Chapter 149 – Compensation

‘That was stupid of me.’ Shu Yang thought to himself as he stepped through the gates leading to the small courtyard they had rented in the city, the others trailing behind him.

Attacking a Golden Core cultivator was just suicide. In any other circumstances, Shu Yang would definitely not have survived the ordeal.

‘My family would probably not survive either. What was I thinking? She had stopped her attack, she was backing off. I heard Chen Xiao telling her to stop.’

Shu Yang rubbed his head. He felt stupid. Incredibly stupid. 

He had just been so angry. It had consumed him.

He was still a bit angry.

‘So what? Can’t I just swallow it? I’ll grow stronger than her eventually. Revenge is never too late. But if I can’t control myself, it will never come.’

Shu Yang felt he needed to work on it somehow. He couldn’t allow a situation like that to repeat itself. When faced with a Golden Core cultivator, he had to smile and bow his head. 

All injustices had to be buried deeply within him, only dug up once he had the power to do something about it.

“Will…will everything be alright?” Xiaoshi asked hesitantly as they all stopped inside.

“Yeah. Should be,” Shu Yang said, “We were really lucky.”

No one had stuck around to tell them anything. Kong Hua had flown away, the old man had disappeared, and Elder Renmeng had just advised them to travel back home and then taken Xinmo, Xinjiang, and Xinxi back to the Sword Sect. 

Shu Yang sighed and shook his head. “Let’s go to bed.”

He felt exhausted.

They all nodded, and went to their separate bedrooms. Shu Yang took out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a drink first. He went out to the backyard and looked up at the night sky, sipping slowly.

“Are you okay, Dad?” Tianhu stopped out and asked him.

Shu Yang chuckled slightly, “I’m fine. I’m just weak. And I’m afraid I don’t have the mind of someone weak. I need to adjust that.”

“I guess so,” Tianhu said, nodding slowly. “We really couldn’t touch her, could we?”

“You at least got a little closer, didn’t you?” Shu Yang asked with a smile.

“You noticed?” Tianhu asked.

Shu Yang nodded, “Not in the moment, but as it all settled down, it dawned on me. So, how does it feel?”

“Pretty amazing,” Tianhu said, smiling slightly as he stroked the hilt of his sword. “But do I really have to fight a Golden Core cultivator in order to advance my sword intent?”

“I suggest you keep exploring,” Shu Yang said with a laugh.

Tianhu nodded. “I feel very powerful, to be honest. A bit strange. Is it just because I haven’t grown stronger in so long? Or is this normal when you grasp sword intent at the 4th tier?”

“Your bloodline advanced to the Founding grade,” Shu Yang said, smiling, “That’s where the feeling stems from.”

‘I guess it’s not all bad.’

Shu Yang had only realized what had happened to his son after everything was over, and thinking about it now, it boosted his mood quite a bit. Tianhu had no talent to help him, only his sword intent. 

But that hadn’t budged in so long, and if it didn’t, the odds of him succeeding in advancing to the Foundation stage were pretty slim. His son wasn’t exactly young anymore, it wouldn’t be long before his age became an obstacle for his advancement.

But now, Shu Yang didn’t need to worry as much. A Founding Bloodline was sure to be able to help him immensely. 

“Founding? Isn’t that supposed to happen after you reach the Foundation stage?” Tianhu asked, shocked.

“That will definitely do it,” Shu Yang said, nodding. “But there are other ways. Like 4th tier sword intent, apparently.”

“So…I can develop a Bloodline Ability?” Tianhu asked.

“That’s right. You were there when I instructed Xiaoshi on it, so you should have a pretty good idea about the process, right?” Shu Yang asked.

“Yeah. Should I try it?” Tianhu asked.

“Well, maybe wait if you can. Until we are in a bit more controllable environment,” Shu Yang said.

He had taken a healing pill, but hadn’t entirely recovered. Considering that Tianhu had no traits and only mastered sword intent, that is surely the direction his Bloodline Ability would go. But the first few times it was activated, it was very hard to control. Shu Yang didn’t want to risk Tianhu accidentally hurting someone inside the house.

“Alright,” Tianhu said, taking a deep breath.

“Focus all your attention on the bottleneck to the Foundation stage from now on. Don’t be in a rush, take a few years to get into an optimal state. Let Xiaoshi take care of the Shu Sword Hall in the meantime,” Shu Yang said.

“You really think I can make it?” Tianhu asked.

“Do you have another option?” Shu Yang asked back, chuckling slightly. Tianhu’s wife was already a Foundation cultivator, and it was likely all his children would succeed as well. Shu Yang doubted Tianhu would just let them go on without him, even if the chance of success was a lot lower.

“I guess not,” Tianhu said, smiling.

“I’ll prepare the resources for you. Don’t worry about anything else for now,” Shu Yang said, patting him on the shoulder and going back inside.

‘I’m curious what the feedback will be like as Tianhu develops his Bloodline Ability.’

–

Early the next morning, Shu Yang received Chen Xiao at their courtyard, just as expected. He wasn’t surprised that he managed to find out where they lived.

“You know, I really shouldn’t have escalated the situation like I did,” Shu Yang said after escorting his guest inside the house. “There really is no need for any compensation.”

“Nonsense,” Chen Xiao said, still with a friendly smile on his face. There was no one accompanying him today. “The fault was clearly with Kong Hua. I just hope our relationship doesn’t need to be soured because of her.”

“Of course not,” Shu Yang said, still stumped by the young man’s friendly attitude. His background had to be incredibly impressive; Shu Yang really couldn’t understand why he was being so polite.

‘Fist intent shouldn’t be so rare, right?’

“I won’t take much of your time,” Chen Xiao said, taking out a bottle with a single pill from his storage ring. “It’s not much, but I hope it can be of some help.”

“Really, there is no need,” Shu Yang said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the favor.

“Just take it,” Chen Xiao said with a laugh, “Or you will really be looking down on me.”

“Alright. Thank you very much,” Shu Yang said, accepting the pill. 

“It’s a Five Elements Origin Pill. Have you heard about it?” Chen Xiao asked.

“No,” Shu Yang said, a bit surprised. He had read a lot about the various spiritual plants and pills in the cultivation world since settling in Jingli Immortal City, but had never read anything about this pill.

‘It can’t be a pill of the 3rd stage, right?’

“It’s not surprising. Anyway, it has the effect of elevating the grade of spirit roots,” Chen Xiao explained casually.

Shu Yang’s mouth dropped open.

‘No way, right?’

“Are you serious?” Shu Yang asked. He had confidence in his own path, and didn’t really need any pills to help him. The only thing that interested him were things that could help his family. And what could be more helpful than elevating their talent for spiritual cultivation? It was probably the pill Shu Yang wanted most in the world.

‘How did he know I needed one? Or was it a guess?’

‘Wait. Isn’t this far too valuable? Just what is going on here?’

Chen Xiao smiled. “Very serious. Don’t think too much about it. It might be a rare pill, but it’s completely useless to me. It might be able to upgrade 4th-grade spirit roots to 3rd-grade, but it’s not a certainty. Anything better than that is absolutely impossible.”

“What’s the effect on Trash-grade spirit roots?” Shu Yang asked.

Chen Xiao seemed a bit surprised, but still answered, “I’m not sure, to be honest. It should help…But I wouldn’t suggest it. It would be better to use on someone with at least 9th-grade spirit roots.”

“What about no spirit roots?” Shu Yang asked.

“I’m afraid the pill isn’t that heaven-defying,” Chen Xiao said, shaking his head.

Shu Yang took a deep breath. “Either way. Thank you. This pill is very valuable to me. But I’m not stupid. Something is going on here, right?”

Chen Xiao chuckled slightly. “I guess that much was obvious. I suppose I just wanted to make friends with you.”

“Friends? Why?” Shu Yang asked.

“Do you remember True Person Jiami’s trial?” Chen Xiao asked.

“Yes?” Shu Yang answered uncertainly.

“Do you mind resolving a doubt I have?” Chen Xiao asked.

“What doubt?” Shu Yang asked.

Chen Xiao leaned forward, looking deep into Shu Yang’s eyes. “What exactly was the source of that incomprehensibly powerful aura that spread out over the final trial room when you were there?”

Shu Yang’s pupils constricted.

‘How does he kn-’

“Hanzhu?” Shu Yang questioned. He felt the man was familiar when he first saw him, and now everything finally connected.

‘Chen Xiao’ laughed and got to his feet. “You got me. It was nice seeing you again, Shu Yang. Friends, right?”

“Friends,” Shu Yang answered numbly, his voice dry.

“Until we meet again,” Hanzhu said. He gave Shu Yang a friendly nod, and walked out, not waiting for an answer to his question.

‘That’s…it?’