Chapter 54: Ma Zhibin’s Visit to the Chen Family (Part 3)

Ma Zhibin froze, turning to Chen Xun and asking,

"That line had such grandeur—where's it from? Old Xun, everyone in the Chen family except you is cultured and poetic, graceful and unrestrained. Who wrote that line? I refuse to believe it came from you."

The third-generation ancestor, Chen Shihua, had elevated the "Shadow Sword Body" technique—founded by his father, the second-generation ancestor Chen Qian—by integrating chanting poetry as spell incantations into its advanced form.

Chen Shihua loved books and writing, even hiding his identity to study at the Wenhua Institute of the Heaven Dou Empire for quite some time.

Before his death, he left behind a couplet:

"Martial Souls are our heritage; Poetry and books shall carry on the legacy."

This was a message to the Chen descendants:

The Seven-Kill Sword Martial Soul must be inherited alongside extensive reading. Not only does literary refinement strengthen spiritual willpower and suppress the Seven-Kill Sword's aggressive nature, but a person must also keep learning, inheriting, and transcending—to ensure the family's prosperity and lasting success.

From that point on, the Chen family deeply embraced a culture of poetry and literature. The entire family has benefited immensely from this tradition.

Chen's family children receive early education in literature and gradually study the classics. Their studies typically encompass five disciplines:

Rhetoric and composition

Textual research

Philosophical reasoning

Philology and exegesis

Political economy (governing the nation and aiding the world)

Hence, members of the Chen family are generally eloquent and bookish, radiating an aura of refinement due to both their literary upbringing and the martial charisma of their sword-based martial souls. Their poise and presence are unmatched.

(Of course, those who train in brute-force styles of the Seven-Kill Sword fall slightly short in this regard… snickers)

"That was probably Xiaojun's line. I've never heard it before. He often comes out with surprising things," Chen Xun said with a smirk.

"Brother, Xiaojun has ambition—and poise," Chen Zhang also praised.

"Not bad, Xiaojun! No wonder I took a liking to you. Old Xun, let's talk again about me becoming this kid's godfather?"

This time, Ma Zhibin was genuinely serious—this kid was a super prodigy.

"Go cool off somewhere. If you like kids so much, go make one of your own," Chen Xun said with a look of disdain.

"Who says I don't have a son!"

Ma Zhibin reacted like a cat having its tail stepped on.

"You have a son? But you never got married, did you?"

Chen Xun was confused—if Zhibin had fathered a child, it would've been huge news.

"No, no, just joking."

Ma Zhibin quickly denied it.

"That's suspicious. Knowing your behavior patterns, I'd say you do have a kid. Who's the mother—what family is she from?"

Chen Xun, who knew him far too well, immediately picked up on the signs.

"No way it's from a major family. Everyone would've heard. You're hiding it, so… is it an illegitimate child!?"

Chen Zhang chimed in. Though phrased as a question, his tone left little doubt.

Ma Zhibin suddenly fell silent, as though something was stuck in his chest. He lowered his head and said with unusual seriousness,

"The child's mother… she was gentle and kind. But just a commoner, with a low-grade avian martial soul."

"Uh… how did that happen?"

Chen Xun was genuinely surprised.

"A few years ago, I'd just broken through Rank 80. I got arrogant and only brought a few people to hunt an Electric Thunderwing Eagle."

Ma Zhibin fell into deep recollection.

Chen Xun and Chen Zhang exchanged looks—exasperated. "A few people" definitely didn't include a single other Soul Douluo.

The Ma family's cultivation method, the Nine Phoenixes Imperial Heaven Technique, circulated soul power rapidly. It had immense burst potential and trained faster than the Chen family's Righteous Sword Qi Technique.

"And then?" Chen Xun asked.

A flicker of regret crossed Ma Zhibin's face.

"We killed the soul beast, but it took too long. We got ambushed by other ten-thousand-year beasts. Everyone except me died—they gave their lives so I could escape. I barely survived, grievously wounded."

"So that's when you met her?"

Chen Zhang guessed. These things sounded like clichés straight out of a Douluo Continent romance novel.

"Yeah… Do you know how my martial soul has a strong pull on bird-type martial souls? But she never fawned over me. She lived simply and elegantly, gentle and content—never envying others, never boastful. Just… peaceful."

Ma Zhibin sounded unusually emotional.

"Was she beautiful?"

Ye Xiuxin, who had known Ma Zhibin for years, asked with a soft smile. She knew he had high standards.

Ma Zhibin nodded.

"Yes—and cultured too."

"Ah, that explains it. You vanished for years—you must've been shacking up with her all that time."

Chen Zhang teased.

"That was the happiest time of my life."

A blissful smile appeared on Ma Zhibin's face.

"I'd like to meet your lady," said Ye Xiuxin with her usual gentle tone.

But Ma Zhibin's face suddenly clouded, and he sighed.

"Then your father didn't approve?"

Chen Xun didn't even need to ask—he knew how that would've gone.

"Yeah, he objected. But I figured—once we had a kid, he'd have no choice but to accept."

Ma Zhibin said with his usual defiant streak.

"Something happened, didn't it?"

Chen Zhang sensed something deeper was wrong—after all, Zhibin was still unmarried even now.

"A timeless beauty, beneath the sunset in a straw hat… yet even she couldn't escape aging and regret."

Ma Zhibin recited with uncharacteristic poetic grace. As the Ma family's legitimate second son, he had a literary education.

Everyone understood what that meant.

Chen Zhang immediately changed the topic,

"Where's the child now?"

"I placed him in a village on the outskirts of Soto City," Ma Zhibin said quietly.

"Why way out there?"

Chen Xun was puzzled.

"Yeah…"

Ma Zhibin's voice trembled slightly.

"My family's martial soul tends to undergo malignant mutation. It's not as bad as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but still serious.

Martial souls determine destiny—a single thought separates heaven from hell. That village is a special place to house children with severely mutated martial souls.

Most people there are from the Ma clan. It's easier to get along. Maybe there's even a chance to awaken an ancestral trait."

"So your son… has a mutation that made his martial soul not even intermediate-level?"

Chen Xun finally understood.

"No. He didn't mutate. He inherited his mother's low-grade martial soul: Golden Pheasant."

Ma Zhibin's tone was filled with melancholy.

"...…"

Everyone fell silent in disbelief.

Martial soul inheritance isn't always from the stronger parent. Even low-level martial souls can be passed down.

Higher-grade martial souls have a greater probability of inheritance, especially when the disparity is wide. But still—there's always a 10% chance of the child inheriting the weaker one.

Ma Zhibin had never expected, with the enormous gap between his Nine-Heaven Rainbow Phoenix and a mere Golden Pheasant, that the child would awaken the weaker one.

"Wait—your kid's already that old?"

Chen Xun finally put two and two together. If the child had awakened a martial soul, he had to be at least six.

"You've got two sons this age. I've just got one—the same age as your Xiaojun, maybe one year older, so what?"

Ma Zhibin yelled defensively.

"Ma Zhibin… you've changed."

Chen Xun let out a dramatic sigh.

(End of Chapter)