https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-101-The-Move-That-Decides-the-World/13450076/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-103-The-Renowned-Sword-Eternal-Night/13450078/
Chapter 102: Li Qianfeng Returns Home
Chapter 102: Li Qianfeng Returns Home
The time in the courtyard quietly passed.
Since Li Hao and Bian Ruxue returned to the manor on the Festival day, they hadn't gone out again. They were both quietly waiting for that day to arrive.
On a regular day, Bian Ruxue practiced sword techniques in the courtyard, focusing only on sword intent and not on sword moves.
Otherwise, the power of the sword moves would be too fierce, cutting away the last remnants of autumn in the courtyard.
After her sword dance ended, the young girl turned her gaze toward the pavilion.
But the pavilion was empty, with no sign of the boy who used to be there.
Her clear, snow-like eyes couldn't help but show a bit of melancholy and dejection, but only for a moment before she composed herself and continued her sword intent training.
Meanwhile, Li Hao's figure often appeared in the Li Family Ancestral Hall. He would find Fifth Master to play chess or run to the Rain Listening Pavilion, where he would casually open a book and sit there for an entire day.
As the two-month period drew closer, only ten days remained.
On this day, Li Hao was by a pond in the courtyard, taking out his painting board, which he hadn't touched for half a month, preparing to paint the last deep autumn leaf.
A figure ran into the courtyard—it was Li Yuanzhao.
He panted as he reached Li Hao's side and said, "Hao Ge, Qianqian is looking for you."
"Qianqian?"
"It's Ren Qianqian, the one we went to Cangyu City with before", Li Yuanzhao quickly explained.
Li Hao recalled and asked, "What does she want?"
"She said her father agreed, and she wants to learn sword techniques from you", Li Yuanzhao immediately replied.
Li Hao remembered this and felt a bit surprised.
"Hao Ge, do you agree? If you do, I'll call her over", Li Yuanzhao asked, acting as a messenger.
Li Hao thought for a moment and said, "Sure."
Since she was so insistent, he couldn't refuse her.
"Great."
Li Yuanzhao chuckled and said, "She's outside the manor, I'll go and bring her over."
Li Hao nodded.
When he finished grinding the ink and completing his painting, Li Yuanzhao led the slender and beautiful Ren Qianqian over.
The girl held a sword in her arms, her eyes gently scanning the Divine General Manor, which many people admired and longed for.
Even as the daughter of a Martial Master, well-versed in many things, Ren Qianqian couldn't help but show a bit of nervousness on her face.
From the entrance of the Divine General Manor to the Mountain and River Courtyard, the journey was not short. Along the way, every first-rank distance was guarded by soldiers with a solemn and deadly aura, and there were patrols of guards.
The manor, in reality, was not much different from a smaller palace.
On the way, Ren Qianqian had already seen several figures with auras similar to her father's, and some even had a deeper and more restrained aura.
However, they lacked the transcendent and ethereal quality, instead exuding a more profound and deadly aura from countless battles!
This made her secretly alarmed. These figures, who had crossed the Heavenly Gate and were considered Grandmasters, seemed to be mere guards in the Divine General Manor.
"Hao Ge, Qianqian is here", Li Yuanzhao called out with a smile.
Li Hao sat alone by the pond.
Ren Qianqian looked at the young prodigy whose name had been spreading like thunder through Qingzhou City. Her eyes sparkled.
Since the battle in Cangyu City, she had expected his name to sweep the entire city, but she hadn't anticipated the extent of the excitement and fervor.
Now, she saw Li Hao, dressed in a white robe, exuding a noble aura, holding a brush and just finishing his sketching.
Ren Qianqian was somewhat surprised and taken aback. She had thought that a genius like Li Hao would be constantly striving and training.
She didn't expect him to be so relaxed at this moment.
"I've made up my mind."
Ren Qianqian slightly composed herself, standing a bit straighter, and said, "I want to learn sword techniques from you, the strongest sword techniques of the Li Family. I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"
Li Hao's lips twitched slightly. Another child willing to give up everything for the sake of the sword.
He let out a soft sigh in his heart and placed the brush on the inkstone beside him.
Then, he turned from his chair to face the young girl and asked seriously, "Are you really sure about this?"
"I am sure!" Ren Qianqian's eyes were serious and determined.
"Your father agrees?"
"He has already agreed."
"Really?"
Ren Qianqian nodded, hugging her sword tightly, "I want to surpass the Grandmaster and achieve immortality with my sword!"
Li Hao smiled faintly and said, "So what if it's immortality? Even the Grandmaster is not beyond the dust, and immortality is not truly eternal."
"Once today passes, you will be a part of the Li Family. From then on, you will never be able to break free, even if you were to cripple your own martial arts. As long as you remember, you will not be allowed to leave."
"Unless you die!"
At this, his eyes suddenly sharpened like a blade, fixing his gaze on the young girl. "Can you really do it?"
Ren Qianqian's heart trembled slightly. Faced with Li Hao's intense stare, she instinctively wanted to step back. The pressure was overwhelming, almost unbearable.
But as her heel lifted, she stopped. She thought to herself that if she couldn't even withstand the gaze of a peer, how could she ever practice the sword, let alone achieve immortality through it?
She took a deep breath, gripping her sword tighter, and gritted her teeth. "Yes, I can do it!"
Li Hao gave her a deep look, then turned his gaze away, saying calmly, "Alright, from today on, you are my Sword Attendant, tasked with carrying my sword."
Ren Qianqian was slightly taken aback but immediately nodded. "Thank you!"
"You don't need to thank me. It's a mutual exchange."
Li Hao continued, "Later, I will take you to see Old Zhao. You will sign a household contract with him and familiarize yourself with the environment and rules of the Divine General Manor."
"Understood."
Ren Qianqian nodded and then asked, "When can I start learning the sword?"
Li Hao glanced at her. "I will teach you one move first. You can ponder and understand it on your own. Come to me if you have any questions."
"Alright."
Ren Qianqian's face lit up with joy. Noticing that Li Hao had no sword, she quickly offered her own. "You can use my sword."
"Unnecessary."
Li Hao turned around and picked up a pen from the inkstone beside him.
Then, he casually flicked out a sword aura.
The sword aura swept across the pond, causing the water to part as if it were a broken waterfall.
It took several moments for the water to slowly merge back together. The sword aura continued to the end of the pond without causing any disturbance, not even harming a single blade of grass.
Li Yuanzhao and Ren Qianqian were both stunned, frozen in place.
They could produce sword auras too, but to wield it so effortlessly, as Li Hao did, was something they had never even dared to imagine.
Especially the way the sword aura vanished without a trace, showing such masterful control, was simply breathtaking!
"Hao Ge..."
Li Yuanzhao snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Hao Ge, I want to learn too!"
"Go through the Sword Manual in the Rain Listening Pavilion on your own."
Li Hao gave him a sidelong glance. "Come to me if you can't understand it."
"Great!"
Li Yuanzhao's face lit up with joy. After bidding Li Hao farewell, he ran off happily.
Ren Qianqian, however, remained by the pond, lost in thought.
Time flew by.
In the following days, Li Hao continued to read books in the Rain Listening Pavilion, occasionally lost in thought in the courtyard.
As for Ren Qianqian, Li Hao didn't rush to teach her the sword techniques from the Rain Listening Pavilion. Instead, he had her practice on her own in the courtyard, occasionally offering guidance and pointing out the flaws in her technique. This helped her improve gradually, moving her skills closer to the Supreme Level.
In the courtyard,
Li Hao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at a withered, leafless tree.
Bian Ruxue approached and saw a young girl practicing sword techniques on the other side of the tree. Her eyes flickered slightly.
She had heard that the girl was Li Hao's Sword Attendant, the Martial Master's daughter.
However, while the title of Martial Master's daughter was prestigious, it wasn't particularly rare in the Divine General Manor.
Bian Ruxue noticed that the girl's sword technique was quite refined, but it still fell short compared to her own.
So, she didn't pay much more attention. After all, there were countless swordsmen in the world, and many had exquisite sword skills.
"Brother Hao, what are you looking at?"
Bian Ruxue asked, seeing Li Hao staring at the withered tree.
The last traces of autumn color had long faded from the tree.
Li Hao's gaze gradually focused, and he said softly, "I'm watching the wind."
"The wind?"
Bian Ruxue looked around. The wind was present, but it could only be felt, not seen.
"Unfortunately, the wind is too weak."
Li Hao smiled. "Too weak to scatter the fallen leaves, let alone shake this tree."
Bian Ruxue was taken aback and looked at the withered tree.
Indeed, she could feel the wind on her face. If it were spring, with lush leaves, she might see the wind's movement.
But it was late autumn now.
Suddenly, a series of thuds came from the ground.
Then, a large number of hoofbeats approached from a distance, galloping past the courtyard.
Bian Ruxue was surprised.
Riding horses within the manor was not unusual, but who would ride in a group so recklessly and at such a breakneck speed?
Her Divine Soul flew out of her body and hovered in the air, revealing a group of figures clad in robes riding horses along the path outside the Mountain and River Courtyard, heading in the direction of the Shuihua Courtyard.
The leader of the group was a middle-aged man draped in a clean robe, with a dignified and solemn Buddha-like appearance.
Bian Ruxue, apart from practicing her sword skills at the Sword Hut, had also learned about the famous powers in the world from her fellow senior disciples, to prepare her for when she would enter the world.
Understanding human nature and recognizing people and paths were even more important in the martial world than swords and knives.
The people before her were from Wuliang Mountain.
The middle-aged man leading them was dressed as a Bodhisattva.
A Bodhisattva was a Fourth Establishment Realm powerhouse!
Second only to the Infinite Buddha Master, who had enjoyed a thousand years of incense offerings!
Bian Ruxue's face changed slightly, and she soon noticed a young figure riding alongside the Bodhisattva.
He passed by swiftly but suddenly turned his head to look at Bian Ruxue's Divine Soul, their gazes meeting.
Bian Ruxue immediately knew that this was her second aunt's son, Li Qianfeng, Li Hao's competitor in the True Dragon selection!
The horse ran quickly, and their eyes met only for a fleeting moment before the young man turned his head and rode away.
Bian Ruxue's Divine Soul returned to her body, her face grave as she said to Li Hao:
"Brother Hao, be careful of that person. I could sense that he is not simple!"
That brief moment of eye contact made her feel a chill, as if all her hairs were standing on end. She had a feeling that if he were to attack, he could kill her instantly!
This made her deeply concerned for Li Hao.
"Alright."
Li Hao smiled.
A gentle breeze blew past, stirring a leaf and flipping it onto the top of his shoe.
As time ticked down, the Divine General Manor became increasingly bustling after Li Qianfeng returned to the manor.
People visited daily, but most of them headed to the Shuihua Courtyard.
Many of these visitors were relatives of the Liu Family, there to support their nephew.
On the third day before the selection, Li Tiangang, along with Li Xuanli and the ladies of the various courtyards, went deep into the Divine General Manor to the Forget Sorrow Mountain to bring down the old lady who had been eating vegetarian and chanting for twenty years.
This old lady was Li Tiangang's mother.
Chen Hefang.
She was also Li Hao's grandmother.
Additionally, she was from the Chen family, one of the five major families of the Divine General Manor.
She had married into the Li Family and bore nine sons who became famous across the world in her generation.
However, the old lady seemed to have little contact with the Chen family.
The thousand-year-old Divine General Manor had a deep and complex web of grudges and entanglements, both within the manor and between the families, which could not be easily explained in a few words.
With Chen Hefang brought out, everyone in the Divine General Manor gathered in the Qinglian Courtyard, which had been cleaned and long abandoned.
In the vast main hall, the second generation, including Li Tiangang, gathered to pay their respects. Uncle Li Fenghua, who was guarding the border pass, also rushed back. For this True Dragon selection, unless there was a truly unavoidable reason, everyone would be present to witness it.
Here, Li Hao and Li Qianfeng met again.
For Li Qianfeng, this was the first time he had seen Li Hao.
As a child, when Li Hao was brought to the courtyard by his mother, Li Qianfeng hadn't paid much attention, and even if he had seen him, he had long forgotten about it.
This is Seventh Uncle's son?
He stood with his hands behind his back, tilting his head to appraise Li Hao, his eyes narrowed.
As for Li Wushuang and the other third-generation members of the Li Family standing behind Li Hao, he had seen them but found none of them noteworthy.
Li Wushuang, whom he had originally considered a rival, he now saw was only at the Divine Wanderer Realm and had not yet reached the Fifteen Li mark.
Even if they were to compete at the same realm, he was not afraid.
Only the youth before him, whose fame had spread from Qingzhou to other states, gave him a sense of depth and mystery.
He could not discern Li Hao's cultivation realm at all.
(End of Chapter)
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