Seven Kill Sword

After washing up, he went into the side room on the left at the front of the courtyard. This was the place set aside specifically for the family to eat. Seven or eight dishes had been laid out on the round table in the middle of the hall.

Seated at the head was an elder with white hair and a youthful face, looking middle-aged. He was his grandfather. He was tall and thin, hale and spirited, with a restrained glow in his eyes. His clothes were clean and neat, his hair combed meticulously, and he bore a sixty- to seventy-percent resemblance to the Chen Xin of later generations, only he was even more refined, like a spring breeze brushing past one's face.

On the left was Ye Xiuxin. On the right sat a sturdy boy of eleven or twelve—his elder brother, Chen Jianjun, who was over 1.6 meters tall.

It was worth mentioning here that because the people of Douluo Continent valued bone age, the ages they spoke of were all full years.

"Grandfather, Mother, Brother."

Chen Yu said with a smile all over his face, "Sit down. Let's eat."

The family sat down and began eating. Chen Yu ate slowly and carefully, Ye Xiuxin ate with elegant composure, while his elder brother Chen Jianjun—calling it wolfing down his food would not be far off.

Speaking of Chen Jianjun, he looked like their father, Chen Xun. He was tall, strongly built, and though still young, he had a solid, grounded air about him. Honestly, Chen Xiaojun could not understand how the refined Chen Yu had produced a rough man like his father Chen Xun. If not for their similar facial contours, he would have suspected Chen Xun was not Chen Yu's biological son.

As for Chen Xiaojun himself, he looked more like his mother. His facial lines were soft, and his build was fairly well proportioned—not fat, not thin.

One look at Ye Xiuxin told him she must have been a beauty when she was young, and even now she still retained her charm. After all, she was only around forty, and she was also a Soul Emperor-level Soul Master.

Soul Power had some effect in delaying aging and preserving one's appearance, not to mention Ye Xiuxin was a Support Type Soul Master. She had fewer hidden injuries than a Battle Soul Master, and her Soul Power was relatively gentle, which was beneficial for maintaining health.

As for Ye Xiuxin's rank, that was something he had accidentally overheard before. Their family did not make a point of hiding such things from the children.

This family observed the rule of not talking while eating. After they finished and everyone put down their bowls and chopsticks, Ye Xiuxin began clearing the leftovers.

"Xiao'er, your father went out to handle some matters. He should still need five or six days, but he'll make it back before your birthday on June twentieth. When the time comes, he'll bring back the Awakening Stone, and then we can go to the village Ancestral Hall to awaken your Martial Soul." Chen Yu spoke slowly.

"All right, grandfather," Chen Xiaojun said with a nod.

"I hope you can inherit our family's Martial Soul when the time comes. That way, our Chen Clan will have another inheritor. Your grandfather's greatest achievement in this life was having your father, Chen Xun, and your second uncle, Chen Zhang.

"Our Chen Clan has always been thin in numbers. Your father had the two of you, and your second uncle Chen Zhang had Chen Feng. When I go underground in the future, I'll be able to tell our ancestors that I did not fail the Chen Clan!" Chen Yu said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"By the way, grandfather, just how many people are there in our clan?" Seizing the chance, he voiced the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Our Chen Clan has been passed down for nearly two thousand years, destroyed and risen again several times. Setting aside the Branch Families and Separate Lineages, there are still thirty-two people in the direct line who inherited the family Martial Soul.

"In the village, there's our family, your second uncle's family, your Grandfather Hong's family, your Grandfather Chao's family, Grandma Xin's family, and a few others.

"As for the rest, most of them are outside. Some are traveling, some are handling affairs, some serve other powers, some are guest elders, and there are even some in the army. The ones who have been away the longest have been gone for decades."

Chen Yu was the spokesman of the older generation of the Chen Clan, the Clan Leader of the Chen Clan, and of course, on the surface, he was also the village chief of Chen Lin Village.

Chen Xiaojun asked, his face full of confusion, "Destroyed and risen again several times?"

Grandfather knew this child had matured early, so he could reveal a few things now.

"You're about to awaken your Martial Soul soon, so it's time you knew some things. You should know what our inherited Martial Soul is, shouldn't you?" Chen Yu asked somewhat seriously.

"I know. I've read some biographies, Martial Soul materials, and historical collections. If I'm not mistaken, our family possesses one of the most elite Martial Souls—the Seven Kill Sword. And our surname should be Chen, the Chen in 'dust flying through the air'!" Chen Xiaojun said, his tone carrying a trace of longing.

"Clever!"

"The Seven Kill Sword... We succeeded because of the Seven Kill Sword, and we failed because of the Seven Kill Sword..." Chen Yu said with a sigh.

"The Seven Kill Sword is the continent's number one offensive Martial Soul, on par with the Clear Sky Hammer. The Seven Kill Sword comes with killing intent by nature, and it can also absorb killing intent. Baleful aura increases the Martial Soul's attack power, but at the same time, it also needs one's own killing intent and baleful aura to nourish the Seven Kill Sword. The higher a Soul Master's rank, the more killing intent and baleful aura it requires.

"But how could killing intent and baleful aura be so easy to obtain? Killing soul beasts, killing people—do too much of it, and you have to pay a price.

"This is a Martial Soul that made outsiders afraid. Its killing intent boiled over, its murderous will was chilling, and there was even a time when some people claimed ours was an evil Martial Soul.

"Over the past thousand years, we have founded sects and acted as noble clans, hoping to combine with other forces to protect ourselves, but all of them were destroyed.

"Fortunately, our ancestors were wise and laid down contingencies. After being displaced over and over and going through countless hardships, the inheritance was preserved.

"It was not until our ancestors Chen Xili and Chen Feiyi developed our clan's inherited skills—the Upright Sword Qi Technique and the Seven Kill Qi Concealment Technique—that we could not only turn killing intent to our own use, doubling our power on top of what we already possessed, but also no longer appear so cold and intimidating on the outside.

"Even now, we keep a low profile, do not reveal our Martial Soul, claim our surname is Chen, and live in seclusion in this little village at the foot of the mountain. Only when we travel outside to gain experience or handle matters do we restore the Chen surname and clear the name of the Seven Kill Sword."

"Then are people no longer wary of our Seven Kill Sword now?" Chen Xiaojun asked heavily.

"There is still some wariness, more or less, but the mainstream Soul Master World has already accepted us again. That is only because of our strength, and the might of our Martial Soul.

"Over the past few hundred years, we no longer established sects or great families, nor did we infringe upon the existing order. Even when our people traveled outside, or even became guest elders and served other sects or powers, they represented only themselves, not the clan. We also no longer fixed ourselves to a single force. Our people have once been spread among powers all across the continent.

"It was both for the growth of personal strength and to keep other powers from fearing us. You could say we took the phrase 'making the four seas our home' to its absolute limit. Sigh...

"All right, we won't talk about this now. When you have time in the future, grandfather will slowly tell you more."

Chen Yu ended that topic, then continued in a low, heavy voice, "The Seven Kill Sword hurts oneself before hurting others. Its Soul Power is filled with sharpness and violence.

"Only after achieving some success in the Seven Kill Qi Concealment Technique can one marry and have children. Most of us in the Chen Clan marry in our thirties. Even so, our numbers have never flourished.

"Although it's true that most Top Martial Souls are difficult to pass down and have thin bloodlines, over the past few hundred years we have integrated into the mainstream Soul Master World, and compared with the past, our casualties are much fewer. Even so, there are only thirty-two of us alive.

"It is very possible that the Soul Power attributes of the Seven Kill Sword are also unfavorable for bearing descendants. Fortunately, among the children born to the ancestors of the Chen Clan, most have been male, as high as eighty percent, and the awakening of the Seven Kill Sword is relatively stable."

"In Douluo I, the only person from the Chen Clan who appeared was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and he was the guardian Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. There was no mention of clan relatives, at most an added elder brother and father. There was no uncle like me! Did I borrow a corpse to return to life, or was I reincarnated? Did I die too? Thinking about it, there probably won't be many others in the clan either. What exactly happened? Could some accident have occurred that led to the extermination of the clan?" Chen Xiaojun thought.

At this moment, Ye Xiuxin hurriedly comforted him from the side. "Father, don't be sad. Things will get better and better. Look, both these children are quite good, especially Oldest. He's in excellent health and will have many sons and grandsons. In the future, you'll live to see four generations under one roof, even five generations."

"Haha, yes, yes!"

Chen Yu turned his face to the side and said to Chen Jianjun, "Jianjun, in two months, have you chosen which academy you'll go to?"

Chen Jianjun was a bit of a silent type. He answered solemnly, "Not yet. Before this, I was focused on cultivating my Soul Power, trying to break through to Soul Elder, and defeat Jian Zun during the Clan Celebration on July fifteenth. I haven't carefully looked through the materials on those advanced academies."

The Chen Clan's tradition was to awaken the Martial Soul at six, receive education at home for six years, and leave to study at twelve. There were several academies they had fixed partnerships with.

After all, the Seven Kill Sword's power and potential were right there for all to see, and the Chen Clan's children were basically all top-tier geniuses. Their Innate Soul Power was rarely below level six, so everyone fought to take them in.

The "Jianzun" Chen Jianjun mentioned here was Chen Jianzun, Grandfather Hong's grandson. He was a little over a year older than his older brother, with slightly inferior talent. They were clan brothers, friends, yet also saw each other as rivals, kindred spirits who appreciated one another.

You could tell just by looking at their names: Chen Jianjun, Chen Jianzun, hehe... The two old masters often compared them too, glaring at each other until their beards bristled.

To add a note here: his older brother, Chen Jianjun, had Innate Soul Power at Level Nine. His clan elder brother, Chen Jianzun, was Level Eight—or rather, Level Eight point eight, nearly Level Nine.

Chen Jianjun had been at rank twenty-nine for several months, while Chen Jianzun had broken through to Soul Elder long ago.

"Fine, then. When you reach rank thirty, Grandpa will find you a good soul beast. When the time comes, make Grandpa proud, so that brat Old Hong won't keep spouting nonsense all day," Chen Yu said in an encouraging tone.

"Grandpa, I'm already rank thirty," Chen Jianjun said, his voice suddenly growing loud and clear.

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