Chapter 9: Primordial
Chapter 9: Primordial
A force akin to that of lions and elephants surged within his body. Li Hao clenched his small fist, feeling as if his tiny hand could easily crush a large rock!
Just a moment ago, he was merely a mortal. Now, in a short span of time, he had become a cultivator!
Force Mastery is the first realm of the Martial Dao, focusing on strength training!
When strength permeates the entire body, it is called Force Mastery.
Over the long years, the standards for each level of Force Mastery have been clearly defined. The first level involves lifting a single cauldron, which is equivalent to 200 pounds of arm strength.
Ordinary people, through regular diet and exercise, can barely match the first level of Force Mastery.
But to advance further, one must either be born with exceptional strength or cultivate to achieve it.
Each level increase adds another cauldron.
At the seventh level, one can lift seven cauldrons, meaning that Li Hao, at the age of five, could lift 1,400 pounds.
And that was just his arm strength. The explosive power throughout his body could allow him to easily leap over a hundred meters, move like lightning, and easily take down a hundred ordinary strong men.
"Finally, I can cultivate. At least now I have the strength to protect myself."
Li Hao was excited. He felt that with just a slight exertion, his entire body would tense up, and his skin would become incredibly tough. Although it was still tender, it wouldn't tear easily. It felt like stretched leather, impossible to rip!
"However, this is probably the limit of the Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin. If I cultivate the two secret manuals, my cultivation should improve even more!"
Li Hao thought to himself.
He took a deep breath, adjusted his body, and waited for the reddish hue on his skin to fade back to normal before leaving the room.
Li Hao then called for Old Zhao and had him send someone to inform his aunt.
Soon, his aunt responded, and the maid named Xue Jian came to accompany him.
This time, they went straight to the sixth floor. Li Hao picked up the two secret manuals and began to flip through them one by one.
With his understanding and insights from the first rank of Flesh Dao, he found that many of the previously incomprehensible passages suddenly made sense.
"Have I learned the basics? Should I record it?"
Yes!
He quickly recorded both secret manuals into his interface, which took no more than half an hour. Then, he asked Xue Jian to take him downstairs.
Although Xue Jian felt helpless inside, she didn't show it on her face. She treated it as if she was just accompanying a child for a bit of fun. As for reading the secret manuals, well, even if he spent a few more days, it would be a miracle if he understood anything.
Even the manuals on the first floor were considered of medium difficulty and would take at least three to five days to grasp the basics.
Let alone the ones on the sixth floor.
The more powerful the technique, the harder it was to master, with higher cultivation thresholds.
Li Hao, however, was unaware of the young maid's thoughts. Even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared. He was just a kid, after all; who would take him seriously?
Back at the Mountain and River Courtyard, Li Hao asked the maids to prepare some food and drink before he began his cultivation.
After cultivating the Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin, he felt a significant drain on his body. In just a short while, he was ravenously hungry.
"Is this enough for anyone?"
"Bring another plate of each, please. I'm growing, you know. Do you think I can't eat it all?"
The maids stared in shock as Li Hao devoured the entire table of meat, wiping the greasy residue from his small mouth. He felt he had only eaten about sixty percent of his fill.
But he didn't want to scare the maids, so he stopped and strutted back to his room to begin his cultivation.
The previously cryptic *Thousand Dragon Sacred Body* had four layers. When he recorded it into his interface, only the first two layers were marked as mastered.
The first layer, Dragon Demon Body, makes the bones as hard as stone and the skin as tough as dragon scales, impervious to blades.
The second layer, Dragon Body, imbues the body with half the power of a dragon, further enhancing all physical attributes.
With a deep breath, Li Hao assumed a stance, his body crouching like a fierce tiger, his spine arched like a drawn bow, and his bones making subtle cracking sounds.
Through his understanding of the first rank of Flesh Dao, he was unlocking the hidden potential within his body.
Every cell in Li Hao's body was ignited, and his blood flow accelerated once more. This time, he felt a cool, subtle force seeping in from the outside, weaving its way into his body.
This was the Yin Force from the cosmos.
As the Yin Force entered his body, Li Hao's reddened skin gradually returned to its normal color, and his flesh and blood underwent rapid transformation.
The secret gates within his body were opened, allowing him to refine himself with the energies of heaven and earth.
As more and more Yin Force poured in, Li Hao's skin turned pale, then took on a slight greenish hue, resembling that of a corpse. Even the surface of his skin began to show faint, raised patterns, like dragon scales.
After three incense sticks had burned down, the first level of cultivation was complete.
Li Hao glanced at his cultivation status and was astonished to see that he had advanced from the seventh level of Force Mastery to the tenth level, achieving the Perfect Stage!
The first nine levels of Force Mastery were not significantly different from each other, each level increasing strength by 200 pounds. However, the leap from the ninth to the tenth level was a significant threshold, doubling one's strength!
The tenth level meant complete mastery of Force Mastery, with strength permeating the entire body, forming a perfect unity!
The lifting power of his hands would now reach 3,600 pounds!
Amidst his joy, Li Hao carefully examined his physical body and felt a slight disappointment: his Divine Blood had not awakened.
For those with the Divine Blood lineage, the Divine Blood would awaken upon reaching the Perfect Stage of Force Mastery, further boosting their strength to 7,200 pounds!
Such a difference would allow those with Divine Blood to easily dominate their peers at the same cultivation level, even overcoming any gaps in technique with sheer power!
It was like the difference between a high-spending player and a regular player in a game.
Though it seemed grossly unfair, it was normal. The Divine Blood lineage required the father to reach the Three Eternities Realm, and in the entire Great Yu Dynasty, which spanned nineteen provinces, the number of people who had achieved this realm could be counted on one hand.
Without the boost from Divine Blood, Li Hao did not lose heart. Instead, he made a slight adjustment and continued to cultivate the second level of the technique.
Half an hour later, he slowly concluded his practice, his eyes opening with a flash of divine light, the pupils appearing even deeper and darker.
He felt that his body was significantly stronger than before, and at that moment, he wanted to find someone to spar with to test his newfound strength.
Checking his status panel, Li Hao was surprised to see that he had not broken through to the next realm; his cultivation remained at the tenth level of Force Mastery.
His strength had clearly increased dramatically, but he hadn't reached the Circulating Heaven Realm?
Li Hao was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized that he had not yet learned how to control his qi.
After achieving the Perfect Stage of Force Mastery, a new substance called "qi" had formed within him. Strength and qi were interconnected; when strength reached its peak, qi was generated.
This feeling of qi was similar to the sensation of bulging biceps when flexing.
However, while the qi circulated throughout his body, he could not control it.
Li Hao suddenly remembered that the second level of the Thousand Dragon Sacred Body technique didn't mention how to control qi.
And the third level was beyond his current understanding of Flesh Dao.
"Dragon Body, mastering half the power of a dragon, I wonder how much strength I have now?" Li Hao thought to himself. He could feel that his strength had increased significantly, at least doubling, if not more.
Li Hao didn't rush to test his strength but instead turned to another Body Refinement Technique:
The Primordial Technique, a fragment.
With the assistance of his understanding of Flesh Dao, Li Hao quickly grasped many concepts and began to cultivate immediately.
According to the general principles recorded in the fragment of the Primordial Technique, this body refinement method had five realms.
However, the fragment Li Hao possessed only covered the first two realms, with the last three lost to time.
Even the first realm of the Primordial Technique required opening the secret gates within the body, sensing the Yang Force and Yin Force from the cosmos, and achieving the simultaneous entry of both forces to refine the physical body.
Without the help of Flesh Dao, it would be nearly impossible for an ordinary person to complete even the first step.
But at this moment, Li Hao seemed to be handling everything with ease, as if he were well-versed in the process.
As the Yin-Yang forces converged within his body, his physical form continued to undergo transformation.
By the time he reached the second section, he began to harness the Yin-Yang forces within his body to draw in celestial energy, cultivating the Stellar War Body.
This was a constitution even more formidable than the Dragon Body, with the body containing the Great Yin and Yang Forces, making it like a stellar core furnace, brimming with intense heat and power.
When Li Hao opened his eyes again, it was already midnight.
He had unknowingly practiced for seven or eight hours.
His gaze was calm and composed as he slowly opened his eyes, his breathing deep and steady, like a coiled dragon.
His hearing and vision had been greatly enhanced.
Li Hao could even hear the faint whistling sounds within the courtyard, which were not the wind but the sound of a sword.
Someone was practicing sword techniques.
With Li Hao's Sword Dao proficiency, he could even visualize the person's posture and appearance just from the sound of the sword wind.
It was that little girl.
Was she working this hard too?
A smile tugged at the corners of Li Hao's lips, and he then brought up his status panel.
【Name: Li Hao】
【Age: 5】
【Cultivation: Force Mastery Level 10】
【Sword Dao: Rank 2】
【Skill: Endless Sea·Tide (Perfection) [Banned]】
【Flesh Dao: Rank 1】
【Skill: Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin (Mastery) Thousand Dragon Sacred Body (Dragon Body: Minor Success) Primordial (Stellar Body: Beginner)】
【Chess Dao: Rank 3 (0/5000)】
【Chess Spectrum Collection: 0】
【Art Skill Points: 0】
"Still Force Mastery?"
Li Hao was somewhat surprised. He could feel that his body had undergone significant changes, far stronger than when he had just reached Level 10. He even felt that with his current physique, he could execute the Perfection-level Tide Sword Technique without any strain, yet he hadn't broken through.
However, he still hadn't learned the Circulating Heaven technique.
The first two sections of the Primordial Body Refinement Technique seemed to be only for Force Mastery.
Yet, the power it brought was already far beyond Force Mastery.
The only problem was that cultivation was extremely difficult!
Even with his current Rank 1 Flesh Dao comprehension, he had only barely managed to reach the beginner stage. For ordinary people, it would likely take one or two decades to reach this level.
By then, they would likely have already entered the Circulating Heaven realm.
After all, compared to entering the Circulating Heaven realm, this seemed even harder.
Li Hao stood up, adjusted to his new body, and then opened the window to look outside. Sure enough, he saw a small figure practicing sword techniques under the starlight in the courtyard.
What surprised Li Hao was that, compared to the clumsy and awkward sword swings from the morning, she was now performing with a much more refined form.
This little girl had some talent.
Li Hao smiled, then pushed his palm against the window and flipped out, landing on the ground effortlessly.
He walked to another part of the courtyard, where there was a rock formation. Old Zhao had told him that his father had single-handedly carried this rock formation back when he was a teenager, and it weighed a hundred ding!
Li Hao crouched slightly, as the servants and maids had already retired, and the guards were patrolling elsewhere.
Taking advantage of the absence of people around, he approached the rock formation, looked it over, and reached into a crevice, trying to push it.
Rumble!
To Li Hao's shock, when he exerted all his strength, the rock formation, which weighed over ten tons, was actually lifted by him!
As the rock formation moved, the water in the nearby pond surged and flowed into the base of the rock.
Force Mastery Level 10, without Divine Blood, capable of lifting twenty thousand pounds!
Li Hao quickly and gently released his grip, setting the rock formation back down.
(End of Chapter)
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