Kill The Old Ones!

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Lily wasn’t expecting to hear that from him. And it confused her a bit.

She then thought that maybe he just wanted her to talk more. Maybe to brainstorm ideas, possibilities, etc. Anything to keep her talking and allow her to release her frustrations.

So, she relented. She told him the full details of how her father’s injury happened.

Lily’s retelling didn’t include the full details as she thought it had. The doctors she talked to basically left out some important factors at the orders of her own father—patient confidentiality and all that.

Luckily, Ren didn’t have to. He already knows. He just asked so that he could have an alibi.

Her father’s injury came from a ’Nightmare Beast’—a creature that cannot be found on the Archstones because it’s not of this world. Lily said that this creature could leave permanent injuries on anybody or anything it attacks, and it just so happens that her father was one of them.

They said that the only way these injuries will heal is when the specific Nightmare Beast they came from dies.

The miracle of her father’s survival is that someone else killed the Nightmare Beast that injured him just in time for him to survive.

However, the wounds he got were too deep and left a permanent effect. He didn’t heal fully from that, and no medicine could cure that...at least, not that they know of.

This is what Lily knows. But it’s not the complete truth.

The beast that injured her father came from the ’Nightmare Beast ’Clan’—not all of them are the same; each one had their own specialties.

The specific Nightmare Beast that left her father injured was something called the ’Umbral Nightmare Crow,’ which commands the power of ’Dark Erosion,’ which is basically ’decay’ but with the darkness element.

Dark Erosion eats away at flesh, bones, sinews, energy, and conceptual matter. The longer it’s left to fester, the worse it becomes. Even a graze containing this nasty power would be dangerous.

Her father was stabbed by a strand of its feather. Just that, a single strand. Although he took it out in time, he didn’t know about the Dark Erosion. By the time he was informed, he was already near death.

The Dark Erosion did a number on him, and the things he lost weren’t something he could get back. The erosion has completely taken them and will never return them.

That is why it’s a damn miracle that her father survived. Hell, the fact that he was even able to keep his current martial realm itself was another miracle on its own.

”Is your father practicing the Green Lotus Core Technique?” he asked curiously.

Lily showed a sad smile at this. ”Yes, he does. We basically do it together every morning. He takes it seriously each day and before sleep. He makes me do the same. He says that it’s good for me, and everyone for that matter, and tells me to never miss a day.”

”Good. That’s good.” Ren nodded and was relieved. ”What did the doctors say about his chakra network? Did they discover any problems there?”

Lily’s expression turned cloudy again. ”They said that they can’t conclude anything yet, but they did see a strange seed-like matter within his core. They didn’t say it’s a bad thing, but they can’t confirm it yet, either.”

Ren’s eyes flashed as if he grasped something.

”You said he has been bedridden for quite some time now, yes?”

”Yes.”

”And because of that, he’s unable to practice the Green Lotus Core Technique?”

”Yes. He did sound disgruntled about that for some reason. Why?”

”That seed-like thing the doctors saw within your father’s body? That’s a sign that the Green Lotus Core Martial Physique is about to manifest.”

Lily’s head snapped up to him in shock.

”I would know; I have it, after all. You also check testimonies online. That’s the universal sign. The details of that martial physique could also be found on official channels. I think you should check them out.”

Lily’s heartbeat sped up.

She started browsing right then and there. And it didn’t take long before the information she was looking for was displayed before her eyes.

After reading through all of it, she couldn’t help it. She laughed, wet and filled with incredulity. She was reduced to laughter and tears at the same time. Her laugh sounded like loud sobs at the same time.

It’s how one would react if they discovered that the heavens were playing a prank on them.

”Damn it.”

Was all she could say. Seriously, now she feels stupid for not doing more research.

She understood what this means. The solution was right there all along; all she needed to do was to look for it.

The Green Lotus Core Martial Physique boosts the efficiency and effects of the Green Lotus Core Technique by 300%.

How could she forget about the effect of the Green Lotus Core Technique when she literally uses it every single day!? It’s a slow but persistent healing and recovery chakra that seeps and soothes everything it touches.

It could even heal even the most persistent and deepest and unseen injuries known to man. Even the Martial Gods themselves revealed their own testimonies about it and confirmed its effects.

Hell! The Honor Roll caused a large commotion to reveal it. [REDACTED] had basically become humanity’s hero overnight.

Even to this day, people are still leaving testimonies about how the technique changed their lives for the better. It even stabilized the life of someone who’s basically been in a coma for most of their life!

”If my theory is right...” His voice shook Lily out of her stupor. ”...then your father isn’t ill. In truth, he’s recovering.”

”Him collapsing and coughing out blood might, and I say ’might’ very generously here, be a sign that his body was remaking the things he lost during his youth. That’s because that’s what the Green Lotus Core Chakra does.”

”It’s just that your father lived for quite some time without them and had grown used to being in that state, which is why he reacted that way when his body was trying to ’correct’ itself.”

”The thing is, for the Green Lotus Core Martial Physique to awaken, it needs a steady supply of Green Lotus Core chakra, something that your father’s unable to provide since he’s on bedrest.”

”The good thing is that either you or a trusted someone can pass it to him. Either you or they do the stretching, but the chakra goes to your dad instead. It won’t cause conflict. That’s the best thing about the Green Lotus Chakra.”

”If there’s a steady supply of green lotus core chakra, in a week at most, the martial physique should bloom. By then, the chakra’s effect should reach 300%. In two weeks, no more than a month, your father’s state should be restored completely. Perhaps even better than before.”

”In that case I—”

”Oof, not so fast, missy.” Ren stopped her before she logged out to follow his advice. ”Haven’t you heard? ’Haste makes waste.’ You haven’t planned this out entirely. That’s not the way to go.”

”...” Lily looked as if she didn’t understand what he was trying to say. So, Ren reminded her of another harsh truth.

”If what you told me about your family was true, how do you think they’ll react if they learn that your father’s recovering well, hm?”

Lily blanched. She seemingly lost her enthusiasm and collapsed to the ground again.

”They will play dirty. That’s almost certain. I imagine that they’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and now that they’ve gotten this close, they won’t easily let the chance slip.”

”To prevent the worse from happening, you need to protect your father and yourself. Especially from now on.”

”If they truly are what you said they are. When your father recovers, they will be desperate and cause all sorts of trouble. You must get ahead while they’re still confident that they’re winning.”

Lily then stared at Ren as he began explaining the next steps to secure her situation.

She was overwhelmed. He practically built a step-by-step method to fill the gaps of her security, forming a tight net and laying down so many traps that would instantly cripple those with nefarious thoughts aimed at her and her father should they stumble upon it.

His strategy was ruthless. He planned for the complete dominance and made her see the downfall of her enemies before the fight even began.

Lily thought that it was going too far. But she also couldn’t deny that it’s damn effective. If she followed his guide, nobody in the Heartveil family would ever raise their head or talk behind her back ever again.

Although it sounds too much, wouldn’t that also solve her problems? Hasn’t she always been plagued by the murmurs and whispers of her own family behind her back?

Well, the complete solution was right in front of her now. It’s basically a cheat code. She just needs to follow it, and it will improve her situation so much.

However, one thing confuses her, though.

”Why are you willing to help me this much?”