Han Li and Han Fei, leading nearly ten apprentices from their martial hall, swore to avenge their older brother, but never imagined that the moment they attacked, they would suffer a truly devastating blow.
Li Chang'an's speed was like a flash of lightning, his movements so swift that no one could even react.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The air filled with the thunderous sound of fist meeting flesh.
Even Han Li, who had already reached the threshold of Qi Force, couldn't withstand three of Li Chang'an's fierce attacks before he was sent flying like a sandbag.
It took less than five minutes.
All of them, including Han Li and Han Fei, nearly ten sturdy men, were left sprawled on the ground.
After catching his breath, Li Chang'an, who stood at the center of the scene, returned to his courtyard. He called out to his parents and his grand-uncle Li Xiao, who had been hiding behind the door listening to the commotion. "Father, Grand-uncle," he said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, but please help me take care of this. Let's do the same as last time. We'll dump them near the woods and make it look like wild dogs tore them apart."
Unlike last time, however, Li Chang'an no longer cared how the outside world viewed the death and disappearance of these men.
In fact, this undisguised display of force was a deliberate message to the outside world about his power.
After all, this was a world where might made right. Li Chang'an was confident that as long as he maintained an unfathomable level of strength and depth, no one would dare to trouble him so easily again.
The many villagers who had witnessed this scene were all struck silent.
Then...
An uncontrollable uproar broke out!
This was the first time Li Chang'an had fought in front of so many people, and the shock and awe it produced were simply overwhelming.
He had single-handedly mowed down nearly ten men as if they were nothing.
How was a feat like that any different from the legendary Martial Artists who were said to wield Divine and Ghostly Power?
From that day forward, the way the villagers looked at Li Chang'an changed once more. They were no longer wary of him; instead, they began actively encouraging their own children to go and play with him.
After all, though the villagers had felt gratitude and admiration for Li Chang'an, this was true for only some of them.
Many still forbade their children from getting close, a clear sign of their lingering reservations.
This battle, however, had shown them the full extent of Li Chang'an's miraculous and terrifying power. Many villagers now regarded him as the Guardian God of Li Family Village!
...
「On the ninth day of the first month, in the year 238 of the Yaoqing King Calendar, Li Chang'an celebrated his fifth birthday.」
In the past two years, Li Chang'an had used his Heaven-defying Comprehension to grasp numerous Cultivation Techniques. The vortex of Qi in his body had also grown from the size of a pigeon's egg to the size of his palm.
By all rights, this rate of progress was astonishing, yet Li Chang'an himself was not satisfied.
The reason was simple. Although the effects of his cheat-like ability, Heaven-defying Comprehension, were insane, Li Chang'an had started with absolutely no foundation in the Martial Dao.
Even after grasping numerous Cultivation Techniques and Ultimate Techniques, he still couldn't escape his own limitations.
Normally, once the Qi vortex inside the body reached the size of one's palm, becoming a true Martial Artist was only a single step away.
Yet this was a step Li Chang'an had been unable to take.
By the age of five, his body's frame and constitution were mostly developed. Both his strength and stamina had increased dramatically, but the Qi within him had reached its limit.
Li Chang'an knew why. The Qi circulation Technique he had comprehended from that Daoist was limited; it could only take him this far.
And so, he stopped his training.
After all, if he couldn't compress the Qi vortex in his body into a liquid state, continuing to absorb Qi would only overload his body. He had to wait for a chance to break through, or find a complete Martial Dao Cultivation Technique.
The first required luck and inspiration, while the second required a search for a renowned master. For a mere five-year-old like Li Chang'an, both were out of reach.
This was hardly a peaceful era, after all. Demon Fiends roamed the land.
His current strength might be enough for self-preservation in a village or a county town, but if he left home and had the misfortune of running into a Demon Fiend, he would still end up as nothing more than a pile of bones by the roadside.
Therefore, Li Chang'an shifted his focus entirely to practicing his Cultivation Techniques and instructing his 'disciples'.
'The effect of Heaven-defying Comprehension is just too insane!'
Every day, even just sitting at home, Li Chang'an would spontaneously grasp all sorts of techniques and moves. He comprehended them so quickly that he didn't even have time to practice many of them himself.
Thus, to avoid letting them go to waste, and after a period of assessment, Li Chang'an finally took several children his age from the village as his apprentices.
Most of these children had very average talent for the Martial Dao; only a select few showed real potential.
The most diligent and hardworking among them was a boy named Li San, the very first child who had asked to become Li Chang'an's disciple.
Li San's mother had died in childbirth, and his father had been killed by Han the Eighth. He now lived with his elderly grandparents. To make time to train with the other children, he would wake up at two or three in the morning to do chores, working until sunrise.
He possessed a tenacity that none of the other children had.
Li Chang'an saw great potential in him and made him the 'Senior Brother' among his disciples. On the surface, however, he rarely showed the boy any kindness.
The reason was... quite simple!
While Li San was talented, he was also a brat who couldn't handle praise.
Whenever Li Chang'an praised him, he'd act like he was invincible and spend the rest of the day grinning like an idiot.
[Ding! Defying Fate successful!]
[At five years old, you are strong and healthy with abundant vitality. You have rewritten your fate of stunted growth and constant hunger. You have also made a name for yourself around Li Family Village, earning the title of 'Child Prodigy'!]
[Rebirth evaluation increased. You have received an additional 1,000 Rebirth Points!]
Looking at the message from the Rebirth Mark that appeared in his vision, Li Chang'an smiled in satisfaction. This was the second time he had rewritten his fate, and the reward was even greater than the first.
On this day, Li Chang'an was training as usual.
However, unlike in the past, he was not alone. More than twenty young children of various ages stood outside the Li Family courtyard.
Among them, the older children were diligently training, facing the morning sun.
The younger ones were off to the side, clumsily copying the moves, or just watching the spectacle, some barely old enough to walk.
These were not peaceful times.
A formidable Rebel Army had appeared near Sanhuang County, and to prepare for the potential turmoil, the county was recruiting soldiers and bolstering its armaments.
This unusual development put the village adults on edge. They restricted their children's play areas, so the bored kids naturally gathered at the Li Family's front gate.
"Seize the Golden Crystal, secure the root of life; Sun's soul to the east, moon's glow to the west."
"Within, the Elixir of Immortality is refined; Drink it and with Heaven and Earth align."
"Wonder not why news from Jasper Pool is sparse; For worldly matters veil the heavenly path..."
In the distance, an old Daoist in his fifties was chanting a Daoist classic as he approached from the other end of the mountain path, a young Daoist in his twenties following behind him.
As he neared the courtyard gate, the old Daoist's chanting came to an abrupt halt. He stopped in his tracks, turning his head to stare at the rather bizarre scene before him.
He hadn't thought much of it at first, but a closer look gave him the shock of his life.
The old Daoist's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he gasped, "Holy shit!"
Hearing this vulgar cry, the young Daoist behind him frowned, clearly disdainful of his master's loud and undignified outburst.
However, when he lifted his own gaze to see what was happening, he made the exact same sound as his master: "Holy shit!?"
The two of them had passed through Li Family Village a few years ago.
They remembered it as nothing more than an ordinary village downstream along the Three Yellow Rivers.
But now, what were they seeing?
A crowd of scrawny children in tattered clothes, gathered in small groups outside a courtyard, practicing the Martial Dao's Qi Force and Cultivation Technique forms with surprising proficiency?
...