Bloodline Tree

Chapter 59 - Showing off

“Master Shu, I heard you arrived.” Shen Ye got up from his seat when he saw Shu Yang enter.

“Master Shen,” Shu Yang greeted the man with a smile.

Shu Yang and Tianhu had arrived at Yeli Town late the previous night, after traveling for almost six weeks. Now, they were reporting for duty to Shen Ye, the commander of the legion that Shu Yang and his son had been assigned to.

“It’s been a while,” Shen Ye said, shaking Shu Yang’s hand with a smile. He then turned to look at Tianhu with a complicated look, “Tianhu. It seems you’ve reached the Innate stage.”

“Yes,” Tianhu answered simply with a nod.

‘Maybe it would be better for Tianhu to stick around here for a while and show Shen Ye his strength.’

‘Never mind. He should go to Xiaoshi. As long as Tianhu can convince the girl, I’ll handle the father-in-law.’

“I heard you finally found your son? Is he alright?” Shu Yang asked.

“He’s…fine,” Shen Ye answered hesitantly. “Anyway, let’s get the documents in order. You’ll be my second-in-command. We’ll head to the battlefront in a few weeks to replace Master Ying.”

“How’s the situation over there?” Shu Yang asked.

“The war has been calm for the past few months, and I don’t think it will heat up again for quite some time. Masters like us will probably not see much action. Then again, the battlefield is unpredictable, and sooner or later, the Lishen Empire will strike at us.”

“I see,” Shu Yang said with a nod. He already knew a bit about the war situation and wasn’t very worried.

Soon after the war began almost four years ago, things were at their most intense. Thousands of people died every single day, and it all culminated when the Lishen Emperor himself took action. He wiped out several legions, killing over 20 Masters, before retreating.

After that, an agreement was made at the suggestion of the Lishen Emperor. He suggested that neither side would use non-martial warriors or Saints in the war.

This was immediately agreed upon by the Kingdom Alliance. After the Emperor’s show of force, there really wasn’t much to consider. The power of a Saint was far too frightening.

As for why the Lishen Emperor wanted to make such a deal, Shu Yang could make a guess. The population still hadn’t recovered since the Shen Empire collapsed, and if ordinary people joined the war, there might not be anyone left for the Lishen Emperor to rule over once the war ended.

Not to mention that ordinary people, in large numbers, really couldn’t be underestimated. Even a Master might be overwhelmed if they were besieged by a large enough army. The Lishen Empire couldn’t compete in population, so this deal was beneficial to them.

Of course, wars were still highly dependent on the top fighting power. Not having to worry about a Saint attacking was a great relief.

Shu Yang didn’t know how many Masters were needed to kill a Saint, but it should be possible; otherwise, the Lishen Empire would have won the war already.

‘Unless he’s scared about other Saints. But are there any?’

There hadn’t been any known Saints emerging for 200 years, but Saints could live for 250 years. No one knew if there were still any old monsters lurking around. At least, Shu Yang didn’t have any idea.

Either way, without having to worry about a Saint attacking, Shu Yang was quite at ease with going to battle. Even if he was far from the strongest Master, he had Xiaorong with him. He didn’t think anyone could survive going up against the two of them.

“I heard your daughter commands her own legion. Is she stationed far from here?” Shu Yang asked as Shen Ye took a seat behind a large desk cluttered with documents.

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Shen Ye looked up with a small smile at the mention of his daughter, “She’s reached the Grandmaster stage, so there really is no way for her to be wasted by my side. Thankfully, she’s also in the Luo Kingdom, not very far.”

“A Grandmaster?” Shu Yang asked in shock. He turned to look at his son, who also looked surprised by the news. “She’s already a Grandmaster? How old is she?”

“26 years old,” Shen Ye answered, looking very pleased.

‘That’s insane.’

Shu Yang knew that many Masters couldn’t reach the peak even after turning 100 years old, and those were all exceptional individuals, not lacking in talent. To reach the Grandmaster stage at only 26 years old, Shu Yang couldn’t help but be curious about her bloodline.

‘Even if I were born with my current bloodline, I’m not sure I could have advanced that fast. Does she have a Saintly Bloodline?’

Shu Yang looked at his son, and he thought he looked a lot more pleasing to the eye all of a sudden.

‘There can’t be more than a handful of people with a Saintly Bloodline south of the Northern Mountains; perhaps Xiaoshi is the only one.’

‘As expected of my son! He has a good eye.’

“I didn’t know Xiaoshi wouldn’t be here when I signed up Tianhu,” Shu Yang turned back to Shen Ye and said, “That’s why we came early, to see if there is a chance to transfer Tianhu to her. The kids get along well together, and it would be good for them to look after each other.”

Shen Ye frowned slightly, “It’s difficult. Besides, Xiaoshi is a Grandmaster…To be honest, having to look after your son would only put her in danger. At least now, she can always run away should she need to, but your son is only an Innate warrior. I think it’s better for him to stay here.”

‘Looking down on my son, huh?’

Shu Yang could understand, of course. He was a father too. But it still didn’t sit right with him.

“Didn’t Xiaoshi ever tell you how they escaped from those Grandmasters in the Black Beast Mountains?” Shu Yang asked.

“She did say it was all thanks to Tianhu, but…” Shen Ye said hesitantly, obviously not quite believing his daughter.

“I get it,” Shu Yang said with a nod. “Why don’t we head outside for a demonstration. Seeing is believing, after all.”

“What do you mean?” Shen Ye asked.

“I mean that even if your daughter is a Grandmaster, Tianhu is stronger,” Shu Yang said.

“Are you serious?” Shen Ye looked at Shu Yang with slight disdain as he asked.

“You’ll see for yourself,” Shu Yang said with a frown. “Let’s go, Tianhu. Let’s show Master Shen what you can do.”

“Didn’t you say-” Tianhu began.

“Is Master Shen an outsider? It’s fine. Don’t hold back,” Shu Yang interrupted his son.

He really wasn’t worried about Shen Ye leaking anything; Shu Yang was pretty assured about the man’s character. Besides, they were about to become family, so there was no need to act overly distant.

Shen Ye followed Shu Yang as he led the way outside. He needed to get far away from any prying eyes, so he led the two of them for quite a distance into the nearby woods.

‘This should be far enough.’ Shu Yang thought, looking around.

“Alright. Master Shen, would you please infuse that boulder with your Innate Qi?” Shu Yang asked, pointing to a nearby boulder.

“Why?” Shen Ye asked, confused.

“To make you convinced. Just do it, okay?” Shu Yang asked.

“Fine.” Shen Ye nodded, took a curious look at Tianhu, and walked over to the boulder.

“Go ahead,” Shen Ye said after a moment, his hand on the boulder.

Any Innate warrior could slice through rock if they infused their sword with Innate Qi. But doing so to a boulder infused by a Master’s qi was a lot more difficult.

Of course, even that feat was too low-level for Tianhu. Why bother with all that when you’ve comprehended sword intent?

“Tianhu, from here shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Shu Yang asked.

“No problem,” Tianhu said with a nod.

“Then show off,” Shu Yang said with a grin.

Tianhu smiled slightly in return, and while Shen Ye was still waiting for Tianhu to step forward and attack, Tianhu grasped his hilt and swung his sword from almost 30 feet away.

A fast, bright light could barely be glimpsed escaping from Tianhu’s sword and colliding with the boulder.

“What are you-” Shen Ye began, but stopped himself and looked to the boulder in shock. It had, without him noticing, split into two, the top side slowly gliding off to the side.

As the top half of the boulder hit the ground, Shen Ye looked up at Tianhu with his mouth wide open.

‘Ahh. Showing off like this feels kind of good.’ Shu Yang thought with a smile.