The autumn breeze blew gently, bringing a trace of coolness to the increasingly dry air.
It was another morning. As usual, Li Dingguo rose early. After washing up, he and Ai Nengqi followed the exquisite corridor of the inner courtyard toward the main courtyard ahead.
Along the way, he looked at the plants in the courtyard, his gaze somewhat heavy.
Ever since he had transmigrated and been reborn, not a single drop of rain had fallen.
It was only early autumn, yet most of the unattended flowers and plants in the inner garden had turned yellow and withered, some even dying outright. One could only imagine how severe the drought had become across the vast northwestern region of the Great Ming Dynasty!
Even the water level in the old well they used every day for washing had dropped somewhat.
Even Dingbian County, near the Wuding River, was already like this. There was no need to mention the vast regions far from rivers and mountain ranges.
Li Dingguo did not need to think about it to know that those places had surely become a living hell!
The problem was that corruption among officials at every level was growing ever worse, while exorbitant taxes and levies grew ever heavier.
This year's autumn harvest was destined to yield not a single grain in many places across the Northwest Three Provinces. How could ordinary people endure being stripped layer by layer by the authorities?
"Ah!"
"What use is there in thinking so much?"
Li Dingguo shook his head and sighed inwardly. "The date when the government army comes here to suppress us is drawing closer and closer."
"First, I need to survive this calamity and keep my little life intact."
Half a month had passed since he had become a Martial Artist.
During this time, with no lack of cultivation resources and his own exceptional talent, he had trained in martial skills and cultivation methods day and night while studying all kinds of cultural knowledge. He was no longer the same as before.
Host: Li Dingguo Age: 10 Realm: Body Tempering Realm First Level Late Stage Peak (three Qi and Blood Limit Breaks) Physique: 30 (Physique includes overall bodily attributes such as strength, speed, agility, and so on) Mental Energy: 10 Talents: Innate Divine Strength+ (Intermediate), Spirit Beast Affinity+ (Beginner), Photographic Memory (cannot be upgraded) Skills: Tiger Roar Fist+ (Proficient), Riding+ (Minor Mastery), Archery+ (Proficient), Thunderbolt Spear Technique+ (Proficient), Medical Skill+ (Proficient), Stealth Technique+ (Major Mastery), Breath Concealment Technique+ (Major Mastery) Cultivation Method: Circumstellar True Scripture+ (Skilled) Fortune: 15 (When Fortune Value reaches zero, disaster is inevitable) Star Destiny: Army Breaker (Not Activated)
His attribute panel had undergone enormous changes.
Because his martial cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, leaving him only one step away from breaking through to the Martial Path Second Realm, all his attributes had increased greatly. Every skill and cultivation method he practiced had improved by at least two stages.
In particular, the Stealth Technique and Breath Concealment Technique he had been cultivating with all his strength had both reached Major Mastery.
This meant that he could break through in cultivation without restraint from now on, without worrying that others would discover his true cultivation through changes in his qi and blood or aura.
During his cultivation at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, every minor breakthrough had granted him a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation. His physique attribute had now reached an astonishing thirty points.
Even his Mental Energy had passively doubled by today, reaching ten points.
Most gratifying of all was his fortune. The Fortune Value he had thought would be difficult to increase naturally had risen by another three points.
Although he was still a tiny shrimp that could be crushed with a single blow compared to Zhang Xianzhong, with Li Dingguo's skill and talent bonuses, ordinary Rebel Army leaders at the Martial Path Second Realm were no longer his match.
Ai Nengqi, walking beside Li Dingguo, had just broken through to the Martial Dao First Level Late Stage yesterday and was full of high spirits.
Yesterday afternoon, after seeing Ai Nengqi break through, Li Dingguo had followed right after by releasing the qi and blood and aura he had concealed, displaying the same cultivation aura of someone who had just reached the Martial Dao First Level Late Stage.
Because Li Dingguo's true Mental Energy far surpassed Ai Nengqi's, the progress of every cultivation method and skill he practiced was at least one tier ahead of Ai Nengqi's.
Even without relying on the suppression of cultivation realm, he could easily defeat Ai Nengqi within ten moves at the same cultivation level.
Even if seven or eight ordinary Rebel Army soldiers came at him together, they would not be Li Dingguo's match.
Only the dozen or so Rebel Army leaders at the Martial Path Second Realm and Martial Path Third Realm were still opponents Li Dingguo knew he could not defeat, even one-on-one.
Especially the several major Rebel Army leaders, who could easily crush the current Li Dingguo. The two sides were not on the same level at all.
There was no helping it. The gap between each major martial realm was difficult to cross, even among Martial Artists in the Body Tempering Realm.
Although Li Dingguo should now be able to defeat ordinary minor leaders of the Martial Path Second Realm and soldiers from the Veteran Camp in a duel, he absolutely could not defeat a Genius Martial Artist at the Martial Path Second Realm.
He glanced back and saw Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier, along with the other twelve youths, walking silently and quickly toward the main courtyard, their expressions somewhat gloomy.
Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier had decent luck and talent. When they had previously broken through to the Martial Dao First Level Middle Stage, they had each received a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.
But Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi had reached the Martial Dao First Level Middle Stage two days before them and likewise received a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.
Just when Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier had struggled to catch up and were about to match the other two in cultivation, Ai Nengqi and Li Dingguo had once again taken the lead yesterday, breaking through to the Martial Dao First Level Late Stage and receiving another Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.
These successive blows had nearly made Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier shut down on the spot!
If they had known that Li Dingguo had quietly broken through to the Martial Dao First Level Late Stage several days ago, they would probably have been hit so hard that they doubted life itself!
Fortunately, because Li Dingguo had cultivated his Stealth Technique and Breath Concealment Technique with all his strength, they had reached Major Mastery several days ago. This kept everyone, including Zhang Xianzhong, from learning his true cultivation and spared him enormous trouble.
As for the other twelve talented youths behind them, before the half-month deadline arrived, every one of them had broken through to the Martial Dao First Level Early Stage two or three days ahead of time, formally becoming Martial Artists.
After becoming Martial Artists and training hard for nearly another ten days, the most advanced among these twelve talented youths had already reached the Martial Dao First Level Early Stage Peak, only one step away from the Middle Stage.
They had finally lived up to Zhang Xianzhong's expectations, not wasting the large amount of cultivation resources and painstaking effort he had invested, producing a result that satisfied everyone.
But no matter what, Ai Nengqi and Li Dingguo, walking at the very front of the group, had already left them far behind.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would never again have any possibility of catching up in this lifetime.
That was why the atmosphere within this talented youth squad was somewhat gloomy.
There was no helping it. When people were compared to people, and geniuses to geniuses, there would always be differences—especially this kind of comparison that could only leave one sighing in despair.
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