Chapter 12: The Ancient Era

"Alright." Lionman Tong San could only suppress his curiosity. In any case, he would find out everything after dinner. He had enough patience for that.

"Brother, I'm back!"

Qingshi and Zong Ling rode back triumphantly on a Fei Shuang foal, leading a group of cavalrymen with an air of pride and dominance.

Yi Shui City was, after all, the lowest-ranked county-level city in the entire empire. Yet within its territory, the Dongbo family of the Xueying Territory ranked among the top ten noble families. So every time Qingshi went to Yi Shui City, he made sure to make a grand entrance, exuding a commanding presence.

Seeing his younger brother enjoy life every day was something that brought Dongbo Xueying great joy.

After dinner, the exhausted Qingshi quickly went to bed. Meanwhile, Dongbo Xueying, Zong Ling, and Tong San gathered in the study.

"What are we doing in Xueying's study? Tong San, why do you look so excited and restless? What exactly happened?" Zong Ling was still completely in the dark.

Meanwhile, Dongbo Xueying smiled and walked over to the bookshelf, searching for a book he had read in the past.

"Let me explain!"

Tong San took a deep breath. "Today, Xueying roasted an entire third-rank magical beast—over ten thousand jin of meat—and then ate every last bit of it all by himself!"

Zong Ling's eyes widened in shock.

One person… ate over ten thousand jin of meat?!

Was he still human?! That was something only a dragon could do!

"And his strength now… he could probably defeat both of us in a single move," Tong San continued. "The alchemy dummy in the training grounds—you should check it later. Xueying shattered it completely with just three strikes from his spear. Even his own spear couldn't handle his strength and broke apart!"

"What?!" Zong Ling was shocked.

Dongbo Xueying's spear weighed fifty jin and was crafted by an Alchemy Master. Although it wasn't a ranked weapon, it was more than enough for a Heaven-rank Knight to wield with ease.

And spears were designed to store and release force efficiently—breaking one outright would require an immense amount of strength.

"What exactly is going on?" Zong Ling asked.

"I'd like to know too," Tong San said. "But Xueying insisted on explaining it to both of us together."

Both men turned their eyes to Dongbo Xueying, who was flipping through the bookshelves.

Before long, he found what he was looking for. He quickly opened the book, flipped through several pages, and then ran his finger along a specific passage, marking it.

With a smile, he handed the book to Zong Ling.

"Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong, it's all written in this biography. Just read this passage carefully—you'll understand."

"Oh?" Zong Ling took the book curiously, and Tong San leaned in to read over his shoulder.

Zong Ling glanced at the book's cover—

"The Woodcutter Knight."

"Him? The Woodcutter Knight?"

Both Zong Ling and Tong San were taken aback.

They weren't avid readers, but during their adventures, they had heard plenty of legends.

And the story of the Woodcutter Knight was one of the most famous.

This knight lived over five thousand years ago. He was renowned because he was unbelievably powerful.

He had once been just a simple village woodcutter. But after embarking on the path of knighthood, he slain a Transcendent being with a single axe blow—while still at the Title-rank!

Later, when he became a Transcendent himself, he was invincible among Transcendents.

His chosen Title was simply "Woodcutter".

And in his era, he was hailed as the strongest Transcendent—because no Transcendent being could withstand more than a few of his axe strikes!

That was how terrifying he was.

"Read that passage first," Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.

As a child, he had greatly admired the Woodcutter Knight—his sheer dominance was overwhelming.

He loved chopping wood, and he treated his enemies like logs, cutting down dragons, demons—everything in his path!

"Alright," Zong Ling nodded and turned back to read the passage, with Tong San following along—

"Yes, it was at this moment that the Woodcutter Knight awakened the legendary Battle Axe Bloodline hidden within his body. The author must explain—every human, including you and me, actually carries countless dormant bloodlines within our bodies."

"The entire empire's plane world, in its earliest days, was completely lifeless. The environment was extremely harsh and inhospitable."

"Over countless years, as the plane world slowly nurtured life, the first generation of powerful beings emerged. They were the primordial lifeforms of the Ancient Era! Each one possessed unimaginable strength, capable of moving mountains and filling seas. They could carry massive mountains on their backs while running, or slaughter dragons, drinking their blood and devouring their flesh. Even the mighty dragons were weak before them, and not even gods from beyond the plane dared to descend upon this world."

"These powerful lifeforms continued to reproduce, eventually giving rise to humans! That means that every single human carries the bloodline of these Ancient Era beings within them."

"And throughout the long history that followed, even gods descended upon the world, leaving behind descendants among humanity."

"With humanity's continued expansion, if one were to trace back ten thousand years, nearly every human alive today would find that their bloodline originates from the same source."

"Thus, every human carries the bloodline of both the ancient beings and the gods—though it is usually extremely diluted."

"Direct descendants, however, inherit much stronger bloodlines. For example, in our Longshan Empire, the founding emperor, Emperor Longshan, became a god. One of his sons—the legendary Twelfth Prince—was born as a Transcendent being from the very start! This was because his father was an incredibly powerful god, and the divine bloodline within him granted him innate Transcendence."

"The Ancient Era, the Primordial Era, the Mythic Era… compared to those times, we are now merely mortals. The bloodlines of those mighty beings have grown too thin, too diluted."

"But… occasionally, there are those who awaken their Ancient Bloodline. Some awaken the Battle Axe Bloodline, others the Godly Archer Bloodline, some inherit the Speed Bloodline… Some can teleport, some can control lightning, others are rumored to be able to shapeshift endlessly, and some even possess a near-immortal body…"

"However, based on the author's research, while those who awaken Ancient Bloodlines start with remarkable potential, most of them ultimately fail to reach Transcendence. This is why I hold the Woodcutter Knight in such high regard—because he accepted his bloodline with calmness and humility. In the end, he became the strongest Transcendent of his era!"

"When the Woodcutter Knight awakened his Battle Axe Bloodline, he soon met the most important woman of his life… But that is a story for later…"

This entire thick biography only contained this one passage about Ancient Bloodlines.

The rest of the book detailed the legendary life of the Woodcutter Knight.

"Ancient Bloodline?"

Both Zong Ling and Tong San turned to look at Dongbo Xueying.

"Yes," Dongbo Xueying nodded. "I believe I have awakened an Ancient Bloodline."

"What kind of bloodline?" Zong Ling asked, intrigued.

"Can you teleport?" Tong San asked, his voice full of excitement. "Or control lightning? Maybe summon flames?"

"No," Dongbo Xueying sighed helplessly.

There were many different types of Ancient Bloodlines, as the primordial lifeforms of the plane world's earliest days came in many varieties. The bloodline he had awakened, however, was relatively ordinary compared to some of the more extravagant ones.

"This book says that every Ancient Bloodline comes with some kind of unique ability?" Zong Ling asked.

"Actually, most of these special abilities have strict conditions for activation," Dongbo Xueying explained. "Mine only has **one effect—my strength can explode to twice its normal power!"

"Double strength?!"

Both Zong Ling and Tong San were stunned—then excited.

Who wouldn't want that?!

Every knight dreamed of greater strength. While his ability didn't include teleportation or shapeshifting, a doubling of strength was still incredibly useful in battle.

"But," Dongbo Xueying added, "whenever I activate this power, my stamina drains rapidly. Under normal conditions, I can fight for an hour without getting tired, but if I unleash my full strength, I might exhaust myself in just a few minutes. My time to go all-out is very limited."

"So, how strong are you now?" Zong Ling asked curiously.

"In normal combat, I estimate my strength is at the level of a Meteor Knight," Dongbo Xueying said.

"If your strength doubles, doesn't that make you a Silver Moon Knight?!"

Zong Ling and Tong San were ecstatic.

"Yes, but only in terms of raw power," Dongbo Xueying clarified. "My speed would still be slower than an actual Silver Moon Knight, and I can't maintain the boost for long."

"Even so, you're now the strongest person in Yi Shui City!" Zong Ling said excitedly.

"Haha! I knew it! Xueying, you've trained so hard, practicing your spear techniques for nearly ten years—yet you never developed Battle Qi. That was already highly unusual! But now… you didn't just awaken it—you exploded onto the scene!"

Dongbo Xueying chuckled lightly.

Dongbo Xueying smiled.

In truth, he had his own thoughts about this awakening.

If every human carried an Ancient Bloodline, and after countless generations of dilution, it had become so thin—then why could some people still awaken it?

Dongbo Xueying didn't have many examples to reference, but looking at the Woodcutter Knight, one thing stood out—he was a man who loved chopping wood. He spent his entire life chopping wood, and eventually, he awakened the Battle Axe Bloodline.

Meanwhile, Dongbo Xueying had trained his spear techniques relentlessly, pushing the strength of his arms and fingers to their absolute limits every single day—so much so that he had to soak in medicinal baths just to recover.

Perhaps this relentless effort was the trigger that led to the awakening of his Power Bloodline!

He had no idea who the towering, roaring giant he briefly glimpsed during his awakening was. So, for now, he simply referred to his Ancient Bloodline as the "Power Bloodline."

"This is only the beginning," Dongbo Xueying said.

"Just like how an ordinary person's body becomes stronger as it is nourished by Battle Qi, I can feel my own body strengthening as my Battle Qi nurtures it."

"Hahaha!"

Both Zong Ling and Tong San burst into laughter.

They were overjoyed.

They had always thought that the vow made by that young child years ago—his determination to save his parents—was nothing more than a child's wishful thinking.

No one back then had believed that Dongbo Xueying could truly accomplish it.

Because… it was too difficult.

But today, for the first time, they saw hope!

"Oh, by the way, starting today, I won't need to take medicinal baths anymore," Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.

"While my body isn't truly immortal, my recovery ability is now far greater than what the medicinal baths could provide."

As he spoke, Dongbo Xueying picked up a paper-cutting knife from the desk and sliced his palm, leaving behind a visible wound.

With medicinal baths, such a wound would have completely healed by the next day.

At that moment, the wound on his palm rapidly healed—within just a single breath, it had completely disappeared.

In reality, the stronger one's body became, the faster its recovery rate.

For example, a Silver Moon Knight's internal organs undergo transformation under the nourishment of Battle Qi, granting them astonishing regenerative abilities.

Meanwhile, a Title Knight experiences their body being washed by the forces of heaven and earth, making them almost immortal—even more exaggerated than Dongbo Xueying's recovery.

It was often said that a Title Knight could theoretically be exhausted to death by sheer numbers, but in reality, this was nearly impossible.

After all, the cost of such an effort would be far too great.

And if an entire army was sent after them, a Title Knight would have already escaped long before they could be surrounded.

Killing a Title Knight usually required either another Title-level warrior or the intervention of a Transcendent being.

"Oh, and one more important thing," Dongbo Xueying suddenly said.

"In two days, I'm planning to visit Yi Shui City."