Bloodline Tree

Eight years passed.

“Unnecessary,” Xiaorong said, landing on Shu Yang’s shoulder.

“If we take it from someone else, they’ll starve,” Shu Yang said, looking back to the city to make sure he wasn’t followed.

“That’s fine,” Xiaorong said.

Shu Yang glanced at her.

‘Why is it that she seems more like a beast now that she can speak?’

“For me?” Xiaorong asked. As always, she didn’t really speak in complete sentences. Shu Yang didn’t know if she wasn’t able to, or just couldn’t bother.

“Nothing for you this time,” Shu Yang said, “We’ll be leaving soon. What we have back home should be enough for you until then. Besides, do you really need that much food at the Foundation stage?”

“Hungry,” Xiaorong grumbled and closed her eyes.

Shu Yang shook his head.

‘How much can she even eat, being that small?’

Xiaorong had advanced to the Saint stage, or the Foundation stage, as the cultivators call it, a few months ago. The spot in the Black Beast Mountains that Shu Yang had picked out many years ago really had something special about it. There was spiritual qi there.

That environment had sped up Xiaorong’s advancement like crazy, and she had no issue crossing the bottleneck to the Foundation stage.

But unlike her parents, who Shu Yang had heard were almost the size of bears, Xiaorong remained the size of a house cat and could still fit on Shu Yang’s shoulder.

‘Perhaps it has more to do with age than cultivation stage.’

‘Either way, as long as she is strong, her size doesn’t matter.’

Shu Yang picked up the pace and continued east. He didn’t want to stay out of the Black Beast Mountains for too long. While it was unlikely he would run into anyone who could be his opponent, he didn’t want to attract any attention to himself.

Hours passed, and the sun started to rise. Shu Yang stopped for a brief moment at a small hilltop to watch the sunrise.

Xiaorong also opened her lazy eyes and looked out.

“Isn’t it the beast that usually carries the human?” Shu Yang asked, “How come it’s the other way around with us?”

“Too big,” Xiaorong said.

“Too small,” Shu Yang shot back. He really felt that it would be nice to have a beast at the Foundation stage carry him around. Xiaorong had always been faster than Shu Yang, and now that she was at the Foundation stage, the difference was even more pronounced.

She could even fly!

‘I wonder if I’ll also be able to fly once I reach the Foundation stage? That can’t be something unique to Xiaorong’s bloodline, right?’

‘I guess I’ll find out soon enough.’

“Go?” Xiaorong asked.

“Just a while longer,” Shu Yang said, slightly lost in thought. Whenever he looked out at the horizon like this, he would think about his children away from home. Especially Tianyi.

‘She’s 16 years old already.’

Shu Yang felt a slight stir inside him. He knew he shouldn’t activate his Bloodline Ability; he had saved it for his advancement.

‘I can’t help it. I’ll just wait a few more days before I try to break through.’

Shu Yang turned his head to the north and activated his Bloodline Ability.

His eyes sharpened, and anyone who looked at him would feel a shudder, as if all their secrets were laid bare.

The distant horizon contracted, and everything grew blurry until a face appeared in front of Shu Yang.

It was his daughter, now a young woman. She was bent over a desk with papers laid out, seemingly studying something. She looked very focused. Far from the playful 8-year-old girl he remembered.

‘At least she doesn’t look unhealthy or worried.’

Shu Yang smiled as he watched her. But he knew better than to waste his Bloodline Ability too much, so he stopped it, and everything returned to normal.

‘Dad will come see you soon.’

Shu Yang got back to his feet again and continued his journey. He didn’t feel the need to check on Tianxu; that kid was always laughing happily and enjoying himself whenever Shu Yang looked for him. Shu Yang didn’t know if it was bad timing or if Tianxu had stumbled into some kind of paradise.

Either way, Shu Yang was glad he was alright, but he couldn’t help but feel irritated whenever he saw those scenes. Wasn’t he worried about his family back home at all?

‘Whatever, it’s normal to have moments of happiness even when you have something weighing on your mind. I’ll check on him again after I advance.’

‘If he dares not to show a trace of worry on his face, I’ll really beat him up when I see him again.’

Shu Yang continued running, and it only took a few days before he returned back to his new home.

He could hear the young children’s laughter even before he saw any buildings, and he smiled.

It might not be the most effective for hiding, but can you really keep quiet for years? Shu Yang didn’t think so, and he wasn’t very worried they would be discovered. The Black Beast Mountains were about the size of the previous Yan Kingdom. It was very hard to stumble upon Shu Yang and his family.

Even if anyone knew they were out here and wanted to search for them, it would be difficult. The Black Beast Mountains were unpopulated for a reason. Besides the land not being suitable for growing crops, there were also dangerous beasts around. Sending in search parties wasn’t without risks.

But fortunately, Shu Yang hadn’t seen signs of anyone searching for them all these years. Their home had only been stumbled upon by a few refugees over the years, but no one with ill intentions.

It was actually a good thing that their new home wasn’t too hidden, as Shu Yang would have missed out on some good daughters-in-law, and in turn, some of his newly born grandchildren.

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“Tianan, get kicked out again?” Shu Yang asked as he saw his son sitting outside the fence that covered their shelter.

“Can’t you see I’m keeping watch?” Tianan asked, his face twitching slightly.

“Oh,” Shu Yang said, nodding in understanding, “It was one or the other, I just took a guess.”

“Dad, it’s been years already, isn’t this getting old?” Tianan asked, exasperated.

“No,” Shu Yang said, “Where is your mother?”

“I don’t know. Probably at Tianzheng’s house. Oh, right, you didn’t know, the baby is coming,” Tianan said.

“What? Why didn’t you say so?” Shu Yang asked, hurriedly entering through the small gates.

“It’s fine, there is still time,” Tianan called after him before sitting back down.

‘Unreliable kid.’

About five years ago, Tianren had encountered a small group of refugees barely surviving a couple of miles away. After consulting with Shu Yang, they were invited to stay with the Shu family. Among those people was a pretty girl around 20 years old. Shu Yang immediately took a liking to her when he saw how responsible she was for her mother and grandfather, as well as the other refugees they traveled with. She was even a 2nd-grade martial warrior, and should have some talent.

Shu Yang had the thought of matching her with his son Tianzheng. Not through any force or coercion, of course, but he genuinely thought they would be well-matched together. Besides, Tianzheng was already 18 at that point, and there was really no knowing when another opportunity would present itself.

But who would have guessed, before Shu Yang could even come up with a way for the two of them to interact more, Tianan had already gotten to the girl.

Apparently, two wives weren’t enough for the kid.

Shu Yang was pretty upset, but what could he do? Since they had apparently taken a liking to each other, he could only bless them.

At least his two wives, Chu Jing and Ye Hua, had punished him for quite some time afterward. They even somehow managed to get the new girl, Luo Qinze, to join them in giving him the cold shoulder.

Either way, that was five years ago now, and Luo Qinze had given Shu Yang two grandchildren, both with a slight talent for martial arts.

And it might have been a good thing for Tianzheng as well, as he met another girl just three years later anyway.

“Dad! You’re back,” Tianyue called out when Shu Yang entered Tianzheng’s house. It had been built for him when he married his wife.

Tianren and Tianzheng were also there, along with a few grandchildren who wanted to be there when their new cousin was born.

“Dad, how is it looking out there?” Tianren asked.

“What could have changed?” Shu Yang asked, “It’s the same as ever.”

Just like Shu Yang had guessed, the Yan Kingdom fell to the Lishen Empire not long after the Shu family relocated. So did the rest of the kingdoms.

But this part of the world wasn’t under the complete control of the Lishen Emperor just yet.

Shu Yang didn’t have any complete information, but from what he had gathered, the strange organization that kidnapped his friend Zhangye and son Tianxu all those years ago seemed to have infiltrated quite deeply in just a few years.

While the Lishen Empire had worked hard to eradicate them all during these past years, it was really hard to completely get rid of them. Especially in the Wen Kingdom, where the king had somehow managed to advance to the Foundation stage not long after the Yan Kingdom fell.

Now, the northwest of the Yan Kingdom, the west of the Qing Empire, and the west of the Luo Kingdom were all under the Wen Kingdom’s rule.

Despite 8 years passing, the war was far from over.

Shu Yang himself didn’t know if he should be happy or sad about it. He definitely didn’t want the Lishen Emperor to have a happy ending, but the King of Wen wasn’t much better.

‘Well, as long as my family is safe here, there is no need to go seek trouble.’

‘At least until I advance myself. Then we’ll see if there isn’t something I can do.’

“Is your mother inside?” Shu Yang asked.

“Yes, Gu Xiang has already been in labor for an hour now,” Tianyue answered.

“Why aren’t you helping?” Shu Yang asked.

“I’m keeping up the morale out here,” Tianyue responded.

“What about you?” Shu Yang questioned his son Tianzheng.

“They won’t let me inside,” Tianzheng answered.

“Are we still doing that?” Shu Yang asked with a frown. Men hadn’t been allowed inside while the woman was in labor before because that was the rule of Ma Rue, and Shu Yang didn’t dare get rid of the woman who had successfully delivered so many babies for his family.

But now, with just their family and about 200 refugees, they could only rely on Qianyue to handle the deliveries.

“I wasn’t allowed in for Xinxu either,” Tianren added.

“It’s tradition, Dad,” Tianyue said.

‘How did it become tradition?’ Shu Yang thought in dismay.

“I remember Tianhu being with Xiaoshi both times,” Shu Yang said.

“Tianhu is so stubborn,” Tianyue said with a shrug, “Who doesn’t know that there is no reasoning with him once he’s decided on something?”

“Just that?” Shu Yang asked, shaking his head. “Fine. How are you feeling, Tianzheng?”

“Nervous,” Tianzheng answered with a small smile.

“That’s natural,” Shu Yang said, patting him on the shoulder and taking a seat next to him. He pulled out one of the storage pouches he carried with him and opened it up. “I brought some wine this time. Let’s have a glass to settle the nerves.”

Food was scarce in this place, so Shu Yang would go out and ‘take’ some from the Lishen Empire’s wealthier people from time to time. He had two storage pouches to carry the food in, so it was quite convenient. He wasn’t very afraid of being caught, either; he had far too many trump cards to worry about any Grandmaster.

Worst case, he could just use one of those talismans he still kept. He had figured out how to use them a long time ago now.

“Thanks,” Tianzheng said, accepting the wine when Shu Yang handed it over.

“How long will this last us now? I feel like we have plenty to eat for years to come, and that’s not counting what we grow ourselves,” Tianyue said.

“It’s good to be prepared,” Shu Yang said. He had actually brought enough food from his frequent trips to last for over a decade.

He would be going away soon, and might be gone for a long time. He didn’t want his family to have to risk exposure while he was gone.

‘But will we still be here ten years from now? Hiding?’

‘That would be far from optimal.’

Shu Yang’s grandchildren were growing up. His eldest, Xinyang, was 17 now, the same age his father was when he got married. But there wasn’t really anyone suitable for him to marry in their small settlement.

Soon, the rest of his grandchildren would also grow old. He had a whole 20 of them now, and there was no way they could stay in this small place forever. That would be too sad a life to live.

‘Oh? I guess that makes it 21.’

Shu Yang felt a rush of power in his bloodline and soon heard the cry of a baby from the neighboring room.

“Your son is born,” Shu Yang said with a smile, patting Tianzheng on the shoulder.

“Son?” Tianzheng asked, and he rose to his feet and rushed to the bedroom door.

“How can you tell it’s a boy, Dad?” Tianyue asked, “They cry the same, don’t they?”

“I’m the boy’s grandfather, how can I not tell what his gender is?” Shu Yang questioned.

‘He’s quite talented too. As expected of the Gu family.’

Tianzheng’s wife, Gu Xiang, came from the Gu Martial Family, previously the most powerful family in Fugu City. She wasn’t a direct descendant of Official Gu, whom Shu Yang had some contact with, but she was far from useless. She was only 22 years old but already an Innate warrior.

She couldn’t compare to Xiaoshi, but who could?

Shu Yang felt through his connection to the Bloodline Tree that his newly born grandson had a ‘Mortal - High’ bloodline. Tianzheng had that as well, so it wasn’t very surprising, but still something to be happy about.

What was somewhat surprising was that while Tianzheng only had slight talent, his son had good talent.

‘Must be from the mother. Very good.’

‘I guess I can go a little easier on Tianan in the future. It was a good thing that he didn’t let me set up Tianzheng with someone else.’

But while a grandson of this caliber might have made Shu Yang ecstatic for days in the past, it didn’t really affect him much now.

He had just gained too much these past eight years for it to make much difference.

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