Hearing Li Hao's words, Li Muxiu was taken aback.
He gazed at Li Hao steadily, then suddenly burst into laughter, but his eyes revealed a trace of sorrow.
"So many affairs from ancient times to present are brushed off with laughter; it is ridiculous how many people in the world are far less insightful than a child," he said.
With that, he turned around.
Li Hao suddenly noticed the old gentleman secretly wiping away tears.
This was a strong man on par with a Sword Saint, yet he was crying; what could have brought him to tears?
Li Hao, wisely choosing to remain silent, waited a moment until Li Muxiu seemed to have adjusted his emotions and turned back toward him, smiling:
"I just mentioned that there are two methods to break through to the Zhou Tian Realm. Thousand Jiaos is one, and the other is the Zhou Tian Breathing Skill," he continued.
"Within Listening Rain Tower, there are two such methods, both of the highest caliber. Mastering one to perfection allows for a hundred and eight Circulations within a single meridian, while the other can achieve a hundred and twenty-eight Circulations. Across the entire Dayu, they are considered top-notch, and it's likely that only the royal family's All Heavens Zhou Tian Skill practiced within the palace could surpass this Hundred Battles Cycle Heaven Skill," he explained.
"One hundred sixty-eight Circulations, truly unparalleled in this world."
"That powerful?"
Li Hao exclaimed in surprise. Reaching seventy-two Circulations was already considered superior; the fact that the royal family's method could more than double that figure, didn't that mean within the Zhou Tian Realm the royal family was virtually invincible?
"Of course, otherwise how could the royal family command the world?"
Li Muxiu continued, "This is known as monopoly over Cultivation Techniques. Apart from the royal family, no others may learn or practice it; that's why powerful families last through the ages—by monopolizing a domain."
Li Hao nodded in understanding; wasn't Listening Rain Tower doing exactly the same?
With this tower alone, it was enough to ensure the prosperity or decline of the Divine General Mansion throughout the generations.
"However, the more supreme the Cultivation Technique, the harder the training, hence it also puts one's comprehension to an extreme test; it's not something anyone can master casually. In our Li Family, although there are quite a few who practice the Hundred Battles Cycle Heaven Skill, even more people opt for the other skill, the Heavenly Gang Zhou Tian Skill," explained Li Muxiu.
"The reason is simple; if it takes you five years to learn the Hundred Battles Cycle Heaven Skill, but you can learn the Heavenly Gang Zhou Tian Skill in three, then in three years, those who practiced the latter will surely win in a competition!"
"You might think, in just two more years, you could surpass them, but never underestimate the importance of those two years. When you finally perfect the Hundred Battles after two years, others may have already reached the Soul Successor Realm, one step ahead is always leading the way!" stated Li Muxiu.
Li Hao nodded.
One should practice the Cultivation Technique that matches one's aptitude—this was key.
Otherwise, it's like an elementary school student trying to understand high school lessons, unable to grasp anything while being surpassed by those who progress step by step, a waste of precious time.
"Since you have an excellent talent for Body Refinement, I suggest you challenge the Zhou Tian Realm with Thousand Jiaos. With your comprehension, you should have the prospect of mastering it within three years," Li Muxiu advised.
"By then, at ten years old in the Zhou Tian Realm, with a hundred Circulations in one meridian, you would only be slightly inferior to your father," he said.
"He's that formidable?"
Li Hao was astonished.
Average people, at the age of ten, if they have achieved Power Passage Realm Perfection, they're considered pretty decent.
The Divine General Mansion was filled with marvels, and naturally, the expectations were higher, but reaching the Zhou Tian Realm at ten was also a mark of genius, right?
"If my memory serves me right, Li Junye's talent was slightly inferior to yours. He perfected the Power Passage Realm at seven years old—your current age—and perfected the Zhou Tian Realm at nine, the Soul Succession Realm at twelve, and the Divine Travel Completion at sixteen... That lad later went off to join the military, and I'm not clear on the specifics after that," said Li Muxiu, shaking his head.
Li Hao inwardly gasped in amazement at these incredible feats.
Consider that Uncle Lin was also regarded as having a decent talent, yet he was still in the Divine Travel Realm in his forties.
And here were the geniuses... perfecting it by the age of sixteen.
And this was still considered inferior to that Ninth Uncle?
Li Hao was momentarily at a loss for words, but thinking about Ninth Uncle's talent, which stood out among the tens of millions of martial artists across the nineteen states of Dayu, he found some consolation.
"Once you step into the Zhou Tian Realm and are cultivating the Qi Circulation Skill, you must also learn the Meridian Opening Skill specific to that realm. Your father, within two years, mastered both the extremely difficult top-level martial arts—the Hundred Battles Cycle Heaven Skill and the Dragon River Divine Meridian—to reach Perfect Zhou Tian, second only to the royal family amongst his peers," Li Muxiu continued.
"Apart from the difference in Qi Circulation Skills, the Meridian Opening Skill is the same; the ordinary skills open one layer for each meridian, reaching the Tenth Layer of Circulation Realm means ten channels!"
"With a mid-level Meridian Opening Skill, when perfected, there would be eighteen channels, and for a high-level skill, thirty-six channels!"
"For the most supreme skills, there would be fifty-four channels!"
"The Dragon River Divine Meridian is our Li Family's finest Meridian Opening Skill, offering five channels to be opened with each of the first nine layers, and nine channels upon perfecting the tenth layer!" explained Li Muxiu.
Li Muxiu looked at Li Hao, smiling and asking, "Now do you understand how much of a gap exists between the supreme Meridian Opening Skills and Qi Circulation Skills, and the ordinary ones?"
Li Hao counted on his fingers and took a sharp breath, visibly shocked.
Both at Cycle Heaven Realm Perfection, the top-tier versus the ordinary differed by over fifty-fold—a gap as vast as the heavens from the earth!
Should both Qi Circulation and Meridian Opening be of ordinary grades—ten channels, ten Circulations—the power they could unleash was only marginally superior to that of the first layer of the top-tier Qi Circulation Techniques.
The disparity was simply unimaginable!
This also made Li Hao realize just how precious and important resources were on the path of Martial Arts.
Average martial artists without any background could only cultivate ordinary Cultivation Techniques, becoming fodder at their cultivation level.
And such disparities would, for countless martial artists, drive them to climb upwards by any means necessary, whether by currying favor with connections or through their own struggle, all leading down a bloody path of ruin.
For this reason, top-notch martial artists could possess everything, renowned throughout the realm.
This path was not easy to walk.
"If you were born with obstructed meridians, the difficulty of opening your meridians would increase, which could slow you down. However, with our Li Family's top-notch Cultivation Techniques, at most you would fall from the ranks of the top prodigies. In the eyes of the common martial artists, you would remain an untouchable genius," Li Muxiu said.
In the Li Family, far too many geniuses were born.
Having held high positions for so long, they had seen countless other minor forces and families rise meteorically like comets.
Therefore, it was only extreme outliers like Li Tian Gang and Li Jun Ye that could catch the attention of these old timers, while the rest were akin to the numerous illegitimate descendants in the training fields—merely qualified members of the family.
Li Hao nodded slightly but didn't speak.
"The fish is ready."
Li Muxiu lifted the clay cover, and the scent of fish drifted out.
He extinguished the firewood and took it away, then said to Li Hao, "Eat first. After you finish, practice here on your own. I have to go out this afternoon. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me tonight."
"Okay," Li Hao responded.
The "chopsticks" used for skinning yesterday had not been discarded, and the old man handed them to Li Hao again.
Li Hao followed suit, wiping them on his clothing before reaching into the pot to pick out meat and start eating.
This time, Li Hao no longer felt the fish was too strong-flavored but savored the sweet and tender delicacy instead.
After finishing the meal, Li Muxiu packed away the pot and the chopsticks, gave Li Hao a piece of advice, then with a sleeve flutter, he stepped forth and disappeared into the horizon.
Li Hao stretched lazily and walked over to the bookshelf containing the Cultivation Techniques, quickly finding the several books the old man had mentioned, all preserved in the glass cabinet on the seventh floor to slow the decay of the books.
Of course, Li Hao believed that the Li Family definitely had copies of these Cultivation Techniques stored in secret places.
In fact, these displayed copies might well be duplicates.
Li Hao flipped through the Hundred Battles Cycle Heaven Skill and the Dragon River Divine Meridian, but for a while, he couldn't incorporate them into his panel—an indication of their status as top-notch skills.
He brought up his panel and, seeing the two Skill Points he had accumulated, he didn't hesitate to allocate them all to the Physical Body Path.
In an instant, vast amounts of information poured into his mind. When the first wave finished, a second one followed.
It took him a full quarter of an hour to gradually digest it all, and his eyes revealed a look of enlightenment.
He checked the panel again and saw that the skills he had mastered had undergone earth-shattering changes.
[Name: Li Hao]
[Age: 7]
[Cultivation Level: Tenth Layer of Power Passage Realm]
[Swordsmanship: Second Phase (Flying Phase) (Hidden Bow)]
[Skills: Endless Sea·Tide (Perfected) Falling Snow Sword Skill (Perfected)]
[Physical Body Path: Third Phase (All Encompassing) (Tiger Press)]
[Skills: Stone Skin Hundred Refinements (True Form) Thousand Jiaos Holy Body Third Layer (Hundred Jiao Body Great Accomplishment) Tai Chu Third Layer (Subtle Body Great Accomplishment) Dragon Cicada Void Body Third Layer (Leap Shell Body Great Accomplishment)...]
[Chess Tao: Fourth Phase (5/10000)]
[Fishing Tao: First Phase (112/500)]
[Chess Manual Collection: All Encompassing, Tiger Press, Flying Phase, Hidden Bow]
[Fishing Manual Collection: None]
[State of Mind: Chess Heart]
[Skill Points: 0]
...
The enhancement to the Third Phase of the Physical Body Path propelled the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body to the third-layered Great Accomplishment, and simultaneously, Tai Chu and Dragon Cicada Void Body also reached the third layer, achieving Great Accomplishment!
However, what surprised and astonished Li Hao the most was the low-grade Body Refinement Skill known as "Stone Skin Hundred Refinements."
The realm indicated behind it reached "True Form"!
Li Hao's mind automatically gathered countless details about the Stone Skin Hundred Refinements technique, enabling him to perform it beyond mere perfection.
The stages of Body Refinement are similar to those of artistic skills, consisting of Beginner, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection.
These correspond to the techniques' Beginner, Dexterous, Perfect, and Ultimate stages.
But what the hell is this "True Form"?
A higher stage beyond Ultimate Perfection?!
Apart from Stone Skin Hundred Refinements, all other low-grade Body Refinement Skills also bore the "True Form" tag!
Barbaric Bull Strength (True Form), Li Hao could feel, had its original flaws overcome. He intuitively acted upon the insights in his mind and started to perform the skill.
Strength flowed through his body, Qi Force erupted, and his veins bulged like bull tendons, concentrating upon his fist at the will of his mind.
With a whoosh, he threw a punch, and the curtains on the terrace over ten meters away were set dancing by the force of his punch!
This Barbaric Bull Strength, upon reaching True Form, brought a significant boost to his strength, at least four to five times more effective than before!
Moreover, it possessed a sense of returning to the essence, where every movement transcended the original Barbaric Bull Strength's flavor, embodying an indescribably harmonious and rounded momentum.
It was as if this was the true face of Barbaric Bull Strength!
Subsequently, Li Hao started practicing the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body.
In a flash, the vast force within his dantian began to stir, spinning like a windmill.