Chapter 4 The Prefect

The banquet at the Snow Drifting Hall lasted late into the night. When it finally ended, the sky was filled with stars. Ji Yichuan and his wife were returning home with their infant.

"Woo!" Ji Ning blinked his hazy little eyes and saw the starry sky above.

Ah!

He had fallen asleep—he had actually fallen asleep in the middle of the banquet!

The wonderful performances, the musicians in the hall playing instruments like chime stones, bells, and xun, the barefoot兽皮少女 dancing freely—it was so different from Earth and truly beautiful. But being a baby, he couldn't help it; he got too sleepy halfway through and dozed off.

"Yichuan," Yuchi Xue said as they walked, her voice tinged with anger. "At the banquet, you said our son should seize the Golden Sword? That's so difficult—don't you know that?"

"I managed it back then," Ji Yichuan frowned.

"You are the strongest in the West Prefecture of the Ji clan. You could do it in your youth, but in the thousand years of the West Prefecture's history, how many have been like you?" Yuchi Xue was furious. She was usually gentle, but when it came to her son, she grew anxious. "And today, the Prefect proposed that our child become the next Prefect. Five stewards immediately agreed—only one more was needed. If we could persuade just one more steward, making six in total, our son could easily become Prefect. Why must he seize the Golden Sword?"

Seizing the Golden Sword was too hard.

Ji Yichuan shook his head and sighed. "You don't understand."

"How don't I understand?" Yuchi Xue retorted angrily.

"You've only recently come to our West Prefecture, so you don't grasp the subtleties," Ji Yichuan explained. "The ten stewards of the West Prefecture are divided into three factions: the Prefect's faction, Ji Lie's faction, and the neutrals. To win over another steward would cost too much."

"So what if it costs a lot?" Yuchi Xue complained.

"Yes, paying a huge price could make our son the Prefect," Ji Yichuan said, frowning. "But if our son is incompetent, sitting in the Prefect's seat would only bring him suffering—endless misery! That would be torture!"

Yuchi Xue was taken aback.

"I don't want our son to suffer," Ji Yichuan said slowly. "That's why I proposed seizing the Golden Sword."

"If our son is gifted with extraordinary talent and insight, and advances rapidly, he will naturally be able to seize the Golden Sword. By doing so, he would claim the Prefect's position without any objections," Ji Yichuan said. "But if he cannot seize the Golden Sword, then let him live a leisurely life. I, Ji Yichuan, will protect him all his life, letting him live without worries."

Yuchi Xue fell into thought.

She understood.

Being Prefect doesn't necessarily mean a carefree life. If one is strong, they can naturally hold the position. But if one is incompetent... even if forced into the seat, it would only bring suffering.

"Yichuan, I wronged you," Yuchi Xue said softly.

Ji Yichuan just lowered his head and touched his son's little face. "His eyes are wide open—this little one woke up long ago."

"By the way, Yichuan, what name shall we give our child?" Yuchi Xue asked quickly. "When I asked you during pregnancy, you were never satisfied with any name. Now that the child is born, we should think of a suitable one."

"A name follows our son for life," Ji Yichuan said. "How could I not be careful? I hadn't decided before, but just now a name came to me... Let's name our son 'Ning.' Whether his life is calm or turbulent, whether he is weak or strong, he must always keep a peaceful heart."

"Ning?" Yuchi Xue murmured. "Ji Ning, Ji Ning..."

Ji Ning?

The baby held in his mother's arms stared wide-eyed. Was it the First Judge, Lord Cui, who had set his name in the Book of Life and Death for his next life? Or was it just a coincidence?

Was he also called Ji Ning in this life?

...

The strongest in the West Prefecture of the Ji clan was 'Drip Sword' Ji Yichuan.

The second was 'Fire God' Ji Lie.

Inside Ji Lie's mansion.

"Congratulations, Father, congratulations!" said a middle-aged man with dozens of braids. "Ji Yichuan is arrogant and blind—he actually wants his son to seize the Golden Sword! In the thousand years of our West Prefecture, no one has ever become Prefect by seizing the Golden Sword."

An old man with fiery red hair and a small crimson snake on his ear suddenly slapped the armrest. "Back in my youth, I should have been Prefect! But I was too ostentatious back then and fell into the hands of my elder brother, Ji Youyang. That old Ji Youyang sat in the Prefect's seat for a full eighty years!"

"Eighty years!"

"I kept waiting, kept waiting—every day was torture," Ji Lie gritted his teeth. "I never expected the direct line to produce a Ji Yichuan! Truly a peerless talent. Fortunately, fortunately, this Ji Yichuan is devoted to cultivation and has no interest in being Prefect. This time, Ji Yichuan is too proud, choosing such a path for his son."

"Heaven wants us to take the Prefect's seat," the middle-aged man said excitedly.

"Don't rush."

Ji Lie bellowed, "The fall I took in my youth taught me... never be too happy too early before true success! We need to make preparations!"

"What do you mean, Father?" the middle-aged man asked.

Ji Lie frowned in thought.

Time passed slowly. The middle-aged man sat to one side, not daring to disturb, knowing his father was deep in contemplation.

"Hmm!" Ji Lie said in a low voice. "Let's do it this way."

The middle-aged man looked at his father. "Father, what do you plan?"

"To obtain the Golden Sword, one must defeat all the tribal youths and Ji clan disciples," Ji Lie said darkly. "The Ji clan disciples are few in number but receive abundant treasures and secret manuals, while the tribal youths are numerous but get few treasures. Even so, in the Golden Sword Ceremony held every four years, only once in five or six ceremonies does a Ji clan disciple barely manage to win."

The middle-aged man nodded. "There are too many tribal youths; some with extraordinary talent always emerge. But no matter how gifted, we never teach them the true ultimate arts of our Ji clan, only second-rate ones. Even if these tribal youths excel in the Golden Sword Ceremony, after seventy or eighty years, the strong ones will mainly be from our Ji clan."

"What I mean is..." Ji Lie said darkly, "select the best few among the tribal youths, give them abundant resources, and train them vigorously. Without my cultivation, these tribal prodigies are already formidable; once they receive my training, they will soar to even greater heights. I refuse to believe that Ji Yichuan's son can sweep all opponents and claim the Golden Sword."

"Right, right," the middle-aged man nodded repeatedly.

Ordinarily, tribal youths and Ji clan disciples were treated completely differently.

Ji clan disciples were family, so they naturally received many benefits. Toward the tribal youths, one had to both win them over and keep them under control. But this time... go all out to cultivate the best few!

"Father, this way, Ji Yichuan's son is sure to lose," the middle-aged man said confidently.

"Hahaha..." Ji Lie laughed. "Remember, place some people on Ji Yichuan's side. I need to know the progress of his son's strength. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

"Yes!" The middle-aged man's eyes lit up.

...

On the warm little bed, Yuchi Snow gently laid her son down.

"Ning'er, be good, go to sleep." Yuchi Snow lightly kissed her son's cheek, then lay down on the bed.

Ji Ning made a wry face.

He smacked his lips. He had just drunk milk, and it felt strange.

Everything he had experienced in the past twenty-four hours was too thrilling and unbelievable. First, he crossed the Bridge of Helplessness, and just as he was about to drink Meng Po's soup, the underworld was thrown into great turmoil, as if the sky were falling and the earth splitting. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and leaped into the Path of Rebirth as a human, being reborn into this world.

A snow-white big dog—was that his Uncle Bai?

A black snake over a hundred meters long, with a head as big as a house, capable of transforming into a black-haired middle-aged man—was that his Uncle Hei?

And now they wanted him to win the Golden Sword and become the Prefecture Lord?

Did they ever ask for my opinion?

"Sigh, a baby has no rights," Ji Ning licked the milk from the corner of his mouth, then reined in his thoughts. A hint of anticipation flickered in his eyes. "Time to cultivate!"

On his first day in this world, Ji Ning sensed the power of his clan. Could a clan that ruled countless tribes be ordinary? But clearly, the position of Prefecture Lord was coveted by all sides. The old man with the crimson snake on his ear had considerable influence, daring to contend with the Prefecture Lord and challenge his own father.

Whatever!

He was just a baby; there was no need to worry about so much. The most important thing now was to cultivate, to practice the visualization method, the "Nuwa Diagram."

According to what Prefecture Lord Cui said, even if he were reborn in the Heavenly Realm, this visualization method would allow him to stand out among the heavenly soldiers and generals, let alone in the mortal world. It must be one of the most supreme visualization methods in the mortal realm. Such a precious visualization technique, deeply imprinted in his memory, was his greatest foundation for establishing himself in this world.

He had had enough of the eighteen years of illness in his past life, the exhaustion from walking for half an hour, the powerlessness under the torment of disease! He had also had enough of the helplessness in the face of death! Enough! All of it! There was only one path to control his own destiny, and that was the path of immortal cultivation that Prefecture Lord Cui had spoken of!

Only by cultivating immortality!

Ji Ning closed his eyes and began to visualize.

Threads of primordial energy slowly entered Ji Ning's body, absorbed into his sea of consciousness, strengthening his soul. Because only a wisp of primordial energy was absorbed, even Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow could not detect it.

A visualization method that could draw in and absorb primordial energy?

This was incredible.

Because this was not an immortal cultivation technique or a demonic secret art. If it were an immortal cultivation technique, even wildly devouring vast amounts of primordial energy would be normal. But a visualization method, even if it only absorbed a wisp of primordial energy... was still unbelievable.

"Whoosh..." "Whoosh..." Wisps of primordial energy continuously entered Ji Ning's infant body.

Each influx of primordial energy also washed through Ji Ning's body. A newborn is purest at birth, but after birth, it becomes tainted by worldly dust. At this moment, however, Ji Ning had little filth, and after being washed, he quickly became incomparably pure again, as pure as the moment of birth.