"That ck-robed man is not Liam Knight''s master. He...he is Liam Knight!"


    My deration hung in the air, each word like a stone dropping into still water. The ripples of silence spread through the grand hall as President Bancroft''s expression shifted from annoyance to disbelief.


    "Absurd," he finally said, waving his hand dismissively. "You expect me to believe that worthless live-in son-inw has the power to defeat eight ck and Gold Robes?"


    I could feel sweat beading on my forehead. "President Bancroft, I know it sounds impossible, but I''ve seen his transformation with my own eyes. The techniques, the golden light—it''s him!"


    Bancroft rose from his ornate chair, towering over me. "Emerson Holmes, your recent failures have clearly affected your judgment. That boy was a nobody—a pathetic worm who couldn''t even protect his own pride."


    "But—"


    "Enough!" His voice echoed through the chamber. "Liam Knight is dead. The man who attacked us is clearly a master-level cultivator seeking revenge for his disciple. Your theory is not only imusible but dangerously distracting."


    I opened my mouth to protest again, but the cold look in his eyes stopped me. My daughter''s safety hung by a thread. Pushing too hard might snap it.


    "Yes, President Bancroft," I mumbled, lowering my head in submission.


    "Good. Now leave. Report to the intelligence division and share any actual useful information you might have about this cultivator''s fighting style."


    I bowed deeply and backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs. They wouldn''t believe me. No one would believe me. And that was exactly what would make Liam Knight so dangerous.


    ---


    Later that afternoon, I found myself in thepany of Dominic Ashworth and several other young elites of Veridia City. The atmosphere in the private room of the Golden Crane Teahouse was tense, everyone speaking in hushed tones about the ck-robed cultivator who had embarrassed the Guild.


    "Eight ck and Gold Robes," Dominic said, shaking his head in disbelief. "And he walked away."


    "Not just walked away," added Chen Wei, heir to the Wei Family Trading Consortium. "He destroyed the Golden Bowl. An artifact that''s been in the Guild''s possession for three centuries."


    I sipped my tea nervously, the liquid scalding my tongue. Should I share my theory with them? Would they listen where Bancroft hadn''t?


    "Holmes," Dominic suddenly turned to me. "You look like you''ve seen a ghost. What''s troubling you?"


    I set down my cup with trembling hands. "I have a theory about the ck-robed man."


    The table fell silent, all eyes turning to me.


    "I believe..." I hesitated, remembering Bancroft''s dismissal. "I believe he might be connected to Liam Knight."


    "Knight?" Dominic''s eyebrows shot up. "That weakling who married your daughter?"


    I nodded slowly. "Not directly him, of course. That would be impossible." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. "But perhaps his master,ing to avenge his death."


    Laughter erupted around the table. Chen Wei pped his knee in amusement.


    "A master? For Liam Knight?" he chortled. "Next you''ll tell us he was secretly a prince in disguise!"


    Dominic''sughter was more restrained, but his eyes gleamed with mockery. "Holmes, I understand your family has suffered embarrassment because of Knight, but inventing fairy tales won''t restore your reputation."


    My cheeks burned with humiliation. "It''s merely a theory," I muttered.


    "A ridiculous one," said another young master from across the table. "That nobody couldn''t even defend himself againstmon thugs. His master, if he ever had one, would be equally pathetic."


    The conversation moved on, but I caught Dominic watching me with curious eyes.


    "Actually," he said after a moment, "there might be something to Holmes''s theory."


    The table fell silent again.


    "Knight did disy some rudimentary understanding of the Azure Heaven Sword Technique," Dominic continued. "If he had a master skilled in that art, it could exin the ck-robed man''s abilities."


    I felt a chill run down my spine. Dominic was getting dangerously close to the truth, yet still miles away from it.


    "We should inform the Guild," someone suggested.


    "Already done," I said quickly. "President Bancroft dismissed it outright."


    Dominic nodded thoughtfully. "As he should. It''s a thin connection at best. But worth keeping in mind."


    As the gathering dispersed hourster, darkness had fallen over Veridia City. I walked home with heavy steps, my mind racing with fears and regrets. If only I''d never crossed Liam Knight. If only I''d recognized the danger lurking beneath his submissive exterior.


    When I reached my mansion, something felt wrong immediately. The guards at my gate were present but unnaturally still. As I approached, I realized they were unconscious, slumped against the walls but positioned to appear alert from a distance.


    My heart leaped into my throat. He was here.


    I considered turning around, running back to the Guild for protection. But what about my household staff? What about my remaining family members?


    With trembling hands, I pushed open the front door. The normally well-lit foyer was dark, illuminated only by a single candle on a side table. The mansion was eerily silent.


    "Hello?" I called out, my voice cracking. "Is anyone—"


    The metallic smell hit me first. Blood. Fresh blood.


    I stumbled forward, following the scent to the main living room. When I pushed open the door, my legs nearly gave out beneath me.


    Sitting calmly on my sofa, bandaging a wound on his forearm, was Liam Knight.


    "Good evening, Father-inw," he said without looking up. His voice was colder than I remembered, harder. "You''rete."


    "Y-you," I stammered, backing toward the door. "How did you—"


    "Get in?" He finally raised his eyes to meet mine. "Your security is pathetic. Much like everything else about you."


    My shock gave way to a surge of rage. "What have you done with my daughter? If you''ve hurt her—"


    "Hurt her?" Liam''s eyebrows rose slightly. "Like you hurt Isabelle? Like you helped the Guild hurt her?"


    "That''s different! Isabelle Ashworth is—"


    "Special? Important? Worth something?" Each word dripped with venom. "And my wife wasn''t?"


    I lunged forward, fury overwhelming my fear. "I''ll kill you for touching my daughter!"


    Before I could reach him, a small voice called from the hallway behind me. <em ss="ref-027b55">Please read this chapter on its original tform—*.</em>


    "Daddy?"


    I froze mid-step. Slowly, I turned around.


    My daughter stood in the doorway, her small form silhouetted against the dim light from the hallway. She looked unharmed, confused but not frightened.


    "Mei?" I rushed to her side, kneeling to check her for injuries. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"


    She shook her head. "The man with the golden light fixed my doll," she said simply, holding up her favorite toy. "He said he was your friend."


    Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by suspicion. I turned back to Liam, who was watching our interaction with cold calction in his eyes.


    "Why didn''t you..." I couldn''t finish the question.


    "Kill her?" Liam stood up, his movement fluid despite his injuries. "I''m not you, Emerson. I don''t punish children for their parents'' sins."


    I pulled Mei closer to me, shielding her with my body. "What do you want?"


    "Information." He took a step closer. "Where is Isabelle being held? What is the Guild doing to her?"


    The directness of his question caught me off guard. "I-I don''t know the exact location. The extraction rooms are in the lower levels of the Guild headquarters, but ess is restricted even to senior members."


    "Extraction rooms?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Exin."


    I swallowed hard, aware that my life hung on my next words. "The Guild discovered something unique about her blood—about her family''s bloodline. They''re... harvesting it."


    His face remained impassive, but I could feel the rage emanating from him like heat from a furnace. "How long does she have?"


    "I don''t know. The process is usually gradual, to maximize what can be extracted, but President Bancroft gave orders today to elerate it."


    Something flickered in his eyes—fear, perhaps? It was the first emotion I''d seen him disy.


    "Daddy, I''m scared," Mei whispered, clutching my leg.


    Liam''s gaze shifted to her, and for a moment, his expression softened. "Take your daughter to her room," he said quietly. "I''m not done with you."


    I didn''t need to be told twice. Lifting Mei into my arms, I hurried from the living room, climbing the stairs to the upper floor as quickly as I could without running.


    "Who is that man, Daddy?" she asked as I tucked her into bed.


    "No one important," I lied, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just someone Daddy used to know."


    "He seems sad," she observed with the innocent perception of a child. "And angry."


    "Yes," I agreed softly. "He is both."


    After making sure she was settled, I closed her bedroom door and took a moment topose myself. Liam Knight was in my home. The man I had helped destroy, now returned with power beyondprehension. He could kill me with a thought.


    Yet he had spared my daughter. That had to count for something.


    When I returned to the living room, Liam was examining a jade ornament from my collection, turning it over in his hands.


    "Fake," he said, setting it down. "Like everything else about your life."


    "What do you want from me?" I asked again, my voice steadier now. "You have your information about Isabelle."


    "Not everything." He gestured to the chair opposite him. "Sit."


    I obeyed, perching on the edge of the seat, ready to bolt if necessary—though I knew it would be futile.


    "The Guild is hunting you," I said. "They''ve mobilized the Hunting Legion. By morning, every street in Veridia City will be under surveince."


    "I expected as much." He leaned forward slightly. "Now tell me about the extraction process. What exactly are they doing to her?"


    I described what little I knew—the specialized chambers, the equipment designed to separate and preserve the unique properties in her blood, the gruesome aftermath I had glimpsed once when passing the facilities.


    With each detail, his expression grew darker, the golden light beneath his skin pulsing more intensely. By the time I finished, the air in the room felt electrified, as if a storm were brewing indoors.


    "They won''t stop," I added truthfully. "Even if you somehow rescue her, they''ll never stop hunting her. What she carries in her veins is too valuable."


    "What makes her blood so special?" he demanded.


    I shook my head. "I don''t know the details. Something ancient, something powerful. President Bancroft keeps that information closely guarded."


    Liam stood abruptly. "If I discover you''re lying to me, I''ll return. And next time, I won''t be so merciful."


    The threat hung in the air between us, all the more terrifying for its calm delivery.


    "Wait," I said as he turned to leave. "They know about you."


    He paused. "Exin."


    "I told them—Bancroft, the Guild, even Dominic Ashworth—that you were alive. That you were the ck-robed cultivator." My voice cracked with hysteria. "They didn''t believe me. Theyughed at the suggestion."


    For the first time that night, Liam smiled. It was a cold, humorless expression that sent chills down my spine.


    "Good," he said simply.


    "What will you do now?" I couldn''t help asking.


    His eyes met mine, and in them I saw not just hatred for me, but a resolve that transcended revenge. "I''m going to tear the Guild apart, stone by stone, until I find her. And then I''m going to make everyone who harmed her pay."


    The conviction in his voice left no room for doubt. This wasn''t a boast or an empty threat. It was a promise—one I knew he had the power to keep.


    "They''ll kill you," I whispered, though I wasn''t sure I believed it myself.


    "Maybe." He moved toward the window, his form silhouetted against the night sky. "But not before I make them bleed."


    With that, he was gone, vanishing into the darkness like a ghost. I copsed into my chair, my entire body trembling with fear and relief.


    Upstairs, my daughter slept peacefully, unaware of how close she hade to bing coteral damage in a war I had helped start. Liam Knight had spared her—had spared me—but I had no illusions about what would happen if our paths crossed again.


    The Guild wouldn''t believe my warnings. They would continue to underestimate him, to their own destruction. And somewhere in the depths of their headquarters, Isabelle Ashworth''s life was draining away with each passing hour.


    I poured myself a strong drink with shaking hands, knowing sleep would note tonight. The monster I had helped create was now loose in Veridia City, and nothing—not the Guild, not the Hunting Legion, perhaps not even the heavens themselves—could stop him now.