Axel

Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 455

Added 2025-06-26 11:00:06 +0000 UTC

Volume 3 - Chapter 135: Sword Dao Ninth Stage, Li Hao’s Fury!

As his mastery of the Painting Dao reached the ninth stage, a flood of insights surged into Li Hao’s mind. The sheer weight of these revelations overshadowed the joy he felt, plunging him into a state of profound understanding.

Moments earlier, as he lost himself in the act of painting, he had captured the essence of a Saint with his painter's heart. By depicting the inexpressible divine aura of the Saint, Li Hao’s spirit underwent a remarkable transformation.

The ninth stage signified that Li Hao’s painting had transcended into the Dao itself.

He could now pierce through the superficial appearances of all things, grasp their inner essence, and render the Dao’s profundity in his art. Painting became the Dao, and the Dao became painting.

“Is it done?”

The Sword Lord noticed Li Hao’s brush had stopped. The eerie sensation of being thoroughly scrutinized faded away. Turning his gaze to Li Hao’s canvas, his eyes showed a mix of curiosity and caution.

Li Hao returned to his senses, carefully unrolling the painting and handing it over with both hands.

The Sword Lord took it. Although the ink was still drying, the spirit and vitality within the painting already leapt off the page.

As his eyes focused on the figure portrayed in the painting, a sharp resonance of sword intent reverberated in his mind. To his shock, it was his own Sword Dao!

Li Hao had managed to depict a fraction of his Sword Dao essence.

The Sword Lord’s composed expression turned grave as he scrutinized the painting intently. Within the interplay of ink and brushstrokes, he sensed a kind of Dao rhythm he had never encountered before.

Raising his gaze to Li Hao, the Sword Lord observed a serene expression and an ethereal yet tangible aura surrounding the young man. In mere moments, it seemed that Li Hao had become someone entirely different.

After a prolonged, thoughtful look, the Sword Lord allowed the ink to dry before rolling up the painting and carefully storing it. “I will keep this painting. Thank you—it is truly to my liking.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Li Hao replied with a smile.

At that moment, Li Hao noticed a change in his interface. The Painting Dao had begun advancing toward the tenth stage, and the required experience points had risen from one million to five million.

Yet, with just one painting of the Sword Lord, he had gained an astonishing 370,000 experience points—an almost absurd reward.

Even so, to fully accumulate enough experience, he would need to drain the insights of two or three Saints entirely. Only then could he reach the tenth stage.

The tenth stage represented entry into the realm of Saints.

A masterpiece that could endure through the ages, never fading into obscurity, was the hallmark of a world-class creation.

However, Li Hao understood that ascending to the tenth stage required more than accumulating experience—it demanded a breakthrough in his state of mind.

...

As the sun set in the west, the golden hues of the evening sky bathed the Sacred Mountain in a dreamlike twilight. Wild geese flew southward, while the shadows of bamboo swayed before the Sword Cliff. The cascading waterfalls created a magnificent scene of unparalleled beauty.

Li Hao casually captured this Sacred Mountain sunset in a painting, earning an unexpected 5,000 experience points.

After bidding farewell to the Sword Lord, Li Hao descended the mountain and returned to the Alchemy Courtyard.

By then, the contests on the Sacred Mountain had concluded. Upon his return, Lin Shanhai asked, “Why didn’t you go to watch the battles today? It’s such a shame! You have no idea how fierce the fights were!”

“Oh?” Li Hao picked up a teapot. After a day of fishing, he felt parched. Taking two sips to moisten his throat, he asked, “Have the top four contestants been decided?”

“Not yet. Tomorrow, two more will be chosen to advance to the top ten. After that, it’ll be the final showdown between the ten strongest!” Lin Shanhai exclaimed.

The entire Sword Deity Battle would last for a month. Being a grand event held only once every century, it couldn’t possibly conclude in just a few days.

Li Hao nodded and glanced at Lin Qingying, who sat quietly in the courtyard.

Sensing his gaze, Lin Qingying opened her eyes and looked back at him.

Though she hadn’t seen Li Hao all day, she knew he had spent the day fishing with the Sword Lord again.

Their eyes met briefly. Neither spoke, yet an unspoken understanding passed between them.

Lin Qingying’s gaze was calm, silently conveying her intention. If Li Hao wished to ask about her confidence, her response was clear: she would face whatever came her way and do her best.

Lin Shanhai, observing the silent exchange between the two, felt a vague sense of unease. A hint of suspicion grew in his heart—was he unwittingly inviting a wolf into his home? He feared his granddaughter might someday be taken away.

Pulling on Li Hao’s sleeve to divert his attention, Lin Shanhai began recounting the day’s battles in vivid detail, with no shortage of embellishment.

As Li Hao listened, he could almost envision the intense clashes between the Saints and Saintesses on the battlefield. Having watched the initial rounds, Li Hao had a good grasp of their sword techniques and strategies. He could even anticipate how they might fight when matched against one another.

After their chat, Li Hao went to the kitchen and prepared some small pastries, offering a share to Lin Shanhai and inviting Lin Qingying to try some as well.

Hearing his invitation, Lin Qingying rose gracefully, her elegant azure attire flowing as she walked to the table in the alchemy room. She sat down and began sampling the pastries.

Initially enjoying his snack, Lin Shanhai found his mood dampened when he noticed his granddaughter accepting Li Hao’s invitation so easily. Watching the two share a quiet meal and drink together, he suddenly found his pastries less flavorful.

Though Li Hao and Lin Qingying exchanged no words, Lin Shanhai could sense an intangible connection forming between them, one that seemed to exclude him entirely.

With a bitter smile, he sighed inwardly. His granddaughter was growing up, and it seemed no one could hold her back.

...

After finishing the pastries, Lin Qingying thanked Li Hao and returned to the courtyard to continue meditating on her Sword Dao.

Li Hao bid farewell to Lin Shanhai, dusted himself off, and returned to his small courtyard.

...

Upon his return, Li Hao casually activated a barrier around the courtyard. Combined with his personal records, the setup made it nearly impossible for anyone to detect his activities unless they intentionally probed.

With everything in place, Li Hao opened his interface and noticed a new entry under his state of mind section:

Heart of the Painting Dao (Unused).

Previously, he had used the Heart of Cooking Dao to strengthen his Body Dao and Royal Dao, but this had caused his Sword Dao to stagnate. Although his cultivation level had advanced, his Sword Dao’s offensive power had fallen behind.

Now that his Body Dao had reached the ninth stage, combining it with the Sword Dao would allow him to maximize his combat potential.

After all, power was useless without effective means of attack!

Without hesitation, Li Hao selected the Sword Dao and embedded the new insight.

In an instant, a torrent of comprehension surged into his mind—insights gained from the Painting Dao illuminated his understanding of the Sword Dao.

In his mental space, a world of swords materialized. Endless sword energy and countless types of swords—long swords, short swords, heavy swords, and more—appeared before him.

Each sword resonated with its own unique techniques and styles of attack.

These insights flooded Li Hao’s mind like a dazzling spectacle. When all the swords unified, a profound realization struck him:

A sword is simply a sword. It needs nothing more.

Be it a long sword, short sword, or even a blade of grass—anything could be a sword.

Even with no sword in hand, the heart alone could wield the Sword Dao.

At that moment, Li Hao’s Sword Dao advanced to the ninth stage, achieving clarity and mastery!

The unique sword intent he had condensed earlier, Sole-Self Sword Intent, now began merging with his newly gained comprehension of the ninth stage of the Sword Dao, transforming into Sole-Self Sword Dao.

What did it mean to be "sole-self"?

It meant that the emergence of his Sword Dao could suppress all other Daos!

This was the essence of Sole-Self Sword Dao: absolute dominance and unparalleled authority.

When Li Hao opened his eyes again, his entire being no longer radiated sharpness but instead exuded a serene and profound aura, like someone sitting calmly amidst the river of time, detached and distant.

Yet, upon closer observation, the spot where he sat appeared to be the very center of his courtyard—indeed, the center of everything within a radius of several dozen miles. His posture and spine resembled an upright sword plunged into the ground, its edge concealed. But even the faintest trace of its presence would be enough to cut through anything.

At this moment, on the level of Sword Dao alone, Li Hao had already reached the realm of a Sword Saint.

To ascend to the tenth stage, however, would require him to perform a ritual to achieve sainthood through his sword, becoming a true Sword Saint and the supreme master of the Sword Dao!

Although Li Hao’s current sword techniques had attained the same level as a Sword Saint, his actual combat power was still far inferior. After all, when he had been at the sixth stage of the Sword Dao, he had been capable of slaying opponents in the Dao Law Realm.

However, even at the sixth stage, his abilities had been among the weakest within the inner disciples of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land.

“The Sword Dao… Sword intent follows the heart, and the Sword Dao flows with intent…”

Li Hao murmured to himself as he gazed at his modest courtyard. Once ordinary and unremarkable, the courtyard now appeared entirely different to him.

Even the weeds, stone slabs, and old jars scattered within the courtyard seemed to possess a resilient quality—a tenacity that was also intrinsic to the Sword Dao.

Indeed, the shadow of the sword could be found in all things.

After soaking in his new insights, Li Hao noticed that night had fallen, the sky above glittering with countless stars.

...

Li Hao withdrew his thoughts. There was no need to swing his sword to test the newfound power of his Sword Dao. At this stage, he had an extraordinarily clear perception of his strength and no longer needed to experiment.

Raising his hand, he summoned a piece of wood from the courtyard. A carving knife appeared in his grasp, but in Li Hao’s eyes, the blade had transformed into the edge of a sword. His movements became exceptionally fluid and precise as he carved.

Unintentionally, his proficiency in carving reached the fifth stage.

Finally, Li Hao glanced at his current interface and saw his updated attributes:

Body Dao: Ninth Stage

Royal Dao: Seventh Stage

Sword Dao: Ninth Stage

Movement Dao: Sixth Stage

Fist Dao: Sixth Stage

In terms of arts and skills, he had the following:

Chess Dao: Seventh Stage

Music Dao: Fourth Stage

Poetry and Calligraphy Dao: Fourth Stage

Sculpting Dao: Fifth Stage