Chapter 2 First Born
After hearing the system notification, Zan Yunxiao instinctively lowered his gaze to the child in his arms, a faint smile still lingering on his face. The newborn’s tiny breaths were steady, fragile yet full of life, and for a brief moment, everything else seemed to fade away.
He carefully placed the baby beside Xueyun, making sure both mother and child were comfortable. Xueyun, exhausted from childbirth, had already fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing soft and even. Zan Yunxiao remained by her side for a while longer, silently watching them under the dim glow of the oil lamp.
Only when the night deepened and the house became completely quiet did he finally shift his attention inward.
Sitting cross-legged at the edge of the bed, Zan Yunxiao focused his consciousness and opened the system interface for the first time.
A faint blue panel appeared before his mind.
[Name: Zan Yunxiao
Age: 20
Life Span: 80 years
Cultivation Technique: None
Cultivation Level: None
Body Constitution: None]
Zan Yunxiao stared at the panel for a moment, then frowned.
“…Hey system,” he muttered in a complaining tone, “why now? And how exactly did you activate?”
A brief pause followed before the cold mechanical voice responded.
[Host has fulfilled the core requirement: successfully producing offspring.]
[System has now fully activated.]
Zan Yunxiao blinked.
Then his expression twisted slightly.
“So this Eternal Ancestor System is about what… exactly?” he asked, his tone slowly shifting from confusion to suspicion.
The system responded without emotion.
[The Eternal Ancestor System revolves around the continuation of lineage. By producing descendants and guiding their growth, the host will receive rewards, including cultivation, resources, and constitution upgrades.]
Silence fell in the room.
Zan Yunxiao’s expression froze.
Then, slowly, his face darkened.
“…So I cultivate by having children,” he said slowly, as if trying to confirm he had heard correctly. “And then I need my children to have children… and their children to have children…”
His eyes narrowed slightly as realization struck him.
For a moment, he looked genuinely exasperated, almost speechless at the absurdity.
But before his frustration could continue, the system’s voice rang out again.
[Ding.]
[Beginner Reward Package detected. Claiming will accelerate host growth.]
Zan Yunxiao immediately froze.
All irritation vanished in an instant, replaced by sharp focus.
“…Beginner package?” he repeated slowly, his eyes narrowing. Then his tone shifted instantly. “Give it to me.”
There was no hesitation now—only anticipation.
The system responded immediately.
[Reward issued:
Clear Spirit Body Constitution
Cultivation Technique: Heaven Veiling Scripture.
100 years of cultivation.]
In the next instant, Zan Yunxiao’s body trembled violently.
A sudden wave of force surged through his meridians as if invisible hands were reshaping his very bones. His breathing tightened, and a sharp pain spread across his entire body, forcing him to clench his teeth. Every muscle, every vein, every bone seemed to be reconstructed from the inside out.
“Ugh—!”
He nearly lost control of his posture as the transformation intensified.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the pain shifted into something else.
A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted within him, flooding his meridians like a roaring tide breaking through a dam. His body absorbed it greedily, as if it had been starved for lifetimes.
BOOM.
A silent explosion rang out within his consciousness.
When everything finally stabilized, Zan Yunxiao slowly opened his eyes, his breathing uneven.
He immediately pulled up the system panel again.
[Name: Zan Yunxiao
Age: 20
Life Span: 580 year
Cultivation Technique: Heaven Veiling Scripture
Cultivation Level: 9th Qi Refinement Realm
Body Constitution: Clear Spirit Body Constitution]
Zan Yunxiao’s pupils contracted sharply.
“…9th Qi Refinement Realm?” he whispered in disbelief.
He had skipped an entire path of years of cultivation in a single moment.
His life span had also increased by five hundred years.
For a moment, overwhelming joy replaced everything else. A long lifespan… real power… the beginning of his cultivation path had finally opened.
But as the excitement settled, his gaze slowly drifted toward the sleeping Xueyun and their newborn child.
The smile on his face softened.
Then, faintly, a different thought surfaced.
What’s the point of living so long… if she doesn’t?
Zan Yunxiao remained silent for a long moment as he stared at the sleeping Xueyun. The joy of obtaining power and a long lifespan had already begun to fade, replaced by a quiet heaviness in his heart. Five hundred years… such a lifespan was unimaginable for mortals, yet what meaning did immortality hold if the people closest to him would eventually grow old and die before his eyes?
His gaze softened slightly as he looked at Xueyun’s peaceful sleeping face.
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, his eyes lit up.
“System,” Zan Yunxiao called inwardly, lowering his voice instinctively despite being alone. “Do you have any method that allows my wife to cultivate?”
A brief silence followed.
Then the mechanical voice responded.
[Compatible methods exist.]
[However, the host must first complete a mission.]
The moment those words appeared, a translucent panel materialized before him.
[Mission Choices
Option 1: Have a second child with current spouse.
Reward: Reconstruction Pill
Option 2: Marry another woman.
Reward: 20 Years of Cultivation]
Zan Yunxiao stared at the panel blankly.
His expression gradually became strange.
“…What kind of mission choices are these?” he muttered inwardly.
Especially the second option.
For a moment, his eyes twitched slightly.
“Does this system actually want me to have an affair?” he thought with disbelief. “And why is it making that option sound so tempting…”
After all, twenty years of cultivation was not a small reward. For ordinary cultivators, such gains could take decades of bitter meditation and struggle to obtain.
Yet despite the temptation, Zan Yunxiao barely hesitated for long.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Xueyun once more.
The woman who stayed by his side through hardship… the woman who gave birth to his child… the woman who became his family in this unfamiliar world.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“I choose the first option,” he said calmly.
The system immediately responded.
[Choice confirmed.]
[Mission accepted: Have a second child with current spouse.]
[Reward upon completion: Reconstruction Pill.]
Zan Yunxiao let out a quiet breath after hearing the notification.
Though he still did not fully understand what the so-called Reconstruction Pill was, one thing was certain if there truly was a chance for Xueyun to step onto the path of cultivation alongside him, then he would choose that path without hesitation.
Morning light quietly filtered through the small wooden windows, illuminating the humble house with a warm golden glow. Outside, the village was still calm, accompanied only by the distant cries of roosters and the gentle rustling of wind through the rice fields.
Inside the room, Zan Yunxiao slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, he remained still.
Xueyun was sleeping peacefully beside him, their newborn son resting safely between them beneath the blankets. One of his arms was loosely wrapped around them both, and as he looked at the quiet scene before him, the sharp ambitions and restless thoughts within his heart seemed to calm without him realizing it.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
This warmth… was something his previous life had never given him.
Carefully, Zan Yunxiao moved his arm away to avoid waking them. He quietly rose from the bed and stepped outside the room, beginning to prepare breakfast for his family. Smoke soon rose from the small kitchen as the scent of warm porridge and cooked vegetables filled the house.
Not long afterward, he returned carrying a wooden tray filled with simple food.
By then, Xueyun had already awakened.
Her long hair rested loosely over her shoulders as she leaned weakly against the bed, still somewhat pale from childbirth, while the baby slept quietly beside her.
“You should eat first,” Zan Yunxiao said gently as he sat beside her.
Xueyun blinked slightly in surprise when she saw him personally feeding her, but she did not refuse. Instead, a faint warmth appeared in her eyes as she accepted each spoonful quietly.
The peaceful atmosphere lingered for a while before Xueyun suddenly lowered her gaze toward the baby.
“We still haven’t named him,” she said softly. “What should we call our son?”
Hearing the question, Zan Yunxiao paused slightly.
He looked toward the newborn sleeping peacefully beside them, his tiny breaths calm and steady.
For a moment, Zan Yunxiao fell into thought.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
“Zan Tianming.”
Xueyun softly repeated the name.
“Tianming…”
Zan Yunxiao nodded faintly, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
“Tian for the heavens,” he said quietly. “Ming for destiny.”
His eyes rested on the child for a long moment.
“Zan Tianming… may he one day walk a path greater than mine.”