Chapter 3: A Mortal Shell, A Divine Nature

For Si Chen, this was genuinely not complicated.

Spiritual Roots? Those were nothing more than a mortal's innate bridge for communing with the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth — but Si Chen had no need for bridges. He had once been the very source of energy itself.

In his eyes, Five-Element Spiritual Roots, Mutated Spiritual Roots — there was no fundamental difference between them.

It was like sunlight passing through a prism and splitting into seven colors. To the sun itself, it had always been one complete light.

Bone Constitution was the same.

The so-called Sacred Body Dao Embryo was, in the end, still a body of flesh and blood — like a finely crafted ceramic jar versus a rough clay pot, differing only slightly in capacity and quality.

He had existed for billions of years, after all, witnessing the birth and destruction of countless cultivation systems — magic, supernatural abilities, faith...

Even after reincarnation, with his consciousness trapped inside this frail and tender shell, certain essential things had not changed.

Just as humans never forget how to breathe, a star never forgets how to command energy.

And so he simply... watched what his two uncles demonstrated, then replicated it — and casually streamlined a few redundant steps along the way.

After a brief, dead silence, the crowd erupted into an even louder uproar.

"Did you — did you see that?"

"What just happened? Second Master Si and Third Master Si demonstrated it once, and the young master just... got it?"

Stunned, bewildered, and disbelieving gazes all snapped to the small figure standing in the center of the courtyard.

Grand-Uncle's legs trembled, and he accidentally kicked the Spirit-Sensing Stone that had fallen to the ground even further away — completely unaware he had done so.

The clan elders erupted into chaos, crowding around, their faces a mixture of wild elation, shock, and sheer disbelief.

"What was that just now...?"

"But... why did the Spirit-Sensing Stone show no reaction at all?"

"Could it be... some kind of unrecorded, peerless constitution?"

Si Kai and Ye Fu snapped out of their stupor and exchanged a glance. Pride — impossible to suppress — surged into their eyes first. Their child was a talent that defied the heavens!

But almost immediately, that pride was smothered by a far deeper layer of worry.

A tree that stands taller than the forest will be felled by the wind first.

This gift was far too extraordinary. The Si Clan was powerful, but it was not without rivals. If word spread, it would inevitably invite jealousy from those with ill intentions — or worse... suppression.

After all, geniuses had a way of dying young.

Si Chen observed everyone's reactions. He didn't quite understand why his mother looked worried, or why his father seemed so guarded.

He looked down at his small hands and confirmed once again: playing the role of a normal human child was an extraordinarily difficult task.

It seemed... he had made things complicated again.

At this moment, the most thoroughly shaken of all were Second Uncle Si Che and Third Uncle Si Shuo. The expressions on their faces were priceless — as if they had seen a ghost.

What they had demonstrated was basic, yes, but it was a complete technique — one that required a corresponding cultivation realm to execute.

Yet Si Chen had not even begun cultivating. He wasn't even at the Qi Refining Realm!

"Silence!"

Grand-Uncle let out a low command, forcibly suppressing the storm raging in his heart. His expression was grave beyond measure. "Everything that has occurred before the Ancestral Hall today — not a single word is to be breathed to anyone outside. Any violator will be treated as a traitor to the clan!"

A heavy pressure descended with his words. The clan members fell quiet one by one. Everyone understood the gravity of the situation and bowed in acknowledgment.

Si Kai waved his hand, signaling most of the clan members to withdraw. The plaza quickly emptied until only a handful of core clan elders and key family members remained.

Only then did Grand-Uncle stride quickly to Si Chen's side and crouch down with careful deliberation, his voice softer than even he realized: "Chen'er, tell Grand-Uncle — how did you do that?"

Si Chen blinked his clear eyes and answered in his still-babyish voice: "I watched and learned. Didn't Second Uncle and Third Uncle just show me?"

Second Uncle, Third Uncle: "......"

That was not how they had taught it!

Third Uncle Si Shuo couldn't help cutting in, his tone urgent: "You learned it just by watching? Then what about the circulation route of the Cultivation Technique? How spiritual energy flows through the Meridians — you..."

A faint look of puzzlement crossed Si Chen's small face. "Circulation route? The Spiritual Energy knows on its own which way to go."

It... knows on its own?!

Those words made every cultivator present twitch at the corner of their mouths.

Second Uncle Si Che opened his mouth. After all his years of cultivation, this was the first time he had ever heard that Spiritual Energy could find its own way.

Third Uncle Si Shuo scratched his head, his face full of confusion. "Does... does Spiritual Energy have a brain now?"

Before anyone else could say more, Ye Fu had already gently pulled her son into her arms. "Chen'er, promise Mother — don't casually show these abilities in front of outsiders, all right?"

Little Si Chen didn't quite understand the request.

But the genuine worry in his mother's eyes created a strange kind of resistance within him — a feeling entirely unfamiliar, one that made it impossible for him to simply act on logic alone.

In the end, he nodded, filing this away as a new "local rule" that needed to be followed.

This was the first time he realized that as a human being, one sometimes had to consider more than just the facts themselves — one also had to account for the clan's circumstances, the feelings of loved ones, and the reactions of those around them.

* * *

The days that followed returned to their usual rhythm — at least on the surface.

The clan elders combed through ancient texts and found no precedent for Si Chen's situation. In the end, they could only tentatively attribute it to some unknown, peerless constitution.

Si Chen himself had grown somewhat tired of the surrounding astonishment, and began earnestly following his mother's instructions — working hard to be an "ordinary" child.

Though it was far more difficult than he had imagined.

He had to constantly watch his learning speed — no skimming ten lines at a glance, no perfect photographic memory.

The clan's protection around him was also elevated to the highest level. Not only did elite shadow guards accompany him at all times, but Third Uncle Si Shuo — who always seemed to be wearing a stern expression — became his personal bodyguard.

One afternoon, several clans of comparable standing to the Si Clan gathered to discuss a cooperative venture, bringing along their younger generation as well.

This was the established social custom among great families — a chance for the next generation to mingle early and build bonds.

A group of half-grown children were gathered in the garden and quickly started playing a game of "Slaying Demons and Vanquishing Evil."

The little chubby boy from the Chen Clan swung his wooden sword and shouted, "I'll be the Sword Immortal!"

The other children chimed in eagerly, and eventually all eyes landed on Si Chen, who stood quietly to one side.

"Then you can be the fierce beast!" The chubby boy shoved a second wooden sword into Si Chen's hands.

Si Chen watched the Chen Clan's little chubby boy charge at him, waving his wooden sword and hollering. He considered what a fierce beast's reaction ought to be.

Based on what he had read about the behavioral patterns of fierce beasts, certain ones appeared to breathe fire...

And so, he opened his mouth.

The air around him immediately began to shimmer with faint, nearly invisible fire spirits, and a scorching breath began to stir and build in his throat.

Third Uncle Si Shuo, who had been lurking in the shadows looking as though he was napping, witnessed this and nearly had his soul scared right out of his body. He immediately summoned every ounce of strength he had and unleashed a thunderous, earth-shaking series of coughs: "Cough cough cough! Cough cough!"

Si Chen blinked. The fire spirits dissipated in an instant. He remembered his mother's instructions.

He immediately changed tactics. Just as the wooden sword was about to graze the hem of his robe, he let out a slightly overdramatic "Ahh—"

Then, as if in slow motion, he swayed and toppled backward, and even remembered to roll around on the ground a couple of times for good measure, coating himself in grass clippings.

"We won!" The little sword immortals cheered and celebrated their victory over the fierce beast.

One of the girls — dressed in a pale yellow skirt, the daughter of the Lin Clan — ran over to praise him: "Si Chen, you acted so well!"

Then she held out a candy wrapped in oiled paper, her small face flushing slightly as she added, "And... you're really good-looking."

Si Chen took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

He had no particular interest in human judgments of "beautiful" or "ugly." But the sweetness of the candy dissolved on the tip of his tongue — a simple, direct pleasure conveyed through taste buds, and one that a star could never experience.

He thought for a moment, recalling how the maidservants often complimented each other during their idle chatter.

And so, borrowing from those exchanges, he said to the little girl: "You're very cute too."

The little girl's face flushed crimson in an instant. She bit her finger, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help curling upward — she was clearly overjoyed.

Si Chen didn't quite understand why such a simple sentence could produce such a pronounced emotional reaction in another person.

But observing that she seemed happy, he quietly filed away this effective social template.

— So humans liked being complimented on their appearance.

Playing the role of a mortal seemed far more complex than being a star — but also... occasionally yielded some unexpected rewards.

He licked the lingering sweetness from the corner of his mouth, and thought: yes, that's about right.

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Edited by Fat Goose