Han Wei… is dead.

“You moron! What have you done!” Killing intent radiated from him like heat from a forge.

Ethan casually shrugged his shoulders, appearing utterly unconcerned. “I’ve delivered justice. Twenty-six lives for one seems like a fair exchange.”

Feng’s back started sweating. With Han Wei dead, General Han would execute everyone in the summer pavilion. No excuses, no mercy.

“You bastard. Do you know what you’ve done?!” His voice cracked with desperation. “You just signed your death sentence!”

Ethan smiled, stretching his neck as if preparing for light exercise rather than battle. “Seems like everyone keeps telling me that today. Yet here I stand.”

Feng’s composure cracked. With a guttural roar, he thrust both hands forward, water materializing from thin air to form razor-sharp blades that sliced toward Ethan from multiple angles.

Ethan didn’t even bother dodging. His Protective Shield flared briefly. The shield took a lot of damage but eventually broke under the pressure. Ethan then swung his sword to disperse the water blades.

“My turn,” he said, flicking his wrist casually.

Fire erupted from his fingertips, not a clumsy ball but a concentrated jet that pierced through Feng’s hastily erected water barrier. The guard captain barely twisted aside, the flame scorching his shoulder instead of his chest.

“Fire talent?” Feng gasped, eyes widening.

Feng attacked again, this time summoning a tsunami-like wave that filled the entire room. Water crashed toward Ethan with enough force to shatter bone.

Ethan activated Enhanced Speed, becoming a blur as he darted straight through the wave. His Iron-enhanced fist connected with Feng’s sternum before the guard captain even registered his movement.

The blow sent Feng crashing through the paper wall behind him, landing in a crumpled heap in the adjacent room.

“How…” Feng coughed, blood speckling his lips as he struggled to his feet. “Your speed… your strength…”

Ethan strolled through the hole in the wall, hands clasped behind his back like a teacher disappointed with a struggling student

Feng spat blood, gathering water around his fists to form liquid blades. “I’ll kill you!”

He charged, water blades slashing in complex patterns designed to cut from multiple angles simultaneously. It was the Water Strike skill that he had cultivated till the Novice proficiency, and with it, he had killed dozens of opponents before.

Ethan sighed, activating three talents at once.

Enhanced Speed let him weave between slashes that should have been unavoidable. Iron Enhancement hardened his skin against the few cuts that connected. Fire Talent superheated the air around him, evaporating Feng’s water weapons on contact.

The guard captain stumbled backwards, true fear replacing anger in his eyes.

“Just how many talents do you have?!” he shouted, desperation evident in every syllable. “You! What are you?”

Ethan tilted his head, a predatory smile spreading across his face. “Me? I’m me.”

He closed the distance in a heartbeat, iron-enhanced hand closing around Feng’s throat.

Feng clawed desperately at the unbreakable grip, feeling his windpipe compress under relentless pressure. “W-Wait!” he gasped, eyes bulging with panic.

“General Han will come for you,” he wheezed through the constriction. “He had reached the low-silver rank. Despite your multiple talents and strength, you won’t be able to survive.” Desperation gave his words a frantic edge. “You need teammates, someone who can help you. I will do that.”

Ethan scoffed, his expression one of amused contempt. “Teammates? With you?”

Feng immediately realized his mistake. “N-No! I meant subordinate!”

A cold smirk spread across Ethan’s face. “You are not fit.”

His hand tightened with precise, mechanical force. The sound of cartilage and bone giving way echoed in the ruined room, a wet crunch that ended Feng’s desperate bargaining.

The guard captain’s eyes bulged, hands clawing at his crushed windpipe as he collapsed to his knees. No air could pass through the mangled flesh.

Ethan watched dispassionately as Feng’s existence ceased altogether. The High-Bronze awakener slumped to the floor, eyes still open in his final desperate plea.

<Human: Feng>

<Rank: High-Bronze>

<Water Talent: E>

<Skills: Basic Footwork (Apprentice), Basic Water Strike (Novice)>

Ethan knelt beside the corpse, placing his palm against Feng’s still-warm forehead.

‘Devour.’

Power flowed into him. He felt his Water talent strengthen, though not enough to evolve to the next rank.

<+7 Vitality>

His agility had improved significantly from the day’s harvests, pushing him closer to the threshold for Peak-Bronze.

<Human: Ethan Brandon>

<Rank: High-Bronze>

<Talents: Enhanced Speed (E-), Protective Shield (F), Iron Enhancement (E-), Accuracy Enhancement (F+), Regeneration (F+), Dagger Wield (F-), Water (F), Wind (F), Fire (F+), Mental Enhancement(F)>

<Transformations: Shadowfang Wolf(Peak-Iron), Razorback Boar(Mid-Bronze), Black Beetle(Mid-Bronze), Brown Bear (Mid-Bronze)>

<Level 3>

<Health Points:1050>

<Mana Points: 740>

<Strength: 113> <Agility: 116 > <Intelligence: 74> <Vitality:105>

<Free Attributes: 10>

<Skills: Basic Footwork (Novice – 15%)>

…

A few minutes later, Ethan walked calmly from the burning summer pavilion. Behind him, flames licked at the walls and furniture, consuming decades of Han family wealth and privilege.

Inside the pavilion, panic spread like the fire itself.

“There’s fire! Hurry up, we need to stop it!” A guard shouted, frantically organising a bucket line. “Where is Captain Feng? Where are the Water Mages!”

The question went unanswered as servants and guards struggled in vain against the supernaturally spreading flames.

…

Ethan moved through the Second District.

The research district lay just ahead, Tiana’s apartment building visible in the afternoon light.

Before he could reach the entrance, movement caught his enhanced senses. Two figures sitting at a nearby teahouse suddenly straightened, their attention fixing on him as if recognising him.

Ethan didn’t slow or attempt concealment. After the day’s events, he welcomed confrontation. Han Wei had clearly stationed watchers near Tiana’s residence in case he appeared.

The two men exchanged hurried whispers. One casually reached into his robe, extracting a small crystal

Ethan smiled at the obvious act of informing. They were clearly amateurs that the Han had hired to watch the area.

His Enhanced Speed talent activated, the world slowing around him as he crossed the distance in two heartbeats.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep