The Ji Clan's main hall was quiet.
Not because it was empty.
But because no one dared to make unnecessary sound.
Even the flame inside the bronze lanterns seemed to burn more carefully here, as if afraid to offend the people seated above.
At the highest seat sat Ji Tianyuan, Clan Lord of the Ji Clan.
He looked like a man who could be placed in the middle of a battlefield and still sip tea without spilling a drop. His eyes were calm, his face unreadable, but the pressure around him was the kind that made even grown men unconsciously straighten their backs.
To his right sat the First Elder.
To his left sat the Second Elder—
Ji Mingxiu.
His robe was neat, his posture relaxed, and his smile was warm.
But warmth in a cultivation clan was often the same thing as poison, only wrapped in silk.
Below them stood the survivors of the Spirit Beast Mountain expedition.
Zhou Han.
Qin Shou.
A handful of guards, some bandaged, some pale.
And at the center—
Ji Wuyuan.
Eight years old.
Hands folded politely.
Expression gentle.
The picture of a well-mannered young master.
He didn't fidget. He didn't look around. He didn't show fear or pride.
Just calm.
The Second Elder spoke first, his voice smooth.
"My Clan Lord," Ji Mingxiu began, "this trip was not ideal. We lost three guards, and the harvest of herbs was… disappointing."
He sighed, shaking his head as if truly regretful.
"But perhaps the heavens intended something else."
His gaze turned slightly toward Ji Wuyuan, a faint glint hidden behind his smile.
"Our Young Master showed a composure far beyond his age."
Ji Wuyuan lowered his head a little more, modest and obedient.
Ji Tianyuan's eyes rested on him.
For a long time, he said nothing.
The hall's pressure grew heavier by the second, like a mountain pressing down on everyone's shoulders.
Then he spoke.
"Step forward."
Ji Wuyuan walked forward.
His steps were light.
Measured.
Not hurried.
Not hesitant.
He stopped three paces away, bowed, and waited.
Ji Tianyuan's voice was calm.
"How did you kill the Ironfang Wolf?"
The question seemed casual.
But everyone understood what it truly meant.
An Ironfang Wolf at Body Tempering Ninth Layer could rip apart grown men. It could tear through leather armor like paper. A child at Body Tempering Third Layer should not even survive its first bite.
Yet Ji Wuyuan had killed one with a single strike.
Bare-handed.
Zhou Han's face tightened.
Qin Shou's gaze sharpened.
The Second Elder's smile did not change, but his eyes watched like a hawk watching prey.
Ji Wuyuan blinked slowly, as if trying to remember.
Then he answered in a soft, honest tone.
"It rushed at me," he said. "I… got scared."
A pause.
His voice became even quieter.
"I didn't think. I just swung."
The guards exchanged glances.
That explanation was ridiculous.
But the way Ji Wuyuan said it…
It sounded real.
Not clever.
Not rehearsed.
Just… childlike.
Ji Tianyuan's gaze did not soften.
"And the Crimsonback Demon Bear?"
The hall's temperature seemed to drop.
A Qi Refining Third Layer beast.
Even Zhou Han and Qin Shou had been forced into retreat.
Yet it died instantly, its neck cut open as if sliced by an invisible blade.
Ji Wuyuan's eyes widened slightly, like a child recalling something frightening.
"I didn't see who killed it," he said. "But… there was a cold feeling behind me."
He hesitated.
Then whispered—
"I think… it was a hidden expert."
The Second Elder's fingers paused for half a breath.
The First Elder's brows furrowed.
Even Ji Tianyuan's eyes flickered slightly.
"A hidden expert," he repeated.
Zhou Han quickly bowed.
"It's true, Clan Lord. I didn't see anyone. The bear just… died."
Qin Shou added, voice stiff.
"I also did not see the attacker."
The First Elder's voice was low.
"Spirit Beast Mountain… has been too quiet these past years. If a hidden expert has appeared, it could mean trouble."
Ji Tianyuan tapped his finger lightly against the armrest.
Once.
Twice.
The sound was soft, but it seemed to strike everyone's nerves.
Then he spoke.
"Very well."
His gaze remained on Ji Wuyuan.
"You may return to your courtyard."
Ji Wuyuan bowed again.
"Yes, Father."
He turned to leave—
"Wait."
Ji Tianyuan's voice stopped him.
Ji Wuyuan turned back.
Ji Tianyuan stared at him for a moment longer than necessary.
Then said calmly—
"From today onward, you will train in the inner grounds."
The Second Elder's smile tightened.
The First Elder's eyes widened slightly.
The guards' breathing turned uneven.
The inner grounds were not for children.
Not unless the clan decided to truly invest.
Ji Mingxiu spoke smoothly.
"My Clan Lord, is it not too early? The child is still young. His foundation—"
Ji Tianyuan's gaze did not move.
"Too early?"
His voice remained calm.
But the calm carried weight.
It was the kind of calm that made people shut their mouths instinctively.
"My son nearly died in the mountain."
He paused.
"If he lacks strength, he will die again."
The Second Elder's smile returned, but it looked thin now, stretched like paper over something sharp.
"Of course," Ji Mingxiu said lightly. "It is only right."
Ji Tianyuan nodded once.
"Meeting adjourned."
The elders rose.
The hall emptied quickly.
And Ji Wuyuan walked out with the same calm expression as always.
But inside, his mind was cold.
Second Elder is watching me.
He's testing me.
He wants to know whether I'm worth killing now… or later.
Ji Wuyuan's lips curved faintly.
Let him watch.
The inner training grounds lay deep inside the clan estate, protected by formations and guarded by elite disciples.
When Ji Wuyuan stepped inside, the difference was immediate.
The spiritual energy here was thicker.
Cleaner.
Sharper.
It felt like breathing pure water instead of air.
He stood quietly for a moment, letting the energy wash over him.
His body reacted instinctively.
His blood warmed.
His bones hummed faintly.
But he didn't show it.
Not yet.
A servant approached, carrying a jade box.
"Young Master," the servant said respectfully, "Clan Lord instructed this to be given to you."
Ji Wuyuan opened the box.
Inside lay a pill, pale gold, with a faint fragrance that made the mind clear.
He recognized it immediately.
Golden Marrow Tempering Pill.
In his previous life, he had fought and bled for one of these. He had traded months of effort, risked his life in a secret realm, and still barely managed to obtain a low-quality version.
Yet now…
It was placed in his hands like candy.
Ji Wuyuan's eyes remained calm.
But his heart tightened slightly.
Not from joy.
From understanding.
Father is protecting me.
Or… Father is preparing me.
In a cultivation clan, protection and preparation were often the same thing.
Ji Wuyuan sat down cross-legged in a secluded chamber.
The servant retreated.
He stared at the pill for a long moment.
In his mind, memories rose—
The last life.
The betrayal.
The fall of his family.
The protagonist's bright smile as he stepped over corpses.
That smile had been righteous.
Kind.
And completely false.
Ji Wuyuan's fingers tightened.
He placed the pill into his mouth.
It melted instantly.
A wave of heat surged through him like molten metal poured into his veins.
His muscles tightened.
His skin flushed red.
Pain erupted inside his bones, sharp and deep.
Ji Wuyuan's brows furrowed slightly.
But he did not scream.
He did not shake.
He simply breathed, steady and controlled, letting his cultivation technique run.
The Nine Tribulation Ironbone Art activated, drawing the pill's energy into his bones and marrow.
Crack.
Crack.
It wasn't an external sound.
It was inside him.
Tiny fractures forming, then being repaired, strengthened, condensed.
His cultivation surged.
Body Tempering Third Layer…
Fourth…
Fifth…
His aura rose like a tide.
Sweat poured down his forehead, but his eyes remained clear.
Finally—
The energy stabilized.
Ji Wuyuan exhaled slowly.
A faint mist left his lips.
He opened his eyes.
His cultivation had reached—
Body Tempering Sixth Layer.
He looked down at his hands.
They still looked small.
Still looked harmless.
But he could feel it.
Strength.
Real strength.
Not the kind of strength that came from being a clan lord's son.
The kind of strength that could break someone's skull.
Ji Wuyuan's gaze darkened slightly.
He stood up and walked toward a training dummy made of hardened wood and iron bands.
He raised his fist.
Then struck.
BOOM!
The dummy shattered.
Wood exploded into splinters.
Iron bands bent like soft clay.
Ji Wuyuan's fist remained uninjured.
He stared at the ruins, expression calm.
In his last life, he had been talented too.
But he had always been chasing.
Always behind.
Always one step slower than the protagonist.
This time…
He would not chase.
He would stand above.
He turned back to the chamber.
The War Archive hovered faintly before his eyes, its black page silent.
Merit: 6.
Nightveil progress: 6/9.
Ji Wuyuan narrowed his eyes.
The system was still strange.
It had not told him anything about physiques.
It had not given him any "heaven-defying talent."
It only gave him tools.
Cold tools.
And that was fine.
Because Ji Wuyuan already knew what his talent was—
His mind.
His ruthlessness.
His ability to endure.
His ability to smile while sharpening a knife.
He sat down again, breathing slowly, and whispered in his mind.
"System."
The black page flickered.
[War Archive active.]
Ji Wuyuan's voice was calm.
"How do I unlock my first Nightveil slot?"
The page turned.
A cold line of text appeared.
[Requirement: 9 Merit.][Current: 6 Merit.]
Ji Wuyuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Three more.
He tapped his finger lightly on his knee.
Where would he gain it?
He couldn't hunt protagonists yet.
The true protagonist would not appear until later—around fifteen, when fate began to move openly.
But fate did not only belong to protagonists.
It belonged to everyone connected to them.
Enemies.
Allies.
Stepping stones.
Seeds.
Ji Wuyuan's lips curved faintly.
He remembered a name from his previous life.
A boy in Azure Sun City.
A beggar's son.
A child who had once offended the protagonist, then been killed casually to prove "decisiveness."
His name was—
Lu Chen.
Not a protagonist.
But fate had brushed him.
And that was enough.
Ji Wuyuan stood up.
He left the chamber and walked calmly out of the inner grounds.
That night, the Ji Clan estate looked peaceful.
Lanterns glowed warmly.
Servants moved quietly.
But in the Second Elder's courtyard, the air was colder.
Ji Mingxiu sat inside his study, sipping tea.
Zhou Han stood before him, sweating.
"Clan Lord moved him into the inner grounds," Zhou Han reported.
Ji Mingxiu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The inner grounds…"
He tapped the table lightly.
"And the boy? Any abnormalities?"
Zhou Han hesitated.
"He killed the wolf with one strike. And he claimed a hidden expert killed the bear."
Ji Mingxiu's smile returned, faint and thin.
"A hidden expert."
He repeated it softly, like tasting something unpleasant.
Then he chuckled.
"A child's excuse."
Zhou Han swallowed.
"But Elder… what if it's true?"
Ji Mingxiu's eyes turned cold.
"If it's true, then it's worse."
Zhou Han stiffened.
Ji Mingxiu leaned back.
"If a hidden expert is watching him, then our hands cannot move openly."
He stared at the tea cup.
"But the boy cannot be allowed to grow without pressure."
Zhou Han bowed lower.
"What should we do?"
Ji Mingxiu smiled gently.
"We will not kill him."
Zhou Han blinked.
Ji Mingxiu continued calmly.
"We will let the clan do it for us."
Zhou Han's face changed.
Ji Mingxiu's eyes gleamed faintly.
"The next public training event… ensure he attends."
Zhou Han frowned.
"A public event?"
Ji Mingxiu nodded.
"Yes."
His voice was smooth.
"If he shines, the others will envy him."
He smiled wider.
"And envy… is the easiest blade to use."
Zhou Han's throat tightened.
He bowed deeply.
"As you command."
Ji Wuyuan returned to his courtyard.
Wei Yan stood in the shadows, silent as death.
Ji Wuyuan sat down calmly.
Wei Yan spoke first.
"The Second Elder is planning something."
Ji Wuyuan smiled faintly.
"I know."
Wei Yan hesitated.
"Should I eliminate Zhou Han and Qin Shou?"
Ji Wuyuan shook his head.
"No."
His voice was gentle.
"Not yet."
Wei Yan's eyes sharpened.
"Then what should we do?"
Ji Wuyuan looked toward the moonlit courtyard.
His face was calm.
But his eyes were dark.
"We will let them move."
He tapped the table lightly.
"Every enemy that reveals themselves… becomes useful."
Wei Yan bowed.
"As Master commands."
Ji Wuyuan leaned back slightly, closing his eyes.
In his mind, the Awakening Ceremony was still distant.
He did not know about twin physiques.
He did not know about Saintly Teacher or Unrivalled Emperor.
He only knew one thing—
When the ceremony came…
He would seize whatever heaven gave him.
And if heaven refused…
He would take it anyway.
Ji Wuyuan opened his eyes.
His smile was soft.
Innocent.
Perfect.
And utterly false.
"Three more merit," he whispered.
"Then my first blade awakens."