Chapter 8 – The Matriarch’s Offer

Chapter 8 – The Matriarch's Offer

The Matriarch's laughter faded into the dimly lit chamber, lingering like the last note of a haunting melody. Shen Tian remained still, his golden eyes unwavering as he held her gaze, refusing to yield.

A test of will.

A test of worth.

She leaned back into her throne, the sheer silks around her shifting like mist in the night. The jade cup in her slender fingers tilted slightly, allowing a single drop of dark red liquid to slide down its rim before she brought it to her lips.

She sipped.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Then, without looking away, she set the cup down with an elegant click against the lacquered table beside her.

"You are bold," she murmured, fingers tapping idly against the cup's rim. "That much is clear."

Shen Tian exhaled softly, adjusting his stance ever so slightly. His muscles remained relaxed, but not weak. Calm, but coiled.

"Survival requires boldness," he answered smoothly. "And you wouldn't have summoned me if you wanted submission."

A delicate hum escaped her throat—neither agreement nor denial.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Xiao Mei standing silently near the doorway, her violet eyes flickering between him and the Matriarch, her lips slightly parted.

She was waiting.

For him to rise.

For him to fall.

For him to become something more.

The Matriarch rested her chin against the back of her hand, studying him with the slow, calculating patience of a predator in no rush to strike.

"Very well," she finally said. "You claim to be more valuable alive than dead. Prove it."

Shen Tian's breath remained steady. He expected this. He had prepared for this.

But before he could speak, she lifted a single finger.

The air shifted.

A force—invisible yet suffocating—descended upon him, pressing into his skin, coiling around his throat, his limbs, his chest. It was not physical, yet it held the weight of something far greater than mere strength.

It was pure Yin energy.

And it wanted to crush him.

Shen Tian's muscles locked as a freezing sensation wrapped around his bones. His breath hitched, and for the briefest moment, his vision dimmed at the edges.

The room blurred, his body screaming in protest—

And then, deep within his core… something stirred.

[Ding! The Matriarch's Yin Suppression has triggered a forced activation of your cultivation!]

Yin Absorption Efficiency +30%

Demonic Body Tempering +10%

A spark ignited within him.

The same power that had once devoured him, drained him, killed the original Shen Tian, now felt… different.

Familiar.

His.

A slow smirk curled at his lips as he let the energy flow into him, his newly tempered body instinctively guiding it through his meridians, weaving through his core.

Instead of resisting…

He embraced it.

The Matriarch's crimson eyes gleamed with curiosity as she felt the shift.

Shen Tian straightened, his body no longer trembling under the force of her Yin energy. His golden eyes flickered with an almost unnatural clarity as he raised his head—not in defiance, but in understanding.

A silent message passed between them.

He wasn't just surviving her test.

He was consuming it.

For the first time, the Matriarch's lips parted slightly—not in amusement, but in something deeper.

Recognition.

She withdrew her hand, and the crushing force vanished as if it had never existed.

A moment of silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant crackle of lantern flames and the faint rustle of silk as she shifted in her seat.

Then—

A slow smile graced her lips.

"Interesting," she murmured. "Very interesting."

Shen Tian rolled his shoulders slightly, allowing the last remnants of Yin energy to settle within him, before meeting her gaze once more.

"I told you," he said smoothly. "I am more valuable alive than dead."

The Matriarch tilted her head slightly, her amusement deepening.

"You may be right," she said. "But tell me, Shen Tian… how far are you willing to go to prove it?"

The air thickened once more, not with raw energy, but with something far more dangerous.

An opportunity.

A trap.

A path to power.

Shen Tian's pulse remained steady. He already knew his answer.

"As far as I need to," he said.

The Matriarch's eyes gleamed.

"Then let's begin."