Chapter 2: The Chen Family.

The wooden door of the Ancestral Hall closed behind him with a soft creak. He stood outside for a moment and looked around the area.

The sunlight was brighter this time, considerably stronger than what he had seen inside, forcing him to narrow his eyes a little.

A gentle breeze skimmed across the courtyard, carrying with it the faint scent of grass and the distant sound of people moving about across the family's residential area.

Chen Yuan took a slow breath, and he began walking.

He had spent nearly an hour inside the Ancestral Hall trying to organize everything inside his head. Now that he had accepted his current identity, there was little point in continuing to ponder it.

If this was truly his new life, then why not make the fullest of it?

More importantly, the memories felt foreign yet close at the same time when it came to the family. He needed to understand the Chen Family through his own interactions.

"And the best way to do that is to take a walk."

His footsteps were slow but steady as he walked down the familiar path through the family grounds. At first, everything appeared to be ordinary.

There were courtyards connected by narrow stone paths from one direction to the other. Several wooden houses, a few storage buildings, and a small medicinal garden were situated near the eastern side of the family grounds.

The longer he walked, the more obvious the situation of the family became.

"The Chen Family is poor..."

Not completely destitute, but certainly nowhere near what he would have expected from a cultivation clan of over 400 people.

Several buildings looked aged, some of the wooden walls had begun to discolor, and a few roof tiles were cracked here and there.

Even the stone paths beneath his feet had weeds growing between the cracks. Chen Yuan slowed down as he remembered this place.

The memories inside his mind told him that the Chen Family had once been a considerably larger family.

There had been more people. But as the years passed and the old Ancestor passed away, the family gradually declined. Some members left, while others had died.

Others had simply failed to break through and eventually became ordinary mortals. After all, not everyone was gifted with the chance to awaken spiritual roots.

"It was once a glorious family with a Half-Step Foundation Establishment Ancestor."

Now, this was what remained.

Chen Yuan walked silently through the family grounds, and along the way, several clan members noticed him.

The moment they recognized the gray-robed old man, they immediately stopped what they were doing and greeted him.

"Third Elder."

"Greetings, Third Elder."

"Third Elder."

Chen Yuan merely nodded each time. He didn't deliberately put on an intimidating expression. He simply didn't know what expression he was supposed to make.

Unfortunately, the original Chen Yuan apparently possessed a naturally cold face with an aloof air around him.

The memories didn't tell him whether it was intentional or not. But judging from the reactions of the younger members, it was clear enough that his cold look made him seem rather unapproachable.

Among the other elders, he was the only one whom few dared to approach.

As he passed another courtyard, two young women who had been carrying a wooden box suddenly lowered their voices.

"That's the Third Elder."

"Yeah."

The first young woman glanced toward Chen Yuan's back before quietly continuing, "He's the oldest member of the clan currently. Even the Patriarch is merely over fifty years old."

"Isn't he already ninety?"

"Yeah..."

"Then shouldn't the Third Elder have already retired to the back as an Ancestor?"

"I don't know. It seems the Third Elder refused and insisted on maintaining his current status."

The two exchanged a glance with each other.

"He's also the second person in the entire family to actually reach the seventh layer of Qi Condensation."

"The second strongest?"

"Who else?"

The young woman's voice became even quieter.

"Only the Patriarch is stronger."

Chen Yuan's footsteps didn't stop. He heard every word the two said. Given his current cultivation, even whispers from several dozen meters away were impossible to conceal from him.

And most obviously, he wasn't offended.

Instead, he found the two's conversation to be rather interesting.

'So the original owner was quite respected within the family.'

Not solely because of his position as an elder, but also because he was the second strongest person in the clan.

Chen Yuan continued walking, and after some time, he eventually heard a series of youthful voices coming from ahead.

Laughter, shouting, and the occasional sound of something striking against the hard surface of wood.

"What's this?"

He followed the noise, and a moment later, the scenery opened up to a relatively spacious area before him.

It was the Chen Family's training ground where, unlike the rest of the family grounds, this place was somewhat livelier.

A group of children had gathered there. Some were practicing basic movements under the guidance of an older teenager, while several others were chasing one another across the training ground.

And in the center stood a wooden training dummy where a child was repeatedly striking it with his tiny fist.

"Again!"

A slightly older boy shouted, "Your stance is wrong!"

The boy's fist landed too high.

"Again!"

"Lower your shoulder, and your waist isn't moving with your arm."

The child hurriedly adjusted his posture.

"Like this?"

"Better."

The older boy nodded.

"Now circulate your energy while maintaining the stance."

The boy's expression turned serious, and he slowly inhaled as his chest rose. Then his breathing became slower.

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed. He could clearly sense the faint spiritual energy beginning to move within the child's body. It wasn't much. In fact, it was almost negligible.

But it was there as the child circulated it more and more.

"Interesting..."

Chen Yuan murmured without realizing it. He had been too focused on the technique that he didn't notice one of the older children had noticed him.

"Third Elder?"

The older boy immediately became nervous, attracting Chen Yuan's gaze toward him.

The boy quickly bowed.

"Greetings, Third Elder."

Chen Yuan nodded.

"What technique are all of you practicing?"

The boy heard this, hesitated for a little while, then answered, "It's the Nine Circulation Body Tempering Art."

Chen Yuan's eyebrows lifted slightly as he remembered that name.

"Who taught you this?"

"The elders..."

The boy pointed toward the other young children.

"We've been learning it since we first awakened our spiritual roots."

The boy paused, seemingly trying to remember something, then added, "This technique was created by you, Third Elder."

Chen Yuan fell silent, and the boy explained enthusiastically, "The elders said it was one of the most important techniques the family possesses."

Chen Yuan looked toward the children again.

'The Nine Circulation Body Tempering Art.'

He had created it decades ago, at a time when the Chen Family possessed very few cultivation techniques that could actually be taught to young children.

Most cultivation manuals required the practitioner to have a certain degree of physical maturity before they could begin. And that became one of the biggest problems for children with spiritual roots.

They had to wait several years before they could properly begin cultivating.

For a declining family like the Chen Family, every year mattered. So Chen Yuan had spent several years studying the cultivation methods available in the family and combining several basic cultivation principles to gradually develop a new method.

The Nine Circulation Body Tempering Art.

It wasn't strong nor heaven-defying. But it was safe, almost like a solid foundation that supported the family up to the present day.

Most importantly, it was easy enough for children to learn and allowed them to begin circulating energy at a much younger age.

Back then, he presumed it to be one of the few meaningful efforts he had made for the family, but he had never expected it to still be used decades later.

His gaze lingered over the children's movements up ahead, and a strange feeling of satisfaction and pride appeared within him.

"The elders said that the technique can be cultivated all the way to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation."

Chen Yuan's expression became slightly strange, since that was indeed true. The technique could support cultivation up to that point, and it wasn't a deliberate limitation.

After all, if he himself had broken through to the eighth layer, he would've shared it and compiled it into the existing manual in the family's library for the younger generations to use.

Chen Yuan looked at the children again.

"Not bad."

The words escaped him quietly, and he stepped away from the training ground. He didn't want to interrupt their training because of his arrival.

Eventually, he found a relatively clean rock near the edge of the training ground and sat down. He rested one hand against his knee and quietly watched the children's training.

Nobody noticed him this time, as he deliberately concealed himself unless they were close enough to see him.

The children continued training, and Chen Yuan found himself more interested than he expected.

He watched them repeat the same subtle movements over and over again. Some were talented, some were clumsy, and some could barely circulate their inner energy.

A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The younger generations will become the family's future pillars to hold the sky."

Then, a small voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Who are you?"

Chen Yuan turned his head, where a little girl was standing beside the rock as she stared at him curiously.

Chen Yuan looked at her for a moment, then smiled.

"Who do you think I am?"

The girl tilted her head, holding a doll in her arms.

"I don't know."

She looked at his gray robe, then his white hair, and finally his wrinkled face.

"You look very old."

Chen Yuan was silent, and he wasn't sure whether that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment from a child.

He forced out a smile.

"I am the Third Elder."

The girl's eyes immediately widened at his words.

"You?"

Chen Yuan nodded, and the girl looked him up and down.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But..."

She stared at him for another moment.

"You don't look scary at all."

Chen Yuan's mouth twitched.

'So the original owner really did have a terrible reputation among children.'

Before he could respond, the girl suddenly became excited and asked curiously, "Third Elder!"

"What is it?"

"Did the Chen Family ever have any strong people before? Other than the legendary Ancestor."

Chen Yuan looked at the little girl for a moment, and her simple question made him pause.

Other than the legendary Ancestor?

The girl was clearly referring to the old Ancestor who had once brought the Chen Family to its peak before he eventually passed away.

Even within his memories, that Ancestor remained the most impressive figure the family had ever produced.

But if he answered honestly, Chen Yuan felt it would be rather bland, especially with his stiff face.

The Chen Family had declined for too many years. Chen Yuan glanced toward the training ground, then turned back toward the little girl who was still staring at him, waiting for an answer.

Then, he suddenly remembered something.

'Why not just make something up?'

He had read countless stories about ancient cultivators, legendary swordsmen, mysterious ancestors, and figures who disappeared after leaving their children in the lower realm.

And right now...

'There is no one here to contradict him.'

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Strong people?"

"Yes!" The girl's eyes brightened. "Were there any?"

Chen Yuan remained silent for several breaths, then, with a thick face, he spoke.

"There was one."

The little girl's eyes widened as she hugged the doll tighter.

"Really?"

Chen Yuan nodded slowly and began, "His name was Chen Feng."

The name naturally came to him, and the girl sat down beside the rock, hugging the doll against her chest.

"What was he like?"

Chen Yuan looked toward the distant sky, and his thoughts turned as he tried to fabricate a story in his mind.

"He was a swordsman."

"A swordsman?"

"Yes."

Chen Yuan's expression slowly turned thoughtful as he began fabricating the story in his mind.

"He was born into the Chen Family many generations ago. And unlike the Ancestor you know about, he wasn't born with extraordinary talent."

"He simply had a natural talent for the sword path instead."

"By the time he was twenty, he had already left the family and begun travelling throughout the kingdom on his own."

The little girl's mouth was slightly open.

"Alone?"

"Alone," Chen Yuan nodded with a serious gaze.

"Wasn't he scared?"

Chen Yuan chuckled at the response and smiled.

"He probably was, but he still went out to venture alone to look for opportunities."

The little girl listened quietly.

"During his travels, he fought countless opponents. Some were stronger than him, some were weaker, and some were people he had no chance of winning against."

"And yet..." Chen Yuan paused as he turned to look into the little girl's eyes. "He survived."

Chen Yuan paused.

"And eventually, he became known by another name."

The little girl leaned closer.

"What name?"

"The Swordsman of the Leaf."

Her eyes immediately sparkled, and she repeated the words.

"The Swordsman of the Leaf!"

"Yes," Chen Yuan nodded. "They said that whenever his sword was drawn, the wind itself would follow."

"He could cross a hundred miles in a single day, and his sword could pierce through a mountain while the leaves on the trees over the mountain remained unshaken."

The little girl stared at him in fascination.

"Was he very strong?"

"Very strong."

"How strong?"

Chen Yuan thought for a moment, then smiled.

"He was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm when he was at his peak!"

The girl gasped, and the older children nearby seemed to hear the words and glanced over. Chen Yuan didn't pay attention to them and continued.

"He once fought three cultivators of the same realm at the same time and killed all three with a single strike!"

"He once crossed the Thousand Wind Mountains alone, and according to the stories..." Chen Yuan deliberately lowered his voice. "He fought against the strongest monster in the Thousand Wind Mountains alone!"

The little girl stared at him without blinking.

"The strongest monster?"

"Yes."

Chen Yuan nodded, his expression becoming more serious as he continued fabricating the story.

"It was a demonic beast known as the Demonic Flame Serpent."

"The serpent had already stepped half a foot into the Golden Core realm at that time."

The little girl's eyes widened.

"G-Golden Core!?"

Even the children who had noticed them began listening secretly. Chen Yuan noticed this, but he didn't stop. He continued with a solemn tone.

"At that time, Chen Feng was only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm. The difference between them was enormous, and yet he still drew his sword."

"He fought the Demonic Flame Serpent for one entire week."

"For seven days and seven nights, neither side retreated."

The little girl unconsciously tightened her grip around her doll against her chest.

"W-what happened next?"

"On the first day, the serpent nearly swallowed him whole."

"On the second day, Chen Feng's sword pierced through its scales."

"On the third day, the entire mountain range was covered in flames."

"By the fourth day, neither of them had the strength to retreat."

Chen Yuan paused.

"By the seventh day..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Chen Feng finally won."

"He killed it?" the little girl asked, but Chen Yuan shook his head at the girl's question.

"No. But its horns were cut off, and the serpent was forced to retreat."

"After all, deep in the mountain range, there are several beings stronger than them. So Chen Feng didn't continue to pursue."

The children nearby immediately began whispering among themselves. Chen Yuan continued with a calm voice.

"After that battle, he continued travelling. Nobody knows where he went. Some say he eventually went beyond the kingdom, and others say he found an ancient inheritance."

The little girl looked disappointed.

"Then... nobody knows whether he is alive?"

Chen Yuan shook his head.

"No one knows..."

The story ended there, and Chen Yuan lowered his gaze toward the little girl.

"That's all."

The girl remained silent, then her eyes suddenly brightened.

"Third Elder, do you think he really became a Golden Core Cultivator?"

Chen Yuan smiled.

"Perhaps. Maybe he's still alive somewhere."

The little girl nodded seriously at Chen Yuan's words.

"I think so too!"

Chen Yuan couldn't help but smile, as he hadn't expected such a simple story to attract this much attention.

However...

DING.

A clear mechanical voice rang inside his ears. Chen Yuan's smile vanished from his face as his body froze in place. He didn't even dare to breathe as a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

No one else seemed to be able to see it.

The little girl was still looking at him, and Chen Yuan's eyes slowly moved across the floating panel.

[Ding!]

[A fictional Ancestor has been successfully recorded.]