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Chapter 36: Ancestor's Rules
Chapter 36: Ancestor's Rules
"I can tease you, but I wouldn't dare joke with the Ancestors", Li Muxiu said lightly.
The long-browed elder frowned slightly, thinking to himself that it was indeed true. Although his second brother was often unpredictable, he was always very respectful in the Ancestral Hall.
He asked, "Is the child still young? Is he nine years old yet?"
"Eight."
"Eight?!"
The long-browed elder was taken aback, his eyes showing waves of surprise. "You mean he achieved Zhou Tian Perfection at eight?"
"Exactly."
Li Muxiu finished speaking and walked to the golden statue, kneeling on the prayer mat.
"Hao'er, come over."
After bowing three times, he called softly while still kneeling.
Li Hao immediately walked to his side.
"Kneel down and bow to the Ancestors."
Li Hao followed his instructions, kneeling on the prayer mat and bowing to each Memorial Tablet in turn.
Li Muxiu raised his head and said softly, "Descendant Li Muxiu brings a younger generation today to listen to the Ancestors' teachings. Please bestow your legacy, Ancestors!"
As he spoke, the many Memorial Tablets seemed to tremble slightly.
After Li Hao finished his bows, he looked up and saw that various shadows had appeared before each Memorial Tablet, sitting in the air. Some wore scholar's robes and white gowns, others wore heavy armor, and some had half their bodies missing, wrapped in battle flags.
Clearly, these were the ancestors of the Li Family.
"Tsk, another fine seedling."
"Zhou Tian Perfection, still young in bone structure, just over eight years old. He's even more impressive than that little guy twenty years ago!"
"Who would have thought that the Li Family's fortune of nearly a hundred years would be so prosperous. We must warn these young ones not to become arrogant, or they will face the same lesson."
The various ancestral spirits murmured and exchanged opinions.
When Li Hao entered the Ancestral Hall, he temporarily put away his Omni Attributes. Although he didn't know if these Ancestral Heroic Souls could ignore the concealment effects of Myriad Phenomena, it was better to avoid unnecessary complications.
"This child is smart and talented. I won't interfere; you give him the legacy."
"Such talent can only be bestowed by the Ancestors and a few of you."
After a brief exchange, many of the ancestral spirits' shadows gradually faded and returned to their Memorial Tablets. Only four shadows remained, floating before the Memorial Tablets, silently observing Li Hao without speaking.
"I..." One of the shadows, holding a spear, was about to speak when suddenly, the Golden Statue in the center of the Memorial Tablets emitted a radiant light, as if coming to life.
The other shadows couldn't help but look over and bowed slightly.
The other Memorial Tablets also trembled slightly, emitting a nearly unified voice: "Greetings, Ancestor."
Before the Golden Statue, a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man's shadow sat, more solid than the others.
His appearance was identical to the Golden Statue.
"If you can abide by my Heart Oath, you will receive my legacy", the middle-aged man looked down at Li Hao, his face calm and composed.
Li Hao could feel the old man's body trembling slightly, clearly very excited. He also recognized the shadow as the first Ancestor of the Li Family, Li Tianyuan!
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
Li Muxiu bowed his head and knelt.
Li Hao quickly followed suit, bowing in the same manner.
"I once followed Emperor Dayu on his campaigns, conquering the Eastern Radiance Eight Wastelands and subduing countless demons and tribes. I made two Heart Oaths to the former emperor, which have brought a thousand years of glory to our Li Family."
Ancestor Li Tianyuan's Heroic Soul spoke slowly, “The first Heart Oath is that a member of the Li Family must swear to protect the Li Family, sharing life and death with it!”
“The second Heart Oath is to swear to defend the Dayu Dynasty, standing together through life and death!”
“Can you do this?”
After speaking, Li Tianyuan gazed intently at Li Hao below.
Li Hao was slightly taken aback. Protect the Li Family? Does this refer to certain people or everyone?
The Ancestral Hall was silent, and all eyes seemed to focus on the young child, waiting for him to speak.
After a long pause, Li Hao said softly, “Ancestor, please forgive my dullness, but I have a question.”
“Speak,” Li Tianyuan's Heroic Soul replied calmly.
“Protecting the Li Family—does this include all members, including the collateral branches?”
Li Hao asked cautiously, “Does this protection mean I must not harm them?”
“Only protect the Main Lineage. If you are protecting, you naturally cannot harm them. Otherwise, cutting off their limbs and leaving them with a single breath of life would also count as protection,” Li Tianyuan said, clearly indicating that the Heart Oath was quite stringent.
Li Hao asked, “Then, what if a traitor or someone with malicious intent appears in the Main Lineage?”
“Such scoundrels can be handed over to those who have not undergone the Ancestral Hall Soul Continuation for punishment.”
“But if such a scoundrel attacks or ambushes me, wouldn’t I only be able to dodge?” Li Hao said.
“With the Soul Continuation, you will be invincible among those of the same realm, except for those from the imperial family.”
Li Tianyuan said coolly, “Avoiding them should be easy. If you encounter someone of a higher realm, you only need to flee for your life and should not attempt to retaliate.”
“What if they die in front of me, and I just stand by and watch?”
“You must intervene to save them, even if they are scoundrels,” Li Tianyuan said. “However, when such scoundrels are being punished, you can choose not to be present, and thus avoid breaking the Heart Oath.”
Li Hao thought for a moment; this did seem like a solution.
“Still, it doesn’t seem entirely fair, does it?”
As a prodigy, encountering someone of the same realm from the Li Family, he would have to hide.
Even if the other person was in trouble and he witnessed it, he would still have to help. It seemed unreasonable.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Li Muxiu, standing beside him, looked slightly displeased and whispered to Li Hao.
However, Li Tianyuan's Heroic Soul did not get angry. He looked at Li Hao calmly and said slowly, “Indeed, it may not be entirely fair, but do you know why I make the geniuses who qualify for the Ancestral Hall Soul Continuation endure such hardships and take such Heart Oaths?”
While the Li Family possesses the Ancestral Hall and numerous Ancestral Heroic Souls, not every descendant of the Li Family qualifies to undergo the Soul Continuation here, as these Ancestral Heroic Souls have exceedingly high expectations.
Li Hao shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“It is for the continuation.”
Li Tianyuan said slowly, “The first Heart Oath is to prevent family geniuses from becoming arrogant and disregarding the lives of ordinary family members, or even using the family's resources to rise and then breaking away from the family to soar freely.”
“Such restrictions may seem unfair to geniuses, but they are only minor inconveniences. The benefit is that they ensure the continuation and generational inheritance of the family!”
Li Hao thought about it and realized that from the Ancestor’s perspective, this was indeed the case.
“And the reason why our Li Family has continued for a thousand years without being eradicated and has not been feared by the imperial family is because of the second Heart Oath!”
Li Tianyuan calmly said, "Initially, there were twelve divine generals who accompanied the late emperor on his campaigns. Now, in the Dayu Divine General Manor, there are only five mansions. Two of them emerged later over the centuries, while the descendants of the old comrades have long since faded away. The remaining ones have gone into hiding, their whereabouts unknown."
"These two Heart Oaths may seem like restrictions, like chains, but in truth, they are for the continuation of our bloodline!"
"Otherwise, how could the royal family dare to grant us such power, considering the Li Family's accumulated war achievements over a thousand years, our network of allies, the number of generals, and our prestige in the military? How could they not use imperial tactics to weaken and harm us?"
Li Hao was stunned by these words.
From the perspective of this venerable ancestor, it was indeed true.
The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
A thousand-year-old divine general lineage was not a light matter, but the difficulty of maintaining it was unimaginable for ordinary people.
Perhaps it was precisely because the royal family knew that the Li Family's top prodigies would undergo Soul Continuation at the Ancestral Hall and be bound by these two Heart Oaths that the Li Family has achieved its current glory.
"Now that you understand everything, are you willing to swear the Heart Oaths?" Li Tianyuan asked calmly, his voice tinged with a hint of difficulty.
Li Hao was torn, still unable to make a decision.
He felt that these two Heart Oaths were like a curse on the Li Family.
While they ensured a thousand years of glory, they also tightly bound the family.
Generations of accolades, the Heroic Souls in this hall, the six out of nine sons who perished in battle, and how many in each generation died of old age?
On the contrary, the ordinary members of the family were mostly protected and could enjoy their later years in peace.
Geniuses, it seemed, were the unfortunate ones in the Li Family.
Because they had to shoulder the entire Li Family!
In that case, it might be better to seek Soul Continuation at the War Temple, at least to live a carefree life.
Li Tianyuan seemed to see Li Hao's hesitation, his eyes revealing a hint of coldness. His figure gradually faded away, leaving only his voice echoing in the hall:
"This child has rare talent, but his character is not firm. Let him consider it further."
The other memorial tablets trembled slightly, as if paying respects to the ancestor, and then all fell silent.
Li Muxiu was taken aback and couldn't help but look at Li Hao with a sense of helplessness. He didn't say much in front of the Ancestor Memorial Tablet but bowed deeply and then led Li Hao out of the Ancestral Hall.
Li Hao felt a sense of relief as he followed Grandpa Li Muxiu out.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at the Chess Board. This wasn't his fault; with a Chess Heart, as Jian Wudao had once said, a lover of swords would notice a sword among a thousand weapons in an instant.
That was just the stage of love, let alone when it was deeply ingrained.
In a crowd of ten thousand things, Li Hao could always spot the Chess Board first.
"Grandpa, Black on the seventh row, thirteenth column, can win."
With that, Li Hao followed Uncle Li Muxiu out of the Ancestral Hall.
Outside, it seemed to have started drizzling, a fine, continuous rain.
Li Muxiu sighed; this was the best time for fishing, with the lake surface refreshed by the new water and the Fish Demons coming up for air. But at that moment, he had no mood for it.
"You, don't think too much. Think it over by yourself", Li Muxiu said, knowing that Li Hao was playful by nature and disliked being constrained. He couldn't really persuade him.
The child was still young and bound to be a bit impulsive at times.
Li Hao nodded.
Grandpa Li Muxiu also underwent Soul Continuation at the Ancestral Hall, showing that despite his carefree and wandering appearance, he was deeply concerned about the Li Family.
Inside the Ancestral Hall, the long-browed old man withdrew his gaze. He was not familiar with Li Hao and didn't care much about his thoughts, knowing he would eventually return.
His eyes returned to the Chess Board. He lightly pinched a piece, about to make his move, when he suddenly let out a soft "hmm."
(End of Chapter)
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