Chapter Eight: Family Upheaval

Feeling the faint blue light flickering between his brows, Lei Yan’s heart surged like stormy seas. It was as if he had inadvertently encountered a dear friend lost for decades, filling him with indescribable joy.

In his previous life, whenever Lei Yan focused his mind, that same faint blue light would shimmer at his brow, enabling him to lock onto targets with exceptional precision. If he could do the same in this life, it would grant him another layer of protection.

With this thought, Lei Yan began to experiment, eager to verify whether this extraordinary ability had truly followed him into his new life. He concentrated, sensing the blue light at his brow, then tried to guide it outward toward a bookshelf about a meter away. Gradually, the image of the book he locked onto at the top shelf became clear in his mind, exactly as it had in his previous life. If he had a sniper rifle in his hands at this moment, a gentle squeeze of the trigger would once again guarantee a deadly shot.

Lei Yan repeated the experiment several times, discovering the sensation was exactly as before—except for one subtle difference. In his past life, he could use this power as many times as he wished in a day without it diminishing. In this life, however, after locking onto several targets at short range, the blue light faded away, leaving him unable to sense its presence.

He paused, then quickly realized the cause of the blue light’s disappearance. Sitting cross-legged, Lei Yan imagined his body as a vast “dantian,” focusing his mind on this inner reservoir. As the minutes ticked by, the faint blue light reappeared at his brow, swirling as if greedily absorbing energy from the outside world.

“Change!” Excitement flashed in his eyes. His exhilaration came from the fact that this ability could now evolve; change meant the possibility of cultivation. In his previous life, Lei Yan had conducted countless experiments in hopes of achieving this very transformation, but all had ended in failure. Now, however, everything pointed to the fact that from this day forward, he could cultivate this ability. How powerful it might become in the future, no one could say.

A sigh escaped his lips as another thought crossed his mind.

“It’s true, my ability can now be cultivated, but the era itself has changed.”

Lei Yan reflected that this was no longer the technologically advanced world of firearms he once knew, but an age dominated by martial artists and cultivators, where cold steel prevailed. Inevitably, a sense of melancholy welled up inside him. In such a world, his ability could no longer be wielded as it once was.

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, he forced himself to calm down. Survival demanded adaptability; if he could no longer use his power as before, Lei Yan believed he would find another way. For now, the most urgent task was to strengthen this ability as much as possible.

Time flew by. Lei Yan had now spent two years in the library. In that time, his power had grown slowly but steadily—from a handful of uses to dozens, and after each session of cultivation, his mind felt exceptionally clear.

Today, as usual, Lei Yan settled in a quiet corner of the library, ready to cultivate. But as soon as he sat down, a wave of intense pain coursed through his body, as though thousands of blades were cutting him from within. Beads of sweat the size of beans broke out on his forehead. It had been a long time since he last felt such agony; the first time was when he was merely three years old. Gritting his teeth, Lei Yan endured the torment.

Nearly an hour passed before the pain gradually subsided, leaving him gasping for breath.

“It seems the time has come to leave,” he sighed helplessly. From his study of medical texts, he knew that this pain, once it surfaced, required a special medicinal remedy, or else it would soon return—persisting until death finally brought release.

“Grandfather Lei, I must be going,” Lei Yan said as he approached Lei Yan’s side to bid farewell.

Lei Yan immediately noticed something was amiss. Lei Yan’s face was pale, his clothes soaked as if by rain, and concern filled the old man’s heart. He suspected Lei Yan had suffered a mishap in cultivation; such incidents had occurred before in the Lei family, so he asked anxiously, “Child, what’s happened to you today?”

Lei Yan was touched by the concern in Lei Yan’s eyes, but he did not want this man, who had devoted his life to the Lei family, to worry about him. Forcing a wry smile, he replied, “I need some materials for an experiment, so I have no choice but to leave for now.”

“Good! That’s right! After all, only by applying what’s in the books does knowledge truly become one’s own,” Lei Yan said, making no move to stop him. “Go on, then.”

Nodding, Lei Yan left the cluster of secret chambers and emerged into the outer labyrinth of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation. He was now thoroughly familiar with it, and in no time he found his way out. But as he stepped beyond the formation, Lei Yan was taken aback; the entire Lei residence was festooned with jubilant banners, and everyone was in high spirits.

“Father, is this the harsh environment you prepared for me?” A trace of bitterness flickered in Lei Yan’s eyes, for he could already guess the answer.

As he made his way through the courtyards, the servants bustled to and fro, not even sparing him a glance as he passed.

Crossing the western garden, Lei Yan ran into Han Yu, who was coming toward him. Han Yu was startled to see him, but quickly stepped forward and said, “Young Master, you’re out? I’ll go inform the master at once!”

Lei Yan stopped him at once. “Uncle Han, there’s no need. I doubt my father wishes to see me now. It would be better if you told me what’s happening at home.”

Han Yu nodded, seeing sense in Lei Yan’s words. Ever since Lei Yan had entered the library, Lei Tiechuan seemed to have forgotten both Lei Yan and Situ Qingqing, remarrying just days later to the daughter of the White Horse Gang’s leader. Today was the day of their son’s first-month celebration. Yet Han Yu knew that, despite appearances, Lei Tiechuan’s true feelings remained with Situ Qingqing and Lei Yan—something he’d gleaned from overhearing a conversation between father and son in the study that night.

“Not long after you entered the library, the master married the White Horse Gang leader’s daughter. Today is the young master’s one-month celebration, which is why the house is so festive,” Han Yu explained. Noticing the sorrow flicker in Lei Yan’s eyes, he quickly added, “Actually, it’s only like this today. Most of the time, things are just as they were before.”

“I understand. Thank you, Uncle Han,” Lei Yan replied, and with those words, his lonely figure slowly made its way toward the northern garden.