The Georgia Family estate was alive with celebration.
Lanterns hung from every corner, their warm glow mixing with the laughter and chatter of dozens of guests. Musicians played traditional melodies while servants carried trays of expensive wine and delicacies. The occasion? Melissa Georgia's recent breakthrough to the Late stage of the Body Refinement Realm, the first of the ten great realms of cultivation.
At merely seventeen years old, reaching the Late Body Refinement stage was remarkable. Most cultivators her age were still struggling with the Initial or Mid stages. It was yet another sign that the Georgia Family's meteoric rise was no fluke.
"To Melissa!" Harold Georgia raised his cup, his face flushed with wine and pride. "May she reach the Qi Gathering Realm before her eighteenth birthday!"
"To Melissa!" the guests chorused, their voices echoing through the grand hall.
Melissa herself sat at the head table, basking in the attention. The bruises on her knuckles from this morning had long since healed, a trivial matter, already forgotten. That Thompson girl had been so pathetically weak, barely worth the effort of beating. No cultivation ability at all. Just a cripple from a declining family.
"Sister, you shouldn't have been so harsh," came a voice from beside her.
Melissa turned to see her older brother, Marcus Georgia, who had just returned from the Northern Territories. At twenty-two, he had already reached the Peak of Qi Gathering Realm, the second great realm, and was on the verge of breaking through to the third realm, Spirit Condensation. His talent was the foundation of their family's rise.
"She deserved it," Melissa said dismissively. "She bumped into me and didn't even apologize properly. These so-called Supreme Families think their old titles mean something."
Marcus frowned slightly but said nothing more. He'd learned that his sister's arrogance had grown alongside their family's influence. Perhaps it was inevitable.
"Young Master Marcus!" A merchant approached, bowing deeply. "I heard your expedition was successful. Three more trading posts established?"
"Four, actually," Marcus replied with a modest smile. "The Northern clans were more receptive than expected."
As the celebration continued, Harold was in particularly high spirits. He'd already begun making plans to formally challenge the Thompson Family's position as the weakest Supreme Family. Within a year, maybe less, the Georgia Family would take their place among the twelve. It was destiny.
*BOOM*
The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a weight that silenced the entire hall instantly. It was the sound of the estate's main gates being blown off their hinges.
Harold shot to his feet, his cultivation aura flaring. "What in the—"
The guests scattered as the massive doors of the hall burst open. Not violently, like before, no, these doors simply swung wide as if pushed by an invisible hand, slow and deliberate.
Through the doorway walked a figure that seemed to absorb the very light around him.
Agnus Thompson.
His white hair was tied back loosely, and his cyan eyes swept across the celebration with the same interest one might show a pile of garbage. He wore simple robes, no armor, no weapons, no visible signs of cultivation power. Behind him, the sound of marching echoed. Not hundreds, but thousands.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"Who dares interrupt the Georgia Family's—" Harold began, his voice booming with authority.
"Shut up," Agnus said softly.
The words weren't loud, but they cut through Harold's proclamation like a knife through silk. The patriarch of the Georgia Family actually stepped back, his words dying in his throat. There was something in those cyan eyes that triggered every survival instinct he possessed.
Marcus immediately moved forward, placing himself between Agnus and his family. His cultivation aura expanded, filling the hall with pressure. "Prince Agnus of the Thompson Family, I presume? This is quite the rude entrance for someone of your standing."
"Standing?" Agnus's lips quirked slightly, but it wasn't a smile. "You mean my standing as the废 (waste) of a declining Supreme Family? Is that the standing you're referring to?"
"I didn't—"
"Of course you did. Everyone does." Agnus walked forward, completely ignoring Marcus's cultivation pressure as if it didn't exist. "Your family's entire rise is built on the assumption that families like mine are weak. Declining. Irrelevant."
Harold found his voice again, though it wasn't as steady as before. "Your Highness, if this is about the incident with your sister, we can discuss compensation—"
"Compensation?" Agnus stopped walking. "Yes, let's discuss compensation. Melissa, come here."
Melissa, who had been frozen in her seat, felt her body move before her mind caught up. She stood and walked forward, her legs trembling. She tried to stop herself, but couldn't. It was as if her body had betrayed her will.
"What... what did you do?" she whispered.
"Nothing," Agnus replied truthfully. "Your body simply understands what your mind refuses to accept, that you're prey, and I'm the predator. Survival instinct is a powerful thing."
Marcus stepped forward again, his hand moving to his sword. "Prince Agnus, I respect your family's legacy, but you're going too far—"
"Am I?" Agnus finally looked at Marcus directly, and the young genius felt his breath catch. "Your sister beat mine bloody this morning. My sister, who cannot cultivate, who cannot heal like Melissa did. Who is still in bed right now, suffering, while you celebrate."
"It was a simple dispute between—"
"There are no simple disputes when one side is helpless," Agnus interrupted. His voice remained soft, almost conversational, which made it more terrifying. "You see, Young Master Marcus, you're a genius. You've reached the Peak of Qi Gathering Realm at twenty-two. Impressive. Your family has grown wealthy. Influential. Powerful."
He took another step forward.
"You've forgotten what it means to be helpless."
"Your Highness," Harold tried again, desperation creeping into his voice. "Name your price. Spirit stones, techniques, territory—"
"I don't want your resources," Agnus said. "I want a lesson taught. One that will echo through every family in this empire."
He turned his gaze back to Melissa, who was now visibly shaking.
"Tomorrow at noon, in the Central Arena, Melissa Georgia will fight Catheline Thompson. A fair fight."
Relief flooded Harold's face. "Yes! Yes, a fair fight! We accept—"
"I'm not finished." Agnus's voice cut through the relief like a blade. "A fair fight, with one condition. Melissa will fight at her current cultivation level, Late Body Refinement Realm. My sister, who cannot cultivate, will consume a Heavenly Strength Pill before the fight."
The hall erupted in gasps and murmurs.
Marcus's eyes widened. "That's impossible! A Heavenly Strength Pill temporarily grants the power of Initial Spirit Condensation Realm, the third great realm! Your sister would have the strength to kill mine!"
"Yes," Agnus agreed simply. "Exactly."
"That's not fair!" Melissa shrieked, her composure finally breaking. "That's two full realms above me! She'll slaughter me!"
"Fair?" Agnus's voice dropped to barely above a whisper, but everyone in the hall heard it clearly. "You beat my sister when she had no power at all. No cultivation, no healing, no defense. She was completely helpless. And now you dare speak to me about fairness?"
"That's different!" Melissa protested. "She's a cripple! She can't cultivate!"
"Ah," Agnus nodded slowly. "So because she's weak, she deserves to suffer? Because she's helpless, she's not worth your mercy? Is that the logic of the Georgia Family?"
Harold stepped forward desperately. "Your Highness, this is madness! You're asking us to send our daughter to her death!"
"No," Agnus corrected. "I'm giving you options. Three of them, in fact."
He held up three fingers.
"Option one: Melissa fights Catheline under the conditions I stated. If she survives, this matter ends. If she doesn't..." He shrugged. "Well, at least your family will understand what it means to lose someone you care about."
"You're insane!" Harold shouted.
"Option two," Agnus continued, ignoring the outburst and lowering one finger. "Your family publicly apologizes, acknowledges the unprovoked assault, and pays tribute to the Thompson Family. The tribute will be sixty percent of all wealth your family has accumulated in the past three years. Additionally, Melissa will serve as a maid in the Thompson household for one year."
Marcus clenched his fists. "That would destroy everything we've built!"
"Yes," Agnus agreed pleasantly. "That's the point."
"And option three?" Harold asked, though his voice had lost all strength.
Agnus lowered another finger, leaving one raised. "Option three: I leave right now. This matter is forgotten. Your celebration continues."
Hope flickered in Harold's eyes. "We'll take option three! We—"
"But," Agnus continued, and that single word crushed the hope like an insect, "every single person in this hall, every guest, every servant, every family member, will know that the Thompson Family could have destroyed you and chose not to. Every business partner, every ally, every rival will learn that your survival was our mercy. Your son's genius? Exists because I allowed it. Your family's future? Continues because I permit it."
Harold looked around the hall, his gaze touching each guest.
"And if anyone from the Georgia Family ever crosses a Thompson again, I will personally ensure that your entire bloodline is erased from history. Not killed, that would be too kind. I'll destroy your reputation, corrupt your business, turn your allies against you, and leave you alive to watch everything you built crumble to dust."
Harold's mind went blank as he knew even though they were really influential family now and in a year or so they might even surpass Thompson family, but at the current moment, they were still a high tier family, not a supreme family. If they become public enemies with a Supreme family, other Supreme families won't support them since the result will be the same either way, Thompson family will still defeat them because of how much sheer resources they have gathered in their legacy of being a Supreme family.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Marcus's mind raced. Every option was a trap. Option one would likely kill his sister. Option two would cripple their family's growth and humiliate them publicly. Option three would make them appear weak and destroy their credibility with allies and rivals alike.
"You're a demon," Marcus breathed.
"No," Agnus replied calmly. "I'm pragmatic. There's a difference. Demons kill for pleasure. I kill for purpose-"
As Agnus was talking, suddenly a drink serving waiter sneezed abruptly and....
*SWISH! SWISH!*
Marcus and others in the hall watched as Agnus swiftly pulled out a dagger from his robes and threw it straight towards the waiter's direction.
*BANG!*
The dagger directly hit the waiter's chest, piercing through the waiter's heart, blood gushing out as it pinned itself in the walls of Georgia.
*THUD!*
The waiter's body slammed onto the ground lifelessly as everyone watched in horror.
"Pests!" Agnus said what he though in silently but everyone heared the word clearly.
"Oh, so what I was saying is, demons destroy randomly but I destroy with purpose. I'm not that outright cruel afterall. And right now, my purpose is ensuring that no one ever touches my sister again." Agnus started with a gentle smile and ended with a dark face, staring towards Harold.
Harold's hands trembled as he saw the scene in front of his eyes, even though they were arrogant enough to be a high tier family, they still would never kill someone just for disrupting their conversation because their cultivation demands kindness at the very bit but Agnus Thompson... He was not consisting a dao of orthodoxy, he didn't need to... He didn't need a pure heart to cultivate because he can't cultivate... The result? The extremely aristocratic bastard....
"We need time to decide—" Harold said, forcefully ignoring the waiter's blood pooling dead body as others also changed the way they were looking.
"Yeah sure, you will have time.... But only ten seconds," Agnus said with a cruel but gentle smile.
"One."
"This is unreasonable!"
"Two."
"We need to consult—"
"Three."
Melissa grabbed her father's arm, terror in her eyes. "Father, what do we do?!"
"Four."
Harold looked at Marcus, who shook his head slightly. None of the options were acceptable.
"Five."
The guests began backing away, trying to distance themselves from the Georgia Family.
"Six."
"Wait!" Marcus stepped forward. "What if we refuse all three options?"
"Seven."
Agnus's smile widened slightly. "Then I choose for you. And trust me, Young Master Marcus, you won't like my choice."
"Eight."
Harold's mind went blank. There was no good answer. Every path led to destruction.
"Nine."
"I'll... I'll do it!" Melissa suddenly screamed. "Option one! I'll fight her!"
"Melissa, no!" Harold reached for his daughter.
"It's the only choice where we might survive, Father!" Tears streamed down her face along with her newborn arrogance. "If I'm careful, if I defend well, maybe I can last the thirty minutes until the pill wears off—"
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Agnus interrupted casually. "The Heavenly Strength Pill I possess isn't the regular version. It's a refined variant. The effect lasts for two hours, not thirty minutes."
Melissa's face went white as snow as her 3% chance of maybe surviving went to -15% chance.
"And," Agnus continued, "my sister has quite a bit of pent-up frustration from this morning's beating. I imagine she'll be very... thorough."
"You bastard!" Marcus roared, drawing his sword and lunging forward.
He moved with the speed of a Peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivator, his blade aimed directly at Agnus's throat.
*SWISH!*
The strike was perfect, lethal, unavoidable...
But..
*WHOOSH!*
Suddenly one soldier from Agnus' behind rushed in front of him and caught the blade between his two fingers.
The hall went completely silent.
Marcus stared in disbelief. His full-powered strike, backed by his cultivation, had been stopped effortlessly by a soldier. "How...?"
"Did you think I came here unprepared?" Agnus asked softly. "Did you think I walked into the territory of a rising family without precautions? Young Master Marcus, you're a genius at cultivation and business. But you're an amateur at warfare unlike your older brother." Agnus snapped his fingers.
The soldier also twisted his fingers slightly, and the sword shattered like glass.
"You have power, Young Master Marcus. But power without wisdom is just violence. And violence... is the last refuge of the incompetent." Agnus said with a mocking smile, looking down at Marcus' hard achieved cultivation that was worthless in front of a supposed trash, only because he had a better background than Marcus.
Marcus stumbled back, his mind reeling in denial.
"Tomorrow at noon," Agnus repeated, his voice cutting through the shocked silence. "Central Arena. Be there, or I'll come here personally to collect Melissa, next time with 50,000 soldiers. And if I have to come here again..." His cyan eyes gleamed with something inhuman. "I'll choose all the options combined, but with far less restraint."
He turned and walked toward the door, his footsteps echoing in the silent hall.
"Prince Agnus," Harold called out, his voice hoarse as he played his last card, victim card. "Why? Why go this far for one incident? This is madness!"
Agnus paused at the threshold, looking back over his shoulder. For a moment, something almost human flickered in his expression.
"Because she's my sister," he said simply. "And in this world of cultivation where everyone chases power and forgets humanity, someone has to remember that family matters. That the weak deserve protection. That actions have consequences."
"Fucking bitch you just killed a waiter who had no cultivation!" Harold thought inside his mind, enraged.
Agnus resumed walking.
"Besides," his voice drifted back, colder now, "you asked why I'd go this far for one incident. But this isn't about one incident, Patriarch Georgia. This is about sending a message to every family in this empire: The Thompson Family may be declining. I may be unable to cultivate properly. But touch what's mine, and I will show our enemies horrors that make death look like mercy..."
And then he was gone, leaving behind a shattered celebration, a terrified family, and the absolute certainty that tomorrow would be a bloodbath.
---
Back at the Thompson Palace, Robert waited in his study, anxiety gnawing at him. When Agnus finally entered, still wearing that cold, empty expression, Robert couldn't hold back.
"Did you have to go that far?" Robert asked quietly. "A Heavenly Strength Pill? It is one of the rarest treasures of the Thompson Family. Agnus, Cath could even kill the Georgia girl because she never had the ability to control any type of cultivation powers!"
"That's the point," Agnus replied, pouring himself tea with steady hands.
"But the political fallout—"
"Will be manageable," Agnus interrupted. "The Georgia Family didn't just hurt Catheline, they also challenged our, Thompson Family's authority. If we don't respond decisively, every family will think we're even weaker than a high tier family. This isn't about revenge, Father. It's about survival and survival is only for the fittest."
"You have changed drastically in just one year, Prince Agnus..." Minister Alfred stepped in the conversation from behind Robert. "I wonder, what might have caused this kind of change and since when..."
Agnus took a sip of tea, his expression never wavering. "The moment I realized that kindness is mistaken for weakness in this world. That mercy is seen as inability. That to protect those I love, I need to become what others fear."
"And if the Georgia girl dies tomorrow?" Alfred asked.
"Then she dies," Agnus said simply. "And every family in the empire learns that there are consequences to their actions. The cultivation world respects only one language: power. Since I can't speak it through cultivation, I'll speak it through fear, strategy, and absolute ruthlessness."
He set down his teacup and looked directly at his father.
"You taught me that family comes first. I'm simply applying that lesson with the efficiency it requires. Catheline is my sister. Anyone who hurts her will pay a price."
Robert opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. He saw it now, his son hadn't just grown. He'd become something far more dangerous, a mind unbounded by morality set by cultivation, driven by absolute devotion to those he chose to protect.
"Get some rest, Father," Agnus said, standing. "Tomorrow will be eventful."
"And Minister Alfred, I admire your wisdom but don't think too much about future.... Who knows if you'll even be alive in the future that you are thinking of..." Agnus said with a gentle but mocking smile.
As Agnus left, Robert remained in his study, staring at nothing.
---
In his luxurious chamber, Agnus stood by the window, gazing out at the Imperial Capital. In his hand, he held a small jade pill bottle containing the refined Heavenly Strength Pill.
Tomorrow, Melissa Georgia would experience true helplessness. The Georgia Family would learn their place. And every family in the empire would receive a message written in something else than ink.
Let them call him unfair or whatever. Let them call him cruel. Let them call him a... demon.
He'd wear those titles like armor.
"Sleep well, Catheline," he murmured to the night. "Tomorrow, you'll have your justice. And I'll have my message delivered."
His reflection in the window showed a young man with empty cyan eyes and a smile that held no warmth.
The cultivation world was about to learn that the most dangerous person in any realm wasn't the one with the most power.
It was the one with nothing to lose and everything to prove.