Chapter 3: Eight Years Is Too Long |
Zhenwu Mountain.
Like a sharp sword piercing straight into the clouds, steep and majestic—it was originally known as Divine Sword Mountain, but ever since Daoist Longshan won it in a bet against the former master of Divine Sword Mountain, he rebuilt the Zhenwu Sect here.
Gradually, this mountain became known as Zhenwu Mountain.
Among the thirteen provinces under the Great Yan Dynasty, Zhenwu Mountain was located on the border of Qingzhou and Yunzhou. Daoist Longshan carried Ning Qi, occasionally stopping along the way to find some food for him, so their speed wasn’t very fast.
At the foot of the mountain.
Daoist Longshan let out a breath of relief. It was good to finally be back on his own turf.
Along the way, he had been worried someone might ambush them. Thinking back now, the mastermind behind the attack probably believed Ning Qi had perished in the blaze, unaware that Xue Mei Manor had left behind a single survivor.
That made him all the more determined not to reveal Ning Qi’s identity for now, so as to avoid bringing danger upon him.
Ning Qi looked curiously at the mountain ahead—Zhenwu Mountain.
This world resembled the feudal society of his past life, and the ruling dynasty was called the Great Yan. But unlike ancient times in his previous world, this one had powerful beings known as martial artists, and martial culture was flourishing.
Martial artists.
Those who pursued the martial path, their combat strength and lifespans far exceeded ordinary people.
At the lower levels, they could split rocks and tear apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands. At the highest levels, they could send sword qi spanning a hundred feet, slicing rivers in two.
And his master, Daoist Longshan, belonged to the latter group, with a formidable reputation across the land.
This made Ning Qi secretly click his tongue in amazement, but also gave him some comfort. Even though he started off as an orphan and things weren’t exactly smooth, at least he had a great master.
At that moment.
A group of strong, agile Daoists had already come out to greet them. There were youths and teens, and even a female Daoist among them. When they saw Daoist Longshan, they all grew excited and respectfully saluted:
“Greetings, Master!”
Daoist Longshan gave a slight nod.
These were the eight disciples he had previously accepted. Each one was exceptionally gifted. He held high hopes that one day, they would restore the glory of the Zhenwu Sect.
“Wentian, has everything been well within the sect lately?”
Daoist Longshan looked toward the sturdy-faced young man standing at the front—his eldest disciple, Luo Wentian.
Luo Wentian respectfully replied:
“Master, the disciples’ training continues as usual. Everyone is diligently cultivating.”
The entire Zhenwu Sect.
There were several hundred disciples.
They were divided into outer sect and inner sect disciples, as well as eight personal disciples like Luo Wentian, who were known as the true heirs.
Daoist Longshan smiled with satisfaction:
“Diligence is good, but remember to balance work and rest.”
“We shall keep Master’s teachings in mind. Was your trip to Xue Mei Manor smooth?”
The disciples looked curious—not so much about their master’s whereabouts, but more about the baby in his arms. Especially the only female disciple, Ye Qinghe, and the youngest male Daoist, Qin Yun. The two were already making faces at Ning Qi, trying to get a reaction.
But Ning Qi simply rolled his eyes and ignored them.
It’s not like he was some clueless baby.
That only made the two even more intrigued, and they couldn’t help but smile.
Daoist Longshan didn’t keep them in suspense. He didn’t mention what had happened at Xue Mei Manor, only smiled and said:
“This baby is named Ning Qi. From now on, he will be your Ninth Junior Brother.”
Upon hearing this.
Everyone was surprised.
After all, ever since their master established the sect, he had rarely taken on true disciples directly. Luo Wentian and the other seven had all worked their way up from outer disciples before being accepted.
Only Qin Yun, who had joined ten years ago, was an exception—accepted as a true disciple from the start. But Qin Yun’s talent was extraordinary. Daoist Longshan had called him a once-in-a-lifetime genius, with a sliver of hope to reach the Heaven-Man Realm.
But now, after ten years, their master had accepted another disciple—an infant.
And they all knew the significance of the Ninth Disciple within the Zhenwu Sect.
Could it be that this baby also possessed unrivaled talent?
Everyone congratulated:
“Congratulations, Master, on finding such a fine disciple!”
Daoist Longshan simply smiled.
Qin Yun couldn’t wait to take Ning Qi from Ye Qinghe. He playfully poked Ning Qi’s chubby cheeks with a grin, affection all over his face. He had always been the youngest—until now.
Qin Yun’s voice was filled with excitement and boldness:
“After ten years, Master has taken a disciple again. The Nine Sons of Zhenwu are finally complete!”
“Give Little Junior Brother eighteen years, and we’ll shake the entire Great Yan together, bringing Zhenwu Sect back to its former glory!”
Everyone laughed heartily.
Their eyes filled with hope.
Daoist Longshan was no different.
The Nine Sons of Zhenwu.
It was a title that came with the Zhenwu legacy, tightly tied to its inner teachings.
The Zhenwu legacy claimed that if the Nine Sons all reached the Heaven-Man Realm, they could rival a Martial Saint.
Because of this.
The Zhenwu Sect didn’t necessarily have a Martial Saint in every generation, but it never feared one either.
They had once flourished.
But for reasons unknown, the sect eventually vanished from history.
All these years, he had never taken on a ninth disciple. Who would have thought he’d meet Ning Qi by chance—it must be fate.
“The Nine Sons of Zhenwu, huh?”
Ning Qi listened to their heartfelt laughter and couldn’t help but smile.
His senior brothers and sister all seemed pretty great.
He started to feel a little hopeful about life at Zhenwu Mountain.
...
In fact.
His senior brothers and sister really were wonderful.
Maybe because he was the youngest and the last to join, they all spoiled him, especially Third Senior Sister Ye Qinghe and Eighth Senior Brother Qin Yun. They’d come play with him every other day.
At first, Ning Qi resisted. But eventually, he began to accept it.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
He had fully integrated into the Zhenwu Sect.
During this half year.
Ning Qi also began to show his extraordinary qualities. Maybe because of the dense innate spiritual radiance in his body, his growth was far faster than a normal infant’s.
With full-level comprehension, he learned everything at lightning speed.
Recognizing words and reading were just the basics.
At only six months old, he could already walk steadily on his own and speak clearly. This stunned everyone, who started calling him a prodigy. They eagerly awaited what he would achieve in martial arts once his bones fully developed.
And that was just what he let others see. In truth, Ning Qi was far more impressive than they imagined.
Because his body wasn’t fully developed, he couldn’t train in martial arts yet.
Once he learned the written language of this world, he buried himself in the Zhenwu Sect’s miscellaneous texts.
Astronomy, geomancy, divination, medicine...
Anything he could study, he didn’t skip.
In a way, he was laying the foundation for his future in martial arts.
With full-level comprehension, Ning Qi never worried about overloading himself. Even through self-study alone, he reached a profound level in many fields.
Daoist Longshan and the others simply thought he was a curious child flipping through books. They had no idea how far Ning Qi had gone.
Take medicine, for instance.
Ning Qi could already be called a master physician.
Based on the theories from various medical texts, he created his own school of medicine—Ning’s Medical Treatise—and even invented brilliant acupuncture techniques like Suspended Needle Method, Golden Needle Meridian Transfer, and Thirteen Ghost Gates.
Though he couldn’t yet apply some techniques without martial cultivation, once he could, he’d surely take things to another level.
Even now.
Ning Qi had already come up with many ideas, just waiting for the strength to put them into action.
Lately.
Now that he could walk steadily, Ning Qi had been pondering one question.
And that was.
How to speed up the development of his bones and start training in martial arts as soon as possible.
According to his senior brothers, most people’s bones didn’t fully develop until they were eight years old, with only a rare few reaching that stage earlier due to special physiques.
He thought—waiting until eight years old was just too long.
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