Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 358

Volume 3 - Chapter 79: Primordial Spirit, Seven Extremes Realm - Part 1

In less than half a day, Li Hao arrived at Youzhou once again.

This time, he was considerate of Xia Yuanwu, the elder's pace, and chose not to rush. After all, aside from reaching the destination, the scenery along the way held its own importance.

When they returned to the Xia family, just as they approached the gates of the Divine General Mansion, Xia Linglong was already there, personally standing at the entrance to greet them. This time, there were even more people present, including three elderly men with restrained yet profound auras, clearly senior members of the Xia family.

As they saw the young man dismount from the Candlefire God, several older generals, who had previously commanded troops on the battlefield, fixed their gazes on him.

The events in Youzhou, where Li Hao had cut down the Lord of Gluttony Valley with a single sword and quelled the disaster, were witnessed by countless people.

Additionally, during their swift aid to Qingzhou, they learned that the Dragon Gate and Sacred Palace forces besieging the outskirts of Qingzhou City had also been annihilated by Li Hao.

The leaders of those two factions, both at the Supreme Dao Realm, had long been a thorn in the sides of the Divine General Mansions. Now, both had been eliminated in a single day by Li Hao, leaving even the older generation deeply shocked.

“General Haotian, please.”

Xia Linglong smiled warmly as she gazed at the young man before her, extending a polite invitation.

This time, meeting him again, her feelings differed from before. After witnessing Li Hao slay the Lord of Gluttony Valley with Xia Yuanwu, and upon hearing that Li Hao had vanquished Long Jue Shen and Feng Lingxiao, two ancient demon kings, she now fully understood that despite being a mere teenager, this youth stood at the pinnacle of Great Yu.

Aside from the True Person of Qiandao Palace, perhaps only the universally acknowledged second strongest, the Boundless Buddhist Lord, could be his equal—and even that outcome was uncertain.

Many of Xia Linglong’s peers and members of the next generation, contemporaries of Li Hao, had also gathered to observe him from a distance within the mansion.

The news of the legendary youth’s arrival excited many younger members of the Xia family. Their emotions were a mix of curiosity and reverence.

Born into a military family and bearing the honor of the Xia name, most of them harbored an innate respect for strength. After all, in the army, disputes were settled with fists and skills, not words.

...

Most members of military families shared a direct and straightforward nature, disdaining empty rhetoric. Tangible cultivation realms and verifiable accomplishments were the most convincing things.

And Li Hao possessed both.

Whether it was his awe-inspiring Fourth Realm cultivation or his achievements in slaying the demon king leaders, each feat was beyond the reach of his peers.

“At fourteen, they said he was already at the Fifteen Li stage. By logic, his cultivation pace should have slowed after reaching that stage, yet it has only accelerated.”

“So this is the General Haotian I’ve heard about—he truly is as young as the legends claim.”

“I heard he cut down the Lord of Gluttony Valley with one sword. Within the Supreme Dao Realm, he’s regarded as a fiendish deity.”

From a distance, many Xia family youths watched and whispered among themselves.

Some of the most gifted prodigies among them bore complicated expressions—not out of jealousy but from a sense of an insurmountable gap that shook their self-confidence.

While they were still competing among their peers, struggling to stand out, that youth had already been lifted high by the older and senior generations, standing out like a crane among chickens.

The disparity was too vast.

...

Upon arriving at the Xia family’s reception hall, Li Hao sensed the lively atmosphere of the Xia family and promptly explained to Xia Linglong his desire to visit Lingyuan Pavilion.

Xia Linglong, noticing that Li Hao seemed to dislike the clamor, observed that the boy carried an inherent tranquility, as though he sat atop a remote mountain peak, serene and far-reaching.

She immediately dispersed the other Xia family members and personally led Li Hao to Lingyuan Pavilion.

Li Hao instructed Xiyan to remain on the Candlefire God, waiting for him there.

He then asked Xia Yuanwu to help look after Ren Qianqian.

Ren Qianqian, anxious and flustered during the journey, was simultaneously filled with excitement and amazement. She had not expected Li Hao to receive such grand treatment at the Xia family, a fellow Divine General Mansion.

When she saw Li Hao preparing to leave her side, a wave of nervousness swept over her. However, she obediently nodded, revealing a smile that reassured Li Hao.

Xia Yuanwu, noting the girl’s unease in the imposing Divine General Mansion, led her to rest in his courtyard to ease her nerves.

Meanwhile, Li Hao arrived at Lingyuan Pavilion.

Xia Linglong smiled. “General Haotian, this is Lingyuan Pavilion, one of the Xia family’s most sacred grounds. It was constructed by our ancestors with the hope that the Xia family could gather martial arts from across the world, making them available for future generations to study freely, thus creating a radiant age of martial arts.”

Li Hao nodded. “For an age of martial arts to flourish, these techniques must be shared openly.”

Xia Linglong was momentarily stunned. She gazed intently at the young man before her, then smiled softly.

“General Haotian, you are correct. The Xia family originally planned to distribute lower and mid-grade techniques to martial halls across the nation, teaching them to the common people. However, such an endeavor would inevitably provoke debates with the scholars in the court. That is manageable, but the greater issue lies in the demons wreaking havoc outside our borders. The external threat has yet to be resolved, and we fear the emergence of internal strife.”

Li Hao was intrigued. After a moment of thought, he understood.

The external threat came from demons. If martial arts techniques were distributed at low cost or even freely, the number of martial artists would surge. However, a large number of martial artists could lead to chaos and internal conflicts.

Some martial artists, lacking virtue despite their skills, might take up tasks for personal gain, even working for demons if the price was right.

If demons infiltrated and colluded with such factions, a simultaneous outbreak of internal and external troubles could hasten the collapse of Great Yu.

Yet, to suppress the demons, more martial artists were needed, creating a paradox.

Integrating martial artists into military forces would require significant resources for food, training, and cultivation. During peacetime, such expenses would be a heavy burden, and disbanding them would likely lead to rampant banditry, causing further harm to the populace.

Thus, while the court sought to use martial artists to combat demons, they also needed to control their numbers. Balancing these factors demanded immense ingenuity and strategy, with countless clever approaches and policies in play.

“Everything operates on the principle of yin and yang, but achieving balance is challenging,” Li Hao remarked.

When it came to governing the realm, he admitted it was not his expertise. Mastering governance required a deep understanding of human nature.

But to fully comprehend the human heart would make life inevitably dull.

Li Hao could endure the solitude of drinking alone but not the tedium of a life without intrigue.

Hearing his words, Xia Linglong’s eyes flickered with thought. She gave the young man before her a long, thoughtful look before speaking softly.

“General Haotian, you may remain here as long as you like, provided you promise not to share the techniques beyond these walls.”

“The Xia family’s trust in me will not be misplaced,” Li Hao replied.

With that, he stepped into Lingyuan Pavilion.

The pavilion was packed with martial techniques and cultivation manuals. Li Hao scanned the interior; its layout was reminiscent of Tingyu Pavilion.

He wasted no time and began flipping through the manuals, systematically recording them into his panel.

Previously, he had selectively recorded martial arts techniques. However, given his current constraints, he could no longer afford to evaluate whether techniques were redundant. His approach was now to record everything.

After all, aside from occupying space on the panel, there was no downside to compiling the information.

Following the battle at Qingzhou City, where he had destroyed the avatars of two Desolate Gods, Li Hao had raised his vigilance.

Though he had reached the Supreme Dao Realm, there were few within the Great Yu Divine Dynasty who could surpass him. Openly, only one individual stood above him, and counting those hidden in the shadows, perhaps no more than three.

However, the true forms of those two Desolate Gods were both at the Dao Seeker Realm, an entirely different level.

Yet they had refrained from directly attacking the Great Yu Divine Dynasty, choosing instead to manipulate demon factions from the shadows. If not for his intervention, they would have continued operating in secrecy.

If they were truly intent on conquering the Great Yu Divine Dynasty, they would have targeted the Emperor, slaughtered the royal family, and seized control of the empire before proceeding to annihilate the five Divine General Mansions. That would have been the optimal route.

The fact they had not taken this approach indicated either an inability to act or hesitation.

It could mean the True Person of Qiandao Palace was too formidable or that other hidden forces within the Great Yu Divine Dynasty kept them at bay, forcing them to continue leveraging external factions to draw these forces out.

Now that their avatars had been destroyed, Li Hao knew he had become a thorn in their side. Even though their avatars were terrifying, their true forms would be exponentially stronger.

Li Hao doubted his chances against them and believed he must continue to enhance his power to increase his odds of survival.

...

As he recorded martial techniques into the panel, Li Hao did not exclude any body-refining methods. He meticulously added every technique to the panel.

Using the framework of the Body Dao of Seven Stages, he could simulate improvements for body-refining methods, elevate mid-grade techniques to high-grade ones, and combine high-grade methods to create supreme-level techniques.

With each technique added to the panel, a torrent of information surged into Li Hao’s mind. However, his current physique allowed him to absorb it effortlessly.

Dozens of techniques.

Hundreds of techniques.

Thousands of techniques!

The entire Lingyuan Pavilion's collection of martial arts was being systematically recorded into the panel as Li Hao explored its depths.

Among the techniques he recorded, Li Hao discovered the majority were oriented toward spirit refinement and object manipulation.

Body-refining methods were relatively few, and techniques for swordsmanship, fist arts, or blade arts were similarly limited in number.

Li Hao had heard before that the five Divine General Mansions each had their strengths. The Li family was known for its versatility, while the Xia family excelled in spirit refinement. The Wang family, on the other hand, specialized in cultivating avatars and controlling puppet mechanisms.

In the Spiritual Wandering Realm and the Fifteen Li stage, Xia family cultivators generally outperformed their counterparts from the other mansions.

The Xia family’s most advanced spirit refinement technique was said to rival even the royal family’s.

Their object manipulation techniques were equally unparalleled.

Li Hao was pleasantly surprised by this discovery and felt he had come to the right place.

As he recorded one spirit refinement technique after another, the methods were quickly analyzed by his Body Dao of Seven Stages. His spiritual aura began to grow steadily, then accelerated rapidly.

Immediately, Li Hao enveloped himself in his Dao Domain, isolating his aura from the outside world, and began meditating on the spot.

His primordial spirit emerged behind him, like a golden war god surrounded by roaring flames, consolidating his spiritual power.

...

The top-tier supreme-level spirit refinement techniques of major clans could only refine the spirit to a range of twenty li.

The royal family’s premier spirit refinement technique, however, extended the range to thirty li.

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