Chapter 9: A Priceless Treasure

Only two people sat in the main hall. Hayden Yare occupied a seat off to the side. At the center sat a middle-aged man with an immortal's bearing, his features clean-cut and his brow sharp. He was the eldest son of the Yare Family Patriarch, and Lucian Lawes's First Uncle-Quinn Yare. Lucian stepped into the hall, and his gaze met Quinn's head-on. *Quinn looks gentle enough…* Lucian thought. *But there's light moving in his eyes. His cultivation runs deep. He's on a completely different level from Hayden.* Lucian's cultivation had surged, and with it, his ability to read people. Quinn studied him and said, "So you're Lucian Yare. You ran off on your own when you were little. I barely saw you after that. I didn't expect you to grow up so quickly." *He didn't start by punishing me,* Lucian noted, his thoughts quick and wary. *So there's room to maneuver.* His rule in life had always been simple: a real man knew when to bend and when to stand. As long as he stayed alive, he could always make a comeback. He had beaten Hayden's son, and that put him in the wrong, so he followed the rules and bowed. "Nephew… Lucian Yare pays his respects, First Uncle, second uncle." He had promised his father he would change his surname, but he still lacked the strength to announce it openly within the Yare family. For the moment, this was the only way. Quinn's eyes narrowed slightly, measuring him. "Third Level Dragon Pulse Realm, indeed. But your body is exceptionally refined. You must have learned a Body Tempering art as well. Looks like you didn't waste these years. Given time, you might even catch up to Lydia and Luna." Lucian hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare." *He's not even bringing up the beating,* Lucian thought. *Why is he making small talk?* He glanced at Hayden. The man's stare looked like it wanted to carve Lucian into pieces. Hayden finally growled, low and tight, "Big Brother." Quinn smiled faintly at the reminder. Then his tone cooled. "You are a good seedling. But fighting your own kin is still wrong. I heard you didn't hold back, either…" Lucian cut in at once. "First Uncle, when fists start flying, there's no such thing as precision. With my strength, controlling every strike perfectly is impossible. If he was hurt, it wasn't what I wanted." Quinn fell silent, letting the words hang. Hayden's voice turned icy. "Not what you wanted? Then why did I hear you meant to beat Zane to death? You're still a kid, and you're already this vicious. What will you become in the future? If you don't learn a lesson today, you'll tear the sky down tomorrow!" He rose and strode toward Lucian, step by step. A heavy wave of cultivation crashed down, pinning Lucian in place, forcing his spine to bow as if the air itself had turned to iron. Lucian didn't make a sound. He clenched his jaw and endured. He understood it clearly. If Hayden truly wanted him dead, it would take only a casual flick of the hand. A woman's voice came from outside the door. "Second Brother. Hand him to me. I'll give you an explanation." The pressure vanished. Lucian drew a ragged breath, his back damp with cold sweat. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Skylar Yare. Everyone knew how Skylar had treated Lucian over the years. If he fell into her hands, he wouldn't have an easy time. Hayden seemed to think the same. He smiled. "Third Sister, take him. It's just childish roughhousing between juniors. Teach him a little, and that'll be enough." With that, he left. Quinn saw there was nothing more for him to do. He stood with an easy smile and headed out as well. Before he went, he leaned close to Skylar's ear and murmured, "Less than five days, and he mastered Falling Star Fist across realms. His talent… Father might actually appreciate it. Do what you will." Skylar froze for a beat. After Quinn left, she walked up to Lucian. Lucian had heard every word. He had been waiting for shock to crack her icy mask, but her face remained cold as frost. *Figures,* he thought. *Beating Zane still isn't enough to make her see me differently.* The fire in his chest didn't dim. He lifted his chin and said carelessly, "Kill me, skin me, do whatever you want. If you're not going to, then speak up. I don't have time to waste here." Skylar's brows drew together. Her voice was sharp enough to cut. "So you've picked up a little skill, and your mouth got harder too. Exactly like that useless trash you used to be. I've seen plenty of so-called geniuses who bloom for a moment and wither just as fast. Only you and your father ever thought you were someone important. Ridiculous." Killing intent flashed through Lucian's eyes. He forced it down. "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving." He brushed past her. When he reached the doorway, Skylar spoke again, flat and merciless. "In a month, I'll marry Third Young Master Balam, Zander Balam. As for you, I don't want to see you in Palepop Town starting tomorrow. If you stay, don't blame me for being ruthless." Lucian wasn't surprised. Even so, no matter how hardened his heart had become through cultivation, it still bled. There was no crueler scene in the world than a mother and son standing like strangers on opposite sides. He turned back and stared at her. "Don't say I didn't warn you. That 'gentleman' Zander Balam is not a good man. I saw it with my own eyes. He used his strength to snatch girls who weren't even sixteen, then sold them to people with unknown backgrounds…" He had kept that secret buried for a long time, too afraid to speak it. He had thought she would take it seriously. Instead, her gaze only grew colder. Before he could finish, Skylar cut him off with a sneer. "Lucian Yare, you only earned a sliver of my respect because you could beat Zane. I even thought you might finally throw away your filthy habits and start over. I was glad for you." Her lips tightened. "But you disappointed me." "I know you don't want me to remarry, but you don't have to smear Zander Balam's character with such a laughable accusation. Zander Balam and I grew up together. If your father hadn't appeared, I would have been his long ago. I know him ten thousand times better than you do. You think that pathetic lie can fool me?" Lucian went still. He looked at the disappointment and contempt on her face, and his fingers slowly curled into a fist. Heat surged into his skull. Somewhere deep inside him, a beast roared, tearing at its cage. "So that's it?" he said, each word forced out through clenched teeth. "My own mother won't even listen to her own son?" Skylar fell silent for a moment. Then she said, "Everything you've done these years, your ignorance, your bullying, your crimes… I know it all. I gave up on you completely ten years ago. You Lawes people are all untrustworthy scum. Why should I believe you?" Lucian felt like his chest was about to explode. His eyes reddened, veins standing out as he stared at her. Then he laughed. Wildly. "Skylar Yare, you say it so easily." His voice shook with fury. "You're a mother. Did you ever act like one? I had no father, no mother, no one to rein me in. That's how I ended up like a dog. And you blame me for it?" He stepped closer, breathing hard. "You call me a born villain, a hopeless wastrel. Fine. Then listen carefully. I've hurt people in my life, but I've never hurt a good person." His gaze turned razor-sharp. "But your Zander Balam is different." Lucian drew in a long breath, and when he spoke again, his voice went eerily calm. "You're disappointed in me. Today, I became disappointed in you for good." He pointed toward the hall, as if pointing at the whole world that had crushed him. "You want to get married? As long as I, Lucian Lawes, am still breathing, it won't be that easy. Do you hear me? Lucian Lawes!" Skylar's expression didn't change. She tossed a small bag to the floor at his feet. "In my heart, you never carried the Yare name." Her voice was flat. "And that's fifty Spiritual Jade. Take it. Palepop Town isn't a place for you anymore." Arguing was pointless. Lucian had always liked taking advantage of small gains, but this time he didn't even glance at the Spiritual Jade. He turned and walked away. He burst out of the Yare estate and ran to the riverbank. With a hoarse roar, he smashed boulder after boulder, fists cracking stone, until exhaustion finally dragged him down onto the ground. He stared toward the Yare family's direction. That colossal force loomed before him like a mountain, pressing down on his heart until it was hard to breathe. His fist tightened, knuckles whitening. Killing intent poured off him in waves. "Old man… I don't know if she's worth it," he muttered, voice raw. "I only know Zander Balam isn't a good man. No matter how she treats me, I'll stop that marriage. And I won't let her look down on me. I won't let her look down on you." His nails bit into his palm until blood welled. "Old man, nobody can stop me from getting stronger. What you told me… I finally understand it completely. If I want to stand above others, if I want everyone to respect me, acknowledge me, flatter me, then I have to become stronger and stronger, until I reach the peak of this world!" "And all of you… thanks for looking down on me. If you hadn't, I'd still be a fool, thinking cultivation was boring and life had no purpose. What you're about to see is the storm of 'surprises' I'm going to give you!" "Half a month from now, at the family assembly, and a month from now, at that broken wedding. Because of me, Lucian Lawes, I'll give you an enormous, enormous, enormous surprise!" After he vented it all, night fell quickly. Under the endless dark sky, Lucian sat on the roof of his home on the east side of town. "Skylar wants me out of Palepop Town, but Old man told me to get the Dragon Seal. How could I leave? But with my strength, if she makes a move, how do I resist? Do I slip away for a while and come back when the family assembly starts?" He wrestled with it for a long time. At last, the tightness between his brows eased. *Instead of staying in Palepop Town, I might as well go hunt Demon Beast,* he decided. *I'll improve faster, and I might even find some rare treasures.* With that thought, he made up his mind to leave for a while. His stomach growled, so he hopped down from the roof and headed for Sunrise Restaurant. Near midnight, Sunrise Restaurant was still loud and packed. Lucian approached quietly, and he caught a voice saying, "Big news! You don't know yet? Something huge happened to the Yare family!" "What happened? Spit it out!" "You haven't heard? This morning, Young Master Zane fought Lucian Yare, Third Lady Yare's son. Zane got stripped in front of everyone. When he got home… he killed himself!" "Is that true?" "How could it be fake? It just came out. The Yare family is searching the whole town for Lucian!" Lucian's blood ran cold. He turned and left immediately. *I thought the worst was he'd be too ashamed to show his face,* Lucian thought as he moved fast. *I didn't expect him to be that fragile, killing himself over it. What a waste.* *Still… he never treated me like a person. The gap between yesterday and today was too much. Maybe he really couldn't bear it.* "Zane is dead. I can't stay in Palepop Town any longer. I have to leave tonight." He had spent years roaming Palepop Town and knew it inside out. He slipped through a hidden passage and was out of town before anyone from the Yare family could reach him. Only after walking for a long time did he turn back and look at Palepop Town in the distance. "Zane's dead. If I go back for the family assembly, it'll be dangerous." His eyes narrowed. "But I heard the Yare Family Patriarch cherishes talent above all else. If I show enough ability, I might still have a chance." He thought of Falling Star Fist. "That alone probably shocked him." But once he left Palepop Town, where could he go? "To the east… Great Desolate Mountain." His gaze lifted toward the dark horizon. "Dense forests. A paradise for venomous insects and Demon Beast. And plenty of rare treasures…" He was about to head for Great Desolate Mountain when footsteps rushed up from behind. Lucian's heart lurched. He ducked into cover at once. When he saw who it was, he finally exhaled. Then he smiled. It was Seth Balam, the younger of the two men who had followed Luna Yare that morning. Seth was Zander Balam's youngest son. The scene of Seth humiliating him at Jadeite Tower flashed through Lucian's mind. *What's Seth chasing?* Lucian wondered. At first, he thought Seth was after him. Then he focused. Seth wasn't chasing a person at all. He was chasing a drifting streak of cold light, floating in midair. It was unmistakable. A treasure.