It happened on the morning of my seventeenth birthday.
The golden light filtering through the clouds over Clear Sky Ye Clan's ancestral courtyard carried a peculiar clarity that day. It was the sort of stillness before a storm—not of chaos, but of change. I stood beneath the shadow of the clan's ancient Spirit Peach Tree, its silver-veined leaves shimmering with morning dew. My hand rested lazily on the hilt of my training sword, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Seventeen. Still no signs of breakthrough. Not even late- Qi Condensation. It should've been demoralizing, especially in a clan full of freakish talent like my older brother Changming. But instead... I felt oddly light. Like the weight of expectations had missed its mark.
Then the world shifted.
[Heritage System Initialized.]
The words didn't come through ears but mind, like the whisper of a god pressing against the edge of reason.
[User recognized: Ye Changsheng. Bloodline confirmed. Host's age: 17. Condition: Activated upon age threshold. Binding complete.]
A tingling heat spread across my chest as a mark bloomed just above my heart—golden, with intricate branching lines forming an ancient tree. I knew instantly that no one else could see it. It wasn't that kind of mark.
[Function 1: Upon the breakthrough of direct offspring, host will receive 100% of their cultivation and talent.]
[Function 2: Host will receive milestone rewards based on number of direct offspring and their cultivation achievements. Milestones scale exponentially.]
I stood there, stunned, beneath the peach tree's shade. No divine lightning, no soul-searing pain. Just two cold lines of text that would change everything. And me? I laughed.
Not because I found it funny. But because it made too much sense. I had always been different—too relaxed, too playful for a serious sect heir. I liked women too much. I liked wine and sleeping in. I wasn't useless—I just hadn't been hungry. And now?
Now I was starving.
The first thing I did was hide. Not physically—I strolled through the clan like always, nodding at elders, winking at maids. But inside? I was burning with calculation. The system didn't promise power through cultivation or killing beasts or seizing treasures. It promised power through bloodline. Through family.
And that meant I had to build one. Carefully.
For the rest of the day, I kept my usual antics. Grandfather Xuefeng nodded at me from his tea seat by the waterfall. My father, Tianbao, narrowed his eyes suspiciously every time I walked by with a cheerful whistle. Mother, sweet Mu Lianhua, hugged me far too tightly in front of everyone and whispered, "Happy birthday, Sheng'er. You've grown so fast." I laughed and squirmed, playing the part.
Only Tianying—the iron-hearted clan leader and my father's older sister—glared at me like she knew. Her golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly as I bowed. "Still a little rascal," she said.
I smiled. "Always, Aunt."
I could feel Changming watching from behind his fan, sipping tea beneath the peach blossoms like some immortal sage. That serene presence he carried made others feel safe. He'd just reached Jindan last year. Sixty years old, dual spiritual roots, formation master. He made me look like a farm chicken beside a phoenix.
And yet, for the first time in years... I didn't feel inferior. I felt dangerous.
That night, I returned to my courtyard, eyes still wide with thoughts. The mark on my chest pulsed gently as I paced.
"A system, huh... a way to cultivate through children."
I thought of the beauties in the clan. The talented young women in the allied branches. The stubborn geniuses in the alchemy and trade halls. This world didn't shy from polygamy. It encouraged powerful bloodlines to spread. I knew what I had to do. But unlike most men who'd salivate at the thought, I wasn't in this for pleasure. I was in this for power. Real, lasting power.
But if I had to charm a few breathtaking women to get there? Well...
I cracked a grin.
The next morning, I paid a visit to Mother. Her alchemy hall was buzzing as usual, flames roaring under cauldrons while disciples moved like bees around a queen. She spotted me instantly.
"Changsheng! Visiting me twice in two days? What's gotten into you?"
"Can't a son miss his mother?" I smiled, slipping past a confused apprentice to sit beside her cauldron.
She gave me that knowing look. The one she reserved for my schemes. "What are you plotting?"
"I was just thinking..." I said, casually. "Maybe it's time I started looking more seriously into cultivation. Into building something of my own."
She blinked. Then she lit up like spring. "Finally! I told your father it would happen one day. You're a late bloomer, but no less brilliant."
I coughed. "I'm also considering marriage."
She nearly dropped her spoon.
By the end of the week, my courtyard was no longer quiet.
Changjian and Changrui, my two older brothers—the swordsman and the talisman master—showed up with knowing smirks. "So," Jian drawled, leaning on his pear-blade sword. "The peacock spreads his feathers, eh?"
Rui, with his quick tongue and ink-stained fingers, added, "Or maybe the rooster struts into the henhouse?"
I rolled my eyes. "You two have jokes now?"
Jian clapped a hand on my shoulder. "If you need advice on wooing women—"
"I don't."
Rui grinned. "He already has a list. I peeked."
"You what?!"
They laughed.
That night, alone again, I sat under the Spirit Peach Tree and looked up at the stars. The mark on my chest pulsed, not with urgency, but with certainty. I'd taken my first steps into a different kind of cultivation. One built on family, on bloodlines, on patience—and yes, affection.
But I knew what this world was really like. It praised power, not affection. And to survive... I would have to be both beloved and feared.
So I whispered to the stars:
"I'll build a dynasty. Not just a name. A bloodline that even gods will envy."
And the tree's leaves shimmered like they heard.
[End of Chapter 3]