The Talent Awakening Ceremony had ended hours ago, but the echoes of gasps and whispers still haunted the corridors of the Lin Estate.
Servants whispered behind sleeves.
Disciples exchanged wide-eyed looks.
Even elders walked with a newfound urgency.
Silver Rank Talent.
Sword Affinity.
Lin Xuan—the silent boy overlooked by everyone—had become the brightest name on their lips.
But while the clan buzzed with excitement…
Lin Feng sat alone in his courtyard, trembling.
His face twisted, pale and contorted with a fury he could barely contain.
"SILVER?! Sword Affinity?! HIM?!"
He slammed his fists against the wooden table, splintering it instantly.
Wood shards scattered across the floor, but his rage didn't cool.
"How… how did this happen…?"
He remembered the boy's blank stare.
His calm walk down the stairs.
The silent confidence radiating from him like a blade hidden behind thin silk.
The same brother he had just tried to poison days ago.
The same "trash" whose presence he never cared about.
Now a threat.
A big one.
Lin Feng's jaw clenched.
"This can't continue. I can't let him outshine me…"
His breathing grew ragged as his mind spiraled into panic.
What would the sect think?
What would the clan decide?
What would his father say?
What if Lin Xuan replaced him completely?
That fear ignited something dark inside him—
A cold, desperate hatred.
"No," he whispered.
"No, I'll never let him surpass me."
A Knock on the Door
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Lin Feng froze.
"Who is it?"
A soft, hurried voice answered:
"Young Master… it's Wei Tao."
Wei Tao—the boy Lin Feng often used as an errand runner. Loyal because he feared him. Easily manipulated. Pathetic, but obedient.
"Enter."
The door slid open, and the nervous servant crept inside, bowing his head.
"Young Master Feng… there are rumors spreading across the family. They say… they say Lin Xuan is the highest-talented child the clan has seen in decades."
Lin Feng's jaw tightened.
Wei Tao continued carefully:
"And… the elders are talking about sending resources his way. Medicine… manuals… tutors…"
CRACK—
Lin Feng crushed the teacup in his hand.
"Enough."
He stood, turning his cold eyes on the trembling servant.
"Do you know what you're implying, Wei Tao?"
Wei Tao gulped. "N-No, Young Master."
Lin Feng stepped closer, his voice a hiss.
"You're implying that trash could replace me."
Wei Tao fell to his knees. "I didn't mean—!"
"Silence!"
Lin Feng grabbed him by the collar.
"You know better than anyone what he truly is. He's weak. He lacks courage. He doesn't even speak."
He released the boy, pushing him to the floor.
"And yet today, the heavens give him a Silver Rank? Impossible. Ridiculous!"
Wei Tao trembled.
"But… the stone doesn't lie…"
Lin Feng's expression darkened.
"The stone can be tampered with."
Wei Tao blinked.
"…tampered…? But who—?"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Lin Feng snapped.
"What matters is that Lin Xuan is becoming a problem."
He paced across the room, mind racing.
"Poison didn't work."
"Intimidation didn't work."
"Even that assassin failed somehow…"
He stopped suddenly.
This time, his eyes sharpened dangerously.
"No… this isn't just luck. Something changed."
As if remembering something horrifying, he whispered:
"He looked different today. His eyes… cold… unnaturally calm…"
A shiver crawled down Wei Tao's spine.
Lin Feng's voice dropped to a whisper.
"He's hiding something."
The Poisonous Plan Awakens
Lin Feng walked to the corner of his room.
There, hidden beneath a loose floorboard, was a small wooden box sealed with talismans.
He knelt and opened it carefully.
Inside were tiny glass bottles filled with liquid so dark it looked almost like ink.
Wei Tao paled.
"Young Master… isn't that…?!"
"The Blackroot Poison," Lin Feng said quietly, almost lovingly.
"Rare. Expensive. And fatal if used in the correct dose."
Wei Tao trembled. "B-But didn't you already try poisoning him? Didn't he—"
"This isn't the same poison," Lin Feng snapped.
"What I used before was mild, diluted. Enough to weaken a child's meridians, not kill."
He lifted one bottle.
"But this one… is the real thing."
Wei Tao stepped back.
"W-We can't! If the elders find out—"
Lin Feng's eyes glowed with cold madness.
"The elders won't find out. They'll think he died from a Qi deviation. His talent is too strong for his fragile body. His meridians aren't built for it."
He smiled wickedly.
"They'll think heaven punished him for being too gifted."
Wei Tao's voice shook.
"You… you want to kill him?!"
Lin Feng stared at him as if the answer were obvious.
"If he surpasses me… I'm finished."
He clenched the glass bottle in his hand.
"I am the heir."
"I am the genius."
"I am the future of the Lin Family."
His voice cracked with desperation.
"I am NOT going to lose everything to him."
Wei Tao swallowed hard.
"But… how will you give it to him? He won't drink anything you offer."
Lin Feng's lips curled into a cold smile.
"That's where you come in."
Wei Tao froze.
"Y-Young Master… please… no…!"
"You will deliver his lunch tomorrow," Lin Feng said calmly.
"Slip two drops into his bowl. No more. No less."
"B-But—!!"
Lin Feng grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look into his eyes.
"If you don't," Lin Feng whispered, voice dripping with venom,
"I'll give you the entire bottle."
Wei Tao's face went white.
"I-I'll do it…! I'll do it!!"
Lin Feng released him, smiling coldly.
"Good."
He placed the bottle in Wei Tao's shaking hands.
"Don't fail me again."
Meanwhile: Lin Xuan Meditates
Across the estate, in a quiet secluded courtyard—
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged, breathing slowly, his aura faint but sharp.
The system pulsed softly in his mind.
[Sword Dao: 3%]
[Silent Edge: Active]
[Talent Enhancement: Stable]
He exhaled.
So many years had passed in his previous life, and he had never felt this clarity.
This direction.
This strength.
He felt footsteps outside his courtyard, then fading quickly away—Wei Tao's footsteps, panicked, hasty.
And behind them…
Another presence.
Darker.
More familiar.
Lin Feng's aura.
Hiding.
Watching.
Plotting.
Lin Xuan opened his eyes.
Cold light flashed in them.
So. He's planning another move.
He stood slowly, gripping his wooden sword.
"Good," he whispered.
"Come again."
"Struggle harder."
"Sink deeper."
His voice carried a deadly calmness.
"Because the more you try to kill me, Lin Feng…"
He smiled faintly.
"…the sweeter your suffering will be."