Chapter Four: The Shen Family

His body had already recovered to the level of an almost normal person, but the vitality and blood essence he had previously lost could not be restored in an instant. With the Shen family’s vast wealth and resources, precious medicinal ingredients were naturally easier to obtain—even if Steward Wu hadn’t come, Shen Lian would likely have found an opportunity to return home.

Wealth is to a martial artist as knowledge is to a scholar; this principle holds just as true for cultivation. Even in ancient times on Earth, the most renowned Daoists mostly came from well-off families. Zhang Daoling, the founder of the Celestial Master Sect, was famously wealthy; his descendant Sun En was the scion of a great clan. Ge Hong held the title of Marquis, and Tao Hongjing was known as the Chancellor of the Mountains. These familiar names all have one thing in common: none lacked resources. If they had to labor for food and clothing every day, then no matter how gifted they were, it would have been impossible to achieve greatness in cultivation.

Initially, Shen Lian’s understanding was limited by his own lack of experience and guidance. He thought remarkable figures became so simply by locking themselves away with a secret manual and practicing arduously. Yet both the path of martial arts and cultivation are pursuits of personal evolution. From the perspective of someone who has witnessed the information explosion of modern society, Shen Lian knew that even if cultivation required a certain disposition, resources remained the crucial foundation.

In modern times, even a project like the Human Genome Project required the cooperation of many nations to accomplish. This alone made it clear that the path of evolution he was about to embark on could not be completed by working alone.

The ancients spoke of the Four Necessities: Method, Companions, Wealth, and Place.

He now possessed a method, though his understanding of it was still shallow. Companions might mean fellow cultivators on the path, a wise master to answer doubts, or friends who could share information and experience—just as scientists in modern society attend symposiums and hold positions at universities to access information resources. Wealth referred to the resources essential for cultivation; Shen Lian’s limited knowledge left him unclear on what was truly suitable for cultivation. Place meant a quiet, safe environment for training.

Looking over his current situation, he had some of these, yet none were optimal. In fact, the most important was not the method itself, but companions. To study alone is to have no friends, and to be narrow-minded and uninformed. As a modern man, Shen Lian understood that shutting oneself away was not the best choice. Had someone guided the original Shen Lian, he would not have ruined his body so badly, opening the way for Shen Lian to take over.

If that had been the case, even crossing over into this world, the previous owner of this body would have assimilated him rather than the other way around.

Such insights would certainly have been pointed out by elders in a proper cultivation sect.

Even in those cultivation stories he’d read in his previous life, the protagonist would first join a sect before venturing out alone. It’s like becoming a great scholar—you must first study and strengthen your wings before embarking on independent research.

These reasons were more than enough to tell Shen Lian what he should do next. In the long term, he needed to find a high-level sect and, if possible, become a disciple. In the short term, he should temper his body, replenish his energy and blood, and lay a truly solid foundation.

In truth, the previous owner’s focus on strengthening the soul wasn’t without merit. At least now Shen Lian’s spirit was much stronger than that of an ordinary person, giving him a keen awareness of his own body. In everyday training, he could easily grasp the critical points, knowing when to stop, and how to unleash his strength without harming himself.

Through persistent training, his hand-eye coordination and sensory perception had far surpassed the average man. If he were back in modern society, his skills in large-scale video games would be nothing short of extraordinary.

Time slipped by, and soon it was dawn of the next day.

Shen Lian was already seated in a comfortable carriage. Steward Wu drove the horses with practiced ease, the journey so smooth that one could hardly feel a jolt. Of course, this was partly thanks to the Shen family’s investment in repairing the roads near their estate for the sake of their commercial ventures.

If you want to prosper, first build roads—they had spent a considerable sum on bridges and roads, but the long-term benefits were clear. The Shen family’s reputation in Qingzhou Prefecture had grown, and these projects also contributed to the local officials’ accomplishments. Apart from the Shen family’s apparent financial loss, everyone benefited.

All of this was due to Old Master Shen’s insistence. Even though the family’s eldest master—Shen Lian’s uncle—was reluctant and the second uncle was not supportive, Old Master Shen wielded great authority and had accomplished this back when the family was not nearly as wealthy as it was now.

From such details, one could see that Shen Lian’s maternal grandfather was no ordinary man: he possessed vision and decisiveness. It was no wonder he had led the family to such heights.

Reflecting on these things and combining them with the original Shen Lian’s memories, a sketch of Old Master Shen was taking shape in his mind.

This, too, was a benefit of a powerful spirit—his capacity for logical analysis had increased greatly. Whether due to his strong soul or the effects of the “True Explanation of the Supreme Purity Spiritual Treasure’s Natural Heart-Locking and Mind-Settling Method,” his originally unhurried nature had transformed into steadiness and keen perception, growing ever more rational.

Whenever he visualized the deity holding the jade scepter in his mind, the chaotic thoughts that arose each day would gradually settle.

Qingzhou Prefecture’s city bustled with people and carriages. An understated yet luxurious carriage stopped before the gates of the wealthy Shen household.

As soon as the carriage arrived, the gatekeeper called out, “Steward Wu, have you brought the third young master home?”

“That’s right,” Steward Wu replied.

Shen Lian lifted the curtain and stepped down slowly. Even though the original owner’s memories told him he hadn’t set foot here in six or seven years, little had changed. Only the stone lions at the gate bore more marks of wind and time, standing as meticulous recorders of the passing years.

The main gate swung open, and a middle-aged man emerged—Shen Lian’s second uncle, Shen Qingshan.

In his youth, Shen Qingshan had been a lay disciple of a martial sect, acquiring considerable martial skill. It was said he had once fought off dozens of bandits with his bare hands while escorting goods, earning him a reputation for bravery in Qingzhou.

With age, he had grown somewhat portly, his muscles less taut beneath his robes, but his eyes remained sharper than most. Shen Qingshan scrutinized his nephew carefully. His first impression was that Shen Lian was thin, lacking the robust physique he himself had had as a youth. After all these years, Shen Lian seemed less withdrawn than when he was a child. The boy’s slender frame now resembled bamboo growing from a rocky crevice—resilient, unmoved by the wind.

Moreover, Shen Lian’s features had grown more and more like those of Shen Qingshan’s late sister. His bond with his sister had always been stronger than with his elder brother, since the latter had been sent away to study early on, while he and his sister had remained at home together.

Later, after he spent seven years away studying martial arts, their relationship had grown distant. When his little sister became pregnant out of wedlock, it had seemed to him a terrible disgrace to the family.

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