He let out a quiet sigh, knowing very well the weight of their expectations settled on his shoulders.
"Enroll in the demonic cult academy? Nah"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean no!? Now that you finally have the chance to learn martial arts and claim what's rightfully yours, you are really going to let those bastards get away with it? After everything they've done!?" Daichi stood up fast and slammed his hands on the table, his face full of disbelief.
"Calm down Daichi, let's hear him out first. Yao, why don't you want to enroll into the academy?" Lady Cho asked, curious to hear her son's point of view. After all, between the three of them. He had the greatest reasons to take back what's theirs.
"That smile." Li Yao replied simply.
"Huh?"
"That smile just now, how long has it been since you smiled like that?" His question left the two stunned, and Daichi sat back in his chair.
"In fact, I don't remember the last time I smiled like this." Li Yao looked up at the ceiling. Ever since his mother's death, his mind had been consumed by a single thought—revenge. He couldn't even remember the last time he smiled from a place of true happiness.
"From your reaction earlier, you knew who injured me, and enrolling into the demon academy will be just be waging war against them. And in war, there are always casualties. Even if it means giving up what's rightfully mine, I don't mind it, as long as we all can smile like this."
"I see, so that was your game all along." "Daichi let out a quiet chuckle, arms crossing over his chest as he locked eyes with Lady Cho. "Lady Cho, I must admit, you raised one hell of a kid."
She had no words for what she felt. Part of her was disappointed that he gave up his birthright, yet another part swelled with pride—he had sacrificed what was rightfully his for their happiness.
"Li Yao.." She mumbled softly for a moment, then a bright smile lit up her face as she reached for her chopsticks. "Let's eat."
..
"What a day." Li Yao sighed as he collapsed onto his bed, completely drained. The Heavenly Divine Pearl had sapped every last drop of his stamina while restoring his body to its normal state.
"At least now... I can finally rest." A faint smile touched his lips as he closed his eyes, sinking into the quiet embrace of sleep.
However.
That peace did not last long.
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the cottage, tearing through the quiet night. The walls trembled, dust fell from the ceiling, and Li Yao shot up in bed, wide awake with his heart racing.
"What was that!?"
He looked out the window and saw a thick cloud of smoke rising from below, curling into the night sky.
"Mom! Guard Daichi!" He jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs, only to find the front of the cottage destroyed. Daichi lay on the ground, unconscious and bleeding badly.
But that wasn't the worst part—Lady Cho was trapped beneath a pile of burning, charred wood, barely visible through the rising flames.
"Mom!" He cleared the stairs in a single leap, dropping to his knees and sliding toward Lady Cho, who lay barely conscious beneath the burning wreckage. Without hesitation, he began tearing through the flames and charred wood. The heat bit into his skin, but he didn't care, his instincts screamed only one thing — to save her.
"So, that old bastard was right, you did survive." A voice from behind caught him off guard. He turned sharply, only to find six men standing there, each clad in fitted daoist robes and wearing black masks. Embroidered on their chests was a dark, eight-petaled leaf.
"Are you the ones that did this?" He wasted no time. His eyes, cold and indifferent, bore into the six masked men, laced with quiet hatred for what they'd done.
"Oh? Your eyes are saying you want to kill us, you've got some nerv-"
THWACK–SCHLRRRK!
The leader of the invaders eyes went wide as he slowly glanced over his right shoulder, only to find Li Yao standing in front of his men, with a burnt wood sticking out of his chest.
"When did he-"
Li Yao dashed toward the leader in a blur, but just as he reached out, his eyes went wide—his arms were no longer attached. They flew past his face, severed in an instant, trailing blood through the air. "W-what?"
"Oh?" With a single, precise kick, Li Yao's body arched backward, launched through the air before crashing into the burning pile of wood.
"It also seems, you can now learn martial arts, however, it doesn't matter now." As the leader spoke, the house suddenly collapsed in flames, crashing down directly onto Li Yao's body.
Li Yao's vision blurred as blood loss dragged him toward unconsciousness. But in those final moments, the leader removed his mask, revealing his face before walking away, leaving Li Yao to the flames.
"Goodbye forever, you illegitimate bastard. Long live Master Mu."
The house collapsed completely, the flames devouring everything inside until nothing remained but ash and charred ruin.
"Why.." Li Yao found himself within the abyss, the same darkness that covered him the moment the united clans sealed him away.
"Is it too much to ask for?" All his life, all he ever wanted was peace, to be with the ones he loved, but now, fate spat back in his face for such desires, costing him the lives of two innocent people.
He didn't want to be involved in the affairs of the demonic cult because of this, but now that it had come to this, now that they had taken away the second chance at peace and happiness from him, he couldn't contain his rage anymore.
"I'll kill them, I kill them all! No matter, I'll be the one to burn them to the ground!"
Then.
[System Integrating...]
[Ding! You have unlocked the Infinite Cultivation System!]
[Dormant skill — Dragonic Longevity has been activated...]