Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“That should be it,” Official Gu said, smiling with his wrinkly old face, “Any questions?”

“I’m sure there are lots of them, but not anything I can think of right now,” Shu Yang said, smiling back, ”Thank you for your time, Official Gu.”

“It’s I who should thank you. Your family really rose up at a good time. With my Fugu Prefecture sending another Master and Innate warrior, I should be able to explain myself a little easier to the Capital.”

“It’s my duty,” Shu Yang said, “Rather fight the war over there than here, right?”

“Very true,” Official Gu said with a nod. “I wish more Masters thought like you.”

“I’m sure they will join us up there if the situation requires it. Anyway, it’s been a pleasure. If I think of anything else before it’s time to leave, I’m afraid I’ll have to bother you again.” Shu Yang said, rising to his feet.

“You’re welcome any time,” Official Gu said with a smile, also getting up from his seat and guiding Shu Yang to the door.

After leaving Official Gu’s office, Shu Yang decided to visit his daughter and son before leaving the Prefectural Office. 

‘That went well. That Official Gu seems like a decent person. It looks like settling in Fugu City was the right choice.’

Official Gu was a Grandmaster of the local Gu family, a 2nd-grade Official, and basically the highest authority in the whole prefecture. Shu Yang had been pretty nervous before meeting with him, but the old man had been very polite throughout. 

‘I’m glad I was put under Shen Ye’s command like I requested. Otherwise, I would have a lot more to worry about. I can’t put my life in the hands of a stranger.’

Shu Yang was a Master, and should really have his own troops to command. But since he didn’t have any background as an Official, that wasn’t very optimal. So instead, he would be working as Shen Ye’s deputy. At least until he had accumulated enough experience to lead his own troops. 

But Shu Yang didn’t know if he even wanted to do that. He was pretty close to Shen Ye, and it would be reassuring to have another Master around. He didn’t see any reason to split off on his own. 

‘I just wonder what to do about Tianhu…’

Tianhu had been put under Shen Ye’s command alongside Shu Yang. But Xiaoshi would be leading her own group of people as a Master in her own right. So even if Tianhu wanted to join the war to be with her, they might not have much time together.

‘What was Shen Ye thinking? Couldn’t he have put his daughter by his side?’

That was what Shu Yang had assumed, so he didn’t think much about requesting that Tianhu be put under Shen Ye. 

‘Oh, well. We’ll see what the situation is when we get there. Maybe we can rearrange things. I’d prefer to stay close to Tianhu, but I can’t make him separate from Xiaoshi just because I’m worried.’

“Dad! Why are you here?” Tianyue asked as Shu Yang stepped into her office. It was a lot more spacious than her previous one. She had advanced to a 5th-grade Official not long ago. A position with very real power. 

With her backing from Shu Yang, she didn’t have much to worry about anymore, and her talents made it easy for her to climb the ladder. But from here, things would probably slow down slightly. You needed more than just backing and talent to reach the truly high positions.

But Shu Yang wasn’t very concerned. Just having a few family members as Officials was enough. Now that his son Tianzheng had begun his career within the Office as well, the Shu family was starting to take root within the Yan Kingdom. Shu Yang would make sure that at least a few of his grandchildren got in as well in the future.

Hopefully, the Shu family would continue to climb higher with each generation, until they were entirely unshakable.

‘I just need to make sure that the family sticks together even as it grows bigger. I should really finish writing the Shu family rules.’

Shu Yang had a few ground rules from early on. But those were mostly to make sure his children didn’t do anything unforgivable. 

For a complete set of rules that would hold for many years, there were a lot of things he needed to consider. He had to make sure the rules weren’t too strict and weren’t too loose. And they would have to work just as well while the family was still small as when it grew to thousands of members.

‘I guess I still have some time. My grandchildren should be fairly close to each other. The problems will only begin to appear once my great-grandchildren are born. No matter how much I try to make them grow close to each other, it’s going to be impossible with so many different people. There are bound to be some family members you don’t know well, and that are too distantly related to feel a familial bond to.’

Shu Yang shook his head slightly, looking around Tianyue’s new office curiously, and answered his daughter. “I just had a meeting with Official Gu. I thought I should stop by to see how you and Tianzheng are doing. Is he here?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure he’s around somewhere. We’re usually busy around here,” Tianyue answered, “But hold on. You said you met with Official Gu? Not even I can meet with him easily. What did you meet about?”

“I’m a Master, you know. There aren’t many of us even in Fugu City,” Shu Yang said, rolling his eyes, “We were just discussing a few things. I’ll talk about it with the family later tonight.”

“Oh, okay,” Tianyue said, nodding.

Shu Yang still hadn’t told most of his family about his and Tianhu’s plans to join the war. He hadn’t known exactly when he was leaving until his meeting with Official Gu.

After talking with his daughter for a while longer, Shu Yang gave up on waiting for Tianzheng and headed home. He would see his son in the evening anyway. 

‘Everyone should be alright even without me here. The only worry is Tianxu. I wonder if Tianhu has already told him anything.’

Tianxu was normal on the surface, but Shu Yang could feel that he was still feeling guilty over Zhangye’s disappearance. 

The Office had sent out a lot of people to look for him and the infiltrators from the Wen Kingdom, but with little luck. 

Shu Yang didn’t receive much information about the investigation, unfortunately, as he still didn’t have very many connections. He had sent a letter to Shen Ye asking about it, but after a response saying he would look into it, Shu Yang hadn’t heard any updates.

‘It’s strange. I thought we were supposed to be in an alliance with the Wen Kingdom. How come they are still sending their people here? And why isn’t the Yan Kingdom showing any strong reaction?’

‘I have to ask Shen Ye when we meet. I can’t just leave Zhangye to his fate forever.’

Shen Ye returned home and relaxed as he took a seat on his patio, with a glass of his new whiskey in his hand. His children and grandchildren were all busy with either martial arts, chores, or just playing around. Watching them run around full of life gave Shu Yang a sense of peace. 

‘A lot of things will be easy to solve once I reach the Saint stage…I look forward to that day more and more.’

‘Unfortunately, it still feels like a long way off.’

Shu Yang had underestimated the difficulty in deducing the next level of martial arts. What he had expected to take at most a year had taken him a full three years in the end. The Saint stage was no joke. 

And after a year of practicing his new technique, he could feel that he didn’t have what it took to advance as he was now. He could probably reach the peak and become a Grandmaster, but that would take a long time. And breaking through to the Saint stage would require some kind of opportunity. Even with his Bloodline Power and talent, it wasn’t enough.

‘Maybe if my bloodline advances to the next stage, there will be a difference.’ Shu Yang thought, feeling the power of his bloodline through his connection to the Bloodline Tree.

[ Bloodline Power: 9.99 (Mortal - High) ]

[ Traits: Good martial art talent, Clear Mind, Piercing Gaze, Trash-grade spiritual roots ]

Shu Yang had noticed that his Bloodline Power was getting ridiculously hard to increase as it approached the 10.0 mark. And since getting it up to 9.99, it was practically at a standstill. Even with so many grandkids growing up, children advancing, and his own training; his bloodline refused to budge.

‘I can feel that I still receive the feedback, and I should be able to break through eventually. But with low-value Bloodline Power, it just requires so much for it to make a difference now. Even ten new grandchildren might not be enough.’

‘Basically, only Tianhu and Tianyi can help me now, as they are the only ones with ‘Mortal - High’ bloodlines.’

‘I guess I shouldn’t rely on them too much. I can do it on my own. It’ll just take a while.’

‘I hope reaching the next bloodline grade will come with some nice surprise. At least the Saint stage should become possible, right?’