High School Student with Immortal Race System

’This effect... how should I put it...’

The upside was that it was reusable. Each generation could equip it for a while until they came of age, making it a true Family Heirloom.

An iron-clad title slot for an ever-flowing stream of Yang Family boys!

’But... it also means risk...’

Yang Shen thought for a moment and decided to equip it himself first to test the effect.

After all, he was only a few months from coming of age. If he didn’t use it now, he’d miss his chance.

Perhaps "Late Bloomer" and his rapidly spreading reputation could have some kind of synergistic effect.

As for the four little ones at home, they couldn’t bear the weight of this title yet.

’Without power, you can’t put on a show! If a weak person got this title, it would probably backfire.’

He’d see what it was like firsthand. After it automatically unequipped on his birthday, he could then consider which of the four little ones to pass it on to.

Yang Shen favored Lei Lv, not because he was the oldest, but because of his steady and mature disposition.

’Three of the four little ones were bound to be hailed as geniuses once they started middle school in September. If he chose one to stand in the spotlight, perhaps it would provide cover for the others...’

This new achievement task revealed a new system mechanic to Yang Shen: in addition to family titles, there were also "personal titles," and they were reusable...

’The strategic potential of this was huge!’

’Give it enough time, and I might have dozens of different titles on hand to use as needed, like dealing cards from a deck!’

About half an hour later, his aunt, Tao Ying, arrived as promised. She brought Yang Shen breakfast, then went to take care of his discharge papers.

There were no major issues. His check-up came back normal, and there wasn’t even a bill.

Yanhua Official had footed the entire bill.

However, before he left, Yang Shen was pulled aside for a private meeting.

....

He was taken to a small room in the hospital, which looked like a doctor’s office that had been cleared out and requisitioned.

Yang Shen waited for a while before a middle-aged man with a round face walked in.

He wore an unfamiliar type of uniform with no insignia, identifiable as official only by its style.

’He’s probably from some special operations or confidential department.’

The middle-aged man shook Yang Shen’s hand amicably. "So this is our little hero! Hello there, Yang Shen!"

Sensing this was a fairly important person, Yang Shen nodded. "May I ask your surname?"

The middle-aged man chuckled. "No need to be so formal. My surname is Wang. I’m Wang Yuanyuan."

Yang Shen: Huh?

’Is that a real name?’

’Wang Yuan would have been fine... Isn’t Wang Yuanyuan a bit ridiculous?’

Clearly used to this reaction, Wang Yuanyuan waved his hand dismissively. "My parents gave it to me. Everyone in my family has a round face. Plus, back in my hometown, they believed that since I was weak and sickly as a child, giving me a girl’s name would balance my yin and yang."

’His rank must be pretty high. In the Yanhua Country system, that also means his power level is high... True Gang? Or maybe even higher?’

’Logically, he shouldn’t have needed to explain all that to me...’

Yang Shen thought to himself, ’Could it be that the "title" is already working?’

’Of course, I can’t rule out that he’s just deliberately trying to get on my good side. Playing the friendly card to make a young guy like me easier to manage.’

After a bit more small talk, Wang Yuanyuan’s expression turned serious. "Young man, you were truly outstanding yesterday. On behalf of the Yanhua Country police, I thank you. Jianghuai City will also be nominating you for an Award for Courageous Action, and the Bureau of Education will likely issue a public commendation as well."

These rewards might seem purely honorary to others, but for Yang Shen, the more the better.

’Reputation is a recurring main quest for the Jianghuai Yang Family. The next quest might demand I raise my reputation again.’

’Stockpiling it couldn’t hurt.’

Wang Yuanyuan’s tone shifted. "But having been through the Training Camp incident, I’m sure you understand that many illicit organizations are involved. Yang, I advise you not to disclose too many details to the public."

"You’ll receive every commendation you’ve earned, but it would be best for you to downplay your role in the incident. This is for your own protection."

The captain, whose name was comical but whose expression was one of stern integrity, said seriously:

"Maintaining social stability is our job. But I’m sure you don’t want your freedom restricted, and you can’t live under police watch forever, after all."

"If you become too high-profile... it means... justice might not be absent, but it could be delayed."

Yang Shen nodded, not refuting him.

The man had a point. Yang Shen had to go back to school, live a good life, and develop his family.

Yanhua Country was powerful, but it couldn’t protect him 24/7. And even if the officials were willing to try, he wouldn’t want that.

This aligned perfectly with Yang Shen’s own intentions.

Gain fame, but don’t stick your neck out.

Seeing that Yang Shen understood, Wang Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest fear was that the young man would be reckless and want to brag about his exploits.

As expected of the bold yet meticulous Late Bloomer. Wang Yuanyuan’s estimation of Yang Shen rose even higher.

’This kid is destined for great things!’

Wang Yuanyuan was a very busy man; the fact that he came to speak with Yang Shen personally showed how much importance he placed on the matter. Having confirmed the young man was mature and level-headed, he prepared to leave.

"Yang Shen, your future is boundless. There’s no need to rush things."

He had a premonition that this boy would only shine brighter with time, not fade into the obscurity of the crowd.

"I look forward to the next time you’re in the news being for scoring well on your college entrance exams."

As a minor celebrity with the college entrance exams approaching, as long as Yang Shen’s grades weren’t a complete disaster, there would undoubtedly be follow-up reports about him.

Yang Shen smiled and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

’The effect of this personal title... is pretty damn strong!’

————

After leaving the hospital with his aunt, Tao Ying, Yang Shen sent a text to Xu Bamboo to keep Zhuzi from coming all the way out only to find him gone.

To his disappointment, however, the "Exotic Treasure" from side quest option two had actually moved farther away overnight... It was now 40 li to the northwest.

’What the hell is this thing... it moves around so much...’

’Is someone carrying it everywhere?’

’It can’t be a person, can it?!’

Once that bizarre idea popped into his head, Yang Shen found himself thinking it actually made a lot of sense.

’Otherwise, it was like the thing had ADHD.’

It was Monday, but of course, Yang Shen didn’t have to go to school. An incident this big had naturally earned him a precious break.

’This just goes to show how intense the rat race is for high school seniors... you basically have to get involved in a homicide to get a day off...’

After they got home, his aunt left for work, leaving Yang Shen with Lei Lv and Lei Yi.

Both of them were homebodies who didn’t go to school; they were always home unless the house itself exploded...

"Brother! I saw on the news that something big happened in Jinshui District!"

Yang Shen raised his eyebrows. "It’s already on the news? Which channel?!"

"Jianghuai Satellite TV."

Although it was a local station, Jianghuai Satellite TV was one of Yanhua’s top-tier local stations. No wonder his reputation was skyrocketing.

Of course, among the people watching the news, only a small fraction would care about Yang Shen; most were only concerned with the "incident itself."

Yang Shen’s image had only appeared for about three seconds, and from a long-distance camera angle at that. The entire report was less than thirty seconds long.

Afterward, Yang Shen spent two hours guiding the two kids’ Cultivation. Because they were too young, the amount of time they could circulate the Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique each day was very short.

Lei Lv could manage a little over an hour, while Lei Yi couldn’t even last half an hour.

Among the four little ones, Lei Lv was making the fastest progress. Plus, he was still diligently practicing Body Forging.

Yang Shen was very pleased with Lei Lv’s character—he was steady, mature, and resolute.

He hoped that, among the four little ones, Lei Lv would become the most dependable one.

However, from the very beginning, Yang Shen had told his family they were practicing "Ancient Martial Arts," not Cultivation, to keep them from getting the wrong ideas.

Under this pretext, the reality of the Cultivation Side was masked by the name of the Martial Arts Side.

’For example, in the future: someone in the Bone Training realm can go toe-to-toe with someone in the Marrow Refining Realm? That’s just because the Yang Family’s Martial Arts Secret Technique is that powerful.’

’Or, for another example: if everyone’s practicing martial arts, why do the Yang Family members have a few magical little tricks up their sleeves? Naturally, that’s also because the Yang Family’s Martial Arts Secret Technique is just that special.’

It was a form of protective camouflage, one they should maintain until they were truly invincible.

After instructing them for a while, Yang Shen remembered something. He left the apartment and headed toward the rooftop.

Finally, in a corner of the stairwell, he lifted up a plastic bag.

What appeared to be an abandoned pickling jar was, in fact, hiding the Yang Family’s second "Family Heirloom": the Heart-Inquiry Stone Mirror.

All of its effects depended on the "Heart-Inquiry Water" that collected in the stone mirror’s indentation. When he first acquired it, the water hadn’t yet condensed, and because the mirror was too large to move easily, he had left it here.

He lifted the cover today and found that a small pool of it had finally accumulated...

Clear and tranquil... The mere sight of it was spiritually soothing, making one feel as if they were in a secluded mountain valley.

Yang Shen looked at the dry plastic covering it and thought, ’As expected of a Marvel of Heaven and Earth. This Heart-Inquiry Water shows no sign of evaporation whatsoever.’

’Perhaps "Water" is just its form, while in reality, it’s some kind of Spiritual Liquid?’

————