Chapter 10: Myriad Phenomena Attributes
Chapter 10: Myriad Phenomena Attributes
Li Hao was wondering what the outcome would be if he were to undergo Bone Measurement again.
But the opportunity was a one-time deal, and no one believed that the old Taoist from Qingqiu Mountain would make a mistake.
Since the Bone Measurement ended, he could clearly feel that the hustle and bustle of the Mountain and River Courtyard had decreased. In the past, the ladies of various courtyards would often bring their children over to play, or invite him over to enjoy the small pastries and fresh fruits from the border regions or vassal states, and let their children play with Li Hao to foster a close relationship from a young age.
But now, after two months, only First Lady, Fifth Lady, and the young Ninth Lady had come to visit him.
After seeing that he was fine, they didn't come over again.
However, he occasionally received fruit pears and pastries sent from Changchun Courtyard.
Now that winter had arrived, he also received two sets of short, fine-furred cotton pants and jackets, as well as a scarf.
Li Hao hung the scarf around the little girl's neck.
...
The next day.
As the sky began to brighten, Lin Haixia was already leading Bian Ruxue to practice swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Previously, Lin Haixia had let the child choose various weapons from the weapon rack, testing her talent for each one. Bian Ruxue ultimately chose the sword.
After practicing, Lin Haixia discovered that she indeed had a talent for Sword Dao, so she taught her diligently, occasionally being strict.
By noon, Li Hao had just woken up. He was not yet six years old and did not have to follow the household rules, which required him to go to Changchun Courtyard every morning to pay respects to his eldest aunt. Therefore, he could sleep in comfortably.
Seeing the diligent and hardworking figure in the courtyard, Li Hao shook his head slightly, feeling a bit sorry for her. He then accepted the washbasin from the attendant, ate breakfast, and proceeded to call the two house servants who knew how to play chess, instructing them to set up a game in the pavilion.
After a short while, the game ended, and Li Hao noticed that he did not receive any experience points, which made him pause.
Then, he saw text floating before his eyes:
{Chess Dao Level 3, requires a Chess Heart to continue advancing.}
Chess Heart?
Li Hao was puzzled.
As if sensing his thoughts, the text gradually disappeared and was replaced by another line:
[To cultivate a Chess Heart, one must have only chess in mind, and be solely devoted to chess.]
That was a straightforward explanation.
Li Hao was a bit surprised that he could interact with the text.
Hello?
The text disappeared.
Li Hao tried calling out a few more times, but there was no response. He then stopped thinking about it and began to ponder, "Only be devoted to chess?"
Does it mean he needs to first refine a Chess Heart to gain experience?
In Divine General Manor, Li Hao had heard of Sword Heart, Spear Heart, and Sharp Tongue, Soft Heart.
But he had never heard of a Chess Heart.
That made sense, as playing chess and other minor arts were considered trivial in the Divine General Manor.
However, a Chess Heart should be similar to a Sword Heart, right?
He had overheard the ladies in the courtyard talking about how a certain young man, from childhood, practiced swordsmanship every day, holding a sword while eating and sleeping with it, and after refining a Sword Heart, his Sword Dao cultivation progressed rapidly.
So, to refine a Chess Heart, he would need to do the same?
But did Li Hao like Chess Dao?
In his previous life, he had only a basic understanding of it, just a little bit.
Playing chess... who in their right mind would love playing chess?
Playing poker was much more enjoyable.
Work was already exhausting enough; who had the time for such a brain-draining activity?
Unless it was for novelty, to switch up the entertainment experience occasionally.
Even with the ability to increase Chess Dao experience, Li Hao only saw it as a tool for earning Art Skill Points. To truly love and be devoted to it seemed difficult.
Feeling a bit skeptical, Li Hao had the house servants play another game with him.
Then he started to doubt it.
This made Li Hao somewhat troubled, his little face wrinkling up. Just when he had tasted the sweetness of cultivation, he was told that he couldn't gain experience by playing chess anymore. How could that be?
Did he really have to hold the chess pieces every day?
But without experience, what was the point of holding them?
Maybe he should switch to practicing another art?
But this Chess Heart, he wasn't sure what its use was. He decided to think about it a bit more.
Over the next few days, Li Hao moved the chessboard to his bed, laying a blanket over it and using it as a pillow.
During meals, he would place the chessboard beside him, treating it like a Buddha statue.
But this form of formalism seemed to have no effect.
Li Hao didn't seek out the servants to continue playing chess. Instead, he would watch the little girl practice her sword techniques or go to the Rain Listening Pavilion to read various books.
One day, while flipping through books in the Rain Listening Pavilion, Li Hao came across several pages of chess diagrams, which surprised him.
The book described an interesting incident from a few hundred years ago. A famous figure had been humiliated in his youth and later sought revenge. However, his enemy had abandoned martial arts to study chess.
The renowned figure had once said that when he came to avenge himself, he would crush his enemy completely, leaving him utterly hopeless before executing him.
However, his enemy had been studying chess for many years.
On the spot, they decided to compete in chess.
The renowned figure suffered a devastating defeat. Despite this, he was stubborn and didn't kill his enemy on the spot.
Instead, he massacred the enemy's entire family, sparing no women or children, but left the enemy alive, saying he would return one day.
But he never managed to solve that chess puzzle until his death.
Li Hao couldn't help but chuckle after reading this.
The enemy must have been very familiar with the renowned figure. Although he lacked martial talent, he was smart enough to learn this trick to avoid being killed.
Li Hao suddenly found chess a bit more interesting.
It wasn't the Li family's fault; even he, deep down, felt that in this world of martial arts, chess was just a form of entertainment, with no real significance.
But now, his thoughts had shifted slightly.
{Detected chess diagram 'Myriad Phenomena.' Do you want to collect it?}
Words suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Li Hao was surprised and remembered that his panel had a feature to collect chess diagrams.
It was clear that he had indeed not been interested in the Chess Dao, treating it only as a tool to gain experience. In the past five years, he had never bothered to collect any chess diagrams.
He felt a bit ashamed at this realization.
Li Hao immediately chose "Yes."
Soon, the panel's chess diagram collection included a new entry: "Myriad Phenomena."
There was also a prompt that it could be embedded.
Li Hao was puzzled and tried to select "Embed."
A line of text appeared:
{Choose the embedding target: Flesh Dao, Sword Dao.}
Li Hao was surprised. What did this mean?
After some thought, he chose Flesh Dao.
Having just started cultivation, he had experienced the surge of power throughout his body and had developed a greater interest in the Flesh Dao.
[Embed successful.]
At that moment, Li Hao felt a surge of complex information flooding his mind.
He was very familiar with this sensation and quickly digested it. Li Hao saw on his panel:
【Flesh Dao: 1st Rank (Myriad Phenomena)】
The fragmented information in his mind explained what had happened.
Myriad Phenomena: Places the target in the midst of the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, making it impossible to perceive, concealing all traces of energy.
Li Hao tried it out, and his entire aura instantly became concealed. The surging power and energy within his body seemed to retract into countless pores and cells, making it impossible to detect.
"Special attribute?"
Li Hao was shocked. He hadn't expected a chess diagram to have such an effect; it was simply incredible.
With his second-rank Chess Dao, he could understand the diagram to some extent. It contained large mazes within smaller mazes, step-by-step traps and dead ends, which was why the renowned figure had never been able to solve it.
However, after embedding this chess diagram into the Flesh Dao, it brought about a similar attribute.
If he had chosen to embed it into the Sword Dao, would his sword techniques have gained some deceptive effects, making it impossible to perceive the true killing move?
When combined with the Tidal Sword Technique's extremely elaborate and dazzling moves, it would likely be even more bewildering.
Li Hao glanced at the interface. The embeddable options behind the *Myriad Phenomena Chess Manual* had disappeared, meaning he could only choose one.
However, this opened a new world for him. So, the chess manuals are the true path!
If he could gather other types of chess manuals, wouldn't he be able to attach various special buffs to his attacks?
With this thought, Li Hao became enthusiastic and began searching around the building.
However, the Rain Listening Pavilion was a sacred place for martial artists, not for chess players. Over several days, even though Li Hao spent most of his time in the Rain Listening Pavilion, he only found three chess manuals, one of which was used to prop up a bookshelf.
*Flying Segment*, *Hidden Bow*, *Tiger Pressure*.
With these three chess manuals in hand, Li Hao studied them, deducing their attributes based on their characteristics. He embedded *Flying Segment* and *Hidden Bow* into the Sword Dao, and *Tiger Pressure* into the Flesh Dao.
*Flying Segment*: Doubles attack range, providing long-distance strike effects.
*Hidden Bow*: Conceals deadly moves, capable of instantaneous kills.
*Tiger Pressure*: Slightly increases strength, with a threatening effect.
These three chess manuals greatly enhanced Li Hao's abilities.
Unfortunately, while the Divine General Manor had everything, as a martial family, they had no tradition of collecting chess manuals.
Returning to his courtyard, Li Hao could only ask the servants to help him find chess manuals outside. However, the servants were reluctant, none daring to assist the young master in his "unproductive" pursuits.
With no other choice, Li Hao had to offer substantial rewards to entice them.
In the following days, while waiting for chess manuals, Li Hao also began to study chess.
He removed the blanket from the chessboard by his bed and put it back, and cleared the chessboard from the dining table. Apart from occasionally strolling in the courtyard, he would watch the little girl practice her sword techniques.
Perhaps due to losing her parents at a young age and experiencing hardship, the little girl was extremely diligent. Under Lin Haixia's guidance, her sword skills steadily improved.
"That's wrong, that move is incorrect."
One day, while teaching sword techniques, Lin Haixia showed the strictness of a military officer. Despite being satisfied with Bian Ruxue's talent for Sword Dao, he would harshly criticize any mistakes.
The little girl, holding back tears, stubbornly practiced over and over again.
Li Hao watched, shaking his head helplessly. While Uncle Lin was a good person, he didn't necessarily tailor his teaching to her needs.
A few harsh words, and the little girl's sword moves were almost deformed.
In the evening, Li Hao saw the little girl still practicing in the courtyard. He called her over.
"That stance is wrong, bend your arm a bit more, yes, like that, and don't stiffen your waist too much..."
With no one around, Li Hao gave the little girl private lessons, guiding her step by step.
Bian Ruxue wasn't stupid, and she indeed had a talent for Sword Dao. Under Li Hao's guidance, her form quickly became precise, with a natural sword rhythm.
"Brother Hao, do you know sword techniques too?" The little girl, excited, looked at Li Hao. "Can we practice together tomorrow?"
"Don't be silly, I don't want to wake up early."
Li Hao was startled and quickly replied.
"If Uncle Lin knew you know sword techniques, he would be very happy", Bian Ruxue said hopefully. Although she didn't understand many things, she could see that the elders around her seemed disappointed with Li Hao.
The little girl's diligence and hard work were driven by a hidden resolve. Everyone said Brother Hao couldn't do it, but she believed Brother Hao was actually very smart.
"I don't know sword techniques, don't spread rumors", Li Hao said hurriedly. Little girl, don't repay kindness with ingratitude and ruin my good sleep. I would really cry.
Bian Ruxue was puzzled. "But you clearly..."
"Off to bed, off to bed." Li Hao rolled his eyes and shooed her away, warning her not to talk nonsense.
The next day.
In the courtyard, Lin Haixia watched Bian Ruxue practicing her sword techniques, his eyes gradually widening.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
