Chapter 42: Peerless Halberd Technique, Qi Force!

While teasing the little mouse in her hand, Jiu'er asked, "Young Master, does it have a name?"

"A name?"

Li Dao replied, "I only found it yesterday and haven't had time to give it one. Why don't you name it?"

Jiu'er's eyes lit up, and she asked with a hint of excitement, "May I?"

Li Dao said casually, "It's just a name. Why not?"

"Thank you, Young Master."

Jiu'er happily looked down at the little mouse in her arms, pondered seriously for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly brightened. "I know what to call it."

"What name?"

"Young Master, how about we name it Yuanbao?"

"Yuanbao?"

Li Dao repeated the name and asked, "Why such a name?"

Jiu'er squinted and smiled, "Because everyone loves ingots of gold and treasure."

With that, she brought the little mouse up to eye level and said directly, "Little guy, from now on your name is Yuanbao, understand?"

The little mouse nodded in response.

Seeing this, Jiu'er exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master, Yuanbao actually understands what I'm saying!"

"I know."

While Jiu'er was playing with Yuanbao, Li Dao washed up in his room and then stepped outside.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw that the women he had previously rescued were already busy at work. With the men gone from the village, they had to handle all the chores themselves.

A woman was carrying two buckets of water toward the kitchen, looking as though she was struggling greatly.

Suddenly, a figure blocked her path.

Subconsciously raising her head, the woman immediately lowered the carrying pole from her shoulder and said, "Benefactor."

"Let me help you."

Li Dao looked at the woman, who still had a fresh scar on her face. The wound looked as though it had just scabbed over recently, and the bloodstains were still very distinct.

The meal yesterday had been prepared by this very woman, so he recognized her.

He also knew how she had gotten the bloody scratch on her face. Yesterday, when a Northern Barbarian cavalryman took a fancy to her delicate looks and tried to force himself upon her, this seemingly fragile woman had used her own hairpin to slash her own face.

If Li Dao had not appeared at that moment and diverted the Northern Barbarian cavalry's attention onto himself, the woman likely would not have just one scratch on her face.

"No, no, no."

Seeing that Li Dao intended to help, the woman hurriedly shook her head in refusal.

But Li Dao did not care much for her objections; he simply reached out and effortlessly lifted the carrying pole with one hand.

"Just a small favor."

With that, he carried the two buckets of water toward the kitchen.

Seeing this, the woman hurriedly followed behind him.

After placing the two buckets in the kitchen, Li Dao dusted off his hands.

Watching the benefactor effortlessly pick up and place down the two buckets of water that she had found so arduous to lift, the woman unconsciously touched the blood scab on her face and muttered with a hint of envious awe, "Benefactor, you are truly amazing."

Amazing?

Li Dao glanced at the two buckets, which together weighed less than fifty catties, and could not help but shake his head with a smile. Perhaps in her eyes, this was indeed considered amazing.

When he raised his head and looked at the woman, his gaze suddenly paused.

Deep within the woman's eyes, he saw yearning.

Naturally, it was not yearning for him, but rather something that resembled a yearning for power.

He was very familiar with this look. When he first realized he had been cast into the condemned prisoners' camp, he had worn that exact expression—in such circumstances, only power could grant a sense of security.

The woman quickly snapped out of it. Seeing that Li Dao was still standing before her, she offered an embarrassed smile and said, "Benefactor, please go outside and sit for a while. The cooking smoke gets very thick."

"Very well."

This time, Li Dao did not hesitate. He turned around and walked straight out; after all, he was not skilled at cooking and staying behind would not be of much help.

Of course, if he wished, with his current brainpower he could easily learn, and even master it in a short period of time.

......

After leaving the kitchen, Li Dao did not wander around.

He knew the attitude of the village women toward him, and roaming about would only make them uncomfortable.

Soon, he went alone to the back courtyard.

Behind the carriage, he found the chest he had brought out from the Marquis Anyuan's estate.

Opening the chest, the Dragon-Pattern Halberd came into view.

Li Dao did not focus his attention on the halberd, but instead reached out to pick up the manual titled *Peerless Halberd Technique* lying beside it, flipping it open.

He had never had the chance to practice his family's ancestral martial arts heritage when he was young, but now that he had some spare time, he could finally practice it.

Leaning back against the carriage, Li Dao opened the manual of the *Peerless Halberd Technique* and began to read it carefully.

Previously, he had possessed another martial arts manual—the *Raging Wind Saber Technique*.

Compared to the *Raging Wind Saber Technique*, the *Peerless Halberd Technique* in his hands was far more profound.

If the *Raging Wind Saber Technique* was akin to simple elementary school textbook knowledge, then the *Peerless Halberd Technique* was high-level Olympic-math-grade knowledge—difficult to learn and even harder to master.

Especially from the records in the manual, he understood that the true might of the *Peerless Halberd Technique* lay entirely in the word "Peerless."

To cultivate this halberd technique, one needed innate divine strength; otherwise, it was nearly impossible to even cross the threshold. This was because the technique relied on grand, sweeping movements, following a path of unyielding dominance, and required a heavy halberd to be wielded effectively.

Therefore, for ordinary people, merely achieving the entry level was enough to weed out the vast majority.

At the same time, while the technique was grand and expansive, it also possessed various complex and subtle techniques.

In short, one could not succeed with brute force alone without wisdom, nor with wisdom alone without strength; it required someone possessing both strength and intellect to achieve mastery.

He remembered his father saying when he was young that even the founder of the Li family back in the day had never managed to cultivate this *Peerless Halberd Technique* to the grand completion stage.

The reason was that their ancestor possessed both strength and intellect, but his intellect was somewhat lacking.

Well, that made sense, as most military generals had certain shortcomings in one area or another.

Yet right now, although the *Peerless Halberd Technique* was difficult, it was perfectly suited for Li Dao.

As for strength, his physical body could be enhanced limitlessly. With his current physique, his strength had already surpassed ten thousand catties, and during an outburst, that figure would multiply several times over.

As for intellect, having a photographic memory and the ability to retain vast amounts of knowledge were merely basic secondary traits granted after his brain had undergone multiple enhancements, which alone spoke volumes of its power.

Li Dao continuously flipped through the pages of the *Peerless Halberd Technique* in his hands.

Within his mind, a small figure automatically materialized.

The figure grasped a heavy halberd, and as Li Dao's reading volume increased, the figure continuously swung the heavy halberd within the theater of his mind.

After the span of an incense stick of time...

Li Dao turned the final page of the *Peerless Halberd Technique*, and the entire manual had been completely memorized in his mind.

He sat cross-legged in front of the carriage, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

And the small figure in his mind began to continuously practice the *Peerless Halberd Technique* he had just learned from the manual.

Over and over again,一遍又一遍.

Time passed uncounted, until Li Dao suddenly opened his eyes.

He flipped backward to the rear of the carriage, reached into the chest, and effortlessly pulled out the Dragon-Pattern Halberd, which weighed over two hundred catties, with just one hand.

Stepping into the center of the spacious back courtyard, he closed his eyes and began to practice the *Peerless Halberd Technique* he had just mastered, moving in tandem with the phantom in his mind.

The heavy halberd, weighing over two hundred catties, felt as light as nothing in his hands, cutting continuously through the air.

Perhaps because Li Dao's strength was too immense, every time he swung the weapon, the air emitted a dull, explosive hum.

As time went on, the movements of the Dragon-Pattern Halberd grew faster and faster.

The tip of the halberd grazed the ground; though it never made direct contact, it inexplicably left a deep, long gouge in the earth.

Ten-odd minutes later.

The movements of Li Dao's hands gradually came to a halt.

When he opened his eyes and looked around, he found that the entire back courtyard was in utter chaos, covered everywhere with claw-like cuts and slashes.

Even on the wall several meters away from him, a shallow mark had appeared, yet when he was practicing the technique just now, he had not felt the slightest sensation of impact.

*Whoosh!*

This time, with his eyes wide open, Li Dao swung the Dragon-Pattern Halberd once more.

With his naked eyes, he saw that as the tip swept through the air, an invisible razor-sharp edge emerged from it.

"Aura Qi!"

Li Dao muttered to himself.

There were records concerning Aura Qi within the *Peerless Halberd Technique*.

Aura Qi was something born from the combination of sheer power and exquisite technique.

Unyielding and domineering, the greater the strength, the fiercer the Aura Qi, possessing a destructive power far exceeding that of True Qi.

Because Aura Qi could not be cultivated through normal meditation alone, and could only be forged through pure physical strength combined with subtle technique, only a tiny fraction of people could ever master it.

Once one practiced the *Peerless Halberd Technique* to the point of producing Aura Qi, it meant that the technique had reached the lesser completion stage.

"That easily reached lesser completion?"

Li Dao once again underestimated his own talent in martial arts cultivation.

One had to know that his ancestor had spent his entire life practicing the *Peerless Halberd Technique* only to reach the lesser completion stage, never managing to touch the threshold of grand completion until the day he died; yet he himself had achieved it in less than half an hour.

Of course, his *Peerless Halberd Technique* was only at the initial lesser completion stage and could not yet compare to his ancestor's technique, which was infinitely close to grand completion, but even so, this was already astonishingly fast.

Glancing at the Dragon-Pattern Halberd in his hand, which felt increasingly smooth and natural to wield, Li Dao placed it back into the chest.

It was not that he did not want to push the *Peerless Halberd Technique* further; rather, according to the manual's instructions, attempting to reach grand completion through rigid, solitary practice yielded little effect. The true path required mortal combat on the battlefield, constantly tempering oneself against real enemies.

Putting down the Dragon-Pattern Halberd, he also placed the manual back into the chest, and then turned his gaze to the remaining two books.

The *Hegemonic Tiger Heart Sutra* was quickly dismissed by him.

After all, that volume was a cultivation technique for True Qi, which was entirely useless for someone like him who was born without meridian channels; reading it would only increase his sorrow.

Thus, he had no choice but to pick up the manual titled *Butcher's Military Strategy*.

Sitting back down by the carriage, Li Dao picked up the *Butcher's Military Strategy* and casually began to flip through it.

A few minutes later.

Upon reaching the tenth part, Li Dao realized that this truly was a military strategy manual.

However, unlike conventional military strategy texts circulated openly in the mundane world, this was a secret manual unique to the Li family lineage.

The *Butcher's Military Strategy* recorded a method for training a specialized troop known as the "Iron Butchers," alongside numerous battle formations tailored to match them.

In Li Dao's memory, his father had once spoken to him about the Iron Butchers.

Legend had it that the reason their ancestor was granted the title of a First-Rank Marquis back in the day was because, during the founding era of the empire, the Iron Butchers under the command of the Li family ancestor had rendered countless achievements for the Great Qian's Grand Progenitor.

According to what his father had said at the time, because their Li family ancestor had joined the Grand Progenitor's forces rather late in the campaign, otherwise, based solely on the merits of the Iron Butchers, the Li family could easily have secured the title of a Duke, if not royalty.

Unfortunately, due to the extreme difficulty of training the Iron Butchers, coupled with the fact that none of the descendants following the ancestor managed to surpass him, the troops gradually vanished into the long river of history.

Thinking of this, Li Dao quickly flipped to the section detailing the training methods for the Iron Butchers.

At a single glance, he instantly understood why it was said that training the Iron Butchers was so difficult.

Because the initial requirements for candidates alone were freakishly demanding.

Height was required to be at least eight chi.

The Great Qian's eight chi roughly translated to about one meter and eighty-five centimeters.

Secondly, these individuals needed to be sturdily built.

And those were merely the entry qualifications.

Only beyond that lay the true training regimen of the Iron Butchers.

In short, after reading through the set, Li Dao felt that the Iron Butchers were nothing less than modern-day special forces from his previous life.

Imagine: under equal troop numbers, one side consisted of ordinary soldiers while the other consisted entirely of special forces—that would be an utter, crushing sweep.

According to the explanation in the *Butcher's Military Strategy*, the Iron Butchers could take on enemies ten times their own number.

The manual even stated that if the commander was sufficiently formidable, the Iron Butchers at their peak could take on enemies a hundred times their number—even when facing foes of equal cultivation levels.

If this were his past life, Li Dao would have undoubtedly cursed anyone saying such things as a liar.

Yet this was an era of cultivation methods, where everything was different.

Especially since he saw many concepts within the strategy manual that he could not understand.

For instance, the manual stated that training the Iron Butchers first required condensing the "Battle Momentum" of the troops, and then constantly transforming that momentum into "Battle Aura" through endless slaughter.

Further down, there were even concepts like "Military Soul" and the like.

In short, it was exceedingly complex.

It took him more than ten minutes to commit the entire *Butcher's Military Strategy* to memory.

That was merely memorization, however, because many concepts within it were too unfamiliar to him, and he would need time to slowly digest them.

At that moment, Jiu'er's voice drifted over from the front courtyard.

"Young Master, it's time to eat!"

"Understood."

Calling out a response, Li Dao opened the chest, placed the *Butcher's Military Strategy* back inside, and stepped out of the back courtyard.

......

Shortly after finishing the meal, Jiu'er approached him holding the little mouse, Yuanbao.

"Young Master, when are we leaving?" Jiu'er asked as she sought him out.

"Leaving?"

Li Dao paused. "Do you want to leave this place so soon?"

"No, no, no."

Jiu'er hurriedly waved her hands, then said in a soft voice, "It's just that the older sisters here are so pitiful, and I was wondering if we could stay a few more days to keep them company."

"Just for that?"

"Is... is that a no, Young Master?"

Li Dao chuckled softly. "We aren't in any rush, so staying a few extra days is fine."

"Really?"

Jiu'er smiled happily. "You're so nice, Young Master."

"Was I not nice before?"

"You were nice before, but you're even nicer now."

"Little flatterer, go play somewhere else."

"Nye-neh-neh, I'm going to play with Yuanbao."

Watching Jiu'er's retreating back as she ran off, Li Dao shook his head with a smile and cast his gaze toward the busy women in the courtyard. In truth, even if Jiu'er had not brought it up, he would not have left in a hurry.

He was very well aware that the women of Peach Blossom Village had just suffered such a tragedy, and their emotions were unstable. The only reason they were able to maintain their composure right now was because he had provided them with a certain sense of security.

Therefore, staying a few more days until these women gradually accepted reality before leaving would mean he wouldn't need to worry.

Besides, having fought his way out of the condemned camp, rushed all the way to the imperial capital, and then journeyed continuously for half a month, it was indeed time to take this opportunity to properly rest.