The Primordial Era

"Fine." Lion-man Tong San could only suppress his curiosity. Since he would know after dinner anyway, he still had that much patience.

"Big Brother, I'm back!"

Qing Shi and Zong Ling returned in a grand, swaggering procession, riding a Frost-Flying Colt and accompanied by a group of cavalry. After all, Yi Water City was merely the lowest-tier county-level city in the entire Longshan Empire. Within the borders of Yi Water City, the Dongbo Clan of Snow Eagle Territory was ranked among the top ten families. Thus, every time Qing Shi went to play in Yi Water City, he did so with great fanfare and a rather domineering air.

Seeing his younger brother live each day happily was something Dongbo Xueying was always glad to see.

After finishing dinner, Qing Shi, having played all day, was tired and went to sleep quickly. Dongbo Xueying, Zong Ling, and Tong San, however, all gathered in the study.

"Why bring us to your study, Xueying? And Tong San, why do you have such an agitated expression? What on earth happened?" Zong Ling was still completely in the dark.

Dongbo Xueying, meanwhile, was already smiling as he reached the bookshelf, beginning to search for a book he had read long ago.

"Let me tell you!"

Tong San took a deep breath. "Today, Xueying roasted that ten-thousand-jin Magic Beast meat, and then he ate the whole thing by himself!"

Zong Ling's eyes widened.

A single person, eating over ten thousand jin of meat? Is he even human? That's a dragon!

"His current strength is likely enough to defeat either of us in a single move," Tong San continued. "You can go check the alchemy dummy in the training grounds later. It was smashed to pieces after just three strikes from Xueying's spear, and even the spear itself couldn't withstand the force and snapped."

"What!" Zong Ling was shocked.

Xueying's spear weighed fifty jin and was crafted by an alchemy master. Although it wasn't a ranked weapon, it was more than enough for a Heaven-rank Knight to use. Furthermore, the spear shaft was designed to store momentum; to make it snap? Just how much strength would that take?

"What exactly is going on?" Zong Ling asked.

"I want to know too, but Xueying said he wanted to tell both you and me together." Tong San looked at Xueying, and Zong Ling followed his gaze.

Dongbo Xueying flipped through the books on the shelf. He found the one he was looking for quickly, leafed through the pages to the section he had read before, and traced a line of text with his finger. Smiling, he handed the book to Zong Ling. "Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong, just read this biographical story. If you look at this passage carefully, you'll probably understand."

"Oh?" Zong Ling took it curiously, and Tong San leaned in to look as well.

Zong Ling first looked at the cover of the book. The title was The Woodcutter Knight.

"It's him, the Woodcutter Knight?" Zong Ling and Tong San were both slightly taken aback. Although they didn't read much, they had heard many legends during their adventures. The story of the 'Woodcutter Knight' was extremely widespread. This Woodcutter Knight was a knight from over five thousand years ago, and he was famous because his strength was immense.

He had once been a mere woodcutter in a mountain village before embarking on the path of a knight. When he reached the Title rank, he had killed a Transcendence with a single swing of his axe! When he became a Transcendence himself, he was invincible among them!

His title was 'Woodcutter,' a name he had chosen for himself.

He was revered as the 'Strongest Transcendence' of that era. His strength lay in the fact that no Transcendence could withstand more than a few swings of his axe! That was how terrifying he was.

"Read that passage first," Dongbo Xueying said with a smile. During his childhood, he had worshipped this Woodcutter Knight for a long time because he was simply too domineering. He loved chopping wood his entire life, treating his enemies like firewood—dragons, demons, it made no difference; he chopped them all!

"Mm." Zong Ling looked back at the passage, and Tong San stared at it too—

"Yes, it was at this moment that the Woodcutter Knight awakened the legendary Great Axe Bloodline hidden within his body. The author needs to explain here that all humans, including you and me, actually have countless bloodlines hidden within our bodies."

"When the plane of the empire was first born, there was no life at all; the environment was extremely harsh."

"Gradually, after long ages of gestation, the plane finally gave birth to a group of powerful beings. They were the earliest lifeforms of the Primordial Era! Each of them possessed the terrifying power to move mountains and fill seas, carrying massive peaks while running, slaughtering dragons to drink their blood and eat their flesh... Dragons were weak before them, and even the gods from outside the plane dared not descend."

"These powerful beings continued to reproduce, eventually giving rise to humans! Therefore, every human carries the bloodline of these Primordial Era beings."

"Furthermore, in the long ages that followed, gods also descended and left descendants among humanity."

"As humans continued to reproduce, I suspect that if you trace any human back ten thousand years, they would all share the same ancestral lineage."

"Every human possesses the bloodlines of these Primordial beings and gods. Of course, they are all extremely, extremely thin."

"Direct descendant bloodlines are more powerful. For instance, the son of our Longshan Empire's founding 'Great Emperor Longshan' after he became a god—the legendary Twelfth Prince—was born a Transcendence! This was because his father was an incredibly powerful god, and the bloodline within him made him a Transcendence from birth."

"From the Primordial Era, the Ancient Era, the Middle Ages... to the present, we are merely mortals. Those powerful bloodlines have become far too thin."

"However, occasionally, someone does awaken a Primordial bloodline. Some have the Great Axe Bloodline, some the Archer Bloodline, some have bloodlines that excel in speed... some can teleport, some can manipulate lightning, some are said to be capable of a thousand transformations, and some possess near-immortal bodies..."

"However, according to the author's statistics, those who awaken Primordial bloodlines are stunning at first... but they soon fade into the crowd, and almost all find it difficult to step into the Transcendence realm. The reason I revere the Woodcutter Knight is that he viewed his own bloodline with equanimity, and ultimately became the strongest Transcendence of his era!"

"After the Woodcutter Knight awakened the 'Great Axe Bloodline,' he encountered the most important woman in his life. As for the details, listen as the author explains..."

In the entire thick biography, this was the only passage regarding Primordial bloodlines.

The rest was the legendary life of the Woodcutter Knight.

"Primordial bloodline?" Zong Ling and Tong San both looked at Dongbo Xueying.

"Mm, I believe I have awakened a Primordial bloodline," Dongbo Xueying said.

"What kind of bloodline?" Zong Ling asked curiously.

"Can you teleport?" Tong San was even more excited. "Try manipulating some lightning? How about showing us some fire?"

"I can't."

Dongbo Xueying said helplessly.

Primordial bloodlines came in many varieties; after all, there were many groups of Primordial beings born in the early days of the plane. The one he had awakened was relatively ordinary.

"The book says Primordial bloodlines all have some specialties, right?" Zong Ling asked.

"Actually, the activation of special abilities is very demanding," Dongbo Xueying said. "My special ability is just one thing—a doubling of explosive power!"

"Doubling?" Zong Ling and Tong San were both stirred with excitement.

They wanted it too.

What knight wouldn't want their strength doubled? Although it lacked special abilities like teleportation or shapeshifting, doubling one's strength was still incredibly practical.

"However, once I trigger that explosive power, my stamina drains at an accelerated rate," Dongbo Xueying said. "Normally, I can fight for an hour without fatigue, but if I go all out, I'll likely be exhausted in a short time. My window for life-or-death combat is very limited."

"How is your strength now?" Zong Ling asked curiously.

"In a normal fight, I'd estimate it to be at the level of a Meteor Knight," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Then wouldn't doubling your strength make you a Silver Moon Knight?" Zong Ling and Tong San were both very excited.

"It's only my strength that increases; my speed would still be a notch below a Silver Moon Knight. Plus, the duration is very short," Dongbo Xueying laughed.

"Even so, you are currently the strongest in all of Yi Water City," Zong Ling said with anticipation. "Haha, I knew it! You've been so diligent, practicing your spear techniques for nearly ten years without producing any Battle Qi—that was never normal! It's true what they say: once you stop holding back, you shock the world."

Dongbo Xueying smiled.

In truth, Dongbo Xueying had his own theories regarding this awakening.

Every human possesses a latent primordial bloodline, but after countless generations of reproduction, it has become incredibly thin. Why, then, are some people able to awaken it?

Dongbo Xueying didn't have many examples to reference, but he could glean a little from the 'Woodcutter Knight'. That was a fellow who loved chopping wood... he chopped wood constantly, and in the end, he awakened the Great Axe Bloodline! As for himself, his daily practice of spear techniques pushed the strength of his arms and fingers to the absolute limit, requiring medicinal baths just to recover.

Perhaps this daily, desperate struggle was the catalyst that awakened this Strength Bloodline!

Dongbo Xueying did not know who the towering, roaring giant he vaguely saw during his awakening was, so he simply referred to his primordial bloodline as the 'Strength Bloodline'.

"This is only the beginning," Dongbo Xueying said. "It's like the body of an ordinary person, constantly growing as it is nourished by Battle Qi. I can feel my body growing stronger as it is nourished by my own Battle Qi."

"Hahaha..." Zong Ling and Tong San both laughed.

They were overjoyed today.

Originally, they had both believed that the vow made by the young child back then was merely the longing of a boy; no one else present at the time had believed that Dongbo Xueying could truly save his parents. Because it was simply too difficult!

But today, both of them saw hope!

"Oh, right, starting today, I won't need the medicinal baths anymore," Dongbo Xueying laughed. "Although my body can't be called an immortal body, its recovery rate is far stronger than any medicinal bath."

As he spoke, Dongbo Xueying picked up a paper-cutting knife from the desk and sliced his palm, creating a wound that would have taken until the next day to fully heal with a medicinal bath.

But at this moment, the wound on his palm healed rapidly; in just a single breath of time, it vanished completely.

In truth, the stronger the body, the more astonishing its recovery rate.

For instance, the internal organs of a Silver Moon Knight undergo a transformation under the nourishment of Battle Qi, giving them incredible recovery. The bodies of Title-level knights are washed by the power of heaven and earth... making them nearly immortal, even more exaggerated than Dongbo Xueying's. Although it is said that a Title-level knight can be worn down by mortals, that is only theoretically possible.

After all, the cost would be too great.

If a massive army were truly sent, a Title-level knight would have long since slipped away, never giving them a chance to surround him.

To kill a Title-level knight, one generally requires an opponent of the same Title-level strength, or for a Transcendence to take action.

"Oh, there is one more important matter. In two days, I plan to make a trip to Yi Water City," Dongbo Xueying suddenly said.