Shen Liqian became the Clan Chief, so now he occupied a vast room on the manor's first floor.
The entire floor was his, so he had a lot of private space.
Sadly, none of it was furnished.
Having so much space to himself felt awkward.
This doesn't feel like me yet.
After all, he hadn't lived an extravagant, wealthy life in either of his lives…
All the adrenaline had worn off, making him realize how much he had progressed in such a short time.
Zhiyin was back on his lap, enjoying her spot.
He absently scratched her head, eliciting soft meows.
"Ah…"
Shen Liqian realized he had been playing with a Primordial Empress in disguise.
Zhiyin sensed his awkward mood and looked up at him.
"Continue," she mewled.
Shen Liqian smiled.
"Yeah."
He could tell that she had noticed his feelings.
It wasn't that reality hadn't sunk in.
Shen Liqian needed time to sort out his feelings and thoughts so he could continue on his path.
There was also an important matter he needed to discuss with Zhiyin.
Could there be a better time for that?
He drew a steady breath.
Shen Liqian said, "I want to talk about cultivation paths."
Zhiyin's crimson eyes gleamed in the darkness.
She rose from his lap, then leaped down to face him.
"Purrfect," she replied.
She's really enjoying her retirement as a cat.
Shen Liqian chuckled.
"I've cultivated the Cosmic Asura Hydra's bloodline, beginning body cultivation.
"There are three more cultivation paths: Spirit, Dantian, and Intent.
"I want to begin cultivating those paths after my meeting tomorrow, but do it in my own way."
"Your own way?" Zhiyin asked.
Shen Liqian summoned his Spirit Seal Sword from his Storage Ring, clutching its sheath.
He put it between himself and Zhiyin.
"Twelve Spiritual Roots match the name of my body cultivation.
"So I want to turn each Spiritual Root into the one of the Hydra's heads.
"My first Spiritual Root after I consume the Spirit Lotus will be the Seal Sword Hydra."
In other words, Shen Liqian wanted to turn his Spirit Seal Sword into his first Spiritual Root with the Spirit Lotus's help and cultivate it into his first Hydra.
The idea matched his potential.
One question rose to Zhiyin's lips.
"What makes you believe you can achieve something like that?"
"A fair question."
Shen Liqian smiled faintly.
"I don't even know if that is possible.
"But I am at the first stage of the cultivation path and therefore can sever my cultivation as many times as I want.
"With the bloodline alone, I stand at the apex of my clan.
"I also want to learn more about all cultivation paths on my own and ask you only for guidance, not to have you lay out a path for me to follow.
"It's my own path that I want to pave.
"It also won't hurt to try… I mean, it will hurt a lot, but my cultivation path was never meant to be harmless anyway.
"It all matches my view of the Cosmic Asura Hydra I learned from the Heart Demon."
His words impressed Zhiyin.
Anyone with the guidance of a Primordial Emperor would gladly surrender themselves and follow all their instructions.
But not Shen Liqian.
Here he told her that he wanted to pave his own path and only leverage her thousand-year-old knowledge and experience.
Zhiyin smiled.
"You're not putting my surname to shame.
"I will teach you all I know about cultivation until the third stage realm, which is more than enough since you won't understand anything more advanced at your current level.
Warmth filled his chest.
"Currently, I only know one way to sheathe your Spirit Seal Sword within your Sea of Consciousness.
"It should help with your idea.
"As for the rest, you must comprehend that on your own."
Shen Liqian was all smiles upon hearing her.
He caught her and lifted her.
"I thought you would be mad at me!"
Zhiyin arched her head proudly.
"Mad?
"You're trying something new that I haven't seen before.
"I am as excited as you are."
She believes I can do this.
It was now Shen Liqian's turn to be stirred by Zhiyin's words.
He cuddled her to his chest and rubbed his nose against her soft, fluffy head.
She mewled in response to his show of affection and scratched his chest.
No damage at all.
"You're the best, Zhiyin!"
"That I am."
This time, she could only reply.
She couldn't arch her head back as usual to show her pride.
———
A few minutes later, Shen Liqian was urged by Zhiyin to check his system.
"You may have already received the second main quest.
"Besides that, now that you are the Clan Chief, you must have access to your clan's statistics."
Shen Liqian nodded.
This much information should help him with tomorrow's meetings.
He opened his system, and a new system window flashed before him.
[You have received the second main quest—Conquer the Crown-forged Eight Mountains.]
[Objective: Develop your clan enough to be able to conquer all eight mountains keeping you and your clan captive.]
[Reward: Cosmic Qi Pellet.]
Eight mountains… all right, then.
Shen Liqian and Zhiyin's eyes gleamed in the darkness.
The two of them looked at each other.
"Cool, right?"
"The reward is indeed generous.
"The system is staying true to its declaration and is giving you rewards that will significantly impact your cultivation methods.
"But to think that there was so much to those mountains that they became your second main quest.
"Intriguing."
Shen Liqian agreed with her.
Perhaps there was more to his clan than met the eye, but those mountains surely hosted beasts and secrets that could significantly improve his clan's future.
He looked forward to it all.
He then opened the second system window.
[Shen Clan's Information]
[Population: 2316(48% males, 52% female)]
Shen Liqian's eyes settled on the population number.
Theoretically, if I'm able to spin the wheel two thousand times, won't we drown in riches?
I must be careful… but it sounds like a damn great idea!