Chapter 110: The Cautious Genius
The Cautious Genius
Dark clouds blanketed the sky.
Thunder roared endlessly.
Lightning tore through the heavens, illuminating the battlefield in flashes of white.
Max knelt on the shattered ground.
His body was covered in blood.
His meridians had been destroyed.
His cultivation had nearly been crippled.
Standing before him...
Was an old man with a slightly hunched back.
Although his figure appeared frail, the pressure radiating from him was enough to suffocate everyone present.
He looked down at Max as though he were less than an insect.
His eyes contained only disdain.
Only contempt.
His cold voice echoed like heavenly judgment.
"How dare a mongrel like you touch the young lady of the Greamory family?!"
Each word struck Max’s heart like a blade.
Before he could even answer...
The old man waved his sleeve dismissively.
Boom!
An overwhelming force crushed Max into the earth.
Bones cracked.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
The old man’s gaze never changed.
"If it weren’t for the young lady’s sake..."
"I would have taken your worthless life today..."
"...and annihilated your entire household!"
Every syllable dripped with absolute arrogance.
To that man...
Destroying the Salvatore Family would have been no different than crushing ants beneath his feet.
The humiliation...
The helplessness...
The despair...
Those emotions remained engraved within Max’s soul to this very day.
...
His eyes slowly opened.
The pain remained.
But something else had appeared alongside it.
Resolve.
His black eyes became as hard as tempered steel.
His Eternal Phoenix Warbody had endured countless hardships.
Each setback only made him stronger.
His will could not be broken.
It would never be broken.
He slowly clenched his fists.
"I’ll cultivate."
"I’ll become stronger."
"And one day..."
"I’ll personally repay everything they did."
His voice was calm.
But beneath that calmness burned an unquenchable determination.
Victor looked at his younger brother quietly.
He understood.
Some wounds could never be healed by words alone.
Only justice could erase them.
Only strength could reclaim dignity.
After a long silence...
Max took a deep breath and forced a faint smile onto his face.
"Brother..."
"I need some rest."
Victor gave a slight nod.
"Go."
No unnecessary words were spoken between them.
None were needed.
Max respectfully cupped his fists before turning away.
The moment he left Sovereign Peak...
His figure exploded forward like a streak of crimson light.
Boom!
He shot toward the ancient primeval forest behind the Salvatore Family’s territory.
The terrifying pressure released by his cultivation frightened countless demon beasts.
Roars echoed throughout the mountains.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Even powerful beast kings instinctively retreated deeper into the forest.
Everyone understood...
The Second Rank of the Salvatore Family was venting years of accumulated frustration through battle.
Back on Sovereign Peak...
Victor remained alone.
The evening breeze gently stirred his long black hair.
His golden eyes gazed toward the distant horizon.
"Greamory Family..."
He slowly repeated the name.
A cold smile gradually appeared on his handsome face.
"Crippled my blood brother..."
"Slaughtered my family’s elders..."
"Forced my family’s daughter-in-law back to her birth family..."
"Trampled the dignity of the Salvatore Family into the mud..."
He slowly stood.
His black robe embroidered with golden dragons fluttered in the mountain wind.
The surrounding space trembled faintly.
"So tell me..."
"...how should I repay your kindness?"
Each word was spoken slowly.
Clearly.
Deliberately.
An invisible killing intent condensed around him.
It was so dense that the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
The pressure spread outward like an endless abyss eager to devour heaven and earth itself.
Even the clouds above Sovereign Peak drifted apart as if unwilling to remain above him.
At that exact moment—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed within Victor’s mind.
[Ding!! Special Destiny Clansman detected. Legacy Investment available!!]
The Eternal Legacy System’s notification instantly interrupted the overwhelming killing intent.
Victor’s eyes gradually regained their calm.
The matter of the Greamory Family could not be rushed.
At present...
He only knew their name.
He knew nothing about their true strength, their location, or the secrets hidden behind that ancient family.
There was no need to act blindly.
His enemies would not escape.
But before that...
There was another interesting little fellow waiting outside his door.
A very cautious...
Very crafty little brat.
Outside Victor’s residence on Sovereign Peak...
A seemingly ordinary young man stood quietly beneath the stone steps.
Leandro Salvatore.
His black hair swayed gently in the mountain breeze, while his green eyes constantly scanned his surroundings.
Left.
Right.
Behind him.
Even above.
His cautious gaze missed nothing.
Only after confirming—for what felt like the hundredth time—that no one else was nearby did he finally let out a slow breath.
"Good..."
"No one’s watching."
Even then, he still wasn’t completely convinced.
He remained standing outside the entrance, hesitating.
His expression shifted back and forth several times.
Should I go in?
...What if the Patriarch is cultivating?
No... that’s not right.
What if someone followed me here without me noticing?
Should I send a puppet inside first?
His thoughts raced one after another.
In fact...
He had already spent the last three to four hours debating whether to come personally or send one of his countless puppet bodies.
The more he thought about it...
The less confident he became.
Eventually, he gritted his teeth.
"No."
"If the Patriarch called for me..."
"I should go myself."
Just as he was about to knock—
BANG!!
The massive wooden doors slowly swung open on their own.
Leandro’s entire body stiffened.
Before he could react...
Victor’s calm, majestic voice echoed from within the pavilion.
"Come in."
The simple words carried neither anger nor impatience.
Yet they made Leandro instinctively straighten his back.
He hurried inside before respectfully cupping his fists.
"Greetings, Patriarch."
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Author’s Note
The cautious Leandro has finally made his appearance! 😆 Even someone who plans ten thousand steps ahead finds himself completely seen through by Victor. But what exactly made the Eternal Legacy System recognize him as a Special Destiny Clansman? The answer awaits in the next part!
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