Chapter 6: The Great Yan Martial Saint |
Spring passed, and autumn came.
Ning Qi was almost one year old.
But with Innate Spiritual Radiance nourishing him, supplemented by peerless medical techniques, his body developed quickly—he already looked about three years old.
Ning Qi had optimized the Innate Bone-Nourishing Technique several more times.
At last, he felt there was no further room for improvement.
He had reached the limit of what he could currently achieve.
Based on the current pace, he estimated that his Bone Foundation would fully form by the age of three!
This speed was far beyond what Daoist Longshan had previously predicted.
It might only seem like a few years earlier, but the earlier, the harder—training at three versus at six wasn’t just twice as difficult, it could be several times harder.
His Bone Foundation took shape faster with each passing day.
Not only that, but his physical growth was also accelerating.
A body too small would always be inconvenient, and Ning Qi hoped to grow up quickly.
Since he couldn’t yet focus on martial cultivation, Ning Qi didn’t waste time either—he read all kinds of classical texts every day, regardless of subject, just to deepen his foundation.
He possessed Full-level Comprehension, a gift never seen before—but creation never comes from nothing.
Take medicine, for instance.
Even without previous texts to draw from, Ning Qi could experiment, summarize, and eventually forge a medical path of his own—perhaps even reach unprecedented heights—but that would cost significantly more time.
So why not stand on the shoulders of those who came before him and look farther?
Others might not have Ning Qi’s talent, but the accumulation of generations couldn’t be underestimated—some flashes of inspiration were truly stunning.
The same held true in other fields.
Even though he hadn’t started martial training yet,
Ning Qi was already preparing.
Learning from people, from texts, from heaven and earth, and from nature itself.
Gathering the strengths of a hundred schools to forge his own path.
This was how Full-level Comprehension should be used.
The Zhenwu Sect held a vast collection of texts, more than enough to occupy Ning Qi for a long time—sometimes, reading the same thing twice would spark new realizations. In particular, some Daoist texts contained deeply profound truths, greatly benefiting Ning Qi. All of this added to his foundation—he only needed a key to unlock the treasure.
“If one day I could read through the entire Great Yan collection, I’m afraid my foundation would reach an unprecedented level.”
“If someday I could absorb the ideas of all living beings, how exhilarating that would be—maybe even the path to Immortality would be within reach!”
Just imagining it,
Ning Qi found himself longing for it.
He never forgot—his ultimate goal was Immortality.
These days,
His senior brothers and sisters would occasionally go down the mountain to train. When they returned, they’d bring Ning Qi little trinkets or share stories of what they’d seen. As Ning Qi showed more and more extraordinary traits, they unconsciously stopped treating him like a baby under a year old.
Thanks to this,
And the written records,
Ning Qi gained a deeper understanding of the dynasty he lived in.
“The Great Yan rules over thirteen provinces, vast in territory—just Qingzhou alone is larger than the entire country in my previous life. Martial sects are abundant throughout the land, but most are under imperial authority and require royal approval.”
“For example, when Master rebuilt the Zhenwu Sect, he not only won the sect's foundation from the owner of Divine Sword Mountain through a wager, but also needed the endorsement of the Governor of Qingzhou to gain official recognition.”
Flipping through the Great Yan Records in his hand, his eyes were full of surprise.
“But the most incredible thing is—Great Yan has stood for two thousand years! Just this one dynasty alone has lasted as long as nearly half the ancient history in my previous world!”
“This must be related to the long lifespans of Martial Artists in this world. Heaven-Man Realm cultivators live up to eight hundred years—if they have some longevity techniques, maybe even over a thousand. As for Martial Saints, they might actually live for thousands of years!”
“And the founding of dynasties is often directly tied to Martial Saints. A Martial Saint is peerless— even Heaven-Man masters are no match. If a Martial Saint wanted to establish a dynasty, it wouldn’t be hard. The Great Yan Dynasty was indeed founded by the Great Yan Martial Saint.”
Ning Qi had a thought and couldn’t help but voice it:
“Two thousand years of Great Yan rule... I wonder if the Great Yan Martial Saint is still alive?”
Martial Saint was his goal, but beings of that level were incredibly rare—some eras might only produce one, like a dragon seen once in a lifetime.
A cheerful voice came from afar:
“Of course he’s alive. Otherwise the world would’ve fallen into chaos already.”
Ning Qi looked over.
He saw a figure speeding toward him—within a few steps, she stood before him. Her blue Daoist robe was a bit loose, but couldn’t hide her slim and delicate figure. Looking up, her beautiful apricot eyes sparkled with laughter.
Ye Qinghe first pinched Ning Qi’s soft, fair cheeks, then pulled him into a tight hug, making it hard for him to breathe.
“Little Nine, did you miss your Third Senior Sister?”
Ning Qi frowned repeatedly and struggled to jump away.
“Senior Sister, you’ve been drinking again!”
He caught a strong whiff of alcohol—it was pungent.
Ye Qinghe giggled and pulled out a gourd like a magic trick, taking a big swig. The wine trickled down her pale neck and into her robe.
“Wine is a worldly treasure. A woman who doesn’t drink isn’t a good woman. Little Nine, you’re still too young to understand.”
She pulled out a tiny wine cup from who-knows-where and filled it to the brim.
“Wanna try?”
Seeing Ye Qinghe’s expectant gaze, Ning Qi had a full head of black lines.
Giving alcohol to a one-year-old?
Seriously?!
Ye Qinghe teased him:
“Drink a little, and I’ll tell you a secret about the Great Yan Dynasty.”
Ning Qi reluctantly took a sip. It didn’t affect him—Ye Qinghe’s wine was rare and harmless. Still, he had no real interest in alcohol.
Ye Qinghe clapped and laughed:
“That’s why I like you, Little Nine. You get me. Not like Qin Yun and the others—so boring.”
Ning Qi just rolled his eyes.
Ye Qinghe took the Great Yan Records from his hand, curling her lip.
“This thing’s full of official nonsense. Sure, the Great Yan Dynasty has ruled for two thousand years—the longest in history—but it’s had plenty of upheavals.”
Ning Qi perked up immediately.
“And none of those times brought down Great Yan?”
Ye Qinghe shook her head:
“Nope. Every time things reached a critical point, a Martial Saint from Great Yan stepped in, crushed all opposition, and renewed the dynasty’s fate.”
“The Great Yan Martial Saint is still alive? He hasn’t ascended in two thousand years?” Ning Qi’s eyes widened.
Ye Qinghe took another swig.
“Actually, what I said earlier might not be entirely accurate.”
“There’s a rumor that Martial Saints, having reached the pinnacle of the Martial Path, can break through to another world. After each Martial Saint shines for a time, they eventually disappear—seemingly unable to stay in this world too long.”
“That’s why previous dynasties didn’t last as long—most only lasted a few centuries, at most a thousand years.”
“But Great Yan is the exception.”
Ye Qinghe tilted the gourd, watching the last few drops fall slowly. She frowned in disappointment, but still carefully swallowed the remaining wine.
Still unsatisfied, she said:
“Some say the Great Yan Martial Saint was a once-in-a-generation genius, but he loved power too much to ascend. He used a secret technique to avoid the world’s rejection—he can stay, but can’t act freely. He only shows up when Great Yan is truly in danger.”
“Others say the Great Yan Martial Saint already ascended long ago—but he created a world-shaking secret technique that allows the royal family to continuously produce Martial Saints. That’s why Great Yan never declines—every Great Yan Martial Saint, before ascending, cultivates a successor using this secret method.”
“So yes, there’s definitely a Martial Saint in Great Yan. As for whether it’s the original one—no one knows. No one’s ever seen his true face.”
Ye Qinghe gave a little shrug.
Ning Qi’s brow twitched, and he stayed silent for a long time. He hadn’t expected the Great Yan Dynasty to have such hidden secrets.