74 Chapter 174 – The Price of Defiance
“Please, Tristin. Your brother is in real danger. Chief Vance’s voice sounded desperate as he trailed behind the imposing figure of Tristin Thornton.
I could hear them coming down the cemetery path toward where I was keeping Miles. My body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. The dark energy I’d absorbed was fighting violently with my golden qi, two opposing forces refusing to coexist within my dantian.
“Control yourself, William.” Tristin’s voice dripped with contempt. “This Liam Knight is nobody. Just some upstart who needs to be taught the consequences of provoking the Thornton family.”
I gritted my teeth against another wave of agony. Every cell in my body felt like it was being simultaneously frozen and burned. Sweat poured down my face as I struggled to regulate my breathing.
Miles whimpered from where he was still tied up. “Is that my brother? Tristin! I’m over here!”
“Shut up,” I hissed, though the effort cost me. My vision blurred as another conflicting energies clashed within me.
1surge of
I needed more time. The ancient texts warned about this–how merging opposing energies could either kill the cultivator or elevate them to unprecedented heights. I was walking a knife’s edge between destruction and transformation.
“Please listen,” Chief Vance continued, his voice closer now. “This man isn’t just some random troublemaker. He’s dangerous-”
“Enough!” Tristin snapped. “I don’t need advice from someone who couldn’t even protect a Thornton in the first place. Your incompetence is noted, William. Now stand aside and let me handle this my way.”
I focused inward, trying to create a boundary between the warring energies. If I could just stabilize them long enough to reach equilibrium…
The pain intensified. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, refusing to scream. My meridians felt like they were being shredded from within. This was worse than I’d anticipated-
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much worse.
But I couldn’t stop now. I needed this power. Without resources, without backing, this dangerous path was my only option to advance quickly enough to protect what was
mine.
I heard footsteps approaching, then stopping several yards away.
“Is that him?” Tristin’s voice was cold, calculating. “Pathetic. Looks like he’s having some kind of seizure.”
I couldn’t respond. My consciousness was split between the external world and the battlefield within my body. Through slitted eyes, I could make out Tristin’s tall figure, flanked by several men in dark suits.
“Tristin! Help me!” Miles cried out.
I saw Tristin glance at his brother with undisguised contempt. “Be quiet, Miles. Your weakness embarrasses our family yet again.”
Throughout the night, I battled the chaotic energies inside me. Every hour felt like an eternity of torture. The moon crossed the sky, and still I fought,.refusing to surrender to the darkness or let my golden qi be extinguished.
Something shifted in the predawn hours–the energies stopped fighting and began a tentative dance around each other, like wary predators respecting each other’s territory. The pain didn’t disappear, but it became manageable.
I sensed a change–a strengthening of my mental walls. My spirit felt more resilient, as though tempered by the crucible of suffering I’d endured. I was close to a breakthrough, teetering on the edge of advancement.
As the first light of dawn broke over the cemetery, I finally managed to sit up. My clothes were soaked with sweat, my body trembling with exhaustion, but I felt different. Stronger. More aware.
Tristin Thornton was sitting on a stone bench nearby, watching me with cold, calculating eyes. Two bodyguards stood at attention behind him.
“Finally decided to rejoin us, did you?” he said, his voice mocking. “I must admit, your performance was quite entertaining. What exactly were you trying to accomplish with all that writhing around?”
174 Chapter 174 – The Price of Defiance
I ignored his question, assessing my condition. The dark energy and my golden qi had reached an uneasy truce, circulating separately but in parallel within my dantian. I could feel both energies at my disposal now, though controlling them would take practice.
“Where’s Chief Vance?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
Tristin waved dismissively. “I sent him away. This is a family matter now.”
I rose to my feet slowly, steadying myself against a nearby headstone. Miles was still tied up, looking even more disheveled after a night of captivity. The fear in his eyes
had hardened into hatred.
“I made my demands clear,” I said, facing Tristin directly. “Three Purple Heart herbs, two Golden Essence roots, and a vial of Nine–Petal extract. Have you brought them?”
Tristin laughed, the sound echoing among the tombstones. “You really are delusional. The Thornton family doesn’t negotiate with kidnappers.”
I took a step toward Miles, who cringed away as far as his bonds would allow. “Then why are you here?”
“To see who had the audacity to touch my brother.” Tristin’s eyes narrowed as he assessed me. “And to ensure you understand the consequences.”
“I understand consequences perfectly,” I replied, keeping my voice level despite the fatigue weighing on me. “Miles will face them if you don’t produce the herbs I need.”
Tristin adjusted his cufflinks, seemingly unconcerned. “Empty threats. If you were going to kill him, you’d have done so already.”
I reached Miles and placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at my touch. “On your knees,” I commanded.
“W–what?” Miles stammered.
“I said, on your knees.”
When he hesitated, I applied pressure to a nerve point in his shoulder. He cried out in pain and dropped to his knees.
Tristin watched with mild interest, as if observing an unusual but ultimately inconsequential insect. “Impressive. You know some pressure points. Is that supposed
174 Chapter 174 – The Price of Defiance
to frighten me?”
“Your brother insulted me publicly,” I said, keeping my hand on Miles’s shoulder. “He thought his family name made him untouchable. I’m simply correcting that
misunderstanding.”
“By kidnapping him and demanding herbs? What exactly is your endgame here, Mr. Knight?”
“The herbs. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Tristin sighed dramatically. “Those herbs are rare and expensive. The Thornton family doesn’t hand over valuable resources to every upstart who makes demands.”
“I don’t care about your family’s resources or reputation,” I replied. “I need those herbs, and Miles is my leverage.”
Tristin looked at his brother with unmistakable disdain. “You overestimate his value. Miles has always been the family disappointment.”
Miles looked up at his brother, shock clear on his face. “Tristin! How can you say that?”
“Because it’s true,” Tristin replied coldly. “Father sent me to clean up your mess, not because he values you, but because he can’t stand the embarrassment of a Thornton being manhandled in public.”
I watched this family drama with detachment. The dynamics were familiar–the stronger sibling dominating the weaker, the currency of respect built entirely on power. It reminded me of my own position in the Sterling family before everything changed.
“Last chance,” I said, interrupting their family moment. “The herbs, or Miles suffers.”
Tristin’s lip curled in a sneer. “You’re bluffing. You went through all this trouble to kidnap him. You won’t kill your only leverage.”
I met his gaze steadily. “Who said anything about killing him? There are many degrees of suffering between life and death.”
To demonstrate my point, I gripped Miles’s right knee and sent a surge of my newly stabilized energy directly into the joint. There was a sickening crack as the kneecap shattered.
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Miles’s scream echoed through the cemetery, a sound of pure agony that sent birds flying from nearby trees. He collapsed sideways, clutching at his destroyed knee as tears streamed down his face.
Tristin’s composure finally cracked. His eyes widened, and his bodyguards tensed, hands moving toward concealed weapons.
“You-” Tristin began, voice tight with shock.
“I don’t bluff,” I cut him off, standing over Miles’s writhing form. “The herbs within three hours, or I start breaking something else. And if I still don’t get what I want after that?” I met Tristin’s eyes. “Without the herbs, I’ll kill him.”
Tristin stared at me, finally seeing what Chief Vance had tried to warn him about. I wasn’t some common thug to be intimidated by family names or threats of retribution. I was a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The cemetery fell silent except for Miles’s sobbing. The sun had fully risen now, casting long shadows among the graves. In the distance, a church bell tolled, marking
the hour.
“You’ve just signed your own death warrant,” Tristin said quietly, his face a mask of cold fury.
I met his gaze without flinching. “The herbs, Tristin. Three hours.”
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