The three Ren brothers returned to their home, just beside the cemetery. They sat down and discussed their plans for the future. Apart from Ren Feifan, the youngest among the three brothers, Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng had now calmed down.
Ren Changsheng asked, “Big Brother, you went with Father to the town market at the bottom of the mountain before, did you not?”
Ren Woxing replied, “Yes, I did. Why do you ask?”
Ren Changsheng said, “We have now acquired the knowledge by inheritance and discovered that our family died because of the curse of the champion’s blood. However, according to our ancestors, the original intention of Emperor Guangwu was to preserve the training methods through the bloodline of the champion, who was able to pass on this ‘knowledge by inheritance’. As such, Emperor Guangwu even sealed our blood for the sole purpose of passing on the knowledge by inheritance.”
He continued, “Last time, Champion Marquess of Jinghuan did not study or practice when they were young, but when they developed into their 20s, they became insurmountably powerful. They were as well-versed in astronomy and geography as they were in war strategies and operations. This was the result of their knowledge from the inheritance of the ancestral Huo family of practitioners, as well as their naturally insurmountable power of understanding and talents.”
“In the age of Reiki rejuvenation today, none of the more remarkable and outstanding individuals around the world have performed any training, and thus even if we do not have the champion’s blood flowing in us, we would still be able to become the greatest Practitioner and control the world, based on our skills alone. We would be able to help restore the Hans back to their place in the palace. At the same time, the recovery of the demons would mean that people around the world have no choice but to slow down their paces and allow us time to assist the Hans back to their rightful positions.”
“When the royal Han family is restored to their positions, we will then destroy and eliminate the demons to help them suppress the evil spirits. When the evil spirits are subdued, we will be able to become mortals again, and the Rens will continue to live in anonymity…”
“None of us in the Ren family have violated any of the rules based on the knowledge of inheritance. How did we acquire the blood of the champion?” Ren Changsheng asked.
Ren Woxing said, “That just means…we did violate one of them.”
“Did we? How is that possible?” Ren Changsheng questioned. “Have we ever thought of going against the royal Han family, or have we ever thought of not eliminating the demons?”
Ren Woxing replied, “Well…What if the bloodline of the royal Han family has died out?”
Ren Changsheng was stunned for a moment. He said, “Has it…died out?”
Ren Woxing said, “I don’t know. The entire nation had been in turmoil as a result of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Recently, I heard that the eighteen princes have formed the Guandong Army to fight against Dong Zhuo who is manipulating the Emperor…The whole world is in chaos. Nonetheless, it is said that the emperor of the royal Han family is still alive.”
“In that case…” Ren Changsheng said.
“The emperor of the royal Han family is still alive, but that doesn’t mean that the bloodline of Emperor Guangwu is still surviving,” Ren Woxing explained.
The two elder brothers remained silent for a short while, and only Ren Feifan was still sobbing. Ren Suo raised a brow at the dramatic twist in the story—the Liu Xie portrayed in the game was actually not an emperor of pure Han lineage?
Perhaps it was not just Liu Xie; there was no DNA genetic testing in the olden days and who would know if…eh, the royal family tree is truly complicated.
“I guess that is the only reason then,” said Ren Changsheng, the second brother, with a sigh. He said, “Before his death, Emperor Guangwu made sacrifices and worked hard all his life, and yet he was still unable to win the hearts of all the people and the heavens…”
Ren Woxing said, “Fortunately, in his bid for the Han Dynasty to prosper for thousands of years to come, Emperor Guangwu sacrificed the inheritance of Reiki and the passing down of the training methodologies. He even set rules as leashes to warn descendants like us who possess the blood of the champion, although he did give us a way out of this.”
Ren Changsheng let out a bitter laugh and said, “Big Brother, if you think that coition with the elves is a means of survival…”
Ren Woxing said, “But Second Brother, you do know that even though we did not resist the shackles, it has become even stronger.”
“We still have to fulfill our mission. Emperor Guangwu did not only transform our bloodline, but descendants like us who are born out of this blood are fated to be trapped within this cycle the moment the bloodline was awakened.”
“Even though we are born as rational people with the capability to reason, when we meet the descendants of Guangwu, we would still put our lives on the line to pledge our loyalty to them; when we encounter demons and ghosts, we will risk our lives to kill all of them; when we meet elves…we would naturally have the desire to carry on our lineage,” he continued.
Ren Feifan finally stopped crying. He glanced at his two older brothers in confusion and asked, “Coition with elves…what does that mean?”
Ren Changsheng looked at Third Brother bitterly and said, “If only you would recall the knowledge of inheritance…sigh, that would have been much faster.”
“Champion Marquess of Jinghuan, Huo Qubing, once said that he could not accept the Emperor’s gift of starting his family when the Xiongnu people had not been completely eradicated, and he had yet to fulfill his duty. Other people then had thought that he wanted to start a family only after he had defeated the Xiongnu people. But in reality, it was because he knew that the curse of the bloodline of the champion would spread to his partner.”
“Any coitus with the opposite sex would result in the other party being drained of all her internal Reiki and she will die within a night. Once the blood of the champion is awakened, he will not live past the age of 24, and he would be unable to continue his bloodline.”
“At that time, Emperor Guangwu found our ancestors through the descendants of Huo Yu, the son of the younger brother of the Champion Marquess Huo Qubing. He made our ancestors awaken the bloodline of the champions and sealed it, which was why our ancestors could have children with ordinary people,” Ren Changsheng explained.
Ren Feifan was stunned for a moment. He asked, “That…that means that I cannot marry Xiao Cui, the girl I saw at the market the last time?”
“You can’t marry anyone,” Ren Changsheng replied. He added, “Otherwise, on the first night after your marriage, your wife will die right in front of your eyes.”
Ren Feifan started bawling again. He cried, “I’m going to be a bachelor! Mother, Father, I am sorry, I have failed you…I’m going to be the last of our family…”
Ren Woxing tapped Third Brother’s shoulders and said, “You don’t have to worry so much…We can’t be acquainted with humans, but Emperor Guangwu realized that there are other living beings that can bear the blood of the champion.”
He continued, “Elves, that is, mountain elves. Any pure elf who has not harmed any humans and is born and bred naturally can live harmoniously with us. We are able to connect spiritually with them and bear offspring, even though the process will deplete most of our energy… Although most elves do not have feelings, we can perform a trade with them.”
Ren Feifan wiped his tears and said, “So our bloodline will not be broken?”
“It wouldn’t,” Ren Woxing replied. He said, “The Ren family will persist! Until the day comes when a unifying dynasty arises, we will offer the methodologies of sealing spiritual energy and completely eradicate the generation of demons and the curse of the bloodline…Until that day, we will not perish.”
Second Brother Ren Changsheng laughed bitterly and said, “Big Brother, our descendants will surely hate you.”
“This is our fate…Let them hate,” Ren Woxing replied as he laughed grimly. He continued, “After receiving the knowledge from the inheritance, I am unsure if this is because I have developed feelings from being tied down by Emperor Guangwu’s shackles, or because I am influenced by the determination of Champion Marquess to defend and protect the world, and to slaughter and eliminate all demons.”
“They will cross over my dead body and witness the eradication and cleansing of the demons of all time, and behold the birth of a prosperous, peaceful age…They will also usher in the days without any disruptions from Reiki or bloodshed.”
“This is our mission. It is our responsibility as the chosen descendants to pass on the knowledge through inheritance, and it is also the curse of the shackles of Emperor Guangwu. We are born for this mission, and we will die with this mission…”
That was the end of the animation, and the game officially began.
On the screen, the house where the Ren brothers were discussing previously looked just like a wooden hut. The view from the camera seemed to be from the seat of the head of the house, looking at the two rows of chairs in front and the courtyard outside the house.
The second brother, Ren Changsheng, looked like a learned and refined man and was sitting at the bottom right corner of the screen. He seemed to function as the guide for the game. He said:
“Big Brother, you are now the head of the Ren family.”
“Our current abilities are still very weak, and the outside world is in havoc. We should start training first for us to be able to accomplish greater things.”
The option [Training] appeared in the table on the left side of the screen. Ren Suo clicked on the option and a pop-up appeared: [Please select what you would like each character to train for the upcoming season.]
[You have a total of 3 action points to allocate.]
[Training options include: Attack, Defense, Scout, Movement, Recovery, Management.]
3 action points: there are 3 people in the Ren family. Do action points correlate with the number of people in the family?
Ren Suo chose a random option. Ren Changsheng said, “All right, in the upcoming season of Autumn, the three of us brothers will study our ‘Attack’ spells together.”
Studying spells directly? That’s fast. Don’t they need to train first?
Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth as he saw the year at the upper left corner of the screen change from Autumn 190 AD to Winter 190 AD. The large trees in the courtyard outside the house had also turned bare. The second brother, Ren Changsheng, had also put on several layers of clothes that had been patched up.
The screen showed: “After training, you all have learned more Attack spells. The Attack ability has increased!”
“Ren Woxing learned Sword Master!”
“Ren Changsheng learned Flame!”
“Ren Feifan learned Spear Wielder!”
Then, Ren Changsheng said, “Brother, we have a guest!”
A young girl wearing a brown robe suddenly appeared at the door. She had black-colored hair and eyes.
The young girl said, “I am an earth elf from Taibai Plains. I am here to seek the Elder’s help to kill the Demon Army which has invaded Taibai Plains.”
Ren Woxing asked, “Where do you come from? What is the Demon Army?”
The girl from Taibai Plains replied, “Elders, you do not need to hide anything from me. The three of you are young, but after Reiki rejuvenation, all of you would become great immortals of the present age with skills equivalent to thousands of days of training. The Demon Army consists of evil spirits arising from the anger and hatred of the fallen souls at Hulao Pass in the East. Any place the Demon Army tramples will become barren, and wherever the Demon Army remains will surely result in disastrous consequences. They are now heading into the boundaries of Taibai Plains, and is not far away from you Elders, which is why I am here to seek your help.”
As the brain of the family, Ren Changsheng questioned, “You are an earth elf? What will we gain if we help you chase the Demon Army away?”
Slightly astonished, the elf from Taibai Plains said, “I remember that before the day comes when all Reiki is concealed, it is the natural duty of practitioners to eliminate all demons…Regardless, as an earth spirit, I have remained in hibernation for a relatively long period of time, until I awoke from the rejuvenation of Reiki in recent times. I really don’t have much to offer to you Elders…”
Ren Changsheng seemed like he wanted to be the least pleasant one amongst the three brothers as he smiled and said, “We have a family practice of spiritual connection to perform coition with elves and have children.”
The three Ren brothers returned to their home, just beside the cemetery. They sat down and discussed their plans for the future. Apart from Ren Feifan, the youngest among the three brothers, Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng had now calmed down.
Ren Changsheng asked, “Big Brother, you went with Father to the town market at the bottom of the mountain before, did you not?”
Ren Woxing replied, “Yes, I did. Why do you ask?”
Ren Changsheng said, “We have now acquired the knowledge by inheritance and discovered that our family died because of the curse of the champion’s blood. However, according to our ancestors, the original intention of Emperor Guangwu was to preserve the training methods through the bloodline of the champion, who was able to pass on this ‘knowledge by inheritance’. As such, Emperor Guangwu even sealed our blood for the sole purpose of passing on the knowledge by inheritance.”
He continued, “Last time, Champion Marquess of Jinghuan did not study or practice when they were young, but when they developed into their 20s, they became insurmountably powerful. They were as well-versed in astronomy and geography as they were in war strategies and operations. This was the result of their knowledge from the inheritance of the ancestral Huo family of practitioners, as well as their naturally insurmountable power of understanding and talents.”
“In the age of Reiki rejuvenation today, none of the more remarkable and outstanding individuals around the world have performed any training, and thus even if we do not have the champion’s blood flowing in us, we would still be able to become the greatest Practitioner and control the world, based on our skills alone. We would be able to help restore the Hans back to their place in the palace. At the same time, the recovery of the demons would mean that people around the world have no choice but to slow down their paces and allow us time to assist the Hans back to their rightful positions.”
“When the royal Han family is restored to their positions, we will then destroy and eliminate the demons to help them suppress the evil spirits. When the evil spirits are subdued, we will be able to become mortals again, and the Rens will continue to live in anonymity…”
“None of us in the Ren family have violated any of the rules based on the knowledge of inheritance. How did we acquire the blood of the champion?” Ren Changsheng asked.
Ren Woxing said, “That just means…we did violate one of them.”
“Did we? How is that possible?” Ren Changsheng questioned. “Have we ever thought of going against the royal Han family, or have we ever thought of not eliminating the demons?”
Ren Woxing replied, “Well…What if the bloodline of the royal Han family has died out?”
Ren Changsheng was stunned for a moment. He said, “Has it…died out?”
Ren Woxing said, “I don’t know. The entire nation had been in turmoil as a result of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Recently, I heard that the eighteen princes have formed the Guandong Army to fight against Dong Zhuo who is manipulating the Emperor…The whole world is in chaos. Nonetheless, it is said that the emperor of the royal Han family is still alive.”
“In that case…” Ren Changsheng said.
“The emperor of the royal Han family is still alive, but that doesn’t mean that the bloodline of Emperor Guangwu is still surviving,” Ren Woxing explained.
The two elder brothers remained silent for a short while, and only Ren Feifan was still sobbing. Ren Suo raised a brow at the dramatic twist in the story—the Liu Xie portrayed in the game was actually not an emperor of pure Han lineage?
Perhaps it was not just Liu Xie; there was no DNA genetic testing in the olden days and who would know if…eh, the royal family tree is truly complicated.
“I guess that is the only reason then,” said Ren Changsheng, the second brother, with a sigh. He said, “Before his death, Emperor Guangwu made sacrifices and worked hard all his life, and yet he was still unable to win the hearts of all the people and the heavens…”
Ren Woxing said, “Fortunately, in his bid for the Han Dynasty to prosper for thousands of years to come, Emperor Guangwu sacrificed the inheritance of Reiki and the passing down of the training methodologies. He even set rules as leashes to warn descendants like us who possess the blood of the champion, although he did give us a way out of this.”
Ren Changsheng let out a bitter laugh and said, “Big Brother, if you think that coition with the elves is a means of survival…”
Ren Woxing said, “But Second Brother, you do know that even though we did not resist the shackles, it has become even stronger.”
“We still have to fulfill our mission. Emperor Guangwu did not only transform our bloodline, but descendants like us who are born out of this blood are fated to be trapped within this cycle the moment the bloodline was awakened.”
“Even though we are born as rational people with the capability to reason, when we meet the descendants of Guangwu, we would still put our lives on the line to pledge our loyalty to them; when we encounter demons and ghosts, we will risk our lives to kill all of them; when we meet elves…we would naturally have the desire to carry on our lineage,” he continued.
Ren Feifan finally stopped crying. He glanced at his two older brothers in confusion and asked, “Coition with elves…what does that mean?”
Ren Changsheng looked at Third Brother bitterly and said, “If only you would recall the knowledge of inheritance…sigh, that would have been much faster.”
“Champion Marquess of Jinghuan, Huo Qubing, once said that he could not accept the Emperor’s gift of starting his family when the Xiongnu people had not been completely eradicated, and he had yet to fulfill his duty. Other people then had thought that he wanted to start a family only after he had defeated the Xiongnu people. But in reality, it was because he knew that the curse of the bloodline of the champion would spread to his partner.”
“Any coitus with the opposite sex would result in the other party being drained of all her internal Reiki and she will die within a night. Once the blood of the champion is awakened, he will not live past the age of 24, and he would be unable to continue his bloodline.”
“At that time, Emperor Guangwu found our ancestors through the descendants of Huo Yu, the son of the younger brother of the Champion Marquess Huo Qubing. He made our ancestors awaken the bloodline of the champions and sealed it, which was why our ancestors could have children with ordinary people,” Ren Changsheng explained.
Ren Feifan was stunned for a moment. He asked, “That…that means that I cannot marry Xiao Cui, the girl I saw at the market the last time?”
“You can’t marry anyone,” Ren Changsheng replied. He added, “Otherwise, on the first night after your marriage, your wife will die right in front of your eyes.”
Ren Feifan started bawling again. He cried, “I’m going to be a bachelor! Mother, Father, I am sorry, I have failed you…I’m going to be the last of our family…”
Ren Woxing tapped Third Brother’s shoulders and said, “You don’t have to worry so much…We can’t be acquainted with humans, but Emperor Guangwu realized that there are other living beings that can bear the blood of the champion.”
He continued, “Elves, that is, mountain elves. Any pure elf who has not harmed any humans and is born and bred naturally can live harmoniously with us. We are able to connect spiritually with them and bear offspring, even though the process will deplete most of our energy… Although most elves do not have feelings, we can perform a trade with them.”
Ren Feifan wiped his tears and said, “So our bloodline will not be broken?”
“It wouldn’t,” Ren Woxing replied. He said, “The Ren family will persist! Until the day comes when a unifying dynasty arises, we will offer the methodologies of sealing spiritual energy and completely eradicate the generation of demons and the curse of the bloodline…Until that day, we will not perish.”
Second Brother Ren Changsheng laughed bitterly and said, “Big Brother, our descendants will surely hate you.”
“This is our fate…Let them hate,” Ren Woxing replied as he laughed grimly. He continued, “After receiving the knowledge from the inheritance, I am unsure if this is because I have developed feelings from being tied down by Emperor Guangwu’s shackles, or because I am influenced by the determination of Champion Marquess to defend and protect the world, and to slaughter and eliminate all demons.”
“They will cross over my dead body and witness the eradication and cleansing of the demons of all time, and behold the birth of a prosperous, peaceful age…They will also usher in the days without any disruptions from Reiki or bloodshed.”
“This is our mission. It is our responsibility as the chosen descendants to pass on the knowledge through inheritance, and it is also the curse of the shackles of Emperor Guangwu. We are born for this mission, and we will die with this mission…”
That was the end of the animation, and the game officially began.
On the screen, the house where the Ren brothers were discussing previously looked just like a wooden hut. The view from the camera seemed to be from the seat of the head of the house, looking at the two rows of chairs in front and the courtyard outside the house.
The second brother, Ren Changsheng, looked like a learned and refined man and was sitting at the bottom right corner of the screen. He seemed to function as the guide for the game. He said:
“Big Brother, you are now the head of the Ren family.”
“Our current abilities are still very weak, and the outside world is in havoc. We should start training first for us to be able to accomplish greater things.”
The option [Training] appeared in the table on the left side of the screen. Ren Suo clicked on the option and a pop-up appeared: [Please select what you would like each character to train for the upcoming season.]
[You have a total of 3 action points to allocate.]
[Training options include: Attack, Defense, Scout, Movement, Recovery, Management.]
3 action points: there are 3 people in the Ren family. Do action points correlate with the number of people in the family?
Ren Suo chose a random option. Ren Changsheng said, “All right, in the upcoming season of Autumn, the three of us brothers will study our ‘Attack’ spells together.”
Studying spells directly? That’s fast. Don’t they need to train first?
Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth as he saw the year at the upper left corner of the screen change from Autumn 190 AD to Winter 190 AD. The large trees in the courtyard outside the house had also turned bare. The second brother, Ren Changsheng, had also put on several layers of clothes that had been patched up.
The screen showed: “After training, you all have learned more Attack spells. The Attack ability has increased!”
“Ren Woxing learned Sword Master!”
“Ren Changsheng learned Flame!”
“Ren Feifan learned Spear Wielder!”
Then, Ren Changsheng said, “Brother, we have a guest!”
A young girl wearing a brown robe suddenly appeared at the door. She had black-colored hair and eyes.
The young girl said, “I am an earth elf from Taibai Plains. I am here to seek the Elder’s help to kill the Demon Army which has invaded Taibai Plains.”
Ren Woxing asked, “Where do you come from? What is the Demon Army?”
The girl from Taibai Plains replied, “Elders, you do not need to hide anything from me. The three of you are young, but after Reiki rejuvenation, all of you would become great immortals of the present age with skills equivalent to thousands of days of training. The Demon Army consists of evil spirits arising from the anger and hatred of the fallen souls at Hulao Pass in the East. Any place the Demon Army tramples will become barren, and wherever the Demon Army remains will surely result in disastrous consequences. They are now heading into the boundaries of Taibai Plains, and is not far away from you Elders, which is why I am here to seek your help.”
As the brain of the family, Ren Changsheng questioned, “You are an earth elf? What will we gain if we help you chase the Demon Army away?”
Slightly astonished, the elf from Taibai Plains said, “I remember that before the day comes when all Reiki is concealed, it is the natural duty of practitioners to eliminate all demons…Regardless, as an earth spirit, I have remained in hibernation for a relatively long period of time, until I awoke from the rejuvenation of Reiki in recent times. I really don’t have much to offer to you Elders…”
Ren Changsheng seemed like he wanted to be the least pleasant one amongst the three brothers as he smiled and said, “We have a family practice of spiritual connection to perform coition with elves and have children.”
