Chapter 52: Time To Return Home
Chapter 54
Liyu didn’t keep his system waiting for long; he quickly told the system about the plans he had come up with a few minutes ago.
There were three plans in total, and each one carried a certain level of risk attached to it. The system listened carefully to all three plans. After several moments of silence, its monotone voice finally rang out in Liyu’s mind.
"Host, your plans are, for once, quite splendid, but you aren’t fully considering the risks that come with each of them." The system paused briefly before continuing, "For example, your first plan."
The first plan was simple in practice. Liyu would return to the Li Clan as he normally should; then, after some time had passed and everyone had settled back into their routines, he would quietly sneak into the clan vault without attracting attention.
Once inside, he would steal everything... cultivation techniques, pills, treasures, spirit stones, and resources. Anything and everything that the clan possessed; every valuable item would disappear into his system storage space.
He would leave the clan treasury so empty that even mice would cry after entering it. Then, when the clan eventually discovered the theft, they would launch an investigation.
Liyu was more than certain they would eventually find out it was him; in fact, he wanted them to find out... that was part of the plan. Once he was caught, he would be officially expelled from the Li Clan.
After that, he would finally gain the freedom to leave and begin his cultivation journey while using the clan treasury as the stepping stone toward greatness.
The plan sounded good; it might even work. Unfortunately, it had one fatal flaw: the reaction of the Li Clan. One had to know that Liyu already possessed a massive number of haters within the clan.
The reason was simple: half of the Li Clan’s vast treasury had already been exhausted in an attempt to heal his broken spirit root. And yet it had all failed. The elders were furious, the clan members were furious, and even the servants and maids were furious.
One could easily tell how much resentment they held just from the way they treated him.
Now imagine that same Liyu... the person many blamed for causing the Li Clan to fall from being the strongest clan in the entire Night Region to the weakest among the three ruling clans... being discovered as the thief who had stolen the remaining half of the treasury.
The moment that happened, the entire clan would want him dead. Every single one of them. Even if Li Yuexin and Li Han tried to protect him, there was only so much they could do. He would not escape unscathed; he might not even escape alive.
After all, nearly every elder within the clan would be hunting him down. Even the all-powerful Clan Lord might not be enough to guarantee his survival. Liyu listened to the system’s words with an unchanged expression.
He had already considered that possibility. Heck, everyone in the clan, with the exception of Li Yuexin and the Clan Lord himself, would probably want him dead once that happened.
The only way to avoid that outcome would be to become strong enough to protect himself, and if he became that strong... then he wouldn’t even need to follow through with the first plan.
After all, if he reached the Silver Core Realm or perhaps even the Golden Core Realm, nobody within the Night Region would dare oppose him. So, in short... the first plan was simply too risky.
Seeing that Liyu understood, the system moved on to the second plan. This plan was still practical and carried far less risk, although the system wasn’t entirely convinced that Liyu would actually be capable of carrying it out.
The second plan was simple: never return to the Li Clan. Instead, he could leave the four of them behind and take his own path, leaving the Night Region entirely. Simple, clean, effective. Unfortunately, the problem with this plan was also obvious. If nobody else continued chasing after him... Li Yuexin certainly would.
The fact that she had entered a death zone for his sake already said more than enough. She would go as far as necessary to bring him back. "That sounds exactly like a yandere," Liyu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I think I already found one." Who would’ve guessed that he would encounter a yandere this early into his cultivation journey? Liyu could, of course, forcefully reject her. He could tell her once and for all that he wasn’t the original Liyu. He could make it absolutely clear that they should all leave him alone.
Yet something told him she wouldn’t stop... at least not until he personally killed her. The moment that thought crossed his mind, however, Liyu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest; it felt as though someone had stabbed him directly in the heart.
"Shit," Liyu rubbed his chest. "I can’t even think about hurting her. My own heart starts attacking me first." He cursed under his breath before rubbing his face in annoyance.
What kind of nonsense was this? Not that he intended to kill her anyway; at least... he hoped it would never come to that. The system continued speaking: "You probably won’t be able to carry out the second plan.
At least not until you completely kill the feelings you have for her." Liyu knew the system was right; still, he couldn’t help but feel wronged. Why should he be forced to carry the emotions of another person? It simply wasn’t fair.
The system then moved on to the final plan. "As for the third plan..." its tone became noticeably more approving, "I believe this is probably the most viable option." The third plan was straightforward: return to the Li Clan, but not as the failure who left.
Return as a legend. His spirit root had been restored... not only restored, but evolved. It had directly reached the highest possible rank: a Divine Grade Spirit Root.
Now, not only was he monstrously talented, but his cultivation speed and future potential had also become something ordinary cultivators could never dream of matching. If he returned and revealed his talent to the clan, everything would change.
The same people who once mocked him would praise him; the same elders who once looked down on him would try to recruit him; the same clan members who once scorned him would suddenly begin calling him a genius.
He would quickly earn the recognition, admiration, and support of the entire clan. He would be treated the same way top geniuses like Li Yuexin and Li Feng were treated... perhaps even better.
Then, after gaining enough strength and enough influence, he could leave the clan on his own terms. No stealing, no running away, no life-threatening manhunts... just a peaceful departure in search of greater opportunities beyond the Night Region.
Compared to the first two plans, it was undoubtedly the safest and most reasonable choice. Of course... the problem was that Liyu had never been particularly known for choosing the safest or most reasonable option.
In hindsight, the third plan seemed like it would require him to stay in one place and cultivate for quite a while. Who knew how long that would take? Well, that would be the case if the one doing the cultivating wasn’t Liyu.
Not only was his cultivation talent at an insane level, but it was further boosted by Devouring Debt, which came with a rather fatal side effect. Even now, Liyu could feel the accursed title constantly sucking away his energy at an alarming rate.
At least, it would have been alarming for an ordinary cultivator unlucky enough to possess such a title; however, Liyu’s reserves of energy were vast, and because of that, he could endure and survive.
With Devouring Debt, his cultivation speed increased even further, and that was only at the most basic level.
His true ace was still his clones; once he amassed a large number of clones and had them cultivate alongside him, his cultivation speed would multiply even further.
By the time he realized it, realms that took ordinary cultivators years to break through would be crossed by him in a matter of days or perhaps even hours. Liyu grinned; he couldn’t wait for that day to arrive.
Still, it would take time for him to gather enough clones, and he wasn’t sure whether he could keep himself restrained for that long within the small Li Clan.
Liyu contemplated for only a few minutes before arriving at a conclusion: he would follow the third plan. He would return to the Li Clan.
After all, he had promised a certain someone that he would return, and Liyu never went back on his word. That was simply his way. "I think the third plan it is then."
Thinking about the fact that he would be returning to the Li Clan, Liyu couldn’t help but feel a slight rage swell within his chest.
He had inherited all of the original Liyu’s memories and emotions: all the hateful words, the bullying, the disappointment, the humiliation, and the countless moments that had pushed the original owner of this body closer and closer to the edge.
He would set all those wrongs right. He would get his revenge... his sweet revenge .
Those elders who had looked down on him and treated him like a burden wouldn’t even be able to meet his eyes when he revealed just how monstrously talented he was compared to all of their children and disciples.
Those who had used countless methods to extort him would lose everything they had taken, and those bullies who had used every opportunity they could find to torment him... well, he was going to teach them the most efficient way to break someone’s bones and make them scream in agony.
He would make them all scream in terror; he would make them tremble in fear. The old Liyu might not have been capable of even thinking such thoughts, but this Liyu was different; the current one was more than capable.
Liyu brought up his system panel.
Name: Liyu
Realm: Peak Body Refinement Stage
hysique: Primal Tyrant Physique (Grade: Divine, Current Rank: Intermediate)
Evolution Requirement: Kill 10,000 beasts or enemies that are at least four stages above your own within the same realm.
Bloodline: None
Affinity: None
Cultivation Technique: None
Artifact: Echo Fang (Grade: Basic, Current Level: 1, EXP Required to Level Up: 100/200)
Clones: 1
Clone Archive: Current Clone: King Rayden (Available Details Below)
Synchronization Skills:
1. Mind Swap — Level 1
2. Mind Connection — Level 1
3. Merge
4. Call
(The corresponding skill descriptions were listed beneath them.)
Following that tab was the inventory section.
Inventory: 1200 Beast Cores, Two Drops of Holy Cleansing Elixir, Mirror Beast.
Then came the shop section, below it was a description: "This shop contains anything that you might ever need. It is connected across countless realities and worlds. There is nothing you seek here that you cannot find. If it isn’t here, then it doesn’t exist."
Eyes: Origin Eyes
Combat Power: 21,000
Following that was the final tab.
Skills
1. Berserker (Rank: S)
Description: A dormant survival ability that activates only when the user is pushed to the brink of death. Once activated, the physique abandons all restraints and forcibly drags the body beyond its natural limits. All physical capabilities are amplified up to one hundred times beyond their normal output.
2. Momentum (Rank: S)
Description: Once activated, the host’s base speed is tripled. Duration: Five Minutes. While active, the host can instantly stop all momentum with a single thought regardless of travel speed. Cooldown: Thirty Minutes.
Liyu smiled as he read through his status; compared to the Liyu of a month ago, he was an entirely different person now... a true monster, an upcoming legend in the making. Liyu stood up as the moon slowly descended, making way for the rising sun.
The first rays of dawn began to paint the horizon. "You know what, System? I guess we’ll be returning to the Li Clan after all." He paused. "Don’t worry. There’ll be lots of fun waiting for us there." He grinned.
The System remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Hey Host... and what exactly is this fun you’re talking about?" Liyu’s grin widened.
"Have you ever heard of the act of face-slapping?" "Face-slapping?" the System repeated, clearly not understanding where he was going with this. "Yes. The supreme art of face-slapping." Liyu nodded calmly.
"Just keep it in mind. Soon enough we’re going to be slapping a lot of faces." His grin stretched wider; it promised no mercy... only greater madness to come. The System suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
At that exact moment, the rays of the morning sun pierced through the clouds, chasing away the darkness of the night and illuminating Liyu’s gleaming eyes. Finally, it was time for him to return home.
