Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“What’s that? It looks important,” Qianyue asked as Shu Yang guided his family through Kuo City.

“It’s the County Office, where Tianyue works,” Shu Yang answered.

“It looks like a palace,” Li Xia said, staring at the grand building surrounded by a big lawn of well-cut grass.

“I want to go in and take a look,” Qianyue said, “Can we?”

“Let’s go get Tianyue first,” Shu Yang said.

“Right,” Qianyue nodded.

“Dad, what’s going on over there?” Tianren asked, pointing to a small crowd of people gathered in front of a large tent on the lawn to the side of the County Office.

“They’re recruiting people to go to the Black Beast Mountains,” Shu Yang answered. He had seen the same thing for several years now.

“Why? What’s happening in the Black Beast Mountains?” Tianhu spoke up for once and asked.

Shu Yang knew he was only asking because the Sword School was located at the Black Beast Mountains. Tianhu had been asking to go there for a long time now.

Shu Yang looked at Tianhu, hesitating briefly. He didn’t want to give his son any ideas. But considering that he might get fooled by someone if he didn’t have the full picture, Shu Yang decided to explain.

“The Black Beast from back then has been spotted,” Shu Yang explained, “It’s nearing the end of its lifespan, so an extensive hunt has been going on for the past few years. But don’t think these people recruited are valued by the higher-ups; they are only needed to make up the numbers. The Black Beast Mountains is almost the same size as the entire Yan Kingdom, so there is a large area to search. These people are being recruited to be sent deep into the mountains to search for the Black Beast.

“But they will gain nothing in the end. It’s a shameless tactic where they are being offered incredible rewards if they manage to find anything, but not to mention how small the chances of finding the Balck Beast are, if they do find it, they will surely be killed without knowing how. The Black Beast might be old, but just a few years ago, it slaughtered over a hundred Innate warriors, Masters, and Grandmasters.”

Shu Yang had been told some about what happened there by Lady Jiangxi, so he knew better than anyone how dangerous it was. It wasn’t something he and his family could get involved in.

Not to mention that Shu Yang was convinced he could become a Saint even without the body of a Saint Beast or similar resources. He just needed to steadily develop his family, and his power would continue to increase.

But even though the event in the Black Beast Mountains had caused a bit of unrest, Shu Yang was glad it had happened. Because after the rumor spread among the powerful, the Wen Kingdom stopped their harassment, and Lady Jiangxi confirmed that war was unlikely as long as the focus was on the Saint Beast.

Even though Lady Jiangxi was still worried, saying that things could very well become worse in the future if the Yan Kingdom didn’t come out on top in this fight, Shu Yang himself didn’t feel that worried. War in the future was a lot better than war right now. Who knows, he might have even reached the Saint stage himself by the time they found the Black Beast. What would he have to worry about then?

“Why do they want to hunt the Black Beast so badly?” Tianan asked, “Are they afraid it will come down from the mountains and cause chaos?”

“It hasn’t left the mountains for 150 years. Why would it come down now?” Tianxu questioned.

“They are simply worried that some other force will get to it first,” Shu Yang answered, “Besides the Yan Kingdom, three other nations border the Black Beast Mountains. And even the other Kingdoms, like the Wen Kingdom, have sent people in secret to enter the mountains. The first one to find it might become a Saint, after all. There is no Grandmaster who can ignore that.”

“But can they even do anything if they find it?” Tianan asked, “Didn’t you say that the Black Beast could kill hundreds of Masters even if it’s old?”

Shu Yang pointed toward the recruitment tent next to the County Office and explained, “Don’t they have plenty of manpower available? It can handle 100 Masters, but can it handle 100,000 martial warriors? Eventually, it will become too tired to fight back.”

Shu Yang didn’t really know if that was the plan, but he knew enough about powerful people to realize that there was basically nothing a Grandmaster at the end of his lifespan wouldn’t do to reach the Saint stage and live for another hundred years.

‘Hopefully they can all keep each other busy in the Black Beast Mountains for the next few decades, while I’ll build up my family’s power.’

It didn’t take much longer before the family arrived outside a big mansion. This manor was something Lady Jinagxi had casually bought to keep Tianyue company in Kuo City. It really made Shu Yang feel poor, even after his wealth had increased so much compared to a few years ago.

“Mom, Dad! Brothers! Sister Xia!” Tianyue came running out of the large building with a wide smile. She stopped to look them over for just a short second before rushing to her mother’s embrace.

Tianyue was almost as tall as her mother now, and she seemed to look more like a woman and less like a little girl every time he saw her.

Shu Yang felt a mix of emotions watching her as she chatted with her brothers.

For some reason, watching his sons grow into young men, Shu Yang only felt gratified. But his daughter was different. He also felt happy that she had grown up and matured, but a small part of him always wanted to ignore reason and just take her home again.

He could build her a large library in Baishu Village, where she could just spend all day reading leisurely and happily. Every day, he could visit her and pat her little head, seeing her safe and sound.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Of course, Shu Yang knew it was impossible. His daughter had her own life to live. Besides, Shu Yang wasn’t meant to grow old at home surrounded by children and grandchildren. He had a wider world to see, and he would go explore it eventually. So it was even more important that he made sure that his children could stand on their own, even without him there.

“Look, this is my Official Badge,” Tianyue took out her badge and showed it off to her brothers, “Your sister is a 9th-grade Official now. If you ever run into trouble, just come to me, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Really?” Tianan asked, looking at the badge intensely. It looked like his mind was filled with ideas.

“Don’t tell me you’ve become corrupt after only a few weeks?” Lady Jiangxi said just as she walked out of the mansion.

“Teacher, don’t worry, my brothers wouldn’t do anything bad. As an Official, it’s my duty to help them if they suffer from injustice,” Tianyue responded righteously.

“You have an answer for everything,” Lady Jiangxi said, rolling her eyes.

“Lady Jiangxi, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for Yue,” Qianyue said with a small bow. “I know you don’t need much, but this is a new dessert from our bakery. Please try it and give us some feedback.”

Lady Jiangxi accepted the small gift with a smile, “I’m going to grow fat if you keep bringing me these.”

“Not at all, Teacher is naturally slim,” Tianyue flattered.

“I don’t know about that,” Lady Jiangxi said with a small smile, “But I’ve heard you can’t gain weight if you only eat delicious things. I find it doubtful, but I should test the theory to make sure.”

Shu Yang laughed and said, “Alright, I’m taking the family around Kuo City. Do you want to come along, Lady Jiangxi?”

“I think I’ll stay at home and read, you guys have fun,” Lady Jiangxi rejected. But just as she was turning around to go inside again, she paused and looked at little Tianzheng standing beside his mother.

“This boy must be Tianzheng, right? You’ve grown so big. It feels like yesterday when you were just a baby. How old are you now?”

“Ah? Oh, I’m five…Lady Jiangxi,” Tianzheng answered, a little dazed.

“I see,” Lady Jiangxi nodded with a smile and then turned to give Shu Yang a look.

‘It seems she figured out that Tianzheng also has the trait ‘Clear mind’.’ Shu Yang thought with a helpless smile.

He still hadn’t figured out what exactly made the trait special, and it seemed Lady Jiangxi hadn’t gained anything from Tianyue either.

Shu Yang’s only guess was that it was a trait that made the mind stronger, and so was Lady Jiangxi’s; they just had different uses. Clear mind made Shu Yang and his children able to think clearly and make connections quickly. While Lady Jiangxi could discern small signs and determine if someone lied or not.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad thing if she took a liking to Tianzheng too. If she could accept him as a student too, it would be a relief.’

‘But then again, Tianyue might grow influential enough to help him on her own if he wants to become an Official in the future.’

‘Tianzheng also has talent for martial arts, so that would make things a lot easier to rise in position in the future.’

Lady Jiangxi had told Shu Yang that martial strength wasn’t a requirement to be an Official. But you certainly needed the backing of martial strength in some way, especially if you wanted to rise high in the ranks.

Lady Jiangxi was probably telling him so he could prepare, worried that he would get his hopes up. Shu Yang’s 1st-grade strength was something to consider within Chunsi Town, and perhaps it had some deterrent effect even in Kuo City. But outside the county, it was basically useless.

But Shu Yang wasn’t worried; he would soon reach the Innate stage, and he would go even higher in the future. He would make sure his daughter had all the backing she needed.

Shu Yang and his family bid Lady Jiangxi goodbye and headed out to sightsee.

Even if Tianyue had only been gone for a few weeks, she had experienced a lot and had plenty to share.

Shu Yang watched with a smile as his family gathered once again, with everyone getting along.

“Do you have some place you want to check out?” Shu Yang asked his family after a while.

“Swordshop,” Tianhu and Tianxu answered at the same time.

Shu Yang rolled his eyes, “I know that. We’ll get there, relax.”

“We should have Tianyue show us around the County Office,” Qianyue said.

“Right, let’s do that first,” Shu Yang said.

“Dad, I was thinking of checking out something with Xia,” Tianren said.

Shu Yang paused for a second before nodding, “Okay, we can meet up later, I guess.”

Shu Yang could understand that his son wanted some time alone with his young wife.

“Then we can check out the swordshop, first?” Tianxu asked.

“I want to go there too,” Tianan added.

“You want a sword too?” Shu Yang asked.

“If you’re offering,” Tianan answered with a cheeky smile.

“Forget it,” Shu Yang said with a small frown, “Focus on your martial arts.”

Thinking for a second, Shu Yang sighed and handed Tianhu a pouch of coins, “Go buy it yourselves then. Watch over your brothers.”

‘I’ll let them run around for a while. They’re getting older, and I can’t keep watch over them all the time. Just as it’s important to be strict and set up clear boundaries when they are young, it’s important to give the kids freedom once they grow up.’

“Alright, Dad,” Tianhu said, accepting the coins, a rare smile sprouting on his face.

And so, five people left, leaving four behind.

Shu Yang looked at his wife, daughter, and youngest son, then shook his head and smiled.

“Let’s go.”