Chapter 57: A Yan is Born
"This Spirit Bone…"
In the quiet of the Elder Hall's library, Qin Xuan's clone paused its reading, his mind reflecting on the 100,000-year right leg bone from the Soft-Boned Rabbit.
"It's so much stronger than the one from the rabbit's sacrifice in the original work. That one was just 'Blink' and 'Invincibility.' This is on another level. It's practically a life-saving divine Spirit Ability."
Not only could it elementalize, turning him briefly intangible and immune to physical attacks, but it also came with a skill similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Naruto world.
"The clones can accumulate experience and memories," he mused, the clone's main body back in the cultivation room feeling the truth of it. "It's a pity they can't be used to cultivate spirit power. Otherwise, if four clones and the main body cultivated simultaneously, that would be a huge gain."
Still, it was perfect for his current needs. It was like he was Naruto, but instead of refining jutsu, he was refining knowledge. He could use the clones to refine skills and gain five times the memory and experience.
Cultivating for one year this way would be equivalent to five years.
Cultivating for two years would be equivalent to ten years.
Qin Xuan had not been exposed to swordsmanship for long. Before regaining his memories, he had only followed the Cardinals with sword Spirits to learn combat methods and trained Spirit Abilities with Qianjun Douluo and Jiang Mo Douluo.
But that was just crude application of power, not true swordsmanship. He didn't even have the concept.
The only person on the Continent who had achieved true success in swordsmanship was Sword Douluo, Chen Xin. But he was a protective Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, so it was impossible for him to teach a Spirit Hall disciple.
Now, Qin Xuan had acquired the top-tier swordsmanship philosophies from the Qin's Moon world and the mystical Sword Control Technique that came with Peerless.
Even though he no longer needed Sword Douluo, and his achievements in swordsmanship were destined to surpass him, he was still at the very beginning of his journey.
He didn't want his sword to be confined to existing sword moves. He hoped that one day, he could forge his own path, a path that combined the philosophies of Qin's Moon with the power of the Douluo Continent.
For the next period, Qin Xuan lived a life of two points and one line.
It was truly 'ignoring the outside world, focusing solely on studying the sages.' But it was far from boring. It was efficient.
During the day, his clones immersed themselves in the ocean of knowledge. Four phantom-like figures would simultaneously haunt the library, one in history, one in Spirit Beast pharmacology, one in ancient runic texts, and one in modern Spirit theories.
At night, he would return to the Elder Palace. The clones would disperse, and the flood of information—months of reading compressed into a single moment—would merge with his main body.
He would then enter his cultivation room to cultivate spirit power, the day's knowledge settling into his mind as his spirit power circulated.
Afterward, he would bring learning materials to Jingni and occasionally teach her the language of the Douluo Continent. Her progress, perhaps due to her assassin's mind, was staggering.
As for practicing swordsmanship, he had never slacked off since the day he regained his memories.
He practiced for one hour in the morning, in the pre-dawn chill, the crisp song of steel cutting the silence.
And he practiced for one hour in the evening, as the sun set, his shadow dancing in the Elder Palace's private courtyard.
Days passed like this, simple yet not monotonous.
Until three months later, a loud cry of a baby broke the tranquility of life.
"Congratulations, Second Majesty, congratulations, Second Majesty! Your wife has given birth, mother and daughter are safe!"
The bedroom door opened, and a maid walked out holding a basin of bloody hot water, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and excitement as she spoke respectfully to the young man waiting in the hall.
"Hmm. This is your reward."
Qin Xuan, who had been leaning against the opposite wall, reached into his waist spirit tool, pulled out a bag of gold coins, and threw it to her. He sighed inexplicably in his heart.
He wasn't really becoming a father; he was just being a step-father.
It would be a miracle if he could be happy about it.
Although Qin Xuan would still be good to Jingni and her daughter, that was a promise. He wouldn't truly treat this child, Ah Yan, who had no blood relation, as his biological daughter.
Instead, he would… bah!
On the contrary, he would remember this humiliation. This entire situation was a "shield." If Qian Xunji hadn't been secretly pressuring him, trying to push him toward Bibi Dong, why would he have needed to announce that he had a child?
This child was a political statement, nothing more.
Then he thought of Ah Yan when she grew up, and that this humiliating period would soon end. Qin Xuan's mood quickly stabilized.
He would just treat it as raising a female Guan Zhong for himself. A powerful, talented subordinate, bound to him from birth.
"Thank you, Second Majesty! Thank you, Second Majesty!" The maid took the gold coins, appearing especially excited.
She was just a low-level Spirit Master in her teens, with a Mop Spirit. Her talent was not outstanding. She was at the bottom of Spirit Hall, and the only reason she could serve in the Elder Palace was because of her decent appearance and the special nature of her Spirit.
This bag of gold coins, a hundred pieces in total, was enough to cover her wages for more than half a year.
Qin Xuan waved his hand, signaling the maid to leave, then walked into the room.
The air was thick with the scent of herbs, blood, and the metallic tang of spirit power. Inside the room, a middle-aged female healing Spirit Master, holding a healing staff, had just finished healing Jingni.
The newborn, A Yan, was crying loudly in Jingni's arms. Jingni, looking pale and exhausted but with a profound softness in her eyes, kept gently stroking her, tenderly caring for her.
Seeing Qin Xuan enter, the middle-aged female healing Spirit Master quickly knelt on one knee, "Second Majesty."
This was, after all, a world where strength was respected.
This Second Majesty was no ordinary person. Not only was he the Supreme Pontiff's "second brother" and the direct disciple of the Sixth and Seventh Elders, but since returning from a year of training, his status in Spirit Hall had risen sharply, already showing a tendency to overshadow the Holy Maiden.
Even Platinum Cardinals of the Spirit Douluo level would greet him with a smile.
Let alone her, a forty-something-year-old healing Spirit King.
Qin Xuan didn't want to get entangled with her, so he casually said a few words, dismissed the female healing Spirit Master, and then looked at Jingni. "How do you feel?"
"My husband, I…" Jingni, who was comforting A Yan, saw Qin Xuan enter. She wanted to say something, but hesitated and stopped, ultimately choosing not to speak.
"I know what you want to say, but this has nothing to do with you or the child. You can only blame me for being too weak right now. And I promised I would protect you two, mother and daughter."
Qin Xuan thought Jingni was feeling guilty about the "lie" of their family. He didn't want to dwell on the topic, so he said half-jokingly, "If you feel you owe me something, then work hard to give me a big, chubby boy in the future."
"Mm." Hearing this, a warm current instantly flowed through Jingni's heart, but at the same time, she couldn't help but show a bitter smile.
'Never mind,' she thought. 'Things will become clear later.'
[Jingni's favorability +10. Congratulations to the host for reaching maximum favorability with Jingni. Achieved the 'Undying Love' achievement, rewarded 1,000,000 emotion points.]
Qin Xuan stumbled, almost falling to the ground. A million points? Was this a consolation prize for himself?
"What's wrong?" Noticing Qin Xuan's abnormality, Jingni asked, somewhat confused.
"Uh, nothing." Qin Xuan picked up A Yan, hiding his embarrassment.
A Yan, who had been crying in Jingni's arms, immediately stopped crying as soon as Qin Xuan held her. She was a small, warm, and impossibly light bundle. Her small eyes, which couldn't fully open yet, actually squinted into a slit, and she laughed happily.
"They say that newborn babies instinctively do some extraordinary things to seek protection," Qin Xuan said, a genuine, faint smile touching his lips. "It seems this child likes me very much. Have you thought of a name for her?"
Jingni smiled gently, thought for a moment, and said, "Yan. The Yan of 'oath'." (誓言的言)
Qin Xuan smiled, "Then let's call her A Yan. The Yan of oath. A Yan, Qin Yan. I think when she grows up, she will be as beautiful as you."
If he had a slight grudge before, now, holding the child, it seemed not to be a big deal anymore.
Although there was the suspicion of him being a "take-over guy"—a cuckold, raising another's family—it also depended on the situation. Jingni and her daughter wouldn't hinder him in the future. They were his allies.
Compared to that, having a smart, cute, and exceptionally talented goddaughter like A Yan, and a powerful, loyal wife like Jingni, was nothing.
Moreover.
Have you not seen Cao Mengde?
Prime Minister Cao married so many wives and concubines, many of whom had children, but no one said he was a "take-over guy."
The reason was his immense, undeniable power.
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