Chapter 22: The Shi Family

In the Shang Alliance, Tianyin City, the Shi Family, inside the Panstone Hall.

Yang Hai, who was somewhat on the plump side, sat upright on the stone slab, squinting his small eyes as he flipped through the pages of the ledger, reporting the recent mining operations to the head of the Shi Family, Shi Jian.

Shi Jian, in his seventies, was still vigorous and had a full head of black hair. As the head of the Shi Family, he wore only a coarse linen robe for practice, sitting majestically on a grayish-brown rock, his expression calm, his eyes sharp and focused, listening intently to Yang Hai.

After Yang Hai had explained the situation, Shi Jian frowned and said, "Hai, the amount of ore mined from the mines in recent months has decreased by a full twenty percent compared to the previous months. What's going on?"

"It's because of the Mo Family and the Ling Family," Yang Hai sighed. "Many skilled miners have been lured away by these two families with high salaries, leaving us short-handed. In the recent covert conflicts with these two families, we have suffered many losses. The miners are afraid that we won't be able to compete with the two families, and since the two families offer higher pay, they have moved to work for them."

"Hmph!" Shi Jian snorted. "These two families are clearly targeting us. Since the marriage between Mo Yan Yu and Ling Shaofeng was finalized, the two families have become increasingly close. In our recent covert conflicts with the Mo Family, the Ling Family has also sent people to intervene. They must have reached a tacit agreement in secret; otherwise, the Mo Family wouldn't stand a chance against us."

"Lord, should we counterattack?" Yang Hai asked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Shi Jian said calmly, pausing for a moment before suddenly frowning and asking, "Has that little rascal Shi Yan not returned yet?"

"No, I was just about to mention this to you," Yang Hai said with a bitter smile. "When that boy left, he said he would go to the Dark Forest. It's been almost a year, and he still hasn't returned. I received news a few days ago that Mo Chaoge and Mo Yan Yu are both in the Dark Forest. Do you think something might have happened to that boy? When he left, he didn't have any powerful family guards with him. Qing'er is my only child, and I'm worried..."

Shi Jian frowned, remaining silent for a while before sighing, "That boy, born without the Shi Family's 'Stone Soul,' and disliking martial arts from a young age, always researching strange things and running around, truly gives me a headache."

"Lord, it's my bloodline that's not good. If I had a 'Soul,' the child Qing'er and I had wouldn't be like this," Yang Hai said shamefully.

"It's all fate," Shi Jian shook his head and said, "Hai, you were picked up from the Endless Sea. Although you are not my biological son, I have always treated you as my own. Otherwise, I wouldn't have arranged for Qing'er to marry you. It's true that you don't have a 'Soul' and don't practice martial arts, but the strategic planning of the Shi Family and the management of the mines, none of these could be done without you. Without you, Shi Jian wouldn't have accumulated so much wealth. Although you are not skilled in martial arts, your contributions to the Shi Family are no less than anyone else's!"

"But now, a peak martial artist is much more valuable than any amount of wealth," Yang Hai said with a self-deprecating smile. "If I had a 'Soul' back then, I would have practiced martial arts diligently. If Yan'er had inherited his mother's 'Stone Soul,' he might have continued to practice, but why is the 'Soul' determined by birth? Sigh..."

Shi Jian nodded, sighed, and said, "It's true, a peak martial artist is indeed more valuable than wealth now. That's a fact."

"Lord, do you think that boy might have run into trouble?" Yang Hai was still worried about the matter.

"He should be fine," Shi Jian thought for a moment and said, "That boy, because he doesn't like martial arts, has never been on the Mo Family's radar. Neither Mo Chaoge nor Mo Yan Yu has ever met him. If they don't recognize him, they won't target him."

"But I still feel something is off. He should have returned by now."

"Alright, I'll have the people stationed in Yujizhen keep an eye out. Yujizhen is close to the Dark Forest. As soon as that boy appears, we'll get the news. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Lord."

"What are you thanking me for? That boy is your son, isn't he also my grandson?" Shi Jian glared and said, "I've told you many times, don't call me Lord. I'm your adoptive father and your father-in-law. You can call me anything, just don't call me Lord."

"Adoptive father, Hai remembers."

"Good."

...

In the Dark Forest, on a quiet night.

On a secluded lawn, Luo Hao stood as still as a mountain, releasing a fivefold gravity field centered on himself, the heavy pressure making it difficult to breathe.

Shi Yan was drenched in sweat, hopping and jumping around Luo Hao, performing evasive and combative movements, his face tense, the veins on his neck trembling like snakes.

In the grass, Mu Yudie was biting a blade of grass, secretly watching.

"Do you think that boy can last how long today?" Di Yalan quietly approached, squatting down next to Mu Yudie, and asked in a low voice.

"Did you complete your task today?" Mu Yudie chuckled, not answering.

"Zhao Xin has taken over. It was really dangerous just now. A silver unicorn snake was coiled around a branch, and I didn't pay attention, almost getting bitten to death. Fortunately, I reacted in time, or I wouldn't have seen you again."

Di Yalan looked fearful, cursing, "We've been encountering more and more beastmen recently. We need to be more careful. In the past three days, we've encountered five groups of beastmen, especially at night when many beastmen are active. Next time you sneak a peek, take me with you, or there might be danger."

"You mainly wanted to say the last part, right?" Mu Yudie smiled lightly.

"Ha, you caught me," Di Yalan said openly, "That boy is really amazing. In the past three days, he has broken his limits each time, becoming more and more resilient. I'm at the third level of the innate realm, and I wouldn't dare to mess around in Luo Uncle's fivefold gravity field. This guy is a madman. He won't stop until he collapses, a madman, a madman!"

"What's most terrifying about him isn't his endurance," Mu Yudie shook her head, her beautiful eyes gleaming.

"Right, his recovery ability is even more insane. I can't believe he only has the first level of the innate realm, yet he has such a terrifying recovery ability," Di Yalan said, puzzled.

"This guy has many secrets... I haven't seen anyone eat as much as he does. In the past three days, he has almost eaten all our food. I'm starting to worry about the food supply. He's a real glutton," Mu Yudie mused, speaking softly.

"Ha." Di Yalan laughed, "This little rascal is really interesting. A casual remark can make people burst out laughing. He has many new and unique ideas that I've never heard of. He talks about how emperors should be elected by the people, how merchants can influence a country, and he can even write sour poems. I can't figure out how a seventeen-year-old can have so many strange ideas in his head."

"Right, this seventeen-year-old looks at us as if he wants to devour us. I've never seen such an open and possessive gaze. This rascal is really bad!" Mu Yudie gritted her teeth, making a chopping motion, "I'll make him know my power sooner or later!"

"Wait until your 'Soul' recovers. Ha, what's the big deal? It's not like he'll take a piece of flesh. Zhao Xin and Hu Long only dare to sneak a peek at my backside when I'm not looking. I despise those cowards. Compared to them, that boy is much braver. I like that," Di Yalan laughed boldly.

"Are you getting carried away?" Mu Yudie sneered, "He's still a kid. Don't try to seduce him."

"Have you ever seen a kid with that kind of gaze?" Di Yalan asked in a low voice, "I suspect he's actually older than he looks. He might be using some secret method to appear younger. He's deliberately pretending to be young! Maybe it's some kind of hidden special 'Soul'..."

"That makes sense. We need to pay more attention," Mu Yudie mused, nodding slowly.

...

"Thud!"

Shi Yan spread his limbs and fell backward, exhausted, his voice hoarse, "How many laps?"

"Fifteen laps," Luo Hao said with a complex expression, "During these fifteen laps, you continuously performed jumping, falling, and rolling movements, which increased the pressure you had to bear several times. Boy, can you really... handle it?"

"Cough, cough, whether I can handle it or not, I'll know tomorrow," Shi Yan found it difficult to speak.

In the past three days, whenever he had free time during the day, he secretly practiced "Rampage."

Through his hard training, he could now release negative energy from the acupoints in his chest and waist, making his entire body appear much thinner.

He had almost refined every part of his body, except for the brain, which was the hardest to cultivate...

At night, he would pester Luo Hao to activate the fivefold gravity field, using the immense pressure to intensely train himself.

In just three short days, he had broken his limit of eleven laps to fifteen laps, and during the running, he actively increased the difficulty by performing more physically demanding actions such as jumping, dodging, and striking.

In this high-intensity training, he clearly felt his strength increase significantly, his limbs, bones, muscles, and internal organs becoming much stronger. Every morning, when he woke up from his training, in the normal gravity field, he could easily jump several meters into the air, feeling a surge of explosive power, and his agility had greatly improved.

Because of these tangible benefits, he continuously increased the difficulty, pushing himself to the brink of madness, using the most brutal and intense methods to train his body, significantly enhancing his physical abilities, and even accelerating the speed of his essence cultivation.

"Roar! Roar!" A strange sound suddenly came from the outer area.

Luo Hao's face changed, and he exclaimed, "That's the sound of a fourth-level beastman, the 'Fire Cloud Serpent'! The 'Fire Cloud Serpent' is very dangerous, but it usually doesn't come out at night. Someone must have disturbed it!"

"Uncle Luo!" Zhao Xin and Hu Long rushed over, their faces full of urgency.

"What's going on?" Luo Hao demanded.

"A group of martial artists is hunting the 'Fire Cloud Serpent.' The 'Fire Cloud Serpent' is heading our way, and the martial artists are still in hot pursuit. The 'Fire Cloud Serpent' has been completely enraged," Zhao Xin said urgently.

"Trouble!" Luo Hao quickly took the broadsword from his shoulder and said, "Protect Little Yudie!" With that, he suddenly rushed out.

Shi Yan, despite his aching body, suddenly sat up, silently gathering his essence, his eyes sharp and focused, calmly watching the direction Luo Hao had rushed off to.

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