The Name of Eternals

Chapter 198: Who Dares to Laugh at My Son

Li Hao was somewhat surprised, not expecting the other party to neither be angry nor blame him.

The man's face looked dignified and heroic, with thick eyebrows that naturally commanded respect. However, his current gentle expression offset the accumulated authority in his brows, giving a feeling as warm as a spring breeze.

"What did you draw? Let me see."

Li Tianzong walked over and saw the figure sketched on Li Hao's drawing board, faintly recognizable as a woman.

Li Hao's painting skills were still in their infancy, and his current work was vague and indistinct. Li Tianzong asked curiously, "Who is this?"

"Mother."

Li Hao was referring to the "mother" of his current body, Chen Hefang.

He blushed slightly. His painting skills were still so poor that the picture didn't even qualify as a portrait and was completely unrecognizable.

If he were to draw a wanted criminal, it's likely no one could identify the culprit even if they came to see the poster themselves…

Li Tianzong was taken aback by Li Hao's answer, then laughed and said, "It's a good effort, but your mother is much prettier than what you've drawn. You need to practice more."

Li Hao felt even more surprised. From the other's words, it seemed he wasn't being discouraged from pursuing this "side hobby."

"I'll work hard," Li Hao said.

Li Tianzong patted his little head and said, "When your skills improve, draw one for me too, and include your brothers and little Hongzhuang."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Hongzhuang, who was sitting nearby eating pastries.

Little Li Hongzhuang: "?"

Her big, watery eyes looked at them in confusion, not understanding what they were laughing and talking about.

Li Hao's head was being patted by his large hand, but he felt the warmth of his palm, filled with affection. He was slightly taken aback. Although this was the River of the Dead and the "father" before him was his long-deceased grandfather, for some reason, he felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.

It was as if a long-unhealed tear in his heart had closed at this moment.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded seriously:

"I'll practice my painting diligently!"

Li Tianzong smiled and said, "When you get good, I'll treasure it. Besides being talented in martial arts, my son also has outstanding artistic skills, haha!"

He laughed a few times, then added, "But don't forget to study and learn to read. Once you're five and your bones have been measured, you'll need to start reading martial arts texts every day, understood?"

As he spoke, his expression became slightly more serious.

"Mm!"

Li Hao nodded, flashing a bright smile.

Two rows of white teeth shone brightly on his young face.

"Come on, let's go get some good food."

Li Tianzong picked up Li Hao, then used his other hand to hold Li Hongzhuang, carrying them both out of the side room.

When they reached the courtyard, Chen Hefang saw Li Tianzong carrying Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang. She quickly came up and gently chided:

"Look at you, they're not little kids anymore, carrying them around like that. Aren't you afraid of others laughing?"

"Who dares to laugh at my children?"

Li Tianzong raised his eyebrows with some authority, then laughed and said, "The situation outside Longcheng isn't good. Since I'm rarely home, I naturally want to spend more time with the children."

"You need to take care of yourself out there too."

Chen Hefang's face, which had been smiling, was now full of worry as soon as he mentioned Longcheng.

Li Tianzong shook his head with a smile and said, "It's nothing serious. I'll handle it. Let's not talk about it. At home, we don't discuss state affairs. Let's go get some snacks and see how our eldest is doing with his training. If he's not doing well, we'll send him to a famous mountain for training."

Chen Hefang couldn't help but smile, knowing his temperament, and didn't persuade him further. She instructed a maid to go to the kitchen to fetch some pastries.

Li Hao's eyes flashed slightly as he glanced at them. Although this moment of warmth was precious, watching his "brothers" train at the training ground didn't mean much to him.

The time that flowed while he was conscious would return to his body when he left the River of the Dead, so he chose to accelerate the passage of time.

When the couple led Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang to the training ground, Li Hao closed his eyes to accelerate time while they watched the other "brothers" train.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Li Hao continued to refine the monster king's blood every day. During his free time, he ran to paint, accumulating experience in painting.

As he sketched repeatedly, Li Hao's mind gradually calmed down, and he seemed to relax, fully concentrating on his painting in the side room.

One drawing after another was peeled off, and the figures on them became clearer and more beautiful, gentle as jade.

When his painting skills reached the second rank, Li Hao's brush moved as if guided by divine inspiration, greatly improving his control and precision, allowing him to create lifelike portraits.

Li Hao meticulously drew Chen Hefang, Li Tianzong, little Li Hongzhuang, and others one by one. The experience he gained from depicting different people varied.

Papers were scattered all over the room.

Until the sky in the courtyard darkened, and Zhao Bo called him for dinner, Li Hao stopped and chose to accelerate the passage of time.

The surroundings shifted, and it was another idle time several days later.

He still sat in the side room, drawing. However, to his surprise, all the scattered papers on the ground had disappeared.

Li Hao thought for a moment and decided to continue drawing, as it was the most important task.

Each time he closed his eyes to accelerate time, it was at least three or four days later. It was hard to control, and if he sped up too much, it would be half a month later.

While he was drawing, little Li Hongzhuang pushed the door open, poking her head in and handing him a piece of pastry.

Li Hao, interrupted in his drawing, didn't get annoyed. He smiled and took the pastry with his mouth, eating it while asking, "Hongzhuang, where are my drawings?"

"Father took them all."

"Took them all?"

Li Hao's heart tightened slightly.

Little Li Hongzhuang, holding a small wooden horse toy, pushed it on the ground while recalling:

"Father told mother during dinner to have Uncle Zhao pack them all up. He said when you have your own family in the future, they'll be displayed in your courtyard for your wife to see your childhood talents."

Though only two years old, she spoke clearly, recounting what she heard word for word.

After speaking, she looked up at Li Hao, confused: "Tenth Brother, what does having your own family mean? What's a wife? Is it something good to eat?"

The little girl looked puzzled, but saw that her "Tenth Brother" was sitting in front of the drawing board like a statue, neither speaking nor responding.

...

Time passed quickly through repeated accelerations. Li Hao always tried to jump to his free time and then came to the side room to paint.

He had no memory of what happened during these accelerated periods, only occasionally getting information from little Li Hongzhuang.

After seven consecutive jumps, several months had passed in the River of the Dead, but to Li Hao, it was as if he had sat and painted for seven days straight.

Each time he jumped, the scattered papers on the ground disappeared.

During one jump, he found that the scattered drawings had been placed on a cabinet in the main hall.

Originally, the cabinet held many precious artifacts like divine weapons, ceramics, and royal treasures. Now, most of them were removed, replaced by stacks of drawings.

"My son's painting skills are getting better and better. I heard from the teacher that he is also progressing rapidly in literacy, learning everything in one go, haha!"

At the dinner table, Li Tianzong laughed heartily.

Li Hao remained silent.

This was the first time he had dinner with this "father" and "mother" since coming to the River of the Dead.

This time, he didn't accelerate time, holding his bowl and eating quietly.

"Tenth Brother, I heard you drew portraits of all of us, but where's mine?"

At the dinner table, a child stood up. It was little Li Tiangang.

The news of Li Hao's painting had spread, and his brothers had all seen his works, finding their sketches and being amazed. However, little Li Tiangang couldn't find his own.

Li Hao glanced at him. Though only eight or nine years old, his features already bore some resemblance to what Li Hao remembered.

Li Hao said nothing and continued eating.

"Tenth Brother, why aren't you answering me?"

Little Li Tiangang called out anxiously.

Li Hao closed his eyes slightly, and the scene quickly shifted to several days later.

He stood in the courtyard, being wiped clean by a maid, indicating he had just absorbed monster blood.

The teacher arrived, leading Li Hao to study literacy.

Every day after blood absorption was literacy lessons, followed by Li Hao's free time.

This time, he didn't accelerate time and obediently followed the teacher. Since he was already familiar with the material, he began writing poems in his notebook during the lesson.

[Poetry Experience +53]

[Poetry Experience +46]

...

With each poem written, his experience increased.

The teacher, noticing Li Hao's diligent note-taking, nodded in approval. When he looked closer, he was stunned.

It wasn't the material he was teaching, but several poems.

The teacher quickly grabbed Li Hao's notebook, reading it carefully. The more he read, the more shocked he became, looking at Li Hao in disbelief:

"Did you write these?"

Li Hao nodded.

This wouldn't expose him; it was merely showing his poetic talent.

Only talking about things he couldn't possibly know, like Liangzhou or the Monster King Zhuhuo, would create a dissonance revealing his true identity.

"This...this..."

The teacher was speechless with shock.

This was an incredible talent, like a great Confucian scholar in the making!

Just learning to read and already composing poetry—this would be astonishing in any prestigious literary family!

Not to mention, he was born into a military family, making his poetic talent even rarer!

Moreover, he knew Li Hao's martial arts talent was also extraordinary, known throughout the Divine General's Mansion as the greatest talent in the Li family's history!

A true all-rounder!

"I must tell the master about this!"

The teacher, excited, said, "If the master knows about your talents and intelligence, he will be overjoyed!"

Li Hao thought of his "grandfather," his eyes flickering with anticipation.

Historically, those who could recite poetry soon after learning to read were considered prodigies. Some great scholars composed poems about everyday things within two or three years of literacy, influenced by the eloquent environment of their households.

The teacher, excitedly leaving the classroom, left Li Hao to his drawing in the side room.

Fully immersed, Li Hao's gaze became serious, thinking of the drawings now placed in the main hall cabinet.

Drawing...

Li Hao's brush moved fluidly, carefully feeling each stroke.

He was entirely absorbed, with only the image on the paper becoming clearer—a towering, imposing general!

His face stern, eyes gentle, posture upright, extraordinary in every way.

As the final stroke was made, text prompts appeared before Li Hao's eyes.

But he ignored them.

He sat quietly for a long time before recalling the prompts and checked his panel.

[You have comprehended the heart of painting]

[State of Mind: Heart of Painting]

Li Hao was stunned. His painting experience hadn't even reached the third rank, yet he had already comprehended the heart of painting.

He was silent for a moment, gently drying the painting and carefully placing it aside instead of discarding it.

He then picked up another blank sheet and continued drawing.

One after another.

His painting experience continued to grow.

Reaching the third rank, he advanced to the fourth, gaining another skill point.

Li Hao looked at his accumulated skill points. Besides one spent on swordsmanship, he had four left—three from painting and two from poetry.

He hadn't touched other skills like chess, carving, or fishing.

Thinking of Listening Rain Pavilion, he knew it was time to visit.

Thinking of Listening Rain Pavilion reminded him of his second uncle. He wondered what he looked like when he was young.

At dinner, Li Hao left the side room and returned to the main hall.