The Sword Goddess Killed Me, So I Came Back For Revenge

Chapter 5

As the sacrifice slowly came to an end, Cora’s hope turned into clear disappointment, and then into despair.

Just when Adrian thought he would not be able to open the Divine Martial Mark, the white crystal stone that he had been tightly holding in his hand began to light up slowly.

In the very last moment before the sacrifice completely ended, a pure beam of starlight descended from the sky. It landed directly on Adrian’s forehead and transformed into a white circular Divine Martial Mark.

A warm sensation spread from the center of his forehead and flowed through his entire body. The blocked meridians loosened a little and a faint but real power began to move inside him for the first time in this life.

It had opened.

Adrian’s heart pounded hard. He was incredibly excited. After everything, he had finally opened the Divine Martial Mark. 

At first, no one paid any attention to him. But the moment the white mark appeared on his forehead, every pair of eyes in the crowd turned toward him.

“Is that not the Tenth Young Master?”

“He is already sixteen years old… how is this possible?”

“That sickly boy actually opened the Divine Martial Mark?”

Many people stared at Adrian in complete disbelief. They found it hard to accept what they were seeing.

The Seventh Young Master and the Eighth Young Master, who stood not far away, both froze. Their eyes widened, the  arrogant looks on their faces disappeared and were replaced by pure shock and anger.

They could not understand how the brother they had always looked down on had managed to succeed at the very last second.

Cora’s legs almost gave away. When she saw the clear white Divine Martial Mark on her son’s forehead, tears of joy immediately filled her eyes. She rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Adrian… you finally did it,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “You really did it.”

Adrian gently patted her back. For the first time since waking up in this body, he felt a real sense of relief.

An old man who had been standing beside the Clan Leader walked forward with a mild smile on 

his face. His eyes studied the white mark carefully.

“Congratulations to the Tenth Young Master for opening the Divine Martial Mark.”

The old man spoke politely. Then he turned toward Adrian and Cora.

“The Matriarch has asked me to invite the Tenth Young Master over. She wishes to personally test the grade of the Divine Martial Mark that you have opened.”

The smile on Cora’s face immediately froze. Adrian noticed the sudden change in her body language. He already understood that the Matriarch was not a kind person his mother would want him to meet. 

“Let’s go and see the Matriarch,” Adrian said, still interested in meeting the Matriarch.

They followed the old man through the crowd. Many people stepped aside and watched them with curiosity. 

Under a large tent near the altar, the Matriarch of the Vale Clan sat in a high seat. She wore elegant robes and a simple but expensive hairpin. She looked around thirty years old, beautiful and dignified. She was not as old as Adrian had imagined, yet the coldness in her eyes made her presence heavy.

“The Clan Leader is currently in closed-door cultivation,” she said in a clear voice. “Therefore, this ritual ceremony is being presided over by me.”

She looked at the High Elder standing beside her.

“High Elder, detect the grade of the Divine Martial Mark opened by the Tenth Young Master.”

The High Elder nodded and took out an ancient book from his sleeve. The book was thick and bound with dark leather. It was the complete record of all Divine Martial Marks that had ever appeared in the history of the continent, from the first grade to the tenth grade.

He carefully compared the white circular mark on Adrian’s brow with every page in the book. After a long time, he closed the volume and shook his head.

“Matriarch, none of the recorded marks match the Divine Martial Mark on the Tenth Young Master.”

The Matriarch turned her eyes toward Adrian. Her expression was indifferent.

“Since the detection shows no result, it is probably a Divine Martial Mark without a proper grade. Over the years, many martial artists in the clans have opened unknown Divine Martial Marks. Their final achievements were all very limited.”

The Seventh Young Master stood inside the tent and immediately spoke up with a respectful smile.

“Matriarch is right. Tenth Brother is already sixteen years old after all. He has missed the best age for cultivation. Even if he had opened a fourth-grade or fifth-grade mark, he would not be able to achieve much.”

The Matriarch nodded slightly, agreeing with the Seventh Young Master’s words.

“The Tenth Young Master has only opened a Divine Martial Mark of unknown grade. That is all.”

Her tone was calm, but the meaning was clear. In front of everyone, she had already decided that Adrian’s mark was almost worthless.

Cora’s hands tightened around Adrian’s arm. Her face was pale, but she forced herself to stay quiet. She knew that speaking out of turn in front of the Matriarch would only bring more trouble.

Adrian stood straight and kept his expression peaceful. Inside, he remained completely calm. In his previous life he had seen far greater powers and far more dangerous people. A few cold words from a clan matriarch meant nothing to him.

He could feel the white circular mark on his forehead. Even though the High Elder could not identify it, Adrian knew it was not ordinary. The warm energy that had spread through his body earlier was real. The white crystal in his clothes had reacted. Something special had happened.

“The Tenth Young Master is already sixteen years old. In order to conserve the Vale Clan’s cultivation resources, we will only give him one bottle of Bone Tempering Elixir.”

Cora’s face changed at once. She stepped forward slightly and spoke with careful respect.

“Matriarch, the first year after opening the Divine Martial Mark is the most important year. Back then, after the Seventh Young Master opened his Divine Martial Mark, he received a total of twelve bottles of Bone Tempering Elixir . He was able to cleanse his body once every month. Why would Adrian only receive one bottle?”

The Matriarch’s voice turned colder.

“The Seventh Young Master opened a seventh-grade Divine Martial Mark when he was only just a child. How can the Tenth Young Master be compared to the Seventh Young Master?”

The Eighth Young Master stood beside the Matriarch and spoke in a proud tone.

“Seventh Brother is the Matriarch’s most favored son. He has a powerful bloodline and carries a seventh-grade Divine Martial Mark. In the entire Vale Clan, whether this clan can prosper and become stronger in the future depends almost entirely on Seventh Brother alone. 

One finger of the Seventh Brother is a hundred times more important than the Tenth Brother’s life. There is simply no comparison.”

Cora clenched her fists tightly under her sleeves. She still wanted to fight for her son. She took a small breath and spoke again.

“When the Eighth Young Master opened his Divine Martial Mark, he also received four bottles of Bone Tempering Elixir .”

The Matriarch’s expression grew even more displeased. “The higher the talent, the more resources one receives. The Tenth Young Master has the lowest talent among all the young masters, so naturally he receives fewer resources. That is the rule.”

Cora opened her mouth, ready to say more, but the Matriarch raised her hand and cut her off with a deep, angry voice.

“I have already made my decision. If you dare to say one more word, do you believe I will have someone drag you out and beat you up again?”

The tent fell silent for a moment.

Adrian slowly raised his eyes. When he heard the Matriarch’s last words, a cold thought passed through his mind. Could it be that the Matriarch had beaten his mother before?

Cora’s body trembled slightly. Her face turned pale, as if she was remembering something terrible. She immediately closed her mouth and lowered her head. She no longer dared to speak.

At that moment, a servant stepped forward and delivered a single bottle of Bone Tempering Elixir . Adrian took it without a word. He walked over to Cora’s side, then turned around and looked straight at the Matriarch who still sat in the high seat under the tent.

“Let’s go back, Mother,” he said calmly.

Cora could only nod. She held the small jade bottle tightly and followed him out of the tent. Behind them, the Matriarch watched their departing figures with a cold gaze.

“Two months from now will be the end-of-year assessment of the Vale Clan,” she said in a clear voice that carried across the open ground.

 “The Tenth Young Master should cultivate hard and strive to complete the body cleansing within two months so he can become a true martial artist. 

“At the same time, the Clan Leader will also come out of closed-door cultivation. I hope you can bring him a surprise.”