Yunling watched the stone tablet, her eyes narrowing as she felt something shift in the air around the young boy.
"What's this powerful aura? Even my master doesn't have this kind of suppressing power."
Li Fang Ren clenched his fist, feeling the energy building inside him. He looked at Yunling with a slight smirk.
"Since you find this unsatisfying, let me show you my full strength."
He positioned himself in front of the tablet and threw a punch with every ounce of power he could muster. The moment his fist connected something went terribly wrong. The entire ancient tablet shattered into countless pieces, fragments flying everywhere.
Shit, I messed up.
"Isn't this some treasure costing millions?" he muttered to himself, staring at the rubble in disbelief.
From far behind where he stood, Li Juntian watched everything unfold and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"This kid, huhu."
The disciples stared in complete shock at what had just happened. A six-year-old child had destroyed something that had been in the family arena for centuries. But before anyone could process the destruction, something extraordinary happened. A brilliant qi ray burst from the tablet's remains like a firecracker, shooting directly toward Li Fang Ren's chest.
The impact sent him stumbling backward, gasping for breath.
"Woah... what even happened just now?"
[PHYSICAL DAO INHERITANCE INTEGRATED]
Li Fang Ren stared at the notification completely confused.
"Physical dao inheritance??"
Li Juntian appeared beside his grandson, his expression proud and amused. He began explaining what the system meant,
"A physical dao inheritance is a qi stigma left behind by powerful immortals for their descendants to inherit and use when they're ready."
He laughed warmly while shaking his head in wonder.
"First you shot up to the divine realm, and now you're already forming true qi at this age. I really don't know what your limits are. With this inheritance, you're the strongest in your entire generation."
Li Fang Ren's gaze drifted back to the destroyed tablet,he was feeling genuinely concerned about what he'd done.
"But grandfather, the ancient tablet..."
"Don't worry about that," Juntian said with a dismissive wave, his eyes were still gleaming with pride, maybe even greed of a powerful successor.
"No, maybe we could patch it up by stacking these stones back together," he suggested.
Juntian laughed heartily at his grandson's concern.
"Hahaha, such petty concerns. You breaking through is far more important than some old tablet, don't you think?"
He picked the boy up and started walking toward the palace.
"Come, let's go. I will teach you how to manifest the spirit sea realm."
As they made their way across the arena grounds, a young voice called out suddenly from behind them.
"Stop, wait a minute."
Both of them turned to see Ling Feng walking toward them with clear purpose. Li Juntian's expression showed obvious annoyance at the interruption.
"What? Who are you?"
Ling Feng didn't answer with words. Instead, she performed a deep kowtow before both of them, her entire body bent in complete submission and respect. The entire arena fell silent as every disciple watched.
"Disciple Ling Feng greets the patriarch. I wish to serve the holy son as an attendant. I want him to be my master."
The disciples began murmuring among themselves immediately, their whispers were filling the arena.
"Isn't it supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing?"
"Why would she do it for a child?"
"Even if he's strong, there must be more powerful people out there."
What kind of passive charm do I even have? People stick to me like bugs, Li Fang Ren thought, genuinely confused.
Yunling watched from the side as her expression twisting with jealousy.
"This Ling Feng, when I asked her about my master, she refused me blatantly. Now this kid showed some power and she's readily asking to serve him."
Li Fang Ren jumped down from his grandfather's arms and walked closer to Ling Feng
"Why?"
She stared at him silently.
"Why do you wish to serve me? From what I've noticed since I got here, you seem to be one of the strongest ones around. Even some ancestors might accept you as a disciple. You could become a sage. Why follow someone like me?"
Ling Feng stared at him like he'd just insulted her deeply.
"Do you not understand by my name, or are you seriously mocking me?"
Li Fang Ren had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"Huh??"
One of the nearby disciples quickly explained.
"She's from a lower branch family."
Another one added more context.
"A person from a branch family has near zero resources. If they have talent or want to succeed, they have to form connections to the main family."
Ah, so that's how things work here, Li Fang Ren thought, finally understanding the situation.
His grandpa laughed loudly at the explanation.
"See that? Even this young girl understands that my grandson is destined for greatness."
Yeah right, thank god I'm born in the main family. If ours is one of the weaker ones, how crazy must the stronger families be?
He considered the situation for a while, then looked at Ling Feng seriously.
"I can agree, however."
"However, what?" Ling Feng asked.
"You have to serve me tea, prepare my food, wash my clothes if the servants don't, massage my body, and even play with me," he explained, listing off his conditions. "Do that, and I will even give you my resources too."
Everyone gasped loudly at his words. The main family's resources were premium grade, and even a single pill was worth thousands of gold coins.
Take it. My system does the work anyway. What better than having a servant who does everything for me? And if she's truly as strong as people say, I can make her my personal guard, Li Fang Ren thought with a grin.
Ling Feng's expression remained serious as she stared at him.
"I will follow you through thick and thin, even in death."
"Uhh... you don't really need to go that far."
But her gleaming eyes with confidence negated his words completely. She was completely committed to this decision.
"Alright alright, so now," Li Fang Ren said, jumping up onto her shoulders without warning.
"Let's go to the celestial palace now."
She was startled by the sudden weight and familiarity.
"This wasn't in the list," she muttered quietly.
Li Juntian stood frozen in place, completely shocked.
"Hey, don't you always sit on my shoulders?"
She maintained her cold expression as she carried the boy forward.
"Old man, compared to your strong muscles, a delicate young girl is always preferable," Li Fang Ren said with a mischievous grin.
"Whaaaaaa?" Li Juntian's voice echoed across the entire arena as they left him standing there like a statue.
Yunling made her way carefully through the family compound, searching for her master's residence. When she finally found him, his entrance was dramatic as always. He jumped down from the treetop and shattered a large stone with a single punch, the pieces scattering everywhere.
Yunling watched in awe as he landed gracefully.
She ran toward him without hesitation.
"Young master, you finally came out of seclusion!"
Her master glanced down at her with mild interest.
"Oh, did you wait for me here?"
"Master, that Ling Feng who rejected your offer has accepted a snotty brat from the main family as a master."
"Oh, who?"
"It's Li Fang Ren."
The moment those words left her mouth, her master's entire demeanor shifted. His hand came up and struck her across the face with surprising force. Yunling stumbled backward from the impact, completely shocked and hurt.
"You didn't mention my name in front of him, did you, idiot? Do you know what you're even doing?"
She was surprised. This was the master she thought would support her, and he'd just hit her for the first time.
She shook her head frantically to say no.
"Dammit, he is the holy son. How can you even offend him? His mother, his father, even our ancestor is backing him. He has the Zeroth Principle. People like us need to go up from tenth to first, don't you even want tenth?"
She finally understood the gravity of the situation.
* * *
Li Fang Ren was sitting on the floor while his grandpa Juntian sat comfortably in a chair. Juntian's expression was amused as he looked at his grandson.
"You sure are a lady charmer, huh? Leaving me right after you got a chick."
Li Fang Ren tried to avoid his gaze, feeling embarrassed. He quickly ran toward his grandfather using his childlike cuteness.
"How could that be? Aren't I your favorite?"
Juntian pushed him back gently.
"Stop acting canny with me."
He stared at his grandson seriously.
"Tell me, what was that technique you used? It wasn't from our clan."
Li Fang Ren's heart skipped a beat.
Shit, he found out. Well, I have to come clean someday.
"It was the divine imprisonment qi."
"Never heard of it," Juntian said, frowning slightly.
"It's something like... a power from my physique. If I master it, I could even imprison emperors and martial warriors in hell gates."
Juntian nodded slowly, accepting this explanation.
"Well, it is a rare body with infinite techniques. Anyway, we are starting to plan your tenth birthday feast."
Li Fang Ren looked confused.
"Isn't it way too early? Like four years away?"
"Tsk tsk tsk," Juntian said, shaking his head. "At that time, many ancient families and immortal clans from the immortal realms will attend. We will finally tell the world that you've mastered the Zeroth Principle, one of the hardest techniques of our clan."
Li Fang Ren felt the weight of those words settle on him.
"Woah, it will be like the starting point of my entire era."