Chapter 5: Supreme Perfection
An entire hour passed.
Bian Ruxue's medicinal bath had turned completely clear, with no trace of the medicinal liquid left.
The maids helped her change into fresh clothes and dried her hair. She stood quietly beside Li Hao's medicinal bath, unaware of the significance of any of this, simply waiting in silence for Li Hao to emerge.
In contrast, Li Hao's medicinal bath, under Lin Haixia's insistent demands, was still a glaring shade of purple.
The female attendants accompanying Bian Ruxue cast a glance, struck speechless.
As yet another hour slipped by, other attendants and maids caught wind of the news and came to have a look, all astonished by what they saw.
Living in the Divine General Mansion, they were well aware of what this meant. They looked at one another, reading shock in each other's eyes.
The son of the mighty Marquis of Justice… could his aptitude truly be this poor?
It wasn’t just slow absorption—he seemed completely incapable of absorbing anything at all!
This was the Li Family’s bloodline!
If anyone heard of this, who would believe it?
People would laugh at such a rumor, calling it absurd!
And yet, the evidence was right in front of them.
The entire courtyard fell silent. Soon, one of the attendants snapped out of their shock and quickly ran off, and before long, a colorful crowd gathered in the Shanhe Courtyard.
Ladies and noblewomen from each courtyard had arrived, surrounding the medicinal bath. Upon learning from a nearby attendant how long Li Hao had been soaking, they were all stunned.
In the crowd, Liu Yurong felt a pang of dread.
Could it be the medicine?
But she had never heard that it had such severe side effects!
Her chest tightened with worry, though she quickly composed herself, replacing her concern with an urgent, sorrowful expression.
Inside the medicinal bath, Li Hao, looking thoroughly fed up, saw his skilled Second Mother performing her act. In her eyes, he even caught a genuine hint of panic.
Was his Second Mother truly frightened?
Li Hao couldn’t help but smirk inwardly.
As the courtyard grew increasingly noisy, the First Madam’s face darkened as she ordered the servants to leave, allowing only the noblewomen from each courtyard to remain. She instructed that this incident must not be disclosed or spread!
Lin Haixia, seeing no reduction in the Foundation-Building Medicinal Liquid, felt his heart sink.
This could no longer be called "slow absorption."
He thought of a dreadful possibility, and a chill ran down his spine. Could it be that the Marquis’ precious son was truly a martial waste, utterly incapable of cultivating martial arts?
Without further hesitation, Lin Haixia pulled Li Hao from the medicinal bath.
Seeing Li Hao's body pale from lack of oxygen and his skin wrinkled from prolonged soaking, the expressions of the gathered noblewomen varied.
They learned that Li Hao had been soaking for six hours already.
Yet the Foundation-Building Medicinal Liquid had not changed in the slightest, underscoring the severity of the situation.
When Liu Yurong saw that Li Hao’s lips were turning pale from the soaking, she became convinced that this wasn’t an act.
Her heart skipped a beat. She had only wanted to disable the child’s Divine Blood, not utterly ruin him!
After all, if he turned into a complete invalid, it would be too suspicious!
This was the powerful bloodline of the Li Family, and he couldn’t cultivate?
If someone were to investigate...
The First Madam was the first to regain her composure. She immediately instructed Lin Haixia to take good care of Hao’er and had her personal maid bring some nourishing medicinal soup to restore Li Hao's frail body.
...
The next day.
Lin Haixia prepared two more tubs of Foundation-Building Medicinal Liquid, one for Li Hao and the other for Bian Ruxue.
He kept a close eye on Li Hao as he entered the bath.
Li Hao sighed, knowing this was all futile and a waste of medicinal ingredients. Still, unable to argue, he obediently complied.
Perhaps, after a few more attempts, they would finally give up.
At that moment, the same message as yesterday appeared in his vision.
"[Unknown substance detected, analyzing...]"
"[Analysis failed, automatically isolated.]"
Li Hao silently praised it. He had also lost any hopes of this working, so he sat quietly in the medicinal bath, idly picking at his toes, utterly bored.
As time went by with no change in the medicinal liquid, a short and stout soldier nearby couldn’t hold back any longer and let out a frustrated growl.
“How can this be?!”
Lin Haixia, more shocked than even Li Hao, was visibly shaken.
Li Hao looked at him, bewildered.
He saw Lin Haixia pacing frantically around the medicinal bath, tapping his forehead. “The medicinal liquid is fine; there’s no way it could be wrong. Could it be that the Marquis’ child… really can’t cultivate?”
This was the Li Family’s bloodline, destined to produce a true dragon!
Seeing Lin Haixia’s sorrowful frustration, Li Hao felt a slight urge to comfort him. Putting on an innocent face, he spoke in a soft, childlike voice, “Uncle, Uncle, don’t be angry. Hao’er is alright.”
Hearing this, Lin Haixia’s body stiffened.
He looked at the child in the medicinal bath, and suddenly felt the urge to cry.
This child… he had no idea of the fate awaiting him!
Looking at Li Hao’s pure, innocent eyes, Lin Haixia’s heart felt as though it were tearing apart.
The sole heir of the mighty commander shouldn’t face such a bleak future!
But there was nothing he could do.
In Li Hao’s case, he could think of only one possibility: congenital meridian blockage.
A textbook martial waste body.
In an ordinary family, this wouldn’t be unusual and wouldn’t be much of an issue.
But this was the Li Family!
The family that had produced true dragons for generations!
Even the least talented of the Li Family’s offspring would still be exceptional compared to most.
Not to mention those true dragons of the Li Family, each one a figure of national fame.
...
The child before him...
Lin Haixia, usually unflinching in the face of war and bloodshed, could no longer bear to look at the boy’s pure, innocent eyes.
“It’s alright, it’s alright…” Seeing that this man’s sympathy for him was genuine, not feigned, Li Hao felt a twinge of warmth.
He stood up in the bath, tugging at Lin Haixia’s trouser leg as if comforting a child.
...
The second attempt with the Foundation-Building Medicinal Liquid had ended in failure.
News of Li Hao’s inability to cultivate swept through the Divine General Mansion like a storm. Li Hao’s condition was now irrefutably confirmed.
The various noblewomen and servants of the Li Family who heard the news were all stunned, finding it impossible to believe.
Over the following days, Li Hao stopped soaking in medicinal liquids, though many came to examine his body, each one leaving with a shake of the head.
Li Hao, meanwhile, eavesdropped on the discussions and learned that his condition was considered a “martial waste body” in their eyes.
With such a constitution, he couldn’t be entirely ruled out for cultivation.
It would simply be an exceedingly difficult path.
Unable to absorb medicinal pills or external energies, he would have to rely on arduous self-discipline to achieve any measure of success.
And even then, he would only reach the Second Realm.
To progress further would require harnessing the power of heaven and earth, thus making the Second Realm his absolute limit.
News of this spread to the Yanbei battlefield, and soon, an urgent family letter was sent back from a thousand miles away.
The letter’s contents shocked the Divine General Mansion once more.
The Marquis of Justice had reached the Three Immortals Stage!
The letter urged the First Madam to not abandon Hao’er’s martial path, advising that he be guided on this path no matter what.
Even if he only reached the initial stages, once his Divine Blood awakened, he might still accomplish something. While he would no longer have the potential of a genius, he could at least earn a rank of centurion within the army.
Thus, he wouldn’t tarnish the proud name of the Li Family’s sons.
The First Madam’s name was He Jianlan.
Though over sixty, she appeared merely in her forties. After reading the family letter, she let out a faint sigh.
“Hao’er’s unfortunate fate… it’s all that vile woman’s fault.”
No one knew to whom this “vile woman” referred.
...
In the days that followed, Li Hao felt his life return to its previous routine.
Foundation Building was no longer a concern; it seemed they planned to attempt a Blood Fusion when he turned four.
This gave Li Hao plenty of idle time, which he used to secretly play chess, steadily gaining experience.
Meanwhile, rumors of Li Hao’s martial waste body somehow spread beyond the mansion walls.
In the city of Qingzhou, these rumors became a topic of interest in taverns and inns, though most dismissed them as mere storytelling gimmicks, finding it too incredible to believe.
After all, this was a child of the Li Family.
Yet, some of the Li Family’s adversaries in the imperial court took immediate interest. Upon sending people to investigate, they confirmed the truth of the matter. Many within the mansion were both pleased and stunned.
They were thrilled that, after a thousand years of glory, the Li Family finally showed signs of weakness in their bloodline!
Yet they were also shocked to learn that the Marquis of Justice had long reached the Three Immortals Stage and had only now revealed his prowess.
Fortunate for them that his son was a martial waste, or else he might well have become another Li Junye!
...
In the blink of an eye, Li Hao turned four.
After a year of surreptitious efforts, he advanced to the Second Rank in chess.
He also gained a new skill point.
Without hesitation, Li Hao allocated this point to swordsmanship.
This brought his swordsmanship to the Second Rank as well.
Unlike his first advancement, where he was bombarded with overwhelming information, the now four-year-old Li Hao was barely able to withstand it, experiencing only a slight sense of mental strain.
As his swordsmanship improved, his skills panel changed accordingly.
[Name: Li Hao]
[Age: 4]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Swordsmanship: Second Rank]
[Skill: Boundless Sea · Tides (Supreme Perfection) [Sealed]]
[Art Mastery: Chess]
[Chess: Second Rank (0/1000)]
[Chess Manual Collection: 0]
[Skill Points: 0]
However, upon reaching the Second Rank in chess, Li Hao realized that playing against himself no longer allowed him to passively gain experience.