The moment Ganza Xia Malu stepped into the school grounds, he felt as if he had entered a completely different world, one that quietly overturned everything he thought he understood about how people should live, grow, and exist.
On the wide open field ahead of him, a group of children were moving together in synchronized patterns, their arms stretching outward, their bodies bending and rising in rhythm, their steps landing almost at the same time as if guided by some invisible force that held them together.
They were not fighting, they were not hunting, and they were certainly not working.
They were exercising.
Malu slowed down unconsciously, his gaze lingering on them longer than he intended, because the scene in front of him simply refused to make sense within the logic of his upbringing.
Every single child there was younger than him, some so small that they could barely be five or six years old, while he himself was already fourteen, already considered someone who should be carrying responsibilities rather than standing around observing others.
Yet what truly struck him was not their age, but their appearance.
Their clothes were clean, well-fitted, properly stitched, and made of fabric that looked both durable and comfortable, and more importantly, every single one of them wore shoes, proper cloth shoes that covered their feet completely, something that in Dadu Kingdom would already be considered a luxury.
Malu instinctively looked down at himself.
He was wearing the Jianghu-style outfit given to him by Zheng Chenggong, made of pure cotton, soft to the touch and sturdy enough to endure travel, and in his homeland, such clothing would already place someone above ordinary people in terms of status and comfort.
He had always assumed that this kind of attire belonged only to important figures, to commanders, to people who stood above others in both power and responsibility.
And yet here, children wore the same level of quality as if it were nothing special.
That realization alone was enough to shake him.
Malu could no longer hold back his confusion as he spoke, his voice carrying a mix of disbelief and genuine curiosity.
"Are all these children really dressed like this, with proper clothes and shoes for every single one of them, as if this were something completely normal?"
Zheng Chenggong barely even glanced at the scene, as if it were too ordinary to deserve attention, and simply nodded with a calmness that made the answer feel even heavier.
"That is considered basic here."
That single word lingered in Malu's mind, echoing far louder than it should have.
Basic.
Something that his people would struggle to provide even for a few was here treated as the lowest standard.
His attention returned to the children's movements, still unable to fully process what he was seeing, and he asked again, trying to understand the purpose behind something that looked so unnecessary.
"What exactly are they doing, moving like that without any weapons or tools in their hands?"
Zheng Chenggong finally gave a more complete explanation, his tone relaxed yet matter-of-fact, as if explaining something that required no justification.
"They are doing broadcast exercises, a routine designed to keep their bodies active, because children here spend most of their time studying, sitting still for long hours, and that lack of movement is not good for their health, so Dao Xuan Tianzun made it a rule that after two lessons, they must come outside, move their bodies, and loosen their muscles."
The moment those words sank in, Malu's expression became almost comical in its intensity, because the idea itself directly contradicted everything he had ever known.
"Move their bodies… on purpose… because they are not moving enough?"
His voice faltered slightly as he tried to process the absurdity.
"In our homeland, children never stop moving from the moment they are old enough to walk, because they follow their elders into the forests, gathering mushrooms, picking wild vegetables, learning to hunt, carving wooden spears, shaping bows, and doing whatever is needed to survive, which means their bodies are constantly in motion from morning until night without any need for such… arrangements."
He shook his head slowly, as if trying to physically reject the logic in front of him.
"And here, you actually need to schedule time just to move your body, as if movement itself has become something rare."
The contrast was so extreme that it bordered on the ridiculous.
Zheng Chenggong smiled faintly, clearly aware of the cultural gap, yet completely unbothered by it.
"I understand why it sounds strange to you, but the situation here is fundamentally different, because children are not expected to work at all, since their parents earn enough through their jobs to support the entire family comfortably, which means any labor done by children would produce very little value compared to what adults can earn in factories."
He lowered his voice slightly, shifting from explanation into something closer to truth.
"So instead of letting children waste time on low-value labor, they are encouraged to study, to gain knowledge, and to become people who can contribute more in the future through their minds rather than their bodies."
Then he added, with a hint of irony.
"People like to praise workers openly, saying that workers are the backbone of everything, but deep down, almost no one wants their own child to remain a worker, because everyone hopes their child can become what they call 'office people', those who sit indoors and use their brains instead of exhausting their bodies."
Malu fell silent for a long moment, not because he disagreed, but because he understood too well.
He had worked.
Even as the son of Ganza Xia Alami, the ruler of Dadu Kingdom, his life had never been separated from labor, because survival in his homeland demanded participation from everyone, regardless of status.
And once a person truly understood how exhausting physical labor could be, the appeal of escaping it became undeniable.
After thinking for a while, he spoke again, his tone more serious than before.
"If I study here and learn everything that can be learned, then bring that knowledge back to my people, would it be possible for our children to live like this as well, without having to struggle from such a young age?"
Zheng Chenggong did not answer immediately, as if weighing the implications of the question rather than the question itself.
"In theory, it is possible," he finally said, but his expression grew more complicated as he continued, "however, there is something you need to understand, and it may not be easy to accept."
Malu looked at him directly, his gaze steady.
"Say it, because even if I do not understand it immediately, I can think about it later and figure it out."
Zheng Chenggong nodded slightly, then began to explain in a slow and deliberate manner.
"If Ming and Dadu Kingdom remain only as friendly nations, maintaining a relationship based on cooperation and trade, then no matter how much effort you put into development, there will always be a limit to how far you can go."
Malu frowned, sensing that something important was about to unfold.
"What kind of limit are you talking about?"
Instead of answering directly, Zheng Chenggong chose to guide him toward the answer.
"You belong to the Pazeh Tribe, which is the largest group within Dadu Kingdom, and there are also other tribes that exist under your rule, correct?"
Malu nodded.
"Then let me ask you this, if the Babuza Tribe were to face difficulties, would you help them?"
"Of course," Malu replied without hesitation, "because they are part of Dadu Kingdom."
Zheng Chenggong nodded again, then continued.
"What if the Siraya Tribe were to encounter the same situation, would you still help them with the same level of effort?"
This time, Malu hesitated, because the answer was no longer obvious.
"We would help to some extent, but not with full effort, because they are not part of our kingdom, and in our eyes, they are closer to outsiders than to our own people."
He stopped speaking midway, because the implication had already become clear in his mind.
If Ming and Dadu Kingdom were separate, then no matter how friendly they appeared on the surface, the relationship would never reach the level of full commitment.
At most, there would be trade.
There would be cooperation.
There might even be support.
But there would always be a boundary.
A limit that could not be crossed.
Malu's expression slowly changed as he processed this realization, because this was the first time he had truly begun to understand what it meant for two nations to remain separate entities.
And yet, for someone raised in a tribal system, this idea did not carry the same emotional resistance that it might have for others.
In his world, tribes constantly fought, merged, split, and reformed, with stronger groups absorbing weaker ones, and those who were defeated would eventually adapt to their new reality, because for them, changing rulers was not the end of the world.
Dadu Kingdom itself had been built through such processes, with the Pazeh Tribe expanding and incorporating other tribes over time.
To them, being absorbed or absorbing others was simply part of survival.
As long as the rule was not oppressive, it was acceptable.
Malu lowered his head slightly, his thoughts becoming deeper and more complex than ever before.
"If becoming one means removing that limit…"
His mind began to connect everything he had seen.
The solid houses that could withstand storms.
The powerful warships that ruled the sea.
The terrifying cannons that could decide battles in an instant.
The endless supply of food.
The structured education system.
And most importantly, children who no longer needed to exhaust themselves just to survive.
All of it could become part of his people's future.
Not through trade.
Not through borrowing.
But through integration.
He took a slow breath, his heart beating slightly faster.
At the age of fourteen, he did not fully grasp the political weight of what he was thinking, but instinctively, he understood its value.
Because in his world, this was not betrayal.
This was opportunity.
And deep within his mind, Ganza Xia Malu had already begun to accept a possibility that would change everything.
That becoming part of something greater might not mean losing one's identity.
It might mean gaining a future that would otherwise never be within reach.