Child Prodigy's Name

Du Juan and Xi Que were Jiang Hao's two maids.

Jiang Dahai had Jiang Hao late in life, doting on him immensely, treating him as if he were too precious to drop or melt.

Yet, despite this pampering, Du Juan and Xi Que found Jiang Hao to be a remarkably steady child.

For a child of one year and three months, the word "steady" might seem out of place.

But when applied to Jiang Hao, it felt perfectly fitting.

At this moment, Jiang Hao, wearing his split-crotch pants, stood on the steps, his gaze fixed on a group of martial artists below who were training their strength.

They were the guards of the Jiang Manor.

Jiang Dahai had recruited these martial men at great expense.

Jiang Hao did not disturb the guards.

Nor did he make a fuss.

The guards, it seemed, were accustomed to his presence and showed no surprise.

Jiang Hao watched intently, but no matter how mature he seemed, he was still only one year old.

So, Jiang Hao took a deep breath and said to his maids, "I need to pee."

"Okay, Young Master."

Du Juan and Xi Que quickly stepped forward to hold Jiang Hao, squatting down.

Jiang Hao shyly closed his eyes.

After peeing, Jiang Hao concentrated, and data appeared before his eyes.

Bone Root: 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.

Among the three talents, Bone Root had the highest value.

Perhaps due to the increase in Bone Root, Jiang Hao's physique was excellent; he had barely been sick, not even catching a cold.

His body was clearly much better than that of children his age.

And with the growth of Comprehension and Spirit, Jiang Hao had also experienced some benefits.

For instance, the increase in Spirit made Jiang Hao feel energetic every day.

Even when tired, he could recover quickly after a short rest.

Then there was the increase in Comprehension, which had strengthened Jiang Hao's memory. While he couldn't say he had a photographic memory, he could recall at least something about anything he had seen.

As a result, Jiang Hao had started learning to read at the age of one and, in just a few months, had recognized many characters.

Only Bone Root remained a mystery to Jiang Hao.

However, he had his suspicions, believing it was likely related to martial arts training.

The place where Jiang Hao lived was called Cang City.

There were no dynasties or empires here.

Cang City was managed by the City Lord's Mansion, which was under the jurisdiction of 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 the Jiang Manor for a long time. Although he suspected Bone Root was related to martial arts, he still wanted to clarify things.

"Du Juan, go invite Uncle Pan over."

"Yes, Young Master."

Liu Pan was an old retainer of the Jiang Manor and the captain of the guards. He had followed Jiang Dahai in business when he was young and had saved Jiang Dahai's life several times, thus having a deep connection with the Jiang family. It was for this reason that even Jiang Hao had to call Liu Pan "Uncle."

"Young Master, you were looking for me?"

Liu Pan was a burly man, his muscles bulging, exuding a powerful aura.

"Uncle Pan, I wanted to ask, what is Bone Root?"

"Bone Root?"

Liu Pan was slightly taken aback.

Although Jiang Hao was very young, only one year old, everyone in the Jiang Manor knew the young master was precocious.

Therefore, Liu Pan pondered for a moment before replying, "Young Master, Bone Root can be understood as one's aptitude for martial arts. The better the Bone Root, the easier it is to practice martial arts."

"For example, someone born with extraordinary strength possesses a very special Bone Root. Once they begin practicing martial arts, they will have a greater advantage over ordinary people."

"Or someone who practices martial arts for ten years but whose physical condition is inferior to someone who has practiced for only one year – that is the difference Bone Root makes."

Jiang Hao pondered.

This aligned with his basic guess.

From this, he could also deduce the role of comprehension.

With good comprehension, practicing martial arts techniques would be even more effective.

Others might take three tries to remember, but someone with good comprehension could remember it in one go, and even extrapolate from it.

As for spirit, its function was temporarily unknown.

"Uncle Pan, can I practice martial arts then?"

Jiang Hao asked.

"Young master can certainly practice martial arts, but not right now."

"Although martial arts training should start from a young age, it can't be too early. You need to be at least six years old before you can start, 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?

That was still about five years away.

"Uncle Pan, when I'm six, can I train with you?"

Jiang Hao asked again.

"Hahaha, young master, what are my mere farmer's tricks compared to anything? Teaching the young master would only delay him."

"When the young master reaches the age to practice martial arts, the master will definitely spend a lot of money to hire a renowned teacher for you."

"However, even the best renowned teacher can't compare to the Huangtian Sect."

Jiang Hao's eyes lit up.

He naturally knew about the Huangtian Sect.

"How can I join the Huangtian Sect?"

"That's very difficult. The Huangtian Sect doesn't openly recruit disciples; you need a recommendation. Those who have recommendation slots are mostly from the City Lord's Mansion, or former disciples of the Huangtian Sect, and so on."

"For the specific details, the young master can ask the master when he grows up."

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, you two go out. I want to be alone for a while."

"Yes, young master."

Jiang Hao sorted through Liu Pan's words.

"To practice martial arts, bone root and comprehension are both indispensable. However, comprehension is intangible, while bone root is different. The primary requirement for practicing martial arts is bone root. If your bone root is strong, you are naturally a genius and will receive attention."

"Therefore, for the next few years until I'm six, I'll temporarily ignore my spirit and focus on improving my bone root, with comprehension as a secondary focus, striving to greatly enhance both my bone root and comprehension."

"Bone root determines the lower limit of a martial artist. So, for ten months each year, I will meditate on the Great Sun to improve my bone root. The remaining two months will be spent meditating on the Blood Moon to improve comprehension."

Jiang Hao formulated a plan to improve his talent over the next few years.

However, this was not enough!

He had to find a way to enter the Huangtian Sect.

Although he didn't know how to get a spot in the Huangtian Sect, his past life experience told him that reputation was sometimes very important.

With a great reputation, he would naturally attract attention.

Even though Jiang Hao couldn't practice martial arts before the age of six, there were many ways to spread his reputation.

One method was particularly suitable for Jiang Hao.

That was "copying."

Although this world was dominated by the Martial Dao, poetry and songs still held influence.

Jiang Hao came from an era of information explosion.

The poems that would be famous for millennia were all in his memory.

A casual "copy" would be enough to spread his reputation.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

On a scorching summer day, many people gathered at the entrance of the Jiang Mansion.

However, these were basically all scholars and literati.

Scholars, dressed in their finest, waited anxiously outside the Jiang residence under the scorching sun.

Some traveling merchants, witnessing this scene, were quite surprised. They immediately asked a local, "Who exactly is this Jiang residence? Why are so many scholars gathered here waiting?"

The local glanced at the merchant and then replied proudly, "You must be from out of town, right? They're all waiting for the latest poems from the young master of the Jiang residence."

"Poems? The young master of the Jiang residence? Wait, could it be that renowned Child Prodigy of Cang City, the one they say could read at one year old and compose poetry at three, whose verses are known throughout a hundred cities – Jiang Hao?"

"That's right. It seems you've heard of young master Jiang Hao's great name."

The traveling merchant was quite astonished.

He had heard of the Child Prodigy Jiang Hao in other cities, but he didn't really believe it was true, as it seemed too outrageous.

A child of a few years old composing poetry, while rare, wasn't unheard of.

But for verses to be passed down through generations, that was simply unbelievable.

"Then, can we go to the Jiang residence to request a poem?"

"Young Master Jiang's poems fetch a hundred gold pieces each! And it depends on luck too. No one has managed to get a poem from the Jiang residence in the past few months."

"A hundred gold? Such a prodigy is certainly worth it. I'll try my luck."

The traveling merchant walked towards the Jiang residence.

Meanwhile, inside the Jiang residence.

The maid Du Juan was reporting to Jiang Hao, "Young Master, a merchant from out of town just offered two hundred gold for a new poem from you."

"I won't see him."

Jiang Hao waved his hand, refusing without the slightest hesitation.

He wasn't short on money.

The Jiang residence wasn't short on money either.

A few years ago, in order to build his reputation, he had even employed some publicity stunts, raising his "value" to a hundred gold pieces.

A poem for a hundred gold – how expensive was that?

But the more expensive it was, the more people flocked to it.

"Have any powerful martial artists come to the Jiang residence?"

Jiang Hao asked.

"Replying to Young Master, no. However, the Master has recruited some more guards..."

Jiang Hao was somewhat disappointed.

He now knew the skill level of those guards.

Incompetent!

If he wanted to practice martial arts, those guards would definitely not be suitable.

Over the past few years, the name Jiang Hao, the Child Prodigy, had spread further and further, his fame growing with each passing day.

Unfortunately, no matter how great his fame, it still hadn't attracted the attention of the Huangtian Sect.

Let alone being taken in by the Huangtian Sect.

He had waited for years, but no powerful martial artist had taken him as a disciple.

Bone Root: 6.8

Comprehension: 2.5

Spirit: 1.7

Jiang Hao was now over six years old. Five years had passed, and his Bone Root data was approaching 7, his Comprehension exceeding 2.5, only his Spirit had not increased.

Judging solely by the data, his Bone Root was almost seven times that of an ordinary person!

With such a powerful Bone Root, how effective would it be once he started practicing martial arts?

Unfortunately, Jiang Hao also didn't know how fast he would be able to practice martial arts with a seven-times-stronger Bone Root.

After all, he had strictly followed Liu Pan's warning, never practicing martial arts before the age of six.

However, he was now over six years old.

He could start practicing martial arts.

But practicing martial arts required guidance, preferably from a renowned master.

During this time, Jiang Hao had already asked his father to find a master for him.

He wondered if there was any news.

"Young Master, the Master wants to see you. He said there's news about the matter of finding a master."

At this moment, Xi Que ran over, sweating profusely.

"There's news? Let's go!"

Jiang Hao was impatient and immediately asked Xi Que to lead the way to see Jiang Dahai.

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