When Kaguya saw Xiaotian finish writing, she asked, "Well, have you recovered your memories?"
Xiaotian was stunned and replied, "No, I only remember part of them."
Would Xiaotian dare to tell the truth? Of course not. Right now, he could spend all day lingering by Kaguya's side; if he recovered his memories, he certainly wouldn't have such a carefree life.
"Oh."
Kaguya looked disappointed. Xiaotian wrapped his arm around her waist and said, "Come on, there's no need to look like that. I only lost my memory, I wasn't hurt. Memories—there will always come a day when I find them again. And if I can't find them, well, I'll still be the man who loves you most."
Kaguya thought about it for a moment, then said, "Mm, that's true. Let's go then."
The two of them took their guards and went out to have fun, but back at the palace, absolute chaos had broken out. When the Lord Ruler saw the bullets and firearms Xiaotian had drawn, he knew this was a formidable weapon. He immediately called an emergency meeting and instructed everyone to start manufacturing them.
Just like that, five days later, the firearms were ready.
When Xiaotian heard the news, his mind went blank. This was five days, not five years! He had only meant to put forward an idea so they could slowly research it, yet these skilled artisans and craftsmen had actually managed to make them.
"My word, as expected of a country inheriting the Huaxia heritage, the craftsmanship is truly remarkable."
Xiaotian couldn't help but sigh in amazement as he stroked the long rifle before him. Although it was made following the design of an AK-47, it looked like a one-to-one recreation.
The Lord Ruler was also overjoyed. He picked up the AK-47 and said, "Sometimes I think to myself, how fortunate it was that I found you and made you my son. If you had fallen into the hands of any other nation, our Tang Kingdom would be finished. Come, Father will demonstrate it for you."
The Lord Ruler aimed the rifle at the target ahead and pulled the trigger. The bullet instantly embedded itself in the wall.
"Dad, your marksmanship is amazing! You're so accurate."
Seeing the small hole in the wall, Xiaotian felt a surge of not only admiration for the Lord Ruler, but also deep respect for the skilled craftsmen, because these people had even managed to rifle the barrel.
"Son, Father truly has to hand it to you. To think you could draw a weapon like this—from this day forward, our Tang Kingdom will never have to fear those people again."
With that, the Lord Ruler gazed down at the firearm in his hands as if it were a precious treasure.
Xiaotian shook his head gently and said, "Dad, we can't just develop our military; we also need to establish a unified system."
"Unified?"
The Lord Ruler frowned. Xiaotian raised his gaze to the sky and said, "Just yesterday, a great figure appeared in my mind. He told me that eliminating war entirely is nearly impossible, but unification can reduce wars—even shrinking large-scale wars into minor skirmishes. Furthermore, he said that in the future, we must achieve a uniform written script and standardized axle widths for carriages."
Whenever Xiaotian lied, he definitely had weaknesses, but since he was looking straight up at the sky, who could possibly catch his micro-expressions?
The Lord Ruler was startled, because Xiaotian's remark about "a uniform written script and standardized axle widths for carriages" was immensely valuable.
Meanwhile, Kaguya stood nearby, pondering the meaning of these words.
Xiaotian continued, "But when I wanted to ask more, the great figure left. Still, I believe he wouldn't lie to me—after all, I'm just a child."
The Lord Ruler patted Xiaotian's shoulder and said, "That's right, that great figure certainly wouldn't lie to you. Son, Father is going to go hold a meeting. You and Kaguya go play."
The Lord Ruler turned and strode away quickly, eager to convene an emergency meeting at once.
"Looks like my bluff worked again."
Xiaotian felt a secret thrill of joy. He believed that with this single phrase, the Lord Ruler would surely be inspired and embark on the path of unification.
"Brother, I have an ability I want to show you."
As soon as Kaguya spoke, Xiaotian took her hand and said, "Alright, let's see what kind of ability my little sister has learned. Show your big brother."
"Mm. Speaking of this ability, it's actually an innate power of mine. Watch closely."
The next second, visible veins bulged around Kaguya's temples, and her pale eyes turned even whiter. Xiaotian froze in place, gasping, "Byakugan!"
Kaguya's eyes were white, but that wasn't what caught Xiaotian's attention—white eyes alone weren't a big deal, especially since there were people with blue and red eyes in the Tang Kingdom; after all, this was another world.
But now it was different. Kaguya not only had white eyes, she could actually use the Byakugan from Hokage.
"How do you know it's called Byakugan?"
Kaguya asked, confused. Xiaotian hurriedly tried to cover it up: "Ah, this? I don't know why, the word just popped into my head."
At the same time, Xiaotian's mind began racing in a frantic attempt to rationalize everything.
"That's not right! The Byakugan has appeared, but what about Chakra? Does Kaguya use Chakra? Or could it be that I'm in the Hokage world? But that doesn't make sense either—doesn't the Hokage world have ninjas? But here, forget ninjas, there isn't even any Ninjutsu, nor are there the Five Great Nations."
The more Xiaotian thought about it, the more confused he became, unable to find any clue.
If a transmigrator happened to arrive here, they would surely ask him this:
"Is it possible that you came too early?"
Half a day later, Xiaotian looked at Kaguya and asked, "Little sister, how on earth did you produce that energy? Could you possibly have—"
"It's just that introductory cultivation method you gave me."
Kaguya herself didn't know why, but after she finished practicing the introductory mental cultivation technique Xiaotian had provided, all her seals had unlocked, and at the same time, she had gained a much more powerful energy.
"Holy crap, a genius!"
That was the only word Xiaotian could use to describe Kaguya. He had to remind himself that he still couldn't activate the Rinnegan to this day, whereas she could already use the Byakugan. What did that prove? It proved he was completely useless.
"It wasn't that hard, actually."
Kaguya's pretty face flushed a rosy red, looking thoroughly adorable, but Xiaotian was still deep in his own imaginative theories.
"Even so, something's still wrong. Kaguya can use the Byakugan, but isn't that a skill from Hokage? Yet there are no Five Great Nations here, nor any other traces of Hokage. Could it be... Kaguya is a transmigrator too?!"
The more Xiaotian thought about these possibilities, the more plausible they seemed. He said, "Kaguya, odd plus even remains odd."
"Huh?"
Kaguya looked puzzled. Xiaotian frowned and tried again: "Palace Jade Liquid Wine?"
"What wine?"
Kaguya didn't understand. Xiaotian tried once more: "Where is my Italian artillery?!"
"What kind of cannon is an Italian artillery?"
Kaguya remained as clueless as ever. Xiaotian quickly shook his head and said, "Never mind, I was just talking nonsense."
Meanwhile, Xiaotian began muttering to himself inwardly.
"This is wrong, none of the secret codes match! Could Kaguya be a foreigner? Like, a foreigner from some remote countryside? Ugh... I don't know any international secret codes either. What am I supposed to do?"
Xiaotian had no idea how to handle this, because from the very beginning, he had never suspected that this was the Hokage world; he had always assumed it was just an ordinary, ancient society.
"No way, Kaguya, look how strong you've gotten. I need to get stronger too! Starting today, we're going to get stronger together, okay?"
Xiaotian made up his mind: from now on, he would cut back on playing around and focus on growing stronger alongside Kaguya, because only then would he be able to activate the Rinnegan.
"Alright. Though it's really not that difficult."
Kaguya was already inherently powerful. If she could obtain the Chakra Fruit, she could achieve eternal life. However, she had no intention of doing so, because she wanted to grow old slowly with Xiaotian and be buried together by his side. That would be enough for her.
"No, that won't do either. Come on, let's go cultivate."
Xiaotian pulled Kaguya toward the house to cultivate. Get your mind out of the gutter—he was only going to meditate; physical training wouldn't happen until the afternoon.
And the afternoon was dedicated to Xiaotian's strength training, because only by increasing his physical strength could he boost his vitality and thereby exchange for more Stamina Value.
Did Xiaotian want to work this hard? Of course not, but he had no choice if he wanted to keep up, otherwise how else could he ever afford the Pill of Immortality?
In the blink of an eye, several years passed, and Xiaotian was now fifteen years old.
At fifteen, Xiaotian had surprisingly reached a height of one meter eighty-five centimeters, which was considered exceptionally tall in the Tang Kingdom.
As for Kaguya, she was also quite tall at one meter seventy-five, but her appearance grew increasingly captivating with each passing day. Every time they met, Xiaotian couldn't help himself from pulling her into his embrace.
Unfortunately, Kaguya had declared that intimate acts could only wait until their wedding night, driving Xiaotian to absolute despair.
A great beauty was clearly right by his side, yet Xiaotian couldn't do a thing. Who could possibly understand this kind of agony?
Meanwhile, the Tang Kingdom's development had grown formidable; under the threat of their advanced weaponry, the surrounding minor nations could only tremble in fear.
As for the Lord Ruler of the Tang Kingdom, his time was drawing near, as he had less than a year of life remaining. Before the end, however, he carried out one final task: burning the books. He demanded that all nations destroy any historical records and various literary documents in their possession.
This decree filled the other nations with fury, but they dared not resist openly. They had no choice but to comply, secretly hoarding their strength while plotting to overthrow the Tang Kingdom in one decisive strike.
To this end, the Lord Ruler mobilized a massive workforce to collect literary documents and records from all the various states so they could be gathered and destroyed en masse. At the same time, he pushed for the widespread adoption of the Tang Kingdom's historical texts, documents, scripts, and language.
Of course, the mastermind behind all of this was Xiaotian. He had originally intended to do it himself, but when the Lord Ruler realized this was the sort of task that would draw endless curses and condemnation, he willingly took the blame upon himself.
After three smooth months of implementation, everything remained peaceful, but the Lord Ruler was running out of time.
On this day, the Lord Ruler sent someone to summon Xiaotian to his study.
Before long, Xiaotian arrived. Seeing the Lord Ruler, he asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"
The Lord Ruler pulled Xiaotian close by the hand and said, "Xiaotian, Father's time is running out."
"What?"
Xiaotian was startled. This was the first time he had ever heard such a thing.
The Lord Ruler sighed softly and said, "Perhaps before much longer, I'll have to—"
"Dad, you can't die! How old am I? Just fifteen! Besides, you're in the prime of your life, we must still find a way."
Xiaotian didn't want the Lord Ruler to die so soon. In his heart, the man had given him genuine paternal love and trusted him implicitly; he had even been planning to work harder and exchange for more Pills of Immortality.
The Lord Ruler shook his head gently and said, "It's no use, I know my own body. Back in my youth, because of that battle, I lost the ability to have children, and that same battle shortened my lifespan. That's why, this time, I only want to see you married and settled down."
Tears streamed unconsciously down Xiaotian's face as he choked out, "Father..."