The woman fixed her gaze on Yang Zhai, her brows deeply furrowed, her sharp, piercing eyes narrowing as if she were trying to peel away the layers of his being and see right through him.
What is wrong with this boy? Is he truly courageous enough to challenge a senior on the very first day, or is he simply reckless beyond measure? And on top of that, he's still so young, she thought as she continued to observe Yang Zhai carefully.
Yang Zhai raised his right brow ever so slightly and tilted his face just a bit, silently urging her to give an answer.
"Fine, you can come in."
Yang Zhai gave a small nod before stepping into the house. The wooden door closed quietly behind him with a soft click.
"What do you want?" she asked, her tone direct.
"Now, look here…" Yang Zhai said as he activated the inheritance ring. Slowly, without a sound, the inheritance gate began to open.
The woman's body stiffened instantly. Her stance shifted, her posture firm as she prepared to launch an attack at any given moment.
By now, I'm certain all the elders of the Moonlight Sect are well aware of this inheritance space. There's no longer a need to hide it from the disciples if circumstances call for it, Yang Zhai thought before calmly saying, "There's no need to be alarmed. I'm not going to attack you. I only intend to show you something."
But the moment those words left his lips, he noticed the opposite effect. Her alertness heightened even further. She subtly stepped back, her muscles tightening like drawn strings, and a small, black dot-sized black sphere flickered to life in her right hand. Yang Zhai felt it—a faint but undeniable pulling force beginning to tug at his body.
That tiny dot rapidly expanded, growing to half an inch in size. Yang Zhai tried to resist, but the force intensified, pulling at him with invisible force. His boots slid slightly as he lost some ground, compelled forward.
He summoned a rank 4 red poison, but it was instantly pulled into the swirling black circle and vanished without a trace.
A force like that of a black hole? And it's this powerful? Even with my body cultivation, I can't stand firm against it. It's dragging me in without pause. My attacks wouldn't even form completely before being swallowed whole. This might just be the most dangerous rank 5 cultivator I've come across so far, Yang Zhai thought, his mind steady.
His face, however, remained calm—utterly devoid of emotion, as still and unfathomable as a bottomless abyss where no ripple could ever form.
His eyes looked at the inheritance door. It stood perfectly unaffected by the black hole's pull. It wasn't moving, but it wasn't completely open either.
Not good. At this rate, I'll be pulled in before the gate even opens.
He snapped his right fingers sharply. A powerful aura burst from his body, thick and suffocating, moving through the air like creeping smoke. It expanded slowly, deliberately, reaching out toward her.
As soon as it reached her, her expression changed in an instant. Her legs trembled violently, and with a soft thud, she collapsed to her knees.
"It's my path, and mine alone. Others may walk with me, but no one can ever walk it for me. Even your elder respects me. So who are you to act when I told you to listen? You should have chosen to walk alongside me, not for me."
Yang Zhai's steps echoed softly as he advanced toward her.
He looked down at her.
She was trembling, beads of sweat rolling down her face. Her breath was unstable as fear wrapped around her like chains. What she saw was a blurry silhouette shrouded in shifting smoke. The mist twisted and turned, its colors continuously changing before her terrified eyes, though violet burned the brightest in her eyes.
"M-monster… you're a monster…" she whispered in a trembling voice. Fear swallowed her whole. She tried to stand, but her legs refused to obey. Her strength had deserted her entirely, leaving her helpless on the floor. Even crawling away seemed impossible.
Yang Zhai lowered himself in front of her, his eyes level with hers.
"Did you understand what I said?" he asked quietly.
Silence answered him.
Yang Zhai exhaled softly, recalling his killing intent.
"I'm letting you off this time out of respect, because you're my senior. Now get up and compose yourself. I doubt you'd want the others to hear how you lost to a junior on the very first day without even putting up a fight."
As the suffocating intent dissipated, she relaxed, the tension in her body loosening slightly.
She nodded, her voice weak but clear. "Yes…"
"Good. Oh, and by the way, this method came from Elder Del Mo. She cares for me quite a bit. If you don't believe me, feel free to go and confirm it yourself," Yang Zhai said.
Hmm…
A flicker of confusion passed through Yang Zhai's eyes.
"Leave," he said simply before turning away, walking toward another room where he sat down to meditate. As he did, the blue lines in his body flickered to life.
"What's happening? Another Shudder…"
He didn't know why these strange impulses were surfacing. Though his mind remained fully in control, these moments were alien to him—outside the bounds of what he would normally do. He decided to call them Shudderings for now.
"This is getting out of control…"
His focus sharpened as he began a thorough search through his own body. Purified void rays coursed through him like threads of light, tracing every inch, every nerve, searching for abnormalities. But nothing. Not even the slightest anomaly.
Everything inside him was perfectly normal.
He turned his attention to his mind, going through the depths of his consciousness. Yet again, there was nothing out of place.
"Sigh… this isn't good. I can't find anything. My body's working fine—in fact, better than ever. And I'm certain nothing like this ever happened in my past three lives. Back then, my personality was stable—rock solid. Even now, it is. But these Shudders… they're not a part of me. And still, it feels like I'm acting entirely of my own will. It's as if my emotions take over, yet my logic remains intact… acting on impulse while still being fully aware."
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Chapter Name Shuddering