The spring sunshine was exceptionally bright, lazily warming those it touched.
A child with red lips and white teeth stood with arms outstretched as a girl dressed in animal skins swiftly but carefully helped him into fur clothing. Another girl stood nearby, holding a clay pot and a small basin. The basin contained coarse white salt, while the pot was filled with water.
"In my previous life, I was always sick and had to dress myself. Now, even though I'm in perfect health in this life, I'm constantly attended by servants," Ji Ning thought to himself. Since birth, he had grown accustomed to being served. Whenever he tried to dress himself, his two personal maids, Chun Cao and Qiu Ye, would be so frightened that they would fall to their knees, trembling in terror.
"Give it to me," he said.
After dressing, Ji Ning took the black, lacquered pot and the small basin, heading outside. Squatting down near the corridor, he scooped some of the coarse salt into his mouth and began to 'brush' his teeth.
"This era is truly tragic. No toothbrush, so I have to use my hands to clean my teeth! No toothpaste, so I'm stuck using salt!" Ji Ning quickly finished cleaning. Strangely, ever since his birth, he had always been incredibly clean, never experiencing bad breath. Still, his mother always insisted he brush his teeth.
"Gurgle, gurgle..." Ji Ning rinsed his mouth and spat out the water, then handed the pot and basin back to Chun Cao.
Qiu Ye held a green stone basin filled with water, and Ji Ning quickly washed his face, drying it with a cloth.
"Qiu Ye," Ji Ning blinked his large eyes, "does your tribe also use salt to brush teeth?"
Although he was already four years old and had read many of his family's books, learning a lot of necessary information, he still didn't know much about life in the various tribes.
"Of course not," Qiu Ye replied, her freckled face showing a hint of surprise. "In our tribe, even the salt we mix into food isn't as white or clean as this. And as for brushing teeth, most people just rinse with water—many never brush their teeth their entire lives. And that pot, it's used to boil soup; it's very valuable. No one would ever use it to rinse their mouth."
"Boil soup?" Ji Ning blinked. Was that pot really for boiling soup?
"Come on, it's time to eat," Ji Ning said, turning and walking away with wide strides, his two maids following close behind.
…
"Father, Mother," Ji Ning greeted, standing properly and bowing as he entered the hall.
"Mm," his father, Ji Yichuan, responded, seated in the central chair. His mother sat on his left, and Ji Ning took his place on the right. In front of him was a black stone table, carved from rock, with three dishes of fragrant meat, thick, soft flatbread, and a clay pot of hot water—this was his breakfast.
A breakfast for a four-year-old child, which on Earth would be enough to feed three grown men. But in this world, every child had an enormous appetite, and Ji Ning was no exception.
"Mm, it smells so good," Ji Ning said as he grabbed a piece of meat from one of the dishes and began eating. Even by Earth standards, this was gourmet food. Ji Ning knew that his diet had always been special because of his body's mediocre constitution. The meat he ate wasn't from ordinary animals but from magical beasts infused with spiritual energy. In some tribes, this would be considered a luxury, but for him, it was part of his daily meals.
The benefits were clear—Ji Ning had become incredibly strong.
"I'm finished!" Ji Ning ate quickly, almost like a wolf, and then downed an entire pot of hot water.
"Let's go," he shouted as he rushed outside, with Chun Cao and Qiu Ye trailing behind.
Watching her son run off, Yuchi Xue smiled and said, "Although Ning'er was born with a weak body, that was because of an injury in the womb. He still has great potential. Look at him—he can eat so much magical beast meat every day. His body will only continue to grow stronger."
Ji Yichuan nodded slightly. Magical beasts were different from ordinary animals. They absorbed the energy of heaven and earth as they cultivated, so their flesh was full of energy. Most children, even if they ate in the morning, wouldn't feel hungry for one or two days, but Ji Ning ate three meals a day and finished everything, his small body able to digest it all.
…
The two maids followed behind Ji Ning, each holding a thick book. Behind them were eighteen burly guards dressed in crimson armor adorned with mysterious symbols that faintly emitted an otherworldly power, giving each guard a powerful aura.
These were the Crimson Armored Guards, the most elite soldiers of the Ji Clan. In the entire Ji Clan's Western Manor, there were only one hundred Crimson Armored Guards, all under the command of Ji Yichuan.
Ji Yichuan had assigned eighteen Crimson Armored Guards to protect Ji Ning. Wherever Ji Ning went outside of the family estate, they followed him closely.
"To the training grounds," Ji Ning said leisurely as he walked.
Wherever he went, people stepped aside.
Western Manor was a grand city, home to hundreds of thousands of people. Inside the city, there were three massive structures: the inner city, the barracks, and the martial hall.
The inner city was where the Ji Clan's Western Manor's family members lived and was the core of their rule.
The barracks were where the Ji Clan's Western Manor's army was stationed.
The martial hall was where young people from the Ji Clan's Western Manor and the surrounding tribes trained.
There was a direct passage from the inner city to the martial hall, and Ji Ning, along with his servants and guards, went straight to the training grounds. Thousands of youths were practicing there.
"Look, it's Ji Ning!"
"He's the only son of the Waterdrop Sword, Ji Yichuan?"
"The girls next to him are carrying books, aren't they? I once saw a merchant selling books in our tribe; it cost a thousand goatskins for just one."
The youths in the training ground whispered among themselves. Many were already familiar with the child, knowing that he was the son of the strongest man in the Ji Clan's Western Manor, the Waterdrop Sword Ji Yichuan. Some of the youths even liked this little boy because, despite his noble birth, he never bullied them. But even though they liked him, they didn't dare approach him.
"Whew." Ji Ning sat in a chair, his eyes full of excitement.
In his previous life, he had often been alone. Deep down, Ji Ning loved lively places.
"Give me the book," he said, taking a thick book from Chun Cao's hands. The book was about twenty centimeters thick, made from the finely processed skin of some wild beast. In this era where slavery still existed, books were a luxury, but Ji Ning could freely borrow books from the clan's library, even taking several with him.
Since his birth, Ji Ning had focused on two things:
The first was visualizing the Nuwa Diagram. By strengthening his soul, his body became robust, and he even developed a photographic memory. Just half a month ago, he had even achieved the ability to multitask.
Multitasking meant, for example, being able to write with his left hand while drawing with his right, his mind seemingly split into two parts that didn't interfere with each other.
This wasn't surprising. According to the books he had read, cultivators could control multiple magical treasures at the same time during combat. The Nuwa Diagram was truly mysterious, and after just over two years of visualization, Ji Ning's soul had grown strong enough to multitask.
The second thing was reading!
From the time he could babble out a few words six months after his birth, he had been holding books and pointing to the pictographic characters, asking, "What's this? What's this?" Chun Cao and Qiu Ye, who had been chosen as his personal maids because they could read, didn't dare not answer him. With a bit of guessing, they were able to teach him many of the pictographic characters. Soon, Ji Ning had learned to read.
From then on, he devoured books!
As the saying goes, "Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood." Although Ji Ning had been determined to pursue the path of immortality from the moment of his birth, he understood the importance of patience. Reading was like sharpening the axe for his journey of cultivation. First, he needed to understand the world, to learn about the process of cultivation, the various paths one could take, and so on.
Once he had a clear understanding, he would have a solid foundation, enabling him to make the best choices moving forward.
After reading many books, Ji Ning had learned that the Ji Clan's Western Manor was a minor power within the vast territory of the Xia Dynasty.
The territory under the rule of the Ji Clan's Western Manor spanned over three thousand kilometers from north to south and more than five thousand kilometers from east to west. Countless tribes lived within this land, all of them under the control of the Ji Clan's Western Manor!
And this was just the Western Manor.
The Ji Clan was an ancient tribe, divided into five branches: the Main Clan, the Eastern Manor, the Western Manor, the Southern Manor, and the Northern Manor. Together, the five branches formed the complete Ji Clan!
However...
The Xia Dynasty was unimaginably vast. It had existed since the era of gods and demons, surviving through the terrifying