Chapter 1: Jiang Ning

Luoshui County.

Early morning.

Streaks of dawn pierced through the clouds, casting light upon the ancient city walls.

The once-tranquil Luoshui County had long since become bustling. The thoroughfares of the county were already filled with the sounds of hawking, and everywhere was a scene of noise and commerce.

In the east of Luoshui County, within a small courtyard enclosed by a fence.

Jiang Ning sat cross-legged on a wooden chair, facing the sun. With his elbows on his knees and his palms supporting his chin, he held a volume of books, reading quietly.

*The Mythological Era Record*

This was a miscellaneous book, recording stories about gods.

According to the book, before the Great Xia, it was a world where gods and men coexisted.

Rivers had gods, mountains and streams had gods; gods were everywhere.

Although this appeared to be an absurd collection of miscellaneous tales, Jiang Ning was reading it with extraordinary seriousness, fully focused.

【Literacy experience +1】

【Literacy experience +1】

After a long while, Jiang Ning turned to the last page, slowly withdrew his gaze, and closed the book in his hands.

【Reading this book has increased your total Literacy experience by 8 points.】

The next moment.

A panel instantly appeared before him, a panel only he could see.

【Name】: Jiang Ning

【Source Energy】: 13.5

【Skill】: Literacy (Perfected 968/1000) (Trait: None)

"Finally, I'm almost at the maximum value! I wonder what kind of changes will occur once this Literacy skill reaches its peak."

Looking at his panel, Jiang Ning felt quite invigorated.

Over the past few days, he had browsed through all the books in the house, whether they were ancient histories or various classics and essential texts; he had read them all.

Relying on these books, he had finally ground this skill step by step from Entry to Proficiency, then to Minor Success, and finally to Major Success.

With every breakthrough, he felt his mind become clearer, his thoughts run faster, and his senses sharpen.

As far as he knew, this was clearly the effect of strengthening his spirit.

In the Great Xia, among the Confucian scholars, reading could nourish the spirit!

Through this period of diligent study, he had discovered the wonders of the panel.

This panel possessed the power to turn decay into magic; as long as one focused on reading, the skill of Literacy would continuously grow, and once verified, it remained verified forever.

Now, every book he had read was vividly recorded in his mind; he could recall everything within them with just a single thought.

At this moment, he was only thirty-some experience points away from the breakthrough after perfecting this skill. With his current efficiency, as long as he read a few more books later, he could grind out these thirty-some points.

With his current level of knowledge, to say nothing more, passing the imperial examinations to become a *tongsheng* or a *xiucai* would be effortless.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning was filled with anticipation.

Earning a scholarly title in the coming year could completely change his current situation.

"Dudu!"

"Dudu!!"

Just then, a soft, sweet voice reached Jiang Ning's ears.

Hearing this soft voice, Jiang Ning instantly snapped back to reality.

Following the sound, he saw a little girl, carved from pink jade with large eyes and two pigtails, running toward him unsteadily. Her chubby cheeks were particularly eye-catching.

Seeing his five-year-old niece, Jiang Ning fully returned to his senses.

"Dudu, run slower!"

A faint smile could not help but appear on his face.

In this household, the person closest to him was this five-year-old niece, Jiang Yuanyuan, nicknamed Dudu.

From the delicate and small features of his niece, one could tell she would surely be a beauty in the future, and it was also evident that she had excellent genetics; her mother’s appearance was definitely outstanding.

"Dudu, this is Dudu's book, giving it to Dudu to look at!"

As little Dudu spoke, she tried hard to lift her head to look at Jiang Ning.

Even though Jiang Ning was just sitting on a chair, the height still required five-year-old Dudu to tilt her head back to see his face clearly.

Jiang Ning smiled amusedly and took the book that little Dudu was struggling to hold, feeling a surge of joy in his heart.

To him, it didn't matter what the book was; as long as it was a book he hadn't read before, it could increase his Literacy experience.

With this new book, he would definitely be able to max out his experience points within the day.

He didn't look closely at the book in his hand, simply placing it aside before rubbing Jiang Yuanyuan's little head.

"Dudu is so great!!"

"Dudu is so pretty!" Little Dudu did not hold back in the face of Jiang Ning's praise.

Hearing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile inwardly, rubbing her small head as he said, "What do you know about being pretty or not?"

"Pretty is pretty, Dudu is just pretty! Just as pretty as Daddy!" The tiny Dudu did not show any weakness.

Hearing this, Jiang Ning smiled noncommittally.

Just then, a woman's voice drifted faintly from the kitchen nearby.

"Time to eat!"

The voice was very direct and cold, lacking much emotion, yet it carried an inherent gentleness.

Jiang Ning looked up and saw a woman of about thirty, whose posture and appearance were like those of a lady from a noble family, appearing at the kitchen door. The moment she saw Jiang Ning looking over.

The woman, whose appearance was quite outstanding, cast a glance at him that was neither salty nor bland, then withdrew her gaze, seemingly with some disdain.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but offer a sheepish smile.

How could he not know that his sister-in-law had complaints about his predecessor living in his elder brother's house for over ten years?

After all, his sister-in-law and his elder brother had been married for over a decade, and they now had a son and a daughter.

The eldest son, Jiang Yiming, was already fourteen, studying literature and martial arts, and had great ambitions. However, having read poetry and books since childhood, and in order to practice martial arts, he had spent a significant amount of silver to nourish his physique.

Under these circumstances, his predecessor had spent over a decade being unproductive and idle, with all expenses borne by his elder brother.

And his elder brother was only a constable in Luoshui County with limited income; how could his sister-in-law not have opinions about him?

Especially recently, as grain prices had been rising daily, the household of five felt even more strained, and her opinion of him had grown even stronger.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning felt quite helpless.

He was well aware that his sister-in-law didn't care for him, and he could fully understand it; it was human nature.

He had been living off his brother and sister-in-law's family.

But as things stood, he had no other choice. His predecessor had no savings, and in the two months since he had transmigrated, he had spent most of his time recovering from injuries, so even if he wanted to move out, he had no way to do so.

"For now, continuing to live off them is unavoidable. Luoshui County is not peaceful right now!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

He already had plans for the future.

These days, based on his brother's service at the county office and his own diligent reading, he had come to understand the changes in the world's situation.

The Great Xia Dynasty where he now resided was clearly in a state of turmoil, typical of the end of a dynasty.

And in this small Luoshui County, there were also undercurrents of several forces moving.

Coming from a background in history in his previous life, he understood such situations all too well.

History was always in a constant cycle of repetition; there were no absolute similarities, but there were inevitable identical trajectories.

Therefore, he was very clear that the Great Xia Dynasty, which had been established for over eight hundred years, was facing the risk of collapse amidst natural disasters, fleeing refugees, constant rebellions, and the eruption of various strange and deformed cults.

Faced with the current situation, only by possessing one's own strength could one survive in the final days of a dynasty.

Otherwise, once the great tide arrived, the world would fall into chaos, with heroes contending; especially since the martial arts of this world were brilliant and prosperous—the weak could fight ten, the strong could become an army of one, and the supreme could rival a nation.

If ordinary people were swept into such a great tide, how could they survive?

His elder brother was currently just an ordinary county constable, no different from a grain of sand in the tide of history.

"I still need to briefly rely on my brother's strength. As for my brother and sister-in-law's family, I can only repay them in the future!"

(End of chapter)