The cool midnight air of Azure Mist City swept through the narrow bamboo leaves surrounding Li-Wen's courtyard, whispering with the faint scent of wet earth and night-blooming lotus. Inside the secluded room, the single flickering oil lamp cast long, dancing shadows against the plain wooden walls.
Li-Wen sat cross-legged on a simple woven straw mat. His posture was rigid, perfectly upright, like an ancient pine rooted deeply into the earth. Before him lay the muddy, pitch-black root he had acquired from the black market—the Earth-Vein Dragon Essence Root.
To the untrained eyes of mortal alchemists, it was nothing more than a piece of useless, petrified wood. But under the sharp focus of Li-Wen's Divine Sense, the thick, stone-like outer bark was merely a dense natural barrier holding back a swirling reservoir of compressed, heavy earth-element Qi. For three hundred years, this root had lain beneath the vibrating fault lines of the Blackstone Mountains, drinking the silent, heavy magnetic energy of the deep earth.
"A mortal body is fragile, susceptible to elemental imbalance and sudden physical shock," Li-Wen murmured quietly to himself, his voice carrying the calm authority of an emperor who had crossed rivers of blood in his past life. "My physical foundation has already reached eighty thousand jin of raw force after refining the Blood-Vein Spirit Fruits. But to endure the volatile backfire of true spirit-tier martial techniques and prepare for celestial ascension, my skeletal frame must become as unyielding as subterranean basalt."
He lifted his right hand. With a subtle twitch of his internal breath, a razor-thin needle of golden Divine Will emerged from his forefinger.
Sizzle...
Carefully, Li-Wen carved a microscopic incision along the dark surface of the root. The instant the outer bark split open, a dense, dark-amber mist burst forth from the wooden core, filling the small room with an overwhelming pressure. The atmospheric weight inside the room doubled in a heartbeat; the wooden floorboards beneath Li-Wen groaned under the sudden gravitational surge, and the flame of the oil lamp flattened until it was barely a thin blue sliver.
Li-Wen did not flinch. He opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, drawing the heavy amber mist directly into his throat.
Rumble!
The moment the Earth-Vein essence entered his digestive tract, it felt as though he had swallowed a vessel of liquid lead. The heavy energy did not surge wildly like the fiery medicinal heat of the Body-Cleansing Marrow Pill; instead, it sank straight down into his lower abdomen with a violent, bone-crushing mass, threatening to rupture his intestinal walls and collapse his fragile human organs.
"Subdue!" Li-Wen growled softly beneath his breath.
His mind flared with the ancient memory of the Void Sovereign Technique. Deep within his spiritual soul, the faint, radiant lingering fragment of his former God Emperor Consciousness roared to life. He directed his Ki to wrap around the heavy amber energy, forcing the chaotic magnetic force to flow upward into his spinal column, right beneath the first golden Celestial Rune he had carved.
Crack!
An audible, sickening snap echoed from inside Li-Wen's spine.
The process of carving the second divine rune—the Abyssal Bone Rune—was agonizing. The heavy earth energy ground against his white bone marrow, violently breaking down his cellular structure only to rebuild it under the crushing authority of the divine technique. Black, metallic impurities mixed with traces of stagnant blood oozed out from the pores along his spine, instantly evaporating into wisps of foul-smelling gray vapor.
Sweat poured down Li-Wen's face in streams, soaking his black silk collar. Yet, his expression remained as tranquil as a deep, frozen lake. To an immortal entity who had survived the temporal destruction of nine cosmic realms, physical pain was nothing more than a superficial sensation to be ignored.
Hours bled away into the quiet darkness of the night.
As the moon reached its peak directly above the paper window, a deep, resonant hum vibrated from Li-Wen's back. Beneath his skin, a second intricate, ancient rune flared into existence—dark, burnished gold with a faint purple outline, glowing like a newly forged star beneath his flesh.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Li-Wen's heart beat with thunderous power, pumping blood that had grown noticeably denser and warmer. The internal channels of his skeleton vibrated in perfect harmony with the magnetic currents of the ground beneath the house.
He slowly opened his eyes. A sharp, divine golden glint flashed across his dark pupils before retreating into the absolute depths of his calm gaze.
He stood up smoothly. As his feet touched the wooden floor, there was no sound, yet the wooden floorboards beneath him creaked heavily as if a giant iron pillar had just been set down. He raised his right hand and lightly clenched his fist.
Boom!
A crisp air explosion sounded in the palm of his hand without using a single drop of internal Ki—pure physical pressure created by the explosive compression of his newly refined muscles and heavy bones.
"The Abyssal Bone Rune is complete," Li-Wen murmured, feeling the deep, steady reservoir of power within his vessel. "An additional sixty thousand jin of pure earth magnetic force has integrated into my skeleton. My physical strength has officially shattered the barrier, reaching one hundred and forty thousand jin (140,000 Jin)! Even a warrior at the peak of the Sixth Stage of Ki-Refine who relies purely on spiritual body armor would have his entire chest cavity pulverized by a simple palm strike."
He glanced out the window, noticing the sky in the east turning a pale indigo. Morning was fast approaching.
Suddenly, Li-Wen's newly enhanced senses picked up a faint, sharp sound outside his compound—the soft, almost silent rustle of silk fabric against a high tree branch, fifty paces beyond the stone wall of his bamboo yard.
It was not the heavy, unrefined footstep of a common house servant, nor was it the violent, unbridled aura of Boss Bear's mercenaries. It was a rhythmic, cold, and masked breathing pattern—the mark of a professional shadow assassin from the dark underbelly of the city.
A cold, ruthless smile slowly curved the corners of Li-Wen's thin lips.
"They move faster than I anticipated," Li-Wen thought, adjusting his sleeves. "Second Elder Wu-Guang truly cannot sleep while my father sits on the Clan Head's seat."
Rather than waiting inside the room for an ambush, Li-Wen casually stepped over the wooden threshold, stepping into the crisp, cool morning air of the yard.
Meanwhile, perched silently high up in the dense branches of a wild banyan tree outside the compound wall, a figure dressed in skin-tight black leather armor watched the bamboo courtyard. The assassin wore a silver cloth mask covering the lower half of his face, leaving only a pair of cold, triangular eyes visible. Bound across his back were two short, serrated daggers coated in dark green snake venom.
This was Ghost Blade, a low-tier killer from the Shadow Pavilion—an underground mercenary guild operating in the border regions. He was a cultivator at the peak of the Fifth Stage of Ki-Refine, specializing in stealth and lethal poison strikes.
Three hours ago, Second Elder Wu-Guang's secret messenger had delivered fifty gold taels to the Shadow Pavilion with a simple order: erase Wu-Wen's useless son before the sun rises, and make it look like a tragic relapse of his natural blood sickness.
Ghost Blade stared at the quiet courtyard below. He had heard rumors from the city streets that the young master had somehow recovered his health and beaten a few low-level gang thugs. But to an experienced assassin who had slit the throats of dozens of target cultivators, such rumors were laughable. A fifteen-year-old boy who had been a bedridden cripple for a decade could not magically become a monster overnight.
"Easiest fifty gold taels I've ever earned," Ghost Blade sneered silently behind his mask.
He reached behind his shoulder, silently unsheathing his right serrated blade. The metal did not reflect the faint morning light, masked by a dark matte coating. He gathered his Fifth-Stage Ki into his thighs, preparing to launch himself silently over the high wall like an autumn leaf.
Just as he shifted his weight to leap, he froze.
Down in the yard, the young boy in the black robe had just walked out of his room. But instead of walking toward the washbasin or the tea table, the boy stopped right in the center of the yard, turned his head slowly, and looked directly up at the dense leaves of the banyan tree.
Their eyes met through fifty paces of misty morning shadow.
Ghost Blade felt a sudden, violent coldness grip his spine. The boy's eyes were not those of a frightened fifteen-year-old youth. They were dark, endless abysses reflecting a faint, terrifying golden light—eyes that seemed to look right through the thick wooden branches and read his very soul.
"Impossible..." Ghost Blade's heart hammered against his ribs. "My concealment technique conceals all Ki breath! How could a brat detect me?!"
Before the assassin could even make a decision to attack or retreat, Li-Wen spoke. His voice was quiet, yet it bypassed the distance entirely, echoing clearly inside Ghost Blade's ears as if Li-Wen were standing right next to him on the tree branch.
"Since you have sat in the cold wind for half the night, why not come down and report who paid for your funeral?" Li-Wen said smoothly.
Ghost Blade's eyes filled with a mixture of shock and lethal instincts. Exposure meant immediate execution.
"Arrogant brat! You court death!"
Ghost Blade didn't hesitate. He kicked off the thick branch with explosive force, shattering the wooden wood into splinters as his body transformed into a blurred dark streak in the morning air. He dove downward at a terrifying angle, his serrated dagger aiming directly for the hollow of Li-Wen's neck. The dark green venom on the blade gleamed with a sickening, sweet aroma—a single scratch would paralyze a Fifth-Stage cultivator's heart within three breaths!
The strike was fast, lethal, and born of hundreds of real battles.
Li-Wen stood motionless in the center of the yard. He didn't draw a weapon; he didn't even shift his footing. He simply watched the plunging assassin with cold, indifferent eyes, as if watching a falling leaf.
When the venomous blade was a mere three inches from his throat, Li-Wen moved.
His right hand shot out with spectral speed. His forefinger and middle finger snapped together like a heavy steel vice, clamping down hard onto the flat side of the poisoned dagger!
CLANG!
A sharp, metallic ringing sound echoed through the courtyard.
Ghost Blade's downward momentum was instantly brought to a complete, violent halt in mid-air! The sheer kinetic impact of his Fifth-Stage Ki strike vanished into thin air, completely absorbed by Li-Wen's motionless fingers.
"WHAT?!" Ghost Blade gasped in sheer terror, his eyes bulging behind his silver mask.
He tried to pull his weapon back, but the two fingers holding the steel blade felt like an ancient mountain clamping down. The dagger wouldn't budge even a fraction of a millimeter!
Before the assassin could recover from his horror, Li-Wen's left palm moved. It was a simple, straight thrust—the foundational strike of basic martial arts—yet as it swept through the air, the newly formed Abyssal Bone Rune on Li-Wen's spine flared beneath his skin.
One hundred and forty thousand jin of raw, unadulterated physical power compressed into a single palm!
BOOM!
The air in front of Li-Wen's palm compressed into a visible, translucent shockwave.
Ghost Blade had no time to dodge or defend. The heavy shockwave slammed directly into his chest armor. The thick steel plates beneath his leather vest instantly crumpled like paper. His ribs shattered into dozens of fragments, and a fountain of dark blood erupted from behind his silver mask.
"Argh!"
The assassin was launched backward like a cannonball, blasting through the thick wooden gate of the bamboo yard and crashing violently into the stone decorative wall fifty feet away, collapsing into a heap of rubble and dust.
The morning fell dead quiet once more.
Li-Wen casually tossed the broken tip of the poisoned dagger onto the dirt. He walked through the shattered wooden gate with slow, measured strides, stepping up to the shivering, blood-soaked assassin lying in the rubble.
Ghost Blade was coughing up dark blood, his chest completely caved in. His eyes were wide with a profound, primal terror. He was a Fifth-Stage Ki-Refine killer! A veteran of the shadow realm! Yet this fifteen-year-old youth had broken his chest armor and shattered his bones with a single bare-handed palm strike without even using external Ki!
"Monster..." Ghost Blade gasped hoarsely, blood trickling from beneath his mask. "You... you aren't human..."
Li-Wen looked down at the dying assassin, his face completely devoid of mercy or anger.
"I will ask once," Li-Wen said, his quiet voice falling like an absolute decree. "Who sent you?"
Ghost Blade gritted his teeth, a desperate glint of professional loyalty flashing in his eyes. "The... the Shadow Pavilion never reveals... argh!"
Li-Wen didn't waste a single word. He stepped forward, his boot coming down heavily onto Ghost Blade's right knee joint.
CRACK!
A sickening crunch of shattered bone echoed through the corridor. Ghost Blade let out a strangled, blood-curdling scream of agony, his entire body convulsing violently on the stone ground.
"Your professional loyalty is meaningless to me," Li-Wen said coldly, his foot hovering over the assassin's left knee. "Tell me what I wish to know, or I will crush every bone in your body one by one, keep your heart beating with divine pressure, and leave you to rot in the sun for three days."
Ghost Blade looked into Li-Wen's eyes and felt his soul freeze completely. He knew with absolute certainty that the boy before him was not making an idle threat. This was a ruthless demon who viewed human life as nothing more than dust.
"I speak! I speak!" Ghost Blade choked out frantically, tears of pain mixing with the blood on his face. "Steward Chen! It was Steward Chen from the Second Elder's hall! He paid fifty gold taels to the Pavilion master... he wanted you dead before the Family Assessment!"
"Steward Chen..." Li-Wen's eyes narrowed slightly. "And where is Second Elder Wu-Guang currently?"
"He... he is at the Clan Assembly Hall..." Ghost Blade whimpered, clutching his shattered knee. "The Elders' Council was called early this morning... the Second Elder is forcing Clan Head Wu-Wen to sign the financial transfer of the family's main iron mines today... please... spare me!"
Li-Wen looked down at the whimpering killer for a long beat.
"You have fulfilled your purpose," Li-Wen said smoothly.
Before Ghost Blade could react, Li-Wen's forefinger tapped lightly against the assassin's forehead. A microscopic needle of Third-Stage Ki pierced straight through his skull, instantly shattering his brain function. The assassin's eyes went dull, his body slumping permanently into the rubble.
Li-Wen pulled a clean white handkerchief from his robe, calmly wiping his fingers clean before tossing the cloth onto the corpse.
"Failing to assassinate me, they resort to forcing my father's hand in public," Li-Wen murmured, looking toward the majestic, sweeping tiled roofs of the central Clan Assembly Hall in the distance. "Second Elder... you truly do not know how to write the word 'death'."
Meanwhile, inside the grand Clan Assembly Hall of the Wu Estate, the atmosphere was heavy, suffocating, and charged with tension.
Sunlight streamed through the tall carved wooden windows, illuminating the broad hall paved with polished white marble. At the upper end of the hall sat six elderly men dressed in rich, embroidered purple robes—the High Council of Elders.
In the center sat Wu-Wen, the Clan Head. His face was calm, his posture erect, and the aura of a Sixth-Stage Ki-Refine expert radiated steadily around him. After assimilating the Body-Cleansing Marrow Pill gifted by Li-Wen, his long-standing lung injuries were completely healed, and his spiritual breath was stronger than it had been in a decade.
However, standing directly across from him was Second Elder Wu-Guang, surrounded by three loyal branch managers and his scar-faced head enforcer, Steward Chen.
Wu-Guang held a thick leather-bound document in his hand, his eyes burning with aggressive ambition.
"Clan Head Wu-Wen!" Wu-Guang shouted, his booming voice echoing through the grand hall. "For the past three years, the family's three iron mines in the eastern hills have suffered a forty percent drop in revenue under your management! Furthermore, you squandered over three hundred gold taels of the clan treasury on rare herbs and useless doctors to treat your crippled, degenerate son!"
The seated Elders murmured quietly among themselves, exchanging subtle glances.
Wu-Guang took a heavy step forward, slamming the leather document onto the central mahogany table with a loud thud.
"The Family Assessment is only three weeks away! But the clan cannot afford to bleed resources any longer," Wu-Guang sneered coldly, pointing a finger at Wu-Wen. "According to the ancestral rules of the Wu Clan, if the Clan Head mismanages major assets, the Elders' Council has the authority to transfer control of the iron mines to the Second Elder's faction! Sign the contract today, Wu-Wen! Or we will call for an immediate vote to strip you of your title right now!"
Wu-Wen sat quietly, looking at his scheming brother with a faint, cold smile. In the past, under the heavy pressure of the Council and the despair of his son's condition, he might have hesitated or compromised. But today, knowing that his son was no longer a cripple and possessed the backing of a mysterious high-tier expert, Wu-Wen felt an unprecedented wave of absolute confidence.
"Wu-Guang," Wu-Wen said calmly, his voice echoing smoothly across the marble floor. "The drop in mine revenue was caused by the Black Bear Gang raiding our transport caravans—a gang that you secretly financed behind the clan's back. Do you think I am blind to your little games?"
Wu-Guang's face twitched slightly, but he quickly sneered. "Nonsense! Accusations require proof, brother! The elders look at results, not wild excuses! Sign the paper, or face the vote!"
"He won't sign a single character," a quiet, clear voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the Assembly Hall.
The heavy mahogany doors of the hall were pushed open with a low creak.
Every head in the hall turned in surprise.
Stepping through the threshold was a tall, slender youth dressed in a simple black robe. His hair was bound casually, his shoulders were relaxed, and his posture carried an ancient, crushing tranquility that seemed entirely out of place for a fifteen-year-old.
It was Li-Wen.
Wu-Guang's eyes widened in absolute shock as he looked at Li-Wen walking calmly down the central aisle. Next to him, Steward Chen's face went completely pale, his heart skipping a violent beat.
Ghost Blade failed?! Steward Chen thought in horror. How could a Fifth-Stage shadow assassin fail to kill this boy?!
Wu-Tian, who was sitting near the side with his right arm still bound in tight bandages, glared at Li-Wen with deep hatred and sudden confusion. "You... you trash! Who allowed you to enter the sacred Assembly Hall?!"
Li-Wen didn't even glance at Wu-Tian. He walked straight past the angry young master, stopping in front of the central mahogany table, right next to Second Elder Wu-Guang.
"Li-Wen?" Wu-Wen stood up, his eyes showing a touch of concern. "Why have you come here?
"...here?" Wu-Wen asked, his eyes showing a touch of concern.
"I came to deliver a small token of respect to the Second Elder's faction," Li-Wen replied smoothly.
With a casual sweep of his sleeve, a dark, heavy object rolled across the polished white marble floor, coming to a dead stop right at Steward Chen's feet.
It was a silver cloth mask, thoroughly soaked in fresh, crimson blood. Beside it lay the shattered, poison-coated tip of a serrated dagger.
Steward Chen gasped, taking an involuntary step back as his face drained of all color. Second Elder Wu-Guang's jaw tightened, his narrowed eyes darting from the bloody cloth to Li-Wen's impossibly tranquil face.
"Fifty gold taels is a rather cheap price for a human life, Steward Chen," Li-Wen said, his voice quiet yet carrying across the silent, tense hall with terrifying clarity. "Though I suppose for a Fifth-Stage killer from the Shadow Pavilion, it was quite an expensive funeral."
The High Council of Elders gasped in collective shock.
"Assassination?!" one of the elder councilors exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "Colluding with the Shadow Pavilion within the clan compound?!"
"Nonsense! Pure slander!" Wu-Guang bellowed, his voice booming with forced righteous indignation as he slammed his fist on the mahogany table. "You arrogant brat! You dare bring blood-stained trash into the ancestral hall and make wild, baseless accusations against my head steward?!"
"Baseless?" Li-Wen let out a low, amused breath. He turned his gaze slowly toward Steward Chen.
The moment Li-Wen's dark, golden-tinged eyes locked onto him, Steward Chen felt an invisible, suffocating weight slam onto his chest. It was as if an ancient mountain had suddenly manifested above his head, crushing the breath right out of his lungs.
"S-Second Elder... save—" Steward Chen choked out, trembling uncontrollably under the sheer psychological pressure of Li-Wen's intent.
"Silence, you useless fool!" Wu-Guang snapped, his own Sixth-Stage Ki erupting in a violent crimson aura to push back against the unseen pressure. "Wu-Wen! Is this how you raise your son? Disrupting the Elders' Council, fabricating lies, and insulting clan officials?! As the Second Elder, I demand he be kneeling on the floor and stripped of his martial status immediately!"
Wu-Guang took a sudden step forward, his heavy, Sixth-Stage Ki gathering into his right palm as he reached out to seize Li-Wen's shoulder. He intended to cripple the boy on the spot under the guise of enforcing clan discipline!
"Touch him, and I will sever your arm," Wu-Wen's voice thundered from the upper seat. The Clan Head rose, his powerful Sixth-Stage aura flaring to block Wu-Guang.
"Father, there is no need to trouble yourself," Li-Wen said softly, stepping directly into Wu-Guang's striking path.
"Seeking death!" Wu-Guang sneered inwardly. Seeing the boy standing right before him, he shifted his trajectory at the last millisecond, his palm strike accelerating into a vicious, bone-shattering blow aimed directly at Li-Wen's chest!
"Second Elder, stop!" several elders yelled in panic.
Li-Wen didn't dodge. He didn't even raise a defensive Ki barrier.
Instead, deep beneath his black silk robe, along his spinal column, the ancient Abyssal Bone Rune flared with burnished gold and deep purple light. One hundred and forty thousand jin of pure, earth-magnetic physical force locked his frame into the bedrock of the earth itself.
BANG!
Wu-Guang's crimson-lit palm slammed heavily onto Li-Wen's chest.
A violent shockwave tore through the hall, blowing back the heavy curtains and sending loose papers flying into the air. The white marble tiles beneath Li-Wen's feet spider-webbed in all directions from the residual force.
Yet, Li-Wen did not retreat a single inch. His shoulders remained perfectly level, his posture unyielding, his expression completely blank.
Wu-Guang's sneer instantly froze.
An agonizing, numbing shockwave rebounded straight back up his arm. He felt as though he hadn't struck a fifteen-year-old boy's chest, but had instead slammed his bare hand full-force into a solid pillar of divine, indestructible meteor iron!
Crack!
A faint sound of bone strain echoed from Wu-Guang's wrist.
"What... what kind of monster body is this?!" Wu-Guang gasped, horror dawning in his eyes as he tried to pull his hand back.
"Is that the full extent of the Second Elder's power?" Li-Wen asked softly, looking down at Wu-Guang's trembling hand on his chest. "How disappointing."
Li-Wen raised his right hand, his fingers curling casually into a simple palm strike. He didn't draw upon external Ki, nor did he use any flashy martial technique. He simply unleashed the raw, compressed kinetic pressure of his refined skeletal frame.
BOOM!
The air in the Assembly Hall shattered with a deafening sonic boom.
Wu-Guang didn't even have time to raise a defense. The translucent shockwave hit his chest armor, instantly shattering his spiritual protective barrier.
"AGHH!"
Wu-Guang spewed a mouthful of blood as he was launched backward like a broken kite. He skidded across forty feet of white marble, smashing through the main mahogany table before crashing heavily into the base of the Council seats, scattering wood splinters and broken documents everywhere.
Silence fell over the Grand Assembly Hall—a silence so absolute that the sound of a single falling leaf outside could be heard clearly.
The High Elders sat frozen in their chairs, their eyes wide with disbelief. Wu-Tian dropped his jaw, backing away until his back hit the cold stone wall. Steward Chen collapsed onto his knees, paralyzed by pure, unadulterated terror.
Li-Wen casually brushed a speck of dust off his black robe. He walked over to the pile of rubble, picked up the leather-bound document detailing the transfer of the iron mines, and tore it cleanly in half.
He tossed the shredded paper onto the bleeding, groaning Second Elder.
"The iron mines remain with the Clan Head," Li-Wen said, his quiet voice echoing through the vast, silent hall like a heavenly decree. "And as for the Family Assessment in three weeks... bring whoever you wish, Second Elder. But know this—anyone who stands in my path will end up just like this paper."
Li-Wen turned slowly on his heel, his black robe swaying slightly as he walked toward his father.
"Father," Li-Wen said with a subtle nod, his demeanor instantly returning to that of a polite, tranquil son. "The air in here is foul. Shall we discuss the clan's future somewhere cleaner?"
Wu-Wen stared at his son for a long beat, a slow, proud smile spreading across his face. He stood up, adjusted his grand robes, and looked down at the pale, silent Elders.
"Council dismissed," Wu-Wen declared calmly, stepping down from his throne to walk side-by-side with his son out into the bright morning sun.
See you in next chapter....