After Xu Xiaoyun finished speaking, the secret chamber fell silent for a moment, then Xu Fu's hesitant voice sounded:
"But Great Ancestor, after all, we come from the Tianhun Empire, and this..."
Xu Xiaoyun stared at Xu Fu, calmly cutting off his unfinished words and slowly said:
"You are from Tianhun, but Tianxi is not. He has half the bloodline of the Riyue Empire.
In the Tianhun Empire, he is a Tianhun man; in the Riyue Empire, he is a Riyue man. What's the problem with that?
If your junior sister's family had not been exiled by the former emperor of Riyue Empire, they would probably still be recorded in the Riyue royal genealogy. You yourself are not from the Tianhun royal family — why do you worry about this?"
Xu Fu was speechless for a moment, then finally smiled bitterly and nodded: "...You are right."
Xu Xiaoyun snorted lightly, then sighed softly:
"Don't think that what I'm doing is excessive. Your main wife is still a princess from the Douling Empire. A few years ago, you took Sanshi to acknowledge kinship with them, right? And what happened?
That Douling royal family is arrogant about their noble bloodline — when have they ever regarded the Xu family highly?"
"Although they don't know that I am still alive, nor do they know the full strength of our Xuanming Sect.
But you, as the head of the Xu family, represent the family's honor. How can you tolerate them treating us with such disdain?"
"They don't think — if noble bloodline were really useful, then why was the Xue family's kingdom seized by rebels, losing most of their land, even Tiandou City?"
"In that case, why should we Xu family bother flattering and sacrificing ourselves for such fools? It's enough to just maintain contact."
Hearing this, Xu Fu respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Understood."
For their Xuanming Sect, the interests of the sect come before all else.
"Also, Tianxi lost his mother not long ago, and even fainted from crying. His mood is bad right now. Sanshi's kid is coming back from Shrek, let him take some time to visit Tianxi. Young people can understand each other."
"Okay, grandson, I will remember that."
...
Half a month later, the sky cleared.
Xu Tianxi and two others walked out of a towering building that reached into the clouds. Xu Tianxi smiled towards the sun, Yue Lao respectfully followed beside him, and Chen Wu yawned, looking listless and full of existential doubt.
"Third young master, you don't have to be so diligent if you want to become a soul master. We stayed in the library for half a month — that's too boring."
Half a month ago, Xu Tianxi woke up and wanted to come to the library. As his book attendant, Chen Wu had to accompany him. But he was only about six years old, and staying indoors for so long was really tough.
"Books are good things. It's good for you to read more," Xu Tianxi said with a smile, patting Chen Wu's shoulder to comfort him.
As newcomers, getting familiar with the situation was the top priority. The Xuanming Sect has a history of over ten thousand years, with a vast collection of books — the perfect place to learn.
From his previous life's reading of the original story, he only remembered the basics. He was clueless about the details of soul spirits and soul beasts, and his former memories had little about them either.
After intensive study for half a month, he gained some understanding about the history of Shrek, the original sect, Mingde Hall, and other top forces on the continent, as well as some information on soul spirits and soul beasts.
Maybe it was a benefit of being a transmigrator, but he found he had a photographic memory. He asked Yue Lao and learned it was a sign of strong spiritual power.
"Besides, if you can't even tell the species and age of soul beasts, how will you find suitable soul beasts to hunt in the future? Yue Lao, don't you agree?"
Xu Tianxi first lectured Chen Wu, then turned and smiled at Yue Lao.
"The young master is right," Yue Lao replied with a smile, growing increasingly pleased with Xu Tianxi.
Since the lady left, the young master had become much steadier. After experiencing the pain of separation and death, his spiritual power had also increased — a blessing in disguise.
At that moment, a confused voice came from above, causing the three to stop in their tracks.
"But Tianxi, you are the direct descendant of the Xuanming Sect and almost certainly will awaken the Xuanming Turtle soul spirit.
The soul skill configuration of the Xuanming Turtle has remained unchanged for over ten thousand years."
The three looked towards the voice and saw a nimble figure jump down from a lush old tree nearby, landing steadily on the ground.
The boy flipped lightly to dissipate momentum and showed what he thought was a handsome smile, waving cheekily: "Hey! What's up, Tianxi? Am I handsome or not?"
Xu Tianxi twitched his eyelid upon seeing the boy's face, then expressionlessly pointed to his hair: "You have leaves stuck on your head. Your hair is messy."
"Ah? I stayed in the tree too long? No wonder my hair's a mess!"
The boy who called himself "bro" looked very young, clearly no older than ten. Hearing his hair was messy, he hurriedly took out a small mirror and comb and began styling himself flamboyantly.
Xu Tianxi sighed as he looked at this guy — this really was his brother, one of the original Shrek Seven Devils, the so-called Eternal Guardian, Xu Sanshi.
His classic record was getting lost at a critical moment, not taking the route through Tongtian Waterway, insisting on sailing the dry path.
He remembered that in the original story, this guy liked to be irritating. Judging by how he looks now, he probably was like this from childhood.
"Third young master, the sudden appearance of the Second Young Master — won't it be bad for you?" Chen Wu warned Xu Tianxi cautiously, trying to stay on good terms.
The Xuanming Sect has a heritage of over ten thousand years, with countless main and branch lines and frequent internal strife. This generation has many descendants. He had heard even the Second Young Master was somewhat unpopular, so he left early for Shrek.
Xu Tianxi gave Chen Wu a sideways glance and helplessly said:
"Xiao Wu, remember, you are different from others. Don't waste your thoughts on pondering these things.
Even if you don't trust Yue Lao's power, do you really distrust my second brother's brains?"
"Looking at him like this, how could he possibly be here to harm me?"
Chen Wu gave a sullen smile at this, while Yue Lao proudly puffed out his chest.
Yue Lao had the cultivation level of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. Although that wasn't particularly impressive within the Xuanming Sect, he was by no means someone a kid like Xu Sanshi could deal with. Just releasing his soul power pressure could immobilize any soul master below the Soul Respect level.
As the three continued walking away, after fixing his hair, Xu Sanshi immediately took several quick strides to catch up. Acting familiar, he pushed Chen Wu aside and got close to Xu Tianxi, eager to gain some recognition from his little brother.
"Come on, Tianxi, now take another look at my hair. Handsome or not?"
"Handsome."
"Heh heh, good eye! Let me tell you, I'm not the same as when I left home a year ago. I'm already a Great Soul Master, with soul power at level twenty-four! I just came back on vacation from Shrek Academy. How cool is that?"
"Cool." Xu Tianxi gave a blank expression but gave a thumbs up, as if teasing a child with a lollipop.
Xu Sanshi couldn't help but grin, repeatedly patting his chest, excitedly boasting about his achievements as if he could talk forever.
"Haha, this past year at Shrek Academy, I've met a lot of powerful talents. But besides one scoundrel named Beibei, none of them are as talented as me. Even those with soul power several levels higher than me aren't a match."
"That Beibei's soul spirit is the so-called strongest offensive beast soul in the world—the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus. But no matter how powerful his Thunder Dragon Claws are, he won't break through my Xuanming Shield Formation!
Heh heh, plus he's a bit older than me. Among all the students in Shrek's outer academy, I'm the youngest and the most talented."
"Second Brother has already made up his mind—once I become a Soul Respect, I'll give myself the nickname 'Eternal Guardian.' By then, I'll be the number one defensive soul master in Shrek's outer academy. What do you think?"
"…I think Beibei probably isn't as talented as you are in being a scoundrel."
"What did you say, Tianxi? I didn't quite catch that." Xu Sanshi narrowed his eyes and gave a friendly smile.
"…I said, that's a good insight, Second Brother," Xu Tianxi responded seriously.
"Haha! Tianxi, you really know how to talk, much more likable than the other siblings. I don't want to see any of those guys."
Xu Sanshi laughed heartily, then generously patted his chest, waving his fist about the size of a sandbag, jumping up and down as he said:
"Your second brother is different now. If anyone dares to bully you, just tell me. I'll flatten their head with the Xuanming Shield!"
"There actually is someone. Will you help me flatten him?" Xu Tianxi casually stepped in front of Xu Sanshi, a playful smirk on his lips.
"Who in the Xuanming Sect dares to disrespect you, my brother? I'll deal with him right now!" Xu Sanshi declared passionately, his eyes burning with conviction.
If the two young masters of Xuanming Sect join forces, even his eldest brother might not be a match!
"That person is Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek Academy. A few days ago, when my mother's first death anniversary hadn't passed yet, he pinned the blame for the Star Dou tragedy on her. That made the old ancestor so angry he beat him up, and I gave him a few good slaps too.
Thinking about it now, it still doesn't feel enough. If you could give him a few more hits to the head, that would be even better."
Xu Tianxi walked ahead, hands behind his back, speaking lightly as if talking about something trivial.
"Cough cough cough… cough cough cough cough!"
A violent coughing fit came from behind. Xu Tianxi stopped and turned around, quickly supporting Xu Sanshi, whose face looked like he'd seen a ghost, eyes wide as eggs, clutching his chest while coughing.
"Second Brother, what's wrong? Could it be your soul power is malfunctioning?"
"Don't call me 'brother'… from now on, you're my brother!"
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