Rise of The Abandoned Husband

I returned to the Avery family compound under cover of night, carrying with me the weight of my deeds and the power of over twenty golden cores harvested from the Crimson Flame Sect. The guards at the gate visibly recoiled as I approached, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror. Word had already begun to spread.

"Lord Knight," one managed to stammer out. "Patriarch Avery awaits you in the main hall."

I nodded and walked past them without a word. My bloodstained clothes and the lingering aura of death that clung to me told a story that needed no elaboration.

Herman and Tilda Avery sat rigidly at the head table when I entered. The tension in the room was palpable, thick enough to cut with a blade. Herman's face had gone ashen, while Tilda maintained a carefully neutral expression that barely masked her concern.

"It's done," I announced simply, taking a seat across from them. "The Crimson Flame Sect no longer exists."

Herman's cup clattered against the table as his hand trembled. "All of them? The entire sect?"

"Those who mattered," I replied. "I allowed some disciples to escape. They'll spread the news."

"By the heavens," Herman whispered, more to himself than to me. "I'll send scouts to confirm—"

"No need," I cut him off. "They'll find nothing but ruins and ashes. And if any scouts from other sects are investigating, they won't return with good news."

Tilda studied me carefully, her shrewd eyes taking in every detail of my appearance and demeanor. "And what did you gain from this... demonstration?"

I reached into my spatial ring and produced a small pouch, which I placed on the table between us. "Twenty-three golden cores. All from Martial Marquises or higher."

Herman's sharp intake of breath echoed in the suddenly silent room. His hand reached toward the pouch but stopped short, as if afraid to touch it.

"Twenty-three," he repeated, his voice hollow. "You've slaughtered an entire generation of elite cultivators in a single day."

"They attacked the Avery family first," Tilda reminded him, though her eyes never left my face. "This was inevitable."

I stood up abruptly. "I'll be secluding myself for the next three days. No disturbances unless it's an emergency."

"What happens after three days?" Herman asked, finally finding his courage.

"Then we'll see who's been paying attention," I replied cryptically. "Have quarters prepared for The Man with the Mustache. He'll be arriving soon."

I left them sitting there, stunned and uncertain, and made my way to the cultivation chamber they had prepared for me. The golden cores I'd collected pulsed with energy, each one representing decades—sometimes centuries—of cultivation effort. Now they would serve my purpose.

---

Three hours later, The Man with the Mustache slipped into my chamber, his perpetually nervous eyes darting around as if expecting assassins in every shadow.

"It's true then?" he asked without preamble. "You actually wiped out the entire Crimson Flame Sect?"

"News travels fast," I observed, not looking up from my meditation.

He tugged anxiously at his mustache. "Of course it does! You didn't just kill a few elders—you erased one of the oldest sects in the Proseponia Kingdom! Every cultivation family from here to the border is in complete panic!"

"Good," I said simply. "That was the point."

"The point?" he sputtered. "The point was to start a war? Because that's what you've done! Do you have any idea how many allies the Crimson Flame Sect had? How many enemies you've just made?"

I finally opened my eyes to look at him. "I don't need their friendship. I need their fear."

The Man with the Mustache paced nervously across the room. "And what exactly is your plan now? Wait for every sect in the kingdom to unite against you? Even with the Avery family's backing, you can't fight them all!"

"I'm not going to fight them all," I replied calmly. "I'm going to rule them all."

He stopped pacing and stared at me as if I'd gone mad. Perhaps I had.

"I'm waiting," I explained. "Waiting for the news to spread, for the panic to reach every corner of the kingdom. In three days, I'll make my move."

"Which is?"

"Unification," I said simply. "Every sect, every family, every independent cultivator in the Proseponia Kingdom will submit to a single authority."

"Yours," he concluded, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Mine," I confirmed. "I need a power base, resources, and fighters if I'm going to save Isabelle from the Veridia City Martial Guild. This kingdom is just the beginning."

The Man with the Mustache sank onto a nearby chair, his face pale. "You've changed, Liam. The man I met months ago would never have..."

"Would never have what?" I challenged. "Done what was necessary? That man was weak. That man couldn't protect anyone."

"And this man?" he asked. "The one who massacres entire sects? Who is he protecting?"

The question struck deeper than I wanted to admit. I turned away, focusing on the golden cores laid out before me. Forty-one in total now—an unprecedented collection.

"I can feel it growing inside me," I admitted quietly. "A killing intent that wasn't there before. Each core I absorb makes it stronger."

"Then stop absorbing them!" he urged. "Find another way!"

"There is no other way," I said firmly. "Not if I want to reach the level of Martial Saint fast enough to challenge the Guild."

The Man with the Mustache fell silent, watching me with concern evident in his eyes. Finally, he sighed heavily.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, resignation in his voice.

At least he was practical, if nothing else.

"Watch and wait," I instructed. "In three days, everything changes."

---

The news spread exactly as I intended. Herman's scouts confirmed what I already knew—the Crimson Flame Sect's mountain headquarters had been reduced to smoldering ruins. The few survivors told tales of a golden demon who had torn through their defenses like paper, extracting golden cores from the bodies of the fallen as casually as plucking fruit from a tree.

By the third day, the Avery compound had become like a fortress, with guards posted at every entrance and defensive formations activated. Herman had aged years in just days, the weight of what was happening clearly taking its toll.

I emerged from seclusion at dawn, my power noticeably stronger after absorbing and refining the cores I'd collected. The killing intent was still there, simmering beneath the surface, but I had it under control. For now.

"It's time," I announced to Herman, Tilda, and The Man with the Mustache, who had gathered in the main hall. "Send messengers to every sect, every cultivation family, and every independent powerhouse in the kingdom."

Herman swallowed hard. "What message?"

"They have one day to present themselves at the Avery family compound and swear allegiance to me," I stated coldly. "Any who refuse will be treated as the Crimson Flame Sect was treated."

"You'll give them no choice but submission or death?" Tilda asked, her voice neutral but her eyes sharp.

"Exactly."

"They won't come," Herman protested. "It's too brazen, too—"

"Then I will visit one sect each day until they understand I'm serious," I interrupted. "Starting tomorrow."

The messengers were sent out immediately, carrying my ultimatum to the furthest corners of the kingdom. The Man with the Mustache watched the proceedings with obvious discomfort but didn't interfere.

"This won't end well," he muttered to me later that evening.

"It will end exactly as I intend it to," I replied with absolute certainty.

---

The next day dawned with no visitors to the Avery compound. Not a single sect master or family patriarch had answered my summons.

"As expected," I said calmly, preparing to leave. "They need another demonstration."

Herman moved to block my path. "Liam, I beg you to reconsider this course of action. The Avery family has always maintained a balance with the other powers in the kingdom. What you're proposing will upend centuries of tradition!"

"Traditions that kept you weak," I pointed out. "That kept you vulnerable to attacks like the one from the Crimson Flame Sect."

"We survived that attack," Herman countered.

"Because of me," I reminded him. "And now I'm ensuring it never happens again."

I stepped around him and left the compound before he could argue further. My target for the day was already chosen: the Sky Harmony League, a loose confederation of cultivators known for their neutrality in kingdom politics.

They would serve as my example.

When I returned that night, blood spattered my clothing and the aura of death clung to me even more heavily than before. I didn't speak to anyone as I made my way back to my chambers, but the message was clear. The Sky Harmony League, with its hundreds of members, had been wiped out in a single day.

I heard Herman vomiting in a side room as I passed by.

---

Dawn broke on the second day after my ultimatum, and with it came a sight no one in the Avery family had expected. Outside the main gates, stretching as far as the eye could see, were the leaders of every significant cultivation force in the Proseponia Kingdom. Sect masters, family patriarchs, elders, and independent powerhouses—all had come.

Terror was a powerful motivator.

I dressed carefully in black robes trimmed with gold, a deliberate choice to match the colors of the Power of Martial Saint I now commanded. When I emerged from the Avery compound, the crowd fell deathly silent.

I walked to the raised platform that had been prepared and looked out over the gathered cultivators. Many wouldn't meet my eyes. Some trembled visibly. All waited in tense silence for what would come next.

"You know why you're here," I began, my voice carrying effortlessly across the crowd. "The age of divided powers in the Proseponia Kingdom is over."

Murmurs rippled through the assembly but quickly died down as I continued.

"From this day forward, there is no Crimson Flame Sect. There is no Sky Harmony League. There are no independent sects or families operating autonomously within this kingdom."

The tension in the air thickened as my words sank in.

"Instead, there is only Heaven Gate," I declared. "A unified force under a single leadership. My leadership."

Outrage flashed across several faces, though none dared voice it aloud. I let my aura flare slightly, golden light emanating from my body as a reminder of what I was capable of.

"Your former sects will become branches of Heaven Gate," I continued. "You will maintain your positions as leaders of these branches, answerable directly to me. Your resources will be pooled, your knowledge shared, and your forces united."

"And if we refuse?" a brave voice called out from the crowd.

I didn't need to answer. The smoking ruins of two once-powerful organizations spoke volumes.

"Heaven Gate will become the single greatest power in the Proseponia Kingdom," I said instead. "And eventually, beyond. Those who serve faithfully will be rewarded. Those who resist..." I let the implication hang in the air.

The silence that followed was deafening. I could see the calculations happening behind every pair of eyes—weighing options that didn't really exist, considering resistances that would ultimately fail.

"The choice before you isn't whether to join," I clarified. "The choice is whether you leave here today as leaders of Heaven Gate branches, or as examples for those who come after you."

I stepped forward to the very edge of the platform, letting my gaze sweep across the assembly. "So I ask you now, all of you. Do you acknowledge Heaven Gate as the supreme cultivation organization of the Proseponia Kingdom, and myself as its leader?"

The silence stretched on, unbearably tense. Then, as if by some unspoken signal, every person in the crowd dropped to one knee.

"Greetings, Lord Knight!" they shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the Avery compound.