High School Student with Immortal Race System

Wu Yi stared at the enormous gate, feeling as if his left and right brain were teaming up to attack his hypothalamus.

"This is your home?"

’Aren’t you a student on financial aid!’

’You’re making me look destitute!’

’Give me back the heartfelt emotion I was feeling just now!’

Yang Shen smiled faintly. "My new home. For the next few days, it’s just me and... a friend staying here. My aunt and the others are still in Jinshui."

Speaking of which, he had been busy hunting Rebel Species lately and hadn’t been here in two days. It was time to inspect the former Cangwu Tea Garden, now the Yang Residence.

Over a month ago, the place had been given a new lease on life after changing owners. Not only had the interior undergone a series of renovations, but even Cangwu Garden had become denser and more orderly, shedding its former dilapidated state.

Every time Yang Shen came, he would occasionally cast some Spirit Plant System Magic. Of course, the actual pruning and shaping was skilled work, so he had hired people for it.

If one were to visit during the day, they would find it lush and green, teeming with life... It was just a shame that no one would be strolling around here.

And the Yang Residence, occupying 10% of the area, stood deep within Cangwu Garden.

Yang Shen unlocked the vermilion-lacquered main gate, pushing it open just a crack, and gestured for Wu Yi to enter.

"The renovations just finished, so it might be a little messy. Please don’t mind, Wu."

Wu Yi walked in, dazed and speechless.

’Has the commercialization of the college entrance exams gotten this insane? You built a mansion like this over a single summer break?’

’Shouldn’t you be paying off your loans first?’

The Yang Residence had three sections: an Outer Courtyard, an Inner Courtyard, and a Rear Courtyard.

The two of them were currently in the Outer Courtyard. The former tea rooms had been converted into guest rooms, though some elegant private rooms were kept, as this would be where the Yang Family would receive guests in the future.

Beneath the covered walkway was a sunken channel of flowing water, where the fleeting shadows of fish darted away, startled by their footsteps.

At the base of a rockery was a shallow pond, with the gentle sound of a small, artificial waterfall.

In terms of landscaping, the main structure was what remained of the Cangwu Tea Garden, merely beautified and updated. But for a private residence, it was already an incredibly extravagant setup.

The "Inner Courtyard" was the living quarters for the members of the Yang Family. It consisted of four buildings forming a quadrangle. There was a lotus pond within the courtyard, and the tallest, south-facing building stood a full four stories high, creating a terraced, staggered sense of space from the inside out, further highlighting the grandeur of a prominent clan.

The tallest building was the Ancestral Hall, while the other three were the residential areas for the Yang Family.

Note that the unit of measure here is buildings, not rooms. In fact, even the smallest building had two floors, with seven or eight rooms totaling several hundred square meters.

The six members of the Yang Family couldn’t even fill a single building, occupying at most one floor. Most rooms would remain temporarily vacant, to be used when needed.

Finally, there was the "Rear Courtyard," which was actually composed of an open Martial Arts Arena surrounded by a bamboo forest, and the adjacent Spirit Field further back.

Yang Shen had sectioned off ten mu of land within Cangwu Garden, enough to grow rare medicinal herbs. Of course, it was just barren land for now, as he hadn’t started transplanting anything yet.

Yang Shen gave Wu Yi a tour of the yet-uninhabited Yang Residence. He wasn’t very familiar with it himself; sometimes he had to feel around in several places just to find a light switch.

The place still lacked the feel of a lived-in home. Aside from Long Jiu fulfilling her duties as a Shadow Guard on the top floor of the Ancestral Hall, it felt quite deserted.

Finally, he led Wu Yi back to the Outer Courtyard, and the two sat down by the rockery to chat.

"By the way, Wu, I get the feeling you have something you want to say. What... did you come here for?"

’What did I come here for?’ Wu Yi thought. ’I came here to have my horizons broadened!’

He had originally planned to ask if Yang Shen’s family was facing any difficulties. Now he felt like it was his own intelligence that was facing difficulties.

"Er... it’s nothing. I just wanted to ask if you have any worries about life after you start school."

Yang Shen thought for a moment. "Worries... not really. I’m just looking forward to the new environment. After all, this is my first time going to university. Can freshmen take Martial Arts as an elective?"

Wu Yi nodded. "The rules don’t distinguish between school years, but you need permission from the professor of the prerequisite course. The Cultivation of Martial Arts is primarily for combat, so it has a certain degree of danger."

"So... is there a fee?"

This was Yang Shen’s main concern. He already had Fist Intent and Overlapping Waves, as well as various types of Magic, so his need for Martial Arts wasn’t a hard requirement.

But he was curious! Yang Shen particularly remembered how, during the college entrance exam, the combat proctor had clapped his hands together and unleashed a massively powerful shockwave from his palms.

’It almost broke my skin!’

Wu Yi said, "Martial Arts vary in difficulty and value. Most of the school’s inherited techniques are completely public. For others, you are evaluated based on your credits. If your credits and ranking aren’t high enough, you can’t study them."

"And for the most precious Martial Arts and Cultivation Techniques, you need to sign an agreement with the school."

Yang Shen: "What kind of agreement?"

"Exploring the Exotic Realm. You’ll definitely have to go once before you graduate, but most students only go that one time. There aren’t really any missions to speak of; it’s mainly to gain experience."

"But for certain Martial Arts, you need to promise to participate in a varying number of expeditions to the Exotic Realm after graduation. The specific arrangements are made by school draft, and everything you acquire belongs to the school or to the Yanhua Official authorities."

Yang Shen nodded. ’That seems reasonable enough...’

’They spend huge amounts to train people, so naturally, they hope those people will serve Yanhua, especially the true geniuses.’

"You should focus on stabilizing your realm first. Even as the Champion Scholar, you’ll only be eligible to participate in your sophomore year at the earliest."

"Explorations of the Exotic Realm are done in squads. If you’re strong enough, you’ll attract some talented people to your side."

The two chatted about this and that for a while longer before Wu Yi took his leave.

After closing the massive, vermilion-lacquered gate again, the Yang Residence fell silent once more.

Yang Shen looked back at the spacious courtyard, momentarily lost in a daze.

’This... is my home.’

’And the new foundation of the Yang Family.’

The many chaotic thoughts from his day at the Jiangti Campus were smoothed over by the sheer presence of this grand residence.

Having a house, a home, put his heart at ease. A beloved ancestral home was enough to give Yang Shen the confidence to face the next stage of his life.

Yang Shen let out a breath, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled through the courtyard alone... inspecting the fruits of his labor.

Sometimes, a man’s satisfaction is just that simple. It doesn’t require applause or compliments.

Every flower and blade of grass, every stone and piece of wood, had already given him his answer.

Yang Shen walked with measured steps, circling the entire courtyard and making some plans for the future.

He had bought this estate for ten million, which was a steal, but its future upkeep would indeed be complicated.

In Cangwu Garden, the Yang Family could use the Spirit Plant Inheritance to nourish the plants, saving a lot of money, but the pruning would still require hiring people—unless the Yang Family wanted to grab some shears and tend to over sixty mu of land themselves...

’At that point, they might as well not do anything else. The whole family could switch careers and become gardeners.’

Additionally, the living costs for the Yang Residence itself would also be considerable.

’The flowing water and koi fish in the Outer Courtyard are beautiful, right?’

’The water bill isn’t cheap!’

’And the waterfall on the rockery is impressive, isn’t it?’

’It’s electric.’

According to a preliminary estimate, the comprehensive annual cost of living here in Cangwu Garden would be between 600,000 and 1,000,000. This was much cheaper than when it was in Wang Yisheng’s hands, but it still far exceeded the living expenses of an average family.

Add to that the costs of renovation and acquisitions, and the income Yang Shen had earned from his hard work filming over the summer was basically all gone.

’But... there were rewards, too.’

Yang Shen entered the Ancestral Hall and, sure enough, saw the custom-ordered ancestral tablets that had been delivered in a package.

He opened it and placed them one by one on the incense altar in the Ancestral Hall.

There were more than thirty of them, arranged in tiers. Gilded and blue-backed, they were packed densely together.

They displayed a profound family lineage.

Although Yang Shen wasn’t familiar with most of them; they were all "unboxed" from the Ancestral Lineage Spiritual Record.

At the very top was that General Wei of the Yang Family from several hundred years ago, but in the very center were his Uncle Yang Wen and his birth father, Yang Si.

After arranging all the tablets, Yang Shen found the three sticks of incense he had prepared earlier.

As the current Patriarch, he bowed three times in worship before the Yang Clan Ancestral Hall.

And as Yang Shen completed the first ritual worship at his new ancestral home, the "main quest" in his system—the only one with an unfulfilled requirement—was finally completed.

A pleasant "DING" sound echoed in his mind.

’A new Family Heirloom, naturally, should be placed in the new home.’

’I just wonder what it will be...’

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