Chapter 2: The Cold Beauty
Lin Tian stood in front of the great hall where elders of the Lin Clan were gradually gathering. His mind was clear, but in this moment, as he waited for his father's return, one figure emerged in his brain—a figure very familiar, Su Yueling, his fiancée. She was the ice beauty renowned in the cultivation world, envied for her looks which no one could surpass, and dreaded by all due to her cold attitude towards every person in the world except him.
Su Yueling always came across as aloof and heartless to outsiders, but to Lin Tian, she had always been gentle and soft-spoken. The two were engaged under an arrangement between their families, but as time went on, they grew to be deeply connected. Really, her only weakness was Lin Tian.
At that, a soft voice snapped him back into reality. "Tian-ge, is it true? Have you really advanced your cultivation?"
Lin Tian turned to find Su Yueling standing at the entrance to the hall; she was draped in a light-blue robe that seemed to shimmer with moonlight, her hair spilling down her back like molten silver. She was ethereally beautiful, her features delicate, her complexion chiseled, her eyes piercing shards of ice-blue that would freeze the soul of any man. But to Lin Tian, they were warm.
"Yueling," Lin Tian greeted her with a smile, "you'll see soon enough."
She glided to him with her grace, coldness softening as she stood beside him. Her emotionless mask showed a trace of concern. "I was worried when I heard the elders were pressuring your father again. They doubt you because of your weakness in the past. But I never doubted you, Tian-ge. You saved me once… and I have always known you are meant for greatness."
Her words jogged a memory buried deep in his heart.
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"Flashback: The Night of the Ambush."
It was a cold winter night five years ago. Lin Tian at that time was only 16 years old, still the frail and sickly young master of the Lin Clan. His cultivation was barely at the Qi Condensation Realm, and he was often looked down upon by the clan's juniors.
One night, Su Yueling of the Su Clan was on her way back from the Northern Sect. Her convoy was ambushed by assassins - merciless cultivators, hired by other clansmen and other rival factions, fearing an alliance that would happen between the Su and Lin Clans. Even since young, Yueling had been considered a prodigy, but against such overwhelming odds, she was outmatched.
Lin Tian just happened to be in the vicinity, and suddenly he saw this attack. He hid behind a tree, watching the assassins surround Su Yueling. She struggled with her icy swordplay unmatched among her peers, yet she slowly drained her energy. There was blood trickling from the corner of her lips, and she was taking labored breaths.
The old Lin Tian would have run-knowing his weakness, he would have stayed hidden, terrified of dying. But something inside him snapped that night: to see Su Yueling, the girl he had been betrothed to since childhood, standing all alone against impossible odds lit a fire in his heart; he could not let her die.
Lin Tian charged without hesitation into the chaotic battle, his only companion a lowly sword clutched in his shaking hands. He knew that he wasn't strong enough, but that simply did not matter to him. All that mattered was an instinct to protect her, even at the cost of his life.
The assassins ridiculed the sight of him: Lin Tian, the infamous "useless" young master. Lin Tian fought with a ferocity no one had ever seen from him before. Every strike was wild, unrefined but full of determination. At the most desperate juncture, he threw himself in front of Su Yueling, taking a blade meant for her.
The world had gone silent. Lin Tian fell to the ground, his vision tunneling as the pain surged through him. But before that finishing blow could fall, reinforcement from the Lin Clan arrived, forcing the assassins to flee.
Days later, when Lin Tian woke up, he found himself in the Lin Clan's medical pavilion, with Su Yueling by his side. The moment he had risked his life for her, her icy veneer had cracked. Thenceforth, she had sworn to stand by him, even when he was deemed as weak. Lin Tian, to her, was more than the frail son of the Lin Clan; he was her savior, her betrothed, and the only man to have touched her heart.
"Present"
"You saved my life," Su Yueling's voice brought him back to the present. "I've never forgotten that, Tian-ge."
Lin Tian smiled softly. He had cherished the memory of that night, but things were different now. He was no longer the weak, sickly boy who needed protection. He was in possession of the powers of the **Omnipotent System** now, and he would never again allow anyone to harm Su Yueling-or his clan.
Lin Tian said in a soft tone, "I am no longer the same person; with the abilities that I have now obtained I will be able to protect you Yueling, and protect all the people in the Lin Clan from now on so that no one will ever dare to challenge us again.
Su Yueling looked at him, her ice just a tiny fraction thawed as she reached out her hand and caught his. "I believe in you, Tian-ge. You have always had a strength that nobody else could see. But now… you are different. I can feel it."
Lin nodded. As yet, he told her nothing of the system, and there wasn't a need to, really. The world in due time would come to know of the power he now held within him. But for now, he had Su Yueling by his side-the only one person who had ever truly believed in him, even when he was at his lowest.
I'll prove it to them," Lin Tian said as his gaze turned as hard as granite towards the hall where elders were waiting. "By the end of today, everyone will know that the Lin Clan is destined to rule. And with you by my side, Yueling, we'll build a future no one can stand against.
But in Su Yueling's eyes, a spark had glowed softer than mere ice—a trust Lin Tian alone had earned.
"Then let's show them, Tian-ge," she whispered. "Let's show them the definition of power."