I maxed out the Scholar talent at the start, but I want to be a Warrior.

After lunch, Gu Cheng strolled around the Shen family's residence.

He remembered the courtyard he had just passed and, on a whim, decided to go over and take a look.

Gu Cheng walked along the corridor for a while and found that the courtyard gate was ajar.

He stopped in his tracks.

He hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door.

The courtyard is not large, and there is an osmanthus tree in the center.

There was a stone table under the tree, and on the stone table was an incense burner with three sticks of incense sticks inserted in it.

The wisps of smoke were still rising, not yet completely burned out.

Someone just came by.

On the wall behind the stone table hangs a painting.

The painting depicts the profile of a young woman.

Her eyes and brows were gentle, and there was a slight smile on her lips.

Gu Cheng's fingers unconsciously tightened around the wooden pillars of the corridor.

Those eyebrows and eyes...

It resembled his original mother in seven or eight parts.

No, it's not "like".

The original owner's memories were surging—those blurry, fragmented images suddenly became clear in this moment. A woman squatted down, looked him straight in the eye, and said with a smile, "Cheng'er, wait for Mother to come back."

The sound was very soft, like the wind.

Gu Cheng loosened his grip. Five faint finger marks were left on the wooden pillar.

He is not Gu Cheng.

Or rather, he is now Gu Cheng. But these memories do not belong to him.

That woman—Shen Yun—was his mother, yet not his mother. He had never seen her, but because of the remnants of the original owner's memories, a strange, bittersweet feeling welled up in his chest the moment he saw her portrait.

He gently closed the courtyard gate.

------

Before dinner, the steward arrived.

We invite the uncle and nephew to dine in the flower hall.

Gu Cheng followed his uncle through the corridor to the flower hall next to the main hall.

The flower hall is smaller than the main hall, and it contains a large table.

The bowls and chopsticks were already set on the table, but not all the dishes had been served yet.

The steward led them to the large table.

"Master will be here shortly," said Steward Ah Da, before leaving.

Only the uncle and nephew were in the flower hall.

Gu Cheng looked around. The bowls and chopsticks on the table were made of celadon, and the chopsticks were made of ebony. Each pair was arranged neatly with the same spacing, showing great attention to detail.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

More than one person.

Gu Cheng turned his head and saw an elderly woman with gray hair walking at the front, followed by several younger people.

The old woman wore a dark blue satin dress with gold and silver auspicious cloud patterns, and her hair was neatly combed, but the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were very deep.

As soon as she entered the room, her gaze fell on Gu Cheng.

Then it paused.

The old woman raised her hand.

That hand was trembling slightly.

She walked shakily toward Gu Cheng, her lips moved, and it took her a long time to finally manage to utter a sound.

"Cheng'er..." Madam Zhou walked up to Gu Cheng, her lips moved, her voice was a little hoarse, "You've suffered."

The old woman reached out and took Gu Cheng's hand.

She looked Gu Cheng up and down, her eyes slightly red.

"Yes," she said. "Your eyes and eyebrows resemble your mother's."

Gu Cheng called out softly, "Grandmother."

Zhou's hand trembled slightly.

She squeezed Gu Cheng's hand tightly, nodded, and said nothing more.

But she never let go of her hand.

"Cheng'er is back?"

A loud voice shattered the silence in the flower hall.

A middle-aged man in his forties strode in; he was burly and half a shoulder wider than Gu Chang'an.

His appearance is somewhat similar to Shen Pei's—both have high cheekbones and deep-set eyes—but their temperaments are completely different.

Shen Pei is a piece of cold, hard iron, while this person is a blazing fire.

As soon as he entered the room, he went straight to Gu Cheng and patted him on the shoulder.

It was quite powerful.

Gu Cheng remained completely still.

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, looked down at his hands, and then burst into laughter.

"Good job, lad!"

He turned to Gu Chang'an and gave him a thumbs up, "Chang'an, you've raised your nephew well!"

Gu Chang'an nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

Gu Cheng scanned the person in front of him with his probe.

【申仲文】【体质：75（上限）/70（当前）】【力量：68（上限）/ 65（当前）】【精神：55（上限）/ 51（当前）】【战士技：裂石斩（一阶）、铁壁（二阶）】【文士技：回春（一阶）】【擅长兵器：双锏（资深）】

My second uncle actually has the skill level of a fourth-rate warrior; he's quite strong.

Behind Shen Zhongwen was a young man of medium to strong build, with an honest and reserved face, completely different from his father.

This is Shen Feng, the son of Shen Zhongwen.

After entering the room, Shen Feng stood behind his father, secretly observing Gu Cheng.

When Gu Cheng's gaze swept over him, he was slightly taken aback, then nodded as a greeting.

[Name: Shen Feng] [Constitution: 85 (Max) / 42 (Current)] [Strength: 88 (Max) / 45 (Current)] [Spirit: 40 (Max) / 32 (Current)] [Warrior Skills: Rock-Splitting Slash (Tier 1), Iron Wall (Tier 1)] [Scholar Skills: None] [Preferred Weapon: Spear (Senior)] [Equipment Items: None]

Strength cap is 88, which is 2 points away from being top-tier.

With a physical constitution maximum of 85, he's a promising candidate for a military general.

Next to enter were my maternal uncle's family.

Shen Boyong walked ahead, around forty-five or forty-six years old. His appearance was more like Shen Pei's—the same slender features, but his eyes lacked the sharpness of Shen Pei's and had a gentler look. He wore a blue robe with gold-embroidered cloud patterns on the cuffs, giving him an air of nobility.

His wife, Wang, was beside him. She was in her early forties, had a round face, and a warm smile.

"Cheng'er's here!" Madam Wang said busily. "Please sit down, please sit down, don't stand."

Gu Cheng glanced at it.

Behind Shen Boyong followed a tall, thin young man who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a calm face and a composed gaze. He wore a dark blue, narrow-sleeved robe with a dark-patterned belt around his waist.

"Hello cousin, I'm Shen Yuan, welcome home." The young man nodded to Gu Cheng, his tone gentle.

[Name: Shen Yuan] [Constitution: 82 (Max) / 68 (Current)] [Strength: 89 (Max) / 61 (Current)] [Spirit: 45 (Max) / 38 (Current)] [Warrior Skills: Rock-Splitting Slash (Tier 1), Rock Solid (Tier 2)] [Scholar Skills: None] [Preferred Weapon: Spear (Senior)] [Equipment Items: None]

Strength cap: 89.

Just one point away from becoming a top-tier warrior in terms of strength talent.

I never expected that my seemingly refined cousin would actually be such a strong and muscular man.

The last one to come in was Aunt Shen Wan.

He was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with delicate features and dressed simply.

After she entered, she didn't go to the table, but stood quietly in the corner, as if she didn't want to be noticed by anyone.

A girl was following behind her.

She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, standing quietly behind her aunt with her head down. She wore a light blue dress, and her hair was held up by only a jade hairpin; she looked very serene.

Gu Cheng's gaze fell on the girl.

[Name: Zhou Yun] [Constitution: 78 (Max) / 28 (Current)] [Strength: 25 (Max) / 17 (Current)] [Spirit: 82 (Max) / 43 (Current)] [Warrior Skill: None] [Scholar Skill: None] [Preferred Weapon: None] [Equipment Items: None]

Gu Cheng's pupils contracted slightly; yet another second-rate talent.

Mental limit: 82.

It is 10 points higher than the 72 of my maternal grandfather's marriage.

The door to the flower hall was pushed open again.

Shen Pei walked in.

Everyone's here.

He was still wearing that plain-colored robe, his gray hair was neatly styled, and his back was ramrod straight.

Shen Pei's gaze swept across the entire room before he walked to the head seat and introduced himself to everyone.

"This is Yun'er's son—Gu Cheng," he said.

"Cheng'er will be studying in Shuofang City from now on. All of you uncles, aunts, and brothers and sisters of the same generation must take good care of him."

Everyone readily agreed.

"Let's begin!"

The atmosphere immediately became lively.

Shen Zhongwen was the first to speak, slapping the table and saying he wanted to host a welcome dinner for Cheng'er. He was glared at by Wang Shi and sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Shen Boyong then said, "If Cheng'er needs anything, just tell your uncle."

The steward, Ah Da, began to instruct the servants to serve the dishes.

Braised pork, steamed fish, soy sauce duck, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, lotus seed soup, osmanthus cake—one dish after another was served, filling the table to the brim.

Grandmother Zhou sat next to Gu Cheng, constantly piling food onto his plate. Braised pork, steamed fish, soy sauce duck, stir-fried vegetables—Gu Cheng's bowl quickly became a small mountain.

"Eat more, you're too thin," Zhou said.

Gu Cheng nodded in agreement and lowered his head to focus on eating his rice.

After being in this world for so long, I'm finally getting to eat a good meal.

The meal took almost half an hour to finish.

Finally, Shen Pei put down his chopsticks and announced the end of the dinner.

The crowd got up and gradually dispersed.

Late at night.

Gu Cheng lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He closed his eyes, the results of tonight's investigation flashing through his mind.

Shen Yuan and Shen Feng both possess the talent of second-rate warriors.

Zhou Yun possesses the talent of a second-rate scholar.

And himself.

Gu Cheng turned over.

This generation of the Shen family has truly produced a wealth of talented individuals.