Du Juan and Xi Que were Jiang Hao's two maidservants.
Jiang Dahai had become a father late in life. He held Jiang Hao in his palm for fear of dropping him, kept him in his mouth for fear of melting him, and spoiled him beyond measure.
Yet even under such doting care, Du Juan and Xi Que found Jiang Hao remarkably composed.
For a child of one year and three months, the word "composed" might have seemed rather abrupt.
But on Jiang Hao, it did not seem abrupt at all.
At that moment, Jiang Hao stood on the steps in split-crotch pants, staring without blinking at a group of martial artists below who were training their strength.
They were the guards of Jiang Manor.
They were all martial men Jiang Dahai had recruited at great expense.
Jiang Hao did not disturb those guards.
Nor did he make a fuss.
And those guards seemed accustomed to it, finding nothing strange about it.
Jiang Hao watched with great focus, but no matter how mature he was, he was still only one year old.
Thus, Jiang Hao took a deep breath and said to the maidservants, "I need to pee."
"Yes, Young Master."
Du Juan and Xi Que hurried forward, held Jiang Hao, and squatted down.
Jiang Hao closed his eyes in humiliation.
After he finished peeing, Jiang Hao focused his attention, and a set of data appeared before his eyes.
Bone Quality: 1.8 Comprehension: 1.5 Spirit: 1.7
This was the result of Jiang Hao's efforts over the past year.
Each talent had increased by 0.4.
Of the three talents, Bone Quality had the highest value.
Perhaps because his Bone Quality had increased, Jiang Hao was in excellent health. He had scarcely ever fallen ill—not even with a cold.
His body was clearly far stronger than that of children his age.
Moreover, as his Comprehension and Spirit increased, Jiang Hao had experienced some benefits as well.
For instance, the increase in Spirit kept Jiang Hao brimming with energy every day.
Even when he was tired, a short rest allowed him to recover quickly.
Then there was the increase in Comprehension, which had strengthened Jiang Hao's memory. He could not claim to remember everything at a glance, but anything he had seen left more or less an impression on him.
Because of that, Jiang Hao had begun learning to read at the age of one, and within a few months, he had recognized many characters.
Only Bone Quality remained something Jiang Hao had yet to understand.
Still, he had some guesses. It was most likely related to martial arts practice.
The place where Jiang Hao lived was called Cang City.
There were no dynasties or nations here.
Cang City was governed by the City Lord's Mansion, which in turn was subordinate to the Huangtian Sect.
The Huangtian Sect was a martial arts sect.
This was a world where martial arts flourished!
Jiang Hao had observed the guards of Jiang Manor for a long time. Although he suspected that Bone Quality was related to martial arts, he still needed to ask about it clearly.
"Du Juan, go invite Uncle Pan over."
"Yes, Young Master."
Liu Pan was an old hand of Jiang Manor and also the captain of the guards. In his younger years, he had followed Jiang Dahai in business and saved Jiang Dahai several times. His ties with Jiang Manor ran deep, so even Jiang Hao had to call Liu Pan "Uncle."
"Young Master, you wished to see me?"
Liu Pan was a brawny man, his muscles knotted all over his body as he radiated a powerful presence.
"Uncle Pan, I want to ask, what is Bone Quality?"
"Bone Quality?"
Liu Pan was slightly taken aback.
Although Jiang Hao was very young, only one year old, everyone in Jiang Manor knew that the Young Master had shown wisdom beyond his years.
Therefore, Liu Pan pondered for a moment before answering, "Young Master, Bone Quality can be understood as one's aptitude for martial arts. The better one's Bone Quality, the easier it is to practice martial arts."
"For example, some people are born with extraordinary strength. That is an exceptionally special Bone Quality. Once they practice martial arts, they will possess a greater advantage than ordinary people."
"Others might practice martial arts for ten years and still have poorer physical fitness than someone who has practiced for one year. That is the difference in Bone Quality."
Jiang Hao fell into thought.
This was basically in line with his guesses.
From this, he could also infer the function of Comprehension.
With good Comprehension, one would achieve better results when learning martial arts moves.
Others might need to watch something three times before remembering it, while someone with good Comprehension could remember it after one viewing and might even draw inferences from one instance to another.
As for Spirit, he did not yet know what use it had.
"Uncle Pan, then can I practice martial arts?"
Jiang Hao asked.
"Of course you can, Young Master, but not now."
"Though martial arts training must be cultivated from a young age, one cannot start too young. You need to be at least around six years old before you can begin, otherwise it will harm your body."
"Six years old?"
Jiang Hao frowned.
He was only a little over one year old now.
Six years old?
He still had to wait nearly five years.
"Uncle Pan, when I turn six, can I train in martial arts with you?"
Jiang Hao asked again.
"Hahaha, Young Master, what do my crude countryside tricks amount to? Teaching you would only hold you back."
"When the Young Master reaches the age to practice martial arts, Master will certainly spend heavily to invite a famous teacher for you."
"Still, no matter how good a famous teacher is, they cannot compare to the Huangtian Sect."
Jiang Hao's eyes lit up.
Of course he knew about the Huangtian Sect.
"How can one enter the Huangtian Sect?"
"That is difficult. The Huangtian Sect does not recruit disciples openly; one needs a recommendation. And those martial artists who possess recommendation slots are mostly from the City Lord's Mansion, or former disciples of the Huangtian Sect, and so on."
"As for the specifics, once the Young Master grows up, you can ask Master and understand."
Jiang Hao nodded.
"Thank you, Uncle Pan."
Jiang Hao took his leave and returned to his room with Du Juan and Xi Que.
"Du Juan, Xi Que, go out. I want to be alone for a while."
"Yes, Young Master."
Jiang Hao sorted through Liu Pan's words.
"Bone Quality and Comprehension are both indispensable for martial arts practice. However, Comprehension cannot be seen or touched, while Bone Quality is different. The first requirement for practicing martial arts is Bone Quality. Strong Bone Quality means talent, and talent will naturally receive attention."
"Therefore, during the next few years before I turn six, I will set Spirit aside for now. I will focus on raising Bone Quality, with Comprehension as a supplement, and strive to greatly improve both."
"Bone Quality determines a martial artist's lower limit. So every year, I'll spend ten months visualizing the Great Sun to improve my Bone Quality. The remaining two months will be spent visualizing the Blood Moon to improve my Comprehension."
Jiang Hao made a plan for improving his talents over the coming years.
However, that was still not enough!
He had to find a way to enter the Huangtian Sect.
Although he did not know how to obtain a Huangtian Sect recommendation slot, the experience from his previous life told him that reputation was sometimes very important.
Once one's reputation grew, one would naturally attract attention.
Although Jiang Hao could not practice martial arts before the age of six, there were many ways to spread his name.
One of them suited Jiang Hao particularly well.
That was "copying."
Although martial arts ruled the world in this world, poetry, songs, and prose still possessed influence.
Jiang Hao came from an age of exploding information.
Poems and verses famous through the ages all existed in his memories.
A little casual "copying" would be enough to spread his name far and wide.
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
Though it was the blazing height of summer, many people had gathered outside Jiang Manor.
However, they were mostly scholars and literati.
These scholars and literati stood beneath the scorching sun, waiting anxiously outside Jiang Manor.
When some merchants from other places saw this scene, they were greatly surprised. They immediately asked the locals, "What sort of place is Jiang Manor? Why are so many scholars gathered outside waiting?"
The local glanced at the merchants, then answered smugly, "You're outsiders, aren't you? They're all waiting for the Jiang Manor Young Master's latest poem."
"A poem? The Jiang Manor Young Master? Wait, could he be that child prodigy of Cang City—Jiang Hao, who was said to recognize writing at one, compose poetry at three, and have his poems spread across a hundred cities?"
"That's right. It seems you've heard of Young Master Jiang Hao's great name too."
The merchants from out of town were rather astonished.
They had heard of Jiang Hao's reputation as a child prodigy in other cities as well, but they had not really believed it. It was simply too outrageous.
A child only a few years old composing poetry was rare, but not unheard of.
But for every poem to be passed down through the ages—that was simply inconceivable.
"Then can we go to Jiang Manor and request a poem?"
"One poem by Young Master Jiang costs a hundred gold! And even then, it depends on your luck. Over the past few months, no one has managed to obtain a single poem from Jiang Manor."
"A hundred gold? Such a child prodigy is worth it. Let's try our luck."
The merchants from out of town walked toward Jiang Manor.
At that moment, inside Jiang Manor.
The maidservant Du Juan reported to Jiang Hao, "Young Master, a merchant from out of town has just offered two hundred gold in exchange for a new poem from you."
"Don't see him."
Jiang Hao waved a hand and refused without the slightest hesitation.
He did not lack money.
Neither did Jiang Manor.
In past years, in order to make a name for himself, he had even used some promotional methods to raise his own "value" to a hundred gold.
A single poem for a hundred gold—what an exorbitant price!
But the more expensive something was, the more people flocked to it like ducks.
"Have any powerful martial artists come to Jiang Manor?"
Jiang Hao asked.
"Reporting to Young Master, no. Master has recruited some more guards, though..."
Jiang Hao was somewhat disappointed.
He now knew what level those guards were at.
They were not even rated!
Over the past few years, Jiang Hao's reputation as a child prodigy had spread farther and farther, and his fame had grown ever greater.
Unfortunately, no matter how great his reputation became, it still had not caught the Huangtian Sect's attention.
Much less had they taken Jiang Hao into the Huangtian Sect.
He had waited for several years, yet no powerful martial artist had come to take him as a disciple.
Bone Quality: 6.8 Comprehension: 2.5 Spirit: 1.7
Jiang Hao was now more than six years old. Five years had passed, and his Bone Quality had nearly reached 7. His Comprehension had exceeded 2.5, while only his Spirit had not increased.
Judging from the numbers alone, his Bone Quality was nearly seven times that of an ordinary person!
With such formidable Bone Quality, once he began practicing martial arts, what sort of results would he achieve?
Unfortunately, Jiang Hao did not know just how much faster sevenfold Bone Quality would make his training.
After all, he had strictly obeyed Liu Pan's warning and absolutely had not practiced martial arts before turning six.
However, he was now already more than six years old.
He could begin practicing martial arts.
But martial arts required guidance, and it would be best if he could take a famous teacher as his master.
During this time, Jiang Hao had already asked his father to send people looking for a famous teacher.
He wondered whether there was any news.
"Young Master, Master asked you to go over. He said there is news regarding taking a master."
At that moment, Xi Que came running over, drenched in sweat.
"There's news? Quickly, let's go!"
Jiang Hao could not wait. He immediately had Xi Que lead the way to see Jiang Dahai.
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