Zhou's tears revived memories buried deep within my mind. The torment inflicted upon the Wang family by the emperor's dogs was a cruelty no one deserved.
The members of the Wang Clan had been slaughtered in countless different ways. Their only crime was the Heavenly Body possessed by Wang Jian. He had been brought here dead.
And yet, Zhou wasn't surprised by my revival. It was time for me to take the initiative and ask questions.
"Brother Zhou, calm yourself. With those eyes, how do you plan to exact revenge?" I gave Zhou some time to collect himself. Deep down, he knew he was powerless.
"Brother Zhou, I should have been dead. What kind of miracle brought me back to life?" He looked slightly surprised by my question. My arms and legs had been severed. My eyes and heart had been gouged out. Throughout all the torture, Wang Jian had been there—he had lived through it.
However, though the system had healed me, this was recent. No one would have come to rescue Wang Jian after seeing him in that state. Because reviving someone who had stopped breathing should have been impossible.
"Young Master, that night, Long and I were part of the group sent early to the Clan Capital. Your uncle, Zun, had sent us to warn your father. Long and I were chosen because we were trained in speed techniques and weak in direct combat."
Saying this must have been difficult for Zhou. Still, admitting his weakness was a good thing.
"Go on."
"But by the time we arrived, you had already been attacked. Long and I didn't know what to do. There were powerful people from every clan there." He couldn't continue. Prioritizing one's own life was considered selfish and flawed in this world.
"No problem! Just tell me how you found me." I didn't care about those details. I just needed him to answer my questions.
"At dawn, we had already reached here. Long and I had left our identities behind. We needed to survive to seek revenge for the Wang family. We worked as laborers in this town while continuing to cultivate."
Clearly, he was deceiving himself. The Wang family was already gone. Revenge was a sweet-sounding lie.
I motioned with my hand for him to speed up. Slowly, I closed my eyes.
"Then, one day, we saw a notice proclaiming that the Wang family had been massacred and the Wang women had been taken away to atone for their sins. At that moment, Long and I decided we had to build graves for the fallen family members."
"When it came to you, we realized you were still breathing."
I quickly raised my hand to stop him.
"Wasn't my head severed?" My question surprised him. He looked at me with astonishment.
"No, Young Master. Your body was burned, but it was still intact." Zhou's bewildered eyes were fixed on me.
"My body was burned?" There wasn't a single scar on my body. Not even a burn mark.
"Long and I believe it might be related to the Heavenly Body." Zhou wasn't lying. It also wouldn't make sense for me to have some strange reincarnation technique.
[Name: Wang Jian]
[Age: 16]
[Skills: Light Sword Mastery (Intermediate Level)]
[Cultivation Realm: Inner Core Realm, 3rd Plane (Repaired)]
[Body: Heavenly Body (Stolen)]
[Cores: Energy Core (Repaired), Heart Core (Repaired)]
What Zhou didn't know was that the Heavenly Body was no longer with me. That was precisely why Wang Jian had died.
[Name: Wang Zhou]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 16]
[Skills: Light Sword Mastery (Low Level)]
[Cultivation Realm: Inner Core Realm, 2nd Plane]
[Body: Normal Body (0)]
[Cores: Energy Core, Heart Core]
He had a sufficient body for cultivation, but dreaming of revenge with this level of power was absolutely foolish.
These statistics weren't surprising. At the early realms, the body wasn't that effective. The true power of bodies was revealed starting at the Grandmaster Core Realm. That realm marked the most challenging transition stage.
"Zhou, other than you and Long, is there anyone else who survived?"
"Young Master, aside from the women taken to the capital, no one else is alive…" Zhou lowered his head. He was grieving for the Wang women, but he valued his own life too much to let go so easily.
"Anyway, there's no need to discuss this for now. There's nothing we can do but pray. When the time comes, we'll make our move. For now, go and bring Long here."
Zhou silently stood and left. The reason I spoke so boldly was clear. The power I possessed had introduced itself to my mind.
[Crafter System activated.]
[Gifted mastery acquired randomly: Mask Mastery...]
[For further masteries, please improve your realm.]
[Congratulations... Host reached Early Core Realm and acquired a random mastery: Aura Manipulation Mastery...]
[Congratulations... Host reached Inner Core Realm and acquired a random mastery: Clan Management Mastery...]