Fallen Genius

[5 years, 180 days. In the Tiger Leopard Forest spiritual field, Jiang Xiaobai, who was casting the All Things Growth Technique, suddenly felt a pain in her belly. Little Fire carried Jiang Xiaobai back to the Yang Family Manor, and before long, the sound of a baby's cries rang out from the manor.]

[A new member has joined the Yang family. Flourishing population, Incense +100!]

"Congratulations, Master Yang, it's a boy!"

Yang Shi took the child from the midwife. The little one, who had been wailing loudly, immediately stopped crying, staring at Yang Shi's face with a hint of familiarity in his eyes.

"Hahaha~ My child recognizes his father."

"Blessings from the Old Ancestor! The Yang family has an heir."

"Please, Old Ancestor, bestow a name upon the child!"

Yang Shi knelt before the ancestral tablets, holding the child, his face full of reverence.

"I suppose I can name him."

With only Yang Shi left in the Yang family, to ensure future generations could distinguish which generation they belonged to, it was necessary to establish a generational naming scheme, starting with this child.

"Since he recognizes me as his ancestor and this is a new family starting from scratch, I'll give the generational names some meaning."

Yang Shi waited a moment, and then 24 golden characters appeared in the sky.

The first character was "Fu."

Yang Shi stared at the characters floating in the air, feeling as if a blazing, powerful force was condensed within them!

It seemed the entire logic of the family's operation was distilled into this character!

"What boldness the Old Ancestor possesses!"

"Yang Shi will set this character as the family motto, to be passed down through the generations of the Yang family!"

The golden characters in the sky shifted again.

"From now on, this shall be the generational naming of the Yang family. The eldest son will take a single character as his name."

"This child shall be called Yang Fu."

Yang Genshuo felt that such a name was far more comfortable than Yang Zihan, Yang Zihan, or Yang Zihan.

Most importantly, when there were more Yang Family Descendants in the future, he could tell each person's generation and who was the eldest just by their name.

This was very necessary.

"Yang Fu, my son is called Yang Fu. Good! Excellent!"

Yang Shi, a father for the first time, was already too overjoyed to know what to say.

"Husband Brother, let me see the child."

Jiang Xiaobai, after all, was a Cultivator, her body nourished by spiritual energy and recovering quickly. She was already able to get out of bed and move around.

"Xiao Bai, the child looks a lot like you. I hope he can become a Cultivator like you too."

"When he grows up, I'll test him, and we'll know."

Yang Genshuo's eyes lit up.

"I don't need to wait. I can see right now."

After he finished naming the child, little Yang Fu's Character Card could already be opened. Yang Genshuo now saw a faint spiritual light on the child and was already getting excited.

"Kid, your talent had better be good! The Old Ancestor spent 200 Incense of our family on you!"

[Name: Yang Fu]

[Identity: Son of Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai.]

[Lifespan: 1/120]

[Spiritual Roots: Five Spiritual Roots (Gold: 30, Wood: 30, Water: 30, Fire: 30, Earth: 30)]

[Realm: None]

[Comprehension: 50]

[Fortune: 20]

[Talent: Innate Root of Wisdom (Heaven Grade), The Fall of a Genius (Earth Grade)]

"Ah?"

"Ah!"

"Ah!?"

After reading little Yang Fu's Character Card, Yang Genshuo let out three exclamations in different tones, no exaggeration. His emotions were now extremely complicated.

The first "Ah?" was Yang Shi's disappointment at seeing the Five Spiritual Roots attribute.

The second "Ah!" was at seeing the Heaven Grade talent, feeling like the Yang family was about to take off.

[Innate Root of Wisdom (Heaven Grade): All Spiritual Root attributes +10, Comprehension +10.]

At this point, he looked back at the Five Spiritual Roots and found that the base attributes of all five roots were actually 30!

For reference, Jiang Xiaobai's most prominent Wood Spiritual Root was only 23!

Yang Genshuo saw that among the Xuan Shi Sect disciples, there was a Qi Refinement stage cultivator with Four Spiritual Roots, and even a single spiritual root couldn't reach 30!

Spiritual root talent was second only to Bai Heyu's Three Spiritual Roots.

Spiritual root talent determined cultivation speed, greatly influencing the height one could achieve in the future.

This child had strong spiritual roots and extremely high comprehension—he would surely become a great talent in the future!

Before Yang Genshuo could finish celebrating, the second Earth-grade talent left him dumbfounded.

[The Fall of a Genius (Earth-grade): Cultivation speed +99% before Foundation Establishment, cultivation speed -99% after Foundation Establishment.]

"The good news is: Yang Fu will cultivate to Foundation Establishment at an extremely fast pace."

"The bad news is: Yang Fu might stay at Foundation Establishment forever."

One character card sent Yang Genshuo through twists and turns, his emotions rising and falling.

"What kind of situation is this."

Yang Genshuo couldn't tell for a moment whether this was good or bad.

But from the information available so far, having the aptitude to cultivate to Foundation Establishment meant he could be considered a high-level cultivator even in the Xuan Shi Sect.

This child still had a few years before he could start cultivating, so Yang Genshuo would observe first and think about the future.

"Overall, those 200 incense points were still useful."

"I need to keep saving incense points."

Yang Genshuo accelerated time.

There wasn't much to do during this period—the Yang Family was developing steadily.

Yang Genshuo went to the courtyard to eat with Lin Yue, who had just finished cooking.

Jingle~

Lin Yue, seeing that Yang Genshuo actually had time to eat with her this time, happily shook the wind chime.

Yang Genshuo pulled out his phone and typed.

"Lately, have you felt anything special in your body?"

"Eating with Shuo Ge makes my appetite better, and the rice at home is very fragrant."

"Mm, then eat more."

"Where did you buy it? Lin Yue wants to buy some for Mom."

"Uh, a friend gave it to me. Next time I get more, I'll have him bring extra."

"Lin Yue will transfer you the money."

"I'll deduct it from your salary."

"Oh."

Yang Genshuo didn't dwell on this Spirit Rice. Lin Yue's family wasn't well-off, and her mother had raised a deaf-mute child alone—it hadn't been easy.

Anyway, Yang Shi offered Spirit Rice as tribute every year, and even if Yang Genshuo ate himself to bursting, he couldn't finish it all.

Spirit Rice transformed the body from the inside out, improving everything overall.

Yang Genshuo felt his bodily functions were fully recovering, especially the damage from years of staying up late, drinking, and getting angry—it was slowly fading.

The most direct sensation was his taste. His taste buds, ravaged by heavy salt, oil, and alcohol for so many years, could now actually discern the unique flavor of each vegetable.

Lin Yue strictly followed the nutritional meal plan, cooking simply, yet it made him devour several bowls of rice.

His body was gradually returning to youth and purity. This feeling was very magical.

But unfortunately, Lin Yue's congenital condition still showed no signs of improvement. Yang Genshuo could only keep waiting.

After Lin Yue left, Yang Genshuo took out the [Marrow Cleansing Pill] that Yang Shi had offered this year.

"This is a real immortal pill, a Grade 1 Pill!"

A well-recognized good pill in the Cultivation World, a must-have for everyone.

After Jiang Xiaobai ate it, each of his five spiritual root attributes increased by 1 point.

Yang Genshuo was certain he had no spiritual roots, but even a mortal could eat this to strengthen the body and gain 5 extra years of life!

After swallowing it, the fragrance of the pill filled his abdomen.

A surge of heat spread from his dantian, sweeping through his entire body! It felt like a steam furnace had been installed inside him, constantly forcing toxins out of his body!

The toxins in Yang Genshuo's body were far more than those in Yang Shi or Jiang Xiaobai.

Every pore oozed black filth.

In just a moment, his whole body became stinking to high heaven.

The medicinal effect lasted a full hour before the transformation stopped.

He felt like a piece of fatty pork boiled in clear water, his whole body emitting a nauseating, pungent fishy smell.

And after his body was "blanched," the flesh was firm, with a large amount of scum oozing out on the surface.

"Ugh—so disgusting!"

Yang Genshuo sprinted to the bathroom and scrubbed himself raw.

After a long while, he came out.

Seeing himself in the mirror, Yang Genshuo froze.

"This handsome bastard is me?"

In the mirror, his skin was smooth as a baby's, tender and flawless.

His body had also slimmed down considerably; his once round, pudgy face now had sharp angles and edges.

With a massive loss of fat, his muscles had become visible. He felt like he had endless strength!

"I've never felt this good!"

At that moment, he felt even his eighteen-year-old self couldn't compare to now!

He stepped on the scale: 165 pounds!

"Damn, one pill and I dropped twenty pounds? If I gave two of these to that New Year's movie director, he'd make money a whole lot easier."

After finishing up, Yang Genshuo glanced over at Yang Shi's side.

Nothing much was happening there for now.

Aside from training in martial arts with Liu Wuhen, Yang Shi spent his time playing with little Yang Fu alongside Jiang Xiaobai, living a carefree life.

If not for the occasional reports from spies keeping tabs on Xiang Manor, Yang Genshuo might have thought Yang Shi had forgotten his grudge.

Watching the time in the game flow rapidly, Yang Genshuo felt like he had forgotten something.

Until Xu Mengqi's call came through.