Prologue 1 – Ning Zhuo’s Early Wisdom
The great caravan of the Ning Clan moved as one, migrating through the southern fields under the gentle embrace of March.
Spring was in full bloom.
Vast expanses of rapeseed flowers stretched across the landscape, their golden petals shimmering in the breeze like sunlight dancing on a sea of green, filling the air with a sense of hope.
The caravan rumbled onward.
A middle-aged man dismounted his steed and quickly climbed into one of the mechanized carriages within the caravan.
He pushed the door open hurriedly.
“Madam, look at this!” he exclaimed, holding up a pill as if it were a priceless treasure.
His wife, heavily pregnant, lay resting in bed with her eyes closed.
The carriage windows were shut, and the man channeled spiritual energy to light a spirit lamp hanging from the ceiling.
Under its soft glow, his wife opened her eyes and gazed at the pill. It was clear and crystalline, resembling a bead of glazed glass, and it emitted a faint golden light.
She sniffed the air delicately, catching the refreshing fragrance of the pill. The scent was reminiscent of a forest after rain, soothing her spirit and clearing her mind.
“This is an Early Wisdom Pill,” she said, surprised. “An exceptional elixir. Where did you get it?” The man grinned. “Do you remember the Iron-Fist Monk I once helped? Since he follows the Buddhist path and values karma, he insisted on repaying me.
“I told him that you were about to give birth and asked if he could bless our child’s future cultivation in some way.” His wife’s joy quickly turned to concern. “Husband, you could have asked him to heal your injuries instead!
“At the very least, you could have requested a lotus seed from the Buddha’s Universal Salvation Lotus Platform—it would have improved your cultivation aptitude significantly!” The man shook his head with a sigh. “I thought it through.
“My old injuries flare up and cause me pain, but they won’t kill me. At most, they’ll make me miserable for a few days. Even if I fully healed, my combat strength wouldn’t improve drastically.
“And even if I obtained a lotus seed, my cultivation aptitude would only rise from mid-tier to upper mid-tier. At my age, breaking through my bottleneck would still be impossible with such an improvement.” He knelt beside his wife, gently placing a hand on her swollen belly. “Considering all this, I decided it was better to leave this opportunity for our child instead.
“After all, the main ingredient of the Early Wisdom Pill is a fragment of the Bodhi Tree’s Root of Enlightenment.” His wife sighed deeply but eventually nodded, acknowledging the wisdom in his decision.
“Here, take the pill,” he said, standing up and offering it to her. “I’ll help you absorb it with my spiritual energy.” The wife swallowed the pill, and its gentle medicinal power flowed into the unborn child within her womb.
The Early Wisdom Pill was renowned for enhancing mental clarity, cultivating spiritual awareness, nourishing the soul, and fostering intellect.
Once the process was complete, the man beamed with joy. “Wonderful! With this pill, our child will develop extraordinary intellect early on. Who knows? Maybe he’s already listening to and remembering everything we say!” His wife chuckled. “You dream too much.
“Even if he could remember every word we say, he wouldn’t grasp their meaning.
“Besides, his meridians aren’t fully developed yet. If he starts cultivating prematurely, it might do more harm than good.” The man grinned sheepishly. “Of course, I know that. I was only joking.” Taking his wife’s hand, he added, “Ah, only after becoming a parent does one truly realize the depth of a parent’s love for their child.
“Our child isn’t even born yet, and I can’t help but worry about his future.”
“I just hope he’ll have great cultivation potential—ideally higher than mine. I don’t want him to end up like me.”
His wife shook her head. “If he doesn’t have cultivation potential, will I love him any less?”
“No,” the man replied firmly.
“No matter what, he is our child, our flesh and blood.”
“I hope he has some aptitude for cultivation, but not too much.
“How many times have we seen or heard of prodigious children meeting untimely deaths?”
“I just want him to live a peaceful and safe life.” As they were speaking, a sudden alarm rang out.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” someone shouted loudly.
The couple’s expressions changed drastically.
The middle-aged man quickly instructed his wife to remain calm and stay still, then stepped outside.
The moment he emerged, the world around him transformed. Icy winds howled, sharp as countless blades, cutting through everything in their path.
“We’ve fallen into a grand array!” the man exclaimed, his voice a mix of anger and forced composure.
He immediately channeled his spiritual energy into his magical tools, activating them for protection.
Inside the carriage, his wife activated several defensive runes, causing the vehicle’s protective power to surge.
“Who dares?” roared the Ning Clan’s patriarch as he ascended into the air, exuding an imposing and commanding aura.
The attackers remained silent, focusing on manipulating the icy formation to unleash its next strike.
Fist-sized hailstones rained down in torrents, covering the sky like a tempest.
The Ning Clan caravan began to suffer casualties.
The patriarch let out a cold laugh. “Ha! Do you think I don’t know who you are, even if you hide in the shadows?”
“Frost Marquis, Absolute Ice Hermit—how patient of you to wait until we crossed into the southern border of the Nan Dou Kingdom to strike.”
Exposed, Frost Marquis and Absolute Ice Hermit revealed themselves.
Frost Marquis spoke first. “Old Ning, when you left my Beifeng (Northern Wind) Kingdom and brought your entire clan to pledge allegiance to the Nan Dou (Southern Bean) Kingdom, you should have anticipated this moment.”
The patriarch retorted angrily, “I made my intentions clear to your king and even left treasures behind to reach an agreement. Your Beifeng royal family is breaking its promise. After this battle, I will make this betrayal known to all!”
Absolute Ice Hermit sneered. “Which is why I’m here. Rest assured, after this battle, the only rumor that will spread is that Absolute Ice Hermit acted alone to settle a personal vendetta.” A fierce battle erupted.
Outnumbered, the Ning Clan’s patriarch struggled to protect his clan while fighting off the attackers.
Despite his strength, he soon found himself at a disadvantage.
Sensing imminent danger, the patriarch detonated a magical artifact, temporarily blasting open a pathway through the array.
“Run!” he roared.
In the chaos, the Ning Clan’s young master took charge, guiding as many clansmen as possible through the opening to escape.
Meanwhile, packs of snow wolves, formed from ice and snow, gave relentless pursuit, mercilessly slaughtering those who lagged behind.
The pathway began to shrink, leaving more than half of the Ning Clan trapped within the array.
“Don’t push! Stay calm!” people shouted, but panic quickly descended into chaos.
The snow wolves fell upon the crowd, creating a gruesome scene of blood and carnage.
Amid the confusion, the Ning Clan’s young master and two others managed to squeeze into the middle-aged couple’s mechanized carriage.
“Ning Zhong, my brother!” the young master, Ning Xiaoren, greeted the middle-aged man in a panic.
“The pathway is closing—please lend us your carriage!” However, burdened by the additional passengers and damaged by the relentless icy onslaught, the carriage began to slow down and fall behind.
It became painfully clear they wouldn’t make it through in time.
The young master’s two attendants turned to Ning Zhong. “Brother Ning Zhong, you’re in the Foundation Establishment realm like us. Please step out and help us hold off the enemy!”
His wife cried out in alarm, “Zhong-ge, don’t go!”
Ning Zhong furrowed his brow, his years of battle experience allowing him to assess the dire situation with grim clarity.
“If I don’t go out and hold them back, none of us will make it!” He turned sharply to glare at the clan young master, his eyes fierce and unwavering.
Ning Xiaoren shivered under the weight of his gaze and quickly raised his hand in an oath.
“Brother Ning Zhong, rest assured. If we survive, I swear on my life to protect your wife and child and to do everything in my power to support your son’s cultivation path!” Ning Zhong cast one last, heart-wrenching glance at his wife.
She was already crying, her face streaked with tears.
“Take good care of our child!” he said firmly.
Gritting his teeth, Ning Zhong made his decision. He leapt off the carriage, accompanied by the two attendants, to face the pursuing snow wolves.
The wolves howled menacingly as the mechanized carriage, staggering and damaged, passed through the shrinking pathway and disappeared into the opening.
