After a long while.
Ning Qi exhaled lightly, a fighting spirit rising in his eyes.
No matter what secrets the Martial Saint of Great Yan holds, he is confident that given time, surpassing him is no problem at all.
The secrets of Great Yan served as yet another reminder to him.
If someday he achieves the rank of Martial Saint and still sees no hope of immortality, then breaking through the boundaries and ascending to a broader world would be a path where the ceiling is undoubtedly higher.
Ning Qi's thoughts were clearer.
"The Martial Saints of the Great Yan Dynasty are never-ending. Could it be they plan to rule this land indefinitely?"
Ye Qinghe chuckled:
"That's not necessarily the case."
There was no trace of reverence for imperial authority in her eyes; instead, there was a hint of discontent.
Ning Qi could understand.
For two thousand years, martial sects have relied on imperial power, long enough to breed countless conflicts, merely suppressed over time.
All it awaits is a trigger, an earth-shattering moment.
"Senior Sister, while descending the mountain this time, I found traces of the Demon Sect appearing now and then within Qing State. This Demon Sect is not simple and seems related to the previous dynasty."
"Not only that, the attitudes of martial sects across various states are quite ambiguous, and the borders of Great Yan are also stirring restlessly."
"You should know, it's been merely a hundred years since the last Martial Saint of Great Yan acted; unless something was discovered last time, there's no way they'd start probing again so soon."
Ye Qinghe's expression gradually became excited.
"Jiu, do you think there could be internal turmoil in Great Yan, the Martial Saint's life nearing its end? Or maybe a new Martial Saint has yet to emerge?"
Ning Qi was somewhat surprised.
Previously, when Fifth Senior Brother returned from his training, he also mentioned finding traces of the Demon Sect. Now Third Senior Sister has discovered it too. It seems the Demon Sect is making quite a commotion.
Listening to Ye Qinghe's speculations, he just shrugged slightly.
"In any case, none of this is something we can involve ourselves in."
He hasn't even started practicing martial arts yet.
Looking at this grand trend of the world, it indeed seems a bit insignificant.
Even if chaos truly erupts, he can only go with the flow. Rather than worrying about this, it's better to seize every moment to improve oneself. With enough strength, everything will happen naturally.
"That's true."
Ye Qinghe muttered a few words.
Suddenly, realizing she was being lectured by a one-year-old child, she couldn't help but pinch Ning Qi's cheeks.
"Clever little brat!"
Ning Qi paid no attention.
He put down the Great Yan Record and turned to another book on miscellaneous feng shui to read.
This made Ye Qinghe feel a bit frustrated, and she couldn't resist scratching her hair in annoyance, saying:
"Sometimes I wonder, Jiu, is there an old monster living inside you?"
Ning Qi paused his motion, continuing to read.
"Ah, stop reading. You need to balance work and rest, Jiu. If you want to work hard, wait until you start practicing martial arts; there'll be plenty of hardship. For now, you should cherish this rare leisurely time."
Ye Qinghe rambled on.
Ning Qi responded:
"Is practicing martial arts really that hard?"
Ye Qinghe perked up:
"Of course, to achieve in martial arts, mere talent isn't enough; you must put in enough effort and spend enough time."
"Take your Eighth Senior Brother, for example. His talent is outstanding even in Great Yan, but guess how long it took him to temper his body."
Ning Qi turned the pages, with flashes of inspiration continually arising in his mind, absorbing the essence into his feng shui system. Even so, he was still able to handle Ye Qinghe.
"Five or six years?"
Ye Qinghe chuckled:
"It seems, Jiu, you haven't realized the difficult life that lies ahead!"
"Let me tell you, from the age of seven to eighteen, a full eleven years! Qin Yun practiced diligently day and night before he completed his body tempering and stepped into the Inner Essence Realm!"
"So long?" This did surprise Ning Qi.
"That's with your Eighth Senior Brother's exceptional talent. For others, it would take even longer. In Great Yan, anyone under thirty is considered part of the younger generation, and those who step into the Inner Essence by twenty are considered unparalleled geniuses."
"Though, Jiu, you're surely a genius, spending ten years on body tempering is still quite normal."
"Now you know, there's plenty of hardship ahead, no rush for the moment. There's a saying, if you're willing to endure hardship, then there is endless hardship to endure. Right? How about Senior Sister taking you out to play? Senior Sister often regrets that the carefree eight years of childhood were too short."
Faced with Ye Qinghe's incessant chatter and hopeful eyes.
Ning Qi gave a light glance and responded.
"Oh."
He didn't think he would need that long.
The world of a genius is something ordinary people can't understand.
Ye Qinghe was instantly exasperated, feeling she had wasted her breath.
Following that.
No matter how she tried to converse, Ning Qi ignored her, fully immersed in his world of comprehension.
Ye Qinghe sighed, lying back on the recliner in the courtyard, and before she knew it, she fell asleep soundly.
Ning Qi glanced at Ye Qinghe, with a slight smile.
Although Third Senior Sister is quite vocal, she's actually afraid he would feel lonely.
However, he didn't feel lonely.
With full-level insight, every moment offers a harvest; a feeling quite exhilarating but one generally beyond others' experience.
...
Time drifted by serenely.
The days spent on True Martial Mountain were rather pleasant. Compared to being bedridden in his past life, unable to move, this life was indeed exceedingly wonderful.
Though his body was small, at least he could walk freely and had a master, senior brothers, and sisters who loved him dearly. This made Ning Qi quite satisfied.
In the blink of an eye.
Two and a half years had passed since the discussion on immortality with Taoist Longshan.
Ning Qi was now three years old.
In the past two and a half years, several senior brothers and sisters showed great care for Ning Qi, bringing him lots of things every time they descended the mountain. Knowing Ning Qi's love for rare books, they also consciously collected them to bring back. In their spare time, they would come to play with Ning Qi.
Master Taoist Longshan also taught patiently without holding back, except he didn't allow Ning Qi to contact martial arts too early; other than that, there was nothing restricted, which made other disciples a bit envious.
Besides.
Ning Qi discovered that his master descended the mountain several times, seemingly chasing the murderer who massacred Snow Plum Manor three years ago, but it didn't seem to go too well.
Taoist Longshan never proactively mentioned the events of that year to Ning Qi, perhaps hoping Ning Qi would live carefree without being blinded by hatred. However, he didn't know that Ning Qi clearly remembered everything that happened that day.
Ning Qi wasn't in a hurry.
He needed time to grow.
When the time comes, he would handle it himself.
Over these three years, he has shown enough wisdom, making Taoist Longshan and Luo Wentian anticipate how amazing Ning Qi would be after stepping into the Martial Path.
They have estimated more than once the time when Ning Qi's root bone would form.
They mostly believed it could form by the age of six.
But what they didn't know was, the changes within Ning Qi's body grew more significant each day.
One morning.
Ning Qi awoke.
His expression was expectant, yet calm, everything was within his expectations.
As usual, he circulated the Innate Bone Nourishing Skill, the residual traces of extremely subtle Innate Qi within him accompanying the last cycle, completely dispersed throughout his body, and seemingly a mysterious force from between heaven and earth poured into his body.
In an instant.
Ning Qi's body trembled slightly, an unprecedented sense of fulfillment arose in his heart as if something missing within him was finally complete, he even vaguely felt a deeper connection to the world than ever before.
There was no world-shattering anomaly; Ning Qi opened his eyes, a look of delight appearing.
Two and a half years, nine hundred days and nights of diligent practice.
The root bone, finally fully formed!