child!*
Li Hao's face darkened, his tiny fists clenched slightly.
*All those gentle words and smiles made him complacent, but second mother was like this, what about others?*
*Who else harbored true intentions?*
He had only been here a year and a half, but each day he was cared for by these ladies in turns, and a bit of sentiment had grown in his heart.
But now, it felt like an illusion.
*Was this the internal strife of ancient noble families?*
His small hand touched his body. Besides the slight warmth in his chest, there was no other feeling, and that warmth was from the Dragon Blood Jade Pendant.
His mother had said there was his father's power inside him, but now… it was gone.
Li Hao silently clenched his little hand, determining that he would repay this enmity in the future!
...
...
Spring went, autumn came.
In the blink of an eye, Li Hao was three years old.
Now, he stayed mostly in the Mountain and River Courtyard, being much more cautious about the food delivered by the ladies of various courtyards, sometimes pretending not to like it and pushing it away, throwing little temper tantrums.
Gradually, the house servants in the courtyard all understood that the young master was extremely picky about food and drink.
Three years old.
In the Divine General Mansion, this was an extremely crucial age.
In ordinary families, children wouldn't start their Martial Arts cultivation until seven or eight, or even as late as their teens.
Some, even with innate talent, would have their martial accomplishments limited due to having their bone structure fixed, missing out on the best cultivation time.
But the Divine General Mansion was a Martial Arts Family, with the most rigorous Cultivation Method, ensuring that children in the clan had their foundation built from an early age.
Foundation Establishment at three years old.
Blood Melting at four years old.
Bone Measuring at five years old!
By the time they were six, it basically marked the beginning of formal cultivation, without wasting any time.
On the road of cultivation, where thousands strive to cross, a single step ahead means leading every step!
The presence of cultivation aptitude could be tested by the age of five when measuring bones.
If bones were fully developed, with abundant and solid bone marrow, formal cultivation could start post the five-year bone measure.
However, the Divine General Mansion possessed numerous famed medicines and rare treasures to nourish and elevate martial aptitude, and the worst anyone could achieve was starting cultivation at the age of eight, over all these years of family history.
Reportedly, that individual was premature and had been injured in the womb, leading to such delays.