Volume 3 - Chapter 399: Perfect Match for a True Dragon, Crowned in the Sword Pool (Part 3)
Su Residence, Lake Pavilion Garden — the Celestial Courtyard.
Two figures returned, one ahead, one behind. As soon as Su Muqing stepped through the courtyard gate, she didn’t spare a glance for Li Hao and walked straight into her personal hall, shutting the door behind her.
Li Hao looked at the closed door, then turned and sat on a nearby carved chair.
Nanny Wu stepped forward carefully, noticing Su Wanqing was nowhere to be seen. She asked timidly, “Young Master Haotian, where is Miss Wanqing?”
“No idea,” Li Hao replied casually. He truly hadn’t noticed.
Nanny Wu withdrew with a sheepish bow.
And so, the courtyard returned to its usual rhythm—closed doors, and a young man quietly playing chess alone beneath the trees.
Though the main hall didn’t contain a formal cultivation array, the Celestial Courtyard’s ambient Immortal energy was rich and dense. Li Hao, nourished by ancient fiend flesh and the natural essence here, could feel his body growing stronger each day. The Immortal energy within him grew heavier and thicker, like a dense fog.
Yet Li Hao wasn’t in a hurry to break through. His mind was preoccupied with chess, carving, cooking—arts he pursued more fervently than cultivation.
In fact, mastering these skills brought him greater returns—higher cost-efficiency.
Even so, his sixth-realm Origin level in the Form Dao allowed his body to naturally absorb celestial energy, gradually forging his Immortal body.
Bit by bit, his Celestial Immortal Body began to form. As time passed, the transformation deepened.
The accumulation of Immortal energy inside him thickened like a great cloud, and faint traces of liquid energy began to emerge from the mist.
Once his energy fully liquefied, he would have reached the peak of the Celestial Immortal Body stage.
As the days of peaceful solitude passed, Su Wanqing would often visit the Celestial Courtyard—ostensibly to see Su Muqing, but also to check whether Li Hao was still persevering.
Having witnessed his astonishing painting realm firsthand, she also had a desire to seek his guidance. Though she pitied his seemingly hopeless affection for her sister, a true teacher was worth learning from, regardless of sentiment.
Whenever their conversations turned to painting, Su Wanqing would notice how Li Hao’s eyes lit up—how his entire presence came alive. He radiated a brilliance that reminded her of a swordsman astride a galloping steed, singing as he chased his destiny. There was something uniquely confident and radiant about him.
Whenever Su Wanqing visited, Su Muqing would occasionally open the door for a few words, or accompany her sister for a stroll around the garden. These were the rare moments when Li Hao could see her.
As for the cold glares and disdain she offered him—he simply ignored them.
“To think the Painting Dao has such depth… and holds so many primal Daos within it,” Su Wanqing murmured, resting her chin on her hands across the chessboard, her eyes sparkling as she listened to Li Hao’s earnest explanation.
In the glow of sunlight, Li Hao’s face gleamed with purpose. To her, he shone no less brightly than any scion of a great clan she had ever met.
“All Daos in this world,” Li Hao said softly, “can, at their peak, encompass everything.”
This was the insight he’d gained after comprehending the true meaning of the Painting Dao.
Could not the Sword Dao also hold all things? Wind, fire, lightning, time, space, metal, wood!
A single drop of water could reflect the entire world. A single blade of grass could pierce the sun and moon!
His words struck Su Wanqing like a spark—some epiphany brushing past her mind. Yet she couldn’t quite seize it.
She knew her own cultivation was still too shallow to grasp that moment of insight fully.
“You really like chess?” she asked, her gaze shifting from his face to the board. She didn’t understand chess—it always seemed a game for old scholars.
Li Hao nodded.
“You’ve so many interests,” she said, then asked, “My father said you only have a hundred years of soul lifespan. Is that true?”
Li Hao smiled and gave a light nod.
Su Wanqing sighed. “With your talent, it’s truly a pity. I know my sister well—she won’t change her mind. Besides… the Painting Dao is still a minor path. And the Lin clan’s crown prince—he’s unmatched.”
She looked at Li Hao. Though she no longer felt any dislike for him, and had even come to admire him during their discussions, she still knew: his opponent was a true dragon of the Lin clan.
No man could match that brilliance.
Li Hao fell silent. A hundred years—too short to walk alongside her. If he could break through to the Immortal King realm within that time, perhaps he could speak again with the Su family’s patriarch. Otherwise, he didn’t even have the right to request it.
A hundred years… Li Hao quietly picked up a black chess piece and placed it deep within the heart of the white formation.
Victory or defeat was often decided by one critical move.
Everything else was just prelude—distraction to mask the killing stroke.
Su Wanqing, seeing the hour grow late, rose and bid him farewell, heading to the main hall to say goodbye to Su Muqing.
Su Muqing often kept a casual eye on the courtyard, especially when her sister visited. Seeing her approach now, she frowned.
“You’d best not get too close to someone like that,” she warned. “With that sort of heart, he’ll never walk far on the path to supremacy.”
Su Wanqing nodded slightly. She understood well. The path to becoming a Supreme was treacherous beyond measure. Only those with heaven-defying talent, supreme bloodlines, endless resources, incredible fortune, and unwavering Dao hearts could walk it.
A heart unshaken by the world. That was essential.
“Cultivate well, Sister,” Su Wanqing said with a smile. “When the Sword Pool Blossoming comes, we’ll all be waiting for you to dazzle the world.”
She didn’t bring up Li Hao. She knew her sister disliked him—but she herself had already changed her opinion. The more they spoke, the more she respected him. Though she still lamented some of his behavior.
“Mhm. You too. Let’s both take the crown at the Sword Pool!” Su Muqing smiled faintly at the thought of the grand contest in a few years’ time.
Time passed.
A year later, Li Hao’s Celestial Immortal Body finally reached completion.
Within his body, Immortal energy condensed like dew, descending from thick celestial clouds and merging into his form like sweet nectar. His entire being filled with dense, powerful Immortal force.
Where once his body was merely a vessel for flowing qi, now it was like a reservoir of divine energy. At the same cultivation level, just one finger of his Immortal power could overwhelm another Immortal Lord.
He possessed the All-Heavens Star Vein, and with his sixth-realm Origin in the Form Dao, his passive absorption and transformation of energy far surpassed that of others—even without actively cultivating. Though he hadn’t revealed the star vein, its effects rivaled the full effort of top-tier clan prodigies.
But even reaching this milestone, Li Hao didn’t feel much joy. The road ahead was long, and this was just the first step.
For he would not only face noble heirs of great clans…
He would face the Supreme of the Southern Domain—his mortal enemy.
Time flew.
Three years… five years…
The celestial dew in Li Hao’s body continued to accumulate, deepening and refining.
From reaching the perfected stage of the Celestial Immortal Body, he had now solidified it—achieving complete and total mastery.
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