The Author's Draft

Chapter 78 - 74: The Heart of Slaughter [IV]

But the guardian had confirmed something important: this wasn’t just a cultivation technique or bloodline inheritance. This was something far more personal, more deliberate. Someone had sealed their heart—their very essence—inside this body for a specific purpose.

’And Aiden Jus took possession of this body completely unaware of what was hiding inside it.’

The thought was sobering. If the Slaughter Dao hadn’t triggered the seal naturally, if he hadn’t entered this Tower and reached the fortieth floor, if he hadn’t spent a week comprehending Slaughter Intent...

The heart might have remained dormant forever, never awakening, and Aiden would never have known there was something sealed inside him waiting.

"Regardless of what I don’t know," Yan Shou said, pulling Long Chen’s attention back to the present, "what I do know is that you passed the test. Not just passed—you exceeded it beyond any candidate in the Tower’s entire history."

He reached into his robes and pulled out two items.

The first was a seal carved from black jade, roughly the size of Long Chen’s palm. Ancient characters covered its surface, and spiritual energy pulsed from it in steady rhythm. The craftsmanship was exquisite—every line precise, every curve deliberate, the work of a master artisan.

"This is the Line Master’s Seal," Yan Shou explained, holding it out. "It marks you as the designated successor to the Slaughter Line of the Weapon Path. It’s a means of identification, yes, but more than that—it carries authority. In the Upper World, this seal grants you access to resources, techniques, and territories that belonged to the Slaughter Line before its fall. It also marks you as under the direct protection of the Weapon Progenitor himself."

Long Chen took the seal carefully. The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a connection form—not invasive like the Equal Life Contract, but more like recognition. The seal acknowledged him, accepted him, bound itself to his spiritual signature.

"Don’t lose it," Yan Shou warned. "And don’t show it to anyone until you’re strong enough to handle the consequences. That seal will attract attention from both allies and enemies of the Slaughter Line. Some will want to help you. Others will want you dead before you can restore what was destroyed."

"Understood," Long Chen said, storing the seal in his spatial ring immediately.

Yan Shou produced the second item—a manual bound in black leather with silver clasps. The cover was unmarked, but spiritual energy leaked from the pages themselves, suggesting the contents were far from ordinary.

"This manual contains the accumulated knowledge of the Slaughter Line’s masters across ten thousand years," the guardian said. "It will teach you how to utilize Slaughter Intent properly, how to hide it from detection, how to combine it with other Intents for greater effect, and most importantly—how to prevent it from consuming you as it nearly did during your test."

He handed the manual over. "Study it carefully. The techniques inside represent thousands of lives’ worth of experience. Some of it may seem brutal or excessive by modern cultivation standards, but remember—the Slaughter Line was always the most direct path of the Weapon Dao. No tricks. No deception. Just absolute violence applied with perfect precision."

Long Chen accepted the manual and stored it alongside the seal. "Thank you, Guardian Yan Shou."

"Don’t thank me yet," Yan Shou replied with a slight smile. "You haven’t received the main reward."

Long Chen’s attention sharpened immediately. The seal and manual were incredible resources, but if those were just preliminary rewards...

"What qualifies as the main reward?" he asked.

Yan Shou’s smile widened into something that might have been anticipation. "The reason this Tower exists. The reason the Weapon Progenitor created this inheritance in the first place." He turned toward the far wall of the chamber, where previously there had been only blank stone.

Now, formations were activating across the surface—thousands of them lighting up in sequence, creating patterns that hurt to look at directly because they operated on principles Long Chen’s current comprehension couldn’t grasp.

The wall began to change. Stone flowed like water, reshaping itself, opening up to reveal something that had been hidden behind layers of formations and barriers designed to keep it sealed until the right candidate appeared.

Long Chen’s breath caught.

Behind the wall was a doorway. Not just any doorway, but a portal—a genuine tear in space itself, stabilized and reinforced by more formations than Long Chen had ever seen in one place. Through the opening, he could see glimpses of somewhere else entirely. Not another room or chamber, but a completely different location, maybe even a different dimension.

"This portal leads to the Slaughter Line’s true inheritance," Yan Shou explained, his voice taking on a reverent quality. "The hidden vault where the masters stored their most precious techniques, their greatest weapons, their accumulated treasures. Everything that survived the line’s fall was sealed there, waiting for a worthy successor."

He gestured toward the portal. "As the designated Line Master, you now have access to everything inside. Techniques that were lost to history. Weapons forged by supreme beings. Resources that haven’t been available in the Lower World for millions of years."

Long Chen stared at the portal, trying to comprehend what he was being offered. A complete inheritance from one of the four lines of the Weapon Path. Knowledge and power that cultivators would kill for. Resources that could accelerate his growth by centuries.

"There is one condition," Yan Shou added, his tone becoming serious. "Once you enter, you cannot leave until you’ve claimed at least one technique and bonded with at least one weapon. The vault will test you, judge your worthiness, and only release you when it’s satisfied you’ve received appropriate rewards for your current level."

"How long will that take?" Long Chen asked.

"Depends on you," Yan Shou replied. "Some candidates might spend days searching. Others might find what they need within hours. The vault is semi-sentient—it will guide you toward resources that match your current comprehension and future potential."

He paused, then added more quietly, "And given what I just witnessed awakening inside you, I suspect the vault will have quite a few options to present."

Long Chen looked at the portal, then down at his hands where he could still feel both Intents coiling through his meridians. Second stage Slaughter Intent. First stage Sword Intent. An awakened heart carrying memories of someone who’d given up everything to seal power inside an infant.

’This is real. This is actually happening.’

"I’m ready," Long Chen said, his voice steady despite the anticipation building in his chest.

Yan Shou nodded approvingly. "Then go. Claim your inheritance, Line Master. And when you emerge..." His expression became serious. "Remember that the seal marks you as a target. The Slaughter Line has enemies in the Upper World who will eventually learn of your existence. Grow strong quickly. Because once they find you, they won’t stop until you’re dead or until you’re powerful enough to make them regret coming after you."

Long Chen met the guardian’s gaze and nodded once. Then he turned toward the portal, took a breath, and stepped through.

The world shifted around him as the portal swallowed him whole, pulling him into whatever waited on the other side.

And as the light consumed his vision completely, Long Chen couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he was about to find in the hidden vault of the Slaughter Line.

The answer, he suspected, would change everything.