Cultivation Nerd

As I approached the gates, a small group of guards stood watch, their chainmail faintly glinting in the sunlight. Dark robes draped over their shoulders, giving them an air that was both regal and battle-ready.

A line of people stretched ahead, patiently awaiting their turn to enter. Some shuffled forward, others murmured in hushed tones. Yet, as I moved toward the entrance, no one tried to stop me from skipping the line. Instead, the guards acknowledged me with nods, a few even offering friendly smiles.

“Young master, welcome back.”

“Master Feng, we’ve heard about your book. You honor the Liu Family.”

“Did you tame a monstrous beast turtle? As expected of Master Feng.”

Though these guards were merely Body Tempering Cultivators, they displayed a level of obsequiousness worthy of Core Formation masters when it came to flattery. Their smiles were overly eager, their nods too respectful, each gesture an attempt to curry favor. I saw through their intentions, hoping to gain some small advantage by treating me with exaggerated respect. But I smiled and nodded back. It was easier to play along than to disrupt the delicate dance of courtesies they so clearly thrived on.

I half-expected someone to mention that monstrous beasts weren’t allowed in the city, but no one brought it up. I was just another inner disciple in the Blazing Sun Sect, a nobody without Song Song behind me. But here, I was an honored member of the Liu Family and the grandson of an elder.

Sha Shou City lacked the bustling energy of Goldwatch City or even the rugged resilience of Whitewall Town, where I’d once overseen a Beast Wave. Despite its quieter atmosphere, certain features stood out, chief among them, its sheer size.

The city sprawled out far and wide, with farms stretching across its outskirts, their fields reaching toward the horizon just beyond the walls. A second wall loomed beyond the farmland, separating commoners from the Liu Clan’s inner sanctum.

The air beside me shifted as I stood there, contemplating the city’s design and its heavy atmosphere. The wind stirred, and suddenly, my grandfather appeared, standing calmly on Speedy’s shell.

“How have you been, little Feng?” he asked, smiling, though his gaze occasionally flicked toward Wu Yan.

“Pretty good. I traveled a bit after leaving the Blazing Sun Sect. I planned to journey further, but with the Beast Waves coming, I thought it wise to be behind some walls.” I paused. “By the way, how long have you been waiting atop the walls? I didn’t discuss exact dates with my cousins when they left the Sect, but I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“Worry?” The old man snorted, shaking his head. “Why would I worry? You’re my grandson. A dragon in the making.”

My smile stiffened at that, but I forced myself not to cringe and nodded along instead. Though the original Liu Feng didn’t have the typical young master attitude, he had his flaws and a skewed approach to cultivation. His warrior mindset was largely shaped by our grandfather.

“How has the Clan been? Did you suffer during the last Beast Wave? We had some problems on our side. Did they reach all the way here?” I asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from the embarrassment.

Also, where was Liu Bo?

I glanced around but didn’t see him.

Smart guy. He knew when to cut his losses. I was half-hoping to sic this old man on him for a while, then head off for dinner with my parents.

“Not really. The thunder wolves attack this region as usual. Even if other beasts tried to invade, the Thunder Wolf King would keep them in check,” my grandfather replied.

The Thunder Wolf King was the true ruler of these lands. While humans built settlements and Sects, it was the beasts that truly held power in the lands. Of course, lumping all monstrous beasts together was too much. Some would probably see humans and their fellow beasts from other races as the same, just a source of food.

No one was entirely sure of the Thunder Wolf King’s cultivation stage, but it was thought to be at the peak of Foundation Establishment or possibly an early Core Formation beast. Regardless, it acted as a balancing force. An enemy you knew was often better than an unknown one.

Given the political landscape, I doubted any clan or Sect truly wanted the Thunder Wolf King gone. Yet many cities still fell when Beast Waves came.

“I could use some of the thunder wolves for research,” I mused.

Who knew? My Lightning Array might improve with some external input. Monstrous beasts usually couldn’t wield lightning unless they were at least Foundation Establishment, but the wolves here may have mutated.

“By the way,” my grandfather said, eyeing Wu Yan, “Who’s your little friend? She’s a bit young to be a concubine, but in a few years, she’ll be the perfect age for marriage.”

This guy…

At his core, my grandfather was a cultivator who had grown up in harsh times. The Liu Clan of his youth was not as prosperous as it was now, and it wasn’t hard to imagine that their rise to power wasn’t achieved by kindness alone.

So, while the idea of kidnapping a girl and waiting for her to come of age might sound extreme, it wasn’t surprising coming from him. I didn’t hold it against him as much as I probably should. The Liu Feng part of me loved this old man as my grandfather.

“No, she’s just a girl I helped along the way,” I said. “I see her more like a daughter or sister.”

My grandfather raised a white brow and looked me over from head to toe before shrugging.

“Anyway,” he said, settling down on Speedy’s back as the massive turtle continued down the well-paved roads that wound through the farms. “How was your time in the Blazing Sun Sect? I’ve heard many exciting things about you. The feasts I had to throw in your honor almost made me penniless.”

Though his words sounded like a complaint, the wide, proud smirk on his face said otherwise. He looked like a grandfather boasting about his grandson becoming a doctor.

We conversed more as we walked, talking about mundane matters. Mu Yan stood silently beside me, saying nothing.

Grandfather led us down a secluded path as we neared the more populated parts of the city, one I hadn’t noticed before. The winding road was concealed by thick trees and overgrown brush. It was quiet and remote, far from the usual bustling streets one would expect of a city, and it eventually opened up to a hidden entrance leading straight into the inner part of the city.

Once inside, the difference between the outer and inner city was subtle but distinct. The architecture remained modest and practical, but a sense of familiarity set it apart. Every face I passed was one I recognized. Even the servants, bustling about their duties, were somehow connected to the Liu Clan. It was as if the entire inner city was a close-knit extension of the family. Which, in many ways, it was.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The Liu Clan practiced a form of extreme bloodline elitism. Even the servants had higher status than any of the merchants outside the clan. That’s why marrying into the Liu Clan was considered a privilege.

But I paid little attention to these things, they didn’t concern me much. However, as we entered the inner city, all eyes were inevitably drawn to me. Speedy was far too conspicuous to go unnoticed.

We approached one of the larger houses in the inner city, marked by a well-kept yard and a koi pond shimmering gently in the sunlight. The house exuded a quiet elegance, but what truly caught my attention were the two figures standing at the front gates. A man with long, dark hair streaked with early grays stood tall, his beard just a shadow of stubble. Beside him was a woman, her face etched with the lines of time. A scar ran down one side of her face, tracing its path to her eye, a pale, milk-colored orb that showed she was half-blind.

These were my parents. Seeing them stirred something deep inside me, an emotion I couldn’t quite contain. The Liu Feng part of me, the part shaped by their presence and absence, made my heart leap with excitement. It was more than just recognition; it was the warmth of familiarity.

My mother’s face was streaked with tears as she looked at me, while my father had an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

Speedy stopped at the gates, and I jumped off his shell, landing in front of my parents.

“Mother, father, I’m back,” I said.

My weeping mother rushed toward me, her head colliding with my chest.

“My son, my baby boy, you’ve returned alive,” she sobbed.

Still straddled on Speedy’s shell, Grandfather appeared thoroughly unimpressed by the emotional scene. Despite his tender moments with me, he couldn’t hide his indifference toward my parents. Though he might have felt I wasn’t paying attention, I saw right through him. The cracks in his character were clear, cracks the original Liu Feng had missed.

But I set that aside for now, embracing my mother as my father nodded at me. He was practically a middle-aged version of me, though he still sported long hair.

These people were supposed to feel like strangers to me, but the Liu Feng part of me cared for them deeply. I smiled and spoke with them for a while before entering a traditional Chinese-style house with a large yard.

The dining room looked just as I remembered it, as though time hadn’t touched it. The walls were adorned with familiar paintings, landscapes and delicate calligraphy, each stirring memories of quiet meals and family gatherings. At the center of the room was the low table, requiring us to sit on the floor. Its dark wood gleamed faintly in the soft light filtering through the windows. The stone floor beneath us was cool but softened by a well-worn wheat-colored carpet.

It all felt so familiar...

I’d never thought much about Liu Feng’s emotions before, but how did they affect my situation? I always considered them like scars, something I could remember without feeling the pain. Yet here, in front of these people, the emotions felt fresh, like a wound that had just been reopened.

I felt... like Liu Feng.

They asked the usual questions about my time in the Sect, their voices filled with curiosity and parental concern. I answered as best as I could, recounting my days, my training, and the routines I’d settled into. It was nothing extraordinary, just the kind of small talk families fall into after time apart.

In turn, I asked them about life at home. Their responses were similarly ordinary, updates on the household, the city, and bits of news that felt both distant and familiar. The conversation flowed easily, with a comforting simplicity, as if we were all easing back into each other’s presence without needing to delve too deeply just yet. The words were secondary to the feeling of reconnection.

During all this, I had left Speedy in the yard and the faceless girl in the living room. While she could technically create a mouth, her internal organs were... complicated, and I wasn’t sure she even had a stomach. Eating might be dangerous for her, as she had never done it before.

My mother looked at me strangely when I left the girl outside the dining room without offering her food and came inside to eat.

In the middle of our pleasant conversation, accompanied by good food and a relaxed atmosphere, my grandfather said, “So, I think you should take over as the next clan head.”

I was in the middle of picking up a juicy piece of grilled duck with my chopsticks when he said that. I paused mid-bite, staring at him.

Huh? What the hell was he talking about? Me, the Clan Head? Where did he even get that idea?

No offense to the Liu Clan, but while they might be an expanding power and a local overlord, they were nothing in the grand scheme of things. Any Core Formation Elder from the Blazing Sun Sect could reduce this place to rubble in an afternoon.

If the Liu Clan were some major force with hidden secrets, ancient knowledge, or anything of real value, maybe I’d be tempted to consider it. But this? It felt like being asked to work overtime for no extra pay. I had already done that in one life, and I wasn’t stupid enough to do that shit again.

Besides, Liu Qian was a nice girl; taking this from her would be a low blow. She had helped me back when I was just an outer disciple, putting herself in a tough spot when an inner sect young master tried to mess with me.

But now, I had to figure out if admitting all this to my grandfather was a good idea.

“I’ll think about it when I reach Core Formation,” I said.

By then, no one would be able to force me to do anything, and I’d probably aim for the Nascent Soul Realm since it would be within reach. Becoming the head of some second-rate clan wasn’t even on my radar.

My parents exchanged worried glances when I said that, while my grandfather’s face remained surprisingly unreadable.

“You know,” he began, a smile tugging at his lips, “when I heard of your accomplishments, I was the proudest man in the clan. Your books, your relationship with the Song girl, managing a town on your own… one of the few that wasn’t destroyed during the Beast Wave…” His voice softened, a melancholic glint in his eyes. “After all that, it would be a loss for the clan if someone like you didn’t become the next Clan Head. And many people agree with me.”

It was clear he wasn’t going to drop the issue if I kept dodging it.

“I’d rather not fight with my family,” I said with a shrug.

Grandfather’s brow furrowed, deep lines etching into his face as he frowned. I braced myself for an outburst or maybe a shout or an angry reprimand.

But nothing came.

Instead, he simply stared at me, his eyes distant, as if his thoughts had wandered far beyond the room. He slowly ran a hand through his white beard, the gesture calm, almost absentminded. The silence between us stretched, growing heavier with each passing second.

Finally, he spoke again. “There wouldn’t need to be any fighting… if you marry Liu Qian.”

What?

Now, it was my turn to frown. “I already have a fiancée.”

“You wouldn’t be the first man to have more than one wife,” he replied calmly. “And if you feel that marriage should be special, take the Fu girl as a concubine. Then we can deal with the Fu Clan, wipe them out, and your children with the Fu girl can inherit whatever remains.”

He leaned back, looking far too pleased with himself, as though he had just delivered the most brilliant plan ever conceived.

“Aren’t Liu Qian and I third cousins or something?” I asked. Everyone in the Liu Clan was related by blood in some way, but some ties were closer than others, and we were pretty close.

I wasn't even going to try convincing him about the whole Fu Clan bloodshed that would come with a war between us and them. Not to mention, Fu Yating would not be happy, to say the least, with her family getting massacred. That would be asking to get a knife in the throat while I slept.

Also, wasn't this whole marriage alliance between us and them because if a war broke out, we weren't sure who would win? Even if we did win, there would be heavy casualties.

“Yes, my brother was the father of the current Clan Head,” Grandfather shrugged, giving me a look like I was the odd one for not wanting to marry my cousin. “I knew my brother well; he was my best friend. I’m sure he would’ve been proud to see you marry his granddaughter.”

That wasn’t the point. The point was how casually everyone here accepted the idea of me marrying my cousin.

Sure, I’d heard that political marriages, even between first cousins, weren’t uncommon to keep succession clean and bury bad blood. But still… I really didn’t want to fuck my cousin.

I let him talk a bit longer, giving him time to express himself. I also had some time to think my words through.

He just kept circling back to the same argument, rehashing the same points in different ways. When he finally finished, I let the silence linger momentarily, ensuring my following words would have the intended impact.

“Ruling the Liu Clan sounds like a tedious job. There are no major benefits for me; in the end, we are just a small clan in the middle of nowhere. Any Core Formation Cultivator could just come and easily slaughter us, so I would rather work on becoming a Core Formation Cultivator than waste time with silly ideas like becoming the Clan Head,” I said, casually dipping a piece of duck into the yellow sauce by the side. The sauce had a tangy, lemon-like taste. Were lemons even a thing in this world?

Grandfather was a stubborn old man, so I knew he wouldn’t drop the issue easily. That’s why I spoke bluntly, in a way I knew he would understand.

Suppose we were a major organization like the Blazing Sun Sect, with access to vast resources and knowledge. In that case, I’d be willing to do the paperwork and deal with the headaches. But for a small place like the Liu Clan? No chance.

I expected him to get angry, but he kept his cool once again.

This was no joking matter for us. Maybe greed was clouding his judgment, or perhaps he knew that this situation had a lot of potential for a lot of bloodshed.