Chapter 3: The Li Family Thrives with Descendants
Descendants’ marriages were harmonious, and Li Xiang felt deeply gratified.
As time passed in the game, Li Dalong and his young wife embraced a life of husband farming and wife weaving, while the young man diligently cultivated his spiritual practice.
[Year Five]
[Through relentless effort, Li Dalong broke through to the third level of Qi Refinement.]
[In the same year, Xu Cuihua, after ten months of pregnancy, successfully gave birth to a son, named Li Yaozu!]
[Congratulations on adding a new member to the family; incense offering +10!]
“He’s born, finally born!”
Double joy arrived, and Li Xiang was equally ecstatic, taking a hearty gulp of his drink.
Meanwhile, in the game scene,
Outside the house, Li Dalong danced excitedly, “The ancestor has manifested! It’s a boy! Our Li family has an heir!”
Soon, the scene shifted rapidly.
Li Dalong held the newborn infant, weeping bitterly before the ancestral altar.
“Ancestor, look at our family’s chubby little one! My son Yaozu has the potential of an immortal!”
Rewards must be given!
[Used “Ancestral Blessing: Love from the Forefathers,” consuming 4 incense points.]
In an instant, a radiant light enveloped Li Dalong and his son before the altar.
“Son, do you see? The ancestor has manifested again, blessing my son with health and safety!”
[Incense offering +2]
After the joy,
Li Xiang quickly opened the newborn’s personal information.
Compared to Li Dalong’s mixed spiritual roots, Li Yaozu’s aptitude was clearly superior.
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Wood Root: 56]
Though still mixed, each spiritual root has its merits; a perfect root scores 100 points, and 56 is considered average.
Compared to Li Dalong’s Metal root at 38 points, this was much better!
“Our Li family is flourishing!”
Then, Li Xiang happily asked Yue Xian to prepare a late-night snack. After finishing it, he resumed his continuous battles in his room.
Cultivators were blessed with the ability to remain awake all night without fatigue.
He quietly observed the development of the Li family.
Since having children, the family in the game had undergone significant changes.
Li Dalong repaired the house, which had grown larger, and opened up several acres of fertile farmland.
It seemed the game had seasonal changes; Li Xiang even witnessed times when the fields lay fallow. Fortunately, Li Dalong, as a cultivator, was not afraid of hunger and supplemented food through hunting.
Not long after,
An action notification caught Li Xiang’s attention.
[Li Dalong has hunted all the wild boars in the Wild Boar Forest, gaining the trait “Wild Boar Slayer”!]
“???”
What a strange trait?
Li Xiang clicked to check.
[Wild Boar Slayer: Combat power increased by 10%, damage to pig-type creatures increased by 200%.]
“Impressive.”
Li Xiang gave a thumbs-up; it seemed the descendants had made remarkable progress in a certain area.
After adding new members,
This small Li family homestead was filled with vitality.
Li Xiang even saw the crawling Li Yaozu being led by Li Dalong to bow before the ancestral altar; clearly, Li Dalong understood the importance of teaching ancestral respect from a young age.
[Incense offering +3]
Soon after,
Li Xiang saw Xu Cuihua’s belly swell once more!
Checking the game timeline, it was the seventh year.
“As expected of my descendants, real men indeed!”
Before long,
[Xu Cuihua successfully gave birth to a daughter, named Li Yaoqing!]
[Congratulations to the Li family for the new addition; incense offering +10]
The same scene followed, with Li Dalong once again leading the family to bow before the altar.
“Unfilial descendants have disappointed the ancestor. This time, no male heir was born. Please forgive us!”
Li Dalong wept bitterly as though he had committed a grave offense.
He held the bewildered Li Yaozu, while Xu Cuihua cradled their newborn daughter with a downcast expression.
“What does this mean? Favoring sons over daughters?”
Li Xiang’s face darkened. In his view, as long as descendants bring fortune to the family, whether son or daughter should be equal. Favoring one gender over the other was unacceptable.
After some thought,
[Used “Ancestral Blessing: Love from the Forefathers,” consuming 2 incense points.]
But this time, the blessing was only bestowed upon Li Yaoqing, not the others!
In that moment,
Li Dalong seemed to understand Li Xiang’s meaning immediately, and his bowing appeared more anxious.
“Ancestor, please calm your anger. Dalong understands now. All children of the Li family will be cherished. Thank you for blessing Yaoqing!”
[Incense offering +3]
Seeing this, Li Xiang’s expression softened slightly. Though unable to communicate directly with characters in the game, he could still convey his message through other means. Last time, he had blessed everyone with “Love from the Forefathers,” but this time, only Yaoqing received it—the meaning was unmistakable.
After the family continued to thrive, Li Xiang checked Yaoqing’s personal information.
This child’s aptitude was poorer, even below Li Dalong’s, with only 20 points in Water Root.
But it didn’t matter. More family members meant more hands to contribute; many working the fields was beneficial.
Li Xiang glanced at the top right corner.
It was already the eighth year. From time to time, the Li descendants would bow toward the ancestral altar.
Li Xiang gradually understood that the incense offering points increased when descendants bowed devoutly or when special events occurred.
Now, his incense offering had reached 38 points.
By then, Li Yaozu could run around freely. Though only three years old, perhaps due to a diet rich in meat, he was sturdier than ordinary children. Li Dalong even gave Yaozu a wooden sword to practice swordsmanship from early on.
Cultivation must start from childhood, though three years was clearly too young to comprehend the ways of immortality.
Meanwhile, Yaoqing, only one year old, showed little interest in cultivating. Instead, she often crawled toward the vegetable garden, curiously watching Li Dalong irrigate the fields.
Then,
To Li Xiang’s surprise, not long after Xu Cuihua gave birth, she was pregnant again at the start of the year!
“Ancestor’s blessing! Unfilial descendant Li Dalong and wife bow to thank the ancestor for granting another son!”
Amazing!
Without hesitation, Li Xiang bestowed “Love from the Forefathers” on Li Dalong.
“Thank you, ancestor. Surely, the ancestor watches over me unceasingly. Rest assured, with your blessing, my wife will bear many more children to glorify the Li family!”
[Incense offering +2]
Li Xiang was very pleased.
Look at Li Dalong’s descendants. Though their aptitude was mediocre, they were very sensible, especially his fertility, making this ancestor a bit proud.
After closing the scene,
An unusual note appeared in the member action list.
[Amid a severe drought, with more children in the family, the Wild Boar Forest no longer had small animals. Tired of eating boar meat, Li Dalong decided to venture further to find other food sources, planning to hunt extensively to prepare provisions for the family.]
What a responsible son!
Li Xiang opened the map.
He soon saw Li Dalong traveling to a place called Silver Iron Forest.
Not long after, Li Xiang witnessed a confrontation between Li Dalong and a horse in the game.
[Li Dalong battled a demon beast, the Iron Forest Horse, wounding it. After chasing it for three days and nights, he finally captured the horse. However, seeing the horse’s pleading eyes, he sensed a spark of humanity and released it, quietly reaching to his basket, thinking he should keep a distance to avoid blood splatter.]
[Unexpectedly, seeing the human raise his bow, the Iron Forest Horse was filled with gratitude and followed Li Dalong back to the Li family, becoming his mount!]
After acquiring a demon beast,
Li Dalong specially built a stable. Around the family homestead, one could see a horse happily running about.
Not long after,
The Li family received more joyous news, making Li Xiang overjoyed.
[Xu Cuihua successfully gave birth to a son, named Li Yaotie!]
[Congratulations to the Li family on the new addition; incense offering +10]
Three children now!
With Li Dalong’s fertility, he might soon have enough for a football team to bring glory to the national team... no, an entire class!
Once again, Li Dalong’s family expressed their gratitude before the ancestral altar.
This time, Li Yaotie’s aptitude was decent.
[Metal Root: 42]
[Fire Root: 51]
What’s more, no one knew what he had eaten in the womb, but the newborn had a special trait and even pulled out a strand of Li Dalong’s hair!
[Special Trait: Robust Bones]
[Possesses larger bones than ordinary children, increasing strength by 5%.]
“Ancestor, do you see? My son Yaotie is mighty strong. He’ll be a great laborer in the future!”
On behalf of your son Yaotie, thank you...
Li Xiang rejoiced at the family’s growth. Li Dalong was obviously diligent, hunting continually in Silver Iron Forest, though the area seemed to harbor many demon beasts. Once, Li Dalong, at Qi Refinement level four, was lightly injured.
Li Xiang immediately used “Love from the Forefathers” on Li Dalong.
Surprisingly, the severe drought persisted for a long time. Even the fields beside the house were affected, and the Li family’s only daughter, Li Yaoqing, cried, clutching the dry earth.
Time quickly advanced to the ninth year.
The drought was still ongoing, but Li Dalong was well prepared. None of the three children or his wife went hungry; the well water had not dried up.
As Li Xiang watched the family slowly develop and awaited the arrival of the tenth year, when the incense burner would appear for him to use his [Blessing],
He frowned deeply.
[Special Event: Bandits]
[In the year of great drought, with crops ruined, many commoners turned to banditry. Thirteen bandits visited the Li family late at night. One bandit saw the Iron Forest Horse and, ungrateful, tried to steal it, but was kicked to death by the horse. The noise awakened Li Dalong!]
In the scene, the Li family’s lights blazed through the night. Li Dalong, holding a firewood knife, rushed out from his room.
He shouted fiercely at the bandits outside the stable.
“Leave our home, or don’t blame me for being ruthless!”