His grandpa was always polishing or sharpening this sword of his, Gray felt that he loved this sword more than his grandma.
"I'm glad you asked," Grandpa Meno's eyes sparkled, "This isn't just any sword, this is my greatest treasure, the Eternity Severing Blade!"
"Eternity Severing Blade? What an overbearing name!" Gray was shocked, the sword didn't look special at all, it seemed worn out and cheap.
"Hmph! It's quite the opposite, this sword's name doesn't live up to its brilliance at all." Grandpa Meno said proudly.
"What bullshit are you spouting again? Don't listen to him, child. He's just a delusional old man." Grandma Cena shouted from the kitchen.
"Crazy old hag…" Grandpa Meno muttered under his breath
Smack!
The Eternity Severing Blade's scabbard Grandpa Meno held slammed against Grandpa Meno's forehead, controlled by Grandma Cena's Spiritual Energy.
"What did you just call me?!" she snapped angrily.
She had been cooking in the kitchen, but the moment she heard his words, she stormed out without hesitation.
"You crazy old hag!" Grandpa Meno clutched the back of his head and glared at her. "How could you hit me in front of our grandson?! He'll think I'm not the man of this house!"
"Man of the house? You?" Grandma Cena snorted coldly. Her aura instantly flared, heavy and oppressive.
Though both of them were at the same cultivation level, her foundation was sturdier and her Spiritual Energy quality was far purer, always keeping her one step ahead of her husband.
Grandpa Meno's bravado quickly wilted under her pressure, his back straightening like a soldier on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Gray quietly watched them with a faint smile.
Over the past few days he had spent with his grandparents, he discovered that this constant bickering was their normal way of life.
They argued, they scolded, they fought over the smallest things… yet beneath all that noise was a bond that had weathered decades together.
Compared to the countless years he had spent wandering in loneliness, this noisy home felt warm.
Every insult, every shout, every smack of a stick… it was all full of life.
Knowing that he couldn't win against his wife, Grandpa Meno turned to Gray and noticed something peculiar.
"Eh? Has your left eye somewhat changed?" he asked in surprise.
"My left eye?" Gray tried to rummage through his memories and remembered that the previous Gray was blind in his left eye.
"I... can see" Gray said in slight surprise.
"What?! Really?" Grandma Cena once again stormed out of the kitchen and looked at Gray with an ecstatic look.
Her grandson's blind eye has been a mystery to all the doctors who came to check it, as even high grade pills couldn't cure it.
"Yes..." Unlike the previous Gray, he never lived his life with a blind eye so he didn't really feel much happiness after realizing he could see with his left eye.
"Now that I'm looking at it carefully, it looks quite different from before." Grandma Cena said curiously.
"Different how?" Gray's interest peaked, he moved to look at a nearby mirror.
Sigh.
"… I can't believe this is really me." Gray sighed as he muttered to himself.
This wasn't the first time he looked into the mirror, but every time he did, he couldn't help but admire his face.
He looked extremely… no, unreasonably handsome.
He was 12 years old this year but looked to be a bit younger than that.
More importantly, his looks were something that even the heavens would get jealous of.
If this was in his previous life, he could've been a world-renowned child model.
He had fair skin which wasn't too pale, his right eye was gray similar to his hair while his left eye was silver, with a hint of prism deep inside if one observed very carefully.
His features had a balance between softness and sharpness with a hint of delicate femininity in his eyes.
He also had a short stature of 163 cm, which was a huge difference from his previous life's 183 cm, however, that didn't take away from his attractiveness.
As he looked at himself in the mirror, he thought to himself.
'No wonder the previous Gray was killed so brutally, even if he wasn't a true member of the clan and had some decent talent, it wasn't enough to warrant such torture especially since the previous Gray wasn't exactly the type to make enemies randomly. This is definitely the main reason.'
Grandpa Meno walked over to Gray and observed more carefully.
"It used to be pure-white, but now it has a hint of silver with some weird colors deep inside."
Gray remembered some information from his memories as he asked
"Does this mean I might have some sort of bloodline? Since only those with bloodlines have different eye colors."
"Hmm, although it's a possibility, the chances of it are quite low. Black pupils means a person has no special bloodline, crimson means they have an Elite Bloodline and is also the highest bloodline in our world, which only the royal family in the Divine Capital possess." Grandma Cena explained from the side
She continued "Next is the Arcane Bloodline, with Purple pupils, which no one in our world has. I've never heard of a silver pupil, much less one with multiple colors hidden within. Not to mention only one of your eyes has it, which makes the possibility of having a bloodline even lower."
"So I either have a brand-new, never-before-seen power… or some sort of medical condition." Gray wasn't disappointed, after all, it was already a blessing that he could see with his left eye.
"Grandma, grandpa, I'd like to go explore the clan grounds for a bit."
"Go ahead, I have already requested for a meeting with the clan leader tomorrow in order to address the murder attempt on you." Grandpa Meno said with a grim expression.
"However, don't go beyond the clan grounds, you're safe while we're still within the clan as no one would dare to disregard the clan rules. Not to mention, you still can't cultivate or use Spiritual Energy in your current state and it might take a few more days before your Spirit Roots recover."
"Got it, grandpa." Gray nodded in understanding.
Despite most of his injuries already recovering, his body still wasn't in a state where he can cultivate or use any techniques.
He also didn't know what to expect with the meeting with the clan leader, however, based on his memories.
The backing of those who harmed him were much stronger than his grandparents, who albeit were elders, didn't really have much weight in the clan.
…
The clan grounds was incredibly spacious, and was split into dozens of divisions for the various different clansmen.
From normal outer clan members, to outer elders, then inner clan members, to inner elders, and to the clan leader.
His adoptive grandparents were both outer clan elders, their rank wasn't considered that high in the clan.
They were simply from a side-branch of the Anarkin family, so they weren't entitled to a large property, which was why they were basically at the same status, if not slightly lower than a normal inner clan member.
Gray was currently exploring around, seeing many other clan members of the same generation as he was training and practicing martial arts.
He was fascinated by how different everything was from Earth.
The Anarkin Clan wasn't the most powerful or even amongst the strongest.
It was just a middle-sized clan in a middle-sized continent amongst the thousands of continents in this world.
The buildings looked ancient, there was no electricity, and technology wasn't developed in the slightest.
As he passed by the Martial Techniques Area, the place where low level disciples practiced their techniques.
More and more clan members noticed him.
Due to his relatively high talent and his unique situation as the adopted son of an elder from a branch of the Anarkin Clan.
He stood out a lot. Well... most of it was definitely due to his stunningly eye-catching looks.
The female clan members all looked at him with starry-eyes, and the males looked at him in envy and jealousy.
"It's like high school all over again." Gray smiled slightly.
"Well, look who it is. Thought you'd be too busy crying to your grandma to show your stupid face, Gray."
A clan member spoke from the crowd that gathered around him while watching Gray walk around curiously.
A loud voice barked from the crowd. Gray turned to the speaker.
The guy who spoke had an arrogant look with an obvious mocking expression.
Gray narrowed his eyes as he looked at the newcomer and recognized him as a lackey of a guy named Jamal.
Jamal was the one who attacked and killed the previous Gray.
If he remembered correctly, this lackey's name was Dingdong.
Dingdong smirked, feeling completely confident.
He could clearly sense that Gray had absolutely no cultivation.
He had been there a few days ago, watching from the sidelines as their crew attacked Gray.
He didn't know how Gray survived but he knew exactly how bad Gray's injuries were. Even if he survived, he was a bona fide cripple now. There was nothing to be afraid of.
"Eh? Did something happen?" One of the onlookers asked.
An ugly toad-faced guy who was with Dingdong let out a loud, obnoxious laugh, making sure everyone turned to look at him.
"Did something happen? Hah! You mean you haven't heard the best news in weeks? Our so-called 'Handsome' Gray tried to play the hero for some village girl outside the clan grounds!"
He paused for dramatic effect, his voice dripping with malice. "And he got himself thrashed for it! Came back dragged in by some adventurers, looking like a stepped-on frog!"
"Yeah, he's so pitiful, I saw it with my own eyes, he wasn't even able to fight back." added the person beside the toad-faced guy and joined him in his mockery.
The ugly toad-faced guy, whose name was Snout sneered.
"Pitiful is an understatement! My cousin said he begged those adventurers... probably promised them anything just to save his skin. Pathetic! All because the girl probably smiled at him and his brain turned to mush."
"Really? He doesn't seem to be that kind of person to me..." said one girl hesitatingly.
Snout whirled on her, his face twisting. "Hmph, of course you'd say that! You're probably just blinded by his looks, aren't you? Don't be fooled by the pretty packaging!"
He jabbed a finger in Gray's direction. "He's just a wolf underneath that pretty exterior, and a cowardly one at that! A pretty face is all he has, you didn't see what he looked like a few days ago, he looked like an ugly frog! He's a disgrace to the clan!"
Everyone looked at Snout weirdly.
Who exactly looked like an ugly frog?