The storm raged on, thunder rolling across the mountains. Gu Tianyu stood alone in the ruined courtyard, the corpse at his feet cooling as the rain washed blood into thin streams. For a long while, he said nothing, only listening to the steady drum of raindrops against stone.
Then, faintly, he heard footsteps.
His eyes narrowed.
The Gu Clan's ancestral estate was vast, but even in its shadowed corners, nothing went unnoticed for long. If someone found the body here, questions would follow. Questions that the "trash young master" could not afford—not yet.
Gu Tianyu crouched beside the corpse. His cousin's lifeless eyes stared up at him, frozen in shock. With practiced hands, Tianyu dragged the body toward the far corner of the courtyard where weeds grew wild against a crumbling wall. The rain would mask the scent of blood for a time. Later, he would find a better way to dispose of it.
The footsteps grew louder.
Two servants rounded the corner, their voices casual, careless.
"…heard the young master was beaten half to death again. Honestly, it's a miracle he hasn't died yet."
"Hah! That waste? Who'd care if he did? If not for his surname, he'd have been thrown out long ago."
They stopped short when they spotted Gu Tianyu standing in the rain. His figure was thin, his robe tattered, his face pale. To them, he was the same crippled fool they'd always known.
One of them smirked. "Look at him, staring like some ghost. Pathetic."
Gu Tianyu met their eyes. His own were calm, unreadable, but deep within them flickered something cold that made the servant hesitate. For a moment, the man felt as if a predator was watching him from the shadows.
But the feeling passed, and he scoffed. "Come on, let's not waste time with trash."
The two servants laughed as they walked past, not bothering to bow, not even offering a greeting.
Gu Tianyu's gaze lingered on their retreating backs. His fingers curled into a fist, but he forced himself to remain still. Killing them now would be satisfying, but pointless. He had no need to waste his strength on dogs. Not yet.
Instead, he turned his focus inward.
The system's presence stirred in his mind, silent but undeniable, like a blade sheathed at his side. He could feel the weight of the Slaughter Points he had gained, a strange energy lingering just beyond reach.
"System," he thought. "Show me the exchange."
At once, faint words appeared in the darkness of his mind.
> [Slaughter Heaven Exchange]
— Body Refinement Pills (100 points)
— Qi Condensation Elixirs (500 points)
— Low-Grade Cultivation Manuals (800 points)
— Bloodline Awakening Chance (1,000 points)
[Points available: 0]
Gu Tianyu's eyes glimmered. It was crude, simple, but enough to begin. Each corpse would be a stepping stone. Each life taken would forge his strength.
He looked once more at the hidden body of his cousin, then turned toward the deeper halls of the Gu estate. From this night onward, he was no longer the clan's crippled disgrace.
He was something far more dangerous.
The storm thundered above, as though the heavens themselves marked his vow.
I will climb to the peak, Gu Tianyu thought. Even if I must step over corpses to get there. No—especially if I must.
His lips curved into a cold smile.
"Because in this life," he whispered to the storm, "I cultivate through killing."
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