"Little Sis, give your big brother a smile. Or if you'd rather, I can smile for you." "What do you mean, you won't? Watch me fan you with cash!" In Palepop Town, inside a private room on the second floor of the Jadeite Tower, Lucian Yare lounged with a sultry woman on each thigh. He flicked a few banknotes onto the table, letting them slap down in a neat scatter, and laughed to himself. The moment the women saw the money, their eyes lit up. They crowded in at once, pressing their chests against his arm as they giggled. "Master Yare, you're so generous…" The door burst open. A servant squeezed in beside the young man. Sweat poured down his face, but he still leaned close and whispered urgently into Lucian's ear, "Young Master Lucian, Palmer has passed away!" The servant was Amber, Lucian's most trusted man, who had stayed by his side for years. Lucian's expression went blank. After a long moment, he finally snapped out of it. He brushed his sleeve as he rose, then walked out without another word. Amber's face crumpled with grief, but he could not keep up with Lucian's pace. Out on the main street, Lucian muttered to himself, *That old ghost of a father… sure, he wasted his life in a drunken haze, but he was still ten times the man I am. He wasn't even forty. He looked like he could've lived another ten years. How did he drop dead today?* He quickened his steps and soon returned to the Yare Mansion. Palepop Town had two overlords: the Balam family and the Yare family. The Yare family controlled nearly half the town's resources, true local tyrants in every sense. For most people, being born into such a clan would have been a blessing. For Lucian, it never was. The Yare Family Patriarch had been a monster of talent in his youth, his cultivation unfathomable. He had carved out the Yare family's formidable foundation in Palepop Town, then expanded the bloodline until it became a true great clan. Lucian's mother was the Patriarch's daughter, third in rank, gifted beyond measure and famous throughout the town. His father, however, had been nothing more than a live-in husband. Lucian had no idea what kind of dazzling figure the man had once been. By the time Lucian could remember anything, his father spent his days drinking, muddled and half-dead, abandoned alone in a shabby thatched hut, scraping by and waiting to rot. A useless father meant a doomed son. Inside this enormous clan, Lucian was an afterthought. People stared through him with cold eyes. Even his mother acted as if she had never given birth to him. So he grew up unrestrained and wild. With the Yare name hanging around his neck like a gilded charm, he ate and drank on other people's dime, bullied men, toyed with women, and lived a comfortable little life. Ignoring the guards' disdain, Lucian entered through a side gate. The Yare Courtyard was filled with pavilions and towers, trimmed gardens and elegant flowers, every detail displaying the refinement and deep roots of a great family. He had barely gone a few steps before two people approached from the opposite direction. In front walked a tall young man in white brocade, his features sharp and his expression cold. It was Zane Yare, the eldest son of Lucian's second uncle, and Lucian's cousin. Trailing behind Zane was a distant cousin named Lucas Casson. He had a pinched, monkeyish face and a hunched waist, and he wore a sycophantic grin as he hovered at Zane's back. When they reached Lucian, Zane stepped in and blocked his path. "I heard your trash of a father finally croaked." Zane looked Lucian up and down, his face full of mockery. Zane's reputation in Palepop Town was no small thing. At only seventeen, he had broken through four Dragon Pulse and reached the Fourth Level Dragon Pulse Realm, a stunning genius. Lucian had never belonged to the same world as the Yare family's outstanding young heirs. They had endless resources poured into them from childhood, and Secret Cultivation Method after Secret Manual laid out for them to choose from. Lucian had nothing. His mother ignored him. No one else would have given him a scrap. When he was younger, he had joined the other clan members for Body Quenching and advanced at a terrifying pace, crushing the rest and enjoying a brief moment of glory. But without a Cultivation Method, and with his heart turning cold, he stopped cultivating. He never broke through even a single Dragon Pulse, never stepped into the First Level Dragon Pulse Realm. He had tried in secret. But without a Secret Manual and without guidance, cultivation was like pushing through a wall of iron. "Why so quiet?" Zane sneered. "I called your dad a waste of space. You still not convinced?" He stood over Lucian, amused, as if watching something crawl. Lucian had suffered this kind of humiliation before. Outside, he strutted with swagger. The moment he returned to the Yare family, he became less than a dog. He knew exactly what he was worth, and most days, swallowing it made the trouble pass. But that day, maybe because that old ghost of a father was gone, the calm mask still sat on his face while something sharp and restless churned in his chest. "Move." Lucian drew a slow breath, lifted his head, and met Zane's eyes. His voice came out cold and flat. Zane smiled. "Little brother, why are you talking to your big brother like that? You got a problem with me?" He tilted his head, all fake warmth. "You're ignorant, you tarnish the Yare family's name. As your brother, giving you a small lesson is only natural, isn't it?" Before Lucian could answer, Zane drove a fist into Lucian's lower abdomen, then walked off with a cold laugh. Lucian cried out and crashed to the ground. The moment Zane left, Lucas Casson trotted after him. As he passed Lucian, he turned and spat a thick gob of saliva at him. Lucian's body twisted in pain, and he jerked his head aside just in time. "Oh? You dodged." Lucas chuckled and called after Zane. "Cousin, your family's dog is pretty nimble…" After mocking him a little longer, Lucas hurried to catch up. The maids nearby watched as if it were nothing. No one looked at Lucian with pity. They only laughed and drifted away. Lucian pushed himself up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at the two retreating backs. In his bright, spirited eyes, something vicious seeped through. "A Martial Artist… if I were a Martial Artist. If I reached the Dragon Pulse Realm, I'd pay it all back." "Zane Yare, and that Lackey Lucas Casson. I'm keeping today's humiliation. Pray I never get the chance, because if I do, you'll die ugly." He clenched his fist and headed toward the place his father lived. Over the past dozen years, every insult had been carved into his memory. If he ever turned the tables, he would make them all choke on their disbelief and never know peace again. That was who he was. Among the people who truly knew him, they called him the Smiling Tiger, the Black-hearted Wolf. Lucian's father was named Julian Lawes. It was an elegant name. People said he had once been dazzlingly flirtatious, the kind of man who could steal souls. Even Third Lady Yare and Skylar Yare, once such breathtaking figures, had fallen under his spell back then. Lucian stepped through the crude doorway. Julian lay facedown on the ground, surrounded by servants and maids. His complexion had turned black. The room reeked of stale liquor mixed with piss and filth, a stench so thick it made the throat tighten. "He's here…" When they saw Lucian, the maids whispered among themselves and filed out, as if their task had been completed. Lucian's gaze stayed on Julian. The man had collapsed long ago. This ending was something Lucian had seen coming for years. He crouched, studying that darkened face. "What kind of man were you?" Lucian murmured. "Sixteen years, and I don't think I ever knew you. You never let me know you. Pathetic, isn't it? I'm standing here, and it feels like we're strangers. Dad… Dad…" His throat tightened, but his voice stayed steady. "Maybe I really am the unfilial son people talk about. You died, and I can't even squeeze out a tear." He had always thought he was heartless. Yet bitterness still rose, sour and heavy. He lingered for a while. Footsteps sounded outside, and Lucian snapped back. A beautiful woman in a pale red dress entered, her hair swept up high, a crowd following behind her. She glanced at Julian's corpse from the side and sighed. Her tone was cool, almost distant. "This lifetime's twisted bond is over. Lucian, he is your father. For the sake of that connection, find a place and bury him." She did not spare Lucian another look. She turned and left. Lucian smiled faintly. He was used to it. He looked down at Julian with a mocking gaze. "Dad, you were handsome enough. Back then, your reputation with women was famous. Countless beauties fell for you." His smile sharpened. "Who would've thought that after you died, your woman would only come to take one look at what you turned into?" The bleakness in his chest stayed hidden behind the sneer. He stopped caring about anything else. He hoisted Julian onto his back. Ignoring the strange, disgusted looks from the people in the manor, he carried the body out of the Yare Mansion, found a carriage, and personally took the reins. He drove Julian beyond the town walls and stopped at a quiet grove with decent scenery. Stepping down, he scanned the area. "Clear mountains, clean water, birds singing. Not bad for your long sleep." He glanced around as if evaluating the place like a landlord. "And the yin energy is heavy. Plenty of female ghosts, I bet. If you're still as flirtatious after death, go ahead and bring me back a second mom, a third mom. With a place this elegant, it's the perfect spot for you to keep playing around." He looked at Julian's blackened face and spoke more softly, almost under his breath. "No matter what, I'm your son. Half this flesh and blood came from you. You died early, and I never amounted to anything. The only repayment I've got is burying you here." His lips twitched. "If you turn into a ghost and get some powers, then when you have time, bless me so I can keep living comfortably." He stared for a long time. In the end, a single tear slipped free. Lucian wiped it away in a hurry. Without another word, he knelt and began digging into the warm, damp earth with his fingers. He might have been a good-for-nothing, but his talent was real. Even years after Body Quenching, he had not lost all his strength. A deep pit was not a problem. He was about to lower Julian into the grave when Julian suddenly opened his eyes. Lucian yelped, "A corpse reanimated!" and shoved his father straight into the muddy pit. He stared down at the man in the hole, his heart pounding so hard it hurt. His words came out in a stammer. "D-Dad… I didn't talk bad about you. I dug this pit because I wanted you to rest in peace…" Julian rolled over and cursed, "Rest in peace my ass. I'm not even all the way dead and you're already trying to bury me, you little bastard." He spat dirt from his mouth and glared up at Lucian. "I came back to tell you one thing. In my core, there's a Dragon-shaped Jade Pendant. After I die, cut open my core and take it out. Only then can I finally be freed from this life…"