Xu Xiaoyun's words hung in the air, and for a moment, the secret chamber was silent—until Xu Fu's hesitant voice broke through:
"But Great-Grandfather… after all, we are from the Heavenly Soul Empire. This…"
Xu Xiaoyun fixed his gaze on Xu Fu and calmly cut him off:
"You are from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Tianxi is not. Half his blood comes from the Sun Moon Empire.
In the Heavenly Soul Empire, he's a Heavenly Soul citizen. In the Sun Moon Empire, he's one of theirs. What's the problem?
If your junior sister's family hadn't been exiled by the former emperor, they'd still be in the Sun Moon royal genealogies today. And you? You're not even from the Heavenly Soul royal line—so what are you worrying about?"
Xu Fu was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"You're right…"
Xu Xiaoyun gave a light snort, then sighed faintly:
"Don't think I'm being harsh. Your legal wife is a princess of the Dou Ling Empire, isn't she? A few years ago, you even took Sanshi to visit her kin. And what happened?
That royal family of Dou Ling, so full of themselves because of their noble bloodline—did they ever treat the Xu Clan with real respect?
Sure, they don't know I'm still alive, nor do they fully understand the power of our Xuanming Sect.
But you're the head of the Xu Clan. You represent our face and dignity. How can we allow others to trample on us like that?
If noble blood were truly useful, then how did their Xue family lose half their territory to rebels? Even Heaven Dou City slipped from their grasp!
So tell me, why should we keep flattering them, giving our all for a bunch of fools who look down on us? Just maintaining basic ties is more than enough."
Hearing this, Xu Fu bowed respectfully, a serious expression on his face.
"I understand."
For the Xuanming Sect, the interests of the sect always came before everything else.
"One more thing. Tianxi just lost his mother and passed out crying. He's not in a good state of mind right now. Since Sanshi is coming back from Shrek soon, have him visit Tianxi when he gets the chance. They're both young—they'll talk more easily."
"Understood, I'll remember."
Half a month later, the sky cleared.
Xu Tianxi walked out from the towering Library Pavilion alongside Elder Yue and Chen Wu. Sunlight bathed his youthful face as he smiled faintly. Elder Yue followed respectfully, while Chen Wu yawned wide, looking like he'd lost his will to live.
"Young Master, you don't have to work this hard to become a Spirit Master, do you? We've been living in the library for half a month—too much, don't you think?"
Half a month ago, as soon as he woke up, Xu Tianxi insisted on coming to the Library Pavilion. As his personal attendant, Chen Wu naturally had to follow. But the boy was still just six years old. Staying indoors for half a month straight had nearly driven him mad.
"Books are good things. You should read more yourself," Xu Tianxi said, patting Chen Wu's shoulder with a grin.
In a new environment, understanding the lay of the land came first. With over ten thousand years of history, Xuanming Sect's archives were vast—perfect for gathering intel.
He could barely remember the original plot of the novel, and his knowledge of martial souls and spirit beasts was spotty at best. Even his predecessor's memories offered little help.
After two intense weeks of study, he now had a decent grasp of Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, Mingde Hall, and other top-tier forces on the continent. He'd even picked up knowledge about some martial souls and spirit beasts.
Whether it was a perk of transmigration or not, he found he had a photographic memory. After asking Elder Yue, he learned this was a sign of strong spiritual power.
"Besides, if you can't even identify a spirit beast's species or age, how are you going to find the right one to hunt later? Don't you agree, Elder Yue?"
He educated Chen Wu with a sentence, then turned to Elder Yue with a smile.
"Young Master is absolutely right," Elder Yue replied with a pleased grin, looking more and more satisfied with Xu Tianxi.
Since the Lady's passing, the young master had become far more composed. The emotional trauma had even strengthened his spirit power—a blessing in disguise.
Just then, a curious voice called down from above, making the three of them halt.
"But Tianxi, as a direct descendant of the Xuanming Sect, you're practically guaranteed to awaken the Xuanming Turtle martial soul.
And the Xuanming Turtle's soul skill path hasn't changed in over ten thousand years."
They looked up to see a nimble figure leap down from a tall, leafy tree and land smoothly before them.
The boy flipped in midair and landed cleanly, flashing a grin he clearly thought was charming. With a cheeky wave, he called out:
"Yo! Tianxi! How's that? Doesn't your big bro look cool?"
Xu Tianxi's eyelid twitched slightly when he saw the newcomer. With a blank face, he pointed at the boy's head.
"You've got leaves in your hair. Your hairstyle's a mess."
"What?! All that time in the tree messed up my style?"
The self-proclaimed "big bro" couldn't be older than ten. Hearing his hair was ruined, he panicked, pulling out a mirror and comb to fuss over his looks like a diva.
Xu Tianxi sighed as he watched him.
This guy really is my brother… Xu Sanshi—the future member of the Seven Monsters of Shrek, bearer of the title "Eternal Defense."
Classic achievement? Taking the wrong route at a crucial moment—choosing to travel by land instead of the direct waterway.
In the original story, he remembered this guy always acted like a clown. From the looks of things, that hadn't changed since childhood.
"Young Master, this Second Young Master showed up out of nowhere. Could he be up to something?" Chen Wu whispered nervously.
In a sect with ten thousand years of history, internal conflicts were inevitable. The main and branch lineages were too numerous to count. Word was that even the Second Young Master was unpopular—that's why he was sent to Shrek so early.
Xu Tianxi gave Chen Wu a sideways glance and sighed.
"Listen, Xiao Wu—you're not like the others. Don't waste your energy on this kind of scheming.
Even if you don't trust Elder Yue's strength, surely you trust my second brother's brain, right?"
"With how he acts… you really think he's capable of harming me?"
Chen Wu scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, while Elder Yue puffed out his chest with pride.
With six spirit rings, he was a Spirit Emperor. While that didn't mean much in the Xuanming Sect, it was more than enough to suppress a kid like Xu Sanshi—just a bit of soul pressure would be enough.
As they walked on, Xu Sanshi finally fixed his hair and darted up beside them, casually shoving Chen Wu aside and wrapping an arm around Xu Tianxi's shoulder.
"Hey hey hey! Tianxi, now check out my hairstyle—handsome or not?"
"Handsome."
"Knew you had taste! Let me tell you—I'm not the same guy who left a year ago. I'm a Grandmaster now, with 24th-ranked soul power! Just came back from Shrek on break. Impressed?"
"Very," Xu Tianxi replied flatly, giving a thumbs-up like he was humoring a child with candy.
Xu Sanshi grinned ear to ear, thumping his chest and launching into an endless stream of battle stories.
"Hahaha! I met tons of talented people at Shrek this year. But aside from this guy Beibei—what a jerk—no one else could match me!
Some had way more soul power than me, but they still weren't my match. That Beibei guy uses the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, supposedly the strongest beast-type assault martial soul—but even his thunderclaw couldn't break through my Xuanming Shield Formation!
He's a bit older than me too. In all of Shrek's outer court, I'm the youngest and the most talented!"
"I've already decided—once I become a Soul Elder, I'm giving myself the title 'Eternal Defense.' Then I'll be the number one defense-type soul master in Shrek's outer court! What do you think?"
"... I think this Beibei guy probably can't match you in shamelessness either."
"What'd you say, Tianxi? I didn't catch that."
"I said… wise words, Second Brother."
"Hahaha! That's why I like you—so much more sensible than those other siblings. Can't stand any of them!"
Xu Sanshi burst out laughing and gave his chest another proud thump, waving his massive fists around like oversized dumplings.
"I've changed, little bro! If anyone ever bullies you, just tell me—I'll use my Xuanming Shield to smash their head flat!"
"Well, there is one guy. Want to help me smash him?" Xu Tianxi strolled ahead, the corners of his lips curling into a playful smirk.
"Who dares disrespect you, our Xu brothers?! I'll go deal with him right now!" Xu Sanshi's fighting spirit ignited.
The two great young masters of Xuanming Sect—united, even their eldest brother would have a hard time.
"It's the Dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe. Just a few days ago, during the seven-day mourning for my mother, he blamed her for the catastrophe in Star Dou Forest. Enraged, the Old Ancestor beat him up. I slapped him a few times too.
Still doesn't feel like enough. If you could help me bash his head a few more times, that'd be great."
Xu Tianxi walked leisurely forward, his tone light—like he was describing a minor chore.
"Cough—cough cough cough!!"
The sound of Xu Sanshi violently choking echoed behind him. Turning back, Xu Tianxi saw him clutching his chest and coughing like he'd seen a ghost. He rushed to his brother's side.
"Second Brother, what's wrong? Did your soul power go haywire?"
"Don't call me 'brother'... From now on, you're my big brother!"