Chapter 317: The Lone Sword's Will

What is the essence of Go?

Among the myriad of board games, there are Go, chess, and many others.

The game of Go played by Li Hao is also known by other names such as Zuo Yin, Shoutan, and Yi.

The Go board is a grid formed by intersecting vertical and horizontal lines. Placing stones on the intersections creates connections, forming groups and territories—this is the very foundation of the game.

For a beginner in the ways of Go, understanding the rules and progressing to a competent level means developing proficiency in stone placement, adopting an aggressive style, and learning the art of sacrifice and exchange.

However, a true master of the game values overall position over individual stones, transcending the mere act of capturing stones and killing groups. They focus on establishing their own positional strength.

Whether it's chess, Go, or any other game, the key lies in building and accumulating a strong position!

When the momentum is in your favor, victory comes naturally, and nothing can stand in your way.

Previously, Li Hao had reached the sixth level in the Way of Go, gaining insight into the concept of positional play. But now, he realized that relying solely on his own stone placement would be too predictable in the eyes of a skilled opponent. A true master of the game allows their position to form naturally, their strategy emerging effortlessly!

From the very first stone played, the game already has a certain character.

Each stone has its purpose. Although they may all appear white, some are strong while others are weak. Some stones are soldiers, while others are generals, their collective strength formidable!

Tap!

Li Hao placed a white stone, sending it deep into the heart of the black formation. With a thunderous momentum, it connected and rescued a group of white stones that were previously on the brink of extinction, piercing through the opponent's position like a sharp blade.

This move was incredibly ingenious and wondrous, like orchestrating a battle from within a command tent, calmly observing the gathering and scattering of clouds.

Shi Huajin was stunned. She held a black stone, intending to play it, but hesitated and paused. She stared at the board, and after a moment, she sighed softly and said, "I concede."

Her original plan had been to engulf that group of white stones and expand her offensive. But with that path now blocked, she had calculated Li Hao's subsequent moves and realized that after seven more plays, she would fall into a disadvantageous position, her strategy broken. Thus, she decisively chose to admit defeat.

When masters face off, the outcome is often clear and decisive.

When novices clash, the outcome is unpredictable, and it's anyone's game.

Until the very last moment, you can never truly know what sort of blunders or brilliant moves your opponent might make.

Seeing his opponent's concession, Li Hao snapped out of his enlightened state. He collected his white stones and said, "How about another game?"

"No more," Shi Huajin replied with a hint of annoyance. "I still need to refine today's elixir, and you have to help me with that."

"It's no trouble," Li Hao smiled. He got up immediately and accompanied her to the elixir refining room.

Along the way, he glanced at the panel and couldn't help but smile at the latest prompt.

Soon, using his cooking and refining skills, Li Hao helped Shi Huajin extract the medicinal ingredients she needed for her elixir.

Afterward, he sat outside and waited, choosing not to observe her refining process. This left Shi Huajin feeling a bit helpless. As a senior elixir master, many elixir refiners dreamed of observing her work. The opportunity to witness a senior elixir master refining an elixir firsthand was akin to being a personal disciple.

Yet, she had offered this chance to Li Hao for free, and he didn't seem particularly interested.

She could only call upon her own disciples to assist her.

Li Hao, on the other hand, found a quiet branch outside the refining room, lay down on it, and accessed the panel.

Way of Go, Seventh Level.

Mental State: Enlightenment of the Way of Go (Available for Use).

Li Hao smiled and without hesitation, chose to apply this mental state to the Way of the Sword.

Soon, his long-stalled sword skills, which had been stuck at the sixth level for a long time, finally broke through once again.

Way of the Sword, Seventh Level!

A flood of sword-related information surged into his mind, and Li Hao quietly closed his eyes to absorb it all.

Reaching the seventh level in the sword brought him to a realization that was oddly similar to his experience with Go. Previously, his sword techniques had been refined to the pinnacle of perfection, but now, it was all about the sword's momentum!

No longer constrained by specific moves, his sword followed the movements of his heart, and his heart directed his intentions.

Every casual swing of his sword could unleash a powerful technique, and with a simple stroke, he could unleash the ultimate sword strike!

The myriad sword techniques within his panel were also constantly evolving and simplifying.

After a long while, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes, having digested and absorbed the insights of the sword. Suddenly, his mind drifted back to his previous battle with Jiang Lichen, which he had won. However, during that fight, Jiang's sword techniques had surpassed his own, reaching the pinnacle of the seventh level, with a sword that danced to the rhythm of his heart, exuding a frenzied and mad sword momentum.

"With the cultivation of the Ultimate Technique Realm, if I take another step forward and reach the eighth level of the Way of the Sword, I should be able to cleave through even a tenfold realm, right...?"

Li Hao's eyes sparkled with determination. The seventh level of sword mastery was that of a human sword saint, capable of slaying thousands of troops with a casual stroke, the sword's momentum like a rainbow. But for his current cultivation, such sword techniques were still insufficient.

Recalling the sword techniques displayed by Lin Qingying during her previous courtyard training session, Li Hao now realized that her seemingly simple practice moves had been far deeper than he had initially thought, even surpassing the concept of sword momentum. They carried her unique style and understanding, and her sword mastery exceeded the seventh level!

Li Hao's heart stirred, and he added a point.

Soon, the seventh level of sword mastery soared to the eighth!

Once again, a torrent of information flooded his mind, and Li Hao felt as if he had plunged into an ocean of swords, swimming and practicing within it.

Time passed.

Eventually, Li Hao emerged from his enlightened state, a newfound understanding shining in his eyes.

The seventh level of the sword was about momentum, but the eighth level was about intention!

Intention was more refined than momentum; momentum was the outward appearance, while intention was the core.

Perhaps influenced by his own Dao heart, Li Hao's sword intention was relatively simple—to cut through whatever he willed.

All things in the world could be severed, as long as it was in his heart and the sword followed.

Li Hao named this sword intention "Lone Sword."

With this realization, Li Hao replayed the memory of his previous battle with Jiang Lichen and instantly felt that his opponent was still trapped in the superficial aspects of sword momentum. If they were to clash again, he would only need to casually swing his sword to shatter Jiang's momentum, sever his sword path, and easily defeat him.

Li Hao's thoughts turned to Lin Qingying's sword techniques, and his eyes lit up as he gained a deeper understanding. Indeed, she had reached the eighth level of sword mastery, and that slow practice move of hers cultivated both momentum and intention, allowing her intention to lead the momentum. Her sword intention was one of ultimate softness.

"Ultimate softness is the ultimate hardness, and ultimate softness is impenetrable..."

Li Hao's eyes sparkled, unsure if his Solipsistic Sword Intent could sever his opponent's Ultimate Softness Sword Intent.

Without a contest, it was impossible to determine who was stronger.

Li Hao's gaze fell on the panel, and he tried to add another point.

[Failed to add a point. Please select a Dao Heart.]

As expected...

Li Hao sighed inwardly. Like his physical cultivation, it seemed that he needed to improve an art to the ninth level before he could make further progress.

Currently, the only art he had cultivated to the ninth level was cooking.

Now that his Way of Go had crossed the threshold of enlightenment, he could continue to gain experience, but accumulating experience in the Way of Go was slow and required external conditions—he needed to find someone to play with.

In comparison, the Way of Painting was something he could manage on his own, allowing him to rapidly gain experience.

"The ninth level of the Way of the Sword... That's probably the level of mastery a sage would have."

Li Hao's eyes sparkled with insight. If the ninth level of physical cultivation corresponded to the Realm of Hearing the Dao, then the tenth level would be the stage of becoming a sage.

The same was true for the Way of the Sword. Reaching the tenth level in the sword would allow one to walk the path of sacrifice and become a sage through the sword, breaking through the obstacles of the Sage Realm and achieving sainthood through the sword!

However, this path was the most difficult. Even the Sword Saint of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land might have become a sage through other means. In that case, their mastery of the sword would still be at the ninth level, not the tenth.

It sounded like it didn't live up to their title of Sword Saint, but in reality, reaching the ninth level in the Way of the Sword was already a one-in-a-billion achievement and extremely challenging.

The ninth level implied enlightenment in the Way of the Sword. Aside from a few eccentrics, the majority of martial artists focused their efforts on cultivating their realm. To reach the Realm of Hearing the Dao was already an exceptional achievement among the elite, let alone attaining enlightenment in the Way of the Sword as well. This required an immense amount of effort.

If there were any who had achieved this, they would be as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Most would be at the Half-Sage level.

Having figured this out, Li Hao's thoughts turned inward. After his consecutive battles, many of his art levels had fallen behind. If he could get three of his arts to the ninth level of enlightenment, his strength would increase to an unimaginable degree.

At that moment, Li Hao noticed that Shi Huajin's elixir was ready.

He jumped down from the branch, walked to the elixir refining room, greeted Shi Huajin, and then strolled back to the Refining Court of Lin Shan Hai.

The two places were only a thousand miles apart. Within a radius of several hundred miles, aside from his own disciples and servants, there were basically no other idlers, making the environment exceptionally quiet and comfortable.

Refiners often needed to research formulas on their own, and a quiet environment was indeed necessary.

"You're back, and you seem to be in a good mood today."

Lin Shan Hai saw Li Hao return and said with a smile.

Li Hao's gaze swept the courtyard and landed on Lin Qingying, who was practicing her sword as always.

She showed no reaction to his arrival and continued to focus on her sword practice.

Li Hao didn't disturb her and instead walked around the corridor, approaching Lin Lao, who was tasting medicinal ingredients. He sat down next to him and said, "I won a few games against her."

"You..."

Lin Shan Hai was helpless. During this period, he had also heard about Li Hao's exploits from those old friends. They had mentioned how Li Hao had helped them purify medicinal ingredients without asking for anything in return. He hadn't taken the elixirs they offered or even looked at their formulas.

He didn't know if Li Hao was concerned about something or if he truly wasn't interested.

But from his interactions with Li Hao, he felt that this young man's thoughts were somewhat unusual and different from those he had met before.

"Oh, right. I also brought some Five-Tone Tea from her for you."

Li Hao seemed to remember something and took out a packet of tea leaves from his spatial item, offering it to Lin Shan Hai.

Lin Shan Hai was stunned. He quickly took it and examined it. Aside from refining, he also enjoyed drinking tea.

"Wow, you even got Five-Tone Tea from her. Looks like Master Shi really likes you. I've asked her for it so many times, but she never gave it to me. Our friendship goes back hundreds of years, yet she treats you better than me!"

Lin Shan Hai opened the packet and, upon confirming that it was indeed Five-Tone Tea, his eyes lit up as he exclaimed in surprise.

Li Hao glanced at him and said, "Is it possible that the reason she didn't give it to you has nothing to do with your friendship?"

"What do you mean?"

"Try calling her something else next time."

"Master Shi? I've been calling her that for hundreds of years. What else could I call her?"

"..."

Li Hao glanced at him and said nothing. Calling her that for hundreds of years without being killed was indeed a testament to their deep friendship.

Lin Shan Hai suddenly realized what he was implying and looked at Li Hao in surprise:

"So, how do you address her?"

"Senior Sister."

Li Hao said it calmly, his face expressionless.

"..."

Lin Shan Hai was stunned.

Li Hao shrugged slightly, not elaborating further. His gaze casually landed in the courtyard, where a graceful and cold figure danced with her sword.

Now, as he watched her practice, Li Hao felt that he could understand it completely.

"That sword move is a bit too soft."

As he watched her graceful swordplay, Li Hao shook his head and commented.

He hadn't tested his skills against her in other areas, so he couldn't be sure if he could sever her sword intent. But that previous sword move had been too soft and scattered. He believed that he could definitely cut through it.

She was pursuing ultimate softness, but if she focused too much on it, it would be easy for her moves to lose their cohesion.

"Hmm?"

Li Hao's voice was soft, but the woman in the courtyard had already paused in her sword practice.