Edward Zhao smiled at Ian Song and said, "You may have guessed it already—I do intend to groom you as the next patriarch. Harold's fall was the Zhao Family's greatest loss, but among the second and third generations, not a single person can shoulder this responsibility. You happened to appear at just the right moment!"
"Grandpa, I'm not sure that's appropriate. I've joined the Zhao Family, but after all, I'm still an outsider by blood," Ian Song said carefully.
"Have you heard the saying, 'A great sea accepts all rivers'?" Edward Zhao said slowly.
Ian Song nodded.
Edward Zhao continued, "The Zhao Family may be a thousand-year-old clan, but we're not as ossified as you might think. Only by constantly absorbing fresh blood can a family endure for ages and remain at the top.
Besides, our ancestors already set the precedent of appointing patriarchs from outside surnames, so you don't need to worry about that. As long as you're outstanding enough, everyone will support you. My siblings all know that only a strong family lets them continue to enjoy its shelter.
Ian, you won't let Grandpa down, will you?"
Edward Zhao's words made Ian Song suddenly feel immense pressure—though he also felt a bit of joy, like a meat pie had just fallen into his lap.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and said, "I'll do my best, Grandpa!"
"Good."
Edward Zhao nodded in satisfaction and took out a jade bottle from his pocket, handing it to Ian. "There are ten Vital Essence Pills inside. Take them—this is your grandfather's gift for meeting you."
"Thank you, Grandpa." Ian Song accepted the jade bottle with both hands, feeling a rush of excitement in his heart.
He had learned from Leon Lee that the Vital Essence Pill was an extremely precious elixir. One pill was worth three years of cultivation for an Innate master, making it incredibly expensive—each one cost at least twenty million yuan, and even then, they were rarely found on the market.
In other words, the bottle of pills Edward Zhao had just given him was worth over two hundred million yuan.
No wonder he’s the patriarch of a thousand-year-old clan—he gives away two hundred million yuan just like that. Generous, but I like it.
"Alright, let’s go join the banquet. After it’s over, find your second uncle—he’ll take you to the family’s Scripture Pavilion so you can pick out some suitable martial arts manuals!"
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Ian thanked him again.
At the Zhao Family banquet, only core members qualified for seats at the main table, but thanks to Edward Zhao’s instructions, Ian sat with him—drawing a fresh wave of jealous stares from the younger clan members.
Ian couldn’t help but feel that this newly acknowledged grandpa was deliberately tossing him into the spotlight.
When the banquet ended, Edward Zhao left gracefully.
Andrew Zhao came over to Ian and escorted him to the Zhao Family Scripture Pavilion.
The Scripture Pavilion had three floors: the first was for rare ordinary books and ancient classics, the second stored Post-Heaven cultivation methods and martial arts, and the third housed Innate-level manuals and techniques.
Andrew Zhao was already sixty-eight years old, but thanks to his cultivation, he looked barely over fifty.
"Ian, with martial arts, quality matters more than quantity. I suggest you pick one movement technique, one weapon style, and one fist or leg technique—that should be enough!"
"Thank you, Second Uncle, I understand. I’ll choose carefully," Ian replied gratefully.
"Alright, take your time here. I’ll be downstairs reading. If you need anything, just let me know!"
After Andrew Zhao left, Ian’s gaze immediately fell on the two rows of bookshelves.
He quickly scanned the shelves—there were more than two hundred Innate-level manuals and martial arts techniques stored here.
He casually picked up a manual titled Maiden’s Essence Art and glanced through it, discovering it was an Innate cultivation method for women. At full mastery, it could bring a practitioner to the Fifth Layer of the Innate realm.
Putting Maiden’s Essence Art back, he grabbed another manual called Diamond Palm. After flipping through it, he concluded the moves were simple and powerful, known for their rigid force, but the technique lacked variation—best suited for straightforward fighters.
Over the next few hours, Ian skimmed through every manual on both shelves, carefully evaluating their strengths and weaknesses before finally picking out three martial arts.
The first was Ninefold Dragon Step, a comprehensive movement and footwork technique. While reading it, he noticed its first half closely resembled Tiger-Leap Step, allowing him to deduce that Tiger-Leap Step was actually a simplified, incomplete derivative of this higher-level art.
With his foundation in Tiger-Leap Step, cultivating Ninefold Dragon Step would be much easier.
His second choice was Whirlwind Thirty-Nine Kicks, a leg technique. Since he already had Raging Tidal Surge as a palm art, he didn’t need another palm technique, so he chose a leg art instead.
The third was a hidden weapon acupoint technique called Thousand-Hands Strike. In this day and age, whether you’re taking a car or a plane, you have to go through security checks. If you train in sword or blade techniques, you’d have to carry swords or knives, which is just inconvenient.
Hidden weapons are much more practical. For example, a one-yuan coin makes an excellent projectile.
In the middle of the two bookshelves stood a desk stocked with pens and blank paper. Scripture Pavilion manuals couldn’t be taken out, but copying them was allowed.
But Ian didn’t need to copy anything. He simply activated his Photographic Memory Divine Art and memorized all three martial arts in a short time.
"Ian, you’ve already finished choosing?"
When Ian returned to the first floor, Andrew Zhao looked at him in surprise. There were over two hundred manuals upstairs, and when Andrew had chosen, it had taken him three days and nights. Ian had only been gone a few hours.
And seeing Ian empty-handed, Andrew wondered why he hadn’t copied any of the techniques. Didn’t he know copying was allowed?
Thinking this, he felt the need to remind Ian: "Ian, you can copy the techniques you’ve chosen to take home and study."
"Thank you for your concern, Second Uncle. I’ve already memorized them all," Ian said with a smile.
Hearing this, Andrew Zhao couldn’t say anything more.
"Alright, let’s go."
Suddenly, Ian’s gaze landed on a book titled Golden Needle Method. His face lit up with delight, and he quickly walked over to take it from the shelf.
Victor Hua was a divine physician over five hundred years ago, later summoned to the imperial palace as chief imperial doctor, only to be killed in a palace coup.
The medical book he poured his life’s work into, the Golden Needle Method, disappeared along with him.
It’s said that Victor Hua’s greatest skill was the golden needle technique—no matter the illness, a few precise insertions of his golden needles could cure it.
Ian knew about the Golden Needle Method because, while collecting Eastern Medicine knowledge, he had researched Victor Hua.
"Why, Ian, are you interested in Eastern Medicine?" Andrew Zhao asked.
"Yes, I’ve been studying Eastern Medicine lately," Ian Song nodded, then opened the Golden Needle Method. Since the duration of his Photographic Memory Divine Art hadn’t expired, he memorized the entire book.