The Zhen Clan was famous for being the foremost "hero forge" of the Pearl Scale Empire, their modus operandi being able to turn even the greatest of wimps into the fiercest of warriors.
However, even miracle factories could produce sothing beyond their usual products.
Enter Zhen Wang, a prodigy warrior from Zhen Shi’s generation.
Born with a crazy high amount of aether of the highest quality, the Zhen Clan masters knew that they had to carefully cultivate this young sprout into their fiercest warrior yet.
They...mostly succeeded.
At the tender age of fifteen, he broke through to the Aether Master stage on sheer talent alone.
At the age of twenty, he entered the Grandmaster stage and was allowed into the inner circle of the Zhen Clan and beca a disciple of the fad Zhen Ancestor, an Aether Overlord of great renown.
Zhen Wang was the type of young hero everybody looked up to and aspired to be, and if his current rate of growth maintained itself with the occasional input of aether dicines, he would easily have beco an Aether King or maybe even an Aether Emperor before even the slightest hint of gray hair started to show in his hairline.
Unfortunately for him and the Zhen Clan, he suffered a fate that is all too common among the talented: political machinations and jealousy.
The details were hazy but on an expedition to a wandering ruins, Zhen Wang was horribly injured, so much so that his very aether formula got fractured, slowing down Zhen Wang’s rate of growth by a huge factor.
Normally, such a thing wouldn’t be impossible to fix with the resources the Zhen Clan had on hand, but at the sa ti as this injury occured, a certain incident involving a disciple of the Zhen Clan and a princess from the royal family happened.
The Zhen Clan had to pay a hefty compensatory fee for such a besmirchnt to the royal family’s honor, and as a result, Zhen Wang was unable to treat his injuries in a tily manner.
Now the man still managed to reach the peak of Aether Grandmaster strength and by all right was still a respectable figure in the Zhen Clan and beyond, but...he never got over the incident. Both of them.
Because it’s one thing being delayed to reaching the pinnacle of greatness, it’s another when you are the victim of another man’s decisions...
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’Shit, shit, shit, shit! Out of all the people they could have sent to kill over the years, they finally send the guy who once used a finger to blow off a man’s head, now? Why?!,’ Zhen Shi ntally cursed, but then he rembered sothing important.
’Hold up...he didn’t realize that I’m the guy he called a traitor and is now spilling his plans to ...while sharing a bottle with ....Thank you, Frosttusk.’
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[You’re...welco.]
[Oh...not...sure...]
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Zhen Shi placed the ring back on to the bar counter and slid back to Zhen Wang, who proceeded to pick up the ring and place it back on to his finger.
He had to choose his next words carefully, otherwise he could accidentally have Zhen Wang learn that the "younger man" he was drinking with was the sa guy he wanted to...presumably kill to wipe clean his family’s honor, he should probably clarify on that.
Zhen Shi proceeded to refill their glasses once more, carefully thinking on what words to use in this situation.
Zhen Shi paused while scratching his chin,
Zhen Wang paused at this question, looking rather thoughtful at his glass as he did.
Zhen Wang said as he threw back the shot. Once he had finished it, he continued his answer.
Zhen Wang muttered as he made a religious hand sign, the type used to honor the deceased when ntioned.
While Zhen Shi knew exactly who Zhen Wang was talking about, he found it prudent to pretend a little longer in order to figure so things out.
Zhen Wang snorted at the question at if it was silliest thing to ask.
Zhen Shi paused when he heard this little statent. He would have thought of this statent to be a joke or sarcasm, but the tone in which was delivered seed too...honest.
Zhen Wang let out a sigh before continuing.
In a few short sentences, Zhen Wang had managed to anger Zhen Shi in a way that not even the Wolfe Family had managed to despite all their years of animosity.
He didn’t kidnap Bai Hua, they had eloped together.
He didn’t coerce her into helping establish a clan out here, she convinced him to establish roots to support a family.
His children were not bastards born from an insidious act, they were the products of love born between him and her...and several hours of being tied to a bed.
At this mont, Zhen Shi wanted to do nothing more than throw a drink in Zhen Wang’s face, declare his na and fight him to the death, consequences and power disparity be damned.
But...
He was a bit smarter than that.
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[Huh...calr than I anticipated. I figured he would have eaten his throat by now....I would have.]
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