Chapter 14: Li Hao’s Ability
Xiao Fan froze with his mouth wide open as he watched Li Hao repeat the Red Stone Fist perfectly in one go.
Even though Li Hao’s fist didn’t turn red and made a loud noise like Xiao Fan’s, all the moves were repeated without the slightest mistake.
“How did you do it?” Xiao Fan still couldn’t believe it.
“I only remember what Teacher showed me…” Li Hao replied casually.
Xiao Fan scratched his cheek, and after staring at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, Xiao Fan told Li Hao to keep repeating the move.
Li Hao continued to successfully perform the Red Stone Fist. Xiao Fan then explained to him that he had to channel qi to strengthen his punch and other important things.
It didn’t feel like time was going fast, yet five hours had already passed. Li Hao had repeated the Red Stone Fist’s moves more than a hundred times. On his last try, he didn’t manage to turn his hands red yet, but quite a loud sound rang out as he unleashed a punch.
Xiao Fan couldn’t help but gulp seeing Li Hao’s rapid development.
After resting for a while, Li Hao continued his training with Fang Mu. Xiao Fan didn’t tell Fang Mu about the ability Li Hao displayed—it could just be a coincidence.
Fang Mu could see Li Hao was quite exhausted after training for five hours with Xiao Fan, so he let him sit on the ground to rest while listening to his explanation.
Fang Mu took out a wooden sword and showed it to Li Hao. “This is called a sword. There are various shapes and sizes of swords…”
For about an hour, Fang Mu explained in detail the meaning of the sword, its history, and its types. Li Hao listened as he continued to slowly nod and ask when he didn’t understand something.
“Sword moves are actually simple—basically stab, slash, and cut—and the combination of these three moves creates the art of the sword. Cultivators Develop it further with the help of qi and call it Sword Dao…”
Fang Mu explained how to hold the sword properly and gave examples of the basic movements. After Li Hao’s fatigue seemed to have lessened, Fang Mu let him try using the sword.
Li Hao wielded the sword enthusiastically. So far, all Li Hao knew was a knife for cutting flesh; a sword to him was just a bigger knife. But after making a few moves with the wooden sword, Li Hao realized the difference and became more aware of Fang Mu’s explanation.
“You have a good posture, and you learn fast Hao’er…” Fang Mu nodded in satisfaction.
In that first training session, Fang Mu let Li Hao get used to the sword first, so he didn’t find Li Hao as strange as Xiao Fan did.
After training, Fang Mu asked Li Hao to soak in the furnace he had provided. The water in the furnace had changed color after Fang Mu mixed in various medicinal herbs. A fragrant aroma was also wafting from the furnace water.
Not long after Li Hao soaked in it, the water in the furnace began to emit large bubbles. Li Hao felt pain all over his body, but Fang Mu said it was for his own good.
“Spirit Cleansing Liquid? You really went all out…” Xiao Fan, who arrived later, was slightly surprised when he saw the liquid filling Li Hao’s bath.
“Hao’er has consumed so much demonic beast meat. Although doing it strengthened his body, it also slowly changed his meridians. Spirit Cleansing Liquid will help mitigate the impact…”
Li Hao listened but didn’t argue. He knew meridians were the qi pathways in the human body, and there were 108 of them in a cultivator’s body. The reason Li Hao felt pain was because his meridians were being cleared.
Xiao Fan chuckled in admiration. “Hao’er, this one furnace is worth at least ten thousand spirit stones. Only geniuses in ten-star sects can enjoy it.”
Xiao Fan then glanced at Fang Mu and found no sign of his partner intending to tell him anything, so he thought Li Hao didn’t display the abilities he had previously seen.
Is it just a coincidence, or is Hao talented as a Body Cultivator? Xiao Fan stroked his chin while looking at the struggling Li Hao.
***
“Teacher Xiao, are you sure this is a good idea?”
Li Hao gulped when he saw the boar-shaped demonic beast in front of him who was clearly displeased at his presence.
“To perfectly capture martial essence, you need hands-on practice. Don’t worry; you’ll be fine!” Xiao Fan called out from the top of the tree which was quite a distance from Li Hao.
Li Hao was indeed able to perform the Red Stone Fist perfectly, but he hadn’t managed to pump the qi into his fists yet. According to Xiao Fan, only tough battles could help Li Hao’s training progress.
During this time, Li Hao had always hunted demonic beasts with the strength of Forging Qi level 3 and below, while in front of him now were beasts with the strength of a level 5.
If Li Hao used all his physical strength, he might be able to finish off the wild boar in front of him even though he struggled, but Xiao Fan wanted Li Hao to fight only using the Red Stone Fist.
“With the appropriate martial arts, you will be able to easily defeat opponents of your level or above. Advanced knowledge and technique will allow even those with little qi to be able to defeat those with far more qi,” Xiao Fan said.
To a cultivator, the amount of qi was just as important as the technique used. Younger generations in Forging Qi of a large sect defeating Foundation Realm cultivators from a small sect were not a strange sight.
While the amount of qi and the level of practice were important, the physical quality, variety of moves, and various artifacts also played a big role in the battles between cultivators.
“Focus, Hao’er! Focus!” Xiao Fan, who was on the tree, was actually worried of Li Hao losing because, with his current abilities, he would only become soft food for the boar-shaped demonic beast.
As Li Hao clenched his teeth and started to perform the Red Stone Fist movement, the demonic beast also started to move.
The battle between the two was quite fierce. Li Hao did release a heavy blow, but the demonic beast’s skin was also extremely thick and hard, making Li Hao’s punch barely deal any damage or pain to the creature.
Li Hao kept trying to dodge while unleashing punch after punch. If he couldn’t use the Red Stone Fist perfectly, then he would have a hard time winning this fight.
