Location: The garrison in Jinxi town, Zhao kingdom

The morning mist has not yet dispersed, but a group of garrison soldiers have already begun their morning exercise in the training field.

Jinxi town is adjacent to Han and Lao kingdoms, a borderland where battles are frequent. The people here value martial arts, with even the elderly, children, women and men knowing how to fight.

The garrison soldiers in the fortress are the personal guards and private soldiers of the commander, fierce and muscular, each exuding a powerful aura.

Bang, bang, bang!

The soldiers move swiftly and nimbly, their punches like swords and kicks like the wind, revealing their strong foundation.

The household servants and slaves of the garrison pass by in black hats and clothes, some stopping to watch, only to be scolded and shooed away.

"This is not a place for you to watch!"

"Ding Niu, hurry up and leave, or I'll gouge out your eyes!"

Ding Niu is a large, rough-looking man with thick eyebrows who walks slowly and steadily. The manager scolds him mercilessly:

"Don't think you're still a genius. Here, you are the lowest servant of the garrison. You must abide by the rules and fulfill your duties. Do you understand?"

The garrison is a behemoth, with thousands of direct subordinates divided into various ranks, such as the chief steward, major domo, minor domo, household servants and slaves, who are responsible for managing the estate's land, mines, and businesses, among other things.

The training ground of the garrison is located in Jinxi town, Zhao country. The morning mist hasn't lifted yet, but the guards have already started their morning drills. Jinxi town is adjacent to the Han and Lao countries, a borderland of frequent battles where the people value martial arts. From octogenarian elders to eight-year-old children and women, they all know how to fight.

The garrison guards in the town are not only the personal guards of the garrison but also fierce warriors. They are all muscular and have a strong presence. Bang! Bang! Bang! The guards move quickly and swiftly, with their fists like swords and their kicks like the wind, demonstrating their strong foundation.

The house servants and slaves of the garrison on the edge of the training ground, dressed in black hats and clothes, hurried by. Some stopped to watch and were immediately shouted at. "This is a place for training, not for you to watch! Ding Niu, get out of here, or I'll gouge your eyes out!" Ding Niu was tall and rugged with thick eyebrows, walking slowly. The manager scolded him, "Don't think you're still a genius. Here, you are the lowest servant of the garrison. You must follow the rules and remember your place, understand?"

The garrison is a massive organization with thousands of people directly under its command. They are ranked as the Chief Steward, Major Steward, Minor Steward, house servants, and slaves, and are responsible for managing farmland, mines, and businesses.

The person who reprimanded Ding Niu was Huang Fang, a minor steward in charge of managing 100 acres of private land for farming and harvest. Facing Ding Niu, he was also full of arrogance: "The garrison leader arranged for you to work in the fertile land. It's a test for you, understand? You get meat to eat at every meal, a treatment that other lowly servants can only dream of. You must remember the kindness of the garrison leader." Ding Niu wanted to curse at him, but he just gave a perfunctory response.

Originally from the Earth's China, Ding Niu had a rebellious spirit, always looking for opportunities to escape his slave status. "Today, you have to plow another five acres of fertile land," Huang Fang commanded. He gathered five farmhands under his command to assist Ding Niu. "Why do I have to do five acres while others only do three?" Ding Niu asked. The other servants chuckled quietly, all having their own little tricks. There were a total of 100 acres of land, so the more Ding Niu did, the less they would have to do.

Huang Fang sneered, "You did three acres yesterday, and you still had energy to sneak a peek at the garrison guards training. It seems you are slacking off. If you can't finish it tomorrow, you'll receive corporal punishment!" The garrison strictly enforces military law, and those below must obey unconditionally. Moreover, for the lowest servants, even daring to question is a mistake that can be punished with a beating or even death if the offense is severe.

Ding Niu endured it.

Steward Huang Fang led them straight to Liangjiaao, not far from the Garrison Office.

Liangjiaao is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles. The Zhao Hanjiang meanders through it, making water transportation convenient. It is a first-class fertile land.

This place is privately owned by the Garrison Office, and there are heavy guards and granaries in the valley. The guards at each entrance are strict, and casual passers-by cannot enter and exit at will.

Even the farmers who cultivate here need the steward to lead the way and verify their waist tags before they can enter.

Because what is grown here is the rarest of rare pearl rice in the world.

Herbivores are good at running but foolish, carnivores are brave and fierce, and grain eaters are wise and skillful.

A person's status and martial arts power are closely related to what they usually eat.

Ordinary villagers eat potatoes and tubers to get by, leading a dull life.

If one can eat meat every day and be superior to them, they are a martial artist, a warrior.

Those who can eat rice every day are considered to be of noble status.

Pearl rice is the best among rice varieties, each grain plump and as big as pearls, with a fragrant aroma. It is the food of Qi cultivators. Those who eat stones are plump and never age, those who eat Qi are divine and long-lived.

Those who eat grains and mixed cereals are still considered ordinary people, while those who eat elixirs and live long are Qi cultivators, and those who can survive by eating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth are gods.

Pearl rice is a grain comparable to elixirs and can only be grown in Liangjiaao. Part of the harvest is offered to the imperial court, and part is used by the Garrison Office.

Garrison Huang Gang has been stationed on the border for more than 20 years, building Jinxi Town into an iron-clad stronghold, and pearl rice has played an indispensable role.

Ding Niudandan was bold and fearless, taking advantage of the autumn harvest season to gnaw on some pearl rice. He even chewed the husks and swallowed them without a peep, enjoying the sweet fragrance that emanated from the rice. After consuming it, he felt a warmth in his stomach and a clear-headedness that he had never experienced before. Not only did it nourish his body and true qi, but Ding Niudandan also felt a unique energy rushing towards his forehead, giving him a feeling of elation and clarity of mind. If his calculations were correct, this energy was spiritual energy. Pearl rice was a great tonic for his body and mind.

While true qi could be transformed by eating grains, meat, and other foods, spiritual energy was rare and could help develop the mind, which would lead to many extraordinary abilities in the future.

Huang Fang was in charge of a hundred acres of pearl rice, which had yielded two fewer baskets than the previous year, resulting in a harsh scolding from his superiors. He had always suspected that someone below him was causing mischief, especially Ding Niudandan.

The steward ordered that Ding Niudandan be given meat at every meal. He complied on the surface, but secretly kept half of it for himself and assigned him the heaviest and most arduous tasks every time. However, to his surprise, Ding Niudandan not only didn't collapse from exhaustion, but also grew taller and stronger by the day. At just twelve years old, he already stood like an adult, towering over Huang Fang. He was sure that Ding Niudandan was stealing food.

Huang Fang suspected that Ding Niudandan was hiding something and assigned him tasks, always watching to see if he would panic and reveal his secrets. He only knew that Ding Niudandan couldn't take his eyes off people practicing martial arts, but had no idea how hard he worked every day, far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.

Although Ding Niudandan was only at the eighth level of true qi, three levels below the indestructible armor, for a farmer who only did farm work, this was already an impressive achievement.

Even though Ding Niu was only at the eighth level of True Qi, which was three levels below the indestructible realm, it was already a great achievement for a farmhand who only specialized in farming. Huang Fang bullied him, but Ding Niu knew deep down that he couldn't flatter someone who oppressed him. Instead, he used his dissatisfaction as motivation to make a name for himself.

Hardship and hatred can toughen a person, and Ding Niu used the difficult and laborious tasks assigned to him as a way to strengthen his body and willpower. He knew all too well that no one would help him in this cruel world, and that lying down meant falling down. And he refused to accept that.

As he arrived at the cowshed and collected his number plate to pick up his ploughing oxen, he discovered that the strong and robust oxen had already been chosen. The attendant looked at Ding Niu and sneered, then assigned him an old and weak ox as usual.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

The old ox looked even older, with white patches around its mouth and lifeless fur, like a winter wheat field without vitality. If Ding Niu didn't use this ox, no one else would. If an old ox was of no use, its fate was to be sold to a livestock dealer or slaughtered for meat, and it was inevitable to face a brutal end.

When Ding Niu was first assigned to be a farmer, he was thin and weak, relying on this old ox's labor to keep up with others and avoid overwork and punishment, earning him his life. Now that he had cultivated True Qi and become physically stronger, he couldn't bear to see the old fellow be slaughtered, so he always used it.

He then led the old acquaintance and brought along the plowing tools to head straight to the field. The field they were responsible for was located by Zhao Hanjiang's side.

After putting the plow harness on the old ox, they each led their own ox forward. The old ox didn't have much strength, and it was all the young ox that were exerting themselves. The young ox secretly exerted force, and their muscles swelled like a river with true qi surging inside!

Their arms were full of strength, and their legs were like push machines, with every step and push leaving deep footprints. In no time, steam rose from their heads like white smoke.

Sweating could lead to energy waste, and the young ox had no way of avoiding it since their cultivation was not high enough yet. If they had the true qi cultivation of at least the third level, they could condense their true qi into a block that wouldn't leak, thus locking in the water vapor. With this technique, even vigorous exercise wouldn't cause sweating, achieving a state where all the body's energy could be utilized.

The young ox was still far from achieving this state. After about an hour, they were sweating profusely, but this was just the warm-up. Cultivating precious pearl rice was no small feat. It was hard and compact, requiring both deep plowing and fine plowing. Ordinary farmers would exhaust themselves and their oxen, and it would probably take a whole day to plow one acre of land.

The Liang family's land covered thousands of acres, and all the plowmen were martial artists. The other four farmers in the group with the young ox were all bandits. They weren't highly skilled, and couldn't be classified as gangsters to be enlisted in the army. They were captured and enslaved in the garrison for survival, enduring suffering, and each person had learned basic true qi techniques. They weren't ordinary farmers.

Despite this, they whipped the sturdy oxen as hard as they could, exerting themselves to the max, but still couldn't keep up with the young ox's speed. The young ox plowed two acres while they only managed one acre, panting like a dog. Meanwhile, the young ox was still full of energy and vitality.

The steward, Huang Fang, was surprised when he saw the comparison. Ding Niu's strength was simply incredible, far beyond that of a normal person.

After inspecting Ding Niu's farmland and carefully examining the deep plowing and fine mud, Huang Fang couldn't find any faults. In fact, it was the perfect condition for growing pearl rice. Huang Fang scolded the other farmers and praised Ding Niu.

The other farmers had nothing to say and secretly cursed Ding Niu as a freak. This reminded Huang Fang of the rumor that Ding Niu had shown exceptional talent in a talent test in Jinxixian town when he was only five years old. However, Huang Fang didn't know why Ding Niu ended up in the garrison as a lowly servant.

He only heard the head steward mention it occasionally, and had a faint guess. Ding Niu wasn't a family member, but a wild slave. In order to subdue him and make him loyal, he was thrown to the bottom and suffered, so as to erode his sharpness and use him safely.

Huang Fang knew that this was a common way of managing, just like himself. He only had five subordinates, and to manage them well, he had to use both kindness and punishment. Anyone who dared to rebel had to be severely suppressed, and anyone who flattered him had to be promoted to set an example for others. Ability was not the most important thing, but loyalty, obedience, and submission were.

Although Ding Niu was efficient in his work and could do the job of two people, he usually ignored Huang Fang's attention and was not as obedient as the other farmers. He obviously didn't care about Huang Fang's attitude toward him.

Huang Fang didn't like him and wanted the other farmers to ostracize him, so he could watch the show from above. Ding Niu, however, was too lazy to bother with him.

Ding Niu knew that by working harder on his farming, he could produce more pearl rice during the harvest and get a larger share of the harvest. This was the only time of the year when he could eat well, and he was doing it all for himself.

He sneered to himself. Instead of targeting him, Huang Fang should focus on the other guys. Last year, the fields they were in charge of yielded two fewer bushels of pearl rice. He made sure to leave enough share for everyone in the fields he cultivated, and it was clear that the shortfall came from the other fields.

But those guys blamed him and Huang Fang couldn't see through their true nature. He deserved to be punished.

It was strange that everyone who entered or exited Liangjiaao had to undergo a thorough body search. Could it be that those guys were eating the pearl rice raw, or else how could they take it out?

That night, Ding Niu stayed in Liangjiaao Valley. The spring plowing would take several more days.