A letter from Jian Lu? Li Hao felt slightly astonished, and the image of the little girl who liked to cry couldn't help but surface in his mind.
Having been away at Jian Lu for several months, he wondered how she was faring, whether she was getting used to sleeping there.
Opening the letter, Li Hao began to read it carefully.
The delicate and unfamiliar handwriting seemed to be that of the little girl herself, expressing both peace and yearning.
Perhaps because it was a rare chance to write and send a letter, the page was filled with detailed descriptions of her daily life at Jian Lu over the past several months, including taking a master, recognizing fellow disciples, training, learning the sword techniques, and so on—every little detail carefully written out.
Although the description was of everyday life, it conveyed profound longing.
At the end of the letter, the young girl seemed to realize she had little space left, saying she would train hard, striving to come down the mountain early and urging Li Hao to wait for her return.
Li Hao read quietly to the end, then gently folded the paper and replaced it in the envelope, tucking it into the brocade at his chest.
Beside him, Li Muxiu asked Li Fu what the situation at Jian Lu was.
Clearly, this old man, who only ever went fishing or stayed in Listening Rain Tower, was unaware of the younger generation's matters like those concerning Li Hao. If not for the tumultuous news of Li Hao's martial arts disability, which had once caused a stir throughout the mansion, he would not have heard of it.
When he learned the full story, Li Hao noticed the old man's first reaction was a visible sigh of relief.
His expression seemed to say, "Ah, so Hao Er doesn't have a talent for the sword; I almost thought that Sword Saint would take him away to train."
Although he didn't care about Li Hao's training, if Li Hao truly had exceptional talent, he would not have obstructed it.
Afterward, Li Muxiu scoffed coldly, his expression displeased:
"That old fellow Jian Wudao, relying on his seniority, bullies Jian Lan because she dare not talk back, Humph! With a tier-nine war body and sword talent, which renowned family wouldn't scramble to have her? He gets a bargain and still plays coy, settling with just a lousy body refinement secret text? One of these days, I must go up to Jian Lu and have this out!"
Li Fu, listening, started sweating and couldn't help but smile wryly in his mind, not daring to interject.
Others would rejoice at the privilege of being taken as a disciple by a Sword Saint, who dared to haggle?
"Uncle, how was today's catch, you got a big haul, didn't you!"
Li Fu changed the subject, knowing the old master liked to be praised for his fishing skill. The man, who had always been upright, serious, and stern in the army, now showed a sycophantic and flattering smile, which looked quite awkward and clumsy.
Not knowing how to flatter but trying anyway was truly fatal.
Li Muxiu glanced at him indifferently and said to Li Hao, "See, Hao Er? This is the importance of our fishing tradition. You must show off your catch as much as possible, or those who don't know might think you've returned empty-handed."
You go straight home; how could anyone know you went fishing, and even if they knew, who would care... Li Hao thought bitterly.
"Let's go."
Li Muxiu ignored Li Fu and led Li Hao into Listening Rain Tower.
Li Fu hesitated, not stepping forward, and just before Li Muxiu entered the tower, he suddenly stopped but didn't look back, saying:
"Little Fu, you need not worry about Hao Er's training any longer, he truly has a talent for body refinement. I will teach him alongside my fishing."
With that, he stepped directly into the play of light and shadow inside the door.
Li Fu was stunned, the complex and conflicting thoughts in his mind suddenly clearing as though a weight had been lifted.
He bowed deeply, expressing his thanks, and couldn't help but feel happy and excited for Li Hao.
If Uncle himself was to provide instruction, it would certainly surpass his own teaching, after all, this uncle's achievements are in no way inferior to that Sword Saint...
...
...
Although Li Muxiu seemed carefree, he was a man of his word, no doubt influenced by the military family's teachings.
Upon entering the tower, Li Muxiu collected some firewood, set up a makeshift stove on the terrace, and began filleting the fish demon he had caught that day. Casually, he said to Li Hao, "If you have any questions during your training, just ask, and I'll help you figure them out."
Li Hao shook his head slightly, "Not at the moment."
"No?"
Li Muxiu, in a displeased tone, said, "Are you implying you haven't encountered any bottlenecks yet? Humph, these body refining techniques are quite formidable; it's impressive if you understand them. Forget it, show me your practice; let's see."
Li Hao thought it unnecessary, but seeing that the old man truly wanted to teach him, he didn't want to let down the kindness, so he diligently assumed the posture and rehearsed the movements.
Li Muxiu had intended to offer some pointers, but upon closer inspection, he found hardly any flaws and couldn't help sizing up the youngster once more.
To have self-taught to this level was indicative of truly astonishing comprehension!
"Not bad, your current practice should have reached the Tenth Layer of Power Passage Realm, hasn't it?" Li Muxiu said. Although he hadn't sensed Li Hao in detail, to have practiced the second layer of the Jiao Dragon Body, his cultivation must have surely reached the Perfection of the First Realm.
Moreover, compared to the common perfection in the Power Passage Realm, the physical strength brought by Body Refinement was greater, slightly stronger than those at the same realm. Of course, this advantage exists in the early stages of cultivation.
As for the later stages...
Body Refinement had no later stages.
As everyone says, it is a hard path. One must know that normal cultivation is already extremely arduous, and to be called a hard path, one can imagine just how much more difficult Body Refinement must be.
Thus, very few could persevere to the end, and even if there were ones with great resolve, they often ended up withering away before their natural lifespan due to too slow progress with no breakthroughs.
"Hmm."
Li Hao nodded in affirmation.
"Not yet eight years old and already at Power Passage Realm Perfection, such progress in cultivation could indeed catch up to the heels of those top geniuses."
Li Muxiu said, "Next is the Zhou Tian Realm, where strength is turned into Qi, and Qi circulates throughout Zhou Tian. There are two methods to break through to the Zhou Tian Realm. The first is to enter the Hundred Jiao Body, forcibly breaking through with physical strength. The Hundred Jiao Body also involves Qi Circulation Skill. Cultivating it to perfection allows you to reach the pinnacle state of one-hundred Circulations."
"It's precisely for this reason that this Body Refining Technique could be placed on the sixth floor."
Seeing Li Hao sit cross-legged and listen attentively, Li Muxiu explained in even greater detail:
"The Zhou Tian Realm has ten layers, but the disparity between each is huge. In the Power Passage Realm, enhancing strength through powerful cultivation techniques and awakening Divine Blood can create a gap, while in the Zhou Tian Realm, it's through elite Qi Circulation Skills that the gap between the chosen ones and the common folk widens."
"Ordinary martial artists without backgrounds mostly practice inferior skills, circulating Qi throughout ten Zhou Tians."
"Mid to high-grade skills can achieve thirty-six Zhou Tian cycles!"
"As for superior skills, they enable the cycle of seventy-two Zhou Tians."
He looked at Li Hao and said, "As for the pinnacle skills, they can complete one hundred Zhou Tian cycles! That's the essence carried within the Thousand Jiao's Holy Body, omitting Body Refinement altogether, it could still be considered an elite Qi Circulation Skill."
"I see," said Li Hao with a slight nod.
He had flipped through some books on the Zhou Tian Realm and had some understanding of it. If one cycle of Zhou Tian meant possessing one's own strength multiplied, then ten cycles amounted to ten times that strength!
And one hundred Zhou Tian cycles meant one hundred times the strength – that was the disparity.
Especially as one advanced in the Zhou Tian Realm, with each layer's meridian-opening, this compounded disparity became vast. By the Tenth Layer of the Zhou Tian Realm, the gap between ordinary Qi Circulation Skills and elite skills was like that between the earth and the sky.
Major forces, distinguished sects, and geniuses combined, the top Zhou Tian Realm martial artists, even if not reaching one hundred Zhou Tian cycles, would at least achieve seventy-two cycles, allowing them to easily sweep through common Zhou Tian Realm martial artists, the unsupported heroes of Jianghu.
"A pinnacle Qi Circulation Skill, in any distinguished sect, is almost of a heritage-preserving level, typically taught only to direct disciples or chosen successors."
"Within Listening Rain Tower, there are three such pinnacle skills, and the Hundred Jiao chapter of the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body is indeed one of them," Li Muxiu explained. "But even so, in our Divine General Mansion, it's passed only within direct lineage, not to collateral family members, so as to avoid inverting Tiangang and causing social upheaval due to human greed."
"The disparities in martial arts cultivation are ultimately for the sake of combat between individuals. Some people cultivate not to become the strongest, but to surpass others. Therefore, when they can't surpass, to diminish others is also a way of surpassing and often more effortless than striving to improve oneself."
"This is why top powers and distinguished sects keep their extraordinary techniques secret and do not pass them on. Once they are leaked, those who obtain them may instead meet with deadly misfortune."
Li Hao asked, "Isn't cultivation for the purpose of slaying demons?"
Li Muxiu's tone paused, and he gave a glance, saying mockingly, "Slaying demons is the affair of a few martial artists, such as our Li Family and other Divine General Mansions. But most people live in tranquil and prosperous areas where demons are forbidden to tread, and there is hardly an opportunity to slay them. Even when there is, how many dare to do so?"
"Have you seen ordinary hunters, with no benefit, willingly go hunt fierce tigers and giant bears?"
"Our Dayu is in a golden age. During such times, people seek fame. Slaying demons is for fame, competing and fighting are for fame, founding sects and schools is also for fame!"
"For the sake of reputation and wealth, many pursue it continuously, a life not regretted in death!"
"Who doesn't wish to be remembered by the world for thousands of years after death, enshrined in the martial temple, cast in a golden image, with incense burning for a millennium?"
His voice was somewhat impassioned, but it carried not so much aspiration as it did some suppressed anger.
"I don't want that," Li Hao shook his head slightly and said, "If I had a choice, I would choose to live forever."