Teng Yongfan exclaimed in admiration, “The Six Thousand Black Armored Legion. Legend has it that the founding ancestor of the Guiyuan Sect established a rule: the Black Armored Legion must always maintain exactly six thousand members. Whenever a powerful newcomer joins, some of the weaker veterans are dismissed from the Legion. Even after being dismissed, however, they remain members of the Guiyuan Sect, becoming squad leaders for the soldiers in the cities under Jiangning Commandery.”

“Thus, although the outside world widely believes that one only needs to be capable of lifting five hundred jin to join the Black Armored Legion, in reality, because the numbers are fixed, the threshold has actually been raised. Being able to lift five hundred jin will, at best, only make you an outer disciple of the Guiyuan Sect,” Teng Yongfan stated.

Teng Qingshan was utterly astounded.

The permanently fixed roster ensured the Black Armored Legion grew stronger with every rotation, making it an absolute elite force.

“An army composed purely of martial artists,” Teng Qingshan murmured, trembling slightly.

He finally understood what kind of world this was!

In his previous life, Teng Qingshan had often considered what would happen if an organization comprised ten thousand masters of Neijia Quan (Internal Martial Arts) were to form. Such an organization would surpass any nation. Just imagining thousands of Neijia Quan masters infiltrating an enemy state to carry out assassinations—the entire country would likely descend into chaos overnight.

However, in his past life, such a scenario was impossible.

After all, the number of people capable of cultivating true Neijin (Internal Strength) was pitifully small. Even sects like the Divine Thief Gate didn't have a single Neijin expert. While there were SS-class experts globally, they were not only scarce but were also individually pledged to support their respective homelands.

“Of the Nine Provinces under Heaven, the second-largest sect in Yangzhou, the ‘Guiyuan Sect,’ already possesses such formidable military might! This world truly is magnificent,” Teng Qingshan felt a surge of excitement.

It seemed that the so-called SS-level or Grandmaster realm he knew from his past life was merely the level of an elite in this world.

The loneliness of a true master!

The former Teng Qingshan, already the pinnacle expert in modern society, had felt that isolation. In this current life, he had been uncertain about the nature of this world until today.

“This—this is the world I dreamed of, where the people are fierce and the strong are countless!”

Now aware of the world he inhabited, Teng Qingshan’s drive intensified. He devoted the vast majority of his time daily to training. With the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the Neijin within him grew increasingly robust. Teng Qingshan indulged lavishly, using his Neijin to aggressively stimulate his internal organs, muscles, tendons, and bones, forcing them to absorb and strengthen.

Neijia Quan had two primary focuses: first, health preservation, and second, lethality.

Health preservation endowed Teng Qingshan with incredibly powerful organs and astonishing vitality. Lethality meant pushing his muscles, tendons, and bones to the absolute extreme.

In his past life in modern society, the scarcity of Neijin had always been a source of anxiety, forcing him to conserve it, only using a trickle during critical moments in combat. Now, he didn't worry about running low on Neijin; instead, he worried that his fascia, bones, muscles, and organs absorbed the energy too slowly.

With an ample supply, Teng Qingshan’s body was improving at the ‘limit speed’ dictated by the Neijia Quan cultivation methods.

……

A heavy snow had fallen overnight, blanketing the entire Teng Family Village in a layer of white.

In the morning, the villagers used brooms to sweep the snow aside, revealing passable paths. The snow had lowered the temperature, and everyone wore thick padded jackets.

Inside the main hall of Teng Qingshan’s home, the family of four gathered for breakfast.

“Crispy Sesame Cake!” The little girl, her hair tied in pigtails, stood on her chair and exclaimed with delight, “Mother, where did these come from?”

Mother Yuan Lan smiled, “Where do you think they came from? Your father hired someone from ‘Baifu Hall’ in Yicheng to specially purchase these. Today is New Year’s Eve; how could we not buy something delicious?”

“Xiaoyu,” Teng Qingshan, dressed in a blue padded jacket, sat at his chair watching his sister. Today was New Year’s Eve; after today, he would turn six, and his sister would turn three. Though young, his sister was remarkably intelligent, albeit a bit mischievous.

“Your tummy is small; you can only eat one crispy sesame cake. There are two here,” Teng Qingshan pointed to the plate. “This one is the largest, and this one is the smallest. Which one do you think you should choose?”

“Me?”

Qingyu’s dark, bright eyes stared at the cakes, then she stood, bent over laboriously, and snatched the larger cake directly from the plate. “Brother, I want this one!”

Children are indeed greedy.

“Xiaoyu, you need to learn to yield,” Teng Qingshan instructed. “When relatives and friends are together, you should choose the smaller one.”

“Why?” Qingyu looked at Teng Qingshan, utterly confused.

“Xiaoyu, you should learn from your older brother and learn to yield,” Teng Yongfan, sitting nearby, laughed heartily. “When delicious food is laid out, you shouldn’t grab the biggest one first. If I let your brother choose, he would pick the smallest one.” In daily life, Teng Yongfan gradually taught his children.

“Brother, you choose between these two; you would pick the smaller one?” Qingyu asked.

“Yes,” Teng Qingshan nodded.

“Then that’s right! You choose the small one, and I get the big one. How was I wrong?” Qingyu looked at her brother, bewildered.

Teng Qingshan was momentarily speechless.

Father Teng Yongfan and Mother Yuan Lan were also stunned for a moment, looking at the innocent bewilderment on Qingyu’s young face, they couldn't help but smile wryly.

“Hahahaha…” Teng Yongfan burst out laughing. “Yes, yes, Qingyu, you eat the big one.”

“Mm-hmm,” Qingyu nodded emphatically, then grinned at Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly; reasoning with a three-year-old was impossible.

However, Teng Qingshan cherished this atmosphere of warm harmony.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan, never experiencing paternal or maternal love. In this life, he enjoyed the care of parents and had a lovely younger sister.

In this cozy atmosphere, the family finished breakfast.

“Qingshan, take Qingyu to the training grounds to play. At noon today, the clan will hold the annual sacrifice, and everyone will gather at the training grounds. After the sacrifice ceremony, the entire clan will eat lunch there,” Teng Yongfan entrusted him, perfectly comfortable leaving Qingyu in Teng Qingshan’s care.

Even though Teng Qingshan would only turn six after today.

He was intelligent and well-behaved, acting like a ten-year-old. This was unavoidable; Teng Qingshan couldn't pretend to be a simple, foolish child. But he also dared not reveal too much. Speaking like a ten-year-old was about right; the clansmen would simply consider him a genius.

If, at the age of two or three, he had spoken like an adult, they might have viewed him as a monster.

“I understand, Father,” Teng Qingshan nodded, then took his sister’s hand and headed toward the bustling training grounds.

**

As noon approached, over two thousand people had gathered at the training grounds—every member of the Teng Family Village was present.

They stood arranged according to their respective households.

A massive cauldron was placed at the very front of the training grounds. The two thousand-plus members of the Teng Family Village stood in an orderly fashion, with the Clan Leader, ‘Teng Yunlong,’ positioned at the head.

“Mother, what is Grandfather doing?” In Yuan Lan’s arms, ‘Qingyu’ blinked and asked in confusion amidst the crowd.

“Be quiet,” Yuan Lan whispered.

Thanks to his father’s status, Teng Qingshan’s family stood near the front of the crowd. Teng Qingshan clearly saw Clan Leader Teng Yunlong walk to the side, where a bronze basin had been placed. Teng Yunlong first washed his hands, wiped them dry with a white cloth, and set the cloth on the basin. Immediately, a clansman handed three sticks of tall incense to the Clan Leader.

Teng Yunlong, holding the three sticks of incense, commanded loudly, “Burn incense!”

Instantly, a clansman approached with a candle and lit the three sticks of incense.

Teng Yunlong strode toward the giant cauldron holding the incense. Behind him walked three robust men in a line: Teng Yonglei, Teng Yongfan, and Teng Yongxiang—the three strongest men in the clan. Each man held a large platter upon which rested a boiled pig’s head, a sheep’s head, and an ox’s head, respectively.

Teng Yunlong solemnly ascended the steps and inserted the three incense sticks into the great cauldron.

Teng Yongfan and the other two placed the offerings on the steps before the cauldron.

“Play the music! Welcome the gods!”

Teng Yunlong turned to the assembled clansmen and announced in a strong voice.

“Clang!” A sudden gong sound erupted, followed by the beating of drums—nine consecutive strikes.

“Kneel!” Teng Yunlong commanded loudly.

Instantly, the more than two thousand people in the training grounds all dropped to their knees.

Teng Yunlong also knelt facing the great cauldron and proclaimed in a booming voice, “Great Emperor Yu, above us…” This was followed by a lengthy series of eulogies, which made Teng Qingshan want to laugh. “Grandfather didn’t even use a script to read; he recited that much extemporaneously. His memory is impressive.”

Looking at the great cauldron, Teng Qingshan was filled with emotion.

Since arriving in this world, Teng Qingshan had noticed that people here held an immense reverence for the ‘Ding’ (Cauldron).

Just last year, he had learned a piece of critical information.

Thousands of years ago, since the creation of heaven and earth, the most remarkable figure, ‘Emperor Yu,’ had accomplished something unprecedented—unifying all under heaven. After uniting the realm, Emperor Yu divided the land into Nine Provinces, collected the bronze from those provinces, and forged nine massive cauldrons, which were then scattered across the Nine Provinces.

From that time forward, the Ding became the symbol of supreme imperial authority and divine power, the spiritual anchor for the people.

“However, in this world, martial power is strong, and experts are numerous; unifying the world is exceedingly difficult. After Emperor Yu died, the world fell into fragmentation again. Over thousands of years, aside from Emperor Yu, only the Qinling Heavenly Emperor once unified the realm, but the world descended into chaos again after his death.”

Having lived in this world for six years, Teng Qingshan now knew the two greatest figures in history—Emperor Yu and the Qinling Heavenly Emperor.

In thousands of years, only these two had successfully unified the realm, and just as inevitably, the realm fractured upon their deaths.

……

When Teng Yunlong finally paused his recitation, he announced loudly, “Bow!” and led the prostration.

All the kneeling clansmen followed suit.

“Bow a second time!” Teng Yunlong shouted again.

“Bow a third time!”

All the clansmen bowed again, their heads touching the ground.

“Rise!” Teng Yunlong commanded.

With a roar, everyone stood up.

“The rites are complete!” Teng Yunlong declared loudly.

At this moment, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Many of the women instinctively rubbed their knees; kneeling for so long had left their legs aching.

“Hahahaha…” Teng Yunlong finally burst into laughter. “Today is New Year’s Eve! Clansmen, eat to your heart’s content today! Come, set the banquet!”

Immediately, tables were swiftly placed across the training grounds, and plates piled high with various foods were brought to every table.

“Qingshan,” Teng Yongfan walked over.

“Father,” Teng Qingshan understood what his father intended to say.

“After today, you turn six. After lunch, during the afternoon festivities, we will begin testing the cohort of children your age. This will determine your future paths. You must strive to make your father proud,” Teng Yongfan said casually, though his tone revealed underlying tension.

Before the age of six, children were allowed to play freely, and the clan did not interfere.

But starting at six, they would either train in archery, spear techniques, or farming, etc.

“Your cousin Qinghu could lift a sixty-jin boulder when he was six,” Teng Yongfan mentioned. “I don’t set high goals for you, but you must, at the very least, reach the upper-middle standard.” As the heir apparent to the Clan Leader and currently the strongest man in the clan, having a son who was subpar would undoubtedly trouble him.

“Upper-middle standard?” Teng Qingshan merely nodded, saying little in response.