Mercy Has a Price

Chapter 26 — Mercy Has a Price

The battlefield had gone quiet.

Several defeated cultivators lay scattered around the Bloodline Shrine.

Some had fled.

Others were too injured to move.

Aether stood in the center of the shrine, his damaged metal rod resting against his shoulder.

Lyra walked over.

"You let that Stage 5 guy live."

Aether nodded.

"He lost."

Lyra glanced toward the forest.

"Do you think he'll come back?"

Aether didn't answer immediately.

The Origin System suddenly appeared.

[Hostility Detection activated.]

Aether's expression changed.

A new interface appeared.

[Target: Unknown Stage 5 Human]

[Current Emotional State: Fear]

[Hostility Toward Host: Low]

[Immediate Killing Intent: None]

[Future Threat Probability: Unable to determine]

Aether frowned.

"Interesting."

Lyra looked at him.

"What?"

"The System can detect hostile intent."

Aether looked toward the direction the cultivator had escaped.

"For now, he isn't planning to attack again."

Lyra relaxed slightly.

"Then maybe letting him go was fine."

Aether nodded.

"Maybe."

The ancient wolf suddenly spoke.

"Mercy is not weakness."

Aether looked toward it.

"But mercy given to the wrong person becomes an invitation."

The wolf's eyes turned toward the forest.

Aether understood the meaning.

Still, he didn't pursue the man.

There was no reason to kill someone who had stopped fighting.

Not yet.

Several kilometers away.

The Stage 5 cultivator stumbled through the forest.

Blood covered his armor.

His breathing was heavy.

A group of people appeared ahead.

The moment they saw him, several rushed forward.

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"Commander!"

"What happened?"

"Who did this?"

The man clenched his teeth.

"A human."

"How strong?"

The commander hesitated.

"Stage 2."

The group fell silent.

"Stage 2 did this to you?"

His face darkened.

"He isn't normal."

One of the cultivators stepped forward.

"Then we should leave."

The commander stared at him.

"Leave?"

His eyes filled with anger.

"He humiliated me."

The Origin Energy around him began fluctuating.

[Hostility Detected.]

[Target's Killing Intent Increasing.]

[Target's Revenge Intent Confirmed.]

[Threat Status: Dangerous.]

The commander smiled coldly.

"Gather everyone."

"We're going back."

Back at the shrine, Aether was helping Lyra stabilize her newly awakened cultivation.

Her lightning had become much more controlled after the breakthrough.

She raised her hand.

A thin lightning blade formed around her fingers.

"It's much easier now."

Aether nodded.

"Your Thunderheart Physique has probably entered a new development phase."

Lyra looked at him.

"And you?"

Aether glanced at his system.

[Infinite Origin Physique Development: 0.10%]

[Origin Points: 170/150]

[Origin Adaptation: 14%]

He had gained another two points from the energy he absorbed during the fight.

"Still growing."

Suddenly—

the System appeared.

[Warning.]

Aether's expression changed.

[Hostile signatures approaching.]

[Number: 31]

[Highest Cultivation: Origin Awakening — Stage 5]

[Average Cultivation: Origin Awakening — Stage 2-3]

[Intent: Killing.]

Lyra's smile disappeared.

"They came back."

Aether slowly stood.

The ancient wolf opened its eyes.

Nyx's fur rose along her back.

Aether looked toward the forest.

The system continued.

[Hostility Detection confirmed.]

[Target previously spared by host is among the approaching group.]

Aether was silent.

The Stage 5 cultivator had returned.

Not alone.

With thirty others.

Lyra stepped beside him.

"You gave him a chance."

Aether stared into the darkness.

"I did."

"And he chose this."

Aether nodded.

"Yes."

The first figures appeared between the trees.

The Stage 5 cultivator stood at the front.

His injuries had been treated.

His crimson spear was back in his hand.

He pointed it toward Aether.

"There he is."

Thirty cultivators spread around the shrine.

Aether looked at them calmly.

"You came back."

The man laughed.

"You thought sparing me meant you won?"

Aether shook his head.

"No."

The man's smile faded.

"I simply didn't consider you worth killing."

Several cultivators laughed.

The commander raised his spear.

"Kill him."

They charged.

Aether's expression became cold.

The first cultivator reached him.

Aether moved.

His metal rod struck the man's temple.

The man collapsed instantly.

Another attacked from the side.

Aether ducked beneath the blade and drove his fist into the attacker's chest.

The man flew backward.

Lyra entered the battle.

Lightning exploded across the battlefield.

Nyx moved like a shadow between the attackers.

The Crimson Fang Wolf remained near the shrine, protecting her pups.

Aether didn't waste movement.

He didn't chase fleeing enemies.

He didn't attack those who stayed away.

But anyone who tried to kill him—

fell.

One after another.

The battlefield became chaotic.

The Stage 5 commander finally reached Aether.

Their weapons collided.

BOOM!

The shockwave shattered several nearby rocks.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance!"

Aether blocked his spear.

"You're right."

The commander grinned.

"You admit it?"

Aether's eyes became completely cold.

"I should have."

He grabbed the spear.

The commander's expression changed.

Aether pulled him forward.

His knee struck the man's chest.

The commander coughed blood.

Aether followed with a powerful strike to the throat.

The man collapsed.

The system appeared.

[Hostile target neutralized.]

[Origin Energy absorption available.]

Aether placed his hand over the man's body.

Crimson Origin Energy began flowing into him.

[Foreign Origin Energy absorbed.]

[Absorption: 7%]

[Origin Adaptation: 14% → 15%]

[+3 Origin Points]

[Origin Points: 173/150]

Aether felt the foreign energy entering his body.

It was different from before.

The energy wasn't simply strengthening him.

It was teaching his body.

His Infinite Origin Physique pulsed.

[Infinite Origin Physique Development: 0.10% → 0.12%]

Aether slowly stood.

He looked around.

Most of the attackers had fled.

The remaining few dropped their weapons.

The System displayed their intentions.

[Hostility: None]

[Intent: Retreat]

Aether lowered his weapon.

"Leave."

The survivors didn't hesitate.

They ran.

Lyra approached him.

"You let them go again."

Aether looked at the fleeing figures.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because they're no longer a threat."

He looked toward the dead commander.

"But I'll never make the same mistake twice."

The ancient wolf watched him silently.

Then it spoke.

"You learned quickly."

Aether looked toward the shrine.

The crimson energy had begun changing again.

The ancient bloodline within the shrine was awakening faster.

And deep beneath the ground—

something massive shifted.

Aether felt the vibration.

His eyes narrowed.

The system appeared.

[Major Origin Event approaching.]

[Bloodline Shrine awakening: 42%]

[Infinite Origin Physique development accelerating.]

[Current Development: 0.12%]

[Projected development under current conditions: 0.20%]

Aether clenched his fist.

He could feel it.

Something inside his body was changing.

Something far more fundamental than cultivation.

His Infinite Origin Physique had begun to truly awaken.

And this time—

Aether was ready to see what it could become.