Chapter 107: Chapter 91: True Dragon Struggle [Second Update]
“Hao Er.”
Seeing Li Hao, Li Tian Gang’s face showed a smile and he said, “Come, follow your father to worship our ancestors at the ancestral hall.
“Okay,” Li Hao nodded.
After leaving the Mountain and River Courtyard, the two of them flew through the air, one after the other, heading towards the deepest part of the Divine General Mansion.
Arriving at the ancestral hall on the hillside, Li Tian Gang and Li Hao descended to the courtyard outside the hall before walking toward the magnificent and majestic hall that bore the Li Family’s thousand years of honor.
“Uncle Qingzheng!”
When Li Hao saw Uncle Qingzheng by the door of the ancestral hall, he immediately called out to him.
Li Tian Gang, whose face had been solemn, slightly changed when he heard Li Hao shouting and immediately furrowed his brow. He glanced at Li Hao who had already run ahead of him toward his uncle in the hall.
“It’s Hao Er ah.”
Li Qingzheng, lighting up at Li Hao’s voice and displaying a joyful expression, turned around:
“What made you think of coming to see me today?”
Then noticing the tall man behind Li Hao, “Hmm, Tiangang has returned too.”
“Uncle Qingzheng, it looks like the black pieces are going to lose again.” Li Hao looked at the chessboard in front of his uncle and immediately chuckled.
Uncle Qingzheng grinned, showing his teeth: “Don’t talk nonsense, the game isn’t over yet.”
Just then, Li Tian Gang came over, his demeanor solemn and respectful as he slightly bowed in greeting:
“Uncle, have you been in good health recently?”
Without paying further attention to Li Hao, who had been excessively talkative about the game, Li Qingzheng looked up at Li Tian Gang and laughed, “It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen you, lad. You’ve grown quite robust, and why have you started growing a beard? How has it been staying in Northern Yan? Is it tough?”
“It’s been good,” Li Tian Gang said with a smile. “It’s just the occasional sandstorm, to which I’ve grown accustomed. There’s often warfare in the frontier, with no time for grooming, so I’ve gotten used to keeping it.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hao looked up at him and indeed compared to the blurred figure in his memory, his father had morphed from a tall, handsome youth into a bearded middle-aged man.
Suddenly, he felt that he perhaps lacked some care for his father.
“You’ve grown up too, not as mischievous as you once were,” said Li Qingzheng, chuckling, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
The young boys had grown up, and they, too, had aged.
Although with their abilities they could live a long time, the difference between the Human Race and Demons is that Demons enjoy longevity akin to hibernation, mostly engaging in battle only to hunt and satisfy their hunger.
But for the Human Race, they live their lives around one thing:
Human emotions.
With emotions comes desire, hence humans wage wars, perform heroic deeds, vie for fame, accumulating injuries over time. Old wounds hardly heal before new ones are added, leading to a reduced lifespan.
To live a long life isn’t difficult either; just stay inside the realm, enjoy wealth and rank, avoid using swords and weapons, and live like a Bodhisattva to enjoy hundreds, even thousands of years of leisure.
However, to stand unwavering in the midst of this Jianghu maelstrom within the city for hundreds of years is perhaps an exceedingly difficult feat.
Like a neighbor you spend a lot of time with, who gifts you eggs and vegetables, yet one day is oppressed by an evildoer. If you can’t stand to watch, you’ll be drawn in.
If you can bear to watch, your moral integrity may take a hit, leaving you feeling discontented.
Such a life, spanning hundreds of years, is ever so lengthy.
“After all, I’m already a father,” Li Tian Gang said, smiling, with a glint of reminiscence in his eyes that quickly disappeared.
The ravages of time would harden a once-tender youthful heart with callouses from the weathering, making it harder and more restrained.
“Uncle Qingzheng, I’ve brought Hao Er here to pay respects to our ancestors and to inquire about this generation’s True Dragon matter,” Li Tian Gang said, returning to the main subject without further reminiscing.
Li Qingzheng, anticipating the purpose of his visit, nodded slightly, his eyes settling once more on Li Hao beside him.
His gaze softened with a smile, “Hao Er has exceptional talent, surpassing your Ninth Uncle. He is the fastest in our Li Family history to reach the Fifteen Li Realm, truly breaking records.
“Jun Ye became the True Dragon of your generation, but sadly he died young, and you took over temporarily. However, Hao Er stands out in his generation, far ahead of everyone else, with no one even close to catching up to him.”
Hearing his uncle’s high praise, Li Tian Gang’s face showed a smile.
Indeed, in terms of talent, his son was outstanding to the pinnacle!
And this, unavoidably, filled him with pride and arrogance.
“Go ahead,” Li Qingzheng said with a smile.
Li Tian Gang nodded, again gave a slight bow to him, and then turned to lead Li Hao to the kneeling mats in front of the hall.
“Li Tian Gang, descendent of the one hundred and seventh generation of the Li Family, comes to pay respects to the ancestors!”
“Li Hao, descendent of the one hundred and eighth generation of the Li Family, comes to pay respects to the ancestors!”
Father and son knelt together, bowing their heads in worship.
In the ancestral hall, the many memorial tablets trembled and glowed faintly as Divine Souls emerged above them.
After bowing, Li Hao lifted his head. He hadn’t taken a close look last time, but this time he saw that although there were many ancestors’ souls enshrined here, there were also quite a few tablets that were dim and without souls emerging above them.
The closest of them bore a familiar name:
The memorial tablet of Li Junye, descendant of the one hundred and seventh generation of the Li Family.
On the left of the tablet was a noble title: Marquis of the State.
On the right was a military rank: Heavenly Commanding General.
This was the tablet for his Ninth Uncle, but no Divine Soul emerged above it.
As with other ancestors, memorial tablets were engraved with noble titles and military ranks or achievements, but several had only noble titles and no military service, on the other side of which a laudatory poem was inscribed.
If it were the memorial tablet of a common family, it would be much simpler, with “spirit tablets of all past ancestors” written on it, encompassing all ancestors in one go, worshipping them all at once.