Chapter 2

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It was only later that day, after Xu Zhenyan finished his lessons and Xu Tianwang returned from the Judicial supervisor's office that they were able to speak.

Standing in front of his father's courtyard, the youth wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt.

His and his two siblings' mother died when he was young, so the man was the only parent he ever knew. He was also the reason why the original Xu Zhenyan became so twisted, having never shown his son a father's love.

As a member of the Xu family, the youth was better off than their servants, but just like them, he'd be discarded if he didn't show his worth. In fact, that was exactly what happened to the original. For that reason, he eventually betrayed Xu Tianwang, luring him into a trap for his enemies to kill.

However, 'he' had no interest in trying to soften the man's cold heart, nor in making him pay for his terrible behavior. What Xu Zhenyan wanted was to scram somewhere the asshole wouldn't bother him so he could cultivate in peace.

After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the double wooden doors.

Time passed without anyone responding, but Xu Zhenyan didn't grow impatient. Even though he couldn't hear anything, he knew Xu Tianwang might be training. He had no choice but to wait until he finished.

'Why not call me over after you're done instead of wasting my time like this?'

Those were his thoughts, but he didn't let his dissatisfaction show on his face. Never mind getting his request granted, if he displeased Xu Tianwang in any way, the man was liable to beat him black and blue.

Eventually, after thirty minutes passed, a voice sounded from the other side.

"Enter."

The tone was relaxed, not cold or hard like one would've expected.

Xu Zhenyan pushed the doors open without hesitation. Immediately, his gaze landed on Xu Tianwang, standing some distance away. He was underneath a pomegranate tree, the same one he was so fond of in the novel.

After making his way over to his father, the boy gave a respectful bow.

"Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, honorable father."

The boy's voice was subdued, just like those fawning subordinates the man nurtured. He maintained his posture for a second before straightening and meeting his father's eyes.

Xu Tianwang wasn't looking at him, but at his body instead. His expression was placid, yet an aura of dissatisfaction could be detected from him.

"Your cultivation hasn't progressed at all."

He sounded like he was simply commenting on the weather, but Xu Zhenyan didn't dare take the criticism lightly.

He lowered his head, trying to look appropriately ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I've indeed stagnated, which is why I requested this meeting with your honorable self."

Xu Tianwang gave him a casual nod before turning his head to look at the pomegranate tree.

He didn't say anything further, which made it difficult for Xu Zhenyan to decide whether he should continue talking or not.

"You wish to move to Deereast city."

Before the boy could say anything, the man continued. His words weren't a question, but Xu Zhenyan replied anyway.

"Yes father. Imperial City is grand, but that is precisely why I'm finding it unsuitable."

It seemed like an incomprehensible statement, but cultivation was indeed a practice of self-inflicted discomfort. His current situation couldn't be considered comfortable, but in the eyes of his father, Xu Zhenyan was undoubtedly too pampered.

Xu Tianwang remained silent for a moment before replying.

"You believe that, despite wasting a month's time journeying and the lack of tutors, you'll be able to provide superior results there?"

His tone remained unchanging, but Xu Zhenyan could tell the man didn't think much of his idea. Even more than that, he suspected that, if he didn't manage to provide his father a good reason, he'd be punished just for bringing up something like this.

"My cultivation will certainly progress."

He spoke the words with confidence. However, there was a part he left unsaid--'…although my Statecraft abilities will certainly stagnate.'

Even though he didn't say it, he knew Xu Tianwang understood this. Despite that, he still dared to make this request. The reason was simple--Xu Tianwang placed cultivation above all else. After serving in the military for most of his life, he knew better than anyone how useless soft power ultimately was.

If Xu Zhenyan really could make significant progress, the man wouldn't mind overlooking his other studies falling behind--at least that was the boy's belief.

A long, tense silence stretched between the two of them. Although Xu Tianwang remained stoic, his son could sense his displeasure. Xu Zhenyan was already considering whether he'd need his time-rewind to convince his father when the man suddenly spoke.

"I can grant this, but if two months pass without you breaking through to Soul Expert level, you will return. Your lessons will be doubled and you will not step out of this estate until the time comes for you to attend Green Luan Academy."

For the first time, Xu Tianwang's tone lost its casualness. However, instead of being scared off, Xu Zhenyan felt gratefulness toward his father for perhaps the first time in his life.

He gave the man a respectful bow.

"I will not disappoint you, honorable father."

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Neither he nor Xu Tianwang wanted to waste time, so within a span of days, a convoy was prepared for Xu Zhenyan, heading toward Deereast city.

The boy in question was currently staring out of the window, resting his chin on one palm. Travelling across the Yunqin empire in a carriage was really a long and drawn-out process, but he didn't mind. In fact, that was exactly what he wanted. The further away he was from Xu Tianwang, the more at ease he felt.

'While I'm there, should I take a look at the protagonist?'

Lin Xi was from a small town in Eastern Forest Province where Deereast City was situated. After thinking it over, he internally shook his head. There was no reason for him to do something like that. Besides, he didn't want the guy to act familiar when they met again at Green Luan Academy.

Xu Zhenyan's head fell backwards, thudding against the backrest. He really didn't know how he was going to keep himself busy for the next month. He considered talking to Uncle Shin, driving the carriage, but decided against it. He didn't have much of a desire to be all buddy-buddy with any of these people, given that they were his father's men.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a reason to maintain relations with the Xu family. He had an older sister and brother, but Xu Zhenyan didn't have a good relationship with them.

Because of his desire for excellence, Xu Tianwang purposefully stoked conflict between the three siblings. His eldest brother was absolutely on his father's side, willing to do almost anything to earn the man's approval. Right now, he was serving in the military, following in his father's footsteps, trying to distinguish himself. His sister, on the other hand, was already married off to some Changge asshole who he'd never even met for political reasons.

He could only shake his head. If some deity sent him here to fix the world or restore the love between his family members, then they would be sorely disappointed. Exerting that much effort for something that wouldn't benefit him wasn't his style.

However, becoming absurdly strong was his style.

'Damn, I really can't wait to get started.'

His heart was beating like he just chugged ten cups of black coffee. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that a reincarnator like him practicing the [Immortal Transformation Technique] was like a tiger growing wings.

Him, Lin Xi and principal Zhang weren't like other cultivators. In the first place, this power system was exactly based on the strength of one's soul. Given that the three of them basically had two souls, their soul power was actually double that of a normal cultivator of the same level.

'Couple that with the insane soul force accumulation of the [Immortal Transformation Technique] and I'll really be invincible…!'

For a few minutes, his head was stuffed full of delusions of grandeur, but then he snapped out of it.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy. The word 'immortal' was extremely misleading. It did increase lifespan, but it didn't really make the cultivator's body any stronger than normal. That was purely the domain of the [True Devil Transformation].

'In the end, I'll still have to find out how to cultivate both techniques at the same time.'

Even Lin Xi hadn't truly discovered a way to merge the both together. Instead, he isolated the [True Devil Transformation] to certain parts of his body using a special medicine. That way, he bypassed the biggest setback of the technique--that one's mutated body was completely incapable of absorbing soul force out of the natural environment.

However, Xu Zhenyan wasn't satisfied with that much. On the surface, it seemed like having one's cake and eating it too, but in reality, it was a compromise. Lin Xi managed to defeat the True Devil King, but his body wasn't as powerful as his enemy's, nor was he able to counter the villain's ultimate body-stealing move. He had to rely on other people to succeed.

As Xu Zhenyan contemplated these things, his decorated carriage rolled through the Imperial City's streets. Despite its luxurious exterior, not many people paid attention. For the inhabitants, this kind of esteemed individual was commonly seen.

The city was the heart of the empire, after all and Xu Tianwang wasn't even at the top of the Judicial Sector. Above him was still the General Inspector, Vice Sector Head and Sector Head. He was at least three degrees removed from being in charge of his department nationwide and that gap wasn't going to close any time soon.

Once Xu Zhenyan enrolled at Green Luan Academy, he'd only be a B-tier existence, with at least three other first years occupying A-tier and then the empire's first prince occupying S-tier. Among the other years, who knew how many people had statuses equal to or greater than his?

Yet, at this time, the youth's thoughts were far removed from these types of things. In the first place, he never planned to participate in the power struggles among Yunqin's officials anyway.

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