Chapter 53: Little Milk Tot: When you reach my age, you'll understand

An eighteen-thousand-jin divine strength—and this was merely in a child not yet four years old. What kind of monstrous anomaly was this?

Possessing eight thousand jin of divine strength was already considered the pinnacle of the Blood-Moving Realm, yet after the baptism, the little guy had instantly surpassed this boundary in one fell swoop!

A group of villagers let out strange cries as they surrounded him, playfully pinching and prodding him.

This was simply too earth-shattering and shocking.

Although Shi Jian was equally terrifying, he always accomplished great things in silence. The people of Stone Village had never truly known the extent of his actual strength.

The little guy, however, had undergone his transformation step by step right before everyone's eyes. This was why the villagers were so intensely emotional.

"Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" the village elders asked the little guy, worried that he might have left hidden vulnerabilities during his transformation process.

"I feel full of energy, with strength that I can never seem to use up..." the little guy replied in his tender, childish voice.

Only then did the elders and the other villagers finally put their hearts at ease.

The people in the village were thoroughly unpretentious, with sincere and genuine emotions; whatever they felt in their hearts was written clearly across their faces. Though somewhat rough around the edges, they gave a deep sense of warmth.

Seeing the little guy grow and thrive made everyone in the village immensely happy.

After confirming that the little guy's increase in strength came with no hidden drawbacks, the old village chief solemnly warned the other children of Stone Village: "You have succeeded in your baptism, and your powers have surged dramatically, but you must remember never to become arrogant. You must know that there are many terrifying powerhouses in this vast world..."

"The little guy is stronger than you, and Little Stone is stronger still... You need to forge bravely ahead against the current, but you must also maintain a heart of reverence for heaven and earth!"

The other children of Stone Village had also made terrifying progress. Having previously undergone multiple medicinal baths and now utilizing the Suanni for their baptism, several of the children had seen their physical strength reach four to five thousand jin.

This level of prowess was already sufficient to join Stone Village's hunting team. Their future prospects were boundless.

However, these children were essentially a bunch of mischievous little monkeys. Now that their strength had advanced, if they weren't kept in check, there was no telling what kind of massive trouble they might stir up.

This was why the old village chief felt the need to caution them: "In the Primeval Era, there were divine apes whose sheer physical strength alone reached one hundred and eight thousand jin, and Little Stone once reached that very realm!"

"Your meager achievements are completely not worth mentioning compared to Little Stone. From now on, you must practice and cultivate even more diligently, do you understand?"

The group of children instantly turned to stone.

They possessed merely a few thousand jin of strength, yet Shi Jian had long since achieved the milestone of one hundred and eight thousand jin. What an astonishing fact was this? Furthermore, utilizing runes was entirely different from relying purely on raw physical strength.

The few children whose strength had improved relatively quickly instantly quieted down. Their puffed-up tails dropped down in an instant. They couldn't even compare to the little guy, let alone Shi Jian.

Seeing that the mischievous monkeys had finally calmed down, the old village chief revealed a faint smile.

"Little guy, Stone Monkey, Dashan... when you go out into the forest to hunt from now on, the few of you can tag along. With your strength, it is more than enough to hunt giant beasts!"

The old village chief called out several names, officially admitting them into the hunting team.

Needless to say, for the little guy, eighteen thousand jin of divine strength was more than enough to easily crush giant beasts. The rest of them essentially possessed around four thousand jin of force, meaning they already possessed genuine combat power!

Their foundations for the future had now been laid, and next, they needed to witness some blood. Only through the baptism of blood could one truly become a genuine powerhouse.

Moreover, one could not simply suppress them blindly; overdoing the suppression would only breed cowards. They also needed appropriate encouragement and recognition. Allowing them to join the hunting team was the ultimate form of recognition for them.

"Alright! We're joining the hunting team to hunt fierce beasts!"

The children whose names were called glowed with excitement, their eyes filled with yearning for the hunting team.

In the villages of the great wilderness, the hunting team had always been a symbol of honor. Those who could join it were naturally revered by everyone else. Hearing that they could join the hunting team, these children naturally felt stirred with excitement.

As for the children who were not selected, they secretly resolved in their hearts to practice diligently and strive to be chosen by the old village chief for the hunting team next time.

The old village chief was truly a master at handling this group of kids, playing them around just like a troop of monkeys.

...

With the baptism successfully concluded, Stone Village instantly grew quiet once more. Meanwhile, Shi Jian was making preparations to leave the village.

However, before departing from Stone Village, there were still a few preparations he needed to make.

He requested a refined Asura Puppet from Fang Han. That Asura Puppet possessed terrifyingly monstrous strength, with physical power equivalent to seventy or eighty fierce warhorses!

He then handed this Asura Puppet, along with the method to control it, over to the old village chief. Although Stone Village had the Willow Deity watching over it, they surely couldn't expect the Willow Deity to step in for every minor trouble, could they?

With this Asura Puppet around, Stone Village could be considered to have gained a bit more foundation and confidence.

Aside from the Asura Puppet, Shi Jian also obtained some Stone Talisman Spirit Liquid from Lin Dong. This stuff not only aided in cultivation but could also be used to heal injuries... It could be considered quite a decent treasure. Shi Jian filled a large jar for the old village chief.

In addition to these, there was the manual titled *Three Years of Runes, Five Years of Cultivation* that he had previously promised the old village chief.

Shi Jian had already written a thick, comprehensive volume. Following his battle with the Suanni, his understanding of runes had advanced even further, so he had "thickened" the contents by adding even more insights based on the original foundation. Thus, what he handed to the old village chief was an expanded, ultimate edition of *Three Years of Runes, Five Years of Cultivation*.

The old village chief was moved to tears: "Little Stone, when you go out to travel and wander, you must take care of yourself. Whenever you have time, come back and visit; this place will always be your home!"

The old village chief spoke earnestly to Shi Jian, and Shi Jian nodded in agreement. He would certainly return often, after all, the Willow Deity was still right here.

"Child, be careful on the road, you must protect yourself..."

"If you suffer any grievances outside, just come back. If we can't help you, the Willow Deity can!"

All the clansmen came out to bid farewell to Shi Jian. From the elderly villagers in their twilight years down to the toddlers still nursing, a whole crowd had gathered to see him off. They showered him with advice and repeated reminders to be careful.

Shi Jian nodded in response to each and every one of them.

The little guy was even more reluctant to part, tightly hugging Shi Jian's thigh. He was closest to Shi Jian; back when he still needed someone to look after him, he had lived at the old village chief's house, but as he grew a bit older, he had shared a dwelling with Shi Jian.

Now that Shi Jian was leaving, the little guy naturally couldn't bear to let him go.

"I want to go out on adventures and train with Little Stone Brother..." the little guy cried out loudly.

"Your strength is still too weak. When you become stronger, you can come find me..." Shi Jian smiled and patted the little guy's head, but the little guy only hugged him tighter, refusing to let go.

"Those runes I taught you—you haven't even mastered them all yet, and you still need to teach them to the mischievous monkeys. If you run off with me, who is going to teach them?" Shi Jian tried to console him.

The little guy remained silent, only stubbornly holding onto Shi Jian.

Feeling the little fellow's deep reliance on him, Shi Jian had no choice but to deploy his ultimate trump card: "If you follow me, there won't be any beast milk to drink!"

The little guy's eyes widened instantly, and the strength in his grip began to loosen.

Young as he was, he was still sensible enough to understand. He knew that Shi Jian couldn't possibly take him along when venturing outside, but he simply couldn't bear to part with him, which was why he had been holding on so stubbornly.

Now, however, Shi Jian's words had breached the final line of defense in his heart. If following Big Brother Shi Jian meant he wouldn't get to drink beast milk, he would definitely have to reconsider.

At his age, beast milk was greater than the heavens itself.

Seeing the little guy finally loosen his grip, the villagers of Stone Village, who had just been immersed in a sorrowful farewell, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Little guy, the moment you heard you wouldn't get beast milk, you suddenly don't want to follow Little Stone anymore, huh?"

"Were you only staying in Stone Village just for the beast milk..."

The villagers playfully teased the little guy, but he didn't get angry at all hearing their jokes. *Just wait until you all reach my age, then you'll understand!*