Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!-Chapter 48: Comedic Chaos.

"Brother, I have a secret," Fang Tian said quietly.

Fang Yuan didn’t blink.

He simply stared at his younger brother and then gave a small nod.

"I know."

Fang Tian’s eyes widened just a bit. He hadn’t expected that.

"...You’re not curious?" he asked, cautiously.

"I am," Fang Yuan replied with a faint smile. "But I also have my own secrets."

Fang Tian hesitated, then leaned forward slightly. "That you’re at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm?"

Fang Yuan’s body stiffened.

He stood up slowly, eyes narrowing. His thoughts surged like a tide.

How did this boy know that?

He’s not even at the Golden Core stage yet. Did he recently acquire some artifact that lets him see through realms or lies? No... with that pitiful qi of his, that’s far from possible.

Which left only one reasonable explanation in his head.

"And you," Fang Yuan said, voice cold and clear, "have a soul trapped inside that ring hanging from your neck, someone clearly guiding your cultivation."

His finger pointed directly at the ring tied around Fang Tian’s neck.

A beat of silence.

Then Fang Yuan blinked.

And inwardly winced.

Ah... what a blabbermouth.

Why did I say that?

He didn’t even know if it was true!

It just slipped out in a moment of panic because his own secret got exposed.

He only meant to deflect... not deliver a monologue ripped straight from a cultivation novel!

Now I look like a fool.

This isn’t some modern novel! What am I saying—"a soul inside your ring"? Really?

His gaze flicked to Fang Tian, who was just... staring at him.

Wide-eyed. Unmoving.

Yep. He thinks I’ve lost my mind.

Fang Yuan could already feel the secondhand embarrassment brewing for himself.

He’s probably wondering if the pressure of being Patriarch finally cracked my brain.

He still kept a straight face though.

Barely.

But inside he was already screaming again.

Why... why couldn’t I just say something normal like, "Are you cultivating something strange lately?"

No, I had to sound like I’m high on crack!

Now my brother probably thinks I’m not a reliable brother, look at him staring at me like he’s never seen a ’whimsical clown’.

Sure enough, Fang Tian just kept staring at him.

Wide-eyed.

As if Fang Yuan had suddenly grown three heads.

But inside his mind, the soul sealed within the ring stirred.

"How marvelous," Qin Shi Huang’s voice echoed in Fang Tian’s consciousness.

"His perception is quite extraordinary. Even I’m impressed."

Fang Tian, however, was anything but impressed.

"Master, how did he figure it out?!" Fang Tian screamed inwardly, his face frozen in a stiff half-smile.

"I was careful! I made sure no qi leaked out! I never spoke out loud! I even wore the ring inside my clothes!"

The response was slow... calm... frustratingly serene.

"Hmm."

The voice of the ancient emperor echoed lightly in his mind, completely unfazed.

"That does pose a problem. If your brother can sense me as a Peak Nascent soul realm cultivator, then anyone in the Hollow Spirit Realm might sniff me out just as easily."

"What do you mean ’pose a problem’? This is catastrophic! I’m dead! If Brother figured it out so casually, what happens when I meet someone really strong?! They’ll see right through me! Master, aren’t you even a little worried?!"

There was a pause.

Then Qin Shi Huang replied, sounding vaguely amused—

"Why worry... when one could only be impressed by what’s in front?"

Fang Tian’s soul deflated.

"This isn’t the time to be impressed!

He knew about your existence without me even saying that! And I’ve been hiding you for weeks now!"

Inside his chest, his heart thumped like a drum.

Outside, he barely blinked still locked in eye contact with his older brother, who looked far too calm for someone who just exposed his master existence.

Meanwhile, Qin Shi Huang simply sighed with an air of poetic admiration.

"What eyes. What intuition. Your brother... he is not ordinary."

Fang Tian groaned internally.

"You should be worried not impressed!!"

Outside, Fang Tian opened his mouth to speak. Closed it again.

Opened it once more.

Still no words came out.

The two brothers stared at each other in utter silence.

One frozen in quiet panic.

The other trying very hard not to smile at his own accidental slip.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the faint rustling of the scrolls on Fang Yuan’s desk.

Fang Yuan cleared his throat lightly, brushing away the awkward silence.

"Ahem. Well... we both have our own secrets, don’t we?" he said, folding his arms as if that made everything balanced again. "But that’s not what I’m asking about."

He gestured subtly toward the red box now sitting silently on the desk between them.

"I want to know... why do you need this ring?"

Fang Tian blinked once, then exhaled slowly.

"...Brother already knows about you, Master. Let’s just tell him."

The voice in his head responded with ease, calm and imperial.

"Yes, perhaps it’s for the better. Who knows? Your brother might even be able to offer some insight."

Taking a breath, Fang Tian looked up.

"Brother," he began, placing a hand lightly over the box, "the family ring... it’s not just a relic. It’s a symbol. A sign of approval from the immortals. Have you heard about immortals?"

Fang Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. "...Immortals?"

Of course he’d heard of them or rather, of course he’d read about them.

Correction:

Of course he had read about them in his past life.

Honestly, who told those authors to write so many good cultivation novels back then?

Ahem. He refused to blame himself for binging hundreds of them. It was educational. Research, even.

After Nascent Soul came Hollow Spirit.

Then Spirit Severing.

Then Void Return...

And finally... Immortality. That elusive, godlike realm that every cultivator, fool or genius, dreamed of reaching.

Immortals...

Gorgeous women drifting through the clouds, skin like flawless jade, eyes sparkling like stars, the faint scent of lotus blossoms clinging to their sleeves.

Yes...

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an immortal wife?

Someone to gently call him ’Dao Companion’ as they dual cultivated under moonlight, bodies glowing with heavenly light, their hearts in tune with the dao—

Wait.

Hold on.

What if...

What if she turned out to be his great-great-great-great-grandmother?

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om