Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

Three months passed, and Shu Yang was practicing his martial arts a bit away from the rest of the camp.

They had arrived here more than two months ago, and besides a few skirmishes with small patrols from the Lishen Empire, there had been no action. Just like Shen Ye had said, this hilly area wasn’t suitable for a large army to traverse.

‘I’m getting closer, at least. But I don’t know if it will take me another week or another year until I finally break through.’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh as he wiped his forehead from sweat, having just finished his morning practice.

He could feel his Bloodline Power increasing, but he still couldn’t get past the 10.0 mark.

[ Bloodline Power: 9.99 (Mortal - High) ]

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

‘Does something special need to happen to advance my bloodline further?’

‘Probably not. I can feel that my Bloodline Power increases every day. It should just be that the Bloodline Power above Mortal needs a lot of accumulation in order to increase to the next level.’

‘It would be great if the kids back home are busy working on the next generation. I really need all the help I can get.’

Shu Yang was starting to feel a bit impatient. As he got more practice in, he noticed just how difficult it was to increase his strength as a Master. By his estimate, it would take at least another decade for him to reach the Grandmaster stage. He had no idea how difficult it would be to break through to the Saint stage after that.

If things had been peaceful, he might have been able to wait patiently. He could spend time at home and guide his grandchildren, slowly accumulating his strength. But with the current situation, Shu Yang felt that several decades were far too long for him to reach the Saint stage.

If his bloodline advanced to a Saintly Bloodline, he would definitely be able to advance a lot faster.

‘The ancestor of the Imperial Shen Family was said to have advanced with the help of the remains of a Saint Beast. But considering the commotion Xiaorong’s parents caused, it probably isn’t something I can get a hold of easily.’

Shu Yang looked up at the tree where Xiaorong was resting on a thick tree branch, wondering where she had come from, and if she perhaps knew of other Saint Beasts.

Xiaorong seemed to sense his gaze and opened her eyes. She looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

‘Why does it feel like she knows what I was thinking?’

“Master Shu, a letter has arrived for you,” An Innate warrior announced from a few feet away.

“Bring it here,” Shu Yang said, waving him over.

‘Looks like it’s from Tianhu.’

Shu Yang wasn’t surprised. All letters containing information or orders about the war were delivered to Shen Ye, so the only letters Shu Yang received were from his family.

As Shu Yang read the letter from Tianhu, he couldn’t help but frown.

‘Is someone targeting my son?’

Tianhu had sent another letter about a month ago, in which he mentioned that he wasn’t very welcome at Xiaoshi’s camp.

Shu Yang understood that it was because the Masters around Xiaoshi were probably all vying for her attention. It wouldn’t be surprising if the king had placed the candidates he had in mind near Xiaoshi.

Now that Xiaoshi was getting close to another man, and an Innate warrior at that, it wasn’t strange that he was being harassed.

But now, things seemed to have developed in a worrisome direction.

Tianhu wrote how he could feel someone watching him from time to time. He was also fairly certain that the person watching had bad intentions.

Unfortunately, he could never find anyone when he tried to look for who it could have been.

Shu Yang knew his son well enough to realize that this wasn’t a result of Tianhu being paranoid. The fact that he actually told Shu Yang about it meant that Tianhu was certain of the situation.

‘Have things developed so far between him and Xiaoshi that the others are getting desperate?’

Tianhu would of course not write about his relationship with Xiaoshi, so Shu Yang could only make a guess.

‘But it’s strange that he feels he’s being watched. What’s the use of watching him? What are they planning?’

Shu Yang trusted Tianhu’s strength, but he couldn’t help but become a little worried.

Fighting an enemy in open battle was very different from guarding against one in the dark.

“All!...Wait…Over there!”

Shu Yang suddenly heard several yells coming from the camp, and they didn’t sound good.

He looked up at Xiaorong. She understood, jumped down from the tree, and nimbly landed on his shoulder.

“Let’s see what’s going on,” Shu Yang said.

Stepping over the hill behind which his own tent stood, he caught a glimpse of the legion’s camp and immediately saw the situation.

The enemy had approached undetected somehow, and was now engaging in battle with their forces all across the camp.

‘How did they get past the scouts!?’

For miles around, there were people in place to look out for any approaching forces. Shu Yang couldn’t understand how not a single one had managed to blow their whistle to warn them.

‘Something is strange.’

Shu Yang hurried down the hillside. He had spotted Shen Ye at the back of the camp issuing commands.

During the other small skirmishes, Shu Yang hadn’t needed to take any action; their soldiers could handle it on their own, but this time, he might have to put some effort in.

According to Shen Ye, Masters usually didn’t take part in the battle themselves. If they did, it meant something had gone wrong.

That was because while Masters were powerful, they couldn’t fight thousands of martial warriors on their own. If they rushed into the battlefield, there was a risk of them dying.

And no matter how many martial warriors they managed to kill, it wouldn’t be worth the loss of a Master.

The only reason for a Master to join the battle would be to kill an enemy Master, if there was one. But with a huge army between them, Masters of opposing sides rarely confronted each other.

But this wasn’t a normal battle; they had been caught completely unprepared.

‘I need to keep my eyes open, perhaps a Master has snuck his way-’

Shu Yang’s thoughts were interrupted as something caught his eye.

A figure was coming toward him, and coming at him quickly. By the time Shu Yang noticed him, the man had already jumped through the army and arrived just a hundred feet in front of him.

But what shocked Shu Yang the most was the height at which the man jumped; he was practically flying. Every step seemed as light as a feather, and he still managed to get up dozens of feet into the air with every step.

‘What is going on!? A Saint?’

Shu Yang came to an abrupt halt, staring at the man with a pale face.

The man also stopped, looking at Shu Yang with a frown.

Suddenly, he took a step to the side, traveling at least 20 feet in an instant.

‘How is he moving like that?’

“How can you see me?” The man asked.

‘What? Wait…my eyes.’

The man’s words made Shu Yang realize he seemed to be piercing through something when he looked at him.

He had been so used to piercing through Xiaorong’s hiding ability that he hadn’t even noticed when he used his trait.

Shu Yang’s heart was beating fiercely; he wasn’t sure how to handle this strange opponent. He glanced slightly to the side, looking at Xiaorong, who was still on his shoulder. She gave him a quick look and slowly climbed down from him.

Shu Yang looked at the man again, and to his great relief, the man’s eyes didn’t focus on Xiaorong.

‘It looks like he can’t see her. There is a chance!’

“You can answer me later,” The man said, shaking his head. He took another light step forward, and came at Shu Yang with great speed.

Shu Yang unsheathed his sword and infused it with qi, getting ready.

But then, the man pulled something from his robe and threw it toward him.

‘A piece of paper?’

Just as the thought struck him, the piece of paper turned to dust, and Shu Yang noticed that he couldn’t move.

‘What is happening?’

Not only could he not move his body, but his qi was also unable to circulate. He was completely helpless.

A small smile appeared on the man’s face, and in another small step, he arrived in front of Shu Yang.

“Is it a trait?” The man asked.

Shu Yang couldn’t even open his mouth to answer him.

“Whatever, I’ll find out later,” The man said and raised his hand.

But just as he was about to strike, his expression changed dramatically, and he clutched his throat in a panic.

With a quick step, he jumped back several feet.

“You-” The man tried to speak, but only a stream of blood came out.

Right after that, the man fell to the ground.

With the man’s hand out of the way, Shu Yang could see the large wound on his throat that he had been clutching.

‘He’s…dead? Just like that?’

Shu Yang knew that it was Xiaorong who had managed to get the man with a sneak attack, but he found it strange that the man died so easily.

Not even Shu Yang would have died that fast from an attack like that. He might even have been able to survive if he had gotten the right medicine and time to heal.

Xiaorong approached the man carefully, sniffing a few times, before rushing back to Shu Yang’s side.

Unfortunately, he still couldn’t move.

Xiaorong climbed back to his shoulder and nudged her head against his cheek, urging him to move or say something.

‘Damn, how long will I be stuck like this?’

Shu Yang was far from calm. The battle was still in full swing, and he was completely helpless at the moment.

Thankfully, he was at the back of the camp, and it shouldn’t be easy for an enemy to get to him.

About a minute passed before Shu Yang finally felt his ability to move return, and his qi started circulating in his body.

“That was really unpleasant!” Shu Yang said, taking a deep breath and stretching his body. “How did he do that?”

Everything had happened so fast, and the whole experience was so strange. Shu Yang had a hard time calming down.

Seeing Xiaorong still looking at him worriedly, Shu Yang explained what he had experienced; he didn’t really believe she could understand, but he still felt he needed to say something.

“Either way. Thank you, Xiaorong. You saved me,” Shu Yang said, patting her head.

He really felt that encountering this little black fox was his greatest blessing.

‘Alright, I’ll find something to treat her later; the battle is still raging.’

Shu Yang took a quick glance down at the battlefield, but he couldn’t really make out which side was winning; it was too chaotic. Fortunately, he could still make out Shen Ye in the distance, still alive.

Shu Yang didn’t hurry down to help, though; he needed some answers first.

He walked up to the man, now dead on the ground. He looked young, not above 30. He had long hair, like a woman’s, tied into a ponytail. His robes were clean and looked to be made out of some kind of expensive silk.

He felt through the man’s clothes in search of clues, but other than a sword and a small pouch, there was nothing else.

Slightly disappointed, Shu Yang opened the pouch and looked inside.

‘What the…’

Shu Yang shook his head and looked again, and it was still the same. The pouch was small on the outside, but inside it was the size of a wine barrel.

Shu Yang hesitantly put his hand inside, and just as he suspected, his arm just kept going. From the outside, it looked completely illogical.

‘Is this some kind of spatial treasure?’

Shu Yang felt his heart start beating fiercely in anticipation. He had never seen or heard about anything like this before, and he started suspecting the reason for it.

He quickly grabbed a small book he had noticed inside the pouch. Ignoring everything else, he opened it up and quickly read through it.

The characters were familiar, but some of the words they made up were not.

‘Spiritual Qi…’

Shu Yang finally saw what he had been searching for ever since he awakened his memories from his previous life.

‘This man wasn’t a martial artist. He was cultivating immortality!’

‘Immortals! I’ve finally found you!’