Chapter 5: Pelton's Number One

After leaving the clan's main hall, Daxton Mabbett returned to his small courtyard. He did not feel humiliated by what had happened that day. If anything, he felt lucky. Without paying any price at all, he had seen one person clearly. "Big brother." Aliyah Mabbett chased after him, clinging to the courtyard gate as she poked her little head in to peer around. "Why are you sneaking around like a thief?" Daxton teased. "Come in." Only then did Aliyah step up beside him, her voice dropping. "Big brother, don't be sad." "Do I look sad?" Daxton asked. "You, on the other hand. With me in this situation, you're not disgusted with me?" A stone table and wooden chairs sat in the yard. He wiped the table down with a few quick swipes and sat. "Of course not! No matter what you become, I'll never be disgusted with you!" Aliyah said. "Really? Why don't I believe you?" "It's absolutely true!" Aliyah grew anxious. "I swear to the heavens. If I'm lying, then I…" Daxton cut her off before she could finish. "That's enough. What are you swearing for? Do you think I wouldn't believe you? I was just messing with you." "You're the worst! Big brother, you only ever bully me!" Aliyah huffed and dropped into the seat beside him, looping her arm through his with shameless affection, gentle as a little lamb. Daxton pinched her nose. "With a sister this cute, how could I not tease you?" Aliyah blinked her large, pretty eyes. "Then when are you going to turn your little sister into your sweet wife?" Daxton: "…" "Aliyah Mabbett!" Margot Duffus came rushing over. The moment she saw Aliyah clinging to Daxton's arm, all intimate and clingy, fury practically flared out of her eyes. Without a word, she yanked Aliyah away and dragged her off, then snapped her head back to glare at Daxton. "You animal!" Daxton: "…" He could only smile helplessly as he stood and went inside. In the blink of an eye, night fell. The moon hung full in a sparsely starred sky. Daxton sat in a wooden tub filled with a decoction brewed from thirty-six medicinal ingredients. His eyes were closed, his breathing even and rhythmic. It was the breathing method of One Sword to World Supremacy. The technique was unfathomable. As Daxton inhaled and exhaled, his blood and qi surged and boiled, as if a peerless blade were carving back and forth through flesh and marrow. Faintly, thunder and wind seemed to rumble within his chest. It was tyrannical to the extreme. One Sword to World Supremacy continued to circulate. The medicinal bath's potency was absorbed completely, sealed inside his body without the slightest leak. That was another terrifying aspect of it. Ordinary cultivation methods, no matter how high their grade, always wasted some of the spiritual energy and medicinal power through pores and breath. One Sword to World Supremacy refined what it drew in at full efficiency, turning every trace into his own. It was astonishing. Only after two hours did Daxton stop. He exhaled a long breath of turbid air. A layer of black grime floated on the surface of the tub, carrying a faint stench. Daxton knew it was filth expelled from within after the medicinal bath. He rose, rinsed off quickly, and felt clear-headed and light, as if his whole body had been scrubbed clean from the inside out. He stepped into the courtyard and paused. Then he flicked a finger at a leaf. "Pop!" The leaf burst apart, powder scattering into the air. Yet the leaf did not fall from the branch, and its main veins remained perfectly intact. Daxton nodded to himself, deeply satisfied. On the path of cultivation, the Martial Path was the earliest stage of entry. Boiled down, it came to two things: how strong your force was, and how well you controlled it. A truly powerful martial practitioner did not merely possess overwhelming strength. Their command of that strength was precise, exquisite. Just then, his fingertip had struck the leaf and shattered only the blade of it, leaving the veins untouched. That was refined control of force. Very few people in the entire Martial Path stage could reach that level. In the days that followed, Daxton trained his breathing and tempered his strength during the day, then used medicinal baths to forge his body at night. Both the power of his force and his control over it rose steadily. Three days passed in a flash. That day, Daxton tidied himself up and headed for Ferrell Tower. Ferrell Tower was the most luxurious restaurant in Pelton. Rumor had it it was established by some major figure from Northern Commandery, and anyone who came and went was either wealthy or noble. Tenji Pavilion was the pinnacle even among its private rooms. To reserve it in Ferrell Tower within Pelton, one needed status at least on the level of a clan head. Daxton arrived at Ferrell Tower. The moment he stepped inside, he spotted a familiar figure: Aliyah. "Big brother!" Aliyah saw him too and hurried over. "Why are you here?" "Dinner invitation," Daxton said with a smile. "What about you?" "Kieran Mallin came back from Cera Academy. He's hosting a 'young talents banquet' in the Ferrell Tower to invite Pelton's promising youths to discuss martial arts." Aliyah looked annoyed. "I didn't want to come, but Mother forced me. If I didn't, she said she'd lock me up for a month." Daxton knew Kieran Mallin. Josiah Mallin's eldest son had entered Cera Academy early and had cultivated there for two years. His Martial Path achievements were said to be exceptional. In Pelton, Kieran's name carried real weight. Hardly anyone hadn't heard of him. "Aliyah Mabbett, you finally showed up. Get in here. Senior Brother Mo is already here!" A young woman stepped out of Xerton Pavilion, having heard Aliyah's voice, and called for her to come inside. When she noticed Daxton, a malicious smile curled her lips. "Well, isn't this your brother, Daxton Mabbett? You brought him to the banquet too, didn't you? Hurry up and come in!" "My brother has something else to do," Aliyah said. "Something else?" The young woman clicked her tongue. "More like you're afraid he'll embarrass you, so you won't bring him in. You always act so pure and refined, but you're this snobbish and nasty underneath. Disgusting." She was Rosalia Lashbrook, the daughter of the third elder of the Lashbrook family. She and Aliyah had never gotten along. She was always looking for a chance to make Aliyah look bad, and she had finally found one. She goaded Aliyah hard, trying to force her to bring Daxton into Xerton Pavilion. If everyone found out Aliyah's brother was that discarded disciple who had lost all cultivation and been expelled by the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, Aliyah would be humiliated, wouldn't she? Aliyah's face flushed with anger. "What did you say?!" "I said you're afraid he'll embarrass you, so you won't bring him into Xerton Pavilion." Rosalia pointed at Daxton. "I'm not!" Aliyah snapped. Daxton patted Aliyah's shoulder and looked at Rosalia. "Want to make a bet?" Rosalia frowned. "A bet? On what?" "If she brings me in, you give me one hundred thousand taels." "One hundred thousand taels?" Rosalia laughed so hard her shoulders shook. "Just for her to bring you in, I give you one hundred thousand taels? Are you sick?" "Yes," Daxton said calmly. "Rabid-dog sickness. I caught it from you." "You…" Rosalia's expression instantly turned ugly. Aliyah let out a snort of laughter. "Rosalia Lashbrook, so you've got rabid-dog sickness? Then I'd better stay far away!" As she spoke, she grabbed Daxton like she was dodging a plague god and hauled him straight into Xerton Pavilion, leaving him no time to react. Daxton lifted his gaze and swept the room. Fifteen people sat inside, seven men and eight women, all around seventeen or eighteen. At the head seat sat a young man in splendid robes, sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, handsome and sharp-featured. It was Kieran Mallin, the city lord's son. Daxton also saw another familiar face: Elisabeth Looske. "Tch. What rotten luck. That awful woman is here too!" Aliyah muttered. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have come even if Mother locked me up for a year. She ruins my appetite." Daxton did not care. He pinched her small nose. Aliyah brightened at once, smiling like a bud blooming in snow, delicate and stunning. Elisabeth noticed them as well. The smile that had been on her face vanished, replaced by a dark, cold look. "Aliyah," Rosalia drawled as she followed them in, biting down hard on the words, "why don't you introduce the talented brother beside you? Plenty of people here probably don't even know him." Aliyah knew exactly what Rosalia was trying to do, yet she did not dodge at all. She hooked her arm through Daxton's and said proudly, "My brother, Daxton Mabbett. Pelton's number one talent!" A number of people froze. Daxton Mabbett? Those two words sounded familiar. They had heard them recently, hadn't they? "Oh, so it's you," a young man sneered. "The useless trash from the rumors, the one the Azure Cloud Sword Sect kicked out!" "Donald Warth, you're the trash!" Aliyah slammed her palm on the table. "From head to toe, you're nothing but trash!" Donald's face sank. "Aliyah Mabbett! Didn't Daxton Mabbett lose all his cultivation and turn into a cripple? Was I wrong? Watch your mouth!" "You're the one with a filthy mouth! Your whole family's filthy!" "You…" "You'll have kids without butts!" "I…" "I'm your ancestor!" Aliyah's insults poured out nonstop, not giving Donald a single chance to get a word in.