Seeing the prompt, Li Hao's heart did not overflow with too much joy.
He had long cast aside utilitarian desires, focusing wholeheartedly on the game, and it was precisely because of this that he possessed a Chess Tao State of Mind.
To use Chess Tao as a tool for practicing Martial Arts, a concept he once held, was now something he could not accept.
Even so, a part of him felt an impulse to directly invest these Skill Points into Chess Tao.
However, that severed arm, the man who drank wine, made him restrain such thoughts.
Playing chess was indeed important, the thing he loved doing now.
But there were some things he had to do, such as tearing the Tiger Robe Immortal into thousands of pieces!
Nevertheless, that was a Great Demon of the Fourth Realm, and getting to the Fourth Realm was not something that could be achieved overnight.
The only thing he could do now was to grow up quickly.
…
…
Chess Tao State of Mind was a state of mind, a condition.
After obtaining the Chess Tao State of Mind, Li Hao spent the following days in his small courtyard busily immersed in chess.
But now, he was not merely chasing the bit of experience one gets at the end of a game; he was truly enjoying every bit of the chess-playing process.
The ingenuity of every move, the layout, the contemplation, all deeply fascinated him, like playing a fun game, totally absorbed, with no desire to stop.
Whether eating, sleeping, or watching the little girl train in swordsmanship, his mind was filled with thoughts of chess.
This made Li Hao lose interest in almost everything other than chess.
One day, Xuejian from Eternal Spring Court brought news that the matriarch had invited Bian Ruxue to join the training facility of Divine General Mansion.
It was the place where the descendants of the Li Family cultivated.
After turning six, if one hadn't been taken in by a famous mountain, they would go to train at the facility, taught by retired strongmen from the military of the Li Family.
Li Hao agreed. Although he could teach the little girl, he was currently skilled only in swordsmanship. Besides sword practice, the facility also offered cultivation training and vast knowledge of Martial Arts, including insights into the outside world, aiming at fostering well-rounded individuals.
Since that day, each morning after paying respects to the matriarch, Li Hao would go his separate way from the little girl at Eternal Spring Court, he returning to Mountain and River Courtyard and she being sent off to the training facility.
In the training facility, aside from the direct descendants of the Li Family, there were also offshoot relatives and children, making for a significant number, dozens of individuals. Among them, only five were direct descendants, the same few who would pay morning respects to the matriarch with Li Hao.
Bian Ruxue also received the treatment of a direct descendant at the training facility because she was Li Hao's fiancée, half a member of the Li Family.
The descendants were like stars holding the moon in the training facility, their status much higher than the others'. Similarly, for Foundation Establishment and Blood Melting cultivation resources, they were at least a level above the others.
Therefore, the disparity in Martial Arts talent between direct descendants and the others was significant.
This resulted in, apart from a few just sensible direct line youngsters, most of the other relatives being teenagers in their mid-teens, with talents ranging around four to six ranks, considered average, but capable of holding down a territory in the future.
Those relatives with talent reaching the seventh rank would be given focused cultivation, enjoying resources close to those of direct descendants.
After entering the training facility, Bian Ruxue officially stepped onto the path of cultivation.
That's when the terror of her nine-ranked battle body became evident.
In just a few months, Li Hao saw the little girl advancing to the fourth level of the Power Passage Realm.
She was breaking through a minor realm nearly every month, her progress so swift it seemed as effortless as eating and drinking.
While this was inseparable from the lavish cultivation resources of the Li Family, poured into her without reservation, her Martial Arts talent was like a sponge, and the ability to absorb so much was also a skill.
And those teenagers in the training facility were still lingering around the eighth or ninth level of the Power Passage Realm. It was estimated that, in another half a year, the little girl would catch up to them.
As for Li Hao, he continued to play chess day after day, undisturbed in the courtyard, and the matriarch did not request his attendance at the training facility. Li Hao could see that the matriarch did not wish for him, as a direct descendant, to be humiliated in the training facility.
The training facility was not only for education but also to incite the children and teenagers' zeal for cultivation through arranging sparring and competition.
Someone like Li Hao, without any Martial Arts talent, would inevitably suffer if placed among them. Some of the kids were tactless in speech, and it was unavoidable to provoke conflicts that might reach the adults, which would not look good.
As the matriarch of Divine General Mansion, she sought peace and quiet.
And Li Hao was content with this arrangement, enjoying the leisure.
After all, for him, practicing Martial Arts was a waste of time.
He had no interest in squabbling with those teenagers, too dull.
…
"After playing so many games, haven't you learned anything? It's the same move that lost you three games already!" Li Hao scolded the house servant playing chess in front of him.
Startled, the servant jumped up, standing with his hands hanging down like a quivering quail, and said, "Young master, please calm your anger."
By now, Li Hao already had the bearing of a young master. They no longer dared to treat him like a child, taking his words lightly.
"Your mind is not focused on the game at all, what are you thinking about?" Li Hao said angrily.
The servant inwardly complained, as he had always played this way, but the young master had never cared before. Instead, the games ended quickly, and the young master seemed happy about it.
But recently, it had changed.
If the game was played poorly, the young master would get upset, causing the servant much distress.
"The two of you play terribly. You've been my opponents for so long and haven't improved a bit!" Li Hao said, irritated.
The servant hastily pleaded for forgiveness, while the other, as if remembering something, stealthily glanced at Li Hao and said, "Young master, I do know someone who plays chess; he's a third-ranked house servant newly joined here."
"Oh?" Li Hao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where is he?"
"In the woodshed, handling the chopping of firewood."
"Then what are we waiting for? Call him over so I can test him," Li Hao instantly said.
"Alright, Young Master," the house servant said joyfully, immediately taking his leave.
Before long, a lean and skinny young man, dressed in servant's clothes, was brought before Li Hao.
"What are you staring at? Haven't you seen the young master?"
"Ah, yes, may the Young Master have peace," the lean young man hurriedly knelt down.
Li Hao waved his hand slightly for the young man to rise and speak, pointing at the chessboard, "I hear you play chess. Play a game with me and let's see how well you do. If you're good, from now on, you'll stay at Mountain and River Courtyard as a top-ranked house servant, by my side."
"Ah?" The lean young man clearly hadn't expected such a stroke of good fortune to fall upon him and was dumbstruck, then immediately exclaimed with joy, "Thank you, Young Master, thank you!"
After saying this, he wiped his hands on his clothes and sat down in front of the chessboard.
Soon a game was laid out, and Li Hao took the white pieces in hand.
Several moves into the game, Li Hao was already delighted. This skinny young man really could play chess, and he had quite some technique.
Li Hao started to take it seriously too, making his moves without mercy.
In just a short while, the young man's face turned pale, his forehead was beading with sweat, and fear could be seen in his eyes.
In the end, his hand trembling slightly, he slumped low, staring at the chessboard in front of him, then at Li Hao, unable to believe it. Such a young child, so deeply versed in the ways of Chess Tao.
"I lost," said the lean young man with a complex expression as he stood up, his eyes betraying reluctance and a hint of subtle ferocity.
Li Hao was in a daze.
He came to his senses when he heard the young man's words and immediately started laughing, "Good, very good. From now on, you're a top-ranked servant in my courtyard. Just accompany me in chess every day."
The lean young man was stunned, looking at Li Hao in amazement, "But... but I lost."
Li Hao smiled. As soon as the game ended, it had prompted him that he gained experience, a whole 20 points!
Normally, when playing chess with the two knuckleheads by his side, the most he'd get was 3 points — the difference was simply huge.
This also showed that the more skilled the player in a chess match, the more experience he would get, rather than just rushing through game after game purely by volume.
"If every game yields 20 points, 10 games will be 200. To accumulate 5000 points, only two hundred and fifty games would be needed, and even if calculated at ten games a day, it would only take a month."
The more Li Hao thought about it, the more excited he became, his eyes looking more and more pleased at the lean young man before him.
"If you can beat me, I can grant you ten thousand taels of gold!" Li Hao said, encouraging him with a smile.
The lean young man was shocked, his body trembling with excitement.
Li Hao told him not to stand there in a daze and to sit and continue playing while instructing the two servants by his side to go prepare his registration and handle the transfer procedures.
And so, Li Hao and the lean young man began a series of matches in the courtyard.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
One night, after dinner, Li Hao called the lean young man over for another battle.
In the bedroom, under the night light, two figures—one large and one small—were locked in a chess battle on a board.
"Young Master."
As Li Hao concentrated on plotting his next move, he suddenly heard the lean young man call out to him.
But the tone was not the usual one that was slightly flattering and respectful; instead, there was a strange tranquility to it.
Li Hao looked up in confusion, to see a glint of cold light shooting towards him, straight at his face!
His pupils shrank, and his body instinctively kicked back, retreating like lightning.
Looking back at the chess table, the lean young man's one hand was lying on the board while the other maintained a stabbing gesture with a dagger, his face showing a hint of shock—obviously, he had not expected that his attack would be dodged by the young master.
"Hmm? You..."
Li Hao came back to his senses. Everything had happened too suddenly and without warning.
As he was shocked, his eyes swiftly turned icy cold, and he said in a chilling voice, "An assassination? Who sent you?"
A woman from Shuihua Courtyard flashed through his mind, but Li Hao promptly dismissed that thought; after all, he was a cripple without any threat, and it seemed unlikely someone from inside would want to assassinate him.
"How did you..." The lean young man's mind was in even greater disarray than Li Hao's, more shocked. Wasn't this child a useless person who couldn't cultivate Martial Arts? For all those days in the yard, accompanying Li Hao daily, he indeed had not seen him practice at all, not even once!
To know, children of the Li Family were expected to suffer through rough training at the age of six.
Yet, this 'disabled' child spent every day playing chess in his own courtyard, ignored by everyone.
The intelligence was not wrong, but it seemed... outrageously so!
Quickly, the lean young man reacted. His body exploded in movement, displaying a shockingly swift movement technique, lunging directly at Li Hao.
He must not let the child cry out. His eyes were filled with ruthlessness and murderous intent.
But on the other side, Li Hao's thoughts mirrored his.
The assassin must not be allowed to cry out, or else too many would be alarmed.
Kill!
Seeing the onrushing figure, Li Hao did not dodge. Instead, he suddenly thrust out with his foot. His small frame burst forth like thunder, carrying a faint whistling sound in the action. As he got close, he tilted his head slightly to watch the dagger swipe past his eyes. At the same time, he delivered a punch to the enemy's belly.
Li Hao had never engaged in physical combat with anyone since he had started his path of cultivation.
This time, it was almost full power unleashed.
A sound as heavy as a sandbag hitting the floor echoed. The lean young man's eyeballs nearly popped out as he was struck, curving like a shrimp and forced to fly backward, crashing in front of the chess table.
Li Hao didn't know how much force was behind his own punch, but given he could lift up a two-ton rockery, this forceful punch must have carried tens of thousands of pounds.
As the young man was repelled, Li Hao quickly leaped forward. His small hand, like a hawk's claw, grabbed the other's throat and he said coldly, "Don't make a sound!"
The lean young man: "???"