After Ned announced the existence of the [Ritual] to everyone.
Just as he had thought.
For a time, no one dared take the initiative to seek him out to hold the ritual.
As he had said, everything about the [Ritual] was unknown.
The shortening of lifespan.
The withering of the body.
These were only the parts of the price he could currently know, conclusions he had drawn from himself.
And even if they paid such a price, without the Brand of the Rot Spirit Flower, these people might not necessarily be able to obtain the same power as him.
There were no concrete examples put into practice.
No one knew what would truly happen after holding the [Ritual].
Precisely because of this, although people longed for the glory of such a divine gift, that obvious price also made many hesitate and shrink back.
But Ned did not simply wait blindly for brave souls to come knocking.
His plan was not limited to this one thing either.
Aside from seeking brave souls with the courage to accept the ritual.
He had one more thing to do.
In recent years.
He could clearly sense that his clansmen's combat quality and vigilance were growing looser and declining by the day.
As for their mastery of [Archery], that had plummeted a thousand zhang in one fall.
After living in serenity and peace for too long, people seemed to have quietly forgotten certain things.
Sometimes.
Ned would send guards ahead of time to clear out the One-Eyed Giant Birds on those giant trees.
Because when people felled the trees, these One-Eyed Giant Birds would attack in flocks.
If they were numerous, they were likewise a threat that could not be underestimated.
However.
Those young guards from the Island of Eternity were all flustered and fumbling,