The Forbidden System: Rise of the Last Martial God

The City That Hated the Weak

By midday, Kael and Lyra had reached the main road leading to Ashenfall City.

The road was crowded with merchants, travelers, martial disciples, and farmers transporting goods in wooden carts. Some carried swords at their waists. Others wore the insignia of powerful sects, their embroidered robes announcing their status to everyone they passed.

Kael kept his hood low.

He had spent three years being mocked at Iron Peak Sect. He had no desire to become the center of attention in a city full of people who judged others by their strength.

Unfortunately, the world seemed determined to notice him.

“Move aside!”

A heavily loaded carriage came racing down the road.

People scattered as two black horses thundered toward the city gates. The carriage bore a golden emblem shaped like a roaring lion.

Lyra pulled Kael toward the roadside.

“Black Lion Trading House,” she murmured. “Their guards think they own every road they travel.”

Kael watched the carriage pass.

One of its rear wheels struck a loose stone, sending a wooden crate tumbling from the back.

It smashed against the road.

Small glass bottles rolled everywhere.

A young boy carrying a basket stumbled while trying to avoid them. He fell directly into the path of the carriage.

“Stop!” someone screamed.

The driver yanked the reins.

The horses reared, but the carriage continued sliding forward.

Kael moved before he had time to think.

He rushed onto the road, grabbed the boy by the collar, and dragged him away.

The carriage thundered past so closely that its wheel brushed Kael’s boot.

He landed hard on the roadside, the child held against his chest.

For a moment, everything went silent.

Then the boy began crying.

Kael helped him sit up.

“Are you hurt?”

The child shook his head.

His mother rushed forward, snatched him into her arms, and thanked Kael repeatedly.

Kael simply nodded and returned to Lyra.

A notification appeared.

[Protective action recognized.]

[Minor hidden objective completed.]

[System Points +2.]

[Current System Points: 17.]

Kael frowned.

He had expected a reward for surviving battles, not for saving a child from being crushed by a carriage.

“Does the system reward every good deed?” he whispered.

[No.]

“Then why this one?”

[The action affected a protected life and altered a probable outcome.]

Kael glanced at the boy and his mother.

Perhaps the system measured more than strength.

Before he could ask another question, a man stepped down from the carriage.

He wore a dark blue robe decorated with golden thread. A jade ring gleamed on his right hand, and his expression suggested that the entire road had personally offended him.

“You!”

He pointed at Kael.

“Did you damage my carriage?”

Kael stared at him.

“Your carriage nearly killed that boy.”

“That is none of your concern.”

The man’s eyes moved to the broken crate.

“You caused this mess. My goods have been ruined, and you will pay for them.”

Lyra stepped forward.

“Your driver dropped the crate.”

The man turned toward her.

“And you are?”

“Someone with eyes.”

Several travelers nearby tried to hide their laughter.

The man’s face darkened.

“You dare insult a representative of the Black Lion Trading House?”

“I answered your question.”

He raised his hand.

Two guards approached immediately.

“Teach these troublesome beggars some manners,” he ordered.

Kael’s shoulders tightened.

He was injured, exhausted, and still unable to circulate energy properly. A fight in the middle of the road was the last thing he needed.

But he would not allow the man to punish innocent people simply because he could.

“Your goods are on the road,” Kael said. “Collect them and leave.”

The representative looked at him with disbelief.

“You think you can give me orders?”

“No. I think you should stop wasting everyone’s time.”

One of the guards drew his baton.

Lyra’s hand moved toward her blade.

Kael quietly activated Combat Insight.

[Target analysis initiated.]

[Target: Black Lion Guard.]

[Estimated cultivation: Meridian Awakening, First Stage.]

[Host’s physical condition: Injured.]

[Recommendation: Avoid direct confrontation.]

Kael almost laughed.

The system’s advice was becoming predictable.

Then a new voice interrupted them.

“What’s happening here?”

A woman in a grey merchant’s coat approached from a nearby stall. She was in her thirties, with her hair tied neatly behind her head and a narrow scar running from her jaw to her ear.

The moment the Black Lion representative saw her, his expression changed.

“Manager Shen.”

The woman glanced at the broken crate, then at the frightened boy and his mother.

“Your driver was speeding again, wasn’t he?”

The representative hesitated.

“The road was obstructed.”

“By a child?”

Silence.

Manager Shen looked at the guards.

“Put your weapons away.”

Neither guard moved.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

They lowered their batons.

The representative clenched his jaw.

“This matter concerns the Black Lion Trading House.”

“And I am the manager responsible for this district’s trade permits. If you want to explain to the city magistrate why your men threatened a child and assaulted travelers, I can arrange the meeting.”

His expression became stiff.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Excellent. Then collect your goods, compensate the boy’s mother for the damaged basket, and continue your journey.”

The man looked as though he wanted to argue.

Instead, he signaled to his guards.

As they gathered the fallen bottles, Manager Shen turned toward Kael.

“You have quick reflexes.”

“I was close enough to help.”

“Many people were close enough. Most watched.”

She studied his face for a moment.

“Are you new to Ashenfall?”

“Yes.”

“Then take my advice. Don’t confuse this city with the countryside. Here, people may smile while calculating how much your life is worth.”

Kael glanced toward the departing carriage.

“I’ve met people like that before.”

“I imagine you have.”

She handed him a small copper token.

“Show this at the eastern market if you need temporary work. Tell them Manager Shen sent you.”

Kael accepted it cautiously.

“Why help us?”

“Because you did something decent when you had nothing to gain from it.”

She turned to leave, then paused.

“One more thing. If you’re searching for a physician, try the old quarter near the southern wall. Master Ren still sees patients there.”

Kael’s attention sharpened.

“Master Ren?”

“You know him?”

“Someone told me he might be able to help my sister.”

“Then don’t waste time. His clinic is crowded, and he doesn’t keep regular hours.”

Manager Shen walked away before Kael could ask anything else.

Kael looked down at the copper token.

A simple piece of metal.

Yet it might be the first useful connection he had made since leaving Iron Peak Sect.

Lyra nudged his shoulder.

“You’re collecting allies rather quickly.”

“I saved a child. That doesn’t make us allies.”

“Perhaps not. But she gave you access to work and information.”

Kael slipped the token into his bag.

“Then I’ll make good use of both.”

⸻

Ashenfall City’s gates were taller than the buildings surrounding them.

Armed guards stood on either side of the entrance, checking travelers and inspecting carts. Beyond the gates, crowded streets stretched between stone buildings, their upper floors connected by wooden walkways and hanging signs.

The city was alive with noise.

Merchants shouted prices. Blacksmiths hammered glowing metal. Children ran between market stalls, while martial disciples gathered around noticeboards advertising tournaments, missions, and cultivation resources.

Kael stared at everything.

He had rarely left Iron Peak’s territory. The sect had been his entire world.

Now he was beginning to understand how little of the world he knew.

A guard stopped him at the entrance.

“Names and purpose of visit.”

“Kael Veyron. We’re looking for work and a physician.”

The guard looked up.

For a moment, his expression remained ordinary.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“Veyron?”

Kael felt his stomach tighten.

“Yes.”

The guard exchanged a glance with his companion.

“Wait here.”

He walked toward a small booth beside the gate.

Lyra leaned closer.

“Do you know him?”

“No.”

“Then why does he look as if you’ve committed a crime?”

“Because my name has a talent for causing trouble.”

The guard returned with a thin register.

“Kael Veyron, formerly affiliated with Iron Peak Sect?”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“Formerly.”

The guard made a mark beside his name.

“You may enter. But report to the city administration if you intend to remain longer than three days.”

Kael passed through the gates, but unease settled over him.

His name was already known here.

Someone had warned the city about him—or someone had been waiting for him.

The system confirmed his suspicion.

[Information network detected.]

[Subject: Kael Veyron.]

[Public threat classification: Unverified.]

[Origin of record: Unknown.]

Kael continued walking.

He had survived exile, a forbidden ravine, and an ambush by men who knew about the Architect.

He would not let a suspicious register frighten him away.

But he would be careful.

Very careful.

⸻

The southern quarter was older and quieter than the main market.

Buildings leaned toward narrow streets, and faded signs hung above small shops. The smell of medicinal herbs drifted from open doorways.

Kael stopped outside a modest clinic with a wooden sign.

REN’S MEDICINAL HALL

A line of patients stretched from the entrance to the opposite wall.

Some were elderly. Others were young cultivators with bandaged limbs. A woman held a feverish child while an assistant moved between the waiting patients.

Kael approached the counter.

“I need to speak with Master Ren.”

The assistant did not look up.

“Take a number.”

“It’s urgent. My younger sister is ill.”

“So are half the people waiting here.”

Kael swallowed his frustration.

“Please. I don’t need medicine for myself. I need to know what she has and whether it can be treated.”

The assistant finally looked at him.

“How old is she?”

“Sixteen.”

“What symptoms?”

“Recurring fever, weakness, and difficulty breathing when the weather gets cold.”

The assistant’s expression changed slightly.

“Has she been examined by a qualified physician?”

“Once. We couldn’t afford the treatment he recommended.”

The assistant wrote something on a small slip.

“Wait there.”

Kael and Lyra moved to a bench beside the wall.

They waited for nearly an hour.

During that time, Kael watched patients enter the clinic and leave with medicine packets. Some smiled with relief. Others looked worried.

At last, a tall elderly man emerged from an inner room.

His hair was white, and a thin pair of spectacles rested on his nose. Despite his age, his movements were precise and steady.

“Which of you is asking about a sixteen-year-old girl with recurring fever and breathing difficulties?”

Kael immediately stood.

“I am.”

“Your name?”

“Kael Veyron.”

The physician went still.

It lasted only a heartbeat, but Kael noticed.

Master Ren studied him carefully.

“Where is your sister now?”

“Outside Iron Peak territory, staying with a relative.”

“Does she have any unusual marks on her skin?”

Kael hesitated.

He remembered a faint silver mark near Mira’s collarbone, something she had possessed for as long as he could remember.

“There’s a small mark near her collarbone.”

Master Ren’s face lost its color.

He looked toward the clinic’s open doorway, then lowered his voice.

“Come inside. Both of you.”

Kael followed him into a private examination room.

Master Ren closed the door.

“Tell me everything you know about your family’s history.”

Kael’s heart began to pound.

“My parents died when I was young. I was told my father was a traveling martial artist. My mother came from a family no one wanted to discuss.”

“And the mark?”

“I don’t know what it means.”

Master Ren sat down slowly.

“Twenty years ago, several families were investigated for possessing an ancient martial inheritance. Most disappeared. Others were accused of forbidden experiments.”

Kael felt the room grow colder.

“The Veyron family?”

The physician did not answer immediately.

Instead, he opened a locked drawer and removed a folded piece of yellowed paper.

On it was the same symbol Kael had seen on the Awakening Stone: seven uneven lines surrounding an empty circle.

“I was ordered to destroy this record,” Master Ren said. “I kept it because I suspected the official account was false.”

Kael stared at the paper.

“What does it mean?”

Master Ren met his gaze.

“It means your sister may not be suffering from an ordinary illness.”

The system suddenly activated.

[Critical information detected.]

[Bloodline resonance: Confirmed.]

[Hidden objective updated: Protect the Bloodline.]

[New clue: The Veyron inheritance is active.]

Kael’s hands went cold.

Master Ren leaned forward.

“If your sister carries the same inheritance I suspect, then the people hunting you may not want to kill either of you.”

“Then what do they want?”

The physician’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“Your bloodline is the key to opening something that was sealed long before the Seven Sects existed.”

Before Kael could respond, someone knocked sharply on the clinic door.

A voice called from outside.

“Master Ren! The city administration has sent an order. You are to surrender the medical records connected to the Veyron family immediately.”

Master Ren closed his eyes.

“They found you faster than I expected.”

Kael turned toward the door.

The system displayed a final warning.

[Hostile forces approaching.]

[Estimated time to contact: 60 seconds.]

[Mission update: Secure the Veyron record and escape the clinic.]

Kael looked at the physician, then at Lyra.

His search for medicine had uncovered something far more dangerous than he had imagined.

And now the truth about his family was about to become a battle.