Chapter 48: Trial

At the entrance of the Shi family residence.

Shi Jian, Han Feng, and Yang Hai all looked towards Shi Yan, who stood in front of the earth dragon.

Yang Hai glanced at him, his brows slightly furrowed, thinking that the boy had become much thinner, and must have endured a lot of hardship during this period.

Shi Jian and Han Feng, however, just glanced at Shi Yan, and their eyes immediately lit up, showing expressions of surprise.

Yang Hai, who did not practice martial arts, naturally did not know that a person's body becoming thinner did not necessarily mean they were weak.

Sometimes, a thin body could contain explosive power several times greater than that of a muscular man!

Shi Jian and Han Feng were both experts. Even from a distance, they could see that Shi Yan's body had become much stronger than before, even more robust than the third-generation members of the Shi family who had practiced for over a decade.

The two exchanged glances and saw the same surprise in each other's eyes.

They couldn't understand what had happened to Shi Yan in such a short time, which had even changed his bones.

After a few minutes, Shi Yan and his group finally arrived at the entrance of the Shi family residence.

"Great-grandfather, Uncle Han, Father." Shi Yan walked over steadily and greeted them.

Han Zhong came over, greeted Shi Jian and Han Feng, nodded to Yang Hai, and then stood beside Shi Yan without speaking.

Shi Jian and Han Feng looked at Shi Yan with intense gazes, their eyes constantly scanning his body.

After a long while, Shi Jian's eyelids trembled, and he took a deep breath. "Follow me," he said to Shi Yan. Then, he turned and walked into the inner courtyard of the Shi family, his steps much lighter.

Anyone familiar with Shi Jian could tell that he was very excited at this moment.

"Kid, do well!" Han Zhong winked at Shi Yan, hinting that good times were coming.

Shi Yan remained calm, nodded slightly, and asked Yang Hai, "Father, were you all waiting for me?"

Yang Hai's face was stern, but his lips curved into a strange smile. "No one was specifically waiting for you. We just wanted to see what had happened to your body, to see if you really broke through to the Xiantian realm."

"Han Zhong, come with me, I have something to ask you." Han Feng glanced at Han Zhong and turned to walk in another direction.

Han Zhong's face fell, and he reluctantly followed his elder brother, heading in a different direction from Shi Jian.

"Let's go, don't keep Great-grandfather waiting." Yang Hai muttered, tugging at Shi Yan's sleeve and whispered, "What's going on with you?"

"Great-grandfather will definitely ask about this later. We can talk about it then." Shi Yan smiled, not showing much respect to his father, Yang Hai.

Yang Hai was slightly stunned, staring at him in surprise. "You seem different from before. You used to be straightforward, answering whatever I asked. Now... you don't seem afraid of me anymore? Kid, are you getting too big for your britches, huh?"

"You're my father, why should I be afraid of you?" Shi Yan was taken aback and asked, "Should I be afraid of you?"

"This doesn't seem like you. You never spoke to me in this tone before." Yang Hai frowned, staring at Shi Yan for a while before shaking his head. "Brat, becoming a martial artist really does change a person. You've become much bolder."

"Let's go, don't keep Great-grandfather waiting." Shi Yan smiled.

After parting ways with Han Zhong, Shi Yan quickly disappeared from the entrance of the Shi family residence, heading in a different direction towards the inner courtyard.

The Shi family martial artists gathered at the entrance looked at each other in confusion, whispering in surprise.

"Is the family head waiting for Young Master Yan? Did I misunderstand something?"

"I don't know. I'm also confused. The family head never appeared with Young Master Yan before and never cared about his messy affairs. What's going on this time?"

"Who knows? Did Young Master Yan get into big trouble again? But that doesn't make sense. Didn't his father-in-law always handle his troubles? In the Merchant Alliance, Young Master Yan caused a lot of trouble, but nothing that required the family head to intervene, right?"

"Maybe this time Young Master Yan really got into a huge mess. Who can say?"

...

"Stop gossiping. In the future, you'd better show more respect to Young Master Yan. He's no longer the bookworm he used to be. If you don't know your place, don't blame me when you suffer the consequences." Karl, after arranging the earth dragon, saw the people still discussing and couldn't help but lightly scold them.

"Karl, what's going on? You came back with Young Master Yan. Do you know what's happening?" A martial artist who was friendly with Karl asked in the crowd.

"You'll find out soon." Karl smiled proudly. "Young Master Yan will surprise you all."

"What's going on?"

"What's really happening?"

Their curiosity was piqued, and the gossip fire burned brightly. They surrounded Karl, asking questions non-stop.

"I can't say for now, but you'll find out soon." Karl ignored them, pushing through the crowd and leaving with the other martial artists.

...

At the back of the Shi family residence.

In the center of the large training ground, a rhombus-shaped trial jade crystal shimmered in the sunlight, its surface sparkling with a brilliant and dazzling light, like a miniature sun.

Shi Jian stood beside the trial jade crystal. When Shi Yan and Yang Hai were about to arrive, he reached out and tapped the crystal, and a beam of light shot from his palm into the crystal.

The originally dazzling trial jade crystal suddenly dimmed, revealing its original color.

"Infuse your essence into the trial jade crystal." Shi Jian's eyes glowed, and he commanded in a deep voice.

Shi Yan walked forward calmly, came to the trial jade crystal, and extended his left hand, pressing it against the crystal. The essence in his body flowed out and surged into the crystal.

Silver-white patterns appeared on the trial jade crystal, and a faint orange-yellow light gradually shone from within, becoming brighter and more distinct.

"That's enough." Shi Jian's lips trembled, his eyes fixed on Shi Yan. "I heard that the martial soul of our Shi family... has awakened in you?"

"Um."

"Show me."

"Okay."

Shi Yan extended his hand and rolled up his sleeve a bit.

With a thought, his arm slowly turned to stone, gradually revealing a dark brown color.

"Dark brown!"

Shi Jian and Yang Hai both exclaimed in shock, their faces full of disbelief as they stared at the dark brown section of Shi Yan's exposed arm.

"Is it a lighting issue?" Yang Hai blinked hard, rubbed his eyes, and then looked up at the glaring sunlight. "Am I seeing things?"

Hearing this, Shi Jian also became doubtful and grabbed Shi Yan's arm. "Come! Let's go to the shadow behind the rock. There's no light there, so there won't be any color difference."

Shi Yan didn't resist, following him calmly to the shadow behind a rock.

"Really dark brown!"

Shi Jian shouted, his breathing slightly heavy. His eyes glowed as he stared at Shi Yan intently. "Brat, what's going on? Why is your martial soul dark brown? Could it be... the second stage?"

"That's right, it's the second stage. I'm only at the Xiantian realm, but my martial soul is already in the second stage!"

"Give me a reasonable explanation! In our Shi family, from our ancestors to our generation, this has never happened! Our martial souls never enter the second stage until we reach the Human Rank. You're the first! What happened? What exactly happened to you?!" Shi Jian was almost driven mad.

"Cough, it's like this..." Shi Yan repeated what he had told Han Zhong.

After he finished, he noticed that Shi Jian remained motionless, still staring at him with a strange expression.

"Great-grandfather, what's that look for? I've already explained it."

"You mean three strange crimson fruits awakened your martial soul, made it so peculiar, and also gave you essence, allowing you to rapidly reach the third level of the Xiantian realm?" Shi Jian's expression became even stranger, and he asked, "Just because of three fruits?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Where did those fruits appear? I'll send people to look for more right away."

"They're gone. There were only three, and I searched for a long time afterward but never found any more."

"Brat, are you fooling me?" Shi Jian looked suspicious, clearly not fully believing him.

Of course, I am fooling you.

Shi Yan thought to himself but kept a serious face, affirming, "I really don't know what happened. I ate the fruits, and this is what happened. I don't know why my martial soul is different from others."

He clenched his teeth, sticking to this story.

Shi Jian questioned him several times, using various methods to test him, but he kept shaking his head, insisting he didn't know anything else.

After several attempts, Shi Jian gave up and thought for a while before saying, "Your martial soul has turned dark brown. Um... has its characteristics changed? I mean, your martial soul shouldn't just change color but still be at the first stage, right?"

"If my feeling is correct, it should be at the second stage."

"Let me test it." Shi Jian, being impatient, placed his hand on Shi Yan's chest. "Kid, quickly turn your body to stone! Don't worry, I'll increase the force gradually, so I won't hurt you."

"Okay."

Shi Yan knew Shi Jian wouldn't harm him, so he had no reservations and immediately turned his body to stone, calmly watching Shi Jian's hand.

Gradually, a dark light appeared on Shi Jian's hand, and the power fluctuations within the dark light became more evident, gradually pressing against Shi Yan's chest.

Suddenly, Shi Jian's hand seemed to absorb all the dark light.

Shi Jian's face was full of excitement, and he nodded repeatedly, delighted. "Great! It's indeed the second stage! Brat, I don't know how you did it, but from today on, you're not allowed to be lazy! Whether you like it or not, I will force you to become a martial artist!"