Chapter 109: Shameless Extortion

Liana suddenly stood up from the stone floor.

The graceful temperament she usually carried was completely forgotten.

Without the slightest regard for her image as the Silvercrest Clan’s proudest daughter, she lunged forward, her delicate hands tightly grabbing onto Rhain’s shoulders.

"Thank you! Thank you, Rhain!" Liana cried out, her silver eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "You have no idea what you’ve just done! You have done an unimaginable favor for our entire clan!"

She was so ecstatic that she practically forgot her own strength, her fingers digging tightly into his dark robes.

Beside Rhain, Seris blinked in surprise at Liana’s sudden outburst.

Seeing the usually elegant girl losing her composure so thoroughly, Seris quickly stepped forward.

"Liana, calm down," She reached out, placing her delicate hands over Liana’s trembling ones, and gently pulled them away from Rhain’s shoulders.

"Ah..." Liana’s voice faltered, as if she suddenly realized what she’d just done.

Rhain took a small step back, casually brushing the fabric of his sleeves.

"Breathe, Lady Liana," Rhain said, his tone calm and stabilizing. "The pill I just gave you only cleansed a portion of the accumulated toxins. To completely eradicate a hereditary curse of this magnitude from your entire clan, it will require a sustained treatment and a massive quantity of these pills."

"Ahem! M-my bad. Sorry, Rhain. I forgot myself!"

Liana took a deep, shuddering breath, her chest heaving as she forced herself to regain a bit of her composure.

Seris gently rubbed Liana’s back, helping her steady her racing heart.

But the blazing light of hope in Liana’s silver eyes did not dim in the slightest.

She looked directly into Rhain’s dark grey eyes, her gaze burning with an intensity she had never shown anyone before.

She took a step back and bowed deeply, entirely disregarding her high status as the pearl of Mirravele City.

"Rhain... if you can refine these pills for our clan... if you can truly cure us of this generational curse..." Liana looked up, her expression resolute. "Then our Silvercrest Clan will gladly pay any price you ask."

Rhain looked down at the bowing girl.

"You are Seris’s friend," He spoke. "And since she cares for you, I will definitely help you and your family."

Hearing those words, Liana raised her head.

A brilliant smile bloomed across her face.

She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and looked at Rhain with eager anticipation. "Rhain, could you... could you meet my father right now? If he hears this wonderful news, he would be very glad."

"I have no objections," Rhain nodded.

She he even more cooperative than he was expecting.

"Lead the way."

Liana didn’t waste a single second.

She hurried out of the private courtyard, along with Seris, and Rhain following leisurely behind them.

Eventually, they arrived before a set of massive doors.

This was the Grand Hall, the center of authority within the Silvercrest Clan.

As they approached, Rhain’s Spiritual Sense effortlessly pierced through the heavy doors.

Inside the hall, three distinct auras were present.

Sitting on the highest seats of the hall were Solas and a middle-aged man of medium build.

The middle-aged man had bright serene eyes, and oppressive pressure of the fourth level of the Core Formation Realm.

This was the current Patriarch of the Silvercrest Clan, and Liana’s father, Aurelian.

Standing before them was a man dressed in green.

On his chest hung the insignia of the Ashvele Clan.

He exuded the aura of the peak of the Spirit Manifestation Realm.

His tone was respectful as he spoke to the two men, but anyone could clearly hear the apparent displeasure in his words.

"Father!" Liana called out hastily as she stepped into the hall.

Aurelian’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the sound. He glanced at his daughter and spoke with a dignified voice, "Liana, wait for a while. We are discussing clan matters."

Seeing Liana enter, the Ashvele Clan member cupped his hands and bowed slightly. "Since Lady Liana has arrived, I lwould like to take my leave now. Master Kynlee has clearly stated that our clan is severely short of medicinal pills at this moment. We simply cannot afford to distribute them to others."

Solas spoke with a fierce look on his face. "We are only asking for ten percent of the Earthfire Vein Pacifying Elixirs your clan used to supply! Furthermore, we are even ready to pay three times the price! Could your Ashvele Clan truly not agree to these simple terms?"

The Ashvele man slowly shook his head, a cynical strangeness woven into his words. "Master Solas, Master Kynlee’s words were clear. Our clan will no longer trade in Aetherium Crystals. If the Silvercrest Clan wishes to obtain these pills, you must provide us with weapons in exchange."

"Preposterous!" Aurelian’s eyes darkened slightly, "I have already told Kynlee that we will remain neutral! If we arm your clan, we will draw the Solari Clan’s fury directly onto our own people!"

"Neutrality?" The Ashvele envoy scoffed lightly as he accused.

"Our Ashvele Clan has always treated the Silvercrest Clan as an important friend. For generations, we have dutifully provided you with the Earthfire Vein Pacifying Elixirs to suppress your... unfortunate hereditary condition. But today, when our clan is in dire need of armaments, not only is your Silvercrest Clan unwilling to help us, but you are even secretly siding with our greatest enemy!"

The envoy shook his head.

"Our Ashvele Clan is deeply disappointed."

"We did not side with them! Those rumors are baseless fabrications!" Aurelian defended.

The envoy stood his ground, completely unfazed.

"Fabrications or not, the optics are clear," the envoy sneered faintly. "Until you prove your friendship by opening your armories to us, the pill supply remains severed." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Aurelian and Solas both had gloomy faces.

They were being shamelessly extorted.

Ashvele Clan was intentionally using their hereditary curse to hold a knife to their throats, trying to force them into a bloody war they had no part in.

’What a shameless display of extortion.’ Rhain thought as he watched Ashvele envoy’s performance.

The envoy offered one final bow before turned toward the exit.

But just as the Ashvele envoy turned to make his dramatic exit, a calm voice came from the grand doors.

"What a great friend the Ashvele Clan is, to sell poison in the name of pills."

Aurelian and Solas both glanced toward the grand doors.

Aurelian’s gaze landed on the two unfamiliar figures standing just behind Liana.

"Who are you?" Aurelian frowned, "This is the Grand Hall. Outsiders are not permitted."

Beside him, Solas quickly leaned in to clarify. "They are Liana’s friends. The girl is the young prodigy who just defeated Sylvan in the arena, and the boy is her companion."

Aurelian’s eyes showed a trace of surprise upon hearing of Seris’s feat, but the sheer gravity of the current clan crisis quickly overshadowed any curiosity he had about the younger generation’s sparring matches.

He waved his hand with a tired, dismissive gesture.

"Liana, take your friends away for now," Aurelian instructed firmly. "It is not the time or place for guests. I will talk to you all in a while."

Liana opened her mouth, desperate to tell her father the earth-shattering news that the young man standing right behind her could cure their bloodline curse. "Father, wait! You have to listen to—"

"Hold on."

A grating voice stopped words.

The Ashvele Clan envoy’s burning gaze locked dead onto Rhain.

The peak Spirit Manifestation Realm pressure rolled off his body.

"No one in Mirravele City has ever dared to question the authenticity of our pills! Boy, you better explain exactly what you meant by those words."

Rhain didn’t even blink.

With his hands tucked casually behind his back, he slowly stepped into the Grand Hall, completely ignoring the envoy’s oppressive aura.

"What wrong did I say?" Rhain asked, "Aren’t your so-called Earthfire Vein Pacifying Elixirs nothing more than slow-acting poisons? It meticulously designed to slowly erode the meridians of the Silvercrest Clan members, and drain their potential."

The Ashvele envoy burst into a dangerous, chilling laugh. "Hahaha! You arrogant little whelp!"

Even Aurelian and Solas were stunned by the sheer audacity of the claim.

The envoy took a threatening step forward, his eyes flashing with lethal killing intent. "If you were not standing inside the protective walls of the Silvercrest Clan right now... you would have already died for spouting such blasphemy."

Rhain simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Same for you."

The envoy’s face turned purple with rage. "You court death!"

"Enough!" Aurelian’s thunderous voice boomed, instantly suppressing the rising hostility in the room.

Aurelian frowned deeply, looking at Rhain with clear displeasure.

"Young man," Aurelian warned with a deep voice. "Because you are Liana’s friend, I do not want to be harsh with you. But this is a critical negotiation between two Great Clans. You are overstepping your bounds. Do not cause unnecessary trouble for our clan. Leave this place immediately."

Rhain met the Core Formation Patriarch’s gaze without a single trace of fear.

"Patriarch Aurelian, I am not causing trouble," Rhain stated calmly. "Whatever I am saying is the absolute truth. And I can prove it right here, right now."

The Ashvele envoy let out another loud, mocking scoff.

"Prove it? Hahaha! You ignorant brat, do you even know the first thing about alchemy?" The envoy sneered, his arrogance reaching its peak. "Fine! If you can prove that our Ashvele Clan’s Pacifying Elixirs have even any flaw—let alone a poison—then I will die on this very spot!"

Rhain let out a low chuckle.

He didn’t even look at the envoy anymore, treating him like a dead man walking.

Rhain turned his head toward the silver-dressed girl standing near the doorway.

"Liana," Rhain asked casually. "Do you happen to have any of their Earthfire Vein Pacifying Elixirs on you?"

Liana quickly nodded her head.

Her trust in Rhain had already been solidified the moment he cleansed her meridians.

"I do," she said, hastily retrieving a small, polished jade bottle from her spatial ring, and placing it into Rhain’s outstretched hand.

Aurelian, Solas, Seris, Liana, and the envoy, every single person in the hall looked at Rhain, all of them wondering exactly what he wanted to do.