Chương 74: Chapter 24 - Library

A few days passed after his meeting with Chu Ping. Shu Yang was in his courtyard, sweating as he practiced martial arts in the summer heat. Thrusting his fingers forward like a spear, Shu Yang felt the muscles in his hands activate in a new way.

'Interesting. It might not have much effect on a 1st-grade warrior. But against someone weaker, I should be able to burrow my fingers between their ribs and dig into their heart.'

'Then again, a punch to the face might be a more direct way to achieve the same result.' Shu Yang had visited Kuo City once again a few months ago. Besides stocking up on a lot of books, he got his hands on two new low-grade martial arts and one new middle-grade art from the County Office. He now had seven different low-grade martial arts that he had improved with the help of the Bloodline Tree. So far, there has been no progress in merging the different martial arts, though.

But he didn't feel it was a waste of time. He had learned a lot from the experience, and he was sure he would be able to create his very own martial art in the future, one that combines the advantages of hundreds of others. Shu Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look at his children. They were all practicing diligently in the summer heat. Everyone except Tianyue, that is. She had taken after her mother and strongly disliked any kind of training. She spent most of her days reading.

But considering that books were where both her talents and interests lie, Shu Yang didn't mind.

"Husband, Xiaoling is here," Qianyue came out from the house and called to Shu Yang.

"Good," Shu Yang said. He turned to Tianren and instructed, "Keep an eye on your brothers while I'm gone." Tianren stopped his practice at his words. He turned to look at his brothers. Tianhu and Tianxu were both swinging their swords as usual, and Tianan was nowhere to be seen. Tianren turned back at Shu Yang, giving him a helpless look.

'I guess Tianhu and Tianxu won't be going anywhere. But when did Tianan disappear?'

"Just…look after them," Shu Yang repeated awkwardly. He ran inside and gathered a few of his belongings before heading outside again. On the dirt road on the other side of the house, Tianyue had already arrived. She was chatting with Xiaoling by the carriage, waiting for Shu Yang.

"Thank you for picking us up as always, Xiaoling," Shu Yang said, giving her a grateful nod.

"It's no trouble, Master Shu," Xiaoling replied with a small bow. Shu Yang didn't say anything else and stepped inside the carriage with his daughter. Xiaoling was one of Lady Jiangxi's maids. She had been picking up Tianyue for the past eight months to take her to Lady Jiangxi's mansion in Chunsi Town. Occasionally, Shu Yang would tag along.

"Have you done your assignment?" Shu Yang asked his daughter.

"Of course. I finished it days ago," Tianyue replied nonchalantly. Shu Yang flickered her forehead lightly, "Don't grow arrogant just because you have a powerful teacher."

"I'm not," Tianyue said seriously, rubbing her forehead. Then she added with a cheeky smile, "I'm arrogant because I'm smart." Shu Yang laughed, "Either way. You shouldn't have a superior attitude just because of your talents. Remember what I've told you, there is always someone better, just like there is always someone worse. If you act arrogantly toward those you feel are inferior, and subservient to those you view as superior, you aren't a real person.

You're just a reflection of your surroundings, entirely empty of real substance.

"You should be proud of yourself, not because you are smarter than someone else, but because you are more knowledgeable than you were yesterday. And you should be humble in knowing that you know less than you will tomorrow."

"Oh, oh," Tianyue nodded her little head, "I know, Dad."

"Good girl," Shu Yang said, patting her. His daughter wasn't really arrogant, but he had seen tendencies of her looking down on others lately. Even though he didn't have it in him to be as strict with his daughter as he was with his sons, he still wouldn't accept her going astray. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

'Maybe Tianzheng can make her feel a little pressure in the future.' As the carriage reached the peak of a small hill, Shu Yang looked out the window and could see the Liang family estate in the distance. Quite a few large mansions were spread out over several acres of land.

'The Liang family is truly wealthy. I guess just a few years of running a successful business can't really compare to a family that amassed wealth for several generations.' The Liang family had been keeping a much lower profile since Shu Yang beat up Liang Cong, but their true nature couldn't be changed that easily. Shu Yang still heard rumors from time to time about how one Liang family member or another caused an incident. Shu Yang generally didn't get involved.

He still couldn't compare to the Liang family in either wealth or strength. He only managed to get out ahead in his fight with them thanks to Lady Jiangxi. But that wouldn't always be the case. Once Shu Yang reached the Innate stage, he would truly have the capability to start making moves against the Liang family. He hadn't always had that thought. In the beginning, he didn't take the small Liang family seriously in the grand scheme of things. But since Liang Cong had his son beat up, things were different.

Since a grudge had been created, Shu Yang would make sure it would be settled once and for all. With his Shu family coming out on top, of course.

"Can our family afford to buy a mansion? Does it cost a lot?" Tianyue asked as she scooted up against Shu Yang and looked at the Liang family estate.

"It's definitely expensive," Shu Yang said, "Our family should be able to afford it, though. But it's a bit of a waste of money."

"How can it be a waste? Don't you like it at teacher Jiangxi's too? Her library is as big as our house! I would love to have a place like that at home," Tianyue said. Shu Yang thought about it and had to agree that Lady Jiangxi's library was quite nice. He wouldn't mind having something similar for his Shu family to enjoy in the future.

"Maybe one day," Shu Yang said, "For now, your mother and I quite enjoy our old house. It's filled with a lot of precious memories."

"Then just think about how many more memories would fit in a bigger house," Tianyue said, looking all clever. Shu Yang laughed in amusement and said, "If you can find a man willing to marry into our family in the future, I'll build a big library for you." He still hoped he wouldn't have to marry off his daughter to another family in the future.

"Bleh," Tianyue said, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"If that's the case, I'll just buy a library myself."

'Having a big library with just my daughter doesn't seem too bad either, I guess.' The carriage soon arrived in front of a large gate. Tianyue jumped out excitedly, running right past the familiar guards, and Shu Yang followed after her into Lady Jiangxi's mansion. He had been here with Tianyue a few times already and was familiar with the place.

"Master Shu, it's been a while," Lady Jiangxi stepped out into the large hallway and greeted him with a smile.

"Lady Jiangxi. I hope I'm not disturbing."

"Not at all," Lady Jiangxi shook her head, "Why don't you head to the library first, and I'll get Tianyue settled in. Xiaoling, prepare some refreshments." Shu Yang was past the stage of being overly polite, so he rubbed his daughter's head lovingly and made his way to the library. Stepping inside, he once again marveled at the grand collection of books and scrolls. It was almost half the size of the bookstore in Kuo City.

When Shu Yang came to visit with his daughter for the first time eight months ago, he had been shown around the entire property. Lady Jiangxi noticed that Shu Yang seemed interested in the books she had, so she allowed him to come visit and read in the library whenever Tianyue came for her lessons. Already familiar with the place, Shu Yang didn't waste any time and quickly picked up the book he had started reading the last time he visited. It was a book about the old Shen Empire.

Shu Yang only found out while reading the book that about 150 years ago, the Yan Kingdom, along with all the other surrounding Kingdoms, used to be part of one huge Empire, ruled by a single powerful family. It is said that the Shen family had a Saintly Bloodline, granting its members a tremendous advantage over others. But over the span of several hundred years, the family spread its branches farther and farther. Eventually, the Imperial Shen family had too many branches vying for power, and it collapsed.

The author of the book Shu Yang was reading theorized that every single Martial Family flourishing today could trace back its origin to the Shen family of old.

'So those powerful families all carry a Saintly Bloodline? Only spread thin through time. Well, at least that's the author's theory.'

'But this is the first time I've seen the term 'Saintly Bloodline'. Is that the term for bloodlines above the Mortal grade?'

'Then again, I've never heard anyone call it a Mortal Bloodline before. I might have a different way of naming than others.' Shu Yang had only ever heard of Martial Bloodlines, belonging to the powerful Martial Families. He wasn't sure how powerful that bloodline was, though.

'Maybe I can ask Lady Jiangxi about it later.'

'I just have so many questions to ask…But I'm not her student, and asking too much might come off as impolite. I'm already taking advantage of my daughter's relationship with Lady Jiangxi to read in her home. It would be bad if Tianyue suffered because I'm too greedy. These things will become clear to me one day, either way.'

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?" A voice pulled Shu Yang out of his thoughts. He looked back and saw that Lady Jiangxi had stepped inside the library, her maid trailing behind, carrying a tray with tea and snacks.

'Or maybe I can get the chance to ask a few questions, after all.'