"Lu Chen, you've worked hard in your cultivation today, come have a drink; it'll help you sleep better tonight."
Under a moonlit starry sky, on a platform behind the Lu Family's ancestral mountain, Lu Chen had just finished his training session and opened his eyes, when he heard the voice of his stepmother, Xu Yueru.
"Stepmother," Lu Chen said with a face full of gratitude as he took the drink, then set it aside and smiled, "I will be on the Life and Death Platform in three days. Although Lu Zhan is not my match, I still need to face it seriously. I'm afraid drinking might lead to mistakes."
"You, you're just like your father," she said.
Xu Yueru smiled charmingly, under her thin, cool clothing, a hint of spring revealed itself.
She had just passed thirty, took good care of herself, and with a touch of makeup, that smile was like that of a young girl in her early twenties.
Lu Chen kept his gaze steady, but the mention of his father darkened his expression. Ever since his parents suddenly disappeared years ago, he had a purpose in his cultivation.
That propelled the already exceptionally talented him to rise to prominence, becoming the most talked-about figure in all of Yuzhou City, eclipsing the clan leader's son, Lu Zhan.
There were even rumors in Yuzhou City that Lu Chen would be the next head of the Lu Family!
Lu Chen didn't take it seriously and couldn't be bothered to explain. He devoted himself to cultivation, only wanting to break through and leave the Lu Family to find news of his parents.
Being the family head or anything of the sort never interested him.
But, quite a few in the Lu Family believed it, especially Lu Zhan, who even saw Lu Chen as a great enemy. After a period of seclusion, Lu Zhan finally issued a challenge to Lu Chen for the Life and Death Platform three days prior!
The Life and Death Platform was a place to determine superiority and also where life and death was decided!
"Stepmother," Lu Chen shook his head and said, "Lu Zhan is still a brother from my clan after all. He's talented and not inherently bad by nature; he's just a bit spoiled. I only plan to teach him a small lesson."
Xu Yueru's smile deepened as she said, "It's good that you think this way. After this, Lu Zhan will respect you even more. You brothers should be united and loving, and our Lu Family will be stronger! Come on, this is a fruit wine. Since it's already poured, have a cup. It won't do any harm!"
Lu Chen frowned slightly but felt it rude to refuse, so he said, "Stepmother, just this one cup."
Having said that, he picked up the cup once more and drank it in one gulp.
But the moment he stood up to leave, a wave of dizziness overcame him, and before he could react, he had already lost consciousness!
Xu Yueru also put away the smile on her face and gently clapped her hands.
A young man about Lu Chen's age, with a sly grin, emerged from the shadows.
"Aunt's tactics are truly clever! To get your hands on the Xu Family's Immortal Drunk is quite the feat."
Xu Yueru said indifferently, "Isn't it because young master Zhan has completely figured out that kid Lu Chen's temperament?"
This young man was none other than the son of the clan leader who Lu Chen thought was not inherently bad, Lu Zhan!
"Hahaha," Lu Zhan laughed lasciviously, reached out to wrap his hand around Xu Yueru's waist, touching her from her exposed back, and brought his face close to her temples, whispering, "Still calling me young master Zhan?"
Xu Yueru struggled feebly, replying, "Let's talk about that once you take the position of the head of the family!"
...
"How audacious, Lu Chen, to drug the wine and attempt to outrage stepmother Xu Yueru in your daze! Are you aware of your crime?"
A thunderous roar reached his ears, jolting Lu Chen awake to find himself disheveled, lying on the same platform where he had been cultivating!
In front of him stood several elder members of the clan, and the voice that spoke belonged to the clan leader, Lu Changkong!
Lu Chen exclaimed in shock, "Clan leader, I was here cultivating just yesterday, how could I be aware of any crime?"
"You still dare to argue?" Lu Changkong retorted, his eyes nearly shooting out flames of rage. "Turn your head and look beside you—who is that?"
Only then did Lu Chen notice that Xu Yueru was beside him, her clothing disheveled, shaking all over.
"Stepmother, you..."
"Lu Chen, you beast, to take advantage of your drunkenness..."
Xu Yueru's face streaked with tears, she intentionally left her sentence incomplete!
"Lu Chen, do you have anything else to say?"
Lu Changkong took the opportunity to interrupt, not giving Lu Chen a chance to explain, and made eye contact with the elder in charge of clan discipline, Lu Changming.
Lu Changming, understanding the cue, stepped forward and said, "For the crime of assaulting an elder, one's cultivation should be abolished! Also, for having seen what should not have been seen, one should lose an eye as a warning!"
With that declaration, Lu Changming moved as swiftly as the wind, reaching his hand into Lu Chen's eye socket. With a hook of two fingers, he gouged out one of Lu Chen's eyeballs!
Agonizing pain radiated from the socket, and before Lu Chen could even cry out in misery, his abdomen took a heavy blow!
A massive surge of Yuan force penetrated skin and flesh, reaching straight for the Dantian!
Crack!
A fracture appeared in the Dantian, and the stored Yuan force rushed out like a flood before dissipating!
The once peerless genius, Lu Chen, had become a cripple!