13: Chapter 13: The Proton Enters the Game, a Discreet Plan

When he emerged from the Internal Affairs Hall, dusk was already falling.

The streetlights in the market were just being lit, and the Spirit Stone lamps hanging from the shops on both sides emitted a soft glow, illuminating the bluestone path.

Su Yu walked among the crowd with his hands behind his back, his pace steady.

This audience before the Young Clan Leader could be considered another solid entry on his resume of being unambitious, greedy, and lustful.

The suspicions of those in power often stem from the unpredictability of their subordinates.

And a person who openly displays all their desires and weaknesses is the safest kind.

Returning to the steward's residence, just as he pushed open the vermilion courtyard gate, the crisp sounds of children playing drifted over.

In the spacious courtyard.

His eight-year-old Su Cheng was shirtless, diligently practicing his horse stance beside a stone lock.

Sweat slid down his dark, youthful cheeks; although he was a mortal without a Spirit Root, his vitality had been forged quite solidly.

Not far away, his second son, Su Yuan, dressed in a brocade robe, was listlessly poking at some spirit ants on the ground with a twig.

Besides them, two other toddlers still in the waddling stage were playing under the long corridor, watched over by a maid and a wet nurse.

Five years had passed.

In this residence, Su Yu had fulfilled his duty of propagating his bloodline to the extreme.

With one wife and three concubines, they had borne him four sons and three daughters, allowing him to completely take root in Qingmu Market.

"Husband, you're back."

The door curtain of the main room was lifted, and Song Qingwan came out to greet him.

After several years of living in comfort, she had shed her former shyness and reserve, gaining the dignity and composure of a matriarch.

Su Yu nodded slightly, took off his outer robe to hand to her, and his gaze fell upon his second son, Su Yuan.

"Yuan'er, tomorrow is your sixth birthday."

Hearing his father call him, Su Yuan dropped the twig, ran quickly to Su Yu, and bowed respectfully.

"Reporting to Father, tomorrow is the seventh, which is indeed my birthday."

"After dinner, come find me in the study."

Su Yu left this instruction and walked straight into the main hall.

At nightfall, the study was brightly lit with candles.

Su Yuan stood before the desk. Although he was only six, his constitution as a possessor of a Seventh-grade Spirit Root made him half a head taller than ordinary mortal children, and his eyes revealed a precocious cleverness.

Over these past few years, because he possessed a Spirit Root, he had been doted on by his mother, and the servants constantly fawned over him, calling him 'Young Master' at every turn.

Imperceptibly, he had developed a trace of imperceptible arrogance.

Su Yu sat in the armchair, watching his son quietly.

"Tomorrow you turn six, and the Internal Affairs Hall will send someone to take you to the main branch's clan school."

Su Yu's tone was level, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Do you know what it means to go to the clan school?"

Su Yuan puffed out his small chest, a flicker of longing in his eyes, and replied, "Mother says that once I go to the clan school, I can learn immortal arts, and in the future, I can be like Father, becoming a steward in the market, or even a high-level great cultivator of the family."

Listening to the child's naive words, Su Yu did not find it amusing.

"Sitting in a well and looking at the sky."

Su Yu poured a cup of tea and calmly uttered these four words.

Su Yuan was stunned; the pride on his face faltered slightly, and he looked somewhat at a loss.

"Do you think a Seventh-grade Spirit Root is something amazing? In this steward's residence, you are the only young master."

Su Yu set down his teacup, his gaze becoming deep and stern.

"But in the main branch's clan school, there are at least eight or ten collateral descendants with Spirit Roots like you. Not to mention those lineal descendants of the main branch who are born enjoying abundant resources."

"In their eyes, you are no genius; you are merely a thug recruited and trained in advance by the family because your Spirit Root is passable."

These words were somewhat cruel, and for a six-year-old child, they seemed overly heavy.

But Su Yu knew very well that if he let this boy go to the main branch with pride, he would sooner or later be devoured until not even bones remained.

If you want to live a long life, you must first learn to hide your talents.

"After you go to the clan school, put away all that arrogance you've cultivated at home."

Su Yu looked into Su Yuan's eyes and instructed him word by word.

"If others want to show off, just watch from behind. If someone tries to snatch the pills or spirit stones distributed to you, fight if you can win, but if you can't, give it to them. Remember, never act on impulse and forge a deadly feud."

"Practice the cultivation techniques taught at the clan school step by step. Do not appear too dull, but absolutely do not appear too fast."

Although Su Yuan was young, he was not stupid. He vaguely understood the gravity in his father's words and nodded obediently.

"I will remember, Father."

Seeing that the timing was right, Su Yu stood up and walked over to him.

"Your eldest brother has no Spirit Root, so I only taught him mundane martial arts. Since you are about to embark on the path of immortality, I will teach you a set of incantations."

Su Yu extended two fingers and gently tapped them on the center of Su Yuan's brow.

What he imparted was a highly sophisticated breathing technique, derived from the peak of martial arts in his previous life.

This technique did not involve the absorption of spiritual energy from the cultivation world; it was merely used to consolidate one's foundation, nourish the primordial essence, and regulate the flow of blood and qi.

"Every day at the beginning of the Mao hour, face east and silently recite this incantation while breathing three times."

"Remember, you must not tell even your mother about this, and you must never reveal even a fraction of it in front of others at the clan school."

Although this breathing technique was basic, practicing it year after year would be enough to make Su Yuan's blood and qi far exceed that of cultivators at the same level.

After giving these instructions, Su Yu waved his hand, letting Su Yuan return to his room to rest.

The next morning.

A carriage bearing the emblem of the Su Family's main branch pulled up steadily outside the steward's residence.

Accompanying the carriage was an attendant from the Internal Affairs Hall.

Song Qingwan's eyes were red, and she held Su Yuan's hand, giving him a thousand instructions and warnings while tidying his new robe, her eyes full of reluctance.

Since ancient times, doting mothers often spoil their children; if not for the family's ironclad rules, she would never have been willing to let her six-year-old son leave her side.

"Alright, don't miss the hour."

Su Yu stepped forward, patted Song Qingwan on the shoulder, and then looked at Su Yuan.

"Go."

Su Yuan's eyes turned red, but under his father's calm gaze, he forced his tears back.

He knelt on both knees and kowtowed three times heavily to Su Yu and Song Qingwan.

"Father, Mother, I am leaving."

Having said this, Su Yuan stood up and boarded the carriage without looking back.

The carriage slowly moved, its wheels grinding over the bluestone slabs, emitting a monotonous rumbling sound as it gradually drove away.

Su Yu stood on the steps, watching the carriage disappear around the street corner.

In the eyes of outsiders, a collateral descendant entering the clan school was a golden opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

But in Su Yu's eyes, this was nothing more than the family's higher-ups reaching out to grasp his lifeline.

With Su Yuan, his second son with passable talent, acting as a hostage in the main branch.

Even if he, Su Yu, were to be greedier at the Spirit Herb Pavilion, or if the concubines he took into his rear courtyard were even more beautiful, the main branch would be completely at ease with him.

Because in the eyes of those in power, he was not only an unambitious good-for-nothing, but also a pawn with attachments, whose weakness was being held by others.