"One-Fold Fist Force!"
With a sharp yell, Feng Luotian thrust his fist forward, a strike intended to shatter the boulder in front of him.
…
…
"…What?" He stared at his fist, then at the unscathed boulder, dumbfounded. "I can't even activate the easiest skill in the universe? All it takes is activating Theríon and punching forward!"
Frustration boiled over as he clenched his fists. "So, I can't use any of the skills I learned in my previous life? What kind of reincarnator am I? Life is supposed to be fair, but why am I nerfed on day one? I don't even get a chance to be OP!"
He kept grumbling to himself. "Does this mean I'm stuck with a single skill and two crippled abilities for the rest of my life? Sure, I don't have a bottleneck in cultivation, but with only one skill? Not cool at all. That's not just unfair—it's pathetic."
Despite possessing an extraordinary bloodline, he was still complaining about how cool his skills were. Apparently, there was always something more to want.
Eventually, Luotian sighed and shook his head. "Alright, alright. Forget about that for now. Maybe there's something else waiting for me at a higher realm. Or perhaps I can learn new skills the proper way this time instead of relying on my past life's memory. Besides, CRONOS still has so much I haven't explored."
As he steadied himself to experiment further with his new bloodline, a sudden commotion from the city reached his ears. He frowned, his gaze shifting toward the main road leading to his property.
"Oh no. That lightning I sent into the sky must have drawn attention."
Realizing that hiding the evidence of his bloodline fusion was now impossible, Luotian quickly retreated into the wreckage. Entering his obliterated training room, he surveyed the charred debris before lying down on the scorched floor. The rain continued to pour through the sharp hole in the ceiling, drenching his motionless form.
His burned clothes and the wrecked room would make it look like a freak accident. After all, who could remain unharmed after being struck by such a colossal bolt of lightning?
"This is going to be a pain," he muttered to himself. "If they find me conscious, they'll ask a hundred questions. The easiest way out of this is to play the victim."
With that final thought, Luotian used a thread of his Theríon to cut off his own consciousness, slipping into a deep, death-like sleep just as hurried footsteps reached the threshold of his home.
"Tian'er! Tian'er!" A panicked voice echoed through the ruins. "Not good! Bring him to the Alchemy Center immediately! Someone must treat him at once!"
"Father, is he alright?" Another voice, trembling with anxiety, joined the first.
"I don't know," the man replied gravely, his tone heavy with dread. "But we can't waste a single moment. We must get him help right away!"
* * *
Feng Luotian "woke up" to find himself in a bed that wasn't his own. The familiar medicinal scent and the neatly arranged scrolls and pill bottles on a nearby desk told him exactly where he was: the Peacock School's Alchemy Center.
He smiled slightly, recognizing the room immediately. He had visited many times when the Peacock Lord brought traveling doctors to examine him. None had found a cure for his "crippled" state, but the visits had made the place familiar.
Before he could reflect further, the door burst open. Mei Yue'er rushed in, her face a mask of worry.
"Luotian, you're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Wait—what happened to your eyes? When did they turn purple? Does it hurt?"
The questions came in a breathless rush, her anxiety plain. She looked as though she hadn't slept since the lightning struck; her eyes were bloodshot from hours of worry.
After being healed and rested in the Alchemy Center, Yue'er regained consciousness shortly after Luotian and Wuji had finished their report at the Peacock Pavilion. At first, her mind was a fog of confusion. The last thing she remembered was the Wight Wolf returning with more power and striking Wuji down. Why was she back in the city?
As her memories cleared, she had nearly broken down. She vividly recalled the horror of seeing Luotian being eaten alive. But luckily, her father arrived at her bedside and explained the truth—that they were safe and Luotian was alive.
She desperately wanted to rush to his house to confirm it with her own eyes, but her father wouldn't allow it. He forced her to stay and rest at the Alchemy Center, promising she could visit him the next morning instead.
Only an hour later, a commotion outside ended that brief relief: lightning had struck Luotian's house. She panicked again, imagining his fragile body burned to ash. She raced to the scene with her father as quickly as possible, helping to escort Luotian back here to the Alchemy Center.
Now, even though she saw him safe and sound again, her hands trembled slightly. She reached out as if to touch him but pulled back at the last second, afraid he might shatter if she moved too quickly. For all her strength as an elite cultivator, she looked worn out from keeping watch over him.
Luotian felt a sharp pang of guilt at how badly he had worried her.
Yue'er wasn't alone though. Peacock Lord, the First Elder Mei Changkong, and Sun Wuji followed closely behind her into the medical ward.
While the two elders maintained their usual composed and dignified air, Wuji leaned against the doorframe with a mischievous, knowing grin. He didn't say a word, but his expression spoke volumes—he knew Luotian was about to find himself in deep trouble for worrying their sister to the point of exhaustion.
Luotian gave Wuji a desperate look, silently begging him to help. Wuji merely shrugged, amused, and pretended not to understand.
Realizing he was well and truly on his own, Luotian had no choice but to surrender. He let out a soft, defeated sigh and turned his attention to the two elders standing at the foot of his bed.
"Greetings, Uncle Mei—" Luotian began, shifting his weight to rise from the mattress and offer a proper bow, but Peacock Lord moved quickly, stopping him with a firm yet gentle wave of his hand.
"There is no need for formalities, Tian'er," Peacock Lord said, his warm tone making it clear that Luotian's health mattered more than etiquette.
Luotian then turned to Yue'er. With a gentle, calming smile, he reached out to reassure her, his voice steady and soft. "It doesn't hurt at all, Yue'er. I'm fine, truly. Thank you."
A wave of visible relief washed over Mei Yue'er. The tension that had held her upright finally snapped, and she sank into the chair at Luotian's bedside, her strength to stand momentarily failing her.
She began to relax, though she still looked him over for injuries he might have missed.
"How are you holding up, Brother Feng?" Wuji asked, his tone lighthearted. "Yesterday was insane for me, but I'd say you had it even crazier." Only after seeing Luotian had safely navigated Yue'er's interrogation did he finally step forward to join the conversation.
Luotian smiled, still determined to get Wuji back for leaving him to face Yue'er alone. "I'm fine, Wuji. But what exactly happened? Why am I here, at the Alchemy Center?"
"Your house was struck by lightning last night," Yue'er recounted quickly, her voice still thin with the remnants of her panic. "Everyone in the city saw it—it was so bright it lit up the entire district. When the news reached us, we rushed over and found you unconscious in the middle of your training room. Everything was destroyed, Luotian. The roof, the walls... everything was scorched."
"I was told the same thing when I arrived," Wuji added, leaning in. "Honestly, it's a miracle you're even breathing. People don't just walk away from a bolt that size."
"Oh?" Luotian raised an eyebrow, feigning a mask of mild curiosity. "Did the doctors find anything... wrong with me?"
"That's the strange part," Yue'er said, looking genuinely baffled. "They insisted you were perfectly fine. But being hit by lightning and coming out unscathed? It doesn't add up. Do you remember anything at all?"
Luotian hesitated for a heartbeat, a playful, calculated thought forming in his mind. "Hmm... the last thing I remember is focusing entirely on trying to force a breakthrough in my training room. Everything after that is a blur of violet fire and golden lightning."
The answer was vague enough to avoid direct suspicion, but internally, Luotian was puzzled. His breakthrough to the Four Fangs stage and his new, potent energy should have been radiating off him like a beacon, especially to cultivators as experienced as the Peacock Lord and the First Elder. Yet, their calm reactions suggested they sensed absolutely nothing.
Puzzled, Luotian glanced at his hands and willed his Theríon to flow. Suddenly, a cold, crystalline voice echoed directly into his consciousness:
///// Introducing new feature [Aura Concealment]: Conceal your Theríon and visible bloodline traits completely. Can switch this feature on or off at will.
His amethyst eyes flickered with genuine surprise. Aura Concealment?
He had never heard of anything like this. Its concealment went far beyond the stealth techniques he had encountered in his previous life.
The Theríon concealment had evidently activated on its own. Luotian then closed his eyes and extended the veil over his visible bloodline traits. The amethyst glow receded beneath his eyelids; when he opened them again, his irises had returned to their familiar azure.
Yue'er blinked. "Your eyes… they're blue again."
"Then the purple must have been caused by residual lightning," Luotian said, letting a relieved smile reach his face.
The Peacock Lord's gaze lingered on him for a heartbeat longer than the others. He clearly did not accept the explanation at face value, but with no Theríon leaking from Luotian and no injury for the physicians to find, he chose not to press the matter in front of everyone.
Luotian quickly decided to keep his breakthrough a secret. He had several reasons to hide his new strength.
First, it would protect him from the mountain of questions that would surely follow. A "cripple" suddenly jumping to a Four Fangs Fighter overnight wasn't just suspicious—it was impossible. The attention would bring more than just curious friends; it would bring jealous rivals and enemies who might try to eliminate a rising threat before he got too strong. Staying quiet was simply the wisest move.
Second, with the mystery of the attempt on Yue'er's life still unsolved, staying in the shadows gave him a tactical edge. If his enemies still believed he was a useless liability, they wouldn't include him in their plans. That mistake would give him the element of surprise.
Finally, his new bloodline was still a mystery to him. Aura Concealment and CRONOS were just the start. He needed time to experiment and understand his limits in private before anyone else realized what he was truly capable of.
For now, he would be the lucky survivor who had somehow walked away from a lightning strike. He would build his strength quietly and wait for the right moment to act. As much as he wanted to test his new power, last night had already drawn too much attention. He needed to keep a low profile.