Volume 3 - Chapter 4: Stabilizing Liang Province - Part 1
"Fifth Brother, it’s clearly your own carelessness," a five-year-old child said with a mischievous grin.
The sparring among the three children came to a halt as the older boy snorted in annoyance. "If you sneak attack me like that again, I’ll have to get serious next time!"
"But Fifth Brother, if you get serious, isn’t that just bullying?"
The five-year-old chuckled.
"Hmph, it’s because you always sneak attack!"
"Father said that in matters of fighting, sneak attacks don’t count—it’s all about strategy and deception!"
"We’re just sparring, not real fighting!"
Watching the children bicker, Li Hao’s gaze shifted slightly. From their conversation, he could roughly guess their identities.
As he focused his thoughts, golden light appeared before his eyes.
When Li Hao turned to look at Chen Hefang, he noticed she was completely unaware of the golden light hovering in front of him. The golden characters formed by the light reflected on her cheek as he turned his head.
[Growth] Task Progress: 5.6%.
Li Hao quickly calculated in his mind. It seemed he was now just over a year old.
This meant he should be capable of speaking and walking by now.
"Mother?"
Li Hao tested his voice, deliberately forming the word. His voice came out clear and distinct.
Hearing the childish call, Chen Hefang paused in surprise and immediately looked down at Li Hao. Her expression of joy turned to astonishment.
"Shilang, you can call me Mother now? Say it again, let me hear!"
"Mother," Li Hao said again, feeling awkward but pushing through. It seemed his vocal cords had fully developed.
Seeing how clever Li Hao was, clearly understanding her words, Chen Hefang's face blossomed into a radiant smile as she praised him repeatedly.
The children sparring in the courtyard heard the commotion and eagerly gathered around, using the distraction as an excuse to stop their training.
A three-year-old child, who had been swinging a stick, ran over but forgot to let go of the stick in his excitement. He nearly hit Li Hao on the head, but Chen Hefang quickly intercepted it.
"Junye, don’t hurt your younger brother," she said with a light laugh, not scolding the child.
Little Li Junye, startled, hastily threw the wooden stick aside and leaned in curiously to look at Li Hao.
"Little Brother can talk now?"
"Call me Brother!" exclaimed the older Li Xuanli in surprise.
Meanwhile, the sturdy Li Tiangang, full of swagger, directly demanded that Li Hao call him Brother, his playful demeanor teasing Li Hao.
Another child, seemingly Li Fenghua, had a fair and clean appearance. His eyes held a gentle quality, likely inheriting more of Chen Hefang’s temperament. He simply smiled without speaking, his demeanor somewhat shy.
Li Hao understood that these people were the obsessions of his paternal grandfather. To be precise, they were part of the old man’s memories.
The authenticity of these memories was still uncertain.
After all, the fact that even he was being called Shilang suggested certain factors might have altered these recollections.
Seeing these little rascals pinch and prod his cheeks like curious kittens, Li Hao could only close his eyes in resignation. After a dozen seconds, the noises around him gradually faded away as though something had pulled them away.
A few minutes later, when Li Hao reopened his eyes, a wooden stick came hurtling toward his forehead.
Startled, he reacted instinctively, rolling to the side to dodge the stick. At the same time, he realized he was holding a wooden sword in his hand, which he raised to deflect the stick.
With a loud thunk, the stick was knocked aside. Li Hao then saw that his assailant was the three-year-old Li Junye.
He now stood in the training courtyard he had seen earlier, wielding a wooden sword of his own.
Thinking back to what Fourth Uncle had said, it seemed time had fast-forwarded a bit. He had apparently joined the training sessions now.
Li Hao glanced at his hands and feet. They hadn’t changed much; he’d only grown by two or three months.
Starting martial arts training from such a young age... Li Hao chuckled bitterly to himself. It seemed the cultivation environment of the previous generation was quite different from the solitary practice he had experienced in that courtyard.
As the stick swung toward him again, Li Hao twisted his body and, though his cultivation memories were sealed, his accumulated combat experience remained intact. He struck the opponent’s hand with his sword, knocking the stick to the ground.
With a clatter, the stick fell, but Li Hao was too weak to cause any pain. Little Li Junye merely rubbed his hand and didn’t cry. Instead, he picked up the stick again.
As the child prepared for another attack, Li Hao quickly said, "No more! I’m tired."
This kind of training wasn’t very meaningful to him.
Hearing Li Hao admit defeat, Li Junye stopped, blinking in confusion.
Li Hao turned to Chen Hefang, who smiled and waved him over.
"If you’re tired, come rest for a bit and have some food," she said.
Li Hao discarded the wooden sword and ran over, climbing onto a chair. Just as he was about to grab a pastry, Chen Hefang caught his hand and carefully wiped the sand and dirt from between his fingers with a handkerchief before flicking his forehead gently.
"Always thinking about food," she teased.
Feeling awkward but hungry, Li Hao began eating the pastry.
In the courtyard, the clattering of wooden swords continued as Li Hao watched Li Xuanli for a moment. Suddenly, a prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Basic Proficiency Achieved. Record?]
It’s here!
Li Hao’s heart surged with excitement as he immediately chose “Yes.”
A new notification appeared on the panel:
Sword Dao: Beginner Level (Points Available)
Sword Technique: Xuan Sword Manual (Uninitiated)
Artistry Points: 0
Thinking of the many sword techniques in Tingyu Pavilion, Li Hao deemed this technique, a high-grade foundational skill, suitable for beginners.
Next, he needed to earn artistry points.
Li Hao finished his pastry, brushed off the crumbs, and hopped off the stool.
"Mother, I’m going to play for a bit," he said.
"Hmm?" Chen Hefang glanced at him in surprise but didn’t stop him. She simply instructed a maidservant nearby to keep an eye on Shilang.
Relieved, Li Hao turned and began wandering the courtyard.
First, he needed to familiarize himself with the surroundings.
As for earning artistry points, given the current situation, Li Hao planned to start with poetry and calligraphy.
...
Li Hao whispered verses from famous poems of his past life to himself, careful not to draw attention.
Soon, a notification appeared before him:
[Calligraphy Experience +28, Poetry Experience +32...]
Even though he didn’t fully comprehend the deeper meanings of these verses, their inherent power still yielded a decent amount of experience.
His panel automatically recorded his progress in Poetry and Calligraphy Dao.
Advancing from level 0 to level 1 only required 100 experience points.
After softly reciting a few classics, his experience reached level 2, earning him two artistry points.
Li Hao immediately allocated one point to Sword Dao, advancing it to level 1.
The remaining point he saved, planning to use it on body refinement techniques once he began formal cultivation.
At this moment, with his level 1 Sword Dao, the Xuan Sword Manual advanced from Uninitiated to Perfection!
A flood of sword insights poured into his mind, leaving Li Hao groaning inwardly. Not again...
The last time he processed this kind of information, it had left him with a splitting headache.
Now, with his young body, the sudden influx of knowledge overwhelmed him once more.
Clutching his head, Li Hao felt sharp pain.
The maidservant, alarmed by his reaction, quickly summoned a doctor and carried Li Hao back for treatment.
Amid the jostling, Li Hao struggled to endure the increasing headache. Only after he finally digested the knowledge did the pain subside, leaving him utterly exhausted.
With both his body and mind regressed to infancy, Li Hao couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep again.
...
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