Chapter Five: Formidable Skills

"Since they've confessed of their own accord and haven't acted on their intentions, it's better for us to show some magnanimity and not resort to force. So Emperor Qin only imposed a symbolic punishment," Zhou Yi explained. "As for the Master of the Grand Heavens Sect, fearing future retribution, he earnestly requested a marriage alliance with our royal family."

"Though the Grand Heavens Sect is a formidable ally, they once harbored thoughts of rebellion. Our Zhou family's collateral branches truly dare not form such an alliance, fearing they might lose their heads over this matter someday..."

Zhou Yi paused before continuing, "The only ones who can risk marrying into their family are the direct imperial line. Yet, none of our elder or younger royal brothers have unmarried sons—the prospective bride is, after all, the Sect Master's personal disciple, a status not to be taken lightly. To marry her off to someone already engaged would be a disgrace; she might as well rebel outright."

"As for my royal brother's son, his situation is too complex for a marriage alliance, so the task falls to you." Afraid Zhou Tian might grow rebellious, Zhou Yi hastened to explain, "However, my royal brother sought my opinion on this. Only after I agreed was the betrothal decreed. I have met the girl—she's beautiful and not a scheming sort. You're not getting a bad deal here."

Sought your opinion...? Did anyone seek mine? Zhou Tian glanced helplessly at Zhou Yi. These people were still mired in feudal notions: parental orders, matchmakers' words.

Still, at least she's pretty, he thought, so he held his tongue.

"Why is she staying here, then? It's only an engagement, right? Surely the marriage won't happen so soon?" Zhou Tian asked. From Zhou Yi's earlier words, it sounded as though her lodgings had already been arranged—she seemed set to stay for some time.

"Indeed. Who knows what the Grand Heavens Sect Master is thinking? Not long ago, he was prideful as the sky; now he's so cautious, afraid we'll use him as an example. Sending Tianling here seems to signal his loyalty and also serves as a hostage. The Sect Master has no children; he raised Tianling from childhood, treating her like his own daughter."

"I see," Zhou Tian nodded, then suddenly remembered that his cheat—the golden finger—should have arrived. He pressed a hand to his forehead and said, "I'm suddenly a bit tired. I'd like to rest for a while."

"Are you feeling unwell?" Zhou Yi frowned in concern. Why was Zhou Tian suddenly sleepy?

"It's nothing," Zhou Tian shook his head.

"Just a bit tired." Zhou Yi gave him a searching look, a faint golden gleam flickering in his eyes. Zhou Tian felt a cold chill, as if he stood naked, but he bore no visible injuries, so Zhou Yi relaxed and nodded. "Rest, then. I'll take my leave."

With that, he opened the door and stepped out. Uncle Zhou was already waiting outside. Seeing Zhou Yi emerge, he stepped forward, a black rune flashing in his hand to envelop the area. Once he was sure their conversation could not be overheard, he spoke in a low voice:

"Master, I've inquired. The Young Master's soul flame was extinguished for a moment some time ago!"

"Are you certain?" Zhou Yi's brow furrowed, his aura fluctuating.

"Old Zhan said so," Uncle Zhou replied, giving only a name.

"Then it's certain," Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed, and a boundless sea of blood churned behind him, countless wailing souls writhing within, bloody dragons raising monstrous waves.

"It seems some people can no longer restrain themselves!" Despite the bloodthirsty aura raging so close, Uncle Zhou stood as unshakable as a boulder in the sea, utterly unaffected. He continued, "Moreover, word from the palace is, the Young Master's Dragon Fortune was eroded for a period—matching precisely the time when his soul flame went out."

"What on earth happened to Tian'er? The extinguishing of the soul flame should mean death. Yet why did it reignite? Even if someone took over the body, at most the body would revive, but the soul flame cannot be rekindled. Only a soul of the same origin can do that." Zhou Yi's frown deepened.

"Old Zhan said perhaps it is the Young Master's own stroke of fate," Uncle Zhou replied, bowing low, his voice aged and hoarse.

Zhou Yi was silent for a moment. He glanced back at Zhou Tian's room, his brow gradually smoothing, his aura calming, and he murmured, "A stroke of fate... is it?"

Inside the room—

As soon as Zhou Yi left, Zhou Tian eagerly pondered how to activate the Immortality System he'd just acquired. The instant the name crossed his mind, a purple square appeared before his eyes—it was the Immortality System. He had already glanced over its general layout, but now he carefully examined it again and found a yellow question-mark button in the top right corner.

He reached out to tap it, but nothing happened. Bemused for a moment, Zhou Tian chuckled, "This isn't a projection—tapping with my finger won't work."

Staring at the button, he imagined pressing it, and sure enough, another purple interface popped up, densely packed with fine print.

"Immortality System..."

"Final interpretation rights reserved by the Immortality System."

He skimmed the last line, exhaling in relief. The text was as lengthy as a software installation agreement—full of legalese and nonsense—but fearing he might miss something important, Zhou Tian dutifully read every word.

His face lit up with excitement, and he murmured, "If what's written here is true, then I finally have a foothold, a way to survive in this world."

The greatest function of the Immortality System was, simply, to render him unkillable. This didn't mean he couldn't be harmed, but that upon death, he would revive, with every death adding to a tally. With each level gained from accumulated deaths, he would earn a skill point to learn new abilities.

Skills formed the core of the system. According to the manual, each skill within the system possessed uncanny, supernatural power.

He shifted his attention to the main interface, found the [Skills] section, and entered. A purple window popped up, resembling a game skill tree—though arranged in a sequence, three columns per row, and who knew how many rows in total. The lower ones were all locked, neither visible nor scrollable; only the top three skills glowed.

With mounting excitement, Zhou Tian clicked the first skill.

[Crippling Fist: Ignores level differences; directly reduces an enemy's health status by 10%. Must strike the enemy's flesh directly with your fist. Cannot be used on the same target twice in one day. (Daily uses: 1; linked to death count.)]

"Holy shit, that's powerful!" Zhou Tian blurted out instinctively. Wasn't this overpowered? Right from the start, a top-tier skill—ignoring levels, directly shaving off 10% of an enemy's health. Ridiculously strong!

Percentage-based damage skills were always the most formidable.

He nearly tapped the plus sign to learn it immediately, but reined himself in just in time. As strong as this skill was, it could only be used once per day, required direct physical contact, and merely crippled, not killed. As a mere mortal, even if he crippled someone, it wouldn't amount to much.