Lei Bao raised both hands to the sky, gathering a massive amount of ambient Qi.
The air above the courtyard darkened, heavy storm clouds forming unnaturally fast.
"Thunderclap Judgment!" Lei Bao roared.
A pillar of blinding lightning descended from the clouds, aiming directly for Lei Tian.
Lei Tian knew his body couldn't withstand a direct hit from Patriarch's ultimate technique.
He channeled all his power into his legs. He dove to the side, rolling desperately across the ruined pavement.
The lightning pillar struck the ground where he had stood a second before.
The explosion was deafening.
A crater ten feet deep was blasted into the courtyard, throwing chunks of stone and molten rock into the air.
Lei Tian scrambled to his feet. He was bleeding from several minor cuts, his energy reserves depleting rapidly.
He looked at Patriarch Lei Bao. Patriarch was also breathing heavily, the exertion of his ultimate technique evident. But his eyes still burned with murderous intent.
"You are resilient, assassin," Lei Bao spat. "But I will not let you leave this place alive."
Lei Bao reached into his robes, pulling out an intricately carved jade token. It pulsed with a formidable aura.
Lei Tian recognized it instantly. A communication token.
He didn't give Lei Bao the chance to crush the token.
Lei Tian abandoned all defense. He pushed his Golden Core to the absolute limit, ignoring the agonizing strain on his meridians.
He lunged forward, moving faster than he had ever moved in his life.
Lei Bao saw him coming, his eyes widening in shock at the sudden burst of speed. Patriarch tried to raise a defensive barrier, but he was a second too slow.
Lei Tian slammed his right hand directly into the center of Lei Bao's chest.
He channeled his Qi into a concentrated point, piercing Lei Bao's robes, his skin, his sternum. His fingers dug directly into Patriarch's Dantian.
"Plunder!" Lei Tian screamed.
Lei Bao's eyes bulged in horror. He felt his cultivation being ripped from him.
"You..." Lei Bao gasped, blood bubbling from his lips.
[Target Defeated: Lei Bao.]
[Cultivation: Peak Stage Golden Core Realm (Absolute Peak).] [Initiating Plunder Protocol...]
The energy that rushed into Lei Tian was the accumulated power of a man who was half a step away from the Nascent Soul realm.
It slammed into Lei Tian's Dantian.
[Plunder Complete.]
[Host Cultivation Progress: +1.6%]
[Host has reached the threshold. Initiating Breakthrough Protocol.]
Lei Tian ripped his hand back, letting Lei Bao's lifeless body crumple to the ground.
The jade token slipped from the dead Patriarch's hand, clattering against the stone.
And it shattered.
A suffocating silence fell over the courtyard.
The air above the shattered token rippled, and a figure stepped through a tear in space.
It was an old man, his skin like dry parchment, his eyes closed. He radiated an aura that made Lei Bao's power feel like a gentle breeze.
It wasn't a Middle Stage Nascent Soul aura, as Lei Tian had heard.
It was a Peak Stage Nascent Soul expert.
Ancestor opened his eyes. He looked at the ruined courtyard, at the dead guards, and finally, at the corpse of his Patriarch.
His gaze snapped to Lei Tian.
"You dare kill the head of my house?"
"I didn't start this," Lei Tian gritted out, bracing himself against the crushing pressure.
The old man unleashed a wave of his spiritual pressure.
Lei Tian tried to stand his ground. He felt the terrifying surge of his own breakthrough beginning to swell within him, the push toward the Nascent Soul realm fighting against Ancestor's aura.
He channeled his power, throwing a desperate punch, hoping to buy a second of time.
Ancestor casually swatted the attack away with a flick of his wrist. The backlash sent Lei Tian tumbling backward, coughing up blood.
"You are strong for a Golden Core," Ancestor mused, walking slowly toward Lei Tian. "But you are still just an insect."
Ancestor reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small wooden box. He flipped the lid open.
A needle, no thicker than a hair and glowing with a sickly green light, shot from the box with impossible speed.
Lei Tian only felt the agonizing pain as the needle buried itself deep into his chest, right next to his heart.
A numbing poison instantly flooded his veins, paralyzing his muscles and choking his Qi. He collapsed onto his back, gasping for air, unable to move a single limb.
Ancestor stood over him.
"You are still young," Ancestor said. "Let me see who you truly are. Who dared to challenge the Lei Family."
Ancestor reached down, intending to rip the mask from Lei Tian's face.
"System," Lei Tian wheezed in his mind, his vision blurring, the coldness spreading to his heart. "Can you... can you heal me?"
[Negative. Severe damage to the cardiovascular system and spiritual core by high tier necrotic toxin. Host's life force is dissipating rapidly. Survival probability: 0%.]
[Observation: Had the Host prioritized evasion instead of engaging Patriarch, survival was highly probable.]
"Maybe…" Lei Tian thought bitterly. "Maybe this is my destiny."
He felt Ancestor's hand nearing his mask.
"System," Lei Tian pleaded. "Can I have... one last request?"
[State request.]
"Change my face. Change my bloodline signature, and my aura. Make it so no one will ever know it was me. I can't... I can't let them go after my parents in the branch family. And... arrange a fake body in my quarters. Make it look like I was just another victim of the assassin."
There was a pause.
[This action requires complex bio manipulation and spatial relocation. It will consume 100% of the resources currently held in the Host's storage rings.]
"Take it," Lei Tian agreed without hesitation. "Take it all. I don't have any use for it anyway. I didn't even get to spend a single stone."
[Processing Request. Finalizing alterations.]
Lei Tian felt a strange shifting sensation across his features.
"Thank you," Lei Tian murmured in his mind. "Thank you for your grace, System. I was able to get my revenge on that adulterous fiancé and that arrogant bastard. I would never have been able to do it without you."
System remained silent.
"If there is a reincarnation," Lei Tian thought, his consciousness fading into a peaceful sleep. "I hope we meet again."
He closed his eyes.
Ancestor ripped the black cloth mask away.
He frowned.
The face beneath was totally unfamiliar. He didn't recognize the features from any of the prominent assassin guilds or rival families in the domain.
He placed his hand on the dead assassin's chest, performing a scan of the bloodline aura and spiritual residue.
Nothing.
It was a blank slate, devoid of any distinct familial markers.
"Strange," Ancestor murmured, standing up. He pulled a flat recording stone from his robes. He channeled his Qi, capturing a perfect image of the dead man's face and imprinting the non-existent aura signature.
"He must be the only descendant left in his family," Ancestor mused, looking down at the corpse. "What a pity. If a talent like this could have been harnessed by our family, we would be unstoppable. Such a waste of youth."
He turned to the few guards who had begun to hesitantly approach the ruined courtyard.
"Take this stone," Ancestor commanded, tossing it to the nearest captain. "Distribute his image. Find his identity, find which faction he belongs to. I want to know exactly who dared to attack the Lei Family."
PS: There are 10+ Advance chapters available on the Patreon for those who want to read ahead. www.patreon. com/Drrajnovel