Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“Ye kid, look over here,” Old Mo called out from in front.

Shen Ye stepped forward and looked down at the ground in front of Old Mo.

“What do you think? Could be the footprints of a Brawler Bear, right?” Old Mo asked.

“You would know better than me. But we’re not that far into the Black Beast Mountains; these could have been left behind by another group,” Ye Shen said. Then he turned up to look at Old Mo and frowned slightly, “And stop calling me kid. I’m already a father. It would be embarrassing if it got out.”

“Haha,” Old Mo laughed, “You were already a father when we met, right? How come you didn’t say anything back then?”

Ye Shen rolled his eyes and ignored the old man. He was only 19 years old back then; it was obviously different.

‘I should have looked for someone else to team up with. It shouldn’t be difficult to find someone reliable.’

‘Next Sword Summit, I’ll just travel on my own. I will definitely be a Master by then.’

“You’re not like me, stuck at the Innate stage for the rest of your life. You will advance further and live for at least a hundred years more. Think about that, a hundred years left to live, what does that make you if not a kid?”

“Fine. Call me whatever you want,” Shen Ye said, “Let’s follow these tracks and see if we can find anything.”

Shen Ye took the lead, following the tracks, but was soon overtaken by Old Mo. There was nothing to do about it, Old Mo had spent his entire life in the Sword School, so he was very familiar with the Black Beast Mountains.

Shen Ye gradually relaxed and lifted his gaze from the ground to the surroundings. He had always felt strangely at peace in these woods.

“You should at least try to look for tracks, or you’ll never learn,” Old Mo lectured from in front. He hadn’t even turned around, seemingly having eyes in the back of his neck.

‘How long has it been since I’ve been treated like a clueless kid?’ Shen Ye thought to himself, his face twitching in annoyance.

‘I guess it’s been seven years. Old Mo being the culprit back then, too.’

“How’s the princess?” Old Mo asked after a while.

“She’s fine,” Shen Ye answered perfunctorily.

“You two getting along?” Old Mo continued to ask.

“Of course,” Shen Ye said.

“You told me you found her boring. Has that changed?” Old Mo asked.

Shen Ye once again cursed his younger self. He couldn’t believe he had shared so much with a stranger.

Fourteen years ago, Shen Ye had run away from home to attend the Sword Summit. He had never disobeyed his family before that, but he felt too suffocated staying within the family manor, and attending the Sword Summit had always been his dream.

Back then, he had met Old Mo by chance. Old Mo, seeing that Shen Ye was all alone, offered to team up with him during the competition. Shen Ye could tell that he didn’t have any nefarious thoughts, so he agreed. And being a young man with a lot of pent-up emotions, it didn’t take much for him to spill all his grievances to the old man.

“We’ve been married for fifteen years now. Obviously, she has grown on me,” Shen Ye said.

It was true that he resented the marriage at first. He was only 18 and had no thoughts of settling down. His wife might have been beautiful, and he could tell she liked him. But Shen Ye just found her boring. Compared to his sister, mother, and other women in his own family, she was far less intelligent, and their conversations always remained at the most basic surface level.

But coming from a Martial Family, Shen Ye had no choice but to marry her. Her bloodline was powerful, and the elders were all exalted at bringing in one of the King’s own daughters to the Shen family.

“If you say so,” Old Mo said, “Considering how much you used to complain about her, she must have given birth to a couple of talented kids for you, right?”

“When did you get so nosy?” Shen Ye couldn’t hold it in any longer and almost yelled the question.

“Ever since you stopped so eagerly sharing these things with me,” Old Mo said with a laugh, “I’ve always been a curious person. You should learn that from me, too. If you’re not curious, you’re clueless.”

Shen Ye took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had thought he had a much better control over his emotions than this. But it seems it had just been a long time since he had met Old Mo.

“I’ve met all sorts of people over the years, you know,” Old Mo continued on, “Even if I’ve spent most of my time here in the Black Beast Mountains, I know a lot about what goes on in the Capital. The King’s great-grandfather was a Saint, which means your children are only five generations removed from that Saint.

“With your talent and the princess’s bloodline, I can just imagine what little monsters you’ve created. Why don’t you bring them here so I can take a look at them? They should be old enough to go hunting now, right?”

“Right. The bloodline above all,” Shen Ye said coldly, “Never mind if the children are happy. Who would care about that?”

“Now, now,” Old Mo said, stopping and finally raising his head to look at Shen Ye, smiling kindly, “Don’t be angry, Ye kid. I only rile you up to get you to share. You just close yourself off if I don’t get you a little upset.”

Shen Ye also stopped, looking at Old Mo in a slightly new light.

‘He was doing it on purpose? How come I didn’t notice?’

“Do you think I actually care about talent and bloodline? My father was a simple cobbler, and I wouldn’t have wished for another father even for a Saintly Bloodline. It’s a shame we only met after you’d fathered a child, or I would have advised you to adopt your sister’s ways and kept you here in the Sword School.”

“You know about my sister?” Shen Ye asked, surprised. Not even everyone in his own family knew about her.

“Like I said, I’ve met a lot of people over the years,” Old Mo said with a smile, “Your sister caused quite the sensation back then. Even with the Dong family and your Shen family trying to suppress the news from spreading, it still reached a few people.”

Shen Ye sighed slightly, “Even if I was discontent back then, I can’t be like my sister. The marriage alliance with the Yan family was too important for our family; if I had really messed it up, it might have been the beginning of the end for the Shen family.”

Old Mo shook his head with a tilted smile, “How can there be a swordsman like you? You worry too much about useless things. You need to be unfettered to be able to unsheath your sword and cut through all obstacles.”

“That’s just one way,” Shen Ye argued, “I strike my sword while carrying a heavy responsibility on my shoulder. That gives my sword a certain weight every time I unsheath it.”

“If you so say,” Old Mo said with a shrug, “Anyway, are you going to tell me about your kids? A son and daughter, right? I heard your son just reached Innate stage at such a young age.”

“You even know that?” Shen Ye asked with a helpless smile, “It only happened a few months ago. Aren’t you too gossipy for a respected swordsman?”

“In my view, I’m just curious and concerned,” Old Mo said, “What others decide to label me as has no meaning.”

“My son did reach the Innate stage…But while it might seem impressive to people like you who had to struggle against your bloodline to achieve it, it’s really not that big of a deal in Martial Families,” Shen Ye explained, “Zhuo’s advancement wasn’t as easy as mine was back then. His mother used quite a few precious resources to make sure he could advance on pace with the other kids his age.”

“She spoils him?” Old Mo asked.

Shen Ye hesitated for a moment before nodding, “She has a very kind and gentle nature. Naturally, her children receive most of that affection. It’s how a mother should be, really, and I’ve come to admire that about her. But as a result, Zhuo’s character is a little…lacking.”

‘I ended up speaking about these things again somehow.’

‘Oh well. Who else can I ever open up to? An old man I only have to meet every seven years, alone in the mountains where no one can overhear us, seems like a good option when I think about it.’

“You can’t blame a mother for that,” Old Mo said, shaking his head, “A boy needs a mother’s love, or he will eventually break. It is the father’s duty to discipline a son and make sure he grows up to be a proper man.

“I’ve heard about you running around in the Huji Prefecture. I can guess you haven’t been the most present father.”

Shen Ye felt a little awkward. It was rare to get a scolding so accurate and to the point. To think he had to hear it from Old Mo of all people.

“I’m not blaming anyone else,” Shen Ye said, “And he’s still only fifteen years old. I’ll make sure to spend more time with him to correct his faults.”

“Who are you trying to fool?” Old Mo asked with a chuckle, “That might be what you’ve been telling yourself. But if you really planned on doing it, you would have brought him here. You’re avoiding him…It seems his character is more lacking than I thought.”

Shen Ye’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.

‘That…isn’t true.’

But no matter how much he tried to deny it to himself, he couldn’t escape the truth.

He looked down on his son.

Zhuo was arrogant and unkind. On top of that, he had no talent for martial arts and hadn’t inherited the Shen Bloodline trait.

If it weren’t for knowing his wife would never betray him, Shen Ye would think he was someone else’s child.

Shen Ye had tried to discipline his son. His talent was fixed, but he could still be a respected member of the family if he worked on his character.

But nothing worked.

Shen Ye didn’t know exactly when it had happened, but at some point, he had given up. He started to avoid his son, trying his best not to even think about him.

“Things will work out when he grows up,” Shen Ye argued, despite knowing it was a lie.

Old Mo just gave him a look and turned around to continue tracking the suspected beast.

‘Now you turn quiet, right?’ Shen Ye thought with gritted teeth and hurried after the old man.

“My daughter is different, though,” Shen Ye blurted out, “Whatever Zhuo is lacking, she has in droves. If anyone in the Yan Kingdom can reach the Saint stage in the future, it’s her.”

Old Mo answered absent-mindedly while still looking for tracks, “Is that so?”

Shen Ye wasn’t a fool; he could tell that Old Mo was feigning disinterest because he wanted him to open up about his son. But Shen Ye didn’t want to delve into that right now.

“Well, the Saint stage might be an exaggeration,” Shen Ye said, putting up a show of nonchalance himself, “That isn’t a stage where just talent and bloodline can take you. You also need immense luck. But she should have a chance, she is only eleven and reached the Innate stage a few months ago. The most amazing part is that she actually advanced in her sleep.”

Shen Ye saw Old Mo stumble as he heard those words.

Shen Ye smiled slightly as he looked at the old man struggling to decide whether to turn around and engage in a new conversation or not.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Old Mo finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity and turned around. “You’re serious? She’s an Innate warrior already? Advancing in her sleep?”

“That’s right,” Shen Ye said, his back straight. While it might not be as amazing as he made it sound, it was close enough to the truth.

Thinking about his daughter, a genuine smile blossomed on his face for the first time.

Old Mo smiled too, seeing Shen Ye’s expression. “That’s good. From your face, it seems her character should be good, too. You’ve done a good job with this one, at least.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll-” Just as Shen Ye was speaking, he thought he could hear something in the distance.

Old Mo seemed to have heard it too, as he suddenly looked in the same direction.

“What was that? A beast? What beast could cause such a big commotion?” Shen Ye asked.

“Let’s go take a look,” Old Mo said, his expression turning serious.

Shen Ye didn’t argue and followed the old man as he took off running toward the noise.

The chances were high that Old Mo was familiar with the people who were fighting. Having been in the Sword School so long, he was at least an acquaintance with every person there. So Shen Ye could understand that he wanted to help.

The Sword Summit was more about meeting fellow swordsmen and learning from each other than it was about the competition to hunt beasts. Even if the prices that the Sword School had arranged were nice, and they would all try their best to compete, no one would be willing to use underhanded tactics to get ahead. So Shen Ye wasn’t worried about meeting other people, even this deep in the mountains.

Shen Ye and Old Mo hurried for several minutes, and Shen Ye realized that the fight was further away than he had first thought.

‘What exactly is going on over there? The commotion makes it seem like there are hundreds of people fighting.’

Shen Ye almost considered going back. If some kind of precious resource had appeared, causing a lot of people to fight over it, there was no need to get involved.

But seeing the anxious expression on Old Mo’s face, Shen Ye’s heart softened, and he threw away the thought of retreating.

Along the way, they ran into another five-man group who were also rushing toward the scene. Old Mo was familiar with the man in charge, and they all ran the rest of the way together.

It took them almost fifteen minutes to arrive at the scene. Shen Ye had expected a gruesome sight, but the reality was far worse.

Shen Ye had seen his fair share of carnage, but this was something in a league of its own.

Almost a hundred people lay dead on the ground, their throats cut open, stomachs disemboweled, or even a few with their heads completely crushed.

“What happened here?” A young man of the five-man team asked in a shaky voice.

“Pay attention! It’s still here!” A voice called out from deep inside the carnage. A middle-aged man with blood all over his face looked over to them, his hands clasped tightly on the hilt of his sword. He was one of only six people still standing.

‘A Grandmaster!?’

Seeing a Grandmaster reduced to such a sorry state, Shen Ye’s expression turned even graver. He then noticed that all the people standing were at the Grandmaster stage, with even a few of that level lying dead on the ground already.

Shen Ye didn’t have time to think about how so many Grandmasters had gathered in one place. He and the others immediately unsheathed their swords, looking around carefully for whatever creature had caused all this.

All sound vanished, and Shen Ye could only hear his own heart beating loudly in his chest. Every second felt like an eternity, and Shen Ye felt a sense of dread rise inside him.

Suddenly, a shadow blurred past the middle-aged swordsman who had spoken up earlier.

“Ah-” A cry was cut short as the man’s head came off his shoulders, his body slowly dropping to the ground.

“There!” Another Grandmaster yelled, “It must be exhausted, finish it!”

The remaining Grandmasters immediately burst out in full power and headed toward where the shadow had landed.

‘A…fox?’ Shen Ye finally saw the creature. It was a black fox, not much bigger than a normal street dog.

It was breathing heavily, indeed, seemingly exhausted.

But it still wasn’t enough for the Grandmasters’ attacks to land; the black fox weaved through them with ease.

It didn’t take long before another Grandmaster suffered a fatal injury. And then another one.

Shen Ye started to feel cold. If all these Grandmasters died, he and the people next to him would be next. And they were only Innate warriors; they wouldn’t stand a chance.

But fortunately, the commotion hadn’t alerted just Shen Ye and Old Mo. The Sword Summit attracted thousands of swordsmen every seven years, and it hadn’t been long since they entered the mountains. Shen Ye saw that more and more people were arriving.

The black fox seemed to have noticed as well. Just after finishing off the fourth Grandmaster, the black fox scrutinized the surroundings for a few seconds before quickly running away. Shen Ye could just barely spot its shadow as it zig-zagged through the trees deeper into the mountains.

“Let’s see if there is still someone alive,” Old Mo said from the side.

Shen Ye nodded slowly, still in shock about what he had witnessed.

‘That fox…was it the legendary Black Beast?’

The surrounding swordsmen all hurried around, trying to find survivors who needed help. No one dared to approach the two surviving Grandmasters to ask about what had happened.

Old Mo finally found a member of the Sword School still breathing after a few minutes of searching, and hurried to feed him some healing pills. Shen Ye also brought out some medicine and offered it to Old Mo.

“Old Mo, how does it look?” The man asked in a horse voice.

“It’s a bit deep, but you don’t seem to have lost much blood. It should be fine with the medicine,” Old Mo comforted, “Getting away with just a cut to the stomach, you’re really lucky.”

“Lucky…I suppose so,” The man said.

“What exactly happened here?” Shen Ye couldn’t hold himself back from asking.

“The Black Beast…We didn’t stand a chance,” The man answered.

“We know. But how did you end up here with so many Grandmasters? Where did they come from?” Old Mo asked.

“I don’t know. I was just asked to come along for an expedition as a guide,” The man replied, struggling slightly to get the words out, “Wasn’t much use, though. There was a Grandmaster leading the way the entire time. It seemed like he had a destination in mind. But before we could get very far, we stumbled upon those beasts.”

“Beasts? There were several?” Old Mo asked.

“Two. I saw it clearly,” The man answered, “Both the same type of strange black fox. Fortunately, one of them ran off as soon as it saw us, while the other one stayed behind.”

“Well…Rest well. I’ll make sure you get back once I’ve checked all the bodies,” Old Mo said.

“Thank you, Old Mo,” The man said with a weak smile before closing his eyes to rest.

The two of them continued looking for people in need of help. Shen Ye was silent for a moment before asking, “What do you think?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You should have figured it out, too,” Old Mo said.

“They must have come to hunt the Black Beast,” Shen Ye said slowly, “I’m just surprised anyone still has that ambition.”

“They must think that the Black Beast should be dead, or at least nearing the end of its lifespan. If they can get their hands on the body of a Saint Beast, any price is worth it,” Old Mo stopped and looked up to the sky, sighing slightly before continuing. “From what I could tell, that black fox is on its last legs. It won’t take long for the rumor to spread. I’m afraid our Sword School is going to see a lot of Grandmasters appearing in the coming years.”

Shen Ye agreed with Old Mo’s thoughts. Even he was itching to return home with the news. The body of a Saint Beast could help a Grandmaster advance to the Saint stage. No Grandmaster could ignore it.

‘I need to tell the family. We can’t miss this opportunity.’