Shui Xuan put on his top, then walked out of the courtyard in a leisurely and confident manner with Xu Bai and Chen Ming. Along the way, no one seed to notice the presence of the two people accompanying him.
Whether it was the household servants, family mbers, or guards, as they passed by Shui Xuan, each would simply greet him, marveling at how energetic he was today. Not a single person realized that there were two figures by his side.
Shui Xuan returned to his bedroom, poured tea for Chen Ming and his apprentice, and then shared his thoughts. After receiving Chen Ming's approval, he instructed the guard at the door to notify the family mbers.
Shui Xuan's eldest and second sons were the first to arrive. On the Sun Moon Continent, early marriages and early childbearing were the norm. As Shui Xuan's children, both were nearly a hundred years old. Due to their talents being inferior to Shui Xuan's, they were elderly and frail, to the point of needing assistance to move around. They even looked older than Shui Xuan did before his rejuvenation.
Through Shui Xuan's earlier introductions, Chen Ming already knew about the situation of these two sons.
The eldest son, Shui Zhen, had a martial soul that was a mutated variant of the Spirit Turtle. While it lost its ntal attributes, it experienced significant enhancents in water attributes and physical strength, gaining the ability to shoot water arrows with imnse impact and destructive power. Because of this, his martial soul was nad Water Arrow Turtle.
He had a seventh-level innate talent, was 94 years old, and had reached the rank of Soul Sage at 75th level. His soul ring configuration was two yellow, three purple, and two black, considered optimal on the Sun Moon Continent. Additionally, he had so talent as a soul engineer, being a sixth-level soul engineer. However, due to his extre aging, he hadn't worked on crafting soul tools for a long ti and might have regressed in that area.
Of course, while his martial soul didn't co with double cannon barrels attached, he could manually equip two soul cannons during battle, making him sowhat resemble a Pokémon from the neighboring franchise.
The second son, Shui Xia, had a more standard Spirit Turtle martial soul. With seventh-level innate soul power, he was 91 years old and at the 72nd level of Soul Sage cultivation, with the sa ring configuration as his elder brother. He was also a sixth-level soul engineer. Thanks to inheriting the family's martial spirit talent, he had even participated in the plan ten years ago to manufacture seventh-level soul cannon shells and surround the Emperor of the Tyrant Dragon Empire.
If one had to comnt, he seed closer to achieving the qualifications of a seventh-level soul engineer. If not for his declining physical condition, he might have reached that level after decades of accumulation. Unfortunately, his talent was slightly inferior to his father Shui Xuan's. At 91 years old, he was already tornted by various toxins in his body and looked as if he were on the verge of passing away. Despite being a few years younger than his elder brother Shui Zhen and having the Spirit Turtle line's longevity talent, his excessive reliance on dicinal supplents had left his body in worse condition than Shui Zhen's.
Although they were Shui Xuan's sons, their appearances made them look no different in age from Shui Xuan himself. Since Shui Xuan had recently regained vitality and been rejuvenated, his energy and deanor made him seem younger than his sons.
After sending away the younger generations of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Shui Xuan carefully ensured no one was eavesdropping. Then, under the confused gazes of his two sons, he cupped his hands respectfully toward a seemingly empty space. Dressed in black robes, Chen Ming sat sipping tea, while Xu Bai stood behind him like a bodyguard.
It had to be said that after twenty years of exile, Xu Bai's perception had improved significantly. He now knew exactly when and how to present himself appropriately.
Seeing the black-robed Chen Ming, Shui Zhen, and Shui Xia initially thought he was a high-ranking envoy sent by the imperial family, perhaps a powerful Soul Douluo, here to discuss sothing privately with the Shui family. But then they saw their father kneel on one knee before Chen Ming, clasp his fists in respect, and give them a aningful glance.
Supporting themselves on a table, Shui Zhen and Shui Xia reluctantly knelt on one knee, attempting to clasp their fists as well. However, seeing their father glaring at them, they had no choice but to switch to kneeling on both knees. Even so, the two nearly toppled over in the process.
To be honest, given the physical resilience of soul masters, even those close to death shouldn't be this weak. However, the soul masters of the Sun Moon Empire were heavily reliant on dicinal supplents. The problem was, that the alchemical technology of this era had significant flaws: the effects weren't profound, and the side effects were severe.
While young, they could suppress the negative effects through sheer vitality. But as their bodies aged and deteriorated, decades of accumulated issues would erupt all at once. The toxins built up over the years beca life-threatening.
On the Sun Moon Continent, a soul master reaching eighty years of age was considered long-lived. The transformative effects of soul power on their bodies were barely noticeable. Otherwise, Shui Xuan, who wasn't even 110 years old, wouldn't have been regarded as the oldest soul master on the continent.
The fact that Shui Zhen and Shui Xia had made it to their nineties, even with turtle-related martial souls known for longevity, was already quite an achievent.
In Chen Ming's eyes, trained to perceive life force and toxins with precision, Shui Zhen had one foot in the grave, while Shui Xia was barely clinging to life. At most, they had six months left—possibly a year if external assistance prolonged their lives. To prevent them from dying mid-conversation out of excitent, Chen Ming had no choice but to employ so thods.
With a gentle raise of his hand, soft soul power and faint life energy flowed into the brothers. Though their lifespans didn't increase significantly, the overwhelming toxins in their bodies were temporarily suppressed, improving their condition as if heavy weights had been lifted.
Feeling Chen Ming's intervention, the brothers froze montarily before their expressions shifted to one of fervent reverence.
In their view, this ability to extend soone's lifespan with a re gesture could only belong to soone at the rank of a Title Douluo.
This ant the black-robed figure before them had to be a Title Douluo—an extraordinary individual, to whom their father had shown such respect.
Just as the brothers began preparing to praise the Sun Moon Empire and its glorious future, Shui Xuan couldn't hold back any longer and addressed them.
"My lord, please forgive my children's lack of talent. Now that they're old, they've developed a bit of senility."
"Xiao Zhen, Xiao Xia, this is our lord—a demigod from the Douluo Continent. It is our family's greatest fortune to pledge ourselves to such a great figure. You two must (several hundred words omitted)..."
Though Shui Zhen and Shui Xia were already in their nineties, with grandchildren who were nearly old enough to start their own families, they were still scolded by Shui Xuan like misbehaving grandchildren. They could only lower their heads and obediently listen to his introduction.
While they indeed suffered from so symptoms of senility, Shui Xuan's explanation helped them grasp the importance of the black-robed figure before them. This was no ordinary person but a powerful figure from the neighboring Douluo Continent, soone unparalleled on the Sun Moon Continent, who sought to recruit their family due to his interest in soul tools.
If Shui Xuan had initially harbored thoughts of negotiating better terms, his two sons, upon hearing their father's words and witnessing this individual's abilities, wholeheartedly chose to submit and dedicate themselves to proving their value.
After all, they were on the brink of death. Though they had already co to terms with their fates, the opportunity to extend their lives was undeniably better than dying.
They acknowledged the empire's kindness to them, but they had spent their entire lives repaying it several tis over. There was no debt left. There was no need to stubbornly cling to the Sun Moon Empire until their deaths.
Even more so, their father—a figure older and of higher status—had already pledged allegiance and was prepared to bring them along. Why wait?
Moreover, in their current condition, any use they could offer would likely involve receiving life-saving aid first. There was no downside to this.
Thus, under Chen Ming's healing touch and their father's persuasion, Shui Zhen and Shui Xia joined forces. Their faith was still shallow, barely surpassing the level of nominal followers. True devotion was sothing Chen Ming was confident he could cultivate over ti.
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