The sun had barely climbed above the misty mountain peaks when word reached the Council Hall — an envoy from the Zhao Clan had arrived at the gates.
Li Tian sat alone on the Patriarch's old seat — the high wooden chair carved with dragons, now occupied by a young master who no longer bowed. Around him, the Council elders stood in a hush, still shaken by the blood he'd spilt at dawn.
Xiao Chen knelt at Li Tian's side, eyes darting to the iron doors that guarded the courtyard. Beyond them, the Zhao Clan's colours snapped in the breeze — white silk embroidered with twin golden serpents.
Li Tian tapped his fingers once on the chair's armrest. His eyes, sharp and cold, flicked over the trembling Council.
So they come for my head already.Let them come.
The System's voice coiled through his mind like a patient snake.
[New Villain Mission: Deal with the Zhao Envoy.]Options: Crush him openly (Fear +5%) or Use him as bait (Influence +5%)
Li Tian's mouth curved into a small, cold smile.
"Send him in," he ordered.
The doors opened with a groan of ancient hinges. The Zhao Envoy entered — a tall man clad in flowing white robes, a jade pendant at his throat flashing in the morning light. His hair was bound high, his steps calm, his eyes cold as he looked down at the kneeling guards and the stunned elders.
He did not bow.
Instead, he strode straight to the foot of Li Tian's dais, lifted his chin, and announced loudly enough for every elder to hear:
"Li Tian, so-called Young Master of the rotting Li Clan. I come bearing a message from Lord Zhao Yun of the Zhao Clan."
Li Tian leaned back in the chair, head tilting just slightly. He gestured with two fingers.
"Speak."
The envoy's lips twisted into a mocking smile.
"Lord Zhao Yun demands you step down from your false claim to the Li Clan's seat. Hand over your father's remaining scrolls — and present yourself at Zhao Manor to explain Elder Shen's 'unfortunate accident.' If you do this willingly, Lord Zhao may spare you a painless death."
The chamber fell so silent that Xiao Chen could hear the rain dripping from the eaves outside. One of the older Council elders shifted, but Li Tian's icy stare pinned him where he stood.
Li Tian's laugh broke the silence — soft at first, then sharp enough to draw a flinch from the envoy.
"'Painless death?'" Li Tian repeated, voice low. "He offers me mercy — for spilling my own blood on my own soil?"
The envoy's smile didn't reach his eyes. "It's a kindness. Your father knew when to bend his knee. Do the same — or watch your clan burn."
He glanced at the elders. A few averted their gaze, the stench of fear rising in the shadows of the hall.
Li Tian's fingers drummed once more on the chair's carved armrest. He could feel the System's whisper at the back of his mind.
He rose from the dragon chair, each step echoing on the cold marble as he descended the dais. He stopped when he stood a hand's breadth away from the envoy — close enough to see the man's pupils flicker.
Li Tian's voice dropped to a silk-smooth whisper only the envoy could hear.
"Does your master think me my father?"
The envoy tensed but didn't answer. His silence spoke enough.
Li Tian's hand snapped up, seizing the envoy by the throat so quickly that a startled gasp escaped the man's lips. Around them, guards drew blades — but no one dared step forward.
"You come here," Li Tian murmured, eyes glittering like a drawn blade. "You dare bark demands — in my hall?"
His thumb pressed harder. The envoy's face flushed red. A thin pulse of spiritual force hummed from Li Tian's palm, burning a mark into the envoy's skin just below the jawline — a small, black sigil, like a coiling serpent devouring its own tail.
The envoy's eyes widened in horror as he realized it was a tracking seal — a brand.
Li Tian leaned in, his voice a blade against flesh.
"Go back to your master. Tell him this clan kneels to no snake. Tell him the next one he sends will not walk back out alive."
He released him. The envoy collapsed to his knees, gasping, clutching his throat where the mark glowed faintly in the cold light.
"Get him out of my sight," Li Tian said to the guards. "Let him crawl home with my message."
Xiao Chen stepped forward to drag the envoy's retainers away — no one dared speak. The iron doors slammed shut behind the Zhao men as they stumbled into the courtyard, humiliated and marked.
Silence returned to the Council Hall. The elders stared at Li Tian like they were seeing a specter rise from the ashes of an old, dying house.
The System's voice purred in Li Tian's mind — pleased, almost warm.
[Villain Mission Complete: Zhao Envoy Dealt With.][Influence +5% | Villain Points +2000][New Unlock: Dark Sect Contact Available]
Li Tian turned back to his father's high seat. As he climbed the dais once more, the weight of old ghosts slipped from his shoulders like rotten silk.
He sat, eyes flicking toward the mountains beyond the shuttered windows — the peaks where the Zhao Clan's banners would soon gather.
Let them come, he thought. Let the snakes hiss and coil. I have claws now.