"From the three-race conflict in Wutan City, to the Soul Palace stirring up trouble, and then to the Soul Emperor's bloodbath, it's only been fifty years at most. If you don't work hard, you'll really die a terrible death! I wished to be a lazy bum in my next life, but it's going to be even harder. Sigh..."
In the old courtyard, a two- or three-year-old child muttered softly, while drawing and sketching his future on the ground with a twig.
Sitting on the stone steps, Xiao Feng looked up at the sky. It was a bit ridiculous for a child to make such a sighing gesture, but his eyes were full of the melancholy that only adults have.
"I've rested enough, let's continue!"
The child cleaned up the marks on the ground with his feet, then put his hands on his waist, spread his hips and lower his knees, and remained motionless in that position.
Soon, beads of sweat rolled down his head, and his tender face turned red, but he still gritted his teeth, and even though his legs were trembling, Xiao Feng persisted.
"Young Master Xiao Feng, it's time to eat..."
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a servant carrying a lunchbox rushed in upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, without even finishing his sentence.
He put down the lunchbox, picked up the child, and said, "Young Master Xiao Feng, the patriarch has already said that a two-year-old's body is too weak and not suitable for exercise. How could you..."
The servant looked troubled. He wanted to say something stern to reprimand Xiao Feng, but given the difference in their status, he couldn't say those words.
Xiao Feng, held in the servant's arms, was completely oblivious to this. He straightened up and broke free from the servant's embrace, ran to the lunchbox, and opened the lid. "Ah, it smells so good!"
The servant smiled wryly, watching Xiao Feng finish eating before silently leaving with the lunchbox.
Then, he would report to the clan leader.
Sure enough, not long after the servant left, Xiao Feng's uncle, Xiao Zhan, arrived.
"Feng'er, I heard from Atai that you've started practicing standing meditation again?"
Xiao Zhan looked serious. He was quite responsible for this child, at least until he was sixteen.
"Uncle Xiao Zhan, you've come."
Xiao Feng bowed respectfully to the middle-aged man before him.
Looking at the obedient child, Xiao Zhan's eyes softened with tenderness and guilt, and his tone became gentler. "Feng'er, do you remember what Uncle said?"
"I remember. Uncle told Feng'er that the earliest one can learn martial arts and internal energy cultivation is four years old."
The child's voice was full of innocence.
"Then why didn't Feng'er listen?"
Xiao Feng didn't answer immediately. He gathered his emotions, his eyes quickly reddening. "Uncle Xiao Zhan, Feng'er dreamt of my parents yesterday."
When Xiao Feng was one year old, his parents were ambushed and killed while transporting medicinal herbs. Xiao Zhan received the news, but it was too late. He could only watch them die after agreeing to take care of Xiao Feng.
From then on, Xiao Zhan became Xiao Feng's uncle.
Hearing this, Xiao Zhan trembled, almost unable to look at the child's face.
The child looked up at him with his head held high, his voice filled with grievance, "They said they miss Feng'er, and Feng'er misses them too, but Feng'er is so useless, he can't help them get revenge. Uncle Xiao Zhan, what should Feng'er do?"
As he spoke, tears rolled down his cheeks.
Xiao Zhan's eyes also reddened. He still remembered the scene of Xiao Feng's parents lying in a pool of blood, begging him to take care of their child. Now, hearing the child's innocent plea, how could he bear to refuse?
"Feng'er, you're still too young. It's easy for you to mess up your Qi cultivation. If you insist, then move to my place for now."
Xiao Zhan thought for a moment and carefully expressed his thoughts.
In his opinion, Qi cultivation at this age could easily harm the body, but letting Xiao Feng torment himself like this wouldn't be good for his health either. It would be better to have him by his side, to have him personally supervise and guide him, rather than letting him mess around like this now.
"Okay!" Xiao Feng wiped away his tears, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
It wasn't that Xiao Feng was inherently a wolf in sheep's clothing, but rather that he genuinely had no memory of his birth parents. He was certainly moved, but not to the point of tears. Moreover, the memories of the past two years were insignificant compared to the twenty-odd years of his previous life.
Moving was no problem for Xiao Feng, and since he didn't have much to do, he moved into Xiao Zhan's courtyard that very night.
It was truly befitting of the head of the family; it was much larger than Xiao Feng's place, with several separate courtyards inside.
"This is Xiao Feng. You are not allowed to bully him,"
Xiao Zhan said solemnly to the other three children at the dinner table, while introducing Xiao Feng, "These are your two older brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li. This one is a few days younger than you, he's your younger brother, Xiao Yan."
The family consisted of four people, except for the woman of the house.
'I heard that the clan leader's wife fell ill; it seems she couldn't escape fate.'
Suppressing his thoughts, Xiao Feng politely greeted everyone. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li responded with smiles, but Xiao Yan looked sullen, muttering under his breath, "Am I destined to be the younger brother?"
Seeing the four of them getting along so well, Xiao Zhan finally breathed a sigh of relief, worried that Xiao Feng might be bullied for not fitting in.
After dinner, Xiao Zhan led Xiao Feng into a secluded courtyard.
"This is your home."
Xiao Feng nodded, only glancing around with slight curiosity for a few seconds before falling silent again.
Xiao Zhan found it amusing, thinking that this kid was still preoccupied with fighting spirit. He immediately said, "All members of our Xiao family enter the Qi Chain Hall to register for cultivation at the age of four. My private instruction to you today is a violation of the clan rules, so you must not tell anyone, and you cannot show it to others before the age of four."
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Xiao Zhan." Xiao Feng bowed again.
This wasn't about flattery; he genuinely thanked those who had achieved something.
Under Xiao Zhan's guidance, Xiao Feng formed hand seals, silently sensing the Dou Qi that filled the heavens and earth.
Abundant, active, and violent...
Compared to the internal energy he cultivated in his previous life, Dou Qi was like a mad beast.
This thought appeared in his mind the moment he sensed the Dou Qi.
Pain!
As the Dou Qi was introduced into his body, waves of pain surged through him. The violent Dou Qi crudely entered his tender meridians, and he could only grit his teeth and endure the excruciating pain.
Xiao Feng clenched his teeth, his face contorting in pain. Only now did he understand why Xiao Zhan had always refused to let him cultivate Dou Qi ahead of schedule.
Suddenly, he smiled inwardly; it was just a little pain.
More than the pain, Xiao Feng was worried about dying inexplicably due to insufficient strength.
After all, from Xiao Yan's appearance to the Soul Emperor's destruction of the world, only a little over thirty years had passed.
Even though there were more than ten years now, what difference could it make?
Time was of the essence!
When the first wisp of Dou Qi entered his dantian, Xiao Feng opened his eyes and slowly let out a sigh of relief.
The first step had finally been taken.
Xiao Feng stared blankly at the hand seals formed by his hands.
He had tried to draw in battle qi through internal energy cultivation, but suffered a backlash and took over a month to recover. The method Xiao Zhan had instructed him on was far cruder than his previous life's visualization techniques. Could he really safely channel qi just because of these hand seals?
"How is it?" Xiao Zhan asked anxiously, interrupting Xiao Feng's thoughts.
Xiao Feng jumped off the bed and bowed to Xiao Zhan again, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Xiao Zhan."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, it's late. I'll have the servants prepare hot water. Take a bath and go to sleep."
Xiao Zhan patted Xiao Feng's head. "If you don't understand anything during cultivation, feel free to ask me. Don't go astray by cultivating haphazardly."
With that, he turned and left.
Xiao Feng looked annoyed; being patted on the head… was a bit annoying.
Soon, someone took Xiao Feng to bathe. After returning and lying in bed, sleepiness quickly enveloped him.
The next day, before dawn, Xiao Feng got up as usual to practice his horse stance.
Half an hour later, a sliver of dawn appeared in the east, and there was movement in the two neighboring courtyards.
Another half hour passed, and Xiao Feng heard what sounded like a fight breaking out in the two courtyards…
Out of curiosity, Xiao Feng went over.
"Brother Feng, so early."
The fighting quickly stopped, and Xiao Ding and Xiao Li greeted Xiao Feng.
"Yeah, Brother Ding, Brother Li, good morning. I was just curious, if it's inconvenient…"
"It's not inconvenient, go ahead if you want to watch." Xiao Li waved his hand, looking indifferent.
Xiao Ding laughed, "Much more diligent than Third Brother, that guy is probably still sleeping in."
After saying that, the two smiled at each other and started fighting again.
After watching for about a minute, Xiao Feng rubbed his eyes and went back.
The fighting in this world… was a bit of an eyesore.
Perhaps there were some fighting techniques, but Xiao Feng didn't see any in the two of them; it was just simple punches and kicks, followed by smiles, with expressions of having met their match and wanting to fight a hundred more rounds.
Before breakfast even started, Xiao Feng practiced a set of boxing techniques.
Compared to his previous life, his body was stronger in this life; his bones and muscles at the age of two or three were comparable to those of a six or seven-year-old. However, Xiao Feng was worried that he was too young and had not fully grown, so he only dared to practice Tai Chi and the like to stretch his muscles and bones.
When breakfast was served, Xiao Yan was carried out.
"Good morning," he said, looking sleepy and listless.
Xiao Ding and Xiao Li glanced at Xiao Feng and couldn't help but smile wryly; their younger brother was indeed no match for him.
After breakfast, Xiao Yan sneaked out.
The toddler, who had just learned to walk, had no idea where he went. However, none of them were worried; nothing would happen in their home, so they let him do as he pleased.
Xiao Ding and Xiao Li cultivated, Xiao Zhan handled family affairs, and everyone was busy with their own tasks, leaving Xiao Feng with some free time.
Back in the courtyard, he began to seriously consider a question.
Should he follow Xiao Yan's path, leaving Xiao Yan with no way to go?
Or should he find another way, taking the path he envisioned?
In terms of safety, it was undoubtedly safer to forcibly take Xiao Yan's fruit; he only needed to be in the right place at the right time, and the opportunity would naturally fall into his lap.
But there was one thing Xiao Feng couldn't let go of: in the story he remembered, Xiao Feng didn't exist.
If Xiao Feng replaced Xiao Yan, what role would Xiao Yan play?
With the variables arising, could Xiao Feng, who had replaced Xiao Yan, still become a Dou Di?
This time, he thought for a long time, finally opening his palm and feeling the omnipresent Dou Qi, confirming his original intention: if he could cultivate internal energy in that desolate place in his previous life, why should he be timid here?
Having figured everything out, Xiao Feng couldn't help but feel his fighting spirit soaring, "We martial artists should row against the current!"
At this moment, a head suddenly poked out from the courtyard gate, "Brother Feng, what did you just say?"
There was a hint of excitement in his tone.
Xiao Feng looked up and saw that it was Xiao Yan who had returned.
"Come on, Brother Feng has a set of ancestral kung fu here, I'll teach you."
Xiao Feng couldn't stand this lazy bum.
Xiao Yan was stunned for a while before asking, "You mean... kung fu?"
Xiao Feng looked at Xiao Yan's hesitant appearance and found it amusing, but he didn't intend to explain that he had transmigrated.
After all, this was a ruthless person who looked down on his biological father.
"Haha, I was just kidding." Xiao Feng scratched his head sheepishly. "Actually, it's not an heirloom; I found it in my own courtyard."
Xiao Feng pulled out a martial arts manual he had made a year ago from his pocket. The handwriting and the aged appearance were impeccable.
Xiao Yan, excited, quickly ran over, took it, and began to read.
Half an hour later.
"Raise your hands, straighten your back, press your legs down!" Xiao Feng, with his hands behind his back, pointed out Xiao Yan's shortcomings.
He had been practicing the horse stance for a month and was certain it was harmless and could even improve his physique, so it wouldn't hurt for the future Flame Emperor to try it out.
"I'm not practicing anymore!"
Xiao Yan plopped down on the ground, panting heavily. Martial arts, something so high-level, couldn't possibly involve horse stance!
Xiao Feng didn't care either, simply saying "oh" and remaining silent.
After all, Xiao Huohuo had relied on drugs to get ahead; whether he practiced horse stance or not didn't matter much.
"Um… can I borrow this manual to take a look?" Xiao Yan still didn't want to give up.
"You can take this and copy it, then give it back to me." Xiao Feng generously tossed it over.
It was all loosely organized, but it was useful in some ways…
(End of Chapter)