The place where the Chen family resides is Chen Mansion, a building established several hundred years ago when the city of Biluo was first founded and the head of the Chen family became the city lord. Though located in the city center, the area is still quite vast, covering nearly one hundred acres—equivalent to seven or eight large football fields in the past life of Chen Ming. It can be said that one-third of the city center is effectively the Chen family's territory.
This mansion was originally a product of the family head's abuse of power, but due to the Chen family's small population, such a large space became difficult to manage, causing various problems. As a result, the later family heads gradually began to modify the house and divide the space, leasing out several streets. Even with such changes, the remaining area was still large for the number of family members, and it even allowed the creation of several simulated training grounds.
Moreover, after hundreds of years of operation, the remaining areas had undergone dozens of reinforcements and maintenance, transforming the Chen Mansion into what could more accurately be described as a fortress within the city—easy to defend and difficult to attack. The mansion even housed a small market.
With more than a thousand people, including women, children, and servants, the mansion contains long spears, swords, crossbows, armor, and many other weapons. It also features winding underground passages that lead to various places inside and outside the city. The mansion has its own water supply, small farming plots, and grain storages, as well as pens for poultry and warhorses.
Anyone who encounters the Chen family in Biluo City inevitably experiences a headache. Outsiders passing through the city often assume that the Chen family is a city within a city. This is also one of the main reasons why all the forces in the city wish to take a bite out of the Chen family but are too afraid to do so.
If this were in any other large city, the Chen family would have long since been raided and eradicated, especially since they don't have any titled Douluo-level powerhouses. But here in Biluo City, in this poor and treacherous place, the situation is different.
After Chen Ming's second uncle carried him and followed Chen Ming's grandfather through several winding corridors and hidden doors in Chen Mansion, they arrived at a secret room beneath the mansion. The room was furnished with several rows of dark wood tables and chairs, which were clearly once used by the Chen family for confidential discussions.
The walls of the secret room were adorned with a row of oil lamps. These lamps were made from the oil of deep-sea whale-type soul beasts, and they burned without smoke or odor. A small amount of oil could keep the lamp burning for a long time. For centuries, the Chen family had rarely needed to refill the oil.
After lighting all the oil lamps, Chen Ming's grandfather, Chen Shijie, sat at the head of the table and gestured for his second son, Chen Tianyun, and Chen Ming to sit on either side of him.
As Chen Ming habitually moved to sit on his grandfather's right side, his second uncle, Chen Tianyun, reached out to stop him, placing him on the left side instead and sitting on the right side himself.
On the Douluo Continent, although many customs were different from those in Chen Ming's previous world, one thing remained the same: the left was considered the more esteemed side. Given Chen Ming's status and generation, he would usually sit on the right unless there was no one else to contest the seat. He had never sat on the left side before.
Seeing his second son's actions, Chen Shijie looked a bit confused, but he also had a sense of understanding. He did not stop his second son but gave a slight nod to allow Chen Ming to sit.
"Father, Xiao Ming's martial soul awakening today was... quite smooth!" Chen Tianyun began.
"He awakened with innate soul power of level five and a jade scorpion martial soul."
Instead of mentioning irrelevant matters, Chen Tianyun went straight to the point. Upon hearing that Chen Ming had awakened with an innate soul power of level five, Chen Shijie's expression froze for a moment, then turned to one of wild joy.
"Level five innate soul power? Our family actually has a chance of turning things around?"
"What do you mean, 'turn things around'? Level five isn't that high, is it?" Chen Ming was somewhat confused as to why his grandfather was so excited.
Although the Chen family's innate soul power was a known issue, he was not born with full soul power either, so why such a reaction?
"Xiao Ming, you don't understand. What you see and know is just the surface. The problems in the Chen family are things you've never been aware of."
Chen Shijie waved his hand, and his previously excited expression became somewhat subdued.
"Normally, we wouldn't consider revealing this secret until the family members are of age, but you're exceptionally intelligent, and with your innate level five soul power, we must tell you about our family's problem now."
"You should know that our Chen family originally rose to nobility because of military achievements, right?"
"Our ancestor, Chen Ergou, came from a humble family and, by chance, awakened a mutated martial soul, the jade scorpion, along with a high-level innate soul power of level seven."
"At that time, a local war broke out between the Tiandou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Our ancestor, after becoming a Soul Exalted, chose to join the army for training. After twenty years, when the war ended, our ancestor had risen to the rank of Soul King in the army. Due to his accumulated military achievements, he was granted the title of hereditary earl."
"Everyone in the family knows this, but what's hidden behind it is something nobody knows."
"After the war ended, thanks to having saved some influential figures on the battlefield, our ancestor had the honor of entering the royal treasure vault during a reward session. There, he was allowed to select some treasures that were rarely seen by the public."
"During this selection, our ancestor discovered a treasure that was as precious as a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone... or possibly even more valuable for a poison-type soul master."
"What treasure?" Upon hearing "treasure," Chen Ming's eyes immediately lit up, and he couldn't help but ask.
"It was a seed of the Green Phosphorus Seven Deadly Flower." Chen Shijie seemed to be worried that Chen Ming didn't know what the Green Phosphorus Seven Deadly Flower was, so he stroked his beard before continuing, "The Green Phosphorus Seven Deadly Flower is an extremely potent poison, a very rare plant-type soul beast. Among plants, there's nothing more toxic than this, and even among animal-type soul beasts, only a few legendary ones might surpass it."
"This plant is exceedingly rare, comparable to the Dark Gold Fearsome Claw Bear among ordinary soul beasts, and even slightly surpassing it."
"This poison can easily corrode iron and gold, dissolving soul beasts—far more powerful than the Green Phosphorus Five Poisons."
"Although our family's inherited jade scorpion martial soul is not perfectly suited for this, the quality of this soul beast is so high that even a discounted version would surpass most ordinary soul beasts. If we could absorb it, even a soul ring just over a hundred years old would be more effective than a thousand-year soul ring. If we could acquire the Green Phosphorus Seven Deadly Flower's toxin, the quality of our jade scorpion martial soul could even reach the level of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex family."
(End of chapter)