Bone Structure Formed

Bone Structure Formed

For a long while.

Ning Qi let out a soft breath, fighting spirit rising in his eyes.

No matter what secrets the Great Yan Martial Saint possessed, he was confident that given enough time, surpassing him would be simplicity itself.

The Great Yan Secret instead served as another reminder.

If, in years to come, he became a Martial Saint yet still could not see any hope of immortality, then World Breaking Ascension would also be a path. In a broader world, the ceiling would surely be higher.

Ning Qi felt even more at ease.

"Could it be that the Great Yan Dynasty's Martial Saints will continue without end and rule this land forever?"

Ye Qinghe gave a derisive snort. "Not necessarily."

There was not the slightest reverence for imperial authority in her eyes. Instead, there was a trace of dissatisfaction.

Ning Qi could understand.

Martial Arts Sects had been attached to imperial power for two thousand years—far too long, long enough for countless conflicts to breed, merely kept suppressed all this time.

All they needed was an opportunity, and the sky would shatter, the stone would split.

"During this trip down the mountain, Senior Sister discovered that traces of the Demonic Sect have been appearing from time to time within Qing Province. This Demonic Sect is no simple matter; it is suspected to be connected to the Previous Dynasty."

"Not only that, the attitudes of Martial Arts Sects in every province are rather ambiguous. Even the Great Yan Borderlands are stirring restlessly."

"You should know that it has only been one hundred years since the Great Yan Martial Saint last acted. If they had not discovered some clue last time, there is no way they would begin a second probe so soon."

Excitement gradually appeared on Ye Qinghe's face.

"Little Nine, tell me, could something already have gone wrong within Great Yan? Is the Martial Saint nearing the end of his lifespan? Or perhaps no new Martial Saint has been born?"

Ning Qi was somewhat surprised.

When Fifth Senior Brother returned from his travels before, he had also told him that he had found traces of the Demonic Sect. Now Third Senior Sister had discovered them as well. It seemed the Demonic Sect was making quite a commotion.

Hearing Ye Qinghe's speculation, he merely gave a slight shrug.

"Either way, it isn't something we can meddle in."

He had not even begun practicing martial arts yet.

Before such sweeping tides of the world, he truly was a little too insignificant.

Even if chaos truly broke out, he could only drift with the current. Rather than waste time thinking about that, he might as well seize every moment to improve himself. With sufficient strength, everything would fall into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

"That's true."

Ye Qinghe muttered a few words.

Then she suddenly realized that she had actually been lectured by a one-year-old child, and immediately kneaded Ning Qi's cheeks hard.

"Such a little man with such big ideas!"

Ning Qi ignored her.

He put Great Yan Records back, turned around, and took out another copy of Feng Shui Miscellany to read.

This left Ye Qinghe somewhat frustrated. She could not help scratching her lovely hair as she said irritably,

"Sometimes I wonder whether there's an old monster living inside you, Little Nine!"

Ning Qi paused for a moment, then continued lowering his head to read.

"Ah, stop reading. You need to balance work and rest. If you want to work hard, Little Nine, there'll be plenty of hardship after you begin martial arts training. For now, you should cherish this rare, carefree time."

Ye Qinghe prattled on.

Ning Qi finally responded.

"Is martial arts training difficult?"

Ye Qinghe perked up. "Of course it is! If you want to achieve something in martial arts, talent alone isn't enough. You also need to work hard enough and spend enough time."

"Take your Eighth Senior Brother, for instance. His talent stands at the very peak even in Great Yan, but guess how long it took him to complete Body Tempering."

Ning Qi turned a page. Spiritual Light continuously flashed through his mind, absorbing the essence within into his Feng Shui System. Even so, he still had the spare attention to deal with Ye Qinghe.

"Five or six years?"

Ye Qinghe clicked her tongue and laughed. "Looks like you still haven't realized the miserable life ahead of you!"

"Let me tell you: from age seven to eighteen, a full eleven years! Qin Yun cultivated diligently day and night without cease before he completed Body Tempering and stepped into the Inner Yuan Realm!"

"It took that long?" This truly exceeded Ning Qi's expectations.

"And that was because your Eighth Senior Brother was blessed with unparalleled talent. For anyone else, it would take even longer. In Great Yan, anyone under thirty belongs to the younger generation. Those who can step into the Inner Yuan Realm at twenty are all Peerless Geniuses."

"Although you, Little Nine, are certainly a Genius, taking ten years to complete Body Tempering would still be perfectly normal."

"Now you understand, right? There'll be plenty of hardship ahead, so there's no need to rush right now. What was that saying again? So long as you're willing to endure hardship, you'll have endless hardship to endure. How about it? Shall Senior Sister take you out to play? Senior Sister always regrets how short those eight carefree years of childhood were."

Faced with Ye Qinghe's endless chatter and hopeful gaze.

Ning Qi gave her an indifferent glance and replied.

"Oh."

He did not think he would need that long.

The world of a Genius was something Mortals would never understand.

Ye Qinghe immediately went frantic, feeling that she had wasted all her breath.

After that.

No matter how she tried to strike up a conversation, Ning Qi no longer paid her any attention. He had completely immersed himself in his World of Enlightenment.

Ye Qinghe let out a mournful sigh and lay back on the vine chair in the courtyard. At some unknown point, she began snoring away.

Ning Qi glanced at Ye Qinghe and smiled faintly.

Third Senior Sister was loud and boisterous, but in truth, she was afraid he would be lonely.

However, he was not lonely.

With Max Level Comprehension, he gained something every second of every moment. That feeling was actually immensely satisfying, though ordinary people could not experience it.

Time drifted leisurely by.

Life on True Martial Mountain was very comfortable. Compared to his previous life, when he had been unable to move in a hospital bed, this life was simply too wonderful.

Though his body was a little small, he could at least walk freely. Moreover, he had a master and Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who doted on him. Ning Qi was very content.

In the blink of an eye.

Two and a half years had passed since that discussion of immortality with Dragon Mountain Daoist.

Ning Qi was three years old.

Over those two and a half years, his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had cared for Ning Qi immensely. Every time they came down the mountain, they brought him piles of things. Knowing that Ning Qi liked Collected Classics, they would also consciously search for and bring them back. In their spare time, they would come play with Ning Qi.

His master, Dragon Mountain Daoist, also taught him patiently without holding anything back. Apart from refusing to let Ning Qi encounter the Martial Dao too early, he was completely forthcoming in everything else, making the other disciples a little jealous.

Besides that.

Ning Qi discovered that his master had gone down the mountain several times, seemingly pursuing the Culprit who had slaughtered Snow Plum Manor three years ago, but it did not seem to be going very smoothly.

Dragon Mountain Daoist had never taken the initiative to mention what happened back then to Ning Qi. Perhaps he hoped Ning Qi would remain carefree and not have his eyes clouded by hatred. Yet he did not know that Ning Qi clearly remembered everything that had happened that day.

Ning Qi was not in a hurry.

He needed time to grow.

When the time came, he would settle it with his own hands.

Over these three years, he had displayed enough intelligence that Dragon Mountain Daoist, Luo Wentian, and the others could not help looking forward to how astonishing Ning Qi would be once he began to involve himself in the Martial Dao.

They had estimated the time when Ning Qi's Bone Structure would form more than once.

They all basically believed it could take shape by the age of six.

But they did not know that the changes within Ning Qi's body grew greater by the day.

Early morning.

Ning Qi got out of bed.

His expression was expectant yet calm. Everything was within his expectations.

As usual, he circulated the Innate Bone Forging Art. The last wisps of exceedingly subtle Innate Qi remaining in his body completely dispersed throughout him with the final cycle, and some mysterious power from heaven and earth seemed to pour into his body.

In an instant.

Ning Qi's body trembled slightly. An unprecedented sense of fulfillment rose from within his heart, as though something incomplete inside him had finally become whole. He could even vaguely sense an additional connection between himself and heaven and earth, something he had never felt before.

There was no earth-shaking phenomenon. Ning Qi opened his eyes, joy blooming within them.

After two and a half years, nine hundred days and nights of persistent cultivation.

His Bone Structure had finally formed completely!