Liam''s Perspective


    Blood dripped from my hands as I stood amidst the carnage. Bodies of Grandmastersy scattered around me like broken dolls. Some were missing limbs. Others had holes punched clean through their chests. The metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air.


    Only Sammy Ashworth remained, cowering on his knees. His pristine robes were now soaked with his own urine. Pathetic.


    "Please," he whimpered. "I''m Isabelle''s cousin. You can''t kill me."


    I approached him slowly, savoring his fear. "You''re right. I won''t kill you."


    Relief washed over his face, but it was short-lived.


    I grabbed his throat, lifting him until his feet dangled helplessly. "Not because I can''t. Because I need you to deliver a message."


    His eyes bulged as he struggled for air. I loosened my grip just enough to let him breathe.


    "Tell Corbin Ashworth exactly what you saw here today. Tell him how I ughtered over ten Peak Grandmasters without breaking a sweat."


    Sammy nodded frantically.


    "Tell him I''ming for Isabelle. And if he returns her to me unharmed, I might—might—spare the Ashworth family."


    I dropped him unceremoniously. He copsed in a heap, gasping for air.


    "Do you understand?"


    "Y-yes," he stammered, unable to look me in the eyes.


    "Then run, little Ashworth. Run back to your uncle and pray he listens."


    He scrambled to his feet and bolted away, tripping over corpses in his haste to escape.


    I turned to find ra watching me. Her small face showed no signs of horror or fear—only a strange, detached curiosity.


    "You killed them all," she stated matter-of-factly.


    "Does that frighten you?" I asked, suddenly conscious of the blood coating my hands.


    She shook her head. "No. They were bad people."


    Her calmness was unsettling. Any normal child would be traumatized by such violence. But ra wasn''t normal. I''d known that since the day I met her.


    "Let''s get you home," I said, wiping my hands on a fallen Grandmaster''s robe.


    We walked in silence through the forest. The weight of my actions settled on me, not as guilt but as confirmation. I was no longer the weak, pathetic man the Sterling family had abused. No longer the desperate cultivator scrambling for scraps of power.


    I was Liam Knight, a Grandmaster—and soon, everyone would know it.


    ra''s small hand slipped into mine as we approached her modest home on the outskirts of Havenwood City.


    "Will youe visit me again?" she asked, her voice small but steady.


    I knelt down to meet her eyes. "Of course I will. You''re my friend."


    A rare smile crossed her face. "Good. I think you''ll need my help soon."


    Before I could ask what she meant, she turned and skipped into her house, the mysterious mask clutched tightly in her small hands. <i ss="ref-8ec821">Read ahead and get updates at *.</i>


    I stood alone in the evening light, feeling the power coursing through my veins. For the first time since Isabelle''s abduction, I felt something like hope. I would tear down the Ashworth family if necessary. I would challenge the Veridia City Martial Guild itself.


    And I would bring her home.


    ---


    Sammy Ashworth burst through the gates of the Ashworth familypound, his face ashen and his clothes disheveled. Guards rushed to intercept him, rmed by his wild appearance.


    "I must see Uncle Corbin," he gasped. "Immediately!"


    The head guard frowned. "The family patriarch is in a closed-door meeting with the elders. He left strict instructions—"


    "This can''t wait!" Sammy screamed, hisposurepletely shattered. "We''re all going to die!"


    Themotion drew the attention of Zara Beaumont, Corbin''s wife and the Ashworth family''s matriarch. She emerged from a side chamber, her elegant features arranged in a mask of mild curiosity.


    "What is this disturbance?" she asked, her voice silky butmanding.


    The guards bowed deeply. "Lady Beaumont, young master Sammy is insisting on seeing the patriarch."


    Zara''s gaze settled on her nephew. She took in his wet pants, wild eyes, and trembling hands.


    "Come with me," she said simply, turning without waiting for his response.


    She led him to her private study—a room few were ever invited to enter. Ancient scrolls and rare artifacts lined the walls, evidence of her status as one of Veridia City''s most aplished schrs of martial cultivation.


    "Sit," shemanded, pouring herself a cup of fragrant tea.


    Sammy copsed into a chair. "Aunt Zara, we have to warn Uncle Corbin. Liam Knight has be a monster!"


    Her eyebrow arched slightly. "The same Liam Knight who was once the Sterling family''s live-in son-inw? The one our Isabelle has been so... fascinated with?"


    "Yes!" Sammy''s voice cracked. "We found him at the tomb in ckwood Forest. He—he killed everyone!"


    "Everyone?" she repeated, sipping her tea.


    "Glenn Talbot, Saul Holt, thirteen other Grandmasters—all dead! He tore through them like paper! He punched holes through their bodies with his bare hands!" Sammy''s words tumbled out in a panicked rush.


    Instead of appearing rmed, Zara leaned forward with increased interest. "Tell me exactly what you saw. Leave nothing out."


    Sammy described everything—Liam''s casual dismissal of their attacks, how he absorbed their energy, the way he had moved with impossible speed.


    "And his eyes," Sammy whispered. "They were different. Like looking into an abyss."


    Zara set down her teacup. Where most would see disaster, she saw opportunity. If Liam Knight had indeed achieved such power, he could be useful—or he might need to be eliminatedpletely.


    "He said he''sing for Isabelle," Sammy finished. "He said he might spare our family if we return her unharmed."


    "Did he, now?" Zara''s lips curved into a small smile. "How presumptuous."


    Sammy stared at her in disbelief. "Aunt Zara, you don''t understand. He''s not human anymore! He killed Peak Grandmasters without breaking a sweat!"


    "I understand perfectly," she replied, rising from her seat with fluid grace. "You may go clean yourself up. I''ll inform your uncle when his meeting concludes."


    "But—"


    "That will be all, Sammy."


    Her tone left no room for argument. Sammy scurried from the room, still trembling.


    Alone, Zara walked to a hidden cab and removed a small jade box. Insidey a dagger with strange inscriptions along its de—a weapon that could drain a cultivator''s energy with a single cut.


    She had acquired it decades ago but never found a worthy test subject. Perhaps Liam Knight would prove interesting enough.


    "So, the boy believes he can threaten the Ashworth family," she mused aloud, testing the dagger''s edge with her thumb. A bead of blood welled up, quickly absorbed by the hungry de.


    Zara had not reached her position by being reactive. She preferred to meet threats head-on, to understand them before destroying them.


    "Tomorrow," she decided, cing the dagger in her sleeve, "I''ll personally go and meet this Liam Knight."