Chapter Five: The Ji Clan

The spring sunlight was especially bright, warming lazily on the skin.

A child with rosy lips and white teeth stood with arms outstretched, while a girl in animal skins quickly and carefully helped him into a fur coat. Another girl waited nearby holding an earthenware jar and a small basin; on the basin was coarse white salt, and the jar was full of clear water.

“In my past life, I was always sick and dressed myself. I never expected that in this life, though perfectly healthy, I’d be waited on by servants.” Ji Ning had been used to being served since birth. Even when he tried to dress himself, it frightened his two personal maids, ‘Chuncao’ and ‘Qiuye,’ who knelt trembling in terror.

“Give it to me.”

Once dressed, Ji Ning took the black earthenware jar and small basin, went outside, crouched by the corridor, and scooped some coarse white salt into his mouth to ‘brush his teeth.’

“What a tragic era—no toothbrush, so I have to use my fingers! No toothpaste, only salt!” Ji Ning quickly finished cleaning. Actually, he didn’t know why, but since birth he had always been clean, never had bad breath, and didn’t need to brush. But his mother always forced him to.

“Gurgle, gurgle…” Ji Ning tilted his head back, spat out the water, then handed the jar and basin to the maid Chuncao.

The maid Qiuye held a green stone washbasin. Ji Ning quickly washed his face and wiped it with a cloth.

“Qiuye,” Ji Ning blinked his big eyes, “in your tribe, do you also brush your teeth with salt?”

Though he was already four years old and had read many books in the clan’s library, learning much he needed to know, he wasn’t clear about life in other tribes.

“How could that be?” Qiuye had some freckles on her face. “In the tribe, even the salt mixed into food isn’t this white or clean, let alone for brushing teeth. The men and women in the tribe just rinse their teeth with water; many never brush their whole lives. And this earthenware jar—it’s used for boiling soup, very precious. How could it be used to hold water for brushing?”

Boiling soup?

Ji Ning blinked. That jar was also used for soup?

“Let’s go eat.” Ji Ning turned and strode out, followed by the two maids.

…

“Father, Mother.” Ji Ning entered the hall and stood to bow.

“Mm.”

Father Ji Yichuan sat at the head, mother sat to his left, and Ji Ning’s place was to the right. Before him was a black stone table bearing three fragrant meat dishes, thick soft flatbread, and an earthenware jar of hot water—this was his breakfast.

A four-year-old’s breakfast, if on Earth, would be enough for three grown men. But in this world, every child ate a lot, and he was no exception.

“Mm, smells delicious.” Ji Ning grabbed a piece of meat from one basin and ate directly. Even by Earthling tastes, it was a delicacy. Ji Ning knew that because his body was average in constitution, his diet had been special since childhood. The meat he ate wasn’t from ordinary beasts but from spiritual demonic beasts—expensive in outside tribes, but he ate it every day.

The effect was that Ji Ning was very strong!

“I’m done!” Ji Ning ate quickly, wolfing it down, then gulped down the entire jar of hot water.

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning ran out with a whoosh, followed closely by Chuncao and Qiuye.

Yuchi Xue watched her son run out and said with a smile, “Although Ning’er was average at birth because he was injured in the womb, his potential is great. Look, he can eat so much demonic beast meat every day; his body will keep improving.”

Ji Yichuan nodded slightly. Demonic beasts were different from ordinary beasts—they absorbed the energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, and their flesh contained energy. An ordinary child who ate such meat might not feel hungry for a day or two. But Ji Ning ate three meals a day, every meal, and his small body digested it all.

…

Two maids each carried a thick book behind Ji Ning, followed by eighteen tall, sturdy guards in crimson armor. The armor bore strange, mysterious runes that subtly drew on unknown power, making each guard exude a strong aura.

The Crimson Armor Guards were the elite of the Ji clan. The Western Prefecture of the Ji clan had only a hundred such guards, all under Ji Yichuan’s command.

Ji Yichuan had assigned eighteen Crimson Armor Guards to protect Ji Ning. Whenever Ji Ning left home, the eighteen guards stayed by his side.

“To the training grounds.” Ji Ning strolled leisurely.

Wherever he passed, no one dared block his way!

The Western Prefecture City was a majestic walled city, home to hundreds of thousands of people. Within the city were three massive structures: the Inner City, the Military Camp, and the Martial Hall.

The Inner City was where the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture lived and was the center of governance.

The Military Camp was where the troops under the Western Prefecture were stationed.

The Martial Hall was where the many tribal youths under the Western Prefecture’s rule and the Ji clan disciples trained.

There was a direct passage between the inner city and the Martial Hall, so Ji Ning led his servants and guards directly to the training grounds of the Martial Hall. On the vast training grounds, thousands of youths were practicing.

"Look, it's Ji Ning!"

"Is he the only son of 'Dripping Sword' Ji Ning?"

"The book that female slave beside him is holding? I once saw traveling merchants selling books in our tribe; it took a thousand horned sheep skins to exchange for one."

The youths on the training grounds whispered among themselves. Many of them had long been familiar with this child and knew he was the son of Ji Yichuan, the number one expert of the Ji clan's western prefecture, 'Dripping Sword'. Quite a few youths even liked this child, because although Ji Ning was of noble birth, he never bullied them. But no matter how much they liked him, they dared not approach and tease him.

"Whew." Ji Ning sat in a chair, his eyes full of excitement.

In his past life, he had often been alone, and deep down Ji Ning loved lively scenes.

"Give me the book." Ji Ning took a thick book from Chun Cao's hands. The book was very thick, about twenty centimeters thick, and the paper was made from the finely processed hide of some beast. In this era where slaves still existed, books were a luxury, but Ji Ning could freely browse the library and even take a few books out.

Since his birth, Ji Ning had mainly done two things—

The first was to meditate on the "Nuwa Painting." After his soul grew strong, his physique became robust, and he even developed a photographic memory. Half a month ago, he had even achieved the ability to do two things at once.

Doing two things at once, such as writing an essay with his left hand while painting with his right, as if his mind were split into two parts, each not interfering with the other.

Actually, this was not strange. According to books, cultivators could multitask, controlling several magic treasures simultaneously in attack. The "Nuwa Painting" was truly profound; after meditating on it for a little over two years, Ji Ning's soul had grown strong enough to do two things at once.

The second thing was reading!

Half a year after his birth, when Ji Ning could babble a few words, he would hold a book and point at pictographic characters, saying, "This, this, this..." Chun Cao and Qiu Ye, chosen as his personal maids, were both literate and naturally dared not refuse to answer. Since the characters were pictographic, they could guess many, and Ji Ning quickly learned the script.

After that, he began to read!

As the saying goes, 'sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of firewood.' Although from the moment of birth he had been determined to embark on the path of immortality, Ji Ning understood the principle that haste makes waste. Reading was the 'sharpening of the axe' on the path of immortality; first, he needed to understand the situation of this world, and also learn about the process of cultivation, its various categories, and everything else.

After knowing this, he would have a foundation in his heart, and only then could he make the best choice!

After reading many books, Ji Ning also learned that the Ji clan's western prefecture was a small power within the vast territory of the Xia Dynasty.

The territory governed by the Ji clan's western prefecture stretched over three thousand li from north to south and over five thousand li from east to west. Countless tribes living on this land were all under the rule of the Ji clan's western prefecture!

And this was only the Ji clan's western prefecture.

The Ji clan was a very ancient tribe, divided into the main prefecture, eastern prefecture, western prefecture, southern prefecture, and northern prefecture. The five prefectures together formed the complete Ji clan!

However...

The Xia Dynasty was too vast. Its territory was nearly boundless, and this ancient dynasty had been born in the 'Age of Gods and Demons.' It had safely passed through that distant and terrifying age, existing for countless millions of years. A dynasty that could exist for countless millions of years made Ji Ning shudder.

The Ji clan was merely a small power in the vast territory of the Xia Dynasty. Of course, to the countless surrounding tribes, the Ji clan was the absolute overlord!

"Truly a world where immortals and demons lurk," Ji Ning sighed inwardly. "For a mortal dynasty to last a thousand years is a miracle, but in a world where cultivators exist, the foundation of an ancient and powerful dynasty is beyond imagination."

"Well, I've been in this world for two years now. I know a lot about cultivation. It's time to start practicing."

Because he was born in winter, shortly after his birth the New Year came, and he was considered two years old then.

Although he was now four, he had only been in this world for two years.

...

That evening.

In the great hall, candles as thick as a child's arm were lit on both sides, making the entire hall very bright. His father still sat in the main seat, his mother sat on the left side, and Ji Ning sat on the right side. On the table were still meat dishes, along with several plates of vegetables and noodles.

"Gulp, gulp!" Ji Ning devoured the meat and noodles on his table with lightning speed, then looked up. "Father, Mother!"

"Hmm, something on your mind?" Ji Yichuan looked at his son, and Yuchi Xue also looked at her son.

Although they were delighted by their son's intelligence, they were not surprised, because in this vast world, there were beings of almost monstrous intelligence.

"I want to cultivate!" Ji Ning said solemnly. "I want to become an immortal!"

Yuchi Xue looked at her son's serious expression and laughed. "Become an immortal? Yichuan, our son wants to become an immortal!"

"Become an immortal?" Ji Yichuan looked at his son, still with a cold face. "Do you know what it means to become an immortal?"