How to fight against a being that you cannot defeat no matter what?
The answer is to introduce another equally powerful and terrifying being.
...
"Hoo-ha!"
In a exquisite courtyard with walls made of luxurious sandalwood and adorned with numerous profound wall markings, over the expensive bluestone ground, a youth of only fifteen or sixteen relentlessly practiced his combat skills, the air crackling in response to his blows.
His upper body was bare, sweat dripping down his focused brows as he swung his fist, his handsome features exuding a hint of heroic youthfulness.
Gradually, he stopped his movements and turned towards a huge human sized boulder placed in the middle of the courtyard, several fist marks already embedded on it.
Stepping towards the boulder, the youth took a deep breath, gathering his strength as he clenched both of his fists and took a stance before throwing a powerful punch.
*Bam!*
As his punch landed, the air vibrated and the boulder faintly shook, his fist embedded into it.
With a swift motion, the youth retracted his fist, taking a deep look at the spot where his punch landed. It had now slightly sunk, similar to other fist marks on the boulder.
Yet, the young man's eyes showed a hint of dissatisfaction as he turned away, glancing at the sky slowly turning a crimson hue, the sun gradually coming down from high above and the moon slowly rising from the opposite side.
He raised his hand, obscuring the rays of crimson sunlight falling on his face, clenching his fist tightly before muttering.
"Not enough..."
At that moment, his personal maid, who had been standing outside the courtyard and waiting for her young master to finish his training, came in after seeing the setting sun with a towel in her hand and a bucket of water in another.
"Young master, how was your practice today?"
She asked with a curious gaze, looking back at the huge boulder riddled with fist marks and then back at him, handing him the towel and placing down the bucket.
Taking it from her hands, the youth wiped the sweat off his face, washing his hands in the water, his tone casual, "Nothing extraordinary. It seems, just as father said, I have encountered a bottleneck and can't surpass this illusory boundary in a short time. How was your day?"
Hearing his words, the maid, known as Xue'er, didn't press him further and started to talk about the interesting things that happened in and out of the Ji Mansion.
At this moment, they didn't look like master and servant, but more like close friends.
Ji Haotian, as the young master of the Ji Mansion, had always been like this from childhood, never treating those of lower status than him with disrespect unnecessarily.
It was more so for Xue'er, who was the granddaughter of the Ji Mansion's head maid, and had always been with him since childhood, being only a few months younger.
Just then, the courtyard door suddenly opened, and the figure of a tall old man with a long beard appeared at its entrance.
Despite looking well over seventy years of age, the old man was robust, with broad shoulders and an imposing presence as he stepped into the courtyard.
Seeing him, Xue'er hastily offered a respectful bow and Ji Haotian cupped his fists in salute, also bowing his head slightly.
"I wonder what brings Elder Huang here?"
Ji Haotian asked with a trace of doubt in his eyes, yet his posture remained relaxed, without a hint of vigilance.
Looking at him, the old man called Elder Huang nodded in approval, a kind smile appeared on his face as he addressed, "Young master, the master has some matters to attend to later on tonight, hence, he wishes to have an early dinner with you and also guide you in your cultivation."
Ji Haotian was slightly stunned before he nodded vigorously. He picked up on the important subject in Elder Huang's words.
Guide his cultivation!
He had been wanting to ask for guidance for some time, but was too embarrassed to talk to his father about it.
After all, his talent...
Concealing his excitement, Ji Haotian quickly walked out of the courtyard, led by Elder Huang with Xue'er following him closely.
As they walked towards the dining hall, the servants coming and going all greeted Ji Haotian and Elder Huang along the way.
Elder Huang had an extremely high status in the Ji Mansion, as he was a direct subordinate and advisor of Ji Haotian's father, the lord of the Ji Mansion.
He managed almost all internal affairs of the Ji Mansion, and aside from his decades of experience, he was also one of the strongest members of the Ji Mansion!
Even the County Magistrate could only see Elder Huang as an equal, not a percent inferior than him!
It had to be known that the County Magistrate's Mansion was the most powerful force in Lingshan County!
It was evident just from this alone how terrifying the Ji Mansion's influence truly was in Lingshan County.
After walking for around fifteen minutes, Ji Haotian and the others finally arrived at the dining hall.
The Ji Mansion's estate was extremely vast, stretching out to several thousand meters. There were pavillions, villas, halls, courtyards, gardens, and even ponds in the estate.
It was because the number of Ji Mansion members was also not that small, there were several hundred servants alone, then there were Ji Mansion Guards and the like.
As soon as they entered the hall, a wafting aroma hit their senses and an array of dishes entered their vision, placed neatly on a rectangular table.
The dining hall was bigger than Ji Haotian's villa, yet it didn't look empty at all. There were paintings, calligraphy, and many other things placed around neatly, making it look like a luxurious palace.
And despite being located almost in the center of the vast estate, in this scorching summer heat, the dining hall wasn't hot at all.
In fact, most places like the dining hall that were regularly used and sealed off from the outside world were like this. Except for the open courtyards such as Ji Haotian's training place, the gardens and the like, of course.
It was because the floor in these places was made of a special material called the Moonstone. The Moonstone, made of Pure Cold Qi, always had a temperature of 20 degree celsius no matter the season, making it an extremely expensive but useful material.
In the entire Lingshan County, aside from the Ji Mansion, only the County Magistrate's Mansion could afford to use Moonstone as the floor of its estate.
At that moment, aside from the food, Ji Haotian's gaze was drawn to a figure sitting right in front of him, at the main seat of the table.
It was a man with long, dark brown hair scattered neatly, draping over his shoulders. Wearing a casual loose-fitting red robe with brown and white linings, etched with exquisite golden patterns. His face was well sculpted, magnificently handsome with sharp eyebrows, long lashes, broad shoulders, a sharp jawline, and majestic golden eyes, like a dragon descended from the nine heavens.
He looked to be only in his late twenties at most, with around 50-60% similarities to Ji Haotian's face. Had they been of a similar age, then they would have looked at least 70% similar.
"Father."
Ji Haotian immediately called out respectfully, bowing his head.
"Family Head, I've brought the young master over as you instructed."
Elder Huang also cupped his fists and bowed slightly.
Yes, this person was none other than the Lord of the Ji Mansion, Head of the Ji Family, and the father of Ji Haotian, Ji Tianyu!
Ji Tianyu gave a small nod at Elder Huang's words before turning to Ji Haotian, a faint smile gracing his lips.
"Why are you still standing there? Sit down and eat. The head chef personally made your favorite stir fried Spirit Chicken and roasted Three-Horned Mystical Lamb with his secret technique."
He spoke softly, gesturing towards the table.
Ji Haotian didn't stand on ceremony and sat down, beginning to eat.
It had always been like this. This was just how his father, the most powerful person in the Ji Mansion and perhaps the entire Lingshan County, had been.
To begin with, his father was never strict, never urged him to cultivate, and even told him to do whatever he wanted, not necessarily needing to cultivate if he didn't want to.
However, all this doting just made him want to prove himself to his father more and lessen the burden on him.
It was why, despite having the worst Third Grade Talent, he did everything he could to get stronger.
After finishing dinner, Ji Haotian spent some more time with his father, asking him about some recent problems he had faced in his cultivation, and finally went away with Xue'er after receiving some pointers.
Just that was enough to make him happy, giving him a direction to move forward.
Watching his retreating figure, Ji Tianyu stared at his back, lost in thought.
Sensing something amiss, Elder Huang tried to speak up for Ji Haotian.
"The young master is really hardworking, even the servants in the mansion never get tired of praising him. Had it not been for his talent, he might have already become the strongest of the Lingshan County's younger generation..."
Seeing that Ji Tianyu was still staring blankly at the entrance of the hall, Elder Huang immediately changed his words.
"Of course, talent is not the deciding factor of a great person. The young master has countless redeeming qualities that compensates for his lack of talent, and he can surely lead the Ji Mansion exceptionally well!"
Just then, Ji Tianyu raised his hand to stop Elder Huang, a helpless smile appearing on his face.
"Old Huang, do you seriously think I blame that child for his lack of talent?"
At that moment, seeing Ji Tianyu's appearance, a realization suddenly hit Elder Huang.
Yes.
This man whom he had followed for over fifteen years had never blamed that child, not even behind his back.