As soon as Lei Tian left his new room in the East Wing, he blended into the night.
He climbed the walls of the inner pavilions and jumped over tiled roofs with ease.
He arrived at the second elder's compound. The twin stone lions flanking the gate looked imposing in the moonlight.
He jumped over the high wall and landed softly in the gardens inside.
He extended his spiritual sense. He found the strongest presence... the second elder, a middle stage golden core cultivator, resting in the main pavilion.
He walked toward the pavilion in the west. It was quiet. There were no guards or servants.
Lei Tian got to the sliding doors that led to the main bedroom. He pulled an intricate jade disk from his storage ring… a concealment array he had looted from Elder Shan the night before.
He channeled a bit of Qi into the disk and set it on the wooden veranda.
An energy dome grew outward and covered the whole pavilion. Sound and spiritual fluctuations within the dome would not escape.
Lei Tian stood outside the door. He could hear the rustle of silk and the soft murmur of voices. Then, a soft moan.
He put his hand on the wooden frame and opened the door. He pushed it so hard that the wood broke, and the door hit the stopper with a loud crack.
Inside the lavishly decorated room, lit by several lumina pearls, two figures stood by the bed.
Lei Jian was in the process of untying the sash of his inner robe. Beside him, dressed in a sheer silk shift, was Xiu'er.
They froze, turning toward the sudden noise.
"You.. you loser," Lei Jian snapped, his face flushing with anger. "Who allowed you to come inside my quarters? Do you have a death wish?"
Lei Tian ignored him. His gaze was fixed entirely on Xiu'er.
She looked back at him. She pulled her shift tighter around herself, taking a half step behind Lei Jian.
"Are you looking at your fiancée, mud scraper?" Lei Jian sneered.
He reached out, grabbing Xiu'er by the waist and pulling her roughly against him. She let out a small gasp but didn't resist.
"You didn't even touch her, did you?" Lei Jian mocked. "All those years in the branch family, and you were too pathetic to claim what was yours. Well, I'm enjoying her now. You loser."
Xiu'er averted her eyes, unable to meet Lei Tian's cold stare.
A rage he had never known before burst out of him.
He let his aura flare.
The power of a Middle Stage Golden Core expert crashed into the room like a physical weight.
The lumina pearls flickered wildly. The heavy oak bed frame groaned.
Lei Jian and Xiu'er were driven to the floor. The pressure slammed into them, forcing them to their hands and knees. They couldn't even lift their heads to look at him.
"You... you are Golden Core?" Lei Jian gasped, blood leaking from his nose as his Foundation Establishment meridians strained under the impossible weight. "How..."
"Tian!" Xiu'er shouted, her voice shrill with terror, her face pressed against the floorboards. "Tian! This is a misunderstanding!"
Lei Tian looked down at them.
He reached to his waist and drew the sword. He aimed the tip at Lei Jian's neck.
But then, he paused.
He sheathed the sword.
He stepped fully into the room. He stood over them.
"What... what are you doing?" Lei Jian wheezed, struggling to draw breath. "My father... my father is a Golden Core expert! If you touch me... he will annihilate your entire bloodline!"
"Tian, please listen to him!" Xiu'er pleaded.
"Say one more word," Lei Tian said, "and I will make your life worse than his. Shut up and stay there."
Xiu'er clamped her mouth shut, her body shaking violently.
Lei Tian reached into his belt and pulled out the simple iron dagger.
He crouched down beside Lei Jian. He grabbed the young master by the hair, yanking his head back.
With a swift motion, Lei Tian drove his knee into Lei Jian's lower back, directly over his Dantian.
He channeled a focused burst of Golden Core Qi through his knee, shattering the fragile Foundation Establishment core within.
Lei Jian let out an agonizing shriek as his cultivation was crippled instantly. He went limp, his body convulsing.
Lei Tian grabbed Lei Jian's right hand and pinned it to the floorboards.
He brought the iron dagger down, slicing neatly through the joint of Lei Jian's little finger.
Lei Jian screamed, thrashing wildly, but Lei Tian's grip was absolute iron.
"My father will kill you!" Lei Jian sobbed, blood pooling around his hand. "Please! Stop!"
Lei Tian ignored the pleas. He moved to the next finger.
Slice.
Another scream.
Another severed digit.
He worked methodically, his face devoid of emotion. He cut off the ring finger, then the middle finger, then the index finger. He tossed the bloody pieces aside carelessly.
"Please... I'll give you everything…I will give you… all my spirit stones! Whatever… you want! I... I haven't even touched her yet! I… I swear it on my Dao!" Lei Jian babbled, his voice growing weaker from the pain.
Lei Tian moved to the thumb.
Slice.
The hand was now just a bloody stump.
Lei Tian repositioned his grip, moving up Lei Jian's forearm. He measured a distance of about four fingers' width from the wrist joint.
He pressed the edge of the iron dagger against the flesh and pushed down, sawing through the muscle and bone with patience.
It wasn't a clean cut. The iron blade was dulling against the bone.
Lei Jian's screams turned into ragged gasps. The blood loss was massive, pumping out over the floorboards in rhythmic spurts.
"Why..." Lei Jian gurgled, his eyes rolling back.
Lei Tian finally sawed through the bone, severing the hand completely.
He tossed the hand aside. He looked at the young master.
Lei Jian's breathing had stopped. His eyes were staring at the ceiling. The shock and extreme blood loss had killed him before Lei Tian could move to the other arm.
"Useless," Lei Tian muttered in disgust.
He turned his head slowly to look at Xiu'er.
She was huddled in the corner, clutching her knees to her chest, her face pale with horror, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Tian..." she sobbed. "Tian, please. I was forced. He threatened me. He threatened my family.
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