The black luxury sedan glided through the bustling city streets, the neon lights of the metropolis reflecting off the polished windows. Inside, Yuan Wu leaned back against the leather seat, one hand propped under his chin, gazing out at the world with a cool, detached curiosity.
This was his first real look at the world outside the Academy walls. Structurally, it wasn't much different from the world of his previous life—towering skyscrapers, congested traffic, and the ceaseless hum of human civilization. Yet, beneath the surface of this steel and glass, he could sense the undercurrent of spiritual energy and the constant threat of the rifts. To maintain such a civilization in a world crawling with monsters was, in his mind, a feat of sheer stubbornness.
Twenty minutes later, the car turned into a sprawling private estate. The Fang Family manor was a monument to old-money elegance and new-world spiritual power.
As the car came to a halt, Yuan Wu saw them: the entire Fang clan was gathered at the front gates. Men in tailored suits, women in traditional silks, and wide-eyed younger disciples. They were all there for one reason—to see the legend. To see the UR.
When Yuan Wu stepped out of the vehicle, the air seemed to suck out of the plaza. His black combat suit, the stark white of his hair, and the mystery of his mask made him look less like a Spirit and more like an avatar of war.
"He's so cool!" a younger girl from the branch family whispered, her face flushing as she tried to snap a picture.
Yuan Wu met their gazes with a stare so cold it felt like a physical weight. Fang Yuqing, walking beside him, rolled her eyes. A week ago, she would have been just as starstruck, but after living with this "White-Haired Demon," she knew he was mostly just high-maintenance and perpetually bored.
The reception was lavish. The Fang family treated Yuan Wu like a visiting deity, offering him the finest teas and the most comfortable seats, nearly tripping over themselves to cater to his every whim.
The elders whispered frantically. The reports from the Academy had reached them: Soloed a Two-Star hidden phase. Executed a B-rank Level 70 assassin. To the Fang family, Yuan Wu wasn't a person; he was a golden ticket to the top of the Great Xia Federation's hierarchy. If they could cultivate him into a national-level strategic weapon, the family's status would be unshakable for a century.
In the grand hall, Yuan Wu sipped his tea with practiced indifference, ignoring the fawning cousins. Yuqing sat next to him, pouting. I'm the one who summoned him, she thought, yet they treat me like the help.
Her uncle, Fang Cheng—the current Head of the House—cleared his throat. He sat across from them, wearing a mask of paternal concern.
"Senior Yuan Wu," Fang Cheng began, his voice dripping with false warmth. "Welcome. Consider the Fang estate your home. Anything you require—materials, Spirit Stones, women, or influence—is yours for the asking."
Yuan Wu didn't even look up from his cup. "Unnecessary. You're noisy."
The room went quiet. Fang Cheng's smile twitched, but he maintained his composure. He turned his gaze toward Yuqing, his expression hardening.
"Yuqing, why was the family not notified the moment you contracted with Senior Yuan Wu?"
"I didn't feel like it," Yuqing replied, looking away.
"This is not a matter of your 'feelings'!" Fang Cheng snapped, his voice echoing in the hall. "Do you have any idea how many eyes are on a UR-rank? The Jiang family already came sniffing around today. If we hadn't held them off, you'd be dead. You are a child, Yuqing. You cannot protect something this valuable."
Yuqing bit her lip, her knuckles whitening as she gripped her skirt. She knew it. They didn't care about her safety; they cared about their "asset."
"Fortunately," Fang Cheng sighed, waving a dismissive hand, "you have served the family well by bringing him here. I will overlook your insolence. However, we must now think of the future. You will sever your contract with Senior Yuan Wu."
The hall became so still you could hear the heartbeat of the person next to you.
"Your spiritual pool is too shallow, Yuqing. You are holding him back. From today, Senior Yuan Wu will be partnered with Fang Wushuang."
A young man stepped forward. He wore the elite uniform of the Firmament Academy, one of the top three institutions in the country. His eyes, behind black-rimmed glasses, burned with an unhidden greed as he looked at Yuan Wu.
"Sister Yuqing," Wushuang said, his voice smooth and condescending. "I'll remember this debt for life. I'll give you my SR-rank Spirit in exchange, plus all the resources you need to reach Level 50. With my spiritual capacity and the backing of the Firmament Academy, I can lead the Fang family to the very top. Don't be selfish. Think of the big picture."
Yuqing stood up, her face pale but her eyes blazing. "No! He's my Spirit. I won't give him to anyone!"
Fang Cheng slammed his hand on the table. "Yuqing! Wushuang is the greatest genius our family has produced in decades. He is already at the Firmament Academy! You are just a freshman. You are a bottleneck for a UR-rank's potential!"
"I'll catch up!" she screamed. "Give me a year, and I'll skip grades to enter the top three colleges myself!"
"Your parents died to a World-Class Boss because they lacked the strength!" Fang Cheng roared. "I will not let this opportunity die with your stubbornness! You will break the contract, or I will consider you an enemy of the clan!"
"Then kill me!" Yuqing shouted back, her voice cracking. "Because that's the only way you're getting him!"
The air in the room suddenly turned freezing. It wasn't the temperature—it was the sensation of a blade being pressed against everyone's throat.
"Enough."
The word was quiet, but it carried the weight of a collapsing star. Yuan Wu slowly set his teacup down. Clink. The sound was like a thunderclap in the silence.
He reached up and pulled down the top half of his blindfold, revealing a single eye that glowed with a predatory, ghastly crimson. He scanned the room, his gaze lingering on Fang Wushuang for a split second before moving on with utter disdain.
"You've all made a very basic mistake," Yuan Wu said, his voice silky and dangerous. "The contract... isn't something you decide."
He looked at Fang Wushuang. "You? You're not enough."
Wushuang's face turned scarlet. "What? I have five times her spiritual capacity! I'm a prodigy at the Firmament—"
"Spiritual capacity?" Yuan Wu chuckled, a dark, mocking sound. "If I cared about the size of a battery, I would have chosen a power plant, not a brat like you. You don't even have the right to stand in my presence, let alone claim my loyalty."
He stood up. He didn't deploy his Kagune, but the killing intent radiating from him made the guards at the door stumble back in fear. He walked over to Yuqing and stood behind her, his shadow swallowing her small frame.
"She is my Master," he said, his voice echoing through the rafters. "Not because she is the strongest. But because when I was rotting in the darkness, she was the only one who reached in."
He tilted his head, his red eye locking onto Fang Cheng. "As for the rest of you... you want me to change partners?"
A terrifying smile spread across his face.
"Fine. Try it."
He spread his arms slightly, the air behind him beginning to ripple with the phantom image of his blood-red tentacles.
"Let's see which one of you can survive long enough to take me away from her."
The silence was absolute. Fang Wushuang's knees shook; the elders looked at the floor, unable to meet that crimson gaze. In that moment, the truth was laid bare: Yuan Wu wasn't a "card" they owned. He was a disaster they were barely coexisting with. And Fang Yuqing was the only person holding the leash.
"Anyone who tries to sever our bond," Yuan Wu whispered, "is my enemy. And I don't leave enemies alive."
Yuqing looked up at him, her heart thumping. He hadn't just saved her life earlier; he was saving her soul now.
"Let's go, Master," Yuan Wu said, his tone softening just a fraction. "This place smells like desperation. It's making me lose my appetite."
As they walked out of the hall, leaving the "geniuses" and "leaders" of the Fang family in a state of shattered pride, Yuqing realized she was no longer afraid of her family. Why should she be, when she walked in the shadow of a god?
The atmosphere in the grand hall was no longer just tense; it was suffocating. Yuan Wu's words, though delivered with a casual, almost bored indifference, carried the weight of an executioner's axe hovering over their necks. The spiritual pressure radiating from him didn't just dampen the air—it seemed to rewrite the very gravity of the room, making it difficult for the Fang family members to even keep their heads upright.
For a long minute, the only sound was the distant ticking of a grandfather clock and the ragged breathing of Fang Wushuang, whose face was a patchwork of humiliation and suppressed terror. The "prodigy" of the Firmament Academy looked like a frightened child compared to the silent, white-haired demon standing protectively behind Yuqing.
Finally, Fang Cheng broke the silence. The patriarch of the Fang family let out a long, shaky breath, the fire of his earlier ambition extinguished by the cold reality of Yuan Wu's killing intent. His shoulders slumped, and the sharp, commanding aura he usually carried seemed to wither.
"Since... since Senior Yuan Wu has spoken so clearly," Fang Cheng began, his voice raspy and devoid of its former steel, "then it shall be so. We will respect the bond."
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