In This Life, I Only Want Children

Knock, knock, knock!

The door to the room was suddenly knocked on.

Immediately after, a young, shrill voice came from outside. "Young Master, the Qi Nourishing Soup is ready. Shall I bring it in for you?"

That voice was extremely familiar and distinctive.

A frail figure swiftly surfaced in Zhao Sheng's mind.

Zhao Xiaobao.

His personal attendant boy. He had been by his side since the age of eight, tending to his daily needs.

"Come in," Zhao Sheng answered steadily, following his memories.

Then he flipped off the bed. His feet landed without a sound, raising not a speck of dust; his body seemed incomparably light.

Zhao Sheng was rather surprised. He had not expected the effects of being Light as a Swallow to be so remarkable.

The door was pushed open, and Zhao Xiaobao entered with a blue-and-white porcelain bowl cradled in both hands.

After carefully setting the bowl on the table, Zhao Xiaobao quickly stepped before Zhao Sheng and asked respectfully, "Young Master, the medicine is ready. Do you have any other instructions?"

"Mm, nothing else. You can leave first."

After saying that, Zhao Sheng did not drink the medicine. Instead, he walked over to the dressing mirror. Reflected in it was a youth six feet tall, with red lips and white teeth, a high nose, phoenix eyes, and a valiant air.

He was very handsome! That was good.

It should be enough to charm the daughter of a Cultivation Family.

That was right!

Zhao Sheng's goal in this life was to marry one—or even several—women from Cultivation Families.

He swore that he would have as many children as possible. He refused to believe that, in the end, he would fail to produce descendants with spiritual roots.

By now, he had completely digested Zhao Zhiqin's memories. In those memories, the Zhao Family had not produced a single descendant with spiritual roots up to this day.

Since the descendants were so disappointing, the old ancestor could only take matters into his own hands.

Zhao Xiaobao did not leave.

He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, I just heard some bad news. They say Madam is cutting back on your food, clothing, and martial arts expenses. The Qi Nourishing Soup that used to be provided once every three days will now be provided once every seven days."

Zhao Sheng raised a brow at that.

The Madam Xiaobao spoke of was the First Madam, the lawful wife of the Zhao Family Head. Not only did she control the daily expenses of Zhao Family Fortress, she also took part in managing the family businesses and oversaw the accounts.

Zhao Sheng turned and sat at the table, asking, "Does Madam have a reason?"

Zhao Xiaobao lowered his voice. "I heard the family recently lost a huge sum of silver in business. Using tight cash flow as an excuse, Madam took the initiative to cut the allowances of every branch. Our Third Branch was cut by another twenty percent."

"Mm. Since the family is short on silver, there is nothing wrong with temporarily cutting expenses."

With that, Zhao Sheng lifted the porcelain bowl and tipped back his head, draining the medicinal soup in one gulp.

That familiar bitter, fishy-sweet taste spread through his mouth once more, just as it had over a hundred years ago.

"Young Master, you don't know. The young masters and young ladies of the First Branch and Second Branch still receive a serving of Qi Nourishing Soup every three days. It hasn't been changed to once every seven days," Zhao Xiaobao could not help muttering.

Mm?!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng immediately frowned.

Since ancient times, scholars were poor while warriors were rich. Martial training consumed tremendous resources. Not only did it require vast amounts of meat, but medicinal soups were also indispensable for nourishing the body.

A single serving of Qi Nourishing Soup cost five taels of silver in ingredients alone, and more than twenty direct descendants of the Zhao Family's current generation practiced martial arts. This expense alone cost the Zhao Family at least thirty thousand taels of silver each year.

Even with the Zhao Family's considerable wealth, such massive expenditures left them barely maintaining themselves.

Therefore, he could tolerate reduced allowances. But unfair treatment was something he could not tolerate.

Countless thoughts whirled through Zhao Sheng's mind, and he quickly came up with an idea.

"Xiaobao, go out and find out how the young masters and young ladies of the other two branches have been doing recently. Once you've learned everything, come back and report to me."

Zhao Xiaobao nodded and acknowledged the order, then swiftly left the room.

Once he was alone, Zhao Sheng rose and walked to the bedside, reaching up to take down the Hundred Refinement Sword hanging at the head of the bed.

Shing!

The long sword left its sheath, and a familiar sensation rose within him, like the sword he had carried a hundred years ago—Floating Light.

In fact, this Hundred Refinement Sword had been forged entirely according to Floating Light's design. Its weight and length were identical in every respect.

The genuine famed sword, Floating Light, was instead worn at the waist of Zhao Hexing, the Zhao Family Head, as a family token.

Swish!

With a flick of Zhao Sheng's wrist, a six-petaled sword blossom suddenly flashed into being.

As he unleashed the first stance of Floating Light Swordplay, Six Petal Plum Blossom, a figure began to dart and weave through the room in an instant. Strands of sword light were born and extinguished, shifting with every evolution of his sword moves.

Gradually, the sword light in the room became increasingly dense, until it finally gathered into an unsteady orb of light that wandered through the air. It completely enveloped his entire body.

Half an hour later, Zhao Sheng's back was soaked through with sweat as he came to a stop.

He casually tossed out the sword in his hand. The next second, the Hundred Refinement Sword miraculously flew back into its scabbard.

Name: Zhao Zhiqin (Zhao Sheng)

Lifespan: 15/120

Physique: Hundred-Year Physique (Mortal Grade), Light as a Swallow (Mortal Grade)

Talent: Dynamic Vision (Mortal Grade)

Skills: Floating Light Swordplay (Great Completion), Cloud Dragon Three Transformations (Great Completion), Azure Sea Tide Rising Art (Entry Level)

"Not bad. I still have the feel for it."

Looking at the data on the page, Zhao Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

Although he had been reincarnated, the experience he had accumulated over a lifetime of martial practice had not been forgotten.

After practicing only a few dozen times, he had cultivated both Floating Light Swordplay and Cloud Dragon Three Transformations to the Great Completion realm.

In a few years, once his body had fully matured and his Internal family true qi had reached Minor Completion, he would be able to easily restore several martial arts to the peak level of his previous life.

The Nanyang Zhao Clan had two important locations. One was the ancestral residence in Nanyang City, while the other was the Zhao Estate built one hundred and fifty years ago.

The Zhao Estate was located thirty li outside Nanyang City, backed by mountains and facing water, with vast stretches of level farmland before it.

The residence grounds alone covered nearly fifty mu. Together with the thick, sturdy stone walls surrounding it and the eight five-zhang arrow towers protruding from its four corners, it resembled a tightly defended fortress.

Thus, it was also known as Zhao Family Fortress.

Within Zhao Family Fortress stood halls and pavilions in great numbers, its interior densely populated. Yet nearly five mu of land had been left empty in the southeast corner.

The ground there was covered in thick yellow earth, while the walls were lined with all manner of martial training equipment—sabers, spears, swords, axes, wooden posts, and archery targets. This area was the Zhao Clan's training ground.

The next day, Zhao Sheng, dressed in fitted white martial attire and carrying the Hundred Refinement Sword in one hand, strolled leisurely into the training ground.

At this moment, shouts and cries rose one after another from within the grounds. Several direct descendants of the Zhao Clan, their faces flushed, were diligently practicing sword techniques.

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly at the sight.

He had arrived at exactly the right time!

He walked up to a handsome young man around twenty years old and said with a grin, "Third Brother, how about the two of us exchange a few moves?"

Third Brother was named Zhao Zhijing. He was twenty-one this year, the legitimate son of Zhao Hexing, the Zhao Family Head, and ranked third among the Zhao Clan's Zhi generation.

He possessed the highest martial skill among the people in the training ground, so Zhao Sheng naturally chose him as his target for establishing authority.

Zhao Zhijing withdrew his sword stance and turned around. The moment he saw who it was, he laughed and teased, "So it's Xiao Jiu. What's this? Your hide is itching, and you want your Third Brother to loosen it up for you?"

Zhao Zhijing did not take Zhao Sheng seriously in the slightest.

Leaving aside the six-year age difference between them, even in cultivation, he was one of the first two of the Zhao Clan's current generation to enter the Third-Rate Realm.

Old Ninth, Zhao Zhiqin, had never even mastered Floating Light Swordplay in ordinary times. How could he possibly be Zhao Zhijing's match?