In the world of martial arts, I can invest in countless realms.

Chapter 37 Our Zhang Family

"It's over, get up!"

Hearing the clan elder's emotionless voice, Shi Lichou opened her eyes and struggled to sit up in bed.

At this moment, he felt extremely tired and weak all over his body, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

After catching her breath, Shi Lichou staggered out of the door and saw her second uncle, Shi Xiangsheng, who was still waiting there.

After a while, a person was carried out of the ancestral hall.

During the Soul Fusion Ritual, the person offering their secret soul must extract it from their Qi Sea, which will cause damage to the Qi Sea. If not handled carefully, it can cause serious injury.

Some are better off, like him, and can still move around on their own, while those with more serious conditions can only be carried out lying down.

But when she got closer, Shi Lichou was surprised to find that the person lying on the stretcher was actually her younger brother, Shi Liyou.

At this moment, Shi Liyou's face was pale, her breath was weak, and her mouth was full of blood, with her collar and neck soaked in blood.

"Little brother, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

Looking at the old man who had come out with her, Shi Lichou asked in a panic, "Elder, what happened to my brother?"

"Li You encountered a minor problem during the Soul Fusion Ceremony, resulting in complete damage to her Qi Sea. But don't worry, it won't be life-threatening!"

"How could this happen? This shouldn't be!" Shi Lichou looked at her younger brother with heartache and asked doubtfully, "Elder, even if the soul fusion technique of our Shi family fails, it only damages the soul of the one who offered the soul. The one affected by the soul fusion should not be greatly affected."

"Soul fusion? What soul fusion?" Looking expressionlessly at Shi Lichou, the old man said calmly, "Wasn't he offering his soul?"

"The process of offering one's soul is extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake can completely damage one's Qi Sea, which is exactly what happened to your brother."

"This is normal during the soul-fusion ritual!"

"What? A soul offering?" Upon hearing the elder's words, Shi Lichou staggered and almost fell to the ground, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

Panic, not answering, heartache—a mix of emotions welled up inside me.

"Brother, I'm fine. It's just that my Qi Sea is completely damaged, so I can't practice martial arts anymore. Anyway, even if my Qi Sea wasn't completely damaged, I wouldn't achieve much in martial arts anyway!"

Shi Lichou forced a smile, while Shi Liyou said with a hint of anticipation, "Brother, from today onwards, you can join the direct lineage and become a true direct descendant."

"Don't look so sad, you should be happy!"

"Direct lineage? Wasn't your brother also a sacrificial offering?" The old man glanced at Shi Liyou, who still seemed somewhat gratified, but remained expressionless, not even bothering to show the slightest concern.

The two disciples who had completely dedicated their souls and become collateral descendants were not worth his attention at all.

"You two brothers are offering your souls today, and from now on you can only be considered a collateral branch. I will record your names in the collateral branch lineage."

"If there's nothing else, you should leave now. This is an important ancestral hall; it's best for collateral descendants not to approach it."

"What? How is this possible? I clearly dedicated it to my brother, how could we both be from a collateral branch!"

The old man's cold voice reached her ears, startling Shi Liyou, who was half-lying down. Her already pale face turned even paler.

He struggled to stand up, but because his body was too weak, he failed to do so after several attempts.

"Elder, is there something wrong? Are you sure you didn't misread it?"

"Hmm?" An invisible aura pressed down on Shi Liyou, and the old man's originally expressionless face showed a hint of impatience. "Are you questioning me?"

Just then, Shi Lichou saw two boys who looked almost identical walk out of the ancestral hall with excited expressions. They were the twins of her second uncle, Shi Xiangsheng.

Neither of them is particularly talented, and if the clan rules were followed, they would probably both be relegated to the collateral branches.

Therefore, my second uncle said that one of them should offer their soul to the other, so that one of them could become a direct descendant.

Today, they, like themselves, participated in the soul fusion ceremony.

But why were both of them radiant with health, neither showing the weakness one would expect from someone offering their soul?

Upon seeing the two emerge, the old man, who had been expressionless, suddenly broke into a smile.

"Mo Wen, Mo Yu, you two brothers have already undergone soul fusion, and according to clan rules, you can now enter the direct lineage."

"Today, your names will be recorded in the family genealogy!"

"Thank you, elder!"

"It's alright, they are all my direct descendants, this is only to be done."

"Second Uncle!" Seeing that both of them had entered the direct lineage, Shi Lichou felt a bad premonition.

Looking at her second uncle in a panic, Shi Lichou asked with some uncertainty, "Are they... are they suffering from our secret souls?"

"That's right!" Before Shi Xiangsheng could speak, the old man beside him had already answered.

"Didn't you give it to them voluntarily? Now they are the direct descendants, and you are the collateral branches. What, are you going back on your word now?"

"No, I didn't mean to give it to him. I meant it for my younger brother, Liyou. Elder, there must be a mistake!"

"Whether there's a mistake or not is no longer important!" The old man glanced at Shi Xiangsheng and seemed to understand something, but his expression remained unchanged.

"The Soul Fusion Ceremony can only be performed once per person. What's done is done, and the division of the main family into branches is a foregone conclusion. You members of the branch family should not have any other thoughts."

"We must not have it now, and we must never have it in the future!"

Staggering back two steps, Shi Lichou looked at Shi Xiangsheng with a panicked expression. "Second Uncle, why?"

"Li Chou, you said you would offer the Secret Soul to your younger brother. Li You is your younger brother, and Mo Wen is also your younger brother. What's wrong with giving it to him?"

"One cannot be too selfish; one must consider the bigger picture!"

"The big picture? To hell with your big picture!" With bloodshot eyes staring intently at Shi Xiangsheng, Shi Liyou, half-lying on the stretcher, understood what had happened. His beliefs seemed to have collapsed completely in an instant.

"You lied to me, you lied to me! I was clearly going to give it to my brother, you liar!"

"Insolence!" Seeing Shi Liyou's attitude, the old man snorted coldly. The invisible pressure almost made Shi Liyou unable to breathe, and her face became increasingly pale.

"According to the rules, as members of a collateral branch, you should show absolute respect to those of the direct line, especially since this is the clan head. Do you two want to be punished according to the clan rules?"

"Elder!" The old man waved his hand, and Shi Xiangsheng said gently, "The two of them have just offered their souls, and their bodies are weak and their minds are not clear. I don't think punishment is necessary."

"The clan chief is magnanimous. Since that's the case, and considering that the two just offered their souls and that the clan chief pleaded for them, they will be spared punishment this time. But if there's a next time, they will be severely punished!"

"Why aren't you two thanking the clan leader?"

"Why should I...?"

"Li You, shut up!" Shi Li Chou closed her eyes, hiding all the despair in them, gritted her teeth, and forced a smile onto her face.

"Second Uncle, my brother was just confused for a moment. Please forgive him."

"Brother, he clearly lied to us, clearly..."

"That's enough, stop talking. I'll take you home, let's go home!"

Despite feeling extremely weak, Shi Lichou staggered and carried her immobile younger brother on her back, walking step by step towards her home.

Shi Xiangsheng watched the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, and her original smile slowly faded.