Chapter 3: The Abandoned Divine Blood
As his consciousness wavered, a sudden surge of information flooded into his mind.
Li Hao clutched his head, feeling an intense throbbing, as if his skull were about to split.
His expression twisted in pain, and his hand involuntarily clung tightly to his Second Mother's smooth collar.
In that moment, he couldn’t help but think longingly of Fifth Mother's embrace.
There was a soft cushion there, and even if he slammed his head against it, it wouldn’t hurt; it would surely ease his pain.
"Hao'er, what's wrong?"
Noticing Li Hao’s discomfort, Liu Yurong was startled and quickly expressed her concern.
Li Hao gritted his teeth, burying his head against her chest, using it as a wall to press against. Strangely, the headache indeed lessened somewhat.
As the chaotic thoughts in his mind gradually calmed, Li Hao realized he had gained an immense amount of knowledge about swordsmanship.
It was as if he had practiced day and night for two or three years.
Damn it, this headache felt just like when he advanced in the Chess Dao...
Li Hao rubbed his temples, breathing heavily. He was still too young, his brain not yet fully developed; the vast influx of information from both the Chess Dao and Sword Dao was a severe burden on his fragile mind.
Li Hao remained silent, working hard to compose himself.
"Could it be that he’s fallen ill from standing in the snow?" Liu Yurong touched his forehead but found no sign of a fever, her worry only deepening.
By this time, Li Hao had mostly recovered. Noticing the questioning look in his Second Mother’s eyes, he pointed to his mouth and mumbled in a babyish voice, "Bit... bit my tongue."
Liu Yurong blinked in surprise, then let out a relieved sigh, rolling her eyes at him in exasperation.
Having successfully diverted her concern, Li Hao turned away from her and stealthily examined his own status panel.
[Name: Li Hao]
[Age: 1 year]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Sword Dao: First Rank]
[Skill: Ocean Without Bounds - Tides (Perfect) [Forbidden]]
[Mastered Art: Chess Dao]
[Chess Dao: First Rank (82/500)]
[Chess Manual Collection: 0]
[Artistic Skill Points: 0]
Li Hao was taken aback; his Artistic Skill Points had vanished, yet his Sword Dao had truly advanced from "uninitiated" to "First Rank"!
Moreover, the skill beneath it, Ocean Without Bounds - Tides, had also shifted from uninitiated to perfect!
Li Hao recalled the military instructor who taught Li Qianfeng mentioning that every technique was divided into three levels: Initiation, Dexterity, and Perfection.
Initiation signified the ability to perform an entire set proficiently.
Dexterity indicated not only proficiency but also flexibility and complete understanding, making adjustments effortless in any situation.
Perfection, however...
...meant a seamless mastery over the technique, wielding it as naturally as an extension of one’s body, with no openings whatsoever—unless the technique itself was inherently flawed.
Rumor had it that above Perfection was an even higher realm, where one could remedy a technique’s flaws, elevating its power even further.
Now, with Li Hao’s Sword Dao advancing to First Rank, his mastery of the initial level of the Ocean Without Bounds technique had instantly achieved perfection!
This would normally take over a decade of dedicated practice!
Even Li Qianfeng, renowned as a prodigy, had only reached Initiation for the first level of Tides after practicing Ocean Without Bounds for half a year.
What did that make him, then? A monster?
Li Hao's heart raced. He stole a glance at his Second Mother.
Hmm, all clear…
Seeing she wasn’t paying attention, Li Hao’s gaze shifted back to the courtyard.
At this moment...
The children in the yard were still practicing their swordsmanship. However, unlike before, he no longer found their skills impressive. Instead, he could easily spot the awkwardness in their movements and the stiffness in their postures.
If he were up against them, a simple strike would knock the wooden swords from their hands!
"Excellent," the burly middle-aged man said, clearly pleased with Li Qianfeng's performance.
With such outstanding aptitude and perception, in another two years, the boy should reach Dexterity on this first level.
Bear in mind, Li Qianfeng was still a child, with an undeveloped mind, making his accomplishments all the more impressive.
Time passed.
Li Hao continued eating as he watched, gradually feeling a hint of fatigue and boredom.
He yawned, snuggling into his Second Mother’s embrace and slowly closing his eyes.
Seeing him drift off to sleep, Liu Yurong glanced down, a flicker of complex emotion in her gaze.
However, as she looked toward her son practicing swordsmanship in the snow, her expression shifted back to calm serenity.
She rose, holding Li Hao, and returned to her chamber in the rear courtyard, carefully laying him down on her bed and covering him with a quilt.
Her actions were gentle, like those of a mother.
Li Hao, feeling drowsy, stirred as he was set down, his mind clearing slightly.
A warm sensation radiated from his chest, faintly heating up. It was the Dragon Blood Jade Pendant gifted by Emperor Yu, which he wore close to his heart; it was what allowed him to stand in the snow without feeling the cold.
Just as he was about to roll over and continue sleeping, a low voice reached him from outside the room.
"You really fed the child that substance?" an unfamiliar man’s voice asked.
“At this point, I have no other choice,” Second Mother replied, her tone lacking any warmth or familiarity, as though speaking to a servant.
“You’ve seen for yourself how hard my son works and what an exceptional talent he is! Representatives from Mount Wu Liang have already come to observe him. When Qianfeng turns six, they will take him to the mountain to begin his training. Once his Divine Blood awakens and he inherits his father’s power, he will surely become a name to be reckoned with across the land!”
“I must pave the way for him!”
Li Hao cracked one eye open, his mind still foggy with sleep but now laced with suspicion.
Who was Second Mother talking to?
"We still don’t know this child’s true potential. Isn’t this decision a bit hasty?" The man’s voice sighed deeply.
A brief silence followed outside.
Then, Liu Yurong spoke, her voice colder, laced with mockery:
“Parents love their children deeply and plan for their future.”
"I didn’t want to resort to this, but the fools of the Li family are utterly incompetent!”
“This child... if he must blame anyone, let it be his father. The Marquis of Xingwu was an extraordinary talent; others may not know, but I’m well aware that he reached that realm at just twenty-three…”
“That means his son has a good chance of awakening his Divine Blood as well!”
"What?!"
The man's voice trembled with shock. "He reached the ‘Three Immortals’ realm at twenty-three?!"
"Indeed. The Li family’s ancestor was a divine general under the founding emperor, Da Yu. Their bloodline is potent, and the Li family's descendants are always exceptional, true dragons among men. Besides Qianfeng's father, the Marquis of Xingwu, there’s also Li Junye, the Ninth Brother—another terrifying talent. Fortunately, he died young..."
Liu Yurong’s tone was icy. "Otherwise, do you think Emperor Yu would have bestowed a blessing upon this child? Even if his talent for martial arts is mediocre, an awakened Divine Blood would still allow him to stand above most of his peers. Only the very best could surpass him."
There was another long silence outside.
The man’s voice finally broke it with a sigh. "Since Madame has decided, I’ll say no more."
"You have nothing to worry about. I acquired this medicine from Mount Wu Liang. It leaves no trace and cannot be detected. It’s painless as well—I even coated it in sugar. He’s so young that he won’t remember a thing. After all, young children forget sweet treats easily."
"Even if, in the end, he cannot awaken the Divine Blood, there’s no guarantee it’s due to our interference. After all, anyone in the Divine General Mansion could be responsible."
“Besides,” Liu Yurong sneered, “the Divine Blood doesn't guarantee awakening in every descendant. Maybe he simply isn’t destined for it?”
Her voice turned dismissive as she added, "The chaos of the Yanbei border was truly convenient. Ji Qingqing, so deeply in love with the Marquis of Xingwu, willingly joined him on the battlefield, leaving us such an opportunity. If this child were older, or if they were to return with warriors guarding him, it would be much harder to take action."
The man offered no reply, letting out a quiet sigh.
Soon after, the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance.
Inside the room, Li Hao was now fully awake, his mind blank with shock and disbelief.
Second Mother was trying to harm him?
The kindness and care she showed every day—had it all been a façade?
Li Hao was reluctant to believe it, but the truth was undeniable.
Though he didn’t fully understand the concept of Divine Blood, it was clear that Second Mother considered him an obstacle to her own child’s success, and so she had chosen to destroy him.
Li Hao's face darkened, his small fists clenching.
The gentle smiles and tender words had lulled him into a false sense of comfort. If Second Mother could be like this, what about the others?
Who truly cared for him?
Though he had only been here a year and a half, the constant care he received from the ladies of the household had stirred some feelings in him.
But now, it all felt like a mirage.
Was this the brutal reality of ancient noble families?
Li Hao gently touched his body; aside from a slight warmth in his chest, he felt weak and exhausted.
It was most likely the effects of the drug.
His mother had once told him that he carried his father’s strength within him. But now... it was gone.
Li Hao gripped his tiny fists tightly. He vowed that one day, he would repay this grudge.
...
...
Spring passed, and autumn came.
In the blink of an eye, Li Hao was three years old.
The day after he ingested the mysterious substance, Li Hao had returned to the Shanhe Courtyard. His first act was to quietly remove the Dragon Blood Jade Pendant and then spent half an hour playing in the snow.
Soon after, he caught a chill and fell seriously ill.
The best doctors were summoned to treat him, but to Li Hao’s disappointment, they only cured his cold and found nothing unusual.
He didn’t know if Liu Yurong’s claim about the medicine being undetectable was true, or if the physician had been bribed.
Regardless, the result was that every maid and servant in his courtyard was harshly punished, which made Li Hao abandon further investigation. Evidence or not, he knew the truth in his own heart.
All he wanted now was to grow up quickly and for his parents to return from the border sooner.
Nowadays, Li Hao mostly stayed within the Shanhe Courtyard. While he still received food from the other ladies in the household, he became much more cautious, sometimes pretending to dislike the dishes and tossing them aside like a petulant child.
Gradually, the servants in his courtyard noticed that as the young master grew older, his once docile and gentle demeanor had acquired a peculiar new quirk.
An obsession with cleanliness.
For the maids attending him, this became an endless source of stress, as the slightest bit of grime on his clothes or utensils would provoke a strong reaction.
...
...
By the time Li Hao turned three, he had reached a critical age in the Divine General Mansion.
In ordinary families, children wouldn’t start martial arts training until around seven or eight, or even into their teens. In some cases, even children with talent couldn’t reach their full potential due to a lack of resources, wasting their best years for cultivating strength.
But the Divine General Mansion was a martial family with the most rigorous training methods, ensuring their children’s foundations were solid from a young age.
At age three, they began foundation-building.
At four, blood-melting.
At five, bone-measuring.
At six, they formally entered martial training, with not a single moment wasted.
In the pursuit of martial cultivation, each step forward kept one ahead forever.
A child’s talent for martial arts would also be tested at five during the bone-measuring stage.
If their bones were well-developed and marrow rich and dense, then following bone-measuring at age five, they could begin cultivation.
However, the Divine General Mansion, with its profound heritage, followed the principle of “more haste, less speed.” Children weren’t permitted to start formal training until age six, allowing an additional year for growth, which would make future cultivation smoother.
Even an extraordinarily gifted child like Li Qianfeng, though capable of training right after bone-measuring, would only join Mount Wu Liang at age six.
For now, his practice was limited to basic swordsmanship and cultivating an intuitive understanding of martial arts, not yet the start of true training.
Children with slower development or less aptitude had to wait, perhaps beginning their training at seven, eight, or even nine.
Still, with the Divine General Mansion’s countless elixirs and rare supplements to boost their martial aptitude, even the latest starters began by age eight.
One tale told of a premature child who had suffered injuries in the womb, yet even he began formal training at age eight.