Chapter 40: Toddlers with Power and Villagers with Sweat
Four months had passed since the revelation inside the ancient Sujin Ancestral Temple. The message from the goddess, the glorious vision of the past, and the discovery of their sacred heritage had left a lasting mark. The villagers had taken their time processing it. They now smiled a little easier, laughed a little louder, and trained with just a bit more heart. Yet, despite the returning cheer, the path ahead was still steep.
The boys and men of Sujin continued their strange but sacred routine: meditating by the riverside, sitting silently for hours as bugs climbed across their backs. Their diets were now legendary—no sweets, no meat, only vegetables and protein-rich grain soup. Old Grandpa Lu had nearly cried when they took away his rice wine and pork belly stew.
"I'm being punished for sins I didn't commit," he had grumbled to anyone who'd listen.
The girls and women, meanwhile, trained with ferocity. Sword swings echoed through the training ground. Tree stumps were sliced clean. Spears were thrown with deadly accuracy. Wooden dummies were reduced to splinters daily. Shu Fen had even started wearing a headband with "DEMON SLAYER" written on it in glittering red thread.
"For motivation," she had claimed, before knocking over a log with one kick.
In the midst of all this sweaty determination, chaos was quietly brewing…
Because the magical children—those blessed, terrifying, adorable, three-year-old to four-year-old monsters—had entered their mischievous phase.
Zhao Xun, with her stormy temper and literal lightning fists, was now the unofficial queen of the toddlers. She could fly, move faster than any adult, and her giggles came with sparks.
"Stop shocking the chickens!" her grandmother yelled one morning as Zhao Xun hovered upside down.
"I'm training them to be lightning-proof!" she yelled back, electric blue eyes wide with innocence.
Li Wei, her charming twin, had developed his own brand of mischief. Using his innate charm and mind-control powers, he convinced half the women in the village to make him dumplings. When caught, he only smiled and said, "I'm just practicing diplomacy."
Riko, one of Yue's gang members, shook her head. "That kid's gonna be the first man to start a harem, before he even learns his multiplication tables."
And they weren't alone.
Across Sujin, other newborns who had awakened over the last few years were now also three to four and just as wild:
Min Hao – a tiny boy who could levitate and water ball magic like bullet. He was found building pebble castles that doubled as traps.
Jing Yue – a girl with healing magic who had already fixed two broken arms, three scraped knees, and one sprained ego (belonging to Tao Lin).
Qin Bao – could turn invisible, and now used it to steal snacks during naptime. His mother put bells on his clothes, but he figured out how to silence them.
Yuna Mei – a bubbly girl who could create glowing orbs of warmth and light. She floated them like balloons around the younger babies.
Yue sat on a grassy hill, watching the madness with amused exhaustion. "We're training every day just to survive the next generation," she muttered.
Her friends were nearby, training and bickering as usual.
"Chika, your stance is too wide," said Minna, tossing her a bo staff.
"Your face is too wide," Chika snapped back. They both laughed.
"Don't make me throw this sword," Jia warned, already practicing her swings.
Tao Lin was off to the side, meditating quietly, her breathing calm. Yue watched her and wondered—not for the first time—if they would ever awaken. Would all their hard work matter in the end?
Suddenly, a flying toddler zipped past with a trail of smoke.
"Xun! No combustion in the gardens!" shouted a voice.
"Sorry!" Zhao Xun yelled, clearly not sorry.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, Yue stood and stretched. "Alright gang, gather up! We've got a report to make."
The group assembled as the kids gathered nearby, still glowing, flying, or digging suspicious holes.
"We're falling behind these little devils," Riko whispered, dodging a pebble shot by Min Hao.
Yue nodded. "But they're hope. Even if we haven't awakened, Sujin still has power. We just need to keep training. And protect these brats before they set the entire village on fire."
Everyone laughed.
Even Tao Lin smiled.
That night, the village dinner was a loud one. Parents bragged about their powerful toddlers. Grandparents handed out cookies (despite the diet rules). And Li Wei, charming as ever, was given a throne made of hay.
Yue, watching the chaos, felt a small ember of peace. They were stronger, wiser, and still pushing forward. The prophecy hadn't been fully understood yet, and the goddess had not spoken again.
And when the time came for battle, Sujin would be ready.
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To be continued in Chapter 41...