"Is this a Primitive Treasure Bone? It looks rare and precious." Little One crouched down in surprise, touching it with his fingers as he tried to pry it out.
"Whoosh."
Before he could even move, however, a golden passage appeared and transported him away.
It was a strange sensation. Little One felt himself traveling, leaving the spot where he had been and appearing in another place covered in runes in the blink of an eye.
Shi Lin touched the beast bone and was transported to Little One's side soon after.
There was another bluestone, about a zhang across, with several Treasure Bones embedded in it. Mysterious runic power flowed over them.
As soon as Shi Lin appeared, he saw Little One take a deep breath, crouch down, and rub a bone. Then he suddenly exerted force, trying to crack the stone and pry out the Rune Bone.
The bluestone was strange and extremely hard. Several Rune Bones glowed at once, weaving together a vast network of patterns that guarded the place and formed a defense.
"What's he doing? Why is he trying to destroy the passage?"
"Good heavens, he's trying to dig out the Treasure Bones in the bluestone! They're top-grade, too. Does he not know this is a passage and can't be moved?"
A sea of voices rose around them, everyone talking at once. The place was lively.
Little One was taken aback. He quickly stood up. The runes around him gradually dimmed, revealing the scene around him: a crowd had gathered around the bluestone, pointing at him.
"He's so young. No wonder he doesn't know any better. He actually thinks he can destroy the road to the outside world and dig out the Rune Bones."
"However you look at it, that's top-grade stuff. He actually went and did something like this. Didn't his family tell him what to do after entering the Void God Realm?"
Little One scratched his head, realizing that he might have done something foolish. Otherwise, why would everyone be looking at him like that? He asked quietly, "Are the Treasure Bones here all owned by someone? I didn't know, so I did that."
The crowd fell silent.
Shi Lin stood to the side, feeling a little awkward.
Little One's legendary moment was about to begin!
"Didn't your clan explain how things work here? When you first enter the Void God Realm, you're sent to this 'Initial Ground.' After you've completed your cultivation here, you have to use the runic passages to reach regions on a higher level. Why bother studying the passage as soon as you arrive? And you even want to dig out the Treasure Bones. Honestly..." A man in his thirties shook his head and patiently explained a few things, looking utterly speechless.
"Hehe..."
"Hahaha..."
Everyone nearby burst out laughing.
Little One's cheeks flushed. Embarrassed, he asked quietly, "So, does that mean these Treasure Bones belong to no one?"
The laughter stopped abruptly. Everyone stared at him in shock. After all that, he still wanted to dig out the bones?
"Good heavens, this kid really is something. He's still thinking about the Treasure Bones!"
"What family is this child from? How did they raise him? Did they bring him up in some old forest?"
The crowd didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was like dealing with a primitive man. This little fellow was adorably clueless. How could he act like this?
What clan did he belong to? If someone found out who he was after returning to the real world, his clan would become a laughingstock. This was a rare spectacle indeed!
"Isn't this a world that the gods created with their minds? I think these Treasure Bones must be extremely valuable. I'm not greedy; I just want to dig them out and study them." Little One tried to explain quietly.
He was truly leaving them speechless. The crowd didn't know what to say.
"Hahaha..." In the end, all they could do was laugh. Even though this was the Initial Ground and not some higher-level paradise, it still wasn't a place one could damage at will.
An old man chuckled. "These Rune Bones are extremely rare and precious. If you can dig them out, I'll trade you a large amount of Essence Coins for them!"
"What are Essence Coins?" Little One asked curiously.
The crowd nearly fainted. How could this little fellow know nothing? Had he really come running out of some primeval forest?
Shi Lin bent down and whispered in Little One's ear.
"They're used to buy things!"
"Oh!" Little One nodded.
According to Willow Deity, the things that appeared here corresponded to things in the real world, and each had an original counterpart. He lived in the Great Wilderness, far removed from the outside world, and knew nothing about it. This was the perfect opportunity to learn.
"How can he not even know what Essence Coins are?" More people heard the news and came over, pointing from a short distance away as if they were gawking at some rare creature.
Little One tapped and knocked at the Rune Bones, crouched atop the bluestone that was a zhang across. He studied them with great focus and seriousness.
"What a character! He really is trying to dig out the Treasure Bones from the passage? I've never seen anyone like this!"
"This little fellow is quite the miser, isn't he? I want to see how he plans to dig them out. I've never heard of anyone doing something like this."
"Haha, he really is adorably clueless. Whose kid is this? Why did he come here to put on a show?"
A crowd gathered to watch the spectacle, thinking the child was incredibly amusing. He was far too greedy, wasn't he? If he were an adult, they would have looked down on him a hundred times over. As it was, they couldn't help laughing. He was just too clueless.
"Child, need any tools? Your uncle here can lend you one." A middle-aged man smiled slyly, teasing him.
Little One didn't even look up. He accepted the man's "kind offer" straightaway and said crisply, "Sure. Give me a hammer that weighs twenty thousand jin."
Everyone stared blankly. That was ridiculous. It was a hammer, not a hut. Who would be bored enough to forge one that big? Could anyone even swing it? Besides, how old was he? He was asking for a twenty-thousand-jin hammer without a second thought. He certainly had a high opinion of himself—and a lot of confidence.
"I don't have one that weighs twenty thousand jin, but I do have one that weighs two thousand." With a thud, the middle-aged man tossed over a hammer as big as a small millstone. It smashed a deep pit into the ground.
"I'm afraid I'll break it." Little One still didn't look up. With his butt sticking out, he kept studying the Rune Bones on the bluestone.
What was that supposed to mean? The middle-aged man's face darkened. He felt like the child was teasing him in return. "It's fine. Go ahead and use it. You don't have to pay me back if it breaks."
"Oh, all right. Then I won't stand on ceremony." Little One scratched his head, then seemed to remember something. "By the way, Uncle, isn't this a spiritual world created by ancient gods? How can you bring a hammer in with you? Is that your spiritual will, too?"
"Get lost! You're the hammer. I told you to use it, so use it. Why all the questions?" The middle-aged man's forehead creased with irritation.
"All right." Little One didn't press the matter. What a pity. It was a perfectly good question, but these people were so dismissive. Why couldn't they just kindly explain it to him?
Little Shi Hao jumped down from the bluestone and hauled the big hammer up onto it.
An old man with white hair and beard kindly reminded him, "Child, being able to lift or raise a weapon doesn't mean you can wield it well. It takes more than ten times the strength to swing it around. Be careful not to hurt yourself."
"I know." Little One nodded. Then he fixed his gaze on the brightly feathered bird perched on the old man's shoulder and asked, "Grandpa, is that bird you, too? Did you turn into that?"
"Get lost!" The old man flicked his sleeve, his face darkening too.
"Why is everyone like this? Can't you explain things patiently?" Little One muttered. His voice was quiet, but the crowd still heard him.
"What a little rascal!" Quite a few people said as much, privately wondering what on earth those ridiculous questions were. Was he deliberately teasing them?
Just as everyone was grumbling to themselves, Little One raised the big hammer and brought it down on the bluestone.
With a tremendous clang, sparks flew everywhere, and the deafening crash rang out.
"Not bad. He's got some strength. He really managed to swing it." Someone nodded.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang..."
The next moment, everyone covered their ears. The iron hammer in Little One's hands pecked at the bluestone like a chicken pecking grain, striking it again and again. The ringing of metal on stone blended into one long string of noise, nearly bursting their eardrums.
Shi Lin stood to one side, waiting for everyone to be astonished.
This was the Void God Realm. It felt as though one's true body were here, with sensations exactly the same as in reality. There was no difference at all.
At last, there was a sharp clang. The hammer bent, and its head snapped off the handle and flew away.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded. This little fellow really did have some strength. He had ruined a heavy hammer in no time at all. He wasn't lacking in power!
Little One looked very anxious. He hurriedly said, "Uncle, you said I wouldn't have to pay for the iron hammer!"
This was, after all, a spiritual world. The things that turned into weapons here should be pretty good. He was afraid he couldn't afford to pay for it.
Seeing how anxious he was, everyone laughed. Only the middle-aged man wore a dark expression and gave a snort. His heart really did ache.
"Hey, kid, can you actually dig out the Treasure Bones or not? Don't waste our time. We're all waiting to see you show off," the others teased.
"This is my first time here, so I don't have much experience. I don't know how to break it. Do you uncles and sisters have any advice? Give me a few pointers," Little One asked.
The crowd truly didn't know what to say. Who would be bored enough to try breaking a passage in the Void God Realm? It wasn't just them—even a Primordial Ferocious Beast might not be able to smash it.
Truthfully, they wanted to say that the child was a little clueless, with nothing better to do than make a spectacle of himself and draw a crowd.
"Young man, go for it! Give it everything you've got. I believe in you!" someone called encouragingly, stirring up trouble in the hope of seeing him keep at it.
A kindhearted young woman advised him, "There's simply no solution. Nobody can break it. Unless you can set some kind of record, the only way to make a miracle happen in the Void God Realm is to break through a limit."
The young woman went on to explain that this was a world created by the ancient gods. The gods had made careful provisions for everything, including a way to cultivate descendants with great potential here.
Even after the passage of countless years, the rules and order of this place were still in operation. Anyone who could break through some limit here would receive a certain benefit.
Moreover, throughout the process, the Void God Realm would offer protection. It would conceal the practitioner's aura so that the secret of whatever precious art they used wouldn't be exposed.
"This is the 'Initial Ground.' No matter how powerful your cultivation is, you can only fight at the Blood-Moving Realm here. You can't go beyond it," the young woman added.
"Ah, it's that amazing?" Little One's eyes widened.
"That's right. If you want to break through a limit here, you can only use the strength of the Blood-Moving Realm. Lots of people here have already surpassed that realm, but it's no use."
"I see." Little One nodded. Then his eyes lit up, and he asked, "What do I get if I succeed?"
The crowd nearly fainted. Did he really think he could accomplish some great feat? A powerhouse like that didn't just appear whenever you wanted one. Besides, the child seemed a little clueless. Didn't he know his own limits?
"This silly child really doesn't know anything." Someone nearby curled his lip. "You'll be crying in a moment."
Quite a few people folded their arms and grinned, ready to watch Little One embarrass himself. They would be delighted to see it.
"I'm fast. I plan to surpass the limit for speed," Little One said seriously.
"Go ahead and try," some people said with a sneer.
The next moment, Little One's whole body glowed. Bone Text appeared everywhere, densely covering the area in an instant.
"What's he going to do?" The crowd watched closely. Rays of light danced about, quickly engulfing the bluestone. They couldn't see what was happening inside. "Is he going to use a precious art? But why doesn't it look very powerful?" The dazzling Bone Text made the crowd's eyes swim, weaving into a brilliant curtain of light.
Right then, a glow rose around the bluestone, cutting it off from the outside world. The rules and order of the Void God Realm began to protect Little One.
His aura changed in an instant. Two streaks of lightning shot from his clear eyes as he swung his fist and slammed it forcefully into the bluestone, his power astonishing.
"Boom!"
He used the power of his physical body, not a precious art, to strike the bluestone. His strength was immense. The moment his fist hit, a dazzling burst of light exploded, terrifying beyond compare.
"Crack!"
The sound of something breaking rang out. Little One was delighted—it was working! He had used runic power before, but found that the several Treasure Bones on the bluestone would flare with divine patterns and defend it. After trying several times, he had realized that the less runic power he used, the weaker the bones' counterattack. Now he was using only the strength of his body, and the bones barely glowed at all. They weren't protecting the bluestone.
Even so, the stone was astonishingly strong. Little One flicked his arm. If this had been a piece of divine metal instead of bluestone, he could have smashed it to pieces with that blow. Yet even after using an incredible force of over a hundred thousand jin, he had only cracked the stone.
"Again!"
Divine light shone in his eyes. He drew on the utmost strength the Blood-Moving Realm could offer and struck the bluestone, his power crashing against it like storm waves battering the shore. His aura shook the world, though no one could see it.
"Crack, crack..."
At last, under the immense force of Little One's body at its limit, the bluestone, a zhang across, shattered into pieces. Several gleaming Treasure Bones fell onto the grass.
"Success!" Little One cried, overjoyed. He quickly picked up a Rune Bone. It was pure white, smooth, and translucent.
Suddenly, the other Treasure Bones began to glow and shot away through the air. The bluestone, too, dissolved into a rain of light and vanished. Little One stamped his foot and cried, "Hey! Why are you running? Stop!"
In the end, he had obtained only one Treasure Bone, shining with brilliant light.
The crowd stood there, dumbfounded. He had actually done it!
They could hardly believe their eyes. One by one, their eyeballs nearly popped out of their heads. How was this possible? It was too absurd!
Shi Lin smiled, as if this were only to be expected.
"Cheating! How could he possibly set a record?!" the crowd shouted.
But Little One shouted even louder, furious. "How did I only get one Treasure Bone? There were three more! Why did they fly away?"
No matter how you looked at him, he seemed like a little miser. He jumped up and down and shouted, leaving the crowd completely speechless.
"Mine! Mine! They're all mine! Why did they run away?" Little One cried.
"Don't you already have one in your hand?" someone said indignantly. It was so unfair. That little brat in front of them had actually succeeded.
"There were more before," Little One said.
The crowd truly didn't know what to say. Their teeth, stomachs, and lungs all hurt. An old man said, "Quit shouting. You attacked a passage in the Void God Realm and did something so absurd and outrageous. You're lucky you weren't punished. Getting one Treasure Bone is proof enough that you succeeded."
"Oh, I see." Little One scratched his head, then asked quietly, "If I succeed again next time, can I get another one?"
The crowd nearly fainted. This kid...
Before you continue