20: Chapter 20: Huge Rewards! Yellow-Rank Spiritual Root!

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted from the direction of the manor gate.

It was the sound of the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold, carrying a massive battering ram and slamming it fiercely against the heavy, iron-clad gate of the Gu Family.

Each impact was like a heavy hammer striking the heart of everyone inside the manor.

Wood chips flew into the air, and the door bolt groaned under the unbearable strain of the violent vibrations.

Inside the delivery room, Bai Linger's cries of pain grew increasingly shrill, long since drowned out by the battering sounds outside and the torrential rain.

Gu Yan stood under the veranda, his robes soaked by the rain whipped up by the gale.

He remained motionless, like a stone statue, all his focus tethered to the line connecting the manor gate and the delivery room.

Time had never felt so agonizing.

Rumble!

With another thunderous crash, accompanied by the piercing sound of splintering wood, the Gu Family's gate could no longer hold, collapsing inward with a roar!

"Waa—!"

Almost at the same moment, a loud, vibrant cry of an infant pierced through the heavy rain and the chaos, ringing clearly throughout the entire backyard!

The baby is born!

Gu Yan's tightly clenched fists suddenly relaxed.

In his mind, the System's usually lazy notification tone carried, for the first time, an indescribable emotion that bordered on excitement.

[Beep—! Detected host's first offspring born!]

[Gender: Male.]

[Performing Bloodline lottery... Detecting Spiritual Root...]

[Data analysis... 10%... 30%... 70%...]

Outside the manor gate, Chief's twisted face appeared even more terrifying in the flashes of lightning.

"The gate is open!"

"Brothers, charge!"

"Kill all the men! Seize all the women and treasures!"

He let out a beast-like roar and, wielding his signature ghost-head broadsword, was the first to step into the Gu Family's gate!

Dozens of bandits followed closely behind, surging into the Gu Family's front courtyard like a burst flood, grinning hideously.

The archers on the courtyard walls fired a few sporadic volleys of arrows, but in the face of these desperadoes, they were pitifully weak.

Despair spread in the hearts of every servant in the Gu Family.

Just then, the System's voice exploded in Gu Yan's mind again, this time with an unconcealable hint of surprise!

[Detection complete!]

[Congratulations to the host! Your first offspring's Spiritual Root detection result is...]

[Low Grade Yellow-Grade Spiritual Root!!!]

[Warning! Detection result far exceeds the Mortal-Grade expectation! Reward mechanism triggered a critical hit! Massive reward explosion!]

[Rewards distribution starting!]

Without giving Gu Yan any time to react, a massive amount of reward information, composed of golden data streams, instantly flooded his entire consciousness space like a torrent from the Universe!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for fathering an offspring with a Yellow-Grade Spiritual Root, reward [Lifespan + 20 years]!]

A life energy, more pure and vast than any before, surged from the Void Realm and poured fiercely into every part of Gu Yan's body!

His face, which was in its forties and already didn't look too old, began to reverse its aging under the wash of this power!

His cheek contours became sharper, his skin grew firmer, and the last traces of crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were completely smoothed away. Even his black hair, which had been mixed with a few silver strands, was dyed and covered by a rich, ink-black color at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In just a few breaths, his appearance had transformed from a steady middle-aged man into a handsome man in his early thirties, at the Peak of his prime!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for fathering an offspring with a Yellow-Grade Spiritual Root, reward [Host Root Bone upgraded to High Grade Mortal-Grade]!]

Gu Yan could clearly feel that earth-shaking changes were happening inside his body.

His bones became tougher and denser, faintly glowing with the luster of jade. His Meridians were widened and reinforced, becoming more resilient, capable of accommodating more True Qi circulation.

This was a leap in the level of life!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for fathering an offspring with a Yellow-Grade Spiritual Root, reward [Cultivation Empowerment]!]

[Cultivation increasing...]

[Qi Refining Stage 2 Peak... Breakthrough!]

[Qi Refining Stage 3!]

[Qi Refining Stage 3 Peak... Breakthrough!]

[Qi Refining Stage 4!]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Inside Gu Yan, it was as if Nine Heavens thunderclaps had exploded!

The cultivation Bottleneck that had plagued him for so long was, before this incredibly domineering empowerment energy, as fragile as paper, smashed through one after another with overwhelming force!

An unprecedentedly powerful force was wildly breeding, swirling, and roaring within his Dantian Qi Sea!

The amount of True Qi in his body had skyrocketed, increasing by more than ten times compared to before!

If his True Qi in his Dantian was just a small stream before, then at this moment, what was surging within it was a rushing river!

Qi Refining Stage 4!

A single step to the heavens!

In the outside world, it had only been a few short breaths of time.

Chief had already led his men, breaking through the weak resistance of the servants in the front courtyard, hacking and killing all the way to the moon gate leading to the inner courtyard.

He licked the bloodstains off his ghost-head broadsword, listening to the faint, intermittent crying of the infant from the backyard, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

"Better to come at the right time than to come early."

"It seems the Gu Family has double happiness tonight."

He waved his hand at the bandits behind him.

"Go, grab that newborn bastard and the woman who just gave birth, and bring them to me!"

"I want that old thing Gu Yan to watch with his own eyes how his wife and child die before him!"

"Yes, Chief!"

Two of the closest bandits grinned and replied, then charged toward the backyard with their swords drawn.

Just as they stepped into the moon gate.

A figure appeared silently before them.

A young man wearing a dark blue long robe with an upright posture.

He stood in the torrential rain, yet the rainwater seemed to have a life of its own, automatically avoiding his body without wetting even a corner of his robes.

His face was handsome, his eyes deep, and not a shred of Killing Intent could be felt from him, yet he possessed the demeanor of a Grandmaster, as steady as an abyss and as towering as a mountain.

Both bandits were stunned.

There was no such person in the intelligence on the Gu Family?

"Kid, who are you? If you don't want to die, get out of the way!" one of the bandits shouted, his voice blustering.

The young man did not speak.

He only slowly raised his eyes, looking at them calmly.

Then, he reached out a hand and grasped the air toward the two of them.

The two bandits instantly felt the air around them turn into solid steel, and an irresistible, terrifying force came crushing in from all directions toward their bodies!

Crack! Crack!

The bones in their bodies emitted a dense, teeth-grinding series of snaps!

Before they could even let out a scream, their bodies were crushed into a puddle of blurred flesh by this invisible force!

Gu Yan slowly opened his eyes.

He felt the unprecedented power within his body and listened to the increasingly close screams and clamor coming from the front courtyard.

A murderous smile appeared on his face.