Rebirth Of The Betrayed Emperor

Poisoned

Kael’s body trembled slightly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.

His eyes darkened instantly.

“Poison…”

His voice was low, almost a whisper, but the killing intent hidden within it was chilling.

He closed his eyes immediately, diving inward, inspecting his body carefully.

With his current state, he couldn’t afford to miss even the slightest detail.

After a while, Kael's eyes flashed open; the glint in them was even more terrifying this time.

Deep within his meridians, hidden so well that even experienced cultivators might miss it, was a thin layer of dark residue.

It clung to his meridians like parasites, slow, silent, and deadly.

It didn’t destroy the body outright; instead, it suppressed it, blocking growth and corroding his potential, making breakthroughs nearly impossible.

Even if the person were to cultivate for a hundred years, they might never break through a major Realm.

Kael’s lips slowly curled into a cold smile as he muttered,

“No wonder...."

No matter how much the original owner cultivated, he couldn’t advance. This wasn’t a talent issue, neither was it fate; rather, it was man-made.

Someone had been poisoning the original owner for a long time, carefully and patiently, without leaving obvious traces.

They didn't seek to kill him; they just wanted to slowly destroy him, making sure he never had any chance to rise.

In the open, they crippled his dantian, and in the shadows, they ensured he would never rise, not even a bit.

This was getting interesting. Who could have had the guts to plot all this against the owner of this body? Who?

The attacker from before?

Or someone inside the clan? The original owner had quite a number of enemies, but from his memories, there was no blood feud, so just who wanted him to fall?

Kael’s mind moved quickly. Only someone close could poison him repeatedly without suspicion.

Someone the original owner and those around him trusted. Without that much access, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

Kael's fingers tightened slightly as he thought about all this.

“Trust…” Kael muttered, a faint, mocking smile appearing on his lips.

“It seems like we've both made the same mistake," he continued, exhaling slowly and calming himself.

Right now, anger was useless. He had to get stronger. That was all that mattered.

Without strength, even if he knew the enemy, he couldn’t do anything. Instead, he would get crushed like the ant he was.

Closing his eyes, Kael prepared to get rid of the poison. It was not much, so it shouldn't take much time.

Using the medicinal residue still lingering in his body, he began to isolate the poison.

The process was far more painful than he had expected, but he endured. He wasn't going to keep such a thing in his body.

Time passed, and after about an hour, Kael's eyes flashed open; a mouthful of dark blood spilled from his lips onto the ground.

This time, it was black, thick, and had a foul smell.

That was the poison.

Kael sighed, shaking his head. He knew now this place was far more dangerous than he had thought.

This young man's talent wasn't bad. At least he was on par with his fiancée.

If it were not for this poison, with how hardworking he had seen the original owner was before he started leading a life of debauchery, he would have left Nora to eat his dust.

Smiling bitterly, Kael didn't let his concentration waver and continued mending his meridians. There was absolutely no need to think about all of this.

After a while, Kael was done mending the meridians. His body was finally in shape.

The next step was to temper his body. Then he would cultivate his soul. But he wasn't in a rush at the moment. There was no need to rush.

The herbs he needed were not here. He would still need to go get them.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind, Kael grabbed the rest of the herbs and soaked them in the bowl of water on the table.

After a while, he took out the herbs and then added more water, greatly diluting the effects of the herbs.

Then he poured each into the jars he had carefully prepared.

“Riley!” Kael called out to the maid, who answered almost immediately.

“Get the maids to dispose of this water and prepare another bath. This time, cold water,” Kael commanded.

“And you, pack up these jars and follow me,” he concluded, stepping out of the room.

“Yes, young master,” Riley nodded quickly and moved, doing exactly as Kael had ordered.

After a while, the two stepped out of the clan's gate.

Walking along the bustling street, Kael's eyes flashed, observing every single person.

Shop owners called out to them, waving their hands, trying to introduce what they had.

Carriages moved across the street; the galloping of horses could be heard.

“Young master, why didn't you let us take the carriage?” Riley, who was beside Kael, broke the silence, whispering as she asked.

“Well....” Kael swallowed, thinking about it. He couldn't admit that he had forgotten about it.

When he stepped out, he had nearly tried to command his sword and cut open the void when he remembered he was no longer an Emperor who looked down on all things.

Frustrated, he began to walk, forgetting all about the carriage.

“Young master, where are we going?” Riley asked another question, pulling Kael out of his thoughts.

“That shop,” Kael answered, pointing at the shop with the huge wooden signboard.

“Pill Pavilion!”

Riley narrowed her eyes, wondering what they were going there to do. Looking at the jars she had packed with the liquid, she knew not what it was, and she couldn't help but frown slightly.

Was the young master going to sell this liquid? But no matter how she thought about it, she just couldn't comprehend what was in it.

Before long, they arrived at the shop.

“Wait for me here,” Kael instructed, collecting the bag of jars from Riley and walking into the store.

Inside the store, attendants walked around, each answering a customer, none of them paying Kael any heed.

The scent of medicinal pills filled the air as everyone moved about.

There were even some mid-level mortal pills lying around on the table, displayed for everyone to see.

But no one dared to act recklessly or even tried to grab the pills. This was the strength of the Pill Pavilion.

Though Kael didn't care about the pills, he knew how extraordinary they were to these people, and yet they were able to suppress their greed and not grab them.

Seemed like he didn't make any mistakes. The Pill Pavilion was the right place to come. As to whether they would be willing to do business with him, well, that would be if they had insights.

Walking up to one of the attendants, Kael spoke slowly, his entire being radiating with confidence.

“I want to see your shopkeeper,” he demanded.

“And you are?” The attendant raised his brows, seeing Kael, but his voice was respectful as he recognized the clan crest on Kael's robes.

“I'm Kael,” Kael answered, his voice calm, staring at the attendant.

“Sorry, young master Kael, I didn't recognize you,” the attendant quickly apologized.

“Please come with me,” he carried on, leading Kael towards a private room.

Walking into the private room, Kael surveyed his surroundings.

Apart from the tall shelves which had boxes in them, there were two wooden chairs; on one of them sat a fat, greasy man.

“Sir, the young master of the Draven clan has come to see you,” the attendant reported, then left the room.

“And what has the young master of the Draven clan come to do in my humble Pill Pavilion?” the fat man chuckled, sitting up while smiling.

“I bring you business,” Kael answered, his voice smooth and sounding natural, while he took a seat.

“And what do you have to offer?” the man sat up, narrowing his eyes, observing Kael, who was sitting.

The young master of the Draven clan was said to be a useless trash who couldn't do anything right.

But with what he was seeing here, he would have to debunk that rumor.

“This,” Kael said, laying the jars on the table, making the man narrow his brows.

“And what are these?” the man muttered, picking up one of the jars and examining it with interest.

“It would be boring if I just told you what it was,” Kael shrugged.

“Why don't you check it out yourself?” Kael suggested, seemingly calm.

“Sure,” the man agreed, removing the corks on the bottles.

The moment the cork slipped off, a fragrant medicinal scent filled the air, and the moment he inhaled it, he felt his body relax.

It was as though the fatigue he had been feeling just now was washed away.

Instantly, excitement flashed in the shopkeeper's eyes, and he looked at Kael.

“What exactly is this?”

“Why don't you take it a notch higher?” Kael suggested, his voice calm, unfazed by the shock in the man's eyes.