Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

“Hold!” A guard at the edge of the camp called out as soon as he saw Tianhu approaching. 

Tianhu wasn’t one to make trouble, so he stopped and waited for the guards to assemble and walk up to him.

“Sir,” The middle-aged man who had called out to him said, slightly more respectful when he saw Tianhu listen to his instructions. “You’re an…Innate warrior?” 

“Yes,” Tianhu answered simply. He wasn’t surprised that the guard could tell. While it was difficult to distinguish 3rd-, 2nd-, and 1st-grade martial warriors, Innate warriors and Masters had a certain aura that people who had encountered them before could recognize. 

“I thought all the reinforcements had arrived already?” The guard questioned.

“I’m from Master Shen’s legion. I just got transferred,” Tianhu answered, bringing out a letter that Shen Ye had written for him.

“This is Master Shen’s legion,” The guard stated with a confused look.

“Not Shen Xiaoshi, Shen Ye, her father,” Tianhu clarified. 

“Oh, oh. Of course,” The guard said, accepting the letter. He gave it a brief lookover before handing it back to Tianhu. “I won’t get involved. I’ll bring you to Master Shen and have her decide.”

“That’s fine,” Tianhu said, nodding.

As he followed the guards, he looked around curiously. This place was unlike Yeli Town, where he had come from; it was a temporary camp right on the front lines. All around him were soldiers rushing about. There were no houses, only tents of varying sizes. The ground was covered by them as long as Tianhu could see. 

‘So many people?’

“You said something about reinforcements?” Tianhu asked the guard.

The guard hesitated slightly before answering, “The northern plains are where the Empire’s people have made the most progress. They’ve been slowly taking over more and more territory, but it’s never been any huge battle since the Saint left the battlefield. However, lately, there have been reports about a large army gathering on the Empire’s side. It looks like they’re about to make a big move again. So the nearby legions have grouped together.”

“I see,” Tianhu said with a nod. Not very worried. As long as there weren’t any Saints, he wasn’t afraid of any opponent. 

‘I wonder how I would hold up to a Saint.’

Tianhu didn’t really know where his limits were. Ever since he grasped sword intent, there hadn’t been anything he wasn’t able to cut through. If he was honest, he didn’t really believe a Saint would be any different. 

But his father had warned him not to think he was invincible. Saints were another type of existence entirely, and there was no way of knowing what kind of methods they had. 

‘It would be great if I could spar against a Saint just to see where I’m lacking. But that’s probably impossible.’

‘Then again, maybe Dad will advance in the future…’

Four years had passed since he had grasped sword intent, and Tianhu felt it was incredibly difficult to make any further progress. His use of it had become a lot smoother, but he didn’t feel like he was any stronger. Even advancing to the Innate stage had barely made a difference in his power. 

‘I shouldn’t be in a rush. I just need to continue to swing my sword, and progress will follow.’

“What do you want?” An innate warrior asked sternly as Tianhu and the guard escorting him approached the largest tent in the entire camp.

The guard explained his purpose, and the innate warrior narrowed his eyes as he looked Tianhu up and down. 

“Show me the letter,” He ordered. 

Tianhu handed over the letter, and the innate warrior started reading through it. 

“Fine,” The innate warrior nodded and looked up at Tianhu again; he didn’t hand the letter back again. “You should head over to Gong Hu; he will arrange things for you. We could head out to battle at any time, so stay alert.”

“Um,” Tianhu hesitated slightly. He knew the best thing might be to avoid trouble and do as he was told; he could always find Xiaoshi later. But he didn’t really want to wait. 

“Is Xiaoshi inside?” Tianhu asked, “I have a letter for her from her father.”

It wasn’t a lie. Shen Ye had written an official letter of his transfer, as well as a personal letter to Xiaoshi, which he had sealed before handing over to Tianhu. He was a little worried about what had been written, as Shen Ye had given him a mean look from time to time while writing it. 

‘Dad was a bit too obvious, wasn’t he?’

He felt thankful that his father had taken his request to be with Xiaoshi so seriously, and made sure he could transfer right away. But…Tianhu felt it was obvious he was trying to match him and Xiaoshi. 

Even if that was Tianhu’s wish, things really hadn’t reached that point, so he felt a little awkward. 

‘At least I got to show my strength in front of Master Shen. I think he shouldn’t think so lowly of me anymore, right?’

Thinking back to his shocked expression when Tianhu had cut through that boulder, he felt a surge of satisfaction. 

Shen Ye didn’t offer any compliments, though. He just listened to his father’s bragging, looking like he had swallowed a fly. 

He had probably already heard Xiaoshi tell him about his abilities before, but didn’t believe it. 

Still, even though Shen Ye looked incredibly dismayed, he agreed to the transfer and handled the paperwork right away, acting like he wanted Tianhu out of his sight as soon as possible. 

“A letter?” The innate warrior asked with a frown. 

“Yes,” Tianhu answered simply.

“Then hand it to me, and I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“I’ve been instructed to hand it to her personally,” Tianhu said.

“You…Fine,” The innate warrior relented and opened up the tent flaps and walked inside. 

‘I didn’t tell him my name.’

Tianhu thought that Xiaoshi might not let him inside if she didn’t know it was him, so to avoid any more back-and-forth, Tianhu followed the innate warrior inside uninvited. 

“You! Who told you to follow?” The innate warrior was standing at attention right at the entrance, probably waiting to be called for before speaking.

“I…” Tianhu drifted off as he spotted Xiaoshi standing next to a large table in the middle of the tent. She was accompanied by five other men, all Masters from what Tianhu could tell. 

Their words caught the attention of the people inside, who all turned their heads to look at them. 

“Tianhu!?” Xiaoshi called out in surprise, recognizing him right away.

“Xiaoshi,” Tianhu called back, a smile making its way across his face. 

“Who are you? Who let you enter uninvited?” A man who didn’t look older than thirty called out in a scolding tone. 

“It’s fine, Master Yan, I know him,” Xiaoshi said, “We’re basically finished here. Let’s digest everything and reconvene again tonight.”

After speaking, she didn’t wait for anyone’s reply and hurried toward Tianhu. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the tent. 

Tianhu let himself be led by XIahsi as they continued making their way through camp. No one said anything. Tianhu didn’t feel the need to; he was just happy to be back by Xiaoshi’s side.

“What are you smiling about?” Xiaoshi finally looked up at him and asked.

“I’m smiling?” Tianhu asked, touching his face.

‘I guess I am.’

“You…What are you doing here?” Xiaoshi asked, appearing a little flustered.

“My father and I volunteered to come,” Tianhu answered. “Didn’t you read my letter?”

He and Xiaoshi hadn’t seen each other since they parted ways four years ago, but they remained in touch through letters. Not very frequently, though, as Xiaoshi was on the move most of the time, looking for her brother. 

“I read it. I just…Never mind,” Xiaoshi said, looking down at the ground again.

The two continued walking through the camp in silence. Xiaoshi was still grabbing onto Tianhu’s arm and dragging him along.

“You…what do you want?” Xiaoshi finally squeezed out when the two had walked for a while, leaving the camp behind. She was still looking down at the ground. Tianhu could see that she was biting her lips nervously.

“What do you mean?” Tianhu asked. 

“You!” Xiaoshi finally looked up at Tianhu, puffing her cheeks, looking very cute. 

“Stop smiling!” Xiaoshi yelled.

‘I’m smiling again?’ Tianhu thought to himself, touching his face. 

“Pfft!” Xiaoshi let out a laugh when she saw his actions. 

Looking a little calmer, Xiaoshi looked into his eyes and asked, “Aren’t you expecting an answer?”

“An answer?” Tianhu asked.

“Did you actually forget!?” Xiaoshi questioned, agitated once again.

“Uh…” Tianhu really didn’t know what she was talking about.

“You…you asked me to marry you. Was that a joke?” Xiaoshi asked. 

‘Oh…that.’

When they parted ways four years ago, Tianhu didn’t know if they’d see each other again. He figured he might not have another chance, so he told her how he felt and asked her to marry him. 

Xiaoshi had only blushed and told him he was crazy before running away. 

It had made Tianhu pretty depressed for a while. But then a letter from her arrived. She didn’t mention his proposal, but it was still enough to make Tianhu happy. At least their relationship hadn’t come to an end as he feared. 

“It wasn’t a joke,” Tianhu said, “But didn’t you already answer?”

“When did I answer?” Xiaoshi asked.

“Well…calling me crazy didn’t seem like a yes,” Tianhu answered. 

“You…Then why are you here?” Xiaoshi asked. 

“You’re here, so of course I’d come,” Tianhu answered.

“You-” Xiaoshi blushed and turned her head away, “Crazy!”

Watching Xiaoshi storm off, Tianhu felt the situation was quite familiar. 

“Aren’t you going to follow me?” Xiaoshi asked without turning around, “Come with me; I’ll show you around.”

“Right,” Tianhu said, taking a few quick steps to catch up with her. 

‘It’s there again.’ Tianhu thought, touching his face.