Chapter 45: Changes

As soon as Xiao Fengxian left, Han Zhong's demeanor became much more relaxed. He tidied up his clothes slightly, sat down opposite the stone table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then said, "Young Master Yan, where are your guards?"

"They're all dead," Shi Yan said casually, his face showing no signs of distress. "The beasts in the Dark Forest suddenly went mad, chasing and killing martial artists. To protect me, they... all sacrificed themselves."

Han Zhong looked at him with surprise and a peculiar expression. "I have some understanding of the situation there. It's already a stroke of luck that Young Master Yan managed to escape."

He had already received news of the enraged Thunder-Winged Silver Wolf. He had thought that he wouldn't be able to wait for Shi Yan and had planned to return in half a month to report. He never expected that Shi Yan would now walk out of the Dark Forest so nonchalantly.

The situation in the Dark Forest was so chaotic that even some martial artists with insufficient cultivation had lost their lives. For Shi Yan, a bookworm, to have survived was indeed quite unbelievable, and he couldn't help but be amazed.

Han Zhong had never been particularly fond of the original owner of Shi Yan's body. That person, due to his lack of martial cultivation and overly rigid personality, had always been a marginal figure in the Shi family, not to Han Zhong's taste.

If it weren't for the fact that he happened to be handling matters in this area and received Shi Jian's order, he wouldn't have come to wait for Shi Yan at all.

"Yes, my luck was indeed good," Shi Yan nodded with a smile, his demeanor calm. "Uncle Han, when are we leaving to return to the family?"

"That depends on Young Master Yan. I would like to leave immediately. I have some matters to report to the family head in person. If not for waiting for Young Master Yan, I would have returned long ago," Han Zhong replied, a bit taken aback.

As he spoke, Han Zhong couldn't help but scrutinize Shi Yan carefully. He hadn't paid much attention before, but now he gradually noticed some changes...

Shi Yan's body was now slimmer than before, his once round face now more angular, exuding a sense of resilience and determination.

Sitting there naturally, Shi Yan's back was straight, his body like a sharp sword, giving off a sharp and piercing impression.

—This was just the change in appearance.

In the past, Shi Yan only showed some spirit when investigating ancient texts and relics, usually looking listless and dispirited.

But now, Shi Yan's eyes were deep and occasionally flashed with a strange light, as if he was always thinking about something, giving the impression that nothing could escape his notice.

"Uncle Han, I have a question," Shi Yan said calmly under Han Zhong's gaze. "The Stone Forest seems much calmer. Do you know why?"

"Oh, that's because someone from the Beiming family went there. It's said that the Beiming family is picking someone up in the Stone Forest. When those people heard that the Beiming family was coming, they all fled in fear."

"Who from the Beiming family?" Shi Yan had a vague idea.

"It's Beiming Ce."

Han Zhong answered, then suddenly cursed, "I heard that the kid broke through to the Hundred Tribulations realm half a year ago. Damn, he's only twenty-five! And he has a dual martial soul, truly insane! I'm forty-five and only at the Second Heaven of the Hundred Tribulations realm. Is this even fair?"

Twenty-five, First Heaven of the Hundred Tribulations realm, dual martial soul...

Shi Yan's face darkened, suddenly realizing that this Beiming Ce was probably the "noble" Mu Yudie wanted to introduce him to.

For someone so young to have such talent and realm, and with the backing of the Beiming family, the first family of the Merchant Alliance, it was no wonder Mu Yudie and Di Yalan made that decision.

His eyes flashed with a cold light, and Shi Yan remained silent, inwardly sneering: Twenty-five, Hundred Tribulations realm, dual martial soul, so impressive?

Not necessarily!

He had broken through from the First Heaven of the Later Heaven realm to the Third Heaven of the Innate realm in just two months!

Not only did he have the Stone Transformation and Immortal martial souls, but also a more sinister and mysterious martial soul. In comparison, he suddenly realized he was even more terrifying than Beiming Ce.

Time, I just need some time, and I can definitely surpass Beiming Ce! Shi Yan thought to himself.

"Young Master Yan, do you have essence energy in your body?"

Han Zhong's eyes suddenly lit up, staring intently at Shi Yan. "I can sense that essence energy flowing in your body... and it's quite substantial! Young Master Yan, what's going on?"

Shi Yan took a deep breath, suppressing a hint of resentment. "Yes, I do have essence energy in my body. I am now a martial artist."

"What realm?" Han Zhong asked urgently.

"Innate."

"Ah!"

...

In the Merchant Alliance, Tianyin City, the Shi family's training ground.

The Shi family's training ground covered several acres, with many ancient trees and various unique rocks transplanted.

Inside the training ground, there were specially designated areas of mud, sand, and water pools, as well as wooden houses...

Everywhere were obstacles, creating a complex and varied environment for the Shi family's young men to engage in practical combat training in different terrains.

Here, the Shi family's young men could learn to adapt to various environments and become familiar with combat techniques in all terrains.

At the center of the training ground, a large rhombus-shaped testing jade crystal was placed. The third-generation members of the Shi family lined up to approach the jade crystal, placing their hands on it to release essence energy to determine their exact cultivation realm.

"Shi Tianluo, twenty-one years old, Second Heaven of the Later Heaven realm!"

"Shi Tianshao, twenty-five years old, First Heaven of the Innate realm!"

"Shi Tianling, twenty-seven years old, Third Heaven of the Later Heaven realm!"

"Shi Tianke, twenty years old, Second Heaven of the Innate realm!"

"Shi Tianyun, nineteen years old, Third Heaven of the Innate realm!"

"..."

Han Feng squinted, standing beside the testing jade crystal. Whenever a Shi family member finished releasing their essence energy and left, he would loudly announce the results.

As Han Feng spoke, the expressions of the second and third-generation elders of the Shi family varied, some pleased, others dejected.

"Second Brother, your Yun kid is really striving. He's broken through another level," Shi Kuo said with a hint of envy. "Tianke, that little brat, has been slacking off lately. I'll have to give him a talking to!"

"Third Brother, Tianke has been working hard. I've seen him practicing in the gravity room late at night. Don't put too much pressure on him, or it might backfire," Shi Gang advised.

"Tianyun, keep it up and aim to reach the Human Rank realm soon," Shi Tie said, his voice booming with pride.

Shi Tie and Shi Jian were brothers, Shi Gang and Shi Kuo were his sons, and Shi Tianyun was his grandson. Seeing Shi Tianyun's efforts, he was naturally pleased.

The position of the family head in the Shi family was determined by cultivation realm. He had lost to his older brother Shi Jian in the past, feeling somewhat resentful. He hoped that his grandson Shi Tianyun would outshine Shi Tianshao, Shi Jian's grandson.

The Stone Transformation martial soul in the Shi family was somewhat special. Most of the time, only the first two children of a couple would inherit the martial soul.

The third child almost never inherited it.

Because of this, each family in the Shi clan generally only had two children.

Even the family head Shi Jian only had two children—Shi Dang and Shi Qing.

Shi Dang had one daughter and one son, Shi Tianling and Shi Tianshao, respectively.

Shi Qing and Yang Hai had a son, Shi Yan.

Thus, Shi Tianling, Shi Tianshao, and Shi Yan were Shi Jian's grandsons, while Shi Tianyun, Shi Tianluo, and Shi Tianke were Shi Tie's grandsons.

The brothers and sisters of the Shi family had a good relationship, all working together for the family's strength.

However, even with a good relationship, there was still a sense of competition. For example, Shi Tie, having lost to his older brother Shi Jian in the past, always wanted to win back some face through his descendants.

In the generation of his sons, Shi Dang was too strong, firmly outshining his sons Shi Gang and Shi Kuo, so he had long given up on that.

Fortunately, his grandsons were striving. Shi Tianyun and Shi Tianke were both slightly stronger than Shi Tianshao, so he often felt proud during their testing, though without any ill will.

Yang Hai and Shi Dang stood together, discussing the recent mine situation in a low voice. Hearing Shi Tie's exclamation, Shi Dang chuckled, "Uncle Two has found another chance to show off." He paused, then glanced at Shi Tianshao and scolded, "You brat, you're just embarrassing me."

"Uh, I'm not the worst..." Shi Tianshao缩了缩头，摆出一副可怜兮兮的样子。

他这么一说，杨海脸上的笑容就苦了，对石砀叹道：“比起我家那混蛋，你就知足吧，天啸至少还是武者，可石岩那兔崽子整天就知道在外面瞎折腾，现在都没回来，不知道这一趟又会给我带来多少麻烦呢。”

“哈，这倒也是。”石砀一下子好过了不少。

……

训练场内，满是石家的嫡系子孙，叽叽喳喳的好不热闹。

就在此时，一只苍鹰从天而降，落在了家主石坚的肩膀上。

石坚从苍鹰的脚上取下一个绑着的灰色锦囊，取出其中的信笺，随意地拆开来，皱着眉头阅读上面的内容。

在场的都不是外人，他倒也没避讳什么。

“咦！”

才看一眼，石坚便忍不住惊呼一声，脸上满是不敢置信的惊诧。

场内的众人，一愣之后，全部安静了下来，纷纷望向家主石坚，心中都觉得有些奇怪，奇怪石坚因何事情这么失态。

“大哥，什么情况？”石铁皱着眉头，嚷嚷道：“不会是墨家又开始作乱了吧？妈的，看来我们不给他们来一下狠的，他们是不会长记性了！”

“不是。”石坚放下信笺，双眸中神采飞扬，脸上满是惊奇，道：“韩钟找到石岩那小子了。”

“那混蛋怎么样？”杨海一听，终于放下心来，一脸凶狠地问道，一副要和石岩算账的模样。

“那小子，成为武者了……”石坚神色诡异，嘴角抽搐了一下，似乎在强压着心中的喜悦。

“咦？”石铁忍不住呼叫起来：“都十七岁了，他怎么突然想起来修炼了？”

顿了一下，他轻轻一叹，真心地为石岩惋惜：“哎，可惜太迟了，十七岁才修炼，这辈子估计也没有大的发展了，这臭小子，早干什么去了？他要是从小修炼，就算是没有我石家的武魂，现在至少也能够迈入先天二重天、三重天之境了。”

“那小子，现在在先天三重天之境！”石坚双眸精光乍现，掷地有声道。

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"Uh, I'm not the worst..." Shi Tianshao缩了缩头，摆出一副可怜兮兮的样子。

He said this, and Yang Hai's smile turned bitter. He sighed to Shi Dang, "Compared to my brat, you should be grateful. At least Tianshao is a martial artist. Shi Yan, that little rascal, just causes trouble outside all day and hasn't returned yet. I don't know how much trouble he'll bring me this time."

"Ha, that's true," Shi Dang felt much better.

...

Inside the training ground, the direct descendants of the Shi family were chattering noisily.

At that moment, a hawk descended from the sky and landed on the shoulder of the family head, Shi Jian.

Shi Jian took a gray brocade pouch from the hawk's foot, removed the letter inside, and casually opened it, frowning as he read the contents.

Since no one present was an outsider, he didn't hide anything.

"Hey!"

After just one glance, Shi Jian couldn't help but exclaim, his face full of disbelief and surprise.

Everyone in the field, after a moment of shock, fell silent, all looking at the family head Shi Jian, wondering what could have caused such a reaction.

"Brother, what's the matter?" Shi Tie frowned, shouting, "It's not the Mo family causing trouble again, is it? Damn, it looks like we need to give them a good lesson to make them remember!"

"It's not that," Shi Jian put down the letter, his eyes sparkling with excitement and his face full of surprise. "Han Zhong has found that boy, Shi Yan."

"What about that rascal?" Yang Hai asked, finally feeling relieved, his face fierce as if ready to settle accounts with Shi Yan.

"That boy has become a martial artist..." Shi Jian's expression was strange, his lips twitching as if trying to suppress his joy.

"Hey?" Shi Tie couldn't help but exclaim, "He's already seventeen. How did he suddenly start practicing?"

After a pause, he sighed, genuinely feeling sorry for Shi Yan. "Alas, it's too late. Starting at seventeen, he probably won't have much development in his life. What was that brat doing all this time? If he had started practicing from a young age, even without our family's martial soul, he could have at least reached the Second or Third Heaven of the Innate realm by now."

"That boy is now at the Third Heaven of the Innate realm!" Shi Jian's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said firmly.

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