“My vessel for the War Soul has already fused with your body. It can only be removed by secret arts, or if you die.” Grandma Thompson encouraged, “You need to learn Qi cultivation as soon as possible, and properly refine the spirit pearl. Once you can fully merge with it, you’ll be able to awaken your bloodline.”

“Huh?” William Thompson was stunned for a moment. Was this what the will meant by ‘spirit and flesh merging’?

Spirit pearl + body = spirit and flesh merging?!!

Damn, Dad, did your Chinese teacher also teach P.E.?

Suddenly, he lost all interest.

……

At 2:30 a.m., he took a cab back home. His fever had subsided, but William Thompson was physically and mentally exhausted and fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

The next day, he woke up with pain in his kidneys and a strange feeling in his throat, along with various other discomforts. He didn’t go to class and called his homeroom teacher to ask for leave.

The teacher immediately agreed after hearing his weak, drained voice, and reminded him to rest well and see a doctor.

All morning, William Thompson did nothing but teach Grandma Thompson how to use a phone and play games, or just lay at home resting.

“Hiss~ Grandma Thompson, my kidneys really hurt. They ache just from sitting for a while. You’ve gone too far.” William Thompson lay on the sofa, with Grandma Thompson sitting beside his head, looking down at her phone.

When he got up this morning, his eye bags were heavy—he looked exactly like someone who’d overindulged.

She said carelessly, “Rest for ten days and you’ll be fine. If you want to nourish your kidneys, just work hard on Qi cultivation.”

“Oh, come on, my throat’s still itchy—I’m poisoned by the smog.” As he spoke, he coughed a few times and asked, “If I cultivate Qi, my kidneys won’t hurt? I get it, as long as I supply you with spiritual power, you won’t have to drain my energy, right?”

“Wrong.” Grandma Thompson flicked William Thompson’s forehead with her slender finger. “Qi cultivation will just help your body recover a bit faster.”

A sense of foreboding welled up in William Thompson’s heart. “What do you mean?”

Grandma Thompson glanced at him, paused for a moment, and said slowly, “I told you before, Qi cultivation and bloodline abilities are two different systems. The contract between us is based on the Li family’s bloodline power, which belongs to the bloodline system. Right now, I’m like this phone—full of various functions, but with no power, it’s shut down and nothing works.”

“So how do you turn it on?”

“Wait until you awaken.”

“Then, your power supply…” The sense of dread grew stronger.

“Yes, it’s not spiritual power, it’s your essence, energy, and spirit. And since the kidneys store essence, they bear the brunt. That’s why you woke up today with kidney pain and felt exhausted. Once you master Qi cultivation, you’ll be able to greatly relieve this double exhaustion of body and mind. But the physical deficit is irreversible, because my power consumption is much faster than your cultivation speed. For example, I’m like a computer, but the charger isn’t the original one—it’s a phone charger. So my great-grandsons are always running a deficit. Every one of my great-grandsons inevitably suffered from kidney deficiency and mental fatigue.”

“Ances… ancestral kidney deficiency?” William Thompson’s face turned pale.

So that’s why they died young?

No wonder the will said his late father might never have children in this lifetime.

At this moment, he had a much deeper understanding of the phrase “Grandma Thompson is a tormenting little demon.”

No, she’s more than just a tormenting little demon.

My Grandma Thompson is a juice extractor.

“Grandma Thompson, you’ll lose me at this rate.” William Thompson’s mouth twitched. “The fact that I was even born must be a blessing from above.”

There were so many things to complain about, he didn’t even know where to start. First, he pitied his mom, then his grandma, and then all the ancestors up the line.

Grandma Thompson scratched her head, troubled. “Come to think of it, the fact that the Li family’s direct line is so thin is really my fault.”

William Thompson collapsed on the sofa, crying, “Grandma Thompson, I’m still a kid! I haven’t made enough friends yet, I don’t want kidney deficiency.”

Grandma Thompson comforted him, “Then just give up women.”

William Thompson: “……”

Yamete, yamete, my three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines.

Suddenly, he understood why his biological father cried for three days and nights in the will. With an ancestor like this, how could you not cry?

But if that’s the case, why did the ancestors keep inheriting Grandma Thompson again and again?

It can’t just be because she’s got a big chest, a perky butt, and looks like a beauty, right?

Grandma Thompson shouldn’t be touchable, right?!!

After living for over a hundred years, Grandma Thompson could easily see through William Thompson’s thoughts and said quietly, “Once you master supreme power, a little kidney deficiency won’t bother you anymore.”

William Thompson echoed quietly, “Can I return you? I wonder if SF Express has a delivery service to the underworld. Or, Grandma Thompson, could you just go back to sleep for another ten years or so, and I’ll try to have a son to inherit you?”

As soon as she heard that, Grandma Thompson pounced, grabbed William Thompson by the collar, and said angrily, “Don’t even think about it! I refuse to be sealed away. Since you’ve awakened me, you have to take responsibility, got it?”

William Thompson said, “There must be some way to treat kidney deficiency. Modern medicine is advanced, but not reliable for this. Are there any miraculous pills in the bloodline world?”

“Don’t always think ancient things are better. Times are always changing, aren’t they?” Grandma Thompson thought for a moment, pressed her index finger to her lower lip as if recalling, “I remember your dad used to take a medicine for kidney deficiency called ‘勥昆烎菿奣’ capsules. Go check at the pharmacy, it should work pretty well.”