Returning home, Ren Qianyue had already prepared lunch, and the family sat down together to eat.
Tianhu and Tianyue told their mother about what they learned excitedly.
Looking at his family, Shu Yang started thinking about their future.
'There is no problem with Tianhu and Tianan. Learning the Shu martial art at home and getting a basic education from me and Qianyue is enough to make them reach their potential. They can make their own decisions once they grow up.'
'But Tianyue is a bit extraordinary. She has the talent of Clear mind, and it feels like a bit of a waste of her talents not to arrange something more for her.'
'The problem is that there is no money.'
Shu Yang had thought a lot about how to manage the family's income. So far, he had saved every little bit in order to buy more land. That was undoubtedly the safest and most stable way to gradually increase their yearly income.
The problem was that it would cause his children some suffering.
They could practice martial arts just fine relying on the Shu art and eating plenty of food, but it would undoubtedly be a lot more effective if he spent some money on purchasing martial arts resources for them.
But it was just so expensive. Just the blood and qi nourishing pills cost a lot of money, and those only sped up the process of practicing; they couldn't help you build a more solid foundation or help you break through bottlenecks.
If he wanted something better, he would only afford to support one child.
Even if Tianren was the most talented, Shu Yang felt it would be unfair to his other children.
Besides, if he spent all his money on that, the family would never increase their income. There would come a point when they couldn't afford to support him anymore.
But then again, if Tianren could advance to the Innate stage at a fairly young age. The County would probably give him an important position, and it wouldn't surprise Shu Yang if they threw in a couple of hundred acres of land just to make him happy.
This was a world where strength and wealth were inseparable. You can't be too rich if you don't have the strength, but you also won't find yourself poor if you have the strength.
It could very well be a better plan to put his all into raising Tianren. But that plan came with more risks.
'It's best to develop slowly and steadily. There is no need for risks when I have the Bloodline Tree.'
'But Tianyue…It should be alright to spoil your daughter a little, right?'
'Well, she's still young. I'll talk to Qianyue about it in the future.'
After eating together, Qianyue looked after the children as they wrote down the 100 Shu family characters.
It was something Shu Yang had prepared when Tianren was still a baby. Having already decided on the generational characters for the coming 100 generations of his family, Shu Yang took it a step further and attached a small bit of knowledge pertaining to each character. It was Shu Yang's plan to have each child memorize these characters in the future.
While Qianyue and the children got busy, Shu Yang headed out. But he didn't go back to the fields; he headed over to Chunsi Town.
It had been a while since he visited his friend Zhou Zhangye.
As he entered town, he noticed that there were a lot of people running around the streets, seemingly headed to the north side of town with curious expressions.
Shu Yang stopped an old man, who was walking with an 8-year-old kid, and asked him what all the fuss was about.
"You haven't heard? Liang Huang has returned from Kuo City and has become a 1st-grade martial warrior. He is going to open up a martial arts school, and today is the first day to register. It's said that if you are talented enough, you can train there free of expenses."
'Liang Huang? From the Liang family?'
Shu Yang was surprised. He usually stayed at home and didn't socialize much, so he had no idea that the eldest son of the Liang family was so talented. He only knew he was a 2nd-grade warrior at a martial arts school in Kuo City.
'Instead of staying over there to train, he comes back home as soon as he advanced. I hope this doesn't make the Liang family start acting up.'
The Liang family was arrogant, but they followed the rules on the surface.
But now that they had a 1st-grade martial warrior so close to home, it wasn't a sure thing that they wouldn't start acting more unscrupulous.
'I should visit Zhangye more often to ask about these things. I'm not strong enough to ignore the surrounding area yet.'
Shu Yang wasn't interested in taking part in the commotion, so he headed to Zhuo Zhangye's place.
"Shu Yang! It's been a while. Come on inside," Zuo Zhangye said with a smile when he saw it was Shu Yang outside the gate.
"How are the kids? It's been a year since I last visited. Do those brats still remember they have an uncle?"
"How could they forget you so easily?" Shu Yang said with a smile, "They all wanted to come along to visit, but I thought they were still too young to travel so far. I'll come over with Tianren and Tianhu in a year or two."
"Sounds good," Zhuo Zhangye said.
The two sat down in the courtyard, and Zhangye poured up some tea.
"Here," Zhangye said, offering a piece of paper, "I still can't read so many characters, so I'm not sure, but it should be a list of the books you need."
"Thank you," Shu Yang said, taking the paper and looking it over.
He had asked Zhangye to see if he could find out what kind of books you would need to pass the Royal Exam.
Shu Yang could teach his children a lot of things, but when it came to knowledge specific to this world, he was quite useless. If a child of his wanted to take the exam to become an Official in the future, he would need to prepare some material for them to study.
"These are just the basics, by the way," Zhangye added, "At least that's what I was told. And you won't find most of these for sale in Chunsi. Only the bookstores in the Kuo City would have everything you need."
'That's…quite a challenge. Books aren't exactly cheap either.' Shu Yang thought.
'Forget it. It seems this isn't something I can make happen for now. But I should put away a few coins of silver. Knowledge can't wait too long. I would also benefit a lot from learning more about this world.'
"As for the other thing you asked me to find out about," Zhangye began, "There might be something."
"Oh? What have you found out?" Shu Yang asked excitedly. This was far more important than some Royal exam.
"It's nothing clear, but my senior brother in the Tiger Claw Hall heard about something from a friend who did business over in the Kuo City…"
Zhuo Zhangye had a small smile on his face and leaned in and continued to speak in a low voice.
"Apparently, there is a rumor that the Emperor of Qing is an Immortal."
"He is?" Shu Yang asked. Ever since he remembered his past life, Shu Yang had wondered if this was a world where cultivating immortality was possible.
Considering the mysterious nature of his Bloodline Tree, he didn't think martial arts was all there was.
But other than a few old stories that sounded like pure fiction, Shu Yang had never heard anything about cultivation or Immortals.
At least in the Yan Kingdom, there didn't seem to be any Immortal cultivators.
But Shu Yang didn't have many channels to receive information, so he had asked his friend if he could find out anything about it.
"That's what he said," Zhangye said, "But it is just a rumor, I wouldn't take it seriously. If there actually were immortals, I don't think it's something we could come into contact with. If they do exist, they have to be in the Land Beyond the Mountains."
'The Land Beyond the Mountains.' Shu Yang had heard this term before. It was where all the fantastical stories he had come across took place. But Shu Yang had never heard of it being an actual location. It was probably just a way of describing a faraway land.
"Well, thank you for asking for me," Shu Yang said.
"No problem. Anyway, it would be better for us to take a look for ourselves in the future, right? A true martial artist shouldn't rely on rumors." Zhangye said.
"You want to go to the Land Beyond the Mountains?" Shu Yang asked with a smile.
"Haha," Zhengye laughed, "If I walk long enough, I'm sure I'll get there eventually. But it might be fun to start with something more realistic, like going into the Black Beast Mountains. Or perhaps go to the Qing Empire and take a look for myself if this Emperor really is an Immortal or not."
Shu Yang couldn't deny that it sounded exciting.
'I'll see all there is to see in this world one day.'
"What do you say? When I reach the 2nd-grade warrior stage, we could travel together like we always talked about." Zhengye suggested.
"I don't think I can get away before my children have grown up," Shu Yang said with a smile, "And didn't you tell your parents that you would start a family when you advanced?"
"Well…" Zhengye looked a little conflicted. He had always been restless, and the idea of settling down already filled him with dread.
"Well, no point in worrying about it now," Shu Yang said and patted Zhengye's shoulder, "Just focus on your training."
"Right."