Free Web NovelChapter 18: Chapter 18—Status
Chapter 18—Status
’Dammit.’
Lei Cheng reacted instantly. He shattered the illusion—cracks spreading across the entire constructed space like fractures in ice. Every figure dissolved into fog and vanished.
Every figure vanished except one.
Clan Head Nie stood completely unaffected, steady and unmoved as the entire illusion collapsed around him. Even Lin Mei—who had been the very core from which the memory illusion was drawn—had disappeared with the rest.
"Where do you think you’re running?"
Clan Head Nie’s voice was cold and absolute. His own illusion power reached into the dissolving space and seized Lei Cheng’s Illusion Intent directly—forcing the vanishing world to freeze, holding the last fragments of it in place.
Lei Cheng felt completely outmatched.
’I just need to survive this.’
He prayed it inwardly while throwing everything he had into breaking free.
Swish!
Clan Head Nie flashed forward—appearing directly in front of him in an instant. One of his tails glowed brightly. His claw drove into Lei Cheng’s chest with devastating force. Lei Cheng desperately forced his illusion power to reduce part of the impact before it connected.
Thud!
"Shatter! Shatter!"
Lei Cheng screamed as he was launched backward through the air, blood spraying from his mouth.
Crack! Crack!
Under the crushing pressure, the illusion finally shattered completely.
Lei Cheng’s eyes snapped open.
He was back in his room. Lin Mei stood frozen like a statue, exactly where he had left her. Behind her, Mo Yong stood motionless—a hollow puppet with no will of his own.
Lei Cheng didn’t spare either of them a glance.
He covered his mouth with both palms—but the blood wouldn’t stop. It pushed through the gaps between his fingers and splattered onto the floor in heavy drops.
Bang!
His knees hit the ground. His heart hammered so violently it felt ready to burst through his ribs entirely. His vision blanked out for a moment—pure white—before slowly returning.
He sat still, drawing deep, careful breaths, forcing himself to stay conscious.
’What kind of ability was that? Injuring someone directly through an illusion.’ He winced. ’It wasn’t Illusionary Switch. This was different.’
He recalled how Nie Hua had suffered real injuries after Nie Han used Illusionary Switch—but in that case, the injuries had manifested as a result of damage taken within the illusion itself. This time, Clan Head Nie had struck him directly. A physical strike channeled through the illusion space into reality.
’Another supernatural ability.’ freёwebnovel.com
He pushed himself to his feet, legs trembling beneath him. ’I need a physician. Now.’ His chest burned with pain of a magnitude he had never felt before. He had stopped coughing blood, but the damage underneath was obvious. Internal organs damaged. Especially the heart and lungs. He could feel it.
He glanced at the still-frozen Lin Mei and allowed himself a faint, tired smile. ’Lucky. If the illusion had broken on her... she would have killed me with a single punch. And even now she could.’
’Wait.’
His eyes shifted. ’The Status Panel. How could I forget?’
From the very beginning—through all the chaos—he had completely overlooked the fact that every person in this world possessed a personalized status panel, granted by the Heavenly Dao itself. ’Though I don’t know whether it’s truly reliable,’ he muttered inwardly, ’given that according to the Eye of Prophecy—the Dao itself is corrupted.’
The original Lei Cheng had rarely used the Status Panel. For talentless mortals, it almost never changed. As a result, the habit had carried over, and the current Lei Cheng had nearly forgotten it existed.
He exhaled. ’Whatever. Check it now.’
"Status."
[ Ding!]
『 STATUS PANEL 』
[ Name: Lei Cheng (Otherworldly Being)
Age: 17/37
Realm: Lv.0 — Mortal
Path: None
Health: Severely Injured
Cultivation Techniques: None
Skills: None
Dao: Illusion Intent {31%} ]
For several seconds, he simply stared at his age.
"What the—?!"
Lei Cheng’s voice cracked. ’I had a remaining lifespan of 110 years before. How is it 20 now?’
He pressed a hand against the wall to steady himself, then removed the illusion over himself and glanced in the mirror. His hair had turned more than half gray.
The reflection staring back at him seemed exhausted with dark circles under the eyes.
’The Dao feeds on lifespan.’
The realization settled in with bitter clarity. ’Every time I use my powers, the Dao is taking years directly from my life based on the intensity. That’s the cost.’ He had lost only a few years with each previous illusion use. ’It must have been the memory dive. It took more than half my remaining lifespan.’
He laughed once. A short, bitter sound.
’Heavenly Dao. The very system that governs all life feeds on the lifespan of the people living in it.’
He paused with a grim expression. ’But wait—if the Dao drains everyone’s lifespan, how does anyone survive long enough to cultivate?’ He filed that question away—but couldn’t focus as his vision blanked out again.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, suddenly overwhelmingly tired, eyelids heavy as lead.
’No.’ He shook his head sharply. ’I cannot fall asleep. Not now. If I lose consciousness here, I may not wake up.’
He snapped his fingers.
Lin Mei’s eyes opened. She blinked and turned toward Mo Yong, her expression smooth and composed—as though nothing unusual had occurred. Lei Cheng’s Illusion Intent had done its work. She had forgotten everything from after placing the restriction mark on Mo Yong, her memory resuming only from that moment forward.
"Young Master—it is time. The groom must go to receive the bride."
Mo Yong stood and followed her like an obedient dog, blank-eyed and hollow.
Lin Mei turned and noticed Lei Cheng—in Yun Che’s form—panting heavily, bent slightly at the waist.
"What’s wrong?" Her eyes narrowed.
Lei Cheng straightened, blood still faintly leaking from the corner of his mouth, hidden behind the illusion. "Your pressure injured me. I’ll rest for a moment."
Lin Mei hummed and tilted her chin upward. "What a weakling. Fine—rest. I have the Young Master now. You’re no longer needed."
Lei Cheng nodded wordlessly.
She took a few steps toward the door—then stopped and turned back. Lei Cheng’s eyes rose, expression neutral.
"Something the matter?"
Lin Mei’s grin spread—wide and manic. "I will need half of the Lei Clan’s money."
Lei Cheng nodded without a flicker of reaction.
Lin Mei laughed—louder, more freely. "Good. And if you’re lucky... I may even mention you to Young Miss Hua." She walked out into the corridor. Mo Yong followed at her heels.
The moment she disappeared around the corner, Lei Cheng moved.
He slipped silently to the window, climbed out, and made his way swiftly along the back side of the Lei Clan courtyard, putting distance between himself and the main buildings. He broke into a panting, weak run the moment he cleared the outer wall and shifted into an ordinary servant’s form, clad in the hemp robe. He showed the Lei Clan emblem at every checkpoint—no guard dared step forward to stop him.
’I need the nearest pharmacy. I feel like I’ll faint at any moment.’
His body was running on will alone. Within minutes, he reached it—a two-story rosewood building, not especially busy.
Qian Pharmacy.
He looked at it for half a second—then climbed the steps.
He made it to the top stair.
Relief washed through him.
Then the strength left his body.
Thud!
He collapsed. But even as he fell, his hand moved—he clenched the Lei Clan emblem tight in his fist before his eyes closed. He knew exactly what this world was. Without proof of his background, an unconscious boy in a servant’s clothes would be kicked to the roadside, not carried to a bed.
---
A middle-aged guard stepped out and looked down at the crumpled figure. He raised his foot to kick him off the stairs—then stopped.
His eyes caught the emblem clutched in the boy’s fist. He crouched and pulled it free.
"Lei Clan!"
The guard’s voice rang through the building. Heads turned from the streets and from within. The Lei Clan’s name carried weight across all of Azure Cloud City—even in a servant’s form, even unconscious on a pharmacy floor. Hands reached down and lifted Lei Cheng carefully, carrying him inside and placing him on a bed.
An old physician came rushing in. He took Lei Cheng’s pulse—and his expression cracked immediately.
The room fell silent.
"What’s wrong, Doctor Qian?"
The middle-aged guard asked. Everyone in the room leaned forward.
The Lei Clan’s influence had drawn even the pharmacy owner, Qian Jun, rushing to the room. The entire senior staff of the Qian Pharmacy crowded in. A sixteen-year-old girl—petite and bright-eyed, dressed in a purple brocade robe—stepped forward and took hold of Doctor Qian’s arm. Her temperament was lively, and her presence drew a faint smile from everyone, even in the tense moment.
"What’s wrong, Grandpa?"
Doctor Qian shook his head slowly. "It is serious. His ribs are broken—though fortunately not shattered. Nearly half of his sternum has deep cracks running through it. I can sense multiple fractures in the nerve pathways across his chest region." He paused, glancing down at the unconscious boy’s average, tanned face. "It is remarkable that he managed to reach this pharmacy at all."
He looked up.
"Just what kind of servant is he?"
