Jiang Ning

Luoshui County.

Early morning.

Strands of dawn pierced the clouds, shining upon the ancient city walls.

The once-quiet Luoshui County had long since come alive. Hawking cries already filled the crisscrossing avenues of the county seat, and everywhere was a scene of bustle and clamorous trade.

To the east of Luoshui County, in a small courtyard enclosed by a fence.

Jiang Ning sat cross-legged on a wooden chair facing the sun, elbows resting on his knees and chin propped in his palms. He held a book in his hands and quietly turned its pages.

[Mythological Era Record]

It was a miscellaneous book recording tales of deities.

Before Great Xia, according to the book, this had been a world where Divine Humans and mortals coexisted.

Rivers had gods, mountains and valleys had gods; deities were everywhere.

Though it was a seemingly absurd miscellaneous book, Jiang Ning read it with extraordinary seriousness, completely absorbed.

[Literacy Experience Points +1]

[Literacy Experience Points +1]

After a long while, Jiang Ning turned to the final page. He slowly withdrew his gaze and completely closed the miscellaneous book in his hand.

[During this reading session, Literacy Experience Points increased by a total of 8.]

The next moment.

A Panel instantly appeared before him, one that only he could see.

[Name]: Jiang Ning

[Source Energy]: 13.5

[Skills]: Literacy (Perfected Realm 968/1000) (Trait: None)

"It's finally almost full! I wonder what changes will occur once this Literacy skill reaches its maximum."

Looking at his Panel, Jiang Ning felt greatly invigorated.

Over the past few days, he had read through every book in the house, from ancient records and general histories to every kind of classic and essential text.

With the help of those books, he had finally ground this skill step by step from Initiation to Proficiency, Minor Completion, and then Great Completion.

With every breakthrough, he felt his mind become clearer, his thoughts turn faster, and his ears and eyes grow sharper.

As far as he knew, this was clearly the effect of a strengthened spirit.

In Great Xia, under the Confucian Path, reading could nourish the spirit!

After this period of diligent reading, he had already discovered the wonders of the Panel.

This Panel possessed the power to turn decay into magic. So long as he devoted himself to studying books, it could continuously improve the skill of Literacy, and once attained, it would remain forever.

Now, every book he had ever read was recorded vividly in his mind. With a single thought, he could recall everything within.

At this moment, he was only thirty-odd Experience Points away from a breakthrough after this skill reached Perfected Realm. At his current efficiency, he only needed to read a few more books later to grind out those thirty-odd Experience Points.

With his current learning, not to boast, taking the Imperial Examination and earning the rank of Child Scholar or even Cultivated Talent would be as easy as turning his hand.

At that thought, Jiang Ning's heart filled with even greater anticipation.

Earning official scholarly status next year could completely change his circumstances.

"Du Du!"

"Du Du!!"

Just then, a soft, sweet voice entered Jiang Ning's ears.

Hearing that tender voice, Jiang Ning instantly came back to his senses.

Following the sound, he saw a delicately pretty little girl with big eyes and two pigtails sticking skyward toddling toward him. Her chubby little cheeks were especially eye-catching.

The sight of his five-year-old Niece brought Jiang Ning fully back to himself.

"Xiao Doubao, slow down!"

A faint smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

In this household, the person closest to him was this five-year-old Niece, Jiang Yuanyuan, whose pet name was Doubao.

Her fine, delicate features already showed that she would surely grow into a beauty, and they also revealed her excellent inheritance. Her mother must have possessed exceptional looks.

"Du Du, this is Guoguo's book. I brought it for Du Du to read!"

As Xiao Doubao spoke, she tried hard to crane her head up at Jiang Ning.

Even though Jiang Ning was only sitting upright in his chair, five-year-old Xiao Doubao still had to raise her head to see his face clearly.

Jiang Ning smiled and took the book she was laboriously holding, delight rising in his heart.

To him, it did not matter what sort of book it was. So long as it was a book he had not read before, it could increase his Literacy Experience Points.

With this new book, he would certainly grind this skill's Experience Points to the limit today.

He then did not examine the book in his hand, instead setting it directly aside before rubbing Jiang Yuanyuan's little head.

"Xiao Doubao is amazing!!"

"Du Du is so pretty!" Xiao Doubao was equally generous with her praise for Jiang Ning.

Hearing that, Jiang Ning could not help but smile inwardly. Ruffling her tiny head, he said, "What do you know about whether someone is pretty or not?"

"Pretty is pretty! Du Du is pretty! Just as pretty as my daddy!" The tiny Xiao Doubao refused to yield.

Hearing this, Jiang Ning merely smiled noncommittally.

Just then, a woman's voice drifted calmly from the nearby Kitchen.

"Food's ready!"

The voice was flat and cool, without much emotion, yet it carried an innate gentleness.

Jiang Ning looked up and saw a woman of around thirty standing at the Kitchen entrance, bearing herself and looking every bit like a lady of a distinguished household. The instant she saw Jiang Ning looking over—

The exceptionally attractive woman gave him an indifferent glance, then withdrew her gaze, seeming somewhat disdainful.

Seeing that, Jiang Ning could not help but smile awkwardly.

How could he not know that this Sister-in-law had long held grievances about his former self living under his Eldest Brother's roof for over a decade?

After all, his Sister-in-law and Eldest Brother had been married for more than ten years and now had a son and a daughter.

Their eldest son, Jiang Yiming, was already fourteen. He studied literature and practiced martial arts, and he had considerable ambition. Yet his years of schooling and the nourishment of his physique for martial arts had cost no small amount of silver.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Ning's former self had spent more than a decade doing no productive work and idling about, with all his expenses borne by his Eldest Brother alone.

And his Eldest Brother was merely a Constable of Luoshui County, with limited income. How could his Sister-in-law not resent him?

Especially recently, as grain prices rose day by day, the household of five had become even more strapped for cash, and her resentment toward him had grown greater still.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning felt rather helpless.

He knew full well that this Sister-in-law did not think much of him, and he could completely understand it. It was only human nature.

He had been bleeding his Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law's family dry.

But at this point, he had no solution. His former self had no savings whatsoever, and in the more than two months since he had transmigrated here, he had spent most of his time recovering from injuries. Even if he wanted to move out, he had no means to do so.

"For now, continuing to leech off them is unavoidable. Luoshui County isn't peaceful these days!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

He had long since made plans for the future.

Over these past few days, through his Eldest Brother's work at the County Office and his own diligent reading to understand the changes in the broader world, he had learned enough.

The Great Xia Dynasty he now lived in was clearly showing the chaotic, crumbling signs of an End of Dynasty.

And even in this tiny Luoshui County, several forces were stirring beneath the surface.

As someone who had studied history in his previous life, he understood such situations all too well.

History endlessly cycled and repeated itself. There were no absolute similarities, yet there were inevitable tracks that ran the same.

Thus, he understood perfectly that the Great Xia Dynasty, founded more than eight hundred years ago, now faced disasters rising everywhere, refugees fleeing in all directions, Rebellions arriving one after another, and all manner of strange, twisted cults erupting. It clearly faced the danger of a Collapsing Mansion.

In such times, only strength that belonged to oneself could ensure survival amid the End of Dynasty.

Otherwise, once the rolling tide of the age arrived, bringing chaos across the land and heroes vying for supremacy—especially in this world, where the Martial Path was brilliant and flourishing, where the weak could fight one against ten, the strong could form an army alone, and the strongest could stand against an entire nation alone—how could ordinary commoners survive if swept into that vast current?

His Eldest Brother was now only an ordinary Constable at the County Office, no different from a grain of sand before the great tide of history.

"I'll still have to rely on Eldest Brother's strength for a short while. As for Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, and their family, I can only repay their kindness later!"