Chapter 189 – Dad, Let's Go on an Adventure!
Jiang Zhe always thought the title "Lord of Thunder" best suited his lineage.
Though adding "Clan" at the end sounded awkward, he cleverly branded his family as the Thunder Emperor Lineage of Earth's Human Clan.
From the moment his two children were born, they became the darlings of the entire human race. Their talent was so overwhelming it was practically spilling out for all to see. When the Sovereign of Dreamshade reported their birth, several Universe Lords from Virtual Universe Company immediately took notice—even the usually preoccupied Giant Axe paid attention to them.
Born with life genes at triple the normal level, gifted in heart cultivation, an extraordinary affinity with the laws of thunder, blessed with two innate secret techniques, and even possessing a devouring ability similar to the Golden Horned Beast—
It was unimaginable that such outstanding beings could emerge from the human race!
During discussions with the Sovereign of Dreamshade, Jiang Zhe stubbornly insisted: he didn't want his children burdened with cultivation too early.
"Only incompetent parents heap pressure on their children," he argued.
His own father let them live carefree for sixteen years before guiding them into formal cultivation. Jiang Zhe wanted his own children to enjoy a peaceful childhood too. Even if, someday, one of them chose not to cultivate, that would be perfectly fine.
Over the following years, with tacit approval from both the Sovereign of Dreamshade and King of Sacred Spirits, Jiang Zhe carried out his philosophy of raising his children without imposing cultivation from birth.
That night, after Lei Lei fell asleep, Jiang Zhe entered his inner world.
He gazed at the ancient tree whose trunk was covered in scar-like faces, each nearly the size of a star. Jiang Zhe found the first scar he'd ever carved into it.
Raising his hand, he gestured toward it.
Countless light particles surged out, forming a branching diagram before him.
The moment he saw this diagram, Jiang Zhe understood.
The very top dot represented himself.
Two gray branches extended below it, ending in two more dots—his eldest children, Jiang Yuan Kun and Jiang Yuan Zhu.
With a thought, he lit up the gray branches.
The inheritance of the Life Blueprint was imprinted into their minds.
During the day, their Conqueror talents had been incomplete; the key to perfecting their innate secret arts lay with him.
This was a bloodline-based inheritance, orchestrated by the "Ancient Tree."
"So it's true. These scars are more than decoration or records… they give me absolute control over these fortunes. Not a sliver can ever leak out."
"At any time, I can sever the Life Blueprint inheritance from any descendant. Anyone trying to seize my children's bodies will only gain an incomplete Conqueror effect—no true Blueprint—and…"
Jiang Zhe closed his eyes, focusing on the node representing Jiang Yuan Kun.
At once, a coordinate map appeared in his mind, clearly showing his son's location and distance.
"Whoever dares seize my bloodline, I will find them—and kill them!"
Looking at the still sparse, crude tree diagram, a ruthless glint flashed across his face.
Exiting his inner world, Jiang Zhe returned to bed.
Lei Lei cracked open her sleepy eyes.
"Where did you go?"
"To take a look at the future."
Lei Lei only half-understood, letting out a soft "Oh," yawning, then wrapped around him like an octopus, hugging him back to sleep.
When Jiang Zhe brought the two little ones back to the manor, his father's smile practically welded itself to his face. The old man personally took over caring for his grandchildren, and Jiang Zhe was more than happy to let him.
With his kids in good hands, Jiang Zhe spent his days sticking close to Lei Lei and Qiao Lin.
As for cultivation… that was left to his two avatars and his silver-robed true spirit.
The two avatars delved into soul enslavement secret techniques.
His soul was his strong suit—he was already at the willpower level of a Universe Overlord.
Avoiding your strengths to shore up weaknesses? That's just stupid.
He once aimed to master both spiritual control and spear arts. But after encountering the Seraph and the Book of Sins…
To hell with it!
Skills can be honed slowly. Why neglect my gifts?
Ever since he was a child, his soul had been special—reborn, nurtured by Earth, and transformed by that divine crystal…
So why not delve into souls and willpower?
Later events in this universe would prove that the soul was a perfectly legitimate grand path. Dong Bo Xue Ying was proof enough.
While enjoying time with family, Jiang Zhe laid out his plan clearly:
Mastering Fivefold Thunder to learn Law Fusion as the fundamental path.
Soul techniques, controller arts, and spear arts as the protective arts.
Law and art complement each other—they never conflict.
The next generation grows
By the year 2301 of the Hanxia calendar, after a year-long pregnancy, Qiao Lin safely gave birth to another pair of sons.
One even inherited her white hair—delicate features, bright eyes, looking almost like a little girl. He would surely become an adorable white-haired youth. His talent was equally astonishing.
As soon as he was born, the King of Sacred Spirits, afraid something might go wrong, immediately sealed part of his innate power with divine phasing energy.
Inside the birthing chamber, Jiang Zhe cradled his third and fourth sons, naming them:
Jiang Yuan Miao, meaning subtle truths.
Jiang Yuan Ming, referring to the profound vastness of space.
Jiang Zhe marveled at the boy in his right arm.
"Innate perfect psychic amplitude? Monster! Even more outrageous than I was!"
Back then, his own natural brain domain width was 40.
Now, Yuan Miao's was 100.
If it weren't for the pure, unblemished look in Yuan Miao's eyes, Jiang Zhe might have suspected he was a reincarnator. He even had the Seraph check—his soul was normal, so Jiang Zhe relaxed.
The so-called "sealing his talent" was simply locking away that terrifying psychic core in his sea of consciousness.
If it ever went out of control, a sudden emotional spike could make his head explode like fireworks.
Qiao Lin took the baby from Jiang Zhe, smiling warmly. Then she held the fourth as well, teasing them both. Among the four children, Yuan Miao was undoubtedly closest to Jiang Zhe's own talent.
She couldn't help recalling their first meeting at the Hall of War Gods, where Jiang Zhe's unparalleled psychic talents felled their attackers, earning him a place as the Jiang clan's fifth Hall member.
Her heart brimmed with hope—
Little one, be as dazzling as your father!
Jiang Zhe, meanwhile, didn't overthink it. He was only mildly intrigued.
He always treated the four children equally—at least until their preferences and talents fully emerged. Who knew? One might decide to become a carefree playboy instead.
But there was one awkward truth…
The Thunder Emperor lineage didn't mesh well with psychic controller paths.
Because for everyone except Jiang Zhe, their ultimate trump card would be the Ascension innate secret art—massive divine bodies that could burn themselves for explosive power.
The problem?
Once they entered the Ascension state, they'd temporarily transform from flesh to pure energy lifeforms—losing their soul and psychic force for that time.
So for a Thunder Emperor who walked the psychic path, triggering Ascension without martial skills could actually weaken their combat ability.
Yuan Miao's talent was self-contradictory. His future would only hold two options:
Use his immense talent to master both psychic and martial paths like his father.
Abandon either the psychic controller path, or forgo the Ascension secret art.
Jiang Zhe shook his head. Human talent was finite. He was different—he had cheats.
He didn't voice this cruel reality to Qiao Lin. Stroking his chin, he simply looked forward to what Yuan Miao would eventually choose.
The children come into their own
From 2303, two to three years of growth gave the four clever children a complete sense of the world.
At just two or three years old, they were already as tricky as the little heirs in romance dramas, leaving Jiang Zhe exhausted with their endless chattering.
As for his wives?
They'd gone into seclusion.
They knew this was the most vexing stage of childhood—they'd endured childbirth, so now it was Jiang Zhe's turn.
Even their grandfather wanted to help.
But as the kids grew conscious, they instinctively gravitated to Jiang Zhe, their source of bloodline.
Jiang Zhe also noticed something fascinating.
When the five of them—father and four children—were together, the 181 tiny "stars" inside him and the 3 stars inside each child resonated, creating a unique life force field that enveloped them.
The Sovereign of Dreamshade and King of Sacred Spirits constantly hovered around them, using divine phasing energy to monitor, yet they couldn't figure out the principle.
Then came 2308.
Yuan Kun and Yuan Zhu suddenly evolved to 4x life gene level.
The two Sovereigns understood at once.
Their eyes toward Jiang Zhe's family burned even hotter.
Bloodline resonance!
At least that's what they tentatively called it.
It seemed—long-term closeness to a supreme evolved lifeform could let lower beings borrow bloodline resonance to enhance their own gene levels.
Defying the heavens!
Jiang Zhe's blueprint for the Lord of Darkness in Virtual Universe was no lie.
This lineage could truly elevate their life genes after birth, potentially up to 1810x, unfettered by the Original Universe's limits!
This meant humanity could someday mass-produce special lifeforms.
The Sovereign of Dreamshade knew: it was time to step down.
Yet she felt no reluctance. Compared to shepherding the rise of humanity's strongest lineage, her authority as a Universe Sovereign meant nothing.
"This must never leak. If it does, it'll spark interstellar war. Alien Universe Lords would come destroy our future!"
"These four children—I must guard them personally!"
"And Earth… we once thought of building floating cities here to nurture human talent. But from now on, it must stay tightly controlled. We can't risk spies slipping in."
"Teacher, Senior Uncle, you've balanced all factions your whole lives. But for humanity's future, this once—you must be selfish. Keep Earth firmly in our hands, don't let the other four lineages carve it up!"
"Just wait! Maybe centuries, maybe millennia—just millions of years. Once the Thunder Emperor lineage births several invincible kings to protect their own, only then can we open Earth and let the rest of humanity in."
She calmed her excitement.
"But wait a bit more… Watch how Yuan Miao and Yuan Ming develop, verify the Conqueror secret art's integrity. Only then will I report to Teacher with my proposal."
It had been countless eras since she felt this driven.
Their playful rebellion
By late 2308, Yuan Miao and Yuan Ming also reached 4x life gene level, confirming all speculation.
Jiang Zhe noticed that his teacher the King of Sacred Spirits and his ninth senior sister now looked at him entirely differently.
"If the Conqueror secret art has flaws, I'll probably have to carry these four kids everywhere… or maybe, in their eyes, I'm just their four mascots' accessory."
Jiang Zhe was speechless—but kept diligently raising his kids.
Thankfully, they'd outgrown the noisiest stage.
Their minds matured fast. At just 7 or 8 years old, they were as sharp as 17 or 18-year-old Earth youths, with power naturally growing to planetary level stage 7.
At 5, Jiang Zhe hadn't taught them to cultivate yet—but he did start teaching them philosophy.
The Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi, and Chongxu Classic, the three works Jiang Zhe most admired, had long been in their studies. They not only memorized them fluently, but also developed their own insightful interpretations.
The great adventure begins
Then, in 2309, after a private huddle, the four kids staged a little rebellion.
The eldest, Jiang Yuan Kun, led the charge.
"Father, take us to see the stars! Over there!"
He pointed to a distant constellation.
In the courtyard, Jiang Zhe sat on a small stool, chin propped on one hand, scruffy with stubble, looking rather despondent. Four children, each about five feet tall, surrounded him.
A masterpiece of modern art: Thunder Emperor Jiang Zhe babysitting.
Without even looking up, he knew exactly what his son was plotting.
His little princess hugged his waist, swaying as she pleaded,
"Big Bro's right. Daddy, take us to see the stars! That region he pointed at—those stars line up to look like a mighty giant. It's so captivating!"
"Father, that's the Hercules Constellation. Can't you feel it too? It draws our lineage strongly. We want to see what secrets it holds."
The white-haired Jiang Yuan Miao, calm from his psychic gifts, looked the most mature. Too bad he was still just a kid—he liked putting on airs, pushing up a pair of plain glasses he'd somehow found.
His solemn words were completely undermined by that action.
Luckily, Jiang Zhe kept a dead-fish-eyed, bored look—didn't even smile.
Yuan Miao's bluntness earned sharp glares from his siblings.
Traitor!
That was supposed to be their secret adventure—win treasures, shock their father, give him the loot, and help him soar once more. In their minds, they were the heroes destined to save their "washed-up dad."
Little did they know… they were like clueless rich kids, still unaware of how terrifyingly powerful their father truly was. Jiang Zhe's worn-out look had completely fooled them.
"Father," Yuan Miao urged, "stop hesitating. Hercules holds a great fortune tied to our clan's rise. We must seize this chance!"
"Dad, let's grab a ship and go on a starry adventure!" Yuan Ming cheered.
"Hercules!"
"Hercules!"
"Hercules!"
The four of them danced around Jiang Zhe, shouting excitedly.
Jiang Zhe could only think:
I'm tired. Go ahead, universe—destroy everything already.