https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-198-Foundation-Building-World-Class-Talent-Part-2-/13450269/
Chapter 197: Liangzhou's Turn for the Better
Chapter 197: Liangzhou’s Turn for the Better
"Big Brother, it’s clearly your own carelessness."
Another five-year-old child said with a mischievous grin.
The three children ceased their sparring. The older boy huffed in displeasure, "If you keep ambushing me like that, next time I’ll use real force!"
"Big Brother, if you use real force, you’ll be bullying me."
The five-year-old child laughed.
"Hmph, who asked you to keep ambushing me?"
"Father says that in battle, there’s no such thing as ambush; it’s all strategy and tactics!"
"We’re just sparring."
Watching the children bicker, Li Hao’s eyes flickered. From their conversation, he could roughly guess their identities.
His thoughts moved, and a golden light appeared before his eyes.
Li Hao looked at Chen Hefang, but she seemed oblivious to the golden light floating in front of her. The golden characters followed his gaze and cast a reflection on her cheek.
[Growth] Task Progress: 5.6%.
Li Hao quickly calculated in his mind. It seemed he was now over a year old.
So, he should be able to speak and walk now.
"Mother?"
Li Hao took a deep breath and tentatively called out, his voice clear and distinct.
Hearing the childish call, Chen Hefang was momentarily stunned. She immediately looked down at Li Hao, her smile turning into surprise:
"Shi Lang, you can call me Mother? Say it again, let me hear it."
"Mother."
Li Hao felt a bit strange but forced himself to call out again, confirming that his vocal cords were indeed fully developed.
Seeing how intelligent Li Hao was, actually understanding her words, Chen Hefang’s face lit up with a radiant smile. She praised him repeatedly.
The children bickering in the courtyard heard the commotion and took the opportunity to stop their cultivation, gathering around.
The three-year-old child who had been brandishing a stick ran over but forgot to drop it, nearly hitting Li Hao on the head. Chen Hefang timely blocked it.
"Junye, don’t hurt your brother."
Chen Hefang chuckled, but she didn’t scold the child.
Little Li Junye was also startled and quickly threw the wooden stick aside, coming closer to look at Li Hao curiously.
"Can my brother talk now?"
"Call me Brother!"
The older Little Li Xuanli exclaimed in surprise.
Another robust child, Little Li Tengang, directly asked Li Hao to call him Brother, acting with a sense of authority, teasing Li Hao.
Another child, who seemed to be Li Fenghua, had a fair and delicate appearance, with a gentle look in his eyes, resembling Chen Hefang’s temperament more. He just smiled without speaking, looking a bit shy.
Li Hao knew that these were the obsessions of his maternal grandfather, more accurately, a part of his memories.
The authenticity of these memories was yet to be verified. After all, even he was counted as Shi Lang, indicating that certain factors could alter his memories.
Seeing these children poking and prodding him out of curiosity, Li Hao felt a bit helpless. He closed his eyes and waited for a few seconds. Gradually, the sounds around him faded away, as if he was being dragged away by something.
A few minutes later, when Li Hao opened his eyes again, a wooden stick was whistling toward his forehead.
He was startled but reacted quickly, rolling to the side to avoid the stick. Feeling a wooden sword in his hand, he swung it up.
Thud. He deflected the opponent’s stick. Then, Li Hao saw that the attacker was three-year-old Little Li Junye.
He was now in the courtyard’s training ground he had seen earlier, with a sword in his hand.
Recalling what Fourth Uncle had said, he must have fast-forwarded to the 1st Rank stage. Now, he was also part of the cultivation.
Li Hao examined his limbs; they hadn’t changed much, probably only a few months had passed.
Starting cultivation from such a young age... Li Hao inwardly sighed. It seemed the cultivation environment of the previous generation was quite different from the solitary time he spent in that courtyard.
Seeing the other child swing the stick again, Li Hao quickly turned his body. Although his cultivation memories were sealed, his accumulated combat experience still lingered. He struck the other child’s hand, knocking the stick away.
Clatter.
The stick fell to the ground, but Li Hao didn’t have much strength. Little Li Junye just rubbed his hand and didn’t cry, instead picking up the stick again.
Seeing the other child about to attack again, Li Hao hurriedly said, "No more, I’m tired."
This kind of cultivation held little meaning for him.
Little Li Junye, seeing Li Hao concede, stopped in confusion.
Li Hao looked at Chen Hefang, who was smiling and beckoning him over.
"Come rest if you’re tired, and have something to eat."
Li Hao dropped the wooden sword and ran over, climbing onto a chair. Just as he was about to grab a pastry, Chen Hefang caught his small hand and carefully wiped the sand and dirt from his fingers with a handkerchief, then tapped his forehead:
"You’re just a glutton."
Li Hao felt a bit strange but started eating anyway.
The courtyard was filled with the sound of wooden swords clashing. Li Hao watched Little Li Xuanli for a moment, and a prompt suddenly appeared in his vision:
[Basic skills learned. Do you want to record them?]
Here it comes!
Li Hao felt a surge of joy and immediately chose to record.
Soon, a new message appeared on his status panel:
Sword Dao: Novice (Can add points)
Sword Art: Mystic Sword Codex (Uninitiated)
Art Skill Points: 0
Li Hao thought about the various Sword Techniques in the Rain Listening Pavilion. This Sword Art was only a High-Grade Sword Technique, but it was a good choice for beginners.
Next, he needed to get some Art Skill Points.
After finishing the pastry in his hand, Li Hao patted his hands and jumped off the small stool:
"Mom, I'm going to play."
"Hmm?"
Chen Hefang looked at Li Hao with some surprise but didn't stop him. She just instructed the maid to keep an eye on Shi Lang.
Li Hao sighed with relief. It seemed that this grandmother had been quite lenient with her children when she was young.
He immediately turned and started wandering around the courtyard.
First, he needed to familiarize himself with the environment.
As for Art Skill Points, given his current situation, Li Hao planned to start with poetry.
Painting and chess were not options for him at the moment, and even if his grandmother was lenient, she would likely say something if she saw him lying on the chessboard every day.
The maid followed closely, so Li Hao muttered to himself, reciting famous poems from his previous life.
Soon, experience prompts appeared before his eyes:
[Poetry books experience +28, poetry books experience +32...]
Although Li Hao hadn't comprehended these poetry books, just reciting the famous pieces brought a significant amount of experience.
His status panel automatically recorded the Literary Dao.
To go from Rank 0 to Rank 1, he needed 100 points.
Simply reciting a few famous poems, his poetry books experience reached Rank 2, earning him two Art Skill Points.
Li Hao immediately used them on the Sword Dao, increasing it to 1st Rank.
He kept the other point for later, to be used when he started cultivation, adding it to a Body Refinement Technique.
With 1st Rank Sword Dao, the Mystic Sword Codex he had just added instantly progressed from Uninitiated to Perfection!
Numerous insights into the Sword Dao flooded his mind, and Li Hao inwardly cursed. Here we go again.
The last time he digested this knowledge, his head had ached terribly.
Now, this young body was once again overwhelmed by the flood of knowledge.
Li Hao clutched his head, feeling sharp pains.
The maid, alarmed by Li Hao's sudden signs of pain, quickly sent for a Master Physician and tried to carry him back for treatment.
The jostling made Li Hao's headache worse, and it took a great deal of effort to finally digest the knowledge, leaving him extremely fatigued.
Not only had his body returned to infancy, but his spirit and will seemed to have regressed as well.
Li Hao felt exhausted and couldn't stay awake any longer, so he fell asleep again.
...
...
As Li Hao and Li Xiaoran entered the Mourning River, the second line of defense in Liangzhou faced the most intense moment of the war.
Without the Candlelight Deity and Lu Yuan to command, the Void Realm, Holy Palace, Dragon Gate, and other Demon Kings, who had already infiltrated Liangzhou from other borders and secretly sabotaged key cities, cutting off communication, now rushed to the second line of defense.
The appearance of these Demon Kings put the second line of defense under even greater pressure.
But at that moment, reinforcements from the Xia Clan arrived.
The elders of the Xia Clan, at the Fourth Establishment Realm, joined forces with the people of Qianji Mountain to block the subsequent Demon Kings.
Soon after, an elder from the Chen Family, also at the Fourth Establishment Realm, arrived.
Thanks to Chen Hefang's connection, the Chen Family, one of the Five Divine General Manors, had always had a good relationship with the Li Family. However, the distance was vast, spanning several major provinces, so they had taken a long time to arrive.
With the continuous arrival of reinforcements, a heaven-shaking battle erupted at the second line of defense.
Meanwhile, the 20 War Banners that Li Hao had dispatched were delivered to the second line of defense by a Heavenly Master clad in Haotian Army armor.
The addition of the 20 War Banners stabilized the situation, severely wounding a Demon King and nearly killing him.
In the sky outside the battlefield, a figure standing on Auspicious Clouds appeared.
Lin Wujing's gaze was fixed on the battlefield, his expression grim. He had thought he was coming to rescue the suffering, but instead, he was only adding to the glory.
Looking at the unified banners fluttering on the battlefield, he felt both shock and anger. He had witnessed the young man's prowess during the Li Family's True Dragon competition, and he couldn't believe that in just over a year, the young man had grown to such a level.
"Did they go to the Mourning River?"
Lin Wujing asked in a low voice.
A young girl, resembling a child, respectfully replied, "Yes, they went in that direction. We just received confirmation that they all entered the Mourning River."
Lin Wujing’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
After a moment, he said, "You go ahead."
The child-like girl nodded, and her figure blurred, transforming into a bright green bird that flew off into the distance.
"Qingzhou didn’t come …"
Lin Wujing looked toward the City Wall, where a figure was battling the Demon King, bursting with dazzling divine light. It was Li Family’s Duke, who had defended Yanbei for over a decade.
His achievements rivaled those of the older generation of the Li Family.
At this moment, his cultivation realm had reached the Fourth Establishment Realm.
His eyes flickered, and without lingering, he swiftly rushed toward the battlefield.
As auspicious clouds appeared, he raised his hand and cast a purple light resembling a lotus platform, silently striking a Dragon Gate Demon King.
By the time the Demon King noticed Lin Wujing, it was too late. He was heavily injured by the purple Buddhist light, spewing blood.
"Bastard!"
The Dragon Gate Demon King roared, realizing the situation was completely out of control, feeling both enraged and frustrated.
Without a word, Lin Wujing joined the battle.
For a moment, the sky seemed to split and the earth to shatter. Some of the Dragon Gate Demon Kings managed to escape and called for their Grand Elders, but received no response.
The remaining Demon Kings in the Void Realm also learned that their Patriarch and Madam had followed General Haotian and vanished without a trace, feeling both angry and desperate.
Another day passed.
The imperial forces arrived, sweeping through Liangzhou and driving away the Demons that had taken advantage of the chaos. Beacon fires of battle burned everywhere.
As the second defensive line was just settling down, Li Xuanli ordered the remaining capable troops to raise the banner of General Haotian and sweep through the cities, driving the remaining Demons out of Liangzhou!
With the departure of Li Hao, who had lured three Ultimate Mastery Realm Demon Kings away, and the arrival of reinforcements from all sides, the almost certain annihilation of Liangzhou was temporarily averted.
The Demons’ swift and sudden attack had failed, and once the Great Yu Divine Dynasty’s aid arrived, they could no longer stand their ground, especially with the disappearance of the Candlelight Deity and Lu Yuan, among other high-ranking Demon King officials.
"We held them off!"
Li Xuanli looked at the blood-red sunset beyond the defensive line, at the piles of corpses left by the Demon Tide, and wiped the blood from his face, feeling a surge of excitement.
Li Hongzhuang’s crimson battle armor had become even redder, her hair matted with blood and flesh. She smiled, but then her expression changed when she saw the banners waving in the air.
As the battlefield settled, the surviving warriors raised their war banners and cheered in joy.
But some faces were filled with grief, searching the battlefield for the bodies of their loved ones.
Others wept openly, their faces contorted with sorrow.
The border soldiers, hardened by the campaign, remained relatively numb, showing only a faint joy at surviving.
Among the Noble Families’ troops, who were participating in such a significant battle for the first time, there were countless voices of joy and tears, and many embraced each other in anguish.
The intense mix of joy and sorrow made the young men and women who had once dreamed of swordsmanship and adventure grow up overnight.
"Father! I’m alive!"
Some of the older generation of the Noble Families searched the battlefield in terror for their descendants.
Others emerged from the tattered war banners with looks of surprise and relief.
On the battlefield, clusters of survivors gathered around the war banners that waved in the wind.
The presence of these banners deterred the Demons from striking, forcing them to avoid these tough spots, allowing the survivors to live.
"We survived! We all survived!"
"Thanks to the war flag’s protection, the Demons were afraid and stayed away, just like a torch drives away wild beasts!"
These survivors, having experienced the battle firsthand, deeply felt the immense sense of security the war flag provided.
The deterrence came not from the war flag itself, but from the two words written on it!
For a moment, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of weeping and joy, as well as thunderous cheers.
Millions of voices, calling out a single name.
The mountainous and sea-like roar reached the City Wall, falling into the ears of Li Xuanli and others, causing their joy at protecting countless civilians to quickly fade, and their faces to turn grim.
(End of Chapter)
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