Chapter 109: The Fire of Competition (Part 2)
The Fire of Competition (Part 2)
"My big brother..."
"...you’re truly incredible."
He sighed softly.
Even the greatest families across the continent accepted internal conflicts as inevitable.
Branch families competed against the main family.
Elders fought for influence.
Resources were monopolized.
That was simply the reality of cultivation clans.
A stable path of development would already have been enough for most Patriarchs.
Yet Victor had done something entirely different.
He had changed people’s hearts.
Every disciple now cultivated because they genuinely wanted to become stronger.
Every elder worked because they believed the family’s future belonged to them all.
The Rank System had transformed competition into motivation instead of resentment.
If the Salvatore Family had once been like a sturdy carriage steadily moving forward...
Then today...
It had become a peerless flying sword piercing toward the heavens.
Nothing would be able to stop its ascent.
Max couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
"If this continues..."
"The day our Salvatore Family shakes the entire continent may come much sooner than anyone imagines."
With that thought, he returned to Sovereign Peak.
Throughout the afternoon, members of the newly established Sovereign Council came one after another, presenting proposals concerning the family’s reconstruction.
Some requested additional training grounds.
Others suggested expanding the Mission Hall.
Several elders proposed increasing patrols around the family’s borders.
Max carefully organized every proposal before respectfully presenting them to Victor.
Inside the quiet pavilion...
Victor sat calmly before a stone table.
His long shoulder-length black hair rested behind him like flowing silk.
His black robe embroidered with golden dragons fluttered gently beneath the mountain breeze.
Those divine golden eyes calmly scanned every report Max handed over.
Some proposals he approved immediately.
Others he rejected with only a few words.
Occasionally, he offered suggestions that instantly improved an entire proposal.
Watching this process again...
Max could only admire him even more.
His big brother never wasted words.
Every decision was direct.
Every order struck precisely where it was needed.
By the time the final report had been reviewed...
The evening sun had already painted the sky crimson.
Max smiled.
"It feels just like old times."
Victor looked up from his teacup.
Without another word...
He poured a second cup.
Max naturally took his seat opposite him.
The two brothers quietly enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.
The fragrance of tea drifted gently through the pavilion.
For a long while...
Neither of them spoke.
Sometimes...
Silence between brothers required no explanation.
Eventually, Max broke the silence.
"I received another letter from Shawn."
Victor looked toward him.
"Our third brother still refuses to come home?"
Max smiled helplessly.
"He says he’s still wandering the continent."
"He also said he won’t return until he has something worthy enough to show you."
Victor chuckled softly.
"That sounds like him."
The conversation continued casually for some time.
They spoke about family matters.
About future plans.
About the younger generation’s rapid growth.
Eventually...
Max stood.
"I should return to the Sovereign Council."
Just as he turned to leave...
Victor’s calm voice suddenly stopped him.
"Second Brother..."
Max paused.
"...Do you know the name of Rias’ family?"
The words struck like lightning.
His body instantly froze.
The relaxed expression on his face disappeared completely.
Instead...
An old pain resurfaced deep within his heart.
One that had never truly healed.
For years...
He had buried those memories beneath endless cultivation.
Yet Victor’s simple question had torn the wound open once again.
Once...
He believed revenge was impossible.
That family stood far beyond anything he could ever hope to challenge.
But now...
Things were different.
The Salvatore Family had changed.
Victor had changed everything.
For the first time...
A tiny glimmer of hope appeared within the darkness.
Even so...
Max slowly clenched his fists.
"Big Brother..."
"...the Salvatore Family still isn’t strong enough."
His voice remained steady.
But the guilt hidden beneath those words was impossible to conceal.
He knew exactly how powerful that family truly was.
Yes...
The Salvatore Family now possessed numerous Heavenly Genesis Realm experts.
Even he himself had stepped into that realm.
But compared to that ancient behemoth...
It was still not enough.
Because he had witnessed it with his own eyes.
In that family...
Heavenly Genesis Realm cultivators were nothing more than servants.
Victor calmly lifted his teacup.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Heh..."
"Some roads..."
"...must be walked eventually."
His words were quiet.
Yet they carried an unquestionable certainty.
Victor slowly closed his eyes.
Ten years...
Ten long years spent in seclusion.
His own blood brother had been crippled.
The woman who had already become part of the Salvatore Family had been forced back to her birth family.
The elders who had sacrificed everything for the family had all fallen.
The Salvatore Family had once stood on the brink of destruction.
How could he ever forget?
How could he forgive?
He had no intention of exterminating Rias’ family.
After all...
That family was also connected to the Salvatore Family through Rias.
But...
A lesson still had to be taught.
Some debts could not simply disappear with time.
Victor slowly opened his eyes.
Golden light flickered within them.
For a brief instant...
They resembled an endless underworld.
Cold.
Infinite.
Unfathomable.
Hiss...
The surrounding air suddenly became strangely heavy.
Behind Victor...
A phantom Wheel of Reincarnation seemed to emerge from nothingness.
It revolved silently.
Reflecting countless heavens and endless worlds within its surface.
Even Max’s breathing became slightly heavier.
He knew...
His big brother’s killing intent had already reached a terrifying level.
After several moments of silence...
Max finally spoke.
"...Brother."
"Her family name..."
"...Greamory."
The moment the name left his mouth...
He knew there was no turning back.
Once Victor made a decision...
Nothing in this world could change it.
The moment the name left Max’s mouth...
Silence descended upon the pavilion.
Only the faint sound of the evening wind drifting across Sovereign Peak could be heard.
Victor remained seated.
His expression did not change.
Yet the air around him grew noticeably heavier.
Max lowered his head slightly.
He knew...
Once his big brother had made up his mind, nothing in the world could persuade him otherwise.
Slowly...
He closed his eyes.
The memories he had buried for years surfaced once again.
...
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...