"Fuck… you!"
With blood trickling down his lips and his head bowed, a pale and scrawny young man muttered under his breath. He had a rough voice and a distinct mole right underneath his eye.
Inside a small and dilapidated room, two brawny men held him down on the floor. Another one stood in front of him with his arms behind his back.
"Oh…"
The scarred man before him was stunned. His accomplices barely heard it, yet for him, it was loud and clear.
After several years of relentless threats, bullying, and harassment, it seemed that they had finally shattered the young man's spirit.
"Did this kid… just curse?"
"Yeah… I think the boss heard it?"
His accomplices looked at him.
Instead of being offended, the scarred man, their boss, just smirked. He was delighted. After all, he knew how annoyingly persistent this bastard was. Despite what they did, the young man remained stubborn and unfazed.
The scarred man soon recovered his composure and cleared his throat.
He stepped closer. With narrowed eyes, he looked down at the young man.
"Kid, ah. The rent's due. Didn't the leader himself say that if you miss one more payment, we cut one of your fingers off, hmm?"
However, the young man didn't reply, as if he had heard nothing at all.
Seeing this, the scarred man frowned and waited.
"Boss, I think he's knocked unconscious."
"Bastard! You punched him too hard and even used spiritual energy."
"Well… I forgot this kid was crippled and couldn't cultivate."
Hearing this, the young man's eyes snapped open under his hair. His eyes shone with an unnatural glint and coldness.
The scarred man didn't reply to his accomplices' banter. Instead, he concentrated and soon sensed the young man's consciousness.
Now knowing this, he continued with a wide smile:
"Not only that, the rent will increase next month, plus the newly imposed protection fee must be paid as well."
The young man's head twitched, and they noticed it. Yet, he remained still.
"Hey, kid. The boss is talking to you!" one of the accomplices lightly slapped him. But he didn't react.
"This is how you do it," the other said with a grin, then suddenly pulled the young man's hair.
Now, the young man's expression was revealed, and his eyes, as deep as the abyss, were open. The cold eyes were no more, replaced by emptiness. His expression was the same.
He eerily stared at the scarred man, as if he were lifeless.
The lips of the scarred man twitched. He hated seeing this bastard's indifferent expression the most. It reminded him of their seemingly wasted efforts to break his spirit.
"What, kid!? Are you gonna pay with money or with your fingers!?"
The young man continued staring, leaving the scarred man slightly uncomfortable for a moment. Finally, he replied with a deadpan voice:
"You bastards increase the rent every month… and expect me to pay on time?"
"Ain't our problem, kid."
"And a protection fee? Protection from what?"
"From the other gangs and from the outside world."
The young man almost burst into laughter.
"Gangs? And the outside world? Which is regularly cleared by Hunters? And as far as I know, your gang has never set foot in the outside world."
"That is none of your—"
"And you aren't even true cultivators. Just a bunch of Rank C and Rank B weaklings."
The accomplices were quickly angered.
"This crippled bastard! You cannot even cultivate yourself, and you dare say we aren't true cultivators?"
"Boss, I think this kid has a screw loose."
The scarred man wasn't angered in the slightest.
"Unlike you leeches, I dared explore the outside world without a cultivation base. I survived the onslaught of magical beasts, and even went as far to help true cultivators clear Lairs!"
The young man continued, his tone filled with utter mockery and disrespect:
"But you bastards? You all did nothing but drown yourselves in women and dirty money. If you all even had an ounce of masculinity, you would have become Hunters and earned glory! But no! Even women you all proclaim to dominate are much, much stronger than you all…" he finally burst into laughter.
"This fucker—"
"Stop!"
The scarred man quickly extended his hand to stop his accomplice. At this moment, his expression was extremely dark.
He took a deep breath and then had an idea. The scarred man roamed the room as he observed everything.
"Well, kid. If you can't pay… then just pay with the artifact your parents left behind!" He said with a malicious smile.
The young man's expression shifted. He quickly shook his head.
"How many times do I have to tell you that the so-called artifact you're looking for doesn't exist? Even if I had something to inherit, wouldn't it be logical that I would have already sold it for money, right?"
Frowning, the scarred man agreed somewhat internally. However, if that was the case, then why was their leader so adamant that the artifact existed? Even going so far as to stop them from killing the kid.
Then, another idea surfaced. The scarred man approached the young man with a sinister expression and whispered into his ear:
"Hmm, then we're left with no choice but to kill and sell your magical pet instead…" the scarred man said with a wicked grin, his gaze landing on a wooden cabinet across the room.
In a flash, the young man's expression grew deathly cold. But just as quickly, he gritted his teeth and conceded:
"Fine… I'll pay."
"Good, kid. You should've said that a while ago to save us from trouble." The scarred man laughed darkly.
He gestured for his accomplices to release him, and they did, leaving him kneeling on the floor.
When they left, he immediately collapsed and stopped himself from coughing up blood.
His eyes turned extremely cold.
"Soon… I'll kill you all…"
As he said this, the cabinet opened. A magical beast, resembling a large short-haired black cat, emerged and rushed at him. Its fur was sleek and shiny.
The magical beast whimpered and violently rubbed her head against his.
"Nyx… I'm fine."
His deadpan voice was no more, now filled with warmth and love.
Grunting, he strained to stare at the ceiling. It was unknown what he was thinking as he caressed Nyx in his embrace.
Then, now sure they were gone, he stuck his fingers into his mouth and gagged, pulling out a necklace adorned with a silver shard.
The necklace looked simple, neither luxurious nor noteworthy at first glance. It was what they were looking for, but he knew the truth.
It was truly an ordinary necklace. The only piece of inheritance his parents had left behind.
He gazed at the necklace in his hand, his thoughts inevitably drifting into the past.
"Sirius, no matter what, promise me and your father that you'll survive, okay, my dear?"
"Elizabeth, what are you saying to our child!? Sirius will become a strong cultivator!"
Sirius smiled with warmth and almost choked on tears at his memories. But he stopped himself.
As he was daydreaming, he suddenly coughed up blood. Nyx was immediately alerted.
"No, Nyx, I'm okay—"
Just as he said this, he coughed even more blood as his expression turned grave. Sirius covered his mouth, the blood splattering onto the necklace in his grip.
His vision turned blurry. A wave of dizziness swept over him.
Just as Sirius was about to fall unconscious, the figure of an indistinct goddess manifested before him. For an instant, she gaped at him in utter stupefaction.
"A ghost—no, a goddess?" Sirius was jolted awake and quickly rubbed his eyes. As his vision was blurry, he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to discern her features properly.
"The Immortal Spirit is neither a ghost nor a goddess, but merely the spirit of the artifact in your hand."
Her voice was melodious and soothing, with a touch of detachment and mysticism, as though she spoke within his mind.
He gazed at the seemingly normal necklace in his hand with bewilderment. His grip tightened.
"The Heavenly Dao has chosen you. Do you want… power?"
"Whatever it takes…" he replied instantly, feeling his consciousness dwindling. Sirius couldn't care less whether this was a dream or an illusion. All that mattered was he was given a life-defining choice, even if it seemed like a hallucination.
"Even going as far as to risk yourself to eliminate extremely dangerous, powerful figures favored by Heaven's Will?"
"...Figures?"
"Providents. Individuals favored by the Heavens. Bearers of immense karmic fate and luck. Reincarnators. Transmigrators. Regressors. In other words, the apparent main figures of this world."
She continued:
"Eliminate them, and a portion of their fortune, cultivation, and talents will be yours to keep."
Sirius was stunned beyond perplexity. Chosen by the Heavenly Dao to kill individuals blessed by the Heavens? Weren't they the same? And he gets to absorb their fortune, cultivation, and talents?
'Providents? Aren't they… the protagonists found in—'
His thoughts abruptly ceased. Sirius was unable to continue as exhaustion constantly gnawed at his consciousness.
Sirius shook his head in an attempt to maintain his consciousness, to no avail. He then stared at her with difficulty. A resolute expression appeared on his face, then he nodded tightly.
"Very well."
With that, his consciousness fell. Darkness replaced light.