A brilliant rainbow stretched across the sky above the Thornton family estate in Eldoria. The magnificent spectacle wasn''t a natural phenomenon but rather a sign that someone had achieved a breakthrough in cultivation. People throughout the city gazed up in awe, while within the Thorntonpound, servants and family members scurried about in excited anticipation.


    I stood before the secluded meditation chamber where I had spent thest three years in istion. The rainbow emanating from the building confirmed my sess—I had broken through to the Grandmaster Realm. Energy coursed through my veins in a way I''d never experienced before, my entire being transformed.


    "Father!" Miles Thornton rushed forward as I stepped into the courtyard, dropping to one knee in reverence. "You''ve finally emerged! Congrattions on your breakthrough!"


    I regarded my son, feeling the new power within me. My aura, once merely imposing, now felt transcendent. The slightest flex of my will caused the air around me to vibrate with energy.


    "Rise, Miles," Imanded, my voice deeper and more resonant than before. "Three years of seclusion has borne fruit. I have ascended to a new level of power."


    Around us, the Thornton family members and servants gathered, maintaining a respectful distance. Their faces showed a mixture of awe and fear—appropriate reactions to my new status. I was no longer just Conrad Thornton, the patriarch of the Thornton family. I was now a Grandmaster, a being that stood above ordinary mortals.


    "We''ve prepared a celebration feast, Father," Miles continued, gesturing toward the main hall. "The entire family has gathered to honor your achievement."


    But something felt off. The servants'' deference seemed tinged with pity, and several family elders avoided meeting my gaze directly. Even through my tion at my breakthrough, I sensed something was wrong.


    "Before we celebrate," I said, my eyes narrowing, "tell me what has happened during my absence."


    Miles hesitated, his expression faltering. "Father, perhaps we should discuss this privately..." <kbd ss="in-imprint-b">The full series is hosted on My Virtual Library Empire, known as *.</kbd>


    "Speak," Imanded, my patience already wearing thin.


    My son swallowed hard. "The family''s position has... shifted somewhat in your absence. The Sterling and Knight factions have gained considerable influence, and some of our traditional allies have realigned themselves."


    I felt the first stirrings of anger. "And you allowed this to happen?"


    "We tried to maintain our standing, but without your presence—"


    "Excuses," I snapped, my aura ring unconsciously and causing several nearby servants to stumble backward. "The Thornton family has ruled Eldoria for generations. How could you let upstarts challenge our authority?"


    Miles bowed his head lower. "There''s more, Father."


    Something in his tone made my blood run cold. "Continue."


    "It''s about Tristan."


    My favorite son. The one who most resembled me in both temperament and talent. The heir I had been grooming to take over the family after my eventual ascension beyond Eldoria.


    "What about him?" I demanded, already dreading the answer.


    "He was... gravely injured in a confrontation. He''s been in aa for weeks now."


    The world around me seemed to blur as rage began to build within me. "Who dared?"


    Miles hesitated again before answering, "Liam Knight."


    The name struck me like a physical blow. Knight—the outsider who had emerged from nowhere and begun dismantling the power structures that had ruled our world for centuries. The man who had humiliated several ancient families and somehow gained supporters among them.


    "Take me to Tristan," I ordered, my voice deadly calm despite the storm brewing inside me. "Now."


    Miles led me through the familypound to the medical wing. As we walked, I noticed how servants scurried away from me, how even family members seemed to shrink from my presence. My breakthrough had amplified my aura, and my anger was making it dangerous to be near me.


    "You failed to protect your brother," I said to Miles as we walked. "You failed to maintain our family''s position. Tell me why I shouldn''t strip you of your status right now."


    "Father, please," Miles pleaded, his face pale with fear. "We were outmatched. Knight has powerful backers, including the Ashworth family. And his abilities—they''re beyond anything we''ve seen before."


    "So you cowered before him?" I asked coldly.


    "We tried to strike back, but—"


    My handshed out, striking Miles across the face with such force that he crashed into the wall several feet away. Blood trickled from his split lip as he looked up at me in shock.


    "Your weakness disgusts me," I hissed. "A true Thornton would have died before allowing our family to be disrespected."


    Miles didn''t dare respond as he picked himself up, touching his bleeding face gingerly. Good. He needed to remember his ce.


    We reached the medical wing, where family physicians bowed deeply upon seeing me. I ignored them, pushing open the door to Tristan''s room.


    The sight that greeted me nearly shattered myposure. My strong, vibrant sony motionless on a bed, his face pale and still. Tubes and wires connected him to various machines that monitored his vital signs. But what struck me most was the emptiness I sensed—the vital energy that should have flowed through him was barely a trickle.


    "Leave us," Imanded, and everyone quickly exited the room.


    Alone with my son, I gently took his hand in mine. It was cold and unresponsive.


    "What have they done to you?" I whispered, examining him with my enhanced perception.


    The damage was catastrophic. His meridians were shattered, his dantian cracked, and his spirit severely wounded. This wasn''t a simple defeat—this was systematic destruction, a deliberate attempt to not just defeat but to utterly break him.


    I ced my hand on his forehead, channeling a small portion of my newly acquired energy into him. His body absorbed it, but there was no response. The injury went beyond the physical—his spirit had retreated deep within, hiding from the trauma inflicted upon it.


    "Who did this to you?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. "Was it truly Liam Knight?"


    As if responding to the name, Tristan''s vitals briefly spiked before settling back into their monotonous rhythm. That was all the confirmation I needed.


    "I would ask why you confronted him," I continued, stroking my son''s hair gently. "But I understand. You were defending our family''s honor in my absence. You were being the heir I raised you to be."


    Memories flooded back—three years ago, before my seclusion. The humiliation I had suffered at the hands of those Veridia City powers. The way they had looked down on me, on our family. I had retreated to cultivate, to gain the power needed to reassert our dominance.


    And while I was away, my favorite son had been reduced to this shell.


    Rage built within me, pure and scalding. The room began to tremble as my killing intent leaked out unconsciously. The medical equipment flickered and beeped erratically as my aura interfered with their functions.


    "I made a mistake, retreating when I should have stood firm," I said to Tristan''s unresponsive form. "I won''t make that mistake again."


    I leaned down and kissed my son''s forehead. "I promise you, my boy. Everything that was taken from you—your health, our family''s status, our respect—I will reim it tenfold."


    Standing up, I looked out the window at the rainbow still visible in the sky. It had heralded my breakthrough, but now it would serve as a harbinger of something else: retribution.


    "Liam Knight," I whispered, the name like poison on my tongue. "You''ve made an enemy you cannot defeat."


    I turned back to look at my broken son onest time before heading to the door. My mind was already forming ns—alliances to reforge, resources to mobilize, enemies to crush. The game had changed with my ascension to Grandmaster. The rules that had protected Knight and his allies no longer applied.


    As I opened the door to leave, I found Miles and several family elders waiting anxiously outside. They flinched as they felt the full force of my killing intent washing over them.


    "Gather the family council," I ordered. "It''s time to remind everyone who truly rules Eldoria."


    Miles bowed deeply. "Yes, Father. And what of Liam Knight?"


    A cold smile spread across my face as I looked back at Tristan''s still form once more.


    "It seems it''s time to tell them," I said, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "I, Conrad Thornton, am back."