Chapter 26: Top-Notch Body Cultivation
Chapter 26: Top-Notch Body Cultivation
A letter from the Sword Hut? Li Hao felt a slight surprise, and the image of the little girl who often cried came to mind.
It had been months since he left for the Sword Hut. He wondered how she was doing and if she was sleeping well.
He carefully opened the letter and began to read.
The neat but unfamiliar handwriting seemed to be from the little girl herself. She expressed her safety and her longing.
Perhaps it was a rare opportunity to write and send a letter, so the paper was filled with details of her daily life at the Sword Hut—becoming a disciple, being accepted by her fellow disciples, practicing, and learning the sword techniques. She described everything meticulously.
Though the content was mundane, it conveyed deep affection.
At the end of the letter, the little girl seemed to realize she was running out of space. She wrote that she would practice diligently and strive to come down the mountain soon, asking Li Hao to wait for her return.
Li Hao silently finished reading and then gently folded the paper, slipping it back into the envelope and tucking it into his chest robe.
Beside him, Li Muxiu asked Li Fu about the situation at the Sword Hut.
Obviously, this old man, who was either fishing or staying at the Rain Listening Pavilion, was unaware of the affairs of the third-generation descendants like Li Hao. If not for the news of Li Hao's Martial Wasteland Body, which had caused quite a stir in the manor, he wouldn't have even heard about it.
Upon learning the details, Li Hao's first reaction upon seeing the old man was a clear sigh of relief.
His expression seemed to say, "Oh, so it's not that Hao has Sword Dao talent. I almost thought the Sword Saint was going to take him as a disciple."
While he didn't particularly care about Li Hao's cultivation, he wouldn't hinder him if he truly had exceptional talent.
Then, Li Muxiu snorted coldly, his expression displeased.
"Jian Wudao, that old man, takes advantage of his seniority to bully Sword Orchid, who dares not defy him. Hmph! A Ninth-Rank War Body is a rare Sword Dao talent, and any prestigious sect would snatch him up. He got a good deal and still acts high and mighty, offering a tattered Body Cultivation secret manual as compensation? I'll have to go to the Sword Hut and have a word with him one day!"
Li Fu broke out in a cold sweat, inwardly sighing bitterly, and dared not respond.
Others would be thrilled to be accepted as a disciple by the Sword Saint, who would dare to haggle?
"Second Uncle, how was your fishing today? Must have been a great catch!"
Li Fu changed the subject, knowing the old man enjoyed being praised for his fishing skills. This usually stern and serious old warrior from the military now showed a fawning and flattering smile, though it looked particularly awkward and forced.
His attempts at flattery were painfully clumsy.
Li Muxiu glanced at him indifferently and said to Li Hao, "Hao, see that? This is the importance of our fishing tradition. You must show off your catch as much as possible; otherwise, people might think you're in the Air Force."
If you go straight home, who would know you went fishing, and who would care even if they did... Li Hao thought to himself.
"Let's go."
Li Muxiu ignored Li Fu and led Li Hao into the Rain Listening Pavilion.
Li Fu hesitated, standing there, but just as Li Muxiu was about to enter, he paused without turning back and said, "Xiaofu, you don't need to worry about Hao's cultivation anymore. He does have a talent for Body Cultivation, and I'll teach him a bit while I fish."
With that, he walked straight into the shadows inside the door.
Li Fu was taken aback, and the complex and conflicting thoughts in his mind seemed to clear up, like a heavy burden had been lifted.
He bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude, feeling happy and excited for Li Hao.
If Second Uncle could personally guide and teach him, it would be far better than his own instruction. After all, Second Uncle was no less formidable than the Sword Saint...
...
...
Although Li Muxiu seemed rather unorthodox, he was a man of his word, a trait influenced by the family's martial traditions.
Inside the pavilion, Li Muxiu gathered some firewood and set up a stove on the terrace. While dissecting the Fish Demon he had caught that day, he casually said to Li Hao, "Do you have any questions about your cultivation? Feel free to ask, and I'll help you with them."
Li Hao shook his head slightly, "Not at the moment."
"Not at the moment?"
Li Muxiu said irritably, "You mean you haven't encountered any bottlenecks yet? Hmph, this Body Refinement Technique is very powerful. It's impressive that you can even understand it. Well, show me your technique, let me see."
Li Hao thought it wasn't necessary, but seeing the old man's genuine desire to teach, he didn't want to disappoint him and obediently demonstrated his technique.
Li Muxiu had intended to give some pointers, but he found no significant flaws, which made him look at the young boy again.
To reach this level through self-study showed remarkable insight!
"Good, your current cultivation should be at the tenth level of Force Mastery, right?" Li Muxiu said. Although he hadn't carefully sensed Li Hao, reaching the second level of Dragon Body meant his cultivation was certainly at the first realm's peak.
Moreover, compared to ordinary Force Mastery at the peak, Body Cultivation brought greater physical strength, making him slightly stronger at the same level, at least in the early stages of cultivation.
As for later stages...
Body Cultivation has no later stages.
As everyone says, it’s a hard path. Normal cultivation is already extremely arduous, and for them to call Body Cultivation a hard path, you can imagine just how tough it is.
Therefore, few people can persist to the end. Even those with great perseverance often fail to make significant progress due to the slow cultivation speed, leading to a decline in their lifespan and difficulty in breaking through. In the end, they die in despair.
"Hmm."
Li Hao nodded in agreement.
"At less than eight years old, you’ve already perfected Force Mastery. This kind of cultivation speed can almost keep up with the heels of those top geniuses."
Li Muxiu continued, "Next is the Zhou Tian Realm, where force transforms into qi, and qi circulates through heaven. You have two methods to advance to the Zhou Tian Realm. The first is to enter the Hundred Jiaolong Body, using your physical strength to forcefully break through. The Hundred Jiaolong Body also involves qi circulation techniques. Once perfected, it can bring you to the pinnacle of One Pulse Hundred Zhou."
"Because of this, this Body Cultivation technique is placed on the sixth floor."
Seeing Li Hao sit cross-legged, listening intently, Li Muxiu explained more carefully:
"The Zhou Tian Realm has ten stages, but the gaps between them are immense. In the Force Mastery stage, powerful techniques can increase strength and awaken Divine Blood, creating a significant gap. In the Zhou Tian Realm, the gap is widened through top-tier qi circulation techniques, separating the exceptional from the ordinary."
"Ordinary martial artists, without any background, usually practice lower-tier techniques, achieving around One Pulse Ten Zhou."
"Mid-tier techniques can reach up to thirty-six Circulating Heaven cycles!"
"Top-tier techniques can achieve One Pulse Seventy-Two Zhou."
He looked at Li Hao and said, "As for the supreme technique, it’s One Pulse Hundred Zhou! This is the essence contained within the Thousand Dragon Sacred Body. Aside from Body Cultivation, it’s also a top-tier qi circulation technique."
"Is that so?" Li Hao nodded slightly.
He had read some books about the Zhou Tian Realm and had a basic understanding. If one pulse equals one Circulating Heaven, which is one times your strength, then ten Circulating Heaven is ten times your strength!
A hundred Circulating Heaven is a hundred times your strength. That’s the difference.
Especially as the Zhou Tian Realm advances, each stage of meridian opening multiplies the difference. By the tenth stage of the Zhou Tian Realm, the gap between ordinary qi circulation techniques and top-tier techniques becomes as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
Major forces, prestigious sects, and exceptional talents, when combined, mean that top-tier Zhou Tian Realm martial artists, even if not reaching a hundred Circulating Heaven, can at least achieve seventy-two Circulating Heaven. They can easily sweep through ordinary Zhou Tian Realm martial artists, especially those without any background in the martial world.
"A supreme qi circulation technique is considered near-ancestral in any prestigious sect, usually only taught to direct disciples or closed-door disciples."
"Within the Rain Listening Pavilion, there are three such supreme techniques, and the Hundred Jiaolong Chapter of the Thousand Dragon Sacred Body is one of them."
Li Muxiu continued, "Even so, in our Divine General Manor, it’s passed down to direct descendants only, to prevent internal strife and chaos."
"The gap in martial arts cultivation ultimately comes down to human combat. Some people cultivate not to be the strongest, but to surpass others. When they can’t surpass, diminishing others becomes a means of surpassing, sometimes even easier than hard training to improve."
"This is why top-tier forces and prestigious sects keep their supreme techniques secret. If they were to leak, those who obtain them might face deadly danger."
Li Hao asked, "Isn’t cultivation for slaying demons?"
Li Muxiu paused, looked at him, and said mockingly, "Slaying demons is the work of a few martial artists, like our Li Family and other Divine General Manors. But most people live in peaceful and prosperous regions where demons are banned. How many chances do they have to slay demons, and even if they do, how many dare to?"
"Have you ever seen ordinary hunters go after fierce tigers or giant bears without a reward?"
"Our Dayu is a prosperous era. In prosperous times, the world seeks fame. Slaying demons is for fame, competing and dueling is for fame, founding sects and establishing schools is also for fame!"
"For the sake of glory and wealth, countless people rush forward, even if it means death!"
"Who wouldn’t want to be remembered by the world for ten thousand years after death, to enter the Martial Temple, have a golden statue cast, and be worshipped for a thousand years?"
His voice was somewhat agitated, but it wasn’t out of longing; it seemed to carry a suppressed anger.
"I don’t."
Li Hao shook his head slightly and said, "If I have a choice, I want to keep living."
(End of Chapter)
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