Free Web NovelChapter 2: The Patriarch Returns
The Patriarch Returns
Salvatore Family Main Hall.
Max Salvatore sat in the seat of honor, his hands gripping the carved arms of the grand chair so tightly that the wood groaned beneath the pressure.
The veins on the backs of his hands bulged visibly.
His knuckles had long since turned white.
Yet even so, the fury raging inside him refused to subside.
The atmosphere throughout the hall was suffocating.
Outside, dark clouds drifted across the sky, casting long shadows through the windows. The once-prosperous Salvatore Family estate felt unusually quiet. Many of the servants who used to bustle through the courtyards were gone. The laughter of younger generations had become rare.
Everyone could feel it.
The Salvatore Family was no longer what it once was.
And today, those vultures circling overhead had finally come to peck at the corpse.
Forcing a smile onto his face, Max said,
"Elder Blackwood, you must be joking. The Vitalis Tempering Elixir is the Salvatore Family’s ancestral formula. We have no intention of selling it."
Across from him sat an old man dressed in luxurious purple robes.
His name was Elder Blackwood.
One of the senior elders of the Blackwood Family, another of Aurelia City’s Four Great Families.
A faint smile rested on his face.
The smile looked warm.
Friendly.
Yet beneath it hid naked greed.
"Hahaha! Patriarch Salvatore, I know that the Vitalis Tempering Elixir is the foundation upon which the Salvatore Family built its fortune."
"But Aurelia City’s situation is becoming increasingly unstable. Many people have their eyes on the Salvatore Family now."
"The Vitalis Tempering Elixir formula has become a hot potato."
The old man casually lifted his teacup.
The aroma of spirit tea drifted through the air.
He took a leisurely sip.
As if he had not noticed Max’s darkening expression, he continued.
"The Salvatore Family once showed kindness to the Blackwood Family."
"As long as the Salvatore Family hands over the pill formula, the Blackwood Family is willing to protect your family."
A silence fell over the room.
Several younger family members standing nearby clenched their fists.
Protect?
What a joke.
Everyone understood the meaning behind those words.
Protection was merely a prettier word for extortion.
Max slowly raised his eyes.
"Elder Blackwood, I am not the Salvatore Family Patriarch."
"The only person qualified to bear that title has always been him."
The moment those words left his mouth, the warmth vanished from his expression.
He no longer bothered hiding his anger.
His face darkened completely.
The humiliation hidden within the other’s words was obvious.
They wanted the Salvatore Family’s most valuable treasure.
Yet they still wanted to pretend they were doing them a favor.
It was shameless.
Absolutely shameless.
"Thank you for the Blackwood Family’s kindness."
"But my answer remains the same."
"The Salvatore Family’s pill formula is not for sale!"
His voice grew louder.
"If anyone wants it..."
His black eyes flashed fiercely.
"Then let them find out whether the Salvatore Family’s blade is still sharp!"
His voice exploded through the hall like thunder.
The windows rattled.
The air trembled.
The moment he finished speaking—
Dozens of Salvatore Family youths entered the hall.
Footsteps echoed across the stone floor.
One after another.
Young men and women.
Some barely adults.
Some still carrying youthful features.
Yet every single one stood proudly.
Their eyes burned with determination.
They blocked the entrance and glared at Elder Blackwood.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Only hostility.
Only defiance.
Their actions conveyed a single message.
The Salvatore Family might have declined.
But the Salvatore Family could not be humiliated.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Elder Blackwood burst into laughter.
The sound was harsh.
Mocking.
"The Salvatore Family’s blade?"
He looked at Max as though looking at a fool.
"Max Salvatore, do you still think this is ten years ago?"
Boom!
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
True Spiritual Power surged outward like a tidal wave.
The wooden furniture shook violently.
Several teacups shattered instantly.
"So the Salvatore Family won’t sell the formula?"
A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.
"Then I simply won’t pay for it."
The aura of Peak Arcane Meridian Realm exploded throughout the hall.
At the Arcane Meridian Realm, one’s internal organs had been tempered and strengthened. The extraordinary meridians throughout the body had fully opened, allowing True Spiritual Power to leave the body and kill from a distance.
The pressure flooded every corner.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
A mountain-like force descended upon everyone present.
Several younger disciples immediately turned pale.
Their heads lowered involuntarily.
Even breathing became difficult.
Many could no longer raise their eyes toward the old man.
Even Max felt his chest tighten.
His cultivation had once surpassed this man.
Years ago, he would have crushed Elder Blackwood with a single hand.
But after suffering severe injuries and cultivation regression, everything had changed.
He struggled to stand.
Yet it felt as though invisible mountains were pressing against his shoulders.
Keeping him pinned firmly in place.
"You old bastard!"
"If my cultivation hadn’t fallen to the Arcane Meridian Realm, would you dare insult the Salvatore Family?"
"If my younger brother hadn’t left to seek a master far away, would you dare come knocking at our door?"
"When my eldest brother was here, your Blackwood Family wagged its tail like a dog!"
"You talked endlessly about repaying kindness."
"Is this how you repay it?!"
Max’s face flushed red.
His voice trembled with rage.
Humiliation.
Guilt.
Self-blame.
All of it twisted together within his chest.
He remembered the family’s former glory.
Back then, outsiders trembled when hearing the Salvatore name.
Now enemies dared invade their home.
"The Salvatore Family isn’t the Salvatore Family of ten years ago."
"Wake up, Max Salvatore."
"This is no longer the era when the Three Heroes of the Salvatore Family ruled everything."
"Today’s Salvatore Family is nothing more than an ant in the eyes of the Blackwood Family."
"If our Patriarch hadn’t remembered old ties, your family would’ve been wiped out long ago."
Elder Blackwood’s smile disappeared.
The mask finally fell away.
Only arrogance remained.
His eyes swept across everyone present with naked contempt.
Ten years ago, he had visited this very estate.
Back then he had not even been qualified to enter the main hall.
He could only wait outside.
Like a servant.
Like a dog.
Even looking directly at the Salvatore Family Patriarch had required courage.
Yet today—
Everything had changed.
Now his pressure alone was enough to force the once-glorious Salvatore Family to bow.
What irony.
What satisfaction.
"Max Salvatore."
"Hand over the formula."
His gaze shifted toward the younger generation.
"Aside from the elderly, women, and children, these young people are all that’s left of the Salvatore Family, aren’t they?"
A vicious smile appeared.
"If you refuse..."
"I’ll skin them alive and pull out their tendons one by one right in front of you."
The room fell silent.
Several younger disciples trembled.
Not from fear.
From anger.
Elder Blackwood slowly pulled a dagger from his sleeve.
The blade gleamed coldly.
Like moonlight.
Like death.
He walked toward the nearest youth.
"I wonder what choice the Salvatore Family Patriarch..."
He paused deliberately.
Then smirked.
"Oh, that’s right."
"The Acting Patriarch..."
His smile widened.
"What choice will you make?"
The dagger rested against the youth’s neck.
A thin line of blood immediately appeared.
The crimson droplet rolled down pale skin.
"Blackwood Rowan, you old dog!"
"If you’ve got the ability, come at me!"
"What kind of man attacks children?!"
Max struggled desperately.
Blood vessels bulged from his forehead.
His eyes became bloodshot.
Yet he could not move.
Not even a step.
"Stop wasting your energy, Max Salvatore."
"Hand over the formula."
"Or watch him die."
Blackwood Rowan’s voice carried mocking amusement.
The dagger moved slightly closer.
The youth’s artery was now exposed to the blade.
Death stood only a breath away.
Yet the young man remained calm.
His name was Nux Salvatore.
Max’s son.
The pride of the younger generation.
He fought desperately against the pressure crushing his body.
Crack.
Crack.
The bones in his neck emitted faint sounds as he resisted.
His cultivation was merely at the Spiritual Awakening Realm.
Compared to a Peak Arcane Meridian expert, he was insignificant.
Yet he did not lower his head.
Not even once.
"A mere Spiritual Awakening cultivator..."
"What gives you the right—"
Blackwood Rowan sneered.
Then he stopped. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
His voice cut off abruptly.
Because he had met Nux’s eyes.
Crimson eyes.
Cold.
Silent.
Unmoving.
There was no anger inside them.
No fear.
No humiliation.
Only—
Pure killing intent.
The kind of killing intent that had transcended emotion.
The kind born from instinct.
As natural as breathing.
As natural as hunger.
Blackwood Rowan had killed many people.
Too many to count.
Yet when he looked into those eyes—
A chill ran down his spine.
For the first time in years—
Fear touched his heart.
A tiny seed.
But fear nonetheless.
Instinctively, his hand pushed the dagger lower.
Closer.
Wanting to eliminate the threat before it could grow.
Yet even then—
Nux remained expressionless.
Facing death directly.
Without blinking.
Without retreating.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
He spoke.
"If the Salvatore Family survives today..."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
"Then one day..."
"The heads of every member of the Blackwood Family..."
"Will hang above the city gates."
The pressure distorted his breathing.
Made every word difficult.
Yet his voice never shook.
It sounded less like a threat.
And more like a prophecy.
Like an inevitable future.
For some reason—
Those words terrified Blackwood Rowan.
This child could not be allowed to live.
If he survived—
The Blackwood Family would eventually face disaster.
"NUX!!"
The scream that erupted from Max’s mouth was filled with agony.
That was his son.
His flesh and blood.
The final gift left behind by his late wife.
Yet he could only watch helplessly.
Watch as death approached.
Watch as his son stood before the executioner’s blade.
His eldest brother had entrusted the family to him.
Yet the businesses had collapsed.
The retainers had departed.
The family’s prestige had faded.
And now—
His own son was about to die before his eyes.
"Why am I still alive..."
His voice trembled.
"What right do I have to keep living?"
Despair consumed him.
The dagger descended.
Closer.
Closer.
Just as the cruel scene was about to unfold—
Shing!
A flash of golden light exploded through the hall.
Brilliant.
Blinding.
Terrifying.
An overwhelming force erupted instantly.
Blackwood Rowan was blasted away like a cannonball.
Boom!
His body tore through the air.
Tables exploded.
Wood shattered.
The entire hall shook violently.
At the same time—
An icy, indifferent voice echoed throughout the hall.
"What dog dares bark inside my Salvatore Family?"
The voice was calm.
Cold.
Absolute.
Filled with killing intent.
Everyone who heard it felt a chill run down their spine.
Yet when Max heard that familiar voice—
His entire body froze.
Then tears instantly streamed down his face.
Years of pressure.
Years of guilt.
Years of helplessness.
All collapsed at that moment.
"Big Brother!!"
