Chapter 44: Entry? True Form!
"Then try to persuade them more," Shen Yunqing said with a light smile, skipping over the joke and addressing the two of them:
"You should also take a look at the stone stele. Each class has limited spots, and today is already the second day of recruitment at the Tangong Academy. That means there’s only one day left for comprehension after today. You must hurry."
Li Yuanzhao quickly asked, "What if the spots for Class A are already full?"
"Then you’ll have to go to Class B," Shen Yunqing replied with a smile. "But don’t worry—there will be a test in a month. If you’re confident, you can challenge someone from Class A to swap classes."
She continued, "No matter which class you’re in, nothing is ever permanent. Cultivation is about competition—striving against the heavens, against demons, and most importantly, against other people!"
"If you want the most resources and the best treatment, you must stand above the crowd to earn that right."
In the Divine General Mansion, being part of the main family meant their parents would prepare cultivation resources for them. But at the Tangong Academy, everything had to be earned through personal effort and competition.
Hearing this, Li Yuanzhao promptly dragged Li Hao toward the stone stele where Li Yun and his sister were studying.
Clearly, that stele was for high-grade techniques.
In front of this stele, only a dozen people were comprehending it. The other steles had two to three dozen people gathered, with the medium-grade technique stele drawing the largest crowd. After all, while most were confident, they still preferred a safer option.
Li Hao glanced at the stele, which contained the record of a fist technique.
Fist techniques were nearly essential for martial artists. Once one mastered hand-to-hand combat, training with other weapons became much more efficient.
He carefully examined the text on the stele, and words appeared before his eyes:
{Surface-level understanding achieved. Record this technique?}
Li Hao chose "Yes."
Soon, the technique was recorded in his interface. However, its mastery level wasn’t listed as "entry," "perfection," or "supreme."
[High-Grade Technique: Wind-Slashing Fist (True Form)]
With one step, he had reached the limit!
Li Hao wasn’t surprised by this outcome.
Over the past five years, while fishing with his second uncle, the old man had learned he hadn’t undergone Soul Fusion at the ancestral hall. Though angry, his uncle had taught him some fist techniques for self-defense.
As a result, on his interface, apart from Sword Dao, another path was recorded:
Fist Dao.
It had already been raised to the sixth tier!
Beyond Fist Dao, other paths such as Body Dao, Sword Dao, and Royal Dao had all been elevated to the sixth tier as well.
Over these five years, he had been constantly busy, achieving significant progress in various arts and skills.
Fishing: Tier 5.
Chess: Tier 5.
Cooking: Tier 6.
Painting: Tier 5.
Literature: Tier 3.
Music: Tier 3.
These brought a total of 27 skill points.
Having used 24 points, he still had 3 points in reserve for emergencies.
Initially, Li Hao had considered raising a single Dao to its limit before focusing on others. But through experimentation, he discovered that every Dao had thresholds:
From Tier 3 to Tier 4, one needed to reach "entry of the heart."
When his Cooking Dao reached Tier 6 with full experience, it prompted a requirement to comprehend the "Spirit of Cooking" for further progress.
If "entry of the heart" required focus and heartfelt passion, "entry of the spirit" demanded understanding and mastery of Dao Rhythms.
Cooking dishes at this level required breaking traditional boundaries, infusing the meal with soul.
The same applied to chess.
...
Placing a piece was no longer just about winning or losing; it required personal ingenuity and spiritual essence—what one might call the "hand of the gods" or an extraordinary move transcending worldly perception!
Li Hao understood that this wasn’t merely a demand from the interface. Even without it, ordinary cultivation would require reaching "entry of the heart" and "entry of the spirit" at certain stages.
Otherwise, one could only become a second-rate expert, far from the pinnacle.
To become strong, one must first embrace madness!
It was said that above "entry of the spirit" lay an even higher state: entry of sainthood.
But even his second uncle, hailed as the Fist Saint, had only achieved "entry of the spirit" in fist techniques and had not reached sainthood.
The word "saint" represented supreme authority in Great Yu, an untouchable existence.
Titles like Fist Saint or Sword Saint didn’t indicate the Saint Realm; they were accolades for individuals who had reached unparalleled heights in their respective fields, approaching sainthood.
Li Hao speculated that when he reached Tier 9 in the future, he might require the heart state of "entry of sainthood."
It was difficult to imagine what such a state would entail.
For now, however, even "entry of the spirit" was beyond him.
The spirit, as the term suggested, encompassed essence, inspiration, and soul!
He needed to achieve something extraordinary and exquisite to develop his own inspiration—akin to a Celestial Master possessing their unique Mastery of Dao!
As the interface successfully recorded the technique, a flood of information about Wind-Slashing Fist poured into his mind. Li Hao merely closed his eyes briefly and quickly assimilated it all.
It felt as if he had practiced this fist technique for fifty years. Not only had he mastered all its moves, but he had also surpassed the supreme level, fixing its flaws and deeply understanding its core essence.
As its name suggested, the technique allowed punches to slash and break the wind, wielding destructive power comparable to blades and swords.
In Li Hao’s hands, this high-grade technique could unleash power rivaling that of top-tier techniques.
He withdrew his gaze from the stone stele and looked around at the dozen or so others. They were all fully focused, their eyes locked on the stele as they carefully studied its content. Some even moved their lips, silently reciting the text to comprehend its meaning.
Many techniques were obscure and difficult to decipher. But most of those present came from martial families, steeped in martial culture from a young age. Even rare and archaic terms were intelligible to them.
Li Hao noticed that Li Yuanzhao was also deeply engrossed, his small eyes darting back and forth across the lines of text on the stone stele.
He decided not to interrupt and swept his gaze further, spotting Li Yun and his sister crouched before the stele. Their expressions were serious, alternating between moments of contemplation and furrowed brows. Occasionally, their wrists moved subtly, as if they were mentally rehearsing the technique, fully absorbed in their study.
"A group of hardworking kids..." Li Hao sighed inwardly before turning to leave.
Nearby, the two other stone steles were surrounded by even larger crowds. Some had moments of enlightenment and began practicing in the open space. However, their movements appeared awkward. After just a few attempts, they realized the discrepancies between their imaginations and their actual performance and returned to the stele for further comprehension.
Li Hao didn’t bother recording the techniques from these steles. The Li Family had no shortage of techniques below the high-grade level.
As he glanced around, his gaze suddenly landed on Shen Yunqing, who was sitting at the edge of the square, near a corner.
Before him was a chessboard.
Li Hao was momentarily taken aback, his eyes lighting up as he walked over.
...
"This time, let’s see how you escape!"
"Ha, bet you didn’t see this move coming!"
Across from Shen Yunqing sat an elderly man in a gray robe, laughing heartily. He had seized a significant advantage on the chessboard, leaving no room for a comeback. Victory was assured.
Sitting cross-legged, Shen Yunqing scratched his head in frustration but ultimately sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win."
"What do you mean, 'fine'? I did win!" The old man grumbled, extending his hand. "Hand it over—the Drunken Wind Brew, as promised!"
Reluctantly, Shen Yunqing removed the wine gourd from his waist and handed it to his old friend with a pout. "Just one sip. Don’t overdo it."
"Unlike you, I keep my promises." The gray-robed elder snorted before uncorking the gourd and taking a long swig.
Shen Yunqing panicked and snatched the gourd back, his face filled with anguish. "You said one sip!"
"I did only take one sip. I haven’t even swallowed yet."
"You’re like a straight-pipe stomach!" Shen Yunqing clutched the gourd protectively, peeking inside and feeling his heart sink.
"I’ll add this game to your tab!"
The old man chuckled mischievously, then suddenly sensed something. He turned his head to find a refined, handsome youth with delicate features standing nearby. The boy’s luxurious attire and noble air were impossible to miss.
"Hm? A young master from the Divine General Mansion?"
Recognizing the insignia on his sleeve and the jade token at his waist, the old man straightened his expression. Words of reprimand that were about to escape his mouth were quickly replaced with a more measured tone.
"You’re playing chess?" Li Hao asked with a grin.
In his two lifetimes, Li Hao had learned that starting a conversation with an obvious question was often just a way to break the ice.
"Why aren’t you at the stone stele comprehending techniques?" Shen Yunqing asked, surprised to see Li Hao.
Everyone else was racing against time to study the techniques at the steles, yet this young master was leisurely wandering around instead.
Could it be that he was hoping for some secret pointers from them?