Ji Ning opened his eyes and saw himself being held by a giant dressed in white fur. Ji Ning quickly realized that it was because he was now an infant, making the man who held him appear giant-sized.
"You all may leave," the man commanded.
"Yes," the three maids replied respectfully.
The man holding Ji Ning must be his father in this life. Even though he had just had a son, he remained cold and distant, like a glacier, difficult to approach. He was dressed in luxurious white fur, while the three maids wore much poorer quality fur.
The room was spacious. The walls, dressing table, chairs, and bed were all carved from stone. The carvings were ornate and exquisite, exuding an ancient and rustic beauty. On the bed was an enormous fur, about six or seven meters long, from a massive beast. The fur draped down to the floor, clearly luxurious. On the bed lay a woman, her face glistening with sweat.
"They carve even their furniture from stone, and wear fur clothing. This world's civilization must be quite primitive," Ji Ning thought.
"My son," the man in white fur said, holding the infant. Despite his cold demeanor, his eyes could not hide the excitement.
Ji Ning suddenly felt a cool, mysterious energy flowing into his body, soothing and comfortable. It quickly dissipated.
"Yi Chuan, how is our son?" The woman on the bed asked eagerly.
"Just as expected, his physical aptitude is average," Yi Chuan replied softly.
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. "Let me hold him."
The man immediately handed the baby to her.
"Sweet boy," the woman cooed, her eyes filled with love. "Yi Chuan, our son was injured in the womb. Though I ate treasures of the world, it only helped a little. We have wronged our child."
Injured in the womb? Treasures of the world? It seemed Ji Ning's parents in this life were no ordinary people.
Despite just having given birth, his mother got out of bed with ease, walking effortlessly. She, too, was dressed in white fur as she cradled Ji Ning. Together with his father, they left the room.
"You clean up," Ji Yi Chuan instructed the three maids outside.
"Yes," they responded respectfully.
In the hallway stood a large snow-white dog with long, soft fur, looking gentle. Its gaze fell upon Ji Ning, filled with affection and excitement.
In the wide courtyard beyond, a massive black serpent was coiled along the inner edge. Its body, winding in circles, rose tens of meters high. Its black scales gleamed ominously, each scale as large as half a person. Its head, high above, was as large as a house, and it slowly lowered toward them.
"What in the world!" Ji Ning was startled. He could accept the large white dog—he'd seen plenty of dogs in his previous life, and this one was merely a bit larger. But this serpent...! Coiled in rings with its body rising tens of meters high, it must be two or three hundred meters long in total! Such a terrifying monster, and it was right outside his home?
"This... this is too much..."
"My son," Yi Chuan seemed unconcerned about his son's feelings, or perhaps people in this world were used to such things and found them normal. He pointed to the snow-white dog. "This is your Uncle Bai, a life-and-death brother of mine who saved your life. Treat him as you would treat me."
The snow-white dog looked affectionately at Ji Ning, and he could feel the dog's love for him.
But… calling a dog "Uncle"?
"Yi Chuan, the child has just been born; he doesn't understand anything yet. What's the point of saying all this?" Ji Ning's mother said, holding him.
"It doesn't matter if he understands or not. This is his first meeting with Little Bai," Yi Chuan said, then turned to the massive serpent, its head like a house. "Brother Hei!"
Suddenly, the enormous black serpent dissolved into black mist, which then condensed into a middle-aged man with black hair. The man smiled at the infant, saying, "Yi Chuan, I remember when you first showed your strength and I pledged to follow you. Time flies, and now you have a son. Child, don't be afraid, I am your Uncle Hei."
"Let's go outside," Yi Chuan said. "Your grandfather and the others are waiting. Brother Hei, you'd better change back to your true form. I know staying in human form is uncomfortable for you."
"Hissss," the black-haired man nodded and instantly dissolved into black mist, transforming back into the giant black serpent. The serpent's head lowered and swiftly slid over the courtyard wall, disappearing.
Ji Ning was still in a daze. This world, so familiar to its inhabitants, was utterly shocking to someone like Ji Ning, who had lived on Earth. A two-to-three-hundred-meter-long black serpent that could turn into a man, calling itself his Uncle Hei? A monster!
"Is that snow-white dog a monster too?" Ji Ning wondered. This world was far more incredible than he had imagined.
The couple, holding Ji Ning, walked down a stone-paved path into a garden. Snow covered the vegetation, and several black-armored guards stood motionless at their posts. In the center of the garden stood dozens of people, each accompanied by strange beasts, poisonous creatures, or flying birds.
Ji Ning quickly realized that it wasn't just his father who had tamed beasts—people in this world must have a custom of raising and training monster-like creatures.
"It seems I'll be dealing with monsters regularly from now on," Ji Ning thought, quickly adjusting to the reality. He began observing the people. Every one of them exuded a fierce presence, like tigers or leopards, and wore finely tailored fur garments. Only three women were dressed in silk or cloth.
This surprised Ji Ning. It seemed not everyone in this world wore fur. Silk and cloth garments did exist, and judging by the three women's positions among the group, they were of ordinary status. Apparently, silk or cloth wasn't more valuable than finely tailored fur.
The silver-haired elder at the front walked over. "Yi Chuan, let me hold the child."
"Grandfather," Yi Chuan nodded and handed the child over.
"What a beautiful child," the silver-haired elder beamed with joy. "Yi Chuan, now that you have a son, I am relieved. I have been the lord of this estate for eighty years. According to family rules, the position of lord cannot be held for more than a hundred years. I can hold it for another twenty years at most. When I wanted you to take over the position of lord of our Ji Clan's Western Estate, you were determined to pursue the path of immortality. Now that your son is born, I think he should become the next lord."
Next lord? Ji Ning was startled. It seemed his status in this life was quite high, and his family was clearly extraordinary. Whether it was the respectful, obedient maids in their fur clothes or the motionless black-armored guards, everything pointed to his family's power.
"Brother!" A voice roared angrily.
Who would dare speak so disrespectfully to the lord? Ji Ning turned to look. A red-haired elder exuding intense heat strode forward. Hanging from his right ear was a vibrant red earring—no, not an earring, but a finger-length scarlet snake! An elder wearing a red snake as an earring?
The elder marched forward, growling, "The inheritance of the lord's position cannot be decided so lightly. We don't even know if this child has any talent."
"The son of Yi Chuan will naturally have talent…" the silver-haired elder began confidently. But suddenly, a surge of scorching heat flowed into Ji Ning's body and quickly receded.
"Yi Chuan!" The silver-haired elder looked in shock at his most proud and favored grandson.
He was astonished! This was the son of the famous "Waterdrop Sword" Yi Chuan, a man who had slain countless great monsters in the deep mountains and lakes with a single sword strike. In their Ji Clan's Western Estate, more people knew of the Waterdrop Sword than of the lord himself.
With all the precious materials and treasures Yi Chuan's wife had consumed during pregnancy, the child's body should have been exceptional.
"Brother!" The red-haired elder laughed. "It seems Yi Chuan's child is quite ordinary. Our Ji Clan's Western Estate rules over many tribes. How could we let someone weak be lord? How could our clan members respect such a weakling? How could the tribes under our control submit? Without authority, how could we compete with neighboring powers or fight the great monsters of the deep mountains and lakes? A weak lord will doom us all."
"If monsters of the deep mountains and lakes appear, I will kill them myself!" Yi Chuan's voice was cold as ice.
"Oh, how brave! No wonder you're Yi Chuan!" The red-haired elder sneered. "If you can kill one hundred great monsters, I'll withdraw my objection and let your son inherit the title. But if you can't, there's no way your weak son can lead our Western Estate."
Yi Chuan stared at him.
Each great monster was as cunning as it was powerful. Killing one was already a miracle, let alone killing a hundred.
"Enough! The child has just been born, and this is no time for such a quarrel," the silver-haired elder commanded. "Tonight, we will hold a banquet in Snowfall Hall to celebrate. Everyone, disperse!"
"Yes," the red-haired elder was