Investiture of the Gods: Growing My Family and Improving My Comprehension

Chapter 1: The City Gate Guard The wind swept past the flagpole atop the city tower, making the banner snap and flutter. I rested my hand on the bronze saber at my waist, standing on the tower above Chaoge City’s southern gate as I surveyed the bustling crowd below. My name is Li Zhen, at least, that’s what everyone in this world calls me. But somewhere in my memories lies another name, another life. Sixteen years ago, I was born into this age of Investiture of the Gods, the eldest son of a small landowner outside Chaoge City. “Boss, it’s nearly time to change shifts.” My deputy, Wang Ermazi, came over. He was thirty-two this year, yet still stuck at the peak of the Mortal Realm. There was always a touch of awe in the way he looked at me. “Got it.” My voice was much deeper than an ordinary person’s, and my chest hummed when I spoke. The twenty soldiers under my command took turns guarding the southern gate in two shifts. We stood watch for eight hours every day, exposed to wind and sun, but compared with endless drills in the barracks, this was a cushy job. At least we got enough to eat. My thoughts drifted back to when I was first born. I was a whole size bigger than an ordinary baby, and my cries shook dust from the rafters. I drained my mother’s milk in just a few gulps. My family owned land and was fairly well-off, but even they struggled to feed me. “This child must be the Taotie reborn,” the midwife muttered at the time. My father refused to believe it and bought sheep’s milk and cow’s milk. They were barely enough for the first few months, but by the time I was six or seven months old, even a whole sheep’s daily milk yield could not satisfy me. With no other choice, my father gritted his teeth and took a few hired hands into the nearby woods to find female demon beasts that had just given birth: low-ranking and relatively docile ones,