Chapter 1 – Innate Wisdom1

The Grand Chu Dynasty was governed under a feudal system, and their lands were split into 11 different provinces. The Grand Chu controlled the central Emperor’s province, and the remaining ten provinces were each divided and conferred upon different kings and relatives of the imperial state, who commanded their respective regions.

There was also the Shangqing official state religion. The Shangqing Dao of the distant past passed on their traditions until the current day, and had now branched out and expanded to the point of possessing a seat of power in every province, overseeing the entire country.

The Xu Clan was one of the three clans that governed the Ruyang Region, which was located in the You Province. From one hereditary successor to the next, they had already been in power for over 300 years, commanding over the Southern region of the Ruyang Region that encompassed 400 square li2 of land. In this region, everything from the taxes, to the population, croplands, politics, and laws were all under the sole jurisdiction of the Xu Clan. The only thing they were required to do was pay a fixed portion of tax to the county each year.

Almost all of the ordinary civilians went out to labor at sunrise and returned at sunset, perhaps engaging in trading or business each day. However, there were some who possessed Dao Channels. If you were born with Dao Channels, you could cultivate Martial Techniques!

There were 9 grades of Dao Channels that could be ranked from best to worst, and every grade of Dao Channels was capable of cultivating Martial Techniques. But if one practiced forcibly, it would still only overwork the body and damage the meridians. There were also cases where the Dao Channels were blocked, making it impossible to cultivate any Martial Laws whatsoever.

Occasionally, there were a few sons from poor families or peasant families who discovered that they possessed Dao Channels. They would report this to the Xu Clan, who would take them under their wing and foster them, allowing them to undergo a meteoric rise to glory and splendor.

The main branch of the Xu Clan was located in the Zhenhai Prefecture, which was one of the biggest prefectures in Ruyang Region aside from Ruyang Prefecture itself, placing Zhenhai Prefecture at 2nd place among the four major prefectures in the county.

“Where is this?”

Xu Disheng opened his eyes, seeing only darkness save for a single small point of white light before him. His head was completely muddled as he floated forwards.

“Who am I?”

“Where am I?”

That small white point of light gradually grew larger, but his head was throbbing with a splitting headache.

“Why am I here, and what is this place?”

The blazing white ray of light flashed in front of his eyes. An extremely warm aura washed over Xu Disheng’s body, but his eyes stung from the brilliant radiance, forcing him to close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a puddle of scarlet blood staining the top of a large expensive satin mattress, and a fishy smell assailed his nostrils. He suddenly felt his body being turned over, and a middle-aged woman with a happy expression came into his view. It turned out that he was currently being held in her arms.

He vaguely heard a noisy exclamation right next to his ears, which most likely came from the middle-aged woman. Her voice was laden with a myriad of complex tones, with pleasant surprise being the foremost among them.

“Miss Yu, it’s a little boy! Congratulations, Miss Yu! Hurry and report this to the Young Patriarch!” the voice exclaimed. Judging by her tone, the latter half of the sentence was clearly directed towards the maids by her side. Several maids proceeded to bow their heads then leave the room.

“But Miss Yu, it’s rather strange. Your son isn’t crying at all.”

On the bed, there was a young woman with a pained expression on her face.

“Carry him here so I can see him,” she said softly, her face clearing up a bit. The middle-aged woman was probably the young woman’s maid, who was brought over from her own family, which was most likely why she was being referred to as “Miss Yu”, and not “Madame Yu”.

Doing as she said, the middle-aged woman held Xu Disheng in her arms and sat down in front of the young woman. The young woman really wanted to sit up, but she wasn’t able to do so because of her weakened body, and she ended up lying back down, her efforts in vain.

By now, Xu Disheng’s head had cleared a bit. After discovering that he couldn’t exert any strength in his body whatsoever, he only realized just now that he had turned into a newborn infant.

“Mother Xun, what did my son spit out?” Jin Yu was momentarily surprised, but with her noble identity, she was experienced and knowledgeable. She didn’t think it was particularly strange, and only quietly opened her mouth and asked this question.

The maid saw a vision, and was frozen in astonishment.

After hearing Jin Yu’s voice calling out to her to get her attention once more, she hurriedly held the baby with one hand, and reached her other hand into his mouth to retrieve the cyan ray of light.

It was a small, exquisite jade bamboo flute with a cyan shaft, and it was only about as thick as a pinky finger, half a palm long. Mother Xun stood there in daze with the bamboo flute in her palm. Several streams of resplendent cyan light shone brilliantly through the gaps between her fingers, giving off a mystical quality.

“A Xiantian Life Partner Artifact?” Jin Yu muttered, lifting her head slightly to look at her son once more. Her son’s facial features were delicate and refined, and he simply looked back at Jin Yu with his pair of unfocused beady black eyes, not crying or making any fuss whatsoever.

But as Xu Disheng stared back at the young woman, his mind was desperately trying to remember. Who am I, really? Why am I an infant now? I only remember that my name is Xu Disheng, and that I was reincarnated. But how do I know that I was reincarnated?

The more he thought, the more his head hurt. It seemed as if these were things he used to know, but he couldn’t remember the source of this information in the slightest.

Jin Yu, who was still watching her son, suddenly saw his brows furrow and his expression become pained. She hurriedly told Mother Xun to cheer the child up, and Mother Xun immediately began to gently rock and cradle the baby in her arms.

In the midst of all this, the doors were pushed open, and a handsome and bright young man walked in, followed by several young married women who were all good-looking in their own ways. The young man had a happy expression on his face, and the several women behind him had all had a variety of expressions on their faces.

He walked over to the bedside and took a seat, taking Jin Yu’s hand in his own, and said, “Yu’er, take good care of your health, okay? I had someone make you some Spirit Ginseng Soup. I’ll ask someone to bring it to you later.”

Turning his head to look at the infant in Mother Xun’s arms, he reached out to take the baby into his arms. After gazing at the infant’s face for a while, he grinned from ear to ear and said, “This child is my eleventh son, and he really resembles me quite a lot. Today, I will reward each maid with 20 taels3 of silver.”

Looking back at Mother Xun, he continued, “And for Mother Xun, 10 taels of gold.” Every maid bowed in gratitude in reception of their reward. Mother Xun then silently cast a questioning glance at Jin Yu.

Jin Yu was still in a weakened state, and after looking at the young man and the several women behind him, she opened her mouth and said, “You can take it out.”

Mother Xun slowly opened her palm, immediately basking the room in a mystical cyan glow. “When Young Master was born, he didn’t kick or cry, and in his mouth was this cyan jade flute Life Companion Artifact.”

The young man was called Xu Xiao, and he was the eldest son of the first wife of the Patriarch of the Xu Clan. He held the position of the young master of the family, governing the Zhenhai Province with hundreds of martial artist troops under his command. His authority was enormous. When he heard this news, he immediately put away his frivolous attitude. He picked up the small, delicate green jade flute and examined it closely with a solemn expression on his face.

His expression became more and more solemn, and he put away the jade flute before inquiring flatly, “Where is the Zhenhai Army?”

A light breeze swept throughout the room, and two black-armored men appeared, who immediately knelt on the ground. “Zhenhai Army Commander, Xiang Nan, reporting in,” one of them stated, cupping his hands in greeting.

“Zhenhai Vice Army Commander, Xu Cheng, reporting in,” said the other.

Xu Xiao looked around at the maids and servants, then ordered in a neutral tone, “Remove all maids, guards, and servants from Lady Yu’s residence and arrange for a new batch!”

““We respectfully obey Young Patriarch’s command!””

Xiang Nan rose to his feet and cast a chilly gaze at the maids and the guards outside the room. “The Zhenhai Army respectfully obeys. Take them away!”

A group of black-armored martial artists rushed in from outside the Rain Listening Pavilion and rounded up all of the maids and guards. Each of them had a pale expression, and they trembled nervously, not even daring to utter the slightest sound. They didn’t dare to resist, for they had seen something they shouldn’t have. If they tried to resist, they would bring disaster upon their family and relatives, and there was no room for negotiation.

This was the reality of the feudal system. The Xu Clan was in charge of the whole county and the cities and towns inside it, and to the ordinary citizens who lived within, their word was law.

“No one is allowed to disclose this matter, otherwise I will execute whoever is involved, including the previous three generations of their family!” Xu Xiao declared sternly to the women behind him and the remaining people in the room with a cold and serious expression on his face.

““Yes, Young Patriarch!””

“Yes, husband!”

Xu Xiao held Xu Disheng in his arms, then shared a look with Jin Yu, who was on the bed. When they made eye contact, he nodded his head slightly and stood up. He waved his sleeves and said, “You can all go back now. Xu Cheng, bring 50 Zhenhai Army Warriors to accompany me to the ancestral domain to see Father.”

“I respectfully obey Young Patriarch’s command!” Xu Cheng said deferentially.

Before Xu Xiao left the room, he turned his head slightly. “Mother Xun, please take good care of Yu’er.”

Mother Xun bowed her head in response and took another look at the baby in Xu Xiao’s arms, but his eyes were already closed.

At the moment, Xu Disheng was only an infant, and he was too weak. For the entire time, he was thinking and racking his brains nonstop. He was already physically and mentally spent, and he couldn’t help but fall into a deep slumber.

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