Chương 111: Ode

Three days later, Thunder Abyss City. From the crowded tea stalls and bustling wine taverns to the dimly lit pawnshops and the fragrant chambers of the brothels—wherever people gathered, a single name dominated the air. It was spoken in hushed awe, feverish excitement, and trembling fear.

"Have you heard? Reyn, that outcast from the Lei Clan... he obliterated the Third Elder of the Jinshan Sect in a single move! A Foundation Establishment expert, and he couldn't even withstand one strike!"

"That's nothing! My uncle's cousin works in the Lei compound. He saw it with his own eyes—Reyn standing in the sky, a single finger pointing down, and a hundred-zhang thunder dragon descending from the heavens! Jin Sansheng, the Jinshan Sect Leader himself, a False Core cultivator with nine layers of defensive shields, was pierced through like wet paper!"

"False Core? You mean he was a half-step into the Golden Core realm?"

"A half-step or a full step, what does it matter? Before Reyn, he was nothing but an ant!"

"I heard the entire Jinshan Sect was slaughtered. Not a single soul escaped?"

"Escape? To where? Reyn stood before their mountain gates and uttered three words: 'Leave none alive.' Twelve streaks of light tried to flee into the horizon. Within half an hour, they were hunted down. Not even the chickens or dogs were left breathing!" In a central tea house, a storyteller slammed his gavel against the table with a sharp crack, spit flying as he leaned into his audience.

"Listen well, friends! Who was this Reyn? A year ago, he was the discarded trash of the Lei Clan, driven from his home, his parents dead, wandering the wilds like a stray dog! And now? An Elder of the Xuanxiao Sect! One strike to kill Foundation Establishment, one finger to slay a False Core! This is the height of majesty! This is the ultimate vengeance! This is the Mandate of Heaven! A True Dragon has finally returned to the sea!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, copper coins raining onto the stage like a metallic storm.

"But let me tell you the real secret," the storyteller whispered, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial rasp.

"On the day he returned to the city, the Lei Clan knelt to receive him! The Clan Leader, Lei Wanjun, was bound to a pillar. Reyn struck with a single palm, and a thunder dragon tore through the man's chest! That was his own uncle! But Reyn didn't even blink."

"Good! Kill him!" someone shouted from the back, slamming a fist on the table.

"A beast who kills his own brother and betrays his kin deserves to be hacked into a thousand pieces!"

"A thousand pieces? That would have been too merciful!" The storyteller sneered.

"Reyn used the Purple Skies Tribulation Lightning, burning him inch by inch from the inside out! Lei Wanjun screamed for ten full breaths! Ten breaths! Do you have any idea what kind of agony that is?" A collective gasp of cold air swept through the room. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"And Lei Wanhe? The accomplice? His arm was severed! Lei Tianqi? He knelt and begged for his life like a whimpering cur!"

"Wasn't Lei Tianqi his cousin?"

"Cousin?" The storyteller scoffed.

"In Reyn's eyes, he was nothing more than a bug to be crushed! Reyn has declared it—in the Lei Clan, he alone is the Sovereign!!" The room fell silent for a heartbeat before exploding into even more thunderous applause.

"Dominant!"

"That is a real man!"

"If I had even half of Reyn's talent, I'd never worry about bringing glory to my ancestors again!"

Inside the Lei Clan compound, within the newly renovated study. Reyn sat in a heavy sandalwood chair, listening to the faint, distant roar of the city's clamor drifting through the window. His expression remained unreadable, the corners of his mouth turned upward in a microscopic arc, as if he were appreciating a celebratory ode that had nothing to do with him. Senior Brother Ma stood below him, reporting on the status of the Earthen Profound Yellow Array.

Elder Sun stood to the side, adding details about spirit stone consumption, disciple rotations, and the reactions of neighboring powers. Reyn nodded occasionally, offering a short "Mhm" here and there, resembling a cold, emotionless statue carved from ice.

"Elder Lei," Ma said, finally finishing his report. He hesitated, choosing his words with extreme care.

"The people in the city... their praise for you is quite... high."

"Praise?" Reyn tilted his head, as if trying to recall a foreign vocabulary word.

"Yes... yes..." Cold sweat beaded on Ma's forehead.

"They say you possess... world-shaking divine might... that you are the one destined by the heavens..." Reyn smiled. It was a faint smile, like a ripple on a dark pond that vanished as quickly as it appeared, yet it made the hair on Ma's neck stand on end. He remembered the massacre at the Jinshan Sect gates. He remembered the way Lei Wanjun screamed as the thunder dragon hollowed out his chest. He remembered the look of pure disgust on Reyn's face when he had called the world "dirty."

"Let them talk," Reyn said, rising and walking toward the window, his back to the two men.

"The more they say, the better." Ma and Elder Sun exchanged a look, both reading the same primal chill in each other's eyes. They bowed deeply and retreated, their footsteps as light and silent as a cat's. Once the room was empty, Reyn pushed the window wide. He gazed at the distant silhouette of the city. Smoke rose from kitchen fires, and the hum of humanity was a vibrant, living thing—a painting of a peaceful, prosperous era.

But Reyn's gaze pierced through the canvas, landing on a place far beyond—a cold pond, a field of white snow, two severed heads rolling on the ground, and a pair of eyes that would never close again. His expression did not change. His lips remained curved in that slight, haunting smile, as if he were admiring an ancient scroll that held no personal meaning. However, on the windowsill, his fingers were slowly tightening.

His knuckles turned white from the force, leaving five shallow, jagged indentations in the hard sandalwood.

"Father. Mother." His voice was a mere whisper, a ghost of a sound that dissolved into the night wind. Outside, the ode continued.

"Reyn of the Lei Clan, Elder of the Xuanxiao Sect, a talent unsurpassed in a thousand years..."

"As long as the Xuanxiao Sect stands, the Lei Clan shall flourish for eternity..." Reyn shut the window, locking the song outside. He turned and walked to his desk, spreading out a sheet of rice paper and dipping his brush in ink. The tip hovered for a long moment before finally descending. It was not a word he wrote, but a drawing. In the ink, two blurred figures appeared—a man and a woman, holding hands, standing in a vast, white expanse of snow.

The man's head lay at his feet; the back of the woman's skull was smeared against a stone pillar. Their faces were unrecognizable, ruined by blood, yet they both wore smiles, as if trapped in a dream from which they would never wake. Reyn stared at the drawing for a long time. His face remained a mask of stone. But a single drop of ink slid from the tip of his brush, soaking into the paper and blooming into a dark, jagged stain—like a tear that could never be shed.