Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“What breeding? Don’t be…Don’t be ridiculous,” The cultivator said with heavy breathing, his words slightly slurred. His face was pale from the loss of blood. 

‘I forgot how weak these people are. Their bodies can’t compare to martial warriors.’

‘He might be bleeding out any second.’

It had only been about 10 minutes since Shen Ye started his questioning, and while they had gotten some very interesting answers, there was so much more Shu Yang wanted to ask. 

“Then why are you kidnapping people with bloodline traits?” Shen Ye questioned.

“Well, I suppose it’s for their bloodline. What family isn’t in need of talented descendants? But it’s not breeding. They will all be properly married. You can’t force someone to have children against their will. Any cultivator can easily protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy. It’s much better to treat the in-laws decently; that has been shown many times over. It’s actually a very desirable outcome for people without a background to be married into a big cultivation family. The people we have taken will live good lives, better than here; don’t worry about that.”

“He’s not lying,” Shen Ye said.

“Doesn’t mean he’s telling the whole truth,” Shu Yang said. While forcing might be useless, there were other evil ways to get what they wanted. Shu Yang believed these families had developed a system of coercion to get people in line. If you went along with their wishes, it’s probably true that you could live a decent life, but if you refused? It’s not like they were going to let you go. 

“Is it really impossible to cross the Desolate Mountains?” Shu Yang broke in with a question he was very curious about. He had already learned that the name these people used for the Northern Mountains was the Desolate Mountains. The cultivators of the Qing family all came from there on a flying ship.

“Basically impossible,” The cultivator said, “Unless you are a Foundation cultivator, the journey is far too difficult. Perhaps one in a thousand could make it through alive, but it would take years, decades.”

Shu Yang frowned slightly. 

‘Oh well, I wasn’t planning on going before I became a Saint either way. I guess it’s good that it’s not very easy, or these people could just pop over for a visit whenever they wanted.’

“So you’re leaving once the Lishen Empire wins?” Shen Ye asked.

“Who would want to stay here longer than necessary?” The cultivator questioned, “We just came for the Shadow Foxes.”

Shu Yang felt Xiaorong on his shoulder getting agitated at his words. He patted her head to comfort her.

‘I wish I was strong enough to get Xiaorong’s parents back.’

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get word of our departure any day now. The war is basically won, and we really don’t care much about who rules here either way,” The cultivator continued.

‘If they leave, will there be a chance to turn things around?’

‘Probably not. Too many Masters must have died by now. And the Lishen Emperor is still alive.’

“Anything you want to ask?” Shen Ye turned around to Shu Yang and asked, apparently not being able to think of anything else himself.

‘Of course!’

But Shu Yang still hesitated slightly, he had to ask his questions without revealing too many of his secrets. 

“What trait does the Qing bloodline have?” Shu Yang asked. What he was really curious about was the strange power he had in his blood, but he didn’t know how to ask about that without revealing himself.

“We have all sorts of traits,” The cultivator answered weakly, “It varies from branch to branch. But they are mostly Common Traits.”

“Common Traits? What does that mean?” Shu Yang asked.

“It refers to traits that are basically only useful below the Foundation stage. Calling them ‘Common’ isn’t quite correct, as they are still rare. It’s the kind of trait you people have down here. It can make you do all sorts of wonderful things, like this man being able to tell if I’m lying. But try to do that to a Foundation cultivator and it will be useless.”

“Then why kidnap people?” Shu Yang asked, “These Elders shouldn’t care for Common Traits, right?”

“Of course they care,” The cultivator answered, “Us Qi cultivators are the foundation of the family, and these traits can strengthen us considerably. Besides, just like a trait might not be passed on to a child, a trait can be passed on even stronger if you're lucky. It’s very rare, but children have been born with Founding Traits to parents who had Common Traits.”

“Then does your Qing family have any traits of the higher tier?” Shen Ye broke in and asked.

“A few of the Elders definitely have a Founding Trait,” The cultivator answered, “But I’m not really clear on the specifics. Traits come and go. Even with a tempered bloodline, they are difficult to pass on through the generations. The Qing family has been around for almost a thousand years. There are countless branches of our family, I really don’t know much about the traits of each one.”

“Then I still don’t understand why kidnapping us matters so much,” Shu Yang said, “Even Founding Traits are hard to pass on according to you.”

“Well, every bit of strength counts,” The cultivator said, “Besides, traits mostly play an important role if you manage to advance your bloodline. That’s where they really shine and have the possibility to be passed on generation after generation.”

“How so?” Shu Yang asked, deeply curious.

“If you advance your bloodline to the Founding grade, you will be able to create a Bloodline Ability. The ability you can create depends entirely on what kind of traits you have. And once you have created a Bloodline Ability, it is deeply ingrained in your bloodline, and it’s much more easily passed on.”

‘So that’s what my strange power is! A Bloodline Ability!’

“How do you create one?” Shu Yang blurted out.

“How would I know?” The cultivator answered weakly, his eyelids drooping. 

‘Not good! He’s getting weak.’

“What is your Qing family’s Bloodline Ability?” Shen Ye asked.

“Right, that’s what you want to know,” The cultivator said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing amazing. It just lets us focus and create talismans of higher tiers than we should be able to. Nothing incredible, but it’s quite profitable.”

“Wouldn’t there be several? Each new Elder of your family should have one of their own, right?” Shu Yang asked.

“No, no,” The cultivator said, weakly shaking his head, “Our ancestor created the Qing Family Bloodline Ability, it is passed on to every one of us descendants, it’s just a matter of how weak or strong it is. Most people have a very weak one. If you manage to advance to the Foundation stage, that’s when you can fully activate the Bloodline Ability that the ancestor created. You don’t create a new one. At least I haven’t heard about anything like that.”

“You can’t create a new Bloodline Ability if you already have one inherited?” Shu Yang asked to clarify.

“That should be it. Or perhaps it’s just too difficult for ordinary people.” After speaking, the cultivator closed his eyes. 

Shu Yang panicked slightly.

“What is the power structure like where you come from? How does the Qing family stand? What are the stages of cultivation called? How strong is the strongest one?” Shu Yang blurted out.

“So many…questions,” The cultivator said. 

Shen Ye lifted his sword threateningly again.

“Fine. The Qing family is a Founding family, one of the more powerful ones,” The cultivator explained, but his voice was getting scarily weak, and Shu Yang had to step closer to be able to hear clearly. “The area we are in is under the control of the Green River Sect, but it’s just one of twelve sects under the rule of the Sword Sect. As for what lies beyond our province, I’m not sure; I don’t have access to that kind of information. The Dust separates us, and it’s…it’s hard to travel.”

“How strong is the Sword Sect? What stage is their leader?” Shu Yang asked. If he wanted to travel there in the future, he needed to know what he would be up against.

But the cultivator didn’t answer; his head was dropping, his breath raspy. 

“Hey!” Shu Yang called out, shaking the man’s shoulder.

“Imper…Imperial,” The man said weakly. 

Shu Yang didn’t understand and shook the man again, but it was of no use.

“He’s dead,” Shen Ye said.

Shu Yang sighed. ‘Oh well, I still found out plenty of valuable information. And it’s not like this kind of cultivator has any unique knowledge outside of the Qing family’s inner workings. Whenever I go there in the future, any random cultivator should know just as much when it comes to the world at large.’

“Let’s-” Shen Ye began, but stopped himself when he noticed the cultivator’s head roll off his body.

Xiaorong had apparently not wanted the man to die with a complete body.

Shu Yang didn’t say anything, and Xiaorong returned to his shoulder once more. 

“Let’s go,” Shen Ye finished.

“Yeah,” Shu Yang nodded.

They hurried south once again. All of them in deep thought. The world had just turned into a much bigger place for all of them.

‘Wait, did he say ‘Sword Sect’?’

Shu Yang turned to look at his son and couldn’t help but worry about what he was thinking. 

‘He shouldn’t leave Xiaoshi, though. He’s not that kind of person.’

‘Then again…what will he accomplish by staying here? He’s basically the foremost swordsman for thousands of miles.’

Shu Yang looked ahead at Xiaoshi and felt that she had also reached the peak at a very young age.

‘And the little guy within her might inherit their talents. Will the child have to grow up and be held back by this place?’

‘Whatever. That’s for the future. Nothing I can do about it now. I just need to get everyone to safety. Then we can plan for the future.’

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