Wu Yang, the Second Young Master

Xiao Ye felt like an eternity had passed before he finally felt alive again. He was no longer trapped in the same cold, dark place he had been in before.

As he regained his senses, he overheard a hoarse voice saying, "He seems healthy."

"Thank you so much, Divine Doctor Zhang! Our Wu Clan is grateful. This is the third time you've helped my wife give birth to a beautiful child!" said an intense man.

Divine Doctor Zhang replied, "Wu Clan Head, don't worry. Your father, Wu Min, saved my life in the Endless Forest, and I became indebted to him. My life belongs to the Clan." As he spoke, his lips curved into a crooked smile.

Wu Chen, the Wu Clan Head, shook his head and waved his hand, showing disapproval. "No matter what, you helped me. If the Wu Clan can't be grateful to you, then I will be," he said.

Shi Mei turned to her husband and asked, "What name should we give him?" The Divine Doctor and Shi Mei both looked at Wu Chen, waiting for his answer.

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Chen proudly declared, "Let's name him Wu Yang! I want him to shine like the sun and lead my Wu Clan to a golden age!"

Despite knowing that his other son, Wu Feng, was a useless Young Master and had no hope of inheriting the clan in the future, Wu Chen still cared for him.

On the other hand, his daughter was already betrothed to the Crown Prince and was bound to become an Empress, so he had no worries for her.

Shi Mei and Divine Doctor Zhang both nodded in agreement, pleased with the name.

As silence filled the room, Shi Mei took the initiative to break the ice. "No matter what, we are still indebted to you. Please tell us your request," she said.

Zhang Cao smiled slightly before responding, "Since you both insist, I won't be polite. I have a request: I want my granddaughter, Zhang Baiyun, to marry your Second Young Master when he turns sixteen."

The Second Young Master is precisely Xiao Ye, who was currently in the body of Wu Yang.

"If they're not compatible, they can forget about this arrangement," Zhang Cao said.

As the Wu Clan Head pondered over the proposition, Wu Chen saw no issue with the engagement. If the two parties did not share mutual affection, they would not have to proceed with the marriage.

The Wu Clan Head looked at his wife and Zhang Cao realized that it was time for him to depart and let the couple decide.

Quietly, Zhang Cao left the room, leaving the husband and wife to discuss the proposal.

"What do you think, my dear wife?" Wu Chen asked Shi Mei.

Shi Mei thought for a moment before responding, "I agree with the request. Divine Doctor Zhang is not asking us to marry Yang'er to his granddaughter. He simply wants us to consider the possibility. Besides, I've heard that at the young age of four, Zhang Baiyun is already as beautiful as a flower."

Wu Chen nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled. I share the same opinion as both of you."

He turned to Wu Yang and smiled, "Looks like we have a potential bride for our Second Young Master."

Soon, fifteen years have passed...

After he reincarnated into the body of a young master, Wu Yang had enjoyed an extremely easy life, adored by tens of thousands and living carefree.

During this time, he had also learned about the cultivation system in the Blue Sky Mortal Realm. He discovered that there were seven realms: Qi Condensation, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Palace, Great Ocean, and Mortal Extremity.

Beyond these realms were the realms of the Immortals, which everyone thought were long extinct, except for Wu Yang. Through his experience reading countless cultivation novels, he knew that there were many Immortals, but they simply didn't bother coming to such a barren place.

[A/N: I'll address Xiao Ye as Wu Yang from now on. I'll do the same when he reincarnates into other bodies as well, I'll use the body's name instead of his true name.]

In the Jin Dynasty, the highest realm achieved was the Nascent Soul, rumored to have been attained by the ancestors of the Imperial Family, Wu Clan, Shi Family, and Zhou Family.

With a sigh, Wu Yang paused his cultivation for the moment.

Wu Chen's eldest child, Wu Meng, possessed a beauty that could rival that of a fairy and was renowned throughout the Jin Dynasty. As such, she had been promised to the Crown Prince, Jin De.

It appeared that she had returned home, and Wu Yang needed to welcome her.

Growing up in this body, Wu Yang did not form a deep connection with the body's family, not to mention the fact that right now, his only priority is to cultivate.

Spending time with his family is not a priority for him.

Wu Meng arrived at the gate of the Wu Clan, accompanied by three powerful experts in the Core Formation Realm. These experts were so strong that they could easily be made elders in the Imperial Family or the other three major families of the Jin Dynasty.

Two of the experts accompanying the beautiful young woman were dressed in golden robes adorned with the character "Jin," while the third wore a blood-red robe with the "Wu" character emblazoned upon it.

Wu Meng's slender figure was draped in a cloak, with her raven-black hair cascading over her shoulders.

When she arrived at her family home, she felt a lot of feelings. She had been gone for five years and couldn't leave the palace because she had to train a lot. She had to work hard to become a good ruler because she was going to be the next Empress.

As she walked towards the main hall, she saw her father, mother, and Wu Yang, but didn't see her other brother, Wu Feng. She frowned a bit because of this.

Wu Meng thought to herself, "Where is my brother again? Didn't I take care of him when he was younger? I even helped him when he was bullied by the heirs of the Shi and Zhou families. Hmph!"

She was upset with Wu Feng's indifference, but she tried to calm herself down. Putting on a warm smile, she greeted her family.

As the night fell, the two Jin Family experts retired to their guest rooms. They were well taken care of and had attendants catering to their every need, so no one paid much attention to them.

Meanwhile, back in the main hall, Wu Meng caught up with her family and enjoyed a meal together, discussing everything that had happened during her five-year absence.

Wu Meng's expression turned serious as she sat on a chair, causing Wu Chen to grow concerned. "Is something bothering you, Meng'er?" he asked, his face darkening. "Has the Crown Prince been treating you badly? If he has, tell me and I'll solve it for you."

Wu Meng shook her head and said, "No, it's actually the opposite. Jin De is treating me well. He provides me with resources to cultivate, gives me personal space and he's a very good person."

"However, the current Emperor informed me that there will be hard times in the Jin Dynasty, and he requested our family and the Shi family to assist them. We must arrive in the Imperial Capital within two weeks to discuss the matter further."

Wu Chen and Shi Mei were both taken aback by this. They wondered why the Emperor only requested the help of the Shi Family and Wu Clan, and not the Zhou Family.

Wu Chen wondered aloud, "Is it possible that the Zhou Family and the Imperial Family have joined forces to attack us?"

Such a scenario was not impossible. If they were within the Imperial Family's territory, the Nascent Soul ancestor might easily target them. In particular, what made Wu Chen wary was the fact that the Zhou Family had not been summoned alongside them.

Also, the alliance between the Shi Family and the Wu Clan was not a secret to everyone. Shi Mei was at some point, the only daughter of the Shi Family's Head, before he retired.

Wu Yang was present and listened attentively. He was also highly suspicious of the Imperial Family's motives and couldn't help but ponder that perhaps the Imperial Family and the Zhou Family had indeed formed an alliance to eliminate the Shi Family and the Wu Clan.

Soon, Wu Yang dismissed this idea and stated, "I don't think the Imperial Family wants to eliminate us, otherwise they wouldn't have arranged the marriage between the Crown Prince and Wu Meng. Although it's possible, I think it's unlikely because the neighboring dynasties are also powerful. The Emperor would have been more cautious about attacking the two forces."

All four of them nodded in agreement.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Me and your father will talk about this in private." Shi Mei said, afraid of implicating the two.

"Wu Yang, what's your cultivation level now?" Wu Meng asked eagerly, changing the subject. "I remember five years ago you had just broken through to the Foundation Building Realm. Have you made any progress since then?"

Despite being at the early stage of the Core Formation Realm, she couldn't sense her brother's cultivation due to the Hidden Dragon Ring he wore.

Wu Yang didn't hesitate to answer, "I'm at the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm. And I'm confident I'll reach the peak within a month." He couldn't help feeling proud of his achievements. "I'll break through to the Core Formation Realm before I turn seventeen," he added.

His sister achieved a breakthrough at 23 but, at 25, she's still far from reaching the middle layer of the Core Formation Realm. It will take her more than a decade to achieve.

The difficulty of cultivating in this realm is obvious. The scarcity of resources for Core Formation cultivators makes progress extremely hard.

As soon as Wu Yang showed his talent, his father couldn't resist boasting, "Like father, like son! In my prime, I was a real dragon among men... Sigh... These youngsters are so impressive!"

As Wu Chen shamelessly boasted about his son's talents, his wife couldn't hold back and delivered a swift slap to the back of his head, "Don't spout nonsense like 'like father, like son'. You're just like the person who sells dog meat as mutton, deceiving others with dishonest means."

Despite being experts at the perfection stage of Core Formation Realm, the couple didn't seem to carry themselves as such!

The four of them laughed.