A few hours ago, in the main hall of the Clive Family's grand mansion, a young boy was kneeling on the floor before a middle-aged man with a stocky build and a stern bearing.
Another tall and brawny youngster around twenty years old stood on the side with a frown on his face.
The young man kneeling on the floor was none other than Cedric Clive, and half of his face was so swollen that even his own mother couldn't recognize him for a few moments right after he came back home.
Cedric's countenance was pale, and his chin was trembling, feeling the oppressive pressure from his father, Herwin Clive, the Senior Supreme General of the Xeton Empire.
"Cedric Clive, do you understand how much of a disgrace you are to this family?" Herwin Clive said in a sardonic tone.
Saliva dripped from his mouth as he opened his mouth with an unnerved expression, "Y-Yes, father. I-I am a disgrace and disappointment to this family. I am sorry...please...forgive me!" Cedric Clive wilfully begged as he tried to touch his father's feet.
*SMACK!*
"Ahhhhh!!!"
A crisp sound of whipping and bones distinctively fracturing echoed in the hall as Herwin Clive kicked Cedric Clive's face harshly.
*Bang!*
Letting out a scream of agony, Cedric Clive crashed against the walls of the hall with a huge bang and fell on the cold floor.
"Hmph, you dare to call me father and beg before me like a dog? Who do you think you are to deserve my forgiveness? Especially after besmirching my reputation and this family's."
Roy Clive quickly rushed towards his younger brother as he made sure he was alright.
Roy Clive said with knitted brows, "Father, this was unnecessary. He already apologized. It was not his fault. It was all that brat called Damien's fault."
"More the reason he deserved it! How could he let a weakling from the lowly Rong Empire let him thrash around like a pig? Who knows what people think after seeing one of the young masters from our family get humiliated in front of the public. How can I even show my face before my superiors? Is your brain made of mud to publicly beat up a disgusting Zirian? If you at least had the basic common sense to do these kinds of things in the dark, I would have at least acknowledged that you were fit enough to be my son." Herwin Clive said in a severe tone.
Cedric Clive could barely hear his father's words as his jaw had been fractured and blood was leaking from his mouth and nose.
"Cedric, my son!!!" A woman in her thirties rushed inside with a panic-struck expression upon seeing her son lying on the floor with his face bleeding profusely.
She crouched near him and quickly took out a healing pill.
"Don't you dare feed him anything!" Herwin Clive fiercely bellowed as he pointed his finger at Ira Clive, mother of Cedric Clive.
"My Lord, please let me heal him. He is just a young boy and made an innocent mistake. I will take responsibility for his actions and accept any punishment." Ira Clive wept as she prostrated before Herwin Clive.
Herwin Clive's eyes remained apathetic, "No one will take responsibility for his actions but himself. He will stay like that for this whole week and let the pain remind him of his stupidity. I wonder if I should do a blood test to see if he is truly my son." He said in a grim tone as his gaze pierced through her.
Ira Clive's expression became aghast as she said frantically, "My Lord, I would never! I swear on my life that he is of your blood."
"Tsk, get out, you stinking whore, and take your dumbass son with you. But if I know about you doing anything to heal him, then you two can forget having a peaceful life hereafter." Herwin Clive flicked his hand as a strong current of wind threw the mother and son duo outside the doors.
As the doors closed on their own, Roy Clive stepped forward and said, "Father, please forgive Cedric for his foolish mistake. He does not have much world experience."
Herwin Clive's expression softened as he looked at his son, "Roy, how long are you going to defend your half-brother? I know he's your favorite younger brother, and that's the reason that whore and her son are still here. But there's a limit to my patience. I know about the 'deeds' you discreetly do around the city and how no one talks about it. Can't you at least teach him how to be discreet like you during the time you spend with him? You are my only hope and the only one who has a chance to achieve something more than me. Anyway, who is this brat called Damien? How can a lowly dog from the Rong Empire dare to humiliate someone from our family?" Herwin Clive asked in a dark tone.
Roy Clive said with a serious expression, "Father, he is no ordinary dog. He possesses the Lightning seed, and the rumors say that his combat prowess is way higher than his measly Nascent Ethereal Realm cultivation."
Herwin Clive was so shocked by the first half of Roy Clive's sentence that he didn't even pay much attention to the rest, "What?? Does he have the extremely rare Lightning seed? How can someone from such a backward empire have such monstrous talent?"
Roy Clive glowered as he said, "And not only that, he somehow obtained the favor of Alchemist Azrael's personal disciple, Valentina."
His eyes flashed as he continued, "She is so extremely beautiful that people say that she should be at least as beautiful as our empire's mysterious princess or even more than her. She is also extremely talented with strange abilities like going invisible and using blood in her attacks. She is a freak in all, an exceptionally beautiful one at that."
"Hmph, seems like you have found your woman." Herwin Clive grinned meaningfully at him.
"Of course, father. I have only heard rumors of her beauty and ability, but they all must be true. Otherwise, people wouldn't have exaggerated like this. A woman like her is only fit to be my woman." Roy Clive said as he raised one of his brows.
Herwin Clive frowned as he said, "But didn't you just say that the small fry known as Damien somehow caught her eye? What are you going to do about him?"
"Hmph, don't worry, father. I heard that he used some underhanded ways to take advantage of her maiden heart. Once she meets me and sees the difference between a lion and a pig, she will understand whom to stick with. And as for him, father, you know me best." Roy Clive said with an evil grin.
——-
Two days passed, and the names Damien and Valentina had already spread throughout the Xeton Empire and even some parts of the other empires.
After all, it was the first time everyone heard of two extraordinary geniuses with shocking abilities and prowess. One could go invisible and use blood as attacks, while the other had the mythical Lightning seed and the ability to even defeat cultivators a whole realm above him.
Even though people found it hard to believe that a cultivator with a Lightning seed had emerged, they found it even harder to believe that the same boy could defeat ethereal practitioners a whole realm above him. They thought that people were simply exaggerating the rumors and didn't bother to give it much thought.
"Valentina, do you know whose birthday it is today?" Damien asked with a broad smile.
Valentina tilted her head and asked as her eyes twinkled, "It's your birthday?"
Damien chuckled, "Not only mine but yours as well. Today we both turn sixteen."
Valentina had a blinking expression, "Then I was also born on the same day as Big Brother Damien?"
"Yes, coincidentally, we were born on the same day. Your bone age seems to be the same as mine."
Valentina became elated upon hearing that they were born on the same day. She felt that their birthday was special, as if they were meant to be together.
She jumped on to Damien and gave him a cheery hug. Damien caught her and twirled her around as he gave a hearty laugh, "Hahaha, you are that happy it's your birthday?"
Valentina looked up at his face with a cheerful smile, "Not exactly. It's because we both were born on the same day."
"Then, let's celebrate our birthday after school." Damien had forgotten the last time he even cared to celebrate his birthday. But thinking about Valentina, he felt that it would be a good idea to let her have a good time.
"Mn." Valentina nodded with a gleeful smile.
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