It is said that the mythical beasts of Shenzhou have fifteen levels, but for the past several thousand years, no one has seen any above the sixth level, so many people believe they simply do not exist. In reality, even fifth- and sixth-level beasts are terrifying enough; whenever one appears, blood flows like rivers for a thousand miles around. Only innate martial masters can match them.

Therefore, here, it is only natural for the weak to depend on the strong. Moreover, this world is not solely ruled by the strong; collective consciousness, especially clan consciousness, is also extremely strong.

Take Smith Family City as an example, where he currently resides. Within a five-hundred-mile radius, almost everyone with their own property survives by relying on the The Smith Family. These people provide a certain amount of taxes to the The Smith Family and enjoy their protection. The reason is that within their clan, there are three eighth-level martial masters, and as for those above first-level martial master, there are as many as 425. In addition, there are about 800 retainers and guest experts at this level serving the family, making them the most powerful force within a thousand miles.

— Incidentally, there are three tiers of martial power in this world: nine levels of warrior, nine levels of martial master, and then the innate martial grandmaster. It is said that above this, there are immortals who can traverse the heavens and ride the clouds, but Olivia Smith himself has never seen one, and others are half-believing, so they treat such beings, along with beasts above the tenth level, as mere legends.

Olivia Smith is currently a second-level warrior, which is precisely what frustrates and troubles him the most. If it hadn’t been for those The Smith Family night watch martial masters just now, and for William Parker by his side, he would have had almost no ability to protect himself.

A second-level warrior, to put it bluntly, is only a little stronger than the farmers in Smith Family City. Within a five-hundred-mile radius of Smith Family City, there are at least twenty or thirty thousand people at his level. As for those above the second level, there are as many as thirty or forty thousand.

Fortunately, it is clear that the upper echelons of the The Smith Family also understand that cultivating the martial strength of the clan’s younger generation and continuously strengthening their foundation is the only way to ensure the enduring power of themselves and their clan. Therefore, although Olivia Smith’s strength is pitifully weak, his status as a The Smith Family descendant is enough to earn him the respect of countless people in Smith Family City, and to enjoy a life of privilege usually reserved for martial masters and above.

— In fact, he had already guessed as much when he first regained consciousness that day: his living conditions should not be bad. The blue-brick house he lived in was spacious and bright, with marble tiles on the floor. In ancient times, only the landlord class could enjoy such treatment, and in this world, it was even rarer. In addition, his ‘mother’ wore a brocade ruqun; although the fabric looked dull and lusterless, it was still a rare item in ancient times. Everything pointed to the fact that the ‘body’ he now inhabited belonged at least to the well-off class.

And indeed, Olivia Smith currently owns a two-courtyard siheyuan with more than twenty rooms, about five hundred mu of fertile land outside the city, three servants, and fifteen tenant households farming for him.

— All of this was left by Olivia Smith’s father, who, according to legend, ‘died’ several years ago while besieging a fourth-level beast. It is called a legend because no one ever saw his corpse. However, at the time, Olivia Smith’s father was indeed fighting on the front lines, and with body parts scattered everywhere, it was impossible to tell who was who afterward, so the clan simply assumed he had died in battle. Because of this, in addition to his inheritance, Olivia Smith also receives the income from five hundred mu of clan land until he comes of age, and enjoys privileges that other peers do not.

However, this does not mean that Olivia Smith can rest easy. If this were a normal world, this property would be enough for him to live a carefree life. But the problem is, although the The Smith Family treat their clan’s descendants well, in a world overrun by beasts, they cannot afford to support an idler with so much land, nor would they want to.

According to clan rules, if Olivia Smith fails to reach seventh-level warrior before coming of age at twenty, his inheritance will be halved. If he fails to reach fifth level, he will lose all inheritance rights, leaving only twenty mu of land to live out his days.

So now, the first thing Olivia Smith does every morning at dawn is to take William Parker—the servant in front of him who looks like a young ‘Zhang Fei’—to the clan’s dedicated training ground to practice martial arts. This is both a requirement of the clan for every descendant and a necessity of reality.

In this world, the rank of a warrior or martial master is determined not only by the required level of internal energy, but also by actual combat ability, which is an important criterion for evaluation. If Olivia Smith wants to inherit this property, then whether it’s palm techniques or swordsmanship, he must at least reach the standard of a seventh-level warrior in one of them.

— In his previous life, the output of several hundred mu of land would not even be enough for a vagrant’s standard of living. But here, Olivia Smith knows clearly that it is the absolute foundation of his survival.

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