Great Yan Martial Saint

Spring passed and autumn came.

Ning Qi was almost one year old.

With Innate Qi nourishing him, supplemented by the conditioning effects of peerless Medical Arts, his body developed rapidly. He was now about the same size as a three-year-old child.

Ning Qi optimized the Innate Bone Forging Art several more times.

At last, he felt there was nowhere left to advance.

He had reached the limit of what he could accomplish at his current stage.

He estimated that, at his current pace, his Bone Structure would be completely formed by the time he was three! This was far faster than Dragon Mountain Daoist had previously predicted.

Though it was only a few years early, one had to understand that the earlier it was, the harder it became. Practicing martial arts at three was not merely twice as difficult as practicing at six—it might be several times harder.

Every day, he circulated his energy in coordination with his specially prepared medicinal paste.

His Bone Structure took shape faster with each passing day.

Not only that, but his physical growth accelerated as well.

A body that was too young was inconvenient in the end, and Ning Qi hoped he could grow up faster.

Since he could not study martial arts, Ning Qi did not waste his time. Every day, he read ancient texts of all kinds, solely to broaden his foundations.

He possessed Max Level Comprehension, something unprecedented in history, but creation had never come from thin air.

Take Medical Arts, for example.

Even without the records left by his predecessors, Ning Qi could still experiment, organize, summarize, and Open Up the Medical Dao himself, even reaching an unprecedentedly profound realm. But the time that would take would inevitably multiply.

Since that was the case, why not stand on the shoulders of his predecessors and gaze into the distance?

Although other people's Comprehension was inferior to Ning Qi's, the accumulation of generations was still not to be underestimated. Some flashes of inspiration and ingenious ideas could also be astonishing.

The same was true of other fields.

Although he had yet to begin practicing martial arts,

Ning Qi had already begun making preparations.

He would learn from other people, from ancient texts, from Heaven and Earth, and from nature.

He would gather the strengths of a hundred schools to forge his Path Forward.

This was the proper way to unlock Max Level Comprehension.

The True Martial Sect possessed countless ancient texts, enough to keep Ning Qi reading for a very long time. Sometimes, after reading something once, he would gain different insights when he read it a second time. The ancient texts of the Daoist Sect in particular concealed profound principles, benefiting Ning Qi immensely. All of this was part of his foundation; he only needed a key to unlock the treasure.

"If I ever get the chance to read through all the ancient texts of Great Flame, my foundations will surely become richer than ever before."

"If one day I can obtain the wondrous ideas of All Living Beings, how exhilarating would that be? Perhaps the Method of Longevity would even be within reach!"

At the thought of that scene,

Ning Qi himself felt a little fascinated.

He had not forgotten that his ultimate goal was longevity.

These days,

his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters would occasionally descend the mountain to gain experience. When they returned, they would bring Ning Qi some fresh little toys or tell him about what they had seen and heard. As Ning Qi revealed more and more unusual qualities, they had subconsciously stopped treating him as an infant who was not yet a year old.

Thanks to this,

combined with the records in the ancient texts,

Ning Qi gained a deeper understanding of the dynasty he lived in.

"Great Flame rules the Thirteen Provinces of the World, with a vast territory. Qing Province alone is larger than the territory of my previous life. There are even countless Martial Arts Sects throughout the world, but they are basically dependent on imperial authority and require the emperor's permission."

"For example, when Master rebuilt the True Martial Sect, he not only won the foundation of True Martial from the master of Divine Sword Mountain in a wager, but also needed the endorsement of the Qing Province Governor before he could ultimately receive recognition."

He flipped through the Great Yan Records in his hands, his eyes filled with surprise.

"But the most incredible thing is that Great Flame was founded two thousand years ago. The lifespan of this single dynasty is already nearly half the length of the ancient history of my previous life!"

"This should be related to the longevity of martial artists in this world. A person in the Heaven-Human Realm can live for eight hundred years. With certain life-prolonging methods, they might even live for more than a thousand years. As for a Martial Saint, they might truly be able to live for several thousand years!"

"The founding of a dynasty is often directly related to a Martial Saint. A Martial Saint is invincible beneath the heavens. Even a Heaven-Human Completion expert is helpless before one. If a Martial Saint wished to establish a dynasty, it truly would not be difficult. The Great Yan Dynasty was founded single-handedly by the Great Yan Martial Saint."

A thought rose in Ning Qi's heart, and he could not help sighing aloud:

"Great Flame has lasted two thousand years. I wonder if the Great Yan Martial Saint is still alive?"

The Martial Saint was his goal, but existences of this level were far too rare. In some eras, there might only be one, appearing like a Divine Dragon—one could glimpse its tail but never its head.

A cheerful, laughing voice came from the distance:

"Then he must still be alive. Otherwise, the world would have long since fallen into chaos."

Ning Qi looked over.

He saw a figure rushing toward him at tremendous speed. After several rises and falls, she was already standing before him. Her blue Daoist Robe was somewhat loose, but it still could not conceal her slender, delicate figure. Looking higher, he saw a pair of beautiful almond-shaped eyes brimming with laughter.

Ye Qinghe first pinched Ning Qi's tender, fair cheek, then laughingly pulled him into her arms, nearly squeezing the breath out of him.

"Little Nine, have you missed your Third Senior Sister?"

Ning Qi furrowed his brows repeatedly and struggled free.

"Senior Sister, you've been drinking again!"

He smelled a strong, pungent odor of alcohol.

Ye Qinghe giggled and produced a gourd as if by magic, taking a fierce gulp. The liquor ran down her fair neck and disappeared beneath her Daoist Robe.

"Alcohol is a treasure of the world. A woman who doesn't drink isn't a good woman. Little Nine, you're still young. You don't understand."

She pulled out a tiny wine cup from who-knew-where and filled it.

"Want to try some?"

Looking at Ye Qinghe's expectant gaze, Ning Qi was speechless.

Giving alcohol to a one-year-old? You've really got some nerve, Ye Qinghe! She tempted him:

"Have a little, and I'll tell you a secret about the Great Yan Dynasty."

Ning Qi helplessly took a sip. This little bit of alcohol had no effect on him, and Ye Qinghe only drank fine liquor that did not harm the body. He simply had little interest in alcohol.

Ye Qinghe clapped and laughed loudly. "Little Nine, you really understand me. Unlike Qin Yun and the others—they're no fun at all."

Ning Qi merely rolled his eyes.

Ye Qinghe took the Great Yan Records from Ning Qi's hands and curled her lips. "There's far too much official-sounding nonsense in this. It's true that the Great Yan Dynasty has lasted two thousand years and is the longest-lived dynasty in recorded history, but it's suffered quite a few upheavals along the way."

Ning Qi's spirits immediately lifted.

"Even after those upheavals, none of them overthrew Great Flame?"

Ye Qinghe shook her head.

"No. Every time things reached a critical juncture, a Martial Saint from the Great Yan Dynasty would emerge, suppress all its enemies, and extend the dynasty's fate."

"The Great Yan Martial Saint is still alive? Two thousand years have passed, and he still hasn't ascended?" Ning Qi's eyes widened.

Ye Qinghe tipped her head back and took a gulp of wine.

"Actually, what I said earlier about the Great Yan Martial Saint still being alive may not be accurate."

"It is said that a Martial Saint has reached the limit of the Martial Dao and can achieve World Breaking Ascension. Throughout the years, every Martial Saint who appeared in an era would fall silent after a period of glory, as if they could not remain in this world for long."

"Therefore, the dynasties before Great Flame did not last for particularly absurd lengths of time. Most lasted several hundred years, and at most a thousand."

"But Great Flame was an exception."

Ye Qinghe tipped the gourd upside down. The last few drops of wine slowly fell out, and she frowned unhappily, but she still carefully swallowed the liquor.

She spoke with lingering satisfaction. "Some say the Great Yan Martial Saint was a peerless genius, but he was too enamored with imperial power and refused to ascend. He used some kind of Secret Method to evade the world's suppression. Although he could remain here for a long time, he could not act easily and would only appear when Great Flame was in peril."

"Others say that the Great Yan Martial Saint ascended long ago, but created an earth-shaking Secret Method that allowed Martial Saints to be born continuously within the imperial family of the Great Yan Dynasty. That was why the dynasty flourished without end. Before ascending, every Great Yan Martial Saint would inevitably use the Secret Method to nurture a new Martial Saint."

"So there must definitely be a Martial Saint in Great Flame. As for whether it is the original one, no one knows. No one has ever seen his true appearance."

Ye Qinghe shrugged slightly.

Ning Qi's brows twitched. He remained silent for a long time, never expecting the Great Yan Dynasty to conceal such a secret.