Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 454

Volume 3 - Chapter 134: Defeat and the Ninth Stage of Painting Dao - Part 3

Li Hao heard Lin Qingying's words and couldn't help rubbing his forehead. Was she really such a straightforward steel-hearted woman? Is this how she always makes small talk?

"Come, sit."

Li Hao invited Lin Qingying to sit by the edge of the cliff. He returned to his usual spot and then condensed his strength into a thread, casting it into the Sword Cliff.

Lin Qingying observed the three of them fishing with some curiosity. Was there any purpose to this activity?

She glanced at the Sword Lord. To him, this might be a hobby. The same could be true for Li Hao, but for Qiu Wuhen...

"Are you using this to comprehend swordsmanship?" Lin Qingying was perceptive enough to grasp the purpose behind his fishing.

Qiu Wuhen gave a slight nod. "Indeed."

Lin Qingying's gaze turned thoughtful.

Li Hao smiled at her and said, "Your Supreme Soft Sword Intent is also well-suited for fishing. You can finely sense the water's movement and judge whether there's a catch. You should give it a try."

The Sword Lord heard Li Hao’s suggestion and jokingly scolded, "You rascal!"

It was obvious he was saying Li Hao was luring others into trouble.

Li Hao scratched his head awkwardly, but what he said was indeed the truth.

Lin Qingying, however, shook her head slightly. She wasn’t interested in such things.

Nonetheless, she didn’t leave. Instead, she quietly sat beside Li Hao, taking in the serene natural surroundings.

Before long, Li Hao made a catch.

Lin Qingying looked over and was astonished to see that the catch was a True Dragon.

"It's you again."

Li Hao recognized the dragon demon Ao Jie and couldn't help glaring at him.

Ao Jie was just as dumbfounded and hurriedly begged for mercy.

The two had practically become old acquaintances through repeated fishing encounters.

Li Hao sighed and unhooked the dragon, letting it go.

Hearing Ao Jie's words, Lin Qingying realized that Li Hao was a frequent visitor here. Her gaze fell on Li Hao’s profile, and suddenly, a memory surfaced in her mind—returning from training one day, she had heard the sound of an earthquake and rushed to investigate, only to find Li Hao gravely injured at the bottom of a deep pit...

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she turned her gaze toward the distant horizon.

...

When the sun set, Li Hao bid farewell to the Sword Lord and Qiu Wuhen before taking Lin Qingying back to the Alchemy Courtyard.

Over the next two days, Lin Qingying didn’t practice her swordsmanship but accompanied Li Hao fishing each day.

Qiu Wuhen, however, didn’t show up, seemingly entering seclusion. After all, he needed to prepare for the loser’s bracket competition three days later.

Lin Qingying sat by the cliff, gazing at the rippling waters of the deep pool, her thoughts drifting far away.

The Sword Lord engaged her in casual conversation, but it seemed intentional, as he brought up the Supreme Soft Sword Dao. His words conveyed Dao sounds that Lin Qingying caught, giving her a vague glimpse of the realm beyond perfection in sword intent.

However, it was merely a direction. Truly stepping into that realm would still take a long time.

...

On the fourth day, the loser’s bracket competition began. Lin Qingying went to watch the matches, but Li Hao did not. Instead, he returned to the Sword Cliff to continue fishing.

To him, fishing was a form of cultivation.

"They’re fighting today as well. Why didn’t you go watch?"

The Sword Lord noticed Li Hao’s presence and asked in surprise.

Li Hao smiled and replied, "I’ve already seen enough before."

"Are you saying you didn’t understand it, or did you find it too boring?" The Sword Lord looked at him with a knowing smile, his gaze seemingly penetrating into Li Hao’s heart.

Having learned that Li Hao, at 28 years old, had cultivated 97 levels of Dao Domain, the Sword Lord knew that Li Hao’s talent was extraordinary, even among the Holy Sons of the sacred lands.

"I probably didn’t understand it..." Li Hao chuckled sheepishly.

Claiming it was too boring would sound too dismissive, especially since those contestants were the carefully nurtured Holy Sons of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land.

The Sword Lord rolled his eyes. If he truly didn’t understand, wouldn’t that be even more reason to watch and learn? How could he have the leisure to come fishing instead?

The Sword Lord, despite being a saint for many years, had never encountered someone as eccentric as Li Hao.

Qiu Wuhen came here to fish as part of his sword comprehension. But Li Hao? His fishing had nothing to do with swordsmanship—it was purely for pleasure.

When Qiu Wuhen caught something, his expression was blank, as if he were lifting a mere rock.

But when Li Hao made a catch, his excitement was plainly visible.

Such joy couldn’t be hidden; only someone who genuinely loved fishing would show such emotion.

"If you think attending the matches might offend them, there’s no need to worry. Sooner or later, they’ll have to face contenders from the other two great sacred lands and even the geniuses of the Thirty-Three Heavens. If their flaws could be exposed just by being watched, they deserve to lose."

The Sword Lord spoke calmly.

Li Hao nodded. The current Sword God Battle was not only to determine the strongest genius within the Holy Land but also to select the top ten candidates to compete against the other two sacred lands for the title of the top ten in the Canglan Realm.

Seeing Li Hao remain unmoved, the Sword Lord didn’t press further. In his mind, he regarded Li Hao as a genius from another saintly lineage, destined to clash with the Holy Sons of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land in the Thirty-Three Heavens battle. Though he thought little of Li Hao’s refusal to spy on his future opponents, he respected the pride behind it.

...

After half a day of fishing, Li Hao repeatedly caught Ao Jie. With diminishing gains in experience from the dragon demon, he grew slightly frustrated.

He finally stowed his fishing line and said to the Sword Lord, "Senior, may I paint a portrait of you?"

The Sword Lord raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then, recalling Li Hao’s previous painting of the Sword God Battle, he chuckled and replied, "If you wish to paint, feel free."

Li Hao was overjoyed. He immediately retrieved a painting board from his spatial realm and began painting before the Sword Cliff.

The sound of the waterfall’s rush, the Sword Lord sitting quietly on the edge of the cliff wearing a conical hat, and the resplendent sword scar etched deep into the opposite cliff—all of it was captured on Li Hao’s canvas.

When he began depicting the saintly figure of the Sword Lord, Li Hao truly felt the difficulty of the Painting Dao. Portraying a saint was entirely different from drawing ordinary people.

His expression turned solemn as he observed carefully, but he sensed something elusive about the Sword Lord, like a shroud of mist. Observing in this meticulous way for a painting was entirely different from everyday observation.

He was aiming to capture the Sword Lord’s unique spirit, but that essence was ethereal and ever-changing, as elusive as the head of a divine dragon—always in flux and impossible to grasp.

As Li Hao glimpsed a sliver of it, he was suddenly struck by a piercing sword aura, buzzing in his ears.

The Sword Lord’s expression shifted, slightly surprised. Could it be that the sword essence concealed within him had been glimpsed by the young artist?

"Are you alright?"

The Sword Lord looked over at Li Hao and saw that golden blood was seeping from his eyes, as if they had been slashed and rendered blind.

In Li Hao’s eyes, the Sword Lord could sense the faint reflection of his own sword essence, which had unintentionally projected itself onto Li Hao’s vision, damaging his eyes.

This wasn’t intentional. The Sword Lord lifted his hand, preparing to retract the sword energy. If it lingered, Li Hao’s eyes would not heal.

"Senior, please don’t interfere! I’m still painting!"

Li Hao sensed the Sword Lord’s intention and quickly spoke up.

The Sword Lord hesitated, then glanced at him. At that moment, he finally understood why this young man had managed to paint the renowned image of the Sword God Battle.

Li Hao wasn’t a sword fanatic but a painting fanatic!

He was so engrossed in painting that his obsession even surpassed the dedication some Holy Sons had to swordsmanship!

The Sword Lord took a deep look at him. A person only has one heart, yet here was someone who had fully invested himself in his art, and he had also shown similar dedication to fishing. Even more remarkable, at the young age of 28, he had reached the 97th level of Dao Domain in cultivation!

Such talent—so monstrous it could astonish even a reincarnated saint.

At this moment, though Li Hao’s eyes were damaged, with golden blood trickling out, he continued painting without pause.

He painted with his heart!

As time passed, the outlines on the canvas grew clearer, and the seated profile of the Sword Lord gradually took on a life of its own.

At a glance, he appeared to be an old man seated at the cliff’s edge, yet a closer look revealed him to be like a steep and towering sword.

Looking once more, he still seemed like an elder.

When the painting was complete, the two beams of sword essence that had projected onto Li Hao’s eyes were also transferred onto the canvas.

As the artwork took its final shape, Li Hao’s eyes healed and reformed as well.

At that moment, a notification appeared before him:

[Painting Dao Experience +372,742]

[Eighth Level Painting Dao experience has reached maximum]

[Congratulations! You have comprehended the Heart of the Painting Dao. Your Painting Dao has ascended to the Ninth Level.]

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