But it's not over yet.
You turn your eyes to the faintly glowing supreme bone still in Chloe's hands. You furrow your brow.
"As for this bone," you say slowly, your tone mocking. "It used to be mine. But the moment you carved it out of me, it stopped belonging to me. Something a man with ill intentions is about to get his hands on. I couldn't care less."
The moment you finish, ding.
Player has fully renounced ownership of the supreme bone. Billionfold critical rebound triggered. Congratulations, player. Mythic grade acquired. The primordial eyes.
Deep within your eyes, it's as if the sun, moon and stars themselves begin to swirl. A primordial glow of violet energy flickers through two deep, spinning vortexes. Your entire presence transforms. Every ounce of power, every strange phenomenon folds inward and hides. You simply stand there, yet no one dares to meet your eyes.
"You insolent wretch. How dare you insult Master Julian?" The silk-robed elder is pushed past his limit. His face twists with fury as he roars, rage boiling over. "A junior with no bone left dares to act this arrogant. I'll discipline you myself on the family head's behalf."
Before he even finishes speaking, his withered palm, trailing a vicious gust of wind, lunges straight for the crown of your skull. A grip both fast and devastatingly heavy, aimed straight at your vitals.
"Third elder, stop!" Family head Damian Reed's expression changes. He tries to intervene, but it's already too late.
Chloe watches coldly from the side.
Yet, facing this lethal strike, you don't even lift an eyelid. You don't move at all. Not until that palm is a hair's breadth from touching you. Only then do you slowly raise your eyes.
You simply glance at the third elder once.
Bang.
A vast, overwhelming pressure, one that belongs to no known form of spiritual power, explodes from your body. It's an absolute force originating from the very level of life itself.
The third elder's attack collapses instantly. He shrieks and is hurled backward through the air. He slams hard into a stone pillar more than ten metres away, shattering the pillar on impact. He slides down to the floor, blood pouring from the corner of his mouth. His aura is shattered, and he never even touched a thread of your clothing.
A single glance. Just one glance. And an Emperor Realm powerhouse is critically injured, half dead.
How is this possible?
The entire hall falls so silent you could hear a pin drop. Everyone is stunned, frozen in place, staring at you, unscathed, your presence perfectly composed. Their minds go blank.
Is this really the same man who couldn't even cultivate?
Chloe's face drains of colour. She instinctively takes half a step back.
You don't bother sparing the gravely wounded third elder another glance. You turn toward Chloe, the corner of your mouth curling.
The game has only just begun.
The hall remains dead silent. Then, from the back hall, a gentle voice speaks.
"Chloe, don't waste your anger on an insect like him. He's not worth it."
Before the words even finish, a figure in white steps out from behind the screen. Sharp brows, bright eyes, a face like polished jade. It's Julian, the mastermind who schemed to steal your supreme bone.
"Julian." Chloe's eyes redden at the sight of him. She rushes to his side, pointing at you, choking out, "He bullied me."
Julian gently pats her back, then turns his gaze to you, brow furrowing, looking you over with condescending scrutiny.
"So, you're Ethan?" His tone is flat, but heavy with authority. "Not only do you show no gratitude, you repay kindness with malice, injuring an elder of the family. You truly don't know what's good for you."
Your expression stays blank while the clansmen around you murmur in agreement.
"Master Julian is right. A disloyal, unfilial wretch like this deserves to be cast out of the family."
Hearing this, the smile on Julian's lips grows wider. This is exactly the effect he wants. He wants everyone to know that Julian is the one everyone should look up to, and you're nothing but a stepping stone.
You look at him and oddly smile. The chosen one, huh?
Everyone else in the hall only sees Julian's noble, commanding bearing. But you activate the primordial eyes and look closer.
Name: Julian. Identity: reborn. Claims to be the chosen one. Fortune rank: gold, but hollow. Cobbled together entirely from things stolen from others. Fate: a fortune thief. Recent gain: acquired the supreme bone from the Reed family. In three days, at the mass grave east of the city, he will obtain an ancient expert's legacy technique, the Heaven's Scorching Art.
Line after line of information floats above Julian's head.
So he's a fraud after all. It clicks in your mind. A black thread of stolen fortune runs straight from Chloe's body into Julian's, and Chloe still believes he's her true destined one.
"What are you smiling at?" Your gaze unsettles Julian, as if every secret of his has been stripped bare.
"I'm laughing at you," you say, drawing out the words. "How amusing."
Killing intent flickers across Julian's face.
"Julian, don't listen to him." Chloe hands the supreme bone over to Julian. "This bone is yours now. With it, your cultivation is bound to leap forward."
Julian's eyes light up as he takes the supreme bone. "Well, since it's your heartfelt gift, Chloe, I won't refuse it." He makes a tender, heartfelt promise. "Chloe, don't worry. Once I fuse with this bone, I'll take you into the central sacred lands."
"I believe in you, Julian." Chloe's eyes turn red.
The two of them gaze at each other with deep affection, surrounded by a chorus of blessings.
You watch coldly from the side. A plan is already formed in your mind. If a gift can trigger a rebound even when it's refused, then this could get interesting.
You walk slowly toward Chloe. Julian immediately steps in front of her protectively. "Ethan, what are you trying to do?"
You don't even look at him. You simply pull out a plain little bottle from your robe and toss it casually to Chloe.
"You seemed pretty worked up just now. You must be drained." Your voice is flat. "Inside is a low-grade chi recovery pill. Take it. Restore some strength. Wouldn't want you fainting later when you watch Julian's fusion and get too excited to stay conscious."
Everyone exchanges glances. A low-grade chi recovery pill, the kind you can buy several of on the street for one silver coin.
Is he trying to insult me? Chloe trembles all over, her face flushing red, feeling utterly humiliated.
"Ethan, what exactly are you trying to say?" She shrieks and, without a second thought, smashes the little porcelain bottle onto the floor.
Crack.
The bottle shatters and a dull grey pill rolls out.
"I don't need your fake kindness. Keep your cheap charity to yourself."
Watching her fume with rage, you smile inwardly. Good. She took the bait.
The instant the bottle shatters, the system's chime sounds.
The low-grade chi recovery pill you gifted has been refused and destroyed. Ten-thousandfold critical rebound triggered. Congratulations, player. Supreme grade pill acquired. One nine-fold foundation pill.
The nine-fold foundation pill. Consuming it reshapes one's foundation, forging an unrivalled cultivation base. It carries the power to defy fate itself.
Done, you think, expressionless, glancing once at the pair. You turn, walk to a corner of the hall, sit down cross-legged, and close your eyes.
Putting on an act, Julian scoffs coldly. Assuming you've simply snapped under the shock, losing your grip on sanity, he wastes no more time.
"Elders," he announces loudly. "Please guard me. Today, I, Julian, will fuse with the divine bone right here and ascend in a single step."