A few weeks passed, and Shu Yang stood in his yard, practicing martial arts with his two eldest sons.
“Huff!” Shu Yang let out a deep breath as he stretched his arm out in a punch. A gust of wind flew out from his fist, scattering the leaves on the ground.
‘Still a long way to go.’
“Wow, Dad is so strong!” Tianan exclaimed from behind him.
Shu Yang turned around and looked at his youngest son with a scolding smile, “Why are you out here again? Have you finished your assignment?”
“I took a break!” Tianan exclaimed righteously.
Shu Yang couldn’t help but laugh. He thought that even though Tianyue was the only one with the talent of Clear mind, each of his children seemed a lot smarter than other kids their age.
‘Maybe it’s because they are my own sons that I unconsciously view them favourably.’
“Well, take a break and look if you want.” Shu Yang said, “But don’t try copying anything on your own. It’s very dangerous.”
“I know, Dad.” Tianan nodded obediently.
Shu Yang wasn’t too worried. He had thoroughly explained to his children the dangers of martial arts, and they knew to behave when it came to serious matters.
He glanced at Tianren and Tianhu, who were practicing beside him, and nodded in satisfaction.
They were too young to practice seriously, but they were getting more and more familiar with the movements. Once they got older and started understanding a little more about utilizing blood and qi, they would quickly get into it.
“Dad, I have a question,” Tianhu said.
“Go ahead,” Shu Yang nodded.
“What use is the ‘Hurricane Release’? It seems that the punches and kicks are a lot more powerful, no?” Tianhu asked, looking confused.
Shu Yang didn’t really know how to answer. This martial art was something he had comprehended on his own, relying on the hints from the Bloodline Tree. He himself didn’t really think much about the ins and outs of it, he just practiced diligently and strived to reach the next stage.
Shu Yang suddenly realized that he had never actually fought against anyone since he reached the 3rd-grade stage. It seems he was lacking somewhat in knowledge of the martial art he himself had created.
‘Come to think about it, why does that gust of wind get released at the end of the movements? I can feel that this is the martial art that suits me best, and it also seems to suit Tianren and Tianhu fairly well.
‘But what if I need to escape? Need to be good and running and evading? This martial art doesn’t seem very suitable for that.’
Thinking about that gust of wind and the original Hurricane art that his father-in-law had given him, Shu Yang realized he had been thinking about it all wrong.
He didn’t deduce the most optimal martial art from the Bloodline Tree, he just optimized the Hurricane art!
‘I felt that this martial art was so powerful that it had to be the optimal one. My body felt absolutely perfect during each movement, and every step was easy to comprehend. But in reality, this martial art has a lot of room for improvement.’
‘I can’t just compare it to the martial art my father-in-law has. This is just a small village, after all. It’s bound to be lacking.’
Shu Yang sighed. He had really overlooked something crucial. Luckily, his son’s words woke him up to reality.
If Shu Yang were to be honest, he hadn’t really taken martial arts that seriously. He had never been in any real danger. His only desire was to advance in martial arts through steady practice and his descendants' contributions. Eventually, he was bound to reach the peak of martial arts, and then he could easily travel around safely to find signs of Immortal cultivation.
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By that point, he could put aside his martial arts and focus on cultivation.
But that was far too negligent.
‘Taking things slow and steady is safe, and ultimately the correct choice. But that doesn’t mean I can be lazy and take the future for granted. I need to take every opportunity to gain more strength, gain more wealth, gain more power.’
‘If I find myself being too weak in the future, and misfortune strikes, a lifetime of regret wouldn’t be enough to fix it.’
“Dad?” Tianhu looked at Shu Yang, confused.
“Good question,” Shu Yang said, smiling. He ruffled Tianhu’s hair and answered, “I’m afraid I don’t know. Let me think about it, and I’ll teach you once I figure it out.”
Tianhu nodded, looking bewildered. This wasn’t the way his father usually behaved.
‘Come to think about it, this is a great realization. If this is just the optimal way for me to practice the Hurricane art, couldn’t I also find the optimal way to practice the Tiger Claw art? And every kind of martial art out there! Combining them all together, I’ll have the truly most optimal martial art, with all kinds of unique moves!’
Just as Shu Yang fantasized about the glorious future, a loud shout came from inside the house.
“Mom!” Tianan yelled worriedly and hurried inside. Shu Yang ran after him.
Coming inside the dining area, Shu Yang saw his wife holding her stomach and breathing heavily.
“Qian’er, is the baby coming?” Shu Yang asked as he put his arms around Qianyue and led her to the bedroom.
“I think so,” Qianyue responded, “Can you run and get Ma Rue?”
“Of course, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Shu Yang answered.
Shu Yang quickly instructed his children to stay inside and look after their mother before running off.
It didn’t take long for Shu Yang to get back with Ma Rue and her daughter. They had delivered all four of his previous children, so they went into to bedroom and started arranging everything with practiced ease.
As usual, Shu Yang was locked outside the bedroom and not allowed to enter.
“Dad, what’s wrong with Mom?” Tianan asked in a low voice, his eyes red.
Shu Yang laughed softly and patted his head, “Don’t worry, she is fine. You should prepare to meet your new younger sibling.”
“A baby sister? Or is it a baby brother this time?” Tianan asked.
“I don’t know yet, we’ll have to wait and see.”
A few hours later, a baby’s wailing sounded from inside the bedroom, and Shu Yang felt the Bloodline Tree in his sea of consciousness stir.
He didn’t have time to think about the feedback for now, however. He hurried inside the bedroom where he saw the healthy baby boy wrapped in a blanket, nestled in Qianyue’s arms.
“Look, husband. It’s a boy,” Qianyue said with a tired but happy smile.
“He looks healthy,” Shu Yang said with a pleased nod, “How do you feel?”
“I’m fine,” Qianyue said, shaking her head.
Shu Yang thought she looked tired, but nothing more than that, so he finally breathed out in relief. He still wasn’t able to completely relax whenever his wife was giving birth.
He paid Ma Rue, and she and her daughter left.
Shu Yang lay down beside Qianyue and put his arm around her. The other children gathered around, looking curiously at their new baby brother.
“I have a brother!” Tianyue yelled excitedly.
“Don’t you already have three brothers? Why are you so excited?” Qianyue asked with a laugh.
“This one is so small,” Tianyue said, poking the baby’s cheek, “I like him better.”
Shu Yang noticed Tianren and Tianhu’s incredulous expressions and laughed.
“What’s his name?” Tianyue asked.
“What do you think, Qian’er?” Shu Yang asked.
“You decide, husband,” Qianyue said.
“Then let’s name him Tianxu,” Shu Yang said.
“That’s good,” Qianyue said, smiling while looking down at her son. Soon her eyelids started fluttering and she fell asleep.
Shu Yang got up and put the other children to bed. After checking that his wife and son were doing fine, Shu Yang went outside to the yard again.
He sat down on a chair and focused on his connection to the Bloodline Tree.
[ Bloodline power: 2.66 (Mortal - Low) ]
[ Traits: Slight martial arts talent, Clear mind ]
‘My Bloodline Power increased by 0.43. That’s a lot more than when Tianyue was born.’
Shu Yang focused and tried to sense if anything else had changed.
‘It seems that my martial arts talent has increased quite a bit! Even if it is still only a slight talent, it is still a big difference from before. That means that Tianxu should have a slightly better talent for martial arts than Tianren. That’s great!’
Shu Yang had been a little worried, seeing that none of his other children inherited his talent. But now it confirms that there isn’t a problem, and he was just a little unlucky.
‘It’s good to have another talent in the family. The future will be a lot safer that way.’