Li Yunlin was now 22. With his talent, he should have been the Li Family's favored son of heaven.
But life was a fickle bitch.
Li Yunlin's life had been full of hardship. He had been confined to the Cliff of Reflection, where there was no spiritual energy, yet he had relied on sheer perseverance to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Li Xiang had come to admire the way Li Yunlin was now. The sharpness he'd once shown was gone, replaced by steadiness and restraint.
"Life can destroy a person, but it can also help him break out of his cocoon and be reborn."
Taking the opportunity, Li Xiang gave Li Yunlin a "Love from the Ancestor." "I hope you'll keep striving forward."
Just then, Li Yunlin had stepped out of the Cliff of Reflection and sensed warmth flooding through his body.
After five years,
he once again felt the encouragement of his ancestor!
He hurriedly dropped to one knee and bowed toward the heavens. Unlike the excitement he had felt five years ago, he was much calmer now. "Thank you, Ancestor. After five years of reflection, I've come to understand. Perhaps I shouldn't have come to the Litian Sect in the first place, but I don't regret it."
"Where I fall, I'll rise again. I'll climb, one step at a time, until I reach the summit!"
"I'll never let down the hopes of the Ancestor or my family!"
With that, he silently headed for the Litian Sect.
"..."
Why did that sound so familiar?
Still, Li Xiang didn't mind. As long as Li Yunlin did nothing to harm the family's interests, Li Xiang would support his decision.
Among the third-generation descendants, only Li Yunlin had faced such a string of tribulations.
As for the others...
Li Xiang switched the screen.
Outside Zhien Village, there was a training ground enclosed by an enormous wall. It was now a special place for the village children to train!
The children had inherited the courage of Zhien Village's people.
Many were sparring in pairs, their fists landing with solid thuds.
The Li Family's descendants trained alongside the village children. According to Li Dalong, the Li children should grow up with the children of Zhien Village. That way, they could assimilate into the village instead of turning into spoiled brats like those outside, living in luxury and debauchery. It would help cultivate the character of the Li Family's descendants.
The Li children already had more than enough resources.
If they wanted to secure a place in the Li Family's ever-growing power, they would have to earn the recognition of the family and its territory, and become part of the Li Family's sphere of influence. If they had neither talent nor virtue, and did nothing all day but squander the family's resources and ruin its reputation, then they might as well be cast out and given a taste of how cruel the world could be.
Li Xiang agreed with this approach.
Fortunately, the third-generation descendants of the Li Family had all received a good education.
"Especially that kid, Li Yunbing."
Li Xiang grinned.
He clicked Li Yunbing's portrait, and the game screen shifted.
"Those who temper the body draw upon the energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon. They channel it through their meridians, then break through the limits of the body, enduring the pain of flesh and skin!"
"This is the lower stage: the body is like a vine or tree, able to withstand blades and swords!"
"Qi erupts through the flesh and blood, while the body endures the agony of a thousand needles. This is the upper stage!"
"A body like stubborn rock; a hundred-pound weapon is nothing in the hand!"
"When all the internal organs ring in unison and spiritual energy flows freely through the meridians, this is the peak stage. The body itself becomes a low-grade magical artifact!"
Li Yunbing was only thirteen, yet he was already teaching children on the training grounds.
His face was still a little boyish, and he was as handsome as his older brother, Li Yunlin. Only his eyes were different: they held an indescribable purity and serenity. His voice was clear and bright.
"This technique was once called the Wang Family Body Tempering Art. It's a Yellow-grade body technique, and now it's used by everyone in Zhien Village. You mustn't waste your time. You need to practice often. Anyone who reaches the lower stage can join the Black Blood Hall when they come of age."
Many of the children below him were two or three years older than Li Yunbing.
But the reverence in their eyes as they looked at him was unmistakable.
A slightly older child asked, puzzled, "Instructor, what stage have you reached?"
"My aunt won't let me say."
Li Yunbing shook his head with complete sincerity, then began teaching the children how to practice the body technique.
Watching the scene, Li Xiang's eyes lit up.
"Li Yunbing has the potential to surpass Li Yunlin."
He had already opened Li Yunbing's profile.
[Li Yunbing (Third-Generation Member)] [Realm: Peak of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining] [Techniques: Phantom Heavenly Cluster Steps, Body Tempering Art, Shengxi Changming Technique, Thunder-Attracting Heavenly Scripture] [Special Trait: Heart of an Innocent Child]
Li Yunbing had four spiritual roots by birth, and his talent was inferior to his brother Li Yunlin's. But he had the family's resources to support him. Even so, that alone couldn't explain how he had reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining at such a young age.
The key was...
His talent!
[Heart of an Innocent Child] [Pure and kind, with no worldly distractions. Thus, he is less troubled by outside matters while cultivating and more likely to achieve enlightenment. Comprehension of techniques increased by 80%. Cultivation speed increased by 30%!]
Clearly,
he hadn't been troubled by the fact that his mother, Qu Xiaoxiao, had been cast out of the family. He had understood the reasons behind it from a young age.
The only downside was...
Li Xiang scrolled through his past events.
[At age 3, he was tricked out of his candy by a child his own age and cried with his head in his hands.] [At age 5, he took pity on an assassin disguised as a beggar and was nearly killed. Fortunately, the Ancestor saved him with a spell.] [At age 7, he acquired the Heart of an Innocent Child.] [At age 9, he heard Li Dalong say that cultivating the Wang Family Body Tempering Art didn't hurt at all. After practicing it, he was in agony and thought it was his own fault, so he trained even harder...] [At age 12, he heard Li Yaozu say that the Phantom Heavenly Cluster Steps were easy to practice inside the Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin. So he spent 27 days dying on the first level before finally getting a glimpse of the basics.]
"Hmm. One of the Li Family's rare fools."
Li Xiang rubbed his forehead and chuckled bitterly. He couldn't tell whether Li Yunbing's personality was a good thing or a bad one.
Then he switched the screen again.
Li Yaotie had now had five children. Since the Silver Iron Forest was close to the Li Family, all five of them were in the forest right now.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, look! I'm flying!"
"Grandpa, Grandpa, today I'll run faster than Uncle Turtle!"
"Fifth Sister's picking on me. She hit my nose crooked again... It's okay, Grandpa. I'm amazing, right? I straightened my nose by myself."
"..."
Li Xiang saw something bizarre. Li Yaotie and Bai Rourou's children had inherited their genes perfectly. Every one of them was incredibly strong, almost as if they'd been stamped from the same mold.
Even Li Yunjie, the little girl, looked like a baby leopard.
Take the third child, Li Yundou, the eldest boy.
At only eight years old, he was already one and a half meters tall. Bare-chested and dark-skinned, he bent his arm to straighten his bleeding nose, and his biceps were already clearly defined...
The other children's physiques were also far beyond those of their peers. Anyone could guess how hulking they would become as they grew older.
The heart of the Silver Iron Forest had become their playground. They were doing extreme sports no child should be doing with the spirit beasts, showing off nothing but their ferocity.
The Pig Demon King, ruler of the Silver Iron Forest, watched the children play and brawl before him with a kindly smile.
"Li Yaotie and Bai Rourou really are something. They've raised a whole pack of kids like this."
Li Xiang didn't know what to say.
Still, he wasn't worried. Bai Rourou had been raised by the Pig Demon King and had an excellent character. Now Li Yaotie's five children were being raised together by the Pig Demon King and the Li Family. If anything went wrong, it would be a miracle.
As he ate the roast chicken Yuexian had brought to his room,
he switched the screen.
Li Xiang's gaze was instantly drawn to a line in the event log. With his mouth full of meat, he grinned and started clicking.
[Your descendant, Li Yaoqing, has broken through to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.] [His talent has transformed: four-element mixed spiritual roots!] [After nearly five years of insight, he suddenly discovered a cultivation method in the Classic of a Thousand Herbs. He realized that ancient herbalists all used plant and flower demons as their dantians, forming divine infants and cultivating Primordial Spirits. In this way, they could attain the Great Dao of a medicinal body.] [After asking the family's spirit beast, the Eight-Leaf Flower Demon, for its consent, he forged the Eight-Leaf Flower Demon into his dantian and joined his life with its, obtaining the Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art!] [The Eight-Leaf Flower Demon has therefore transformed into the Nine-Leaf Elixir Embryo!] [Special Trait Acquired: Immortal Embryo]
"I..."
Li Xiang stared in stunned disbelief at Li Yaoqing, who had emerged from seclusion and immediately rushed to the Ancestral Hall to kneel and cry, "Bless me, Ancestor!"
Li Yaoqing had undergone a complete transformation.
Though he was already thirty-eight, he looked like a young girl. His appearance hadn't changed, though; he was still wearing filthy robes and remained as unkempt as ever. He wept bitterly.
"Ancestor, I haven't offered you incense in years. Please don't hold it against me."
Li Xiang casually used "Love from the Ancestor" on Li Yaoqing.
With a trembling hand, he opened Li Yaoqing's profile.
[Li Yaoqing (Second-Generation Descendant)] [Profession: Ninth-Rank Herbalist] [Realm: Early Foundation Establishment] [Techniques: Classic of a Thousand Herbs, Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art] [Special Traits: Plant Affinity, Immortal Embryo]
Li Yaoqing's transformation now went far beyond a simple change in talent. What he'd gained from the Classic of a Thousand Herbs might even surpass the supreme-grade spiritual treasure that was the Death-Stilling Heavenly Coffin!
After all, Earth had experienced a thousand years of spiritual energy revival, and immortals had appeared.
Anything connected to the word "immortal" was no small matter!
He clicked [Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art] and [Immortal Embryo], and found that the descriptions of the technique and trait were the same. Both were linked to the Nine-Leaf Elixir Embryo that had become Li Yaoqing's dantian!
[Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art: Cultivate the Nine-Leaf Elixir Embryo. Break through once at each realm, and the embryo can become an Immortal Embryo!] [Cultivation speed increased by 30%. The speed of growing medicinal herbs increased by 100%. From now on, you can identify the properties of every medicinal herb under heaven.]
Brief and to the point.
Based on Li Xiang's understanding of the first part,
every time Li Yaoqing broke through a major realm, the Elixir Embryo would grow another leaf, and his talent would improve once. In the end, it would become an Immortal Embryo.
At present, Li Yaoqing's Nine-Leaf Elixir Embryo had grown two leaves, and his talent had become four spiritual roots.
At three leaves, his talent would become three spiritual roots.
At four, two spiritual roots.
And so on.
With each breakthrough, Li Yaoqing's talent would improve, and his strength would rise along with it!
Li Xiang had never heard of such an abnormal constitution.
Without a doubt, if Li Yaoqing kept breaking through steadily, he would one day become an immortal. Even if he wasn't as strong as others right now, once his talent became two spiritual roots, one spiritual root, or even the more powerful Heavenly Spiritual Root...
his strength would increase by leaps and bounds.
Moreover, his Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art would grow stronger as well. It already had two layers of spells: the first was Ordinary-grade, and the second was Yellow-grade.
If he broke through each layer one by one, Li Yaoqing could acquire Heaven-grade spells, or even stronger ones.
Most terrifying of all, once he broke through, his spell cultivation progress would instantly reach 100%, making him a master of it!
"Abnormal."
Li Xiang swallowed, then clicked on the Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art.
A bold idea occurred to him.
[You selected your descendant's technique, the Heavenly Condemned Vegetation Divine Art.] [Would you like to replicate the technique?] [Incense required: ...]
"???"
"Even more abnormal."
Before you continue