The Name of Eternals

Chapter 122: Advancing Techniques

A fourteen-year-old Celestial Master? Li Hongzhuang remembered the year Li Hao was born; it was the same year her ninth brother died in battle.

It had been fourteen years since then.

She also recalled that even a prodigy like Li Junye reached the Celestial Master realm at seventeen.

And now, the young man before her had achieved it at fourteen.

Three years earlier!

"With such talent, you should be the True Dragon of your generation in the Li family, right?" Li Hongzhuang came to her senses and couldn't help but ask.

How could such a treasure be thrown beyond the Tianmen Pass?

What was her seventh brother thinking? True Dragon... Li Hao's lips curled into a smile as he replied, "Talent alone isn't remarkable. A True Dragon of the Li family isn't remarkable either. Only when I have genuine strength can I truly be considered noteworthy."

Li Hongzhuang was at a loss for words. "You say that because you have everything. Talent alone doesn't explain reaching the Celestial Master realm. It requires unparalleled insight and determination."

"Unparalleled isn't much," Li Hao said indifferently.

"In the Li family, having extraordinary talent might not be unusual, but your talent is unparalleled even in the entire Great Yu Kingdom," Li Hongzhuang couldn't help but remark.

Li Hao shook his head slightly, not wanting to discuss this further. Instead, he waved the makeshift banner in his hand and asked, "How does this look?"

"Not very impressive."

Li Hongzhuang glanced at it and spoke truthfully.

Li Hao smiled, knowing it was just a temporary flag made from tent fabric. It wasn't exactly majestic or refined.

However, he hoped that even this makeshift banner could intimidate the demons.

Li Hongzhuang looked at the roasting meat and commented, "I've had this demon beast before, but it never smelled this good."

"That's because it wasn't made by me."

Li Hao smiled, his eyes showing the seriousness and confidence of a chef.

Li Hongzhuang gave him a sideways glance without saying anything, focusing on the flickering campfire. In her cold, battle-worn eyes, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of light.

[Cooking Experience +182]

[Cooking Experience is full, please advance soon.]

The cooking finished, and Li Hao saw two familiar notifications. He was already used to them.

Cooking was currently the only skill he had reached the sixth level in.

But the experience was already full; only by entering a state of enlightenment could he advance to the seventh level.

However, he had yet to find a way to achieve enlightenment.

This differed from reaching the third level, which only required enough focus and passion.

Achieving enlightenment, like establishing a foundation as a master, required reaching a certain transcendent state.

But in the world, liking something was easy; transcending it was difficult.

In his journey towards enlightenment in cooking, Li Hao was still exploring.

Earlier, he had checked various tents in the camp, but being at the frontier, the soldiers' belongings didn't include chessboards or painting supplies. There were only a few ink stones and brushes left, likely used for recording military information and communication.

Currently, he had mastered six skills:

Chess at the fifth level, Painting at the fifth level, Fishing at the fifth level.

And Poetry, Calligraphy, and Cooking at the third level.

Without achieving enlightenment, his Physical Dao and Sword Dao were also stuck at the sixth level, unable to advance further.

Now, condensing one of his skills to enlightenment and reaching the seventh level was urgent.

Li Hao considered the conditions in this simple environment. Chess and Painting had to be put aside for now. The most suitable skills to advance were Cooking and Fishing.

After reaching the Fifteen Mile realm, Li Hao no longer relied on a fishing rod.

Using a rod could only catch minor demons at the Converged Strength realm or the Zhou Tian realm.

Catching great demons was extremely difficult unless by sheer luck...

Without a rod or line, Li Hao could use his energy to form lines like his second grandfather, fishing from all directions.

Fishing didn't have to be in a lake. The wilderness could also provide catches, accumulating fishing experience.

Just like children using hooks to catch frogs or yellow eels in the fields, it was still fishing.

What is fishing?

Bait and strike! Li Hao also considered learning new skills, like carving.

But he didn't lack skill points for now. Moreover, advancing carving to the third level also required passion, consuming a lot of time.

In this perilous frontier, he had to quickly advance to the Immortal realm to truly have the power to fight alone.

Now, the meat was ready.

Li Hao's thoughts returned. He took the roasted meat and first handed a portion to Li Hongzhuang.

Then he cut some for Ren Qianqian and the little white fox before taking a piece for himself.

Li Hongzhuang accepted it, thanked him, and used her dagger to cut a piece, putting it in her mouth.

"Hmm?"

Li Hongzhuang's chewing paused briefly, then accelerated.

"Not bad."

She nodded slightly, her expression showing approval, though her eyes revealed satisfaction.

Li Hao smiled and asked, "Are you really going to stay here and defend?"

Perhaps due to her long years in the military, Li Hongzhuang's behavior was like that of a soldier, her posture revealing none of the grace she once had as a girl embroidering flowers.

She tore off a piece of tendon with ease and said, "I'm not planning to die here, just staying with these brothers for a while longer, killing some more demons. Without major reinforcements, this place will fall sooner or later. I just want to see how many I can kill before then."

Her eyes flashed with a cold, sharp light.

Li Hao nodded and fell silent, finishing his portion of meat.

Once his stomach was full, Li Hao took another piece, wrapped it in leaves, and set it aside for Feng Ye.

Then he stood up, brushed himself off, and picked up the makeshift banners, heading outside the camp.

Along the way, he planted the banners at the edges of the camp.

There were four banners in total, each placed at a corner.

Made from tent fabric, the characters were still strong and bold, a result of his third-level Poetry skill. Li Hao glanced at them and smiled. Compared to the Blood Fiend Army's flags, they did look quite bleak.

After setting up the banners, Li Hao returned to the campfire. He took out some paper he had collected from the tents, along with ink and brushes, and began writing.

"What are you doing?" Li Hongzhuang asked, seeing him write. "Writing a letter home?"

Li Hao shook his head slightly. "Home" meant nothing to him. The world was his home, and this place was his home right now.

"This is the Gongfa from Tingyu Tower."

"You're recording the techniques?"

"Yes, to return them to the Li family."

Li Hao smiled, but his expression was calm.

Li Hongzhuang, thinking of the conflict between Li Hao and Li Tiangang, asked, "Do you really want to sever all ties with the family? Blood ties can't be cut."

"Nothing is uncuttable."

Li Hao's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold edge in his voice. "Perhaps your sword isn't sharp enough."

Li Hongzhuang raised an eyebrow, hearing the thorn in his words but didn't argue, understanding his deep resentment after leaving home.

"Do you think recording the techniques is enough to repay?" Li Hongzhuang asked.

Li Hao replied calmly, "The techniques I'm returning are advanced versions, more than enough."

Indeed, he intended to write down the deeper levels of understanding he had reached in the techniques and return them to the Li family.

Although the Li family would gain a lot, he couldn't be bothered with such calculations.

Cutting ties was enough.

"Oh?"

Li Hongzhuang was surprised. "How many techniques have you practiced?"

Pushing techniques to advanced levels required immense effort and time. If he practiced many, could he advance each one?

It required a massive amount of time and energy.

"Dozens," Li Hao said casually, already writing the first technique.

Stone Skin Tempering—Advanced Version: Golden Skin Tempering

Originally a low-grade technique, under his Physical Dao's sixth level, Golden Skin Tempering had advanced to a high-grade technique, capable of making the body as tough as iron.

Although still in the Master realm, Li Hao's body, enhanced by these tempering techniques, was ten times stronger than a typical Master.

He also wrote down the technique's profound skill: Golden Skin Tempering—Vajra! An explosive skill that dramatically increased his defense for a short time.

In short bursts, it was nearly equivalent to half of a Three Immortals' "Imperishable Body" defense.

If he reached the Imperishable Body, using Vajra would make his defense even more formidable.

This skill wasn't part of Stone Skin Tempering, so he wasn't breaking his promise not to use Li family techniques.

As for the enhancements brought by Stone Skin Tempering and other techniques, he couldn't forgo them, so he offered this enriched repayment.

"Dozens?" Li Hongzhuang was stunned.

She looked at Li Hao's face, illuminated by the campfire, serious and solemn, not joking.

She was momentarily lost in thought. Fourteen years old, reaching the Celestial Master realm, mastering dozens of techniques?

What kind of prodigy had the Li family nurtured in her absence! Suddenly, Li Hongzhuang's expression changed. She turned to look outside the camp.

In the darkness, shadows seemed to be moving, like shadows swaying among the trees.

"It seems they've noticed our retreat."

Li Hongzhuang's eyes gleamed with killing intent as she gripped her sword hilt.

Li Hao also looked up, pausing his writing.

The wind carried a stench—it was demons.

"Stay here, I'll be back."

Li Hongzhuang stood up, instructed, and walked into the night.

Li Hao didn't intend to wait. He released his spirit, which saw clearly in the dark.

He saw shadows of demons moving through the forest beyond the camp, a wave of dark shadows surging, creeping through the underbrush and rocks, silently approaching.

There were many of them.

Li Hao packed up the paper and brush, handed them to Ren Qianqian, and said, "Keep these safe."

Ren Qianqian, hearing Li Hongzhuang's warning, was already pale and anxious. "Young Master, are you going too?"

"Stay here. Feng Ye will watch over you."

Li Hao glanced at the leaves-wrapped meat. "Besides, he hasn't had dinner yet."

He smiled at her, patted the little white fox, and walked forward.

As he walked, he raised his hand, and broken swords scattered across the ground began to gather around him.

He grabbed a less damaged sword, holding it, while the rest followed him.

"Li Hongzhuang!!"

"The army has retreated, and you dare stay behind? Do you want to join your soldiers in death?"

"They're all in my belly. Come on!"

Outside the camp, a voice roared like a tiger, filled with sinister delight.

Clearly, the demon was pleased to seize this rare opportunity.

"Chi Hu Jun!"

Li Hongzhuang, in her blood-red armor, holding a three-foot sword, stepped out of the camp, her beautiful face icy cold:

"You escaped before. I've been waiting for you."

"Haha, you think I'd come alone? Fei Peng, come meet this iron lady!"

In the darkness, a massive tiger demon wrapped in chains grinned menacingly.