บท 61: Chapter 197: A Peaceful Change in Liangzhou
"Fifth brother, it's clearly your own fault for being careless."
The other five-year-old child said with a mischievous smile.
The competition among the three children paused, and the older boy hummed in displeasure, "If you keep attacking like that, I'll have to get serious next time!"
"It would be bullying if you go all out, fifth brother."
The five-year-old child laughed.
"Hmph, who told you to keep ambushing me."
"Father said that fighting and killing doesn't count as an ambush. It's a military strategy!"
"We're just sparring."
As Li Hao watched the children bicker, his eyes flickered, and from their conversation, he could guess their identities.
A thought crossed his mind, and a golden light appeared before his eyes.
Li Hao turned to Chen Hefang, but she seemed oblivious to the golden light floating in front of her. The words formed by the light reflected on her cheeks as he turned his head.
['Growth'] Task Progress: 5.6%.
Li Hao quickly calculated in his mind. It seemed that he was already over a year old.
So, he should be able to speak and walk now.
"Mother?"
Li Hao tried, speaking tentatively, and his voice came out clear and distinct.
Chen Hefang was slightly startled by the childish voice and immediately looked down at Li Hao, her smile turning into one of surprise.
"Julu, did you just call me mother? Call me mother again, let me hear it."
"Mother."
Although Li Hao felt strange, he called out again, his voice firm despite his confusion. It seemed that his vocal cords had indeed developed properly.
Seeing Li Hao's quick comprehension and response, Chen Hefang's smile bloomed like a flower, and she nodded in satisfaction.
The children who had been sparring in the yard also took the opportunity to stop their training and gather around, drawn by the commotion.
The three-year-old child who had been brandishing a stick earlier ran over, but forgot to put down the stick, almost hitting Li Hao on the head. Chen Hefang quickly blocked the blow.
"Junye, be careful not to hurt your younger brother."
Chen Hefang chuckled gently, not scolding the child.
Little Li Junye was also startled and quickly threw the stick aside, moving closer to look at Li Hao curiously.
"Can our little brother talk now?"
"Call me brother!"
The older child, Li Xuanli, exclaimed in surprise.
Meanwhile, the sturdy-looking Li Tiangang urged Li Hao to call him brother, putting on an air of importance as he teased Li Hao.
Another child, Li Fenghua, seemed shy and gentle, inheriting more of Chen Hefang's demeanor. He smiled but remained silent, his eyes carrying a hint of softness.
Li Hao knew that these children were the product of the grandfather's obsession—or, more accurately, fragments of his memories.
The veracity of these memories remained to be verified.
After all, even his own identity had been altered to that of 'Julu,' indicating that certain factors could alter the memories.
Li Hao felt helpless as these children pinched his cheeks in curiosity. He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, the sounds around him gradually faded, as if something was pulling them away.
When Li Hao opened his eyes again after a few minutes, he saw a wooden stick whistling through the air, heading straight for his forehead.
He was startled but reacted swiftly, rolling out of the way to dodge the stick. He felt a wooden sword in his hand and swung it up to block the blow.
A dull thud sounded as he deflected the stick, and Li Hao saw that his attacker was the three-year-old Li Junye, who now stood in the practice area of the courtyard he had seen earlier, a sword in his hand.
Recalling what Fourth Uncle had said, Li Hao realized that he had probably fast-forwarded through time and was now part of the cultivation routine.
Li Hao examined his hands and feet; they hadn't changed much from before, indicating that only a couple of months had passed.
So, they really start cultivating from a very young age… Li Hao thought wryly. It seemed that the previous generation's cultivation environment was quite different from his own solitary experiences in the courtyard.
As Li Junye swung the stick at him again, Li Hao turned his body, and although his memories of cultivation were blocked, the combat experience he had accumulated seemed to linger. He swung his sword and struck Li Junye's wrist, causing the stick to fall from his hand.
Pat.
The stick fell to the ground, but Li Hao didn't have much strength, and Li Junye merely rubbed his wrist before picking up the stick again, not crying or making a fuss.
As Li Junye prepared to attack once more, Li Hao quickly said, "I'm tired, let's stop."
This kind of training didn't seem very beneficial to him.
Li Junye paused, taken aback by Li Hao's concession.
Li Hao looked at Chen Hefang, who waved at him with a smile, "If you're tired, come over here and rest for a while. Have something to eat."
Li Hao threw down the wooden sword and ran over, climbing onto a chair. As he reached for a pastry, Chen Hefang caught his small hand and carefully wiped the dirt from his finger joints with a handkerchief before gently poking his forehead.
"I knew it, always thinking about food."
[Basic knowledge acquired. Include in the system?]
It's here!
Li Hao was delighted and immediately chose 'yes.'
Soon, a new message appeared on the panel:
Sword Art: Not Yet Initiated (Can allocate points)
Sword Technique: Xuan Jian Bao Lu (Not Yet Initiated)
Art Skill Points: 0
Li Hao thought about the numerous sword techniques in the Listening Rain Pavilion. This sword technique was only of superior quality, making it a good choice for beginners.
Next, he needed to obtain art skill points.
Li Hao finished the pastry in his hand, patted his hands, and jumped off the small stool. "Mother, I'm going to play."
"Hmm?" Chen Hefang looked at Li Hao in surprise but didn't stop him. Instead, she instructed the maid beside her to keep an eye on him.
Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this grandmother had been quite lenient in disciplining her children when she was younger.
He turned and began to wander around the courtyard to familiarize himself with the surroundings.
As for art skill points, with the current situation, Li Hao planned to start with poetry.
Painting and chess were out of the question for now, and even if the grandmother was lenient, she would probably say something if she saw him lying by the chessboard all day.
The maid followed closely, so Li Hao could only mutter to himself as he recited famous poems from his past life.
Soon, an experience prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Poetry Experience +28, Poetry Experience +32...]
Although Li Hao didn't fully understand these poems, merely reciting them softly brought a significant amount of experience.
The 'Poetry' path was automatically included in his panel.
From level 0 to level 1, he only needed 100 points.
By simply reciting a few famous poems, his poetry experience reached level 2, and he obtained two art skill points.
Li Hao immediately allocated one point to Sword Art, advancing it to level 1.
He saved the other point for later, planning to allocate it to a body-refining technique when he started cultivating.
At that moment, with his level 1 Sword Art, the Xuan Jian Bao Lu technique he had acquired earlier instantly advanced from 'Not Yet Initiated' to 'Complete Mastery!'
Countless insights into sword art flooded his mind, and Li Hao felt overwhelmed once again.
Previously, digesting this knowledge had given him a splitting headache.
Now, his young body was experiencing that feeling of being overwhelmed by knowledge once more.
Li Hao covered his head as a sharp pain shot through his head.
The maid beside him was startled by Li Hao's sudden pained expression and quickly called for a divine physician. She also held Li Hao, intending to take him back for treatment.
Li Hao's head throbbed even more from the jostling, and it took a while before he finally finished digesting the knowledge, feeling extremely exhausted.
Now, not only had his body returned to infancy, but his mental and spiritual state seemed to have regressed as well.
Li Hao felt weary and couldn't stay awake any longer. He fell asleep once again.
...
...
As Li Hao and Li Xiaoran entered the dying river, the second line of defense in Liangzhou faced the most intense moment of the war.
Without Zhu Huoshen, Lu Yuan, and the others to hold the fort, the Grand Virtual experts, the Saint Palace, the Dragon Gate, and the other Demon Kings who had secretly infiltrated Liangzhou from other borders stepped up. They had already destroyed several important cities and cut off intelligence transmission within them.
Upon hearing the dire situation at the second line of defense, they all rushed over.
The appearance of several Demon Kings made the advantage at the second line of defense even more precarious.
However, at this moment, reinforcements from the Xia family arrived.
The reinforcements were the older generation of the Xia family, at the Four Establishments realm, working together with the Qianji Mountain experts to block the subsequent Demon Kings from advancing.
Not long after the Xia family's arrival, another Four Establishments expert appeared—an elder from the Chen family.
With Chen Hefang's connection, the Chen family, one of the Five Divine Generals' Mansions, had always maintained a good relationship with the Li family, despite the distance between them. Thus, they had also set out at the first moment but arrived later due to the vast distance spanning tens of thousands of miles and several great states.
As the reinforcements gathered, a earth-shattering battle erupted at the second line of defense.
Meanwhile, the 20 battle flags that Li Hao had sent earlier were delivered to the front lines of the second line of defense by the Tianren Grandmaster wearing the battle armor of the Haotian Army.
With the addition of the 20 battle flags, the situation became more stable, and one of the Demon Kings was severely injured, nearly killed.
In the sky above the battlefield, a figure standing on auspicious clouds appeared.
Lin Wuji's eyes were fixed on the battlefield below, but his expression was gloomy. He had thought he was coming to relieve the suffering of the people, but it seemed he was only here to add to their glory.
Looking at the unified flags fluttering in the wind, he felt both astonishment and anger. He had personally witnessed the youth's methods when vying for the True Dragon in the Li family, and he never expected that in just over a year, the youth would have grown to such an extent.
Lin Wuji's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.
After a moment, he spoke, "You may go now."
The little girl nodded and her figure shimmered, transforming into a verdant green bird that flew off into the distance.
"Has Qingzhou not arrived yet...?"
Lin Wuji gazed towards the battlement where a figure was locked in a fierce battle with a Demon King, their dazzling divine light illuminating the sky. It was none other than the Duke of the Li Family, who had guarded Yanbei for over a decade.
His title and achievements were now comparable to those of the older generation of the Li Family.
At this moment, the realm he displayed had reached the Four Establishments Realm.
Lin Wuji's eyes flickered, and without another word, he rushed towards the battlefield.
As auspicious clouds appeared beneath his feet, he raised his hand and unleashed a lotus-like purple light that silently struck towards a Dragon Gate Demon King.
The Demon King sensed Lin Wuji's attack, but it was too late. He was severely wounded by the purple Buddhist light, spraying blood from his mouth.
"Damn it!"
The Dragon Gate Demon King roared in anger. Seeing the situation had completely turned against them, he felt both furious and desperate.
Without hesitation, Lin Wuji joined the battle.
In an instant, the sky seemed to shatter as the Demon Kings from Dragon Gate fled. One of them called out for their Great Elder, but there was no response.
The remaining Demon Kings of the Grand Virtual Realm also learned that their leader and his wife had pursued the Hao Tian Brigadier General, disappearing without a trace. They, too, felt furious and hopeless.
Another day passed.
Royal troops arrived as reinforcements, sweeping through Liangzhou and driving away the opportunistic demons and monsters. The entire region was engulfed in the flames of war.
As soon as the battle outside the second line of defense subsided, Li Xuanli ordered the remaining troops to hang the Hao Tian battle flags and march towards the cities, driving out the remaining demons and monsters from Liangzhou!
With Li Hao drawing away three Demon Kings of the Ultimate Realm, and reinforcements arriving from all sides, the previously dire situation in Liangzhou had finally stabilized.
The demons' swift and fierce attack had failed, and once the Great Yu Divine Dynasty's reinforcements arrived, it would be difficult for them to turn the tide, especially with the disappearance of the Candlelight God and Demon King Lu Yuan.
"We held our ground!"
Li Xuanli looked at the blood-red setting sun beyond the defense line and the piles of demon corpses on the battlefield. He wiped the blood from his face, his heart filled with emotion.
Li Hongzhuang's crimson battle armor was stained with even more blood, and her hair was tangled with bits of flesh. A smile appeared on her face, but it quickly faded as she noticed the fluttering flags. Her expression turned somber.
At this moment, as the battlefield calmed down, the surviving warriors raised their battle flags high and waved them triumphantly, shouting with joy.
However, some searched the battlefield with grief-stricken faces, looking for the remains of their loved ones, friends, and acquaintances.
Others wept with their faces covered, overcome by sorrow.
Veteran border soldiers, numb from countless battles, showed little emotion, though they felt a sense of relief at having survived.
For the younger generation from the aristocratic families, it was their first time experiencing such a major battle, and their voices rang out with tears of joy and relief, their bodies shaking with emotion as they embraced each other.
Amidst the overwhelming joy and sorrow, the young men and women who had once dreamed of roaming the world with their swords matured overnight.
"Father! I survived!"
Some of the older generation from aristocratic families searched the battlefield in fear, looking for their descendants.
As the battle drew to a close, some crawled out from behind tattered and torn flags, their faces lit up with relief.
On the battlefield, clusters of survivors gathered, with a fluttering battle flag standing tall among them.
It was the intimidation of these battle flags that kept the demons from striking with full force, forcing them to avoid these stubborn defenders.
And it was this intimidation that allowed them to survive.
"We made it! We're still alive!"
"Thank goodness for the protection of the military flags. The demons saw them and were afraid, just like how a torch can drive away wild beasts!"
These survivors, having experienced the battle firsthand, deeply felt the sense of security that these military flags brought.
The intimidation did not come from the flags themselves but from the two characters inscribed upon them!
For a time, amidst the cries of joy and sorrow on the battlefield, there arose a chorus of shouts that shook the clouds and sky.
Millions of people, calling out a single name.
The sound, like a roaring sea, reached the battlements, where it fell upon the ears of Li Xuanli and the others, causing their initial joy of having protected countless lives to vanish, their faces turning grim.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง