Bryce’s internal organs were crushed, his spine shattered, and his spirit core sucked dry in an instant by Cassian.
Surviving that?
Not likely.
Cassian stared down at Bryce’s lifeless body, eyes wide open in death.
That bastard got off too easy, but at least Cassian got the satisfaction of vengeance.
Turning around slowly, he fixed his gaze on the three elders.
The pressure from him was suffocating.
“Second Young Master…
I didn’t do anything to you!
This…
this is all just a misunderstanding!” Alaric’s voice trembled.
He hadn’t even been struck, but he looked more terrified than the others.
He was shaking, scared out of his mind.
Vince, who’d taken a slap earlier, looked even worse.
His voice cracked as he said, “It was all Bryce’s doing-we were tricked by that little rat.
We just got caught up in the mess.”
“Tricked?” Cassian narrowed his eyes.
“You’re elders of the Faraday Clan.
What could he possibly offer that you’d fall for?”
“You’re right, Second Young Master.
Bryce’s ambition wasn’t small.
Gaining the Faraday heir title was only step one,” Alaric said, voice low.
“His real plan was to marry Hannah Elwood, daughter of Lunaris’s City Lord, and with her help, seize control of the entire city.”
Vince nodded quickly.
“But to do that, he had to get rid of you first.
As long as you were alive, none of it was possible.”
Cassian’s eyes turned cold.
“Vile brat.
Deserved worse than death.”
Just then, footsteps approached.
A broad-shouldered man in a purple robe stood at the entrance.
It was Charles, clan head of the Faraday family-and Cassian’s uncle.
Cassian had lost his parents as a child.
For seventeen years, Charles raised him, treating him better than his own son, Noah.
“Uncle…” Cassian stepped forward naturally and gave a respectful bow.
There was always something about this uncle…
a closeness he couldn’t explain.
Charles raised a hand.
“Say no more-I heard it all.”
His expression darkened as he turned to the three elders.
“Well?
Got anything to say to me now?”
“Clan Lord…
please, it was a misunderstanding!
That wretched boy tricked us!” Alaric nearly fell to his knees.
“Yes, Clan Lord!
We’ve served the Faraday Clan loyally for so many years.
It was a moment of weakness.
Please show mercy!” Vince was pale, desperate.
In the Faraday Clan, elders could be punished by the Clan Lord.
But likewise, when the Clan Lord made mistakes, the elders had power to act.
Right now, none of the three had anything left to say.
“A misunderstanding, huh?” Charles sneered.
He’d long suspected these old snakes of harboring foul intentions.
Just never had proof…
until now.
Then he looked to Cassian.
“If I left the matter to you…
how would you handle it?”
Cassian let out a cold chuckle.
“The seventh rule of the Faraday clan is crystal clear-anyone who uses their position to harm fellow kin must be punished.
Light punishment: stripped of rank and cultivation, and expelled from the family.
Severe punishment: death on the spot.”
Charles nodded with a stern face.
“Good.
Then this matter is yours to deal with.
Be sure to report to the council hall first thing tomorrow.” With that, he turned and walked away from the West Wing.
“Second Young Master, spare us!
Exile us, fine, but don’t cripple our cultivation!”
“Look at us, we’re already old.
If you cut our spiritforce, we might as well be dead!”
Max stood in silence, but Alaric and Vince were already on their knees, clutching at Cassian’s legs, weeping and snotting like pitiful wrecks.
But Cassian?
No soft-hearted mercy there.
These old snakes were worse than vipers-heart black as pitch.
Without a word, he slammed both palms over their foreheads.
The moment his spiritcore stirred, crimson spiritflames flared from his hands.
With a loud hum, Alaric and Vince jerked like shocked corpses.
In the blink of two breaths, they collapsed onto the cold ground, their spiritforce drawn out completely-gone.
At the same time, Cassian’s sea of vital energy boomed.
Deep in his mind, faintly, he sensed a cluster of radiant silver light gathering and scattering at the center of his brow.
“So this is the soul core…”
Joy filled Cassian’s heart.
He had stepped into the sixth tier of the spiritblade realm.
That light at his brow-was the first sign of entering the spiritcore realm, the beginning of forming a soul core.
A soul core was the root of every cultivator-their essence, the second life.
The stronger the soul core, the stronger the real body becomes.
Only those who formed it could walk the true path, chase longevity, and wield the ancient arts…
But Cassian didn’t let it get to his head.
What he had was still only the embryonic light of a soul core.
To fully forge it, he had to reach the spiritcore realm first.
“Before I change my mind and kill you both, get lost,” he snarled, glaring coldly at the three groveling elders.
He hadn’t gone all the way in crippling them.
No need-those old bastards had already lost all threat to him.
The punishment dished out was more than enough.
“Thank you, Second Young Master…
thank you for your mercy…”
The three elders crawled out of the Faraday estate, trembling and humiliated.
Their hearts were full of unease, but they were even more thankful-for still breathing.
Now that Bryce was dead, and the scheming elders dealt with, Cassian felt strangely calm inside.
He knew why his uncle had called him to the council tomorrow-surely to name the next heir of the Faraday clan.
But Cassian didn’t care about that.
What caught his attention now…
was that prison hidden inside him.
And the Grand Spirit Devour Art left by the Bloodthirst Emperor?
That taste of power…
was beyond intoxicating.