However, the mystery and power of the Ember Gate made all the other heirs yearn for the position of Sect Leader. This was much like the emperors of old, who all desired to ascend the dragon throne and beco the sovereign ruler of all under heaven. Thus, the direct heir's situation was perilous, always at risk of assassination by their siblings.
The direct heir chosen as the next Sect Leader generally bore the emblem of the Ember Gate—a golden fla—which signified the Sect. They also wore a valuable necklace with the character "Reyes" on it, representing the status of the head of the Reyes Family.
If any collateral heirs could snatch the fla emblem and the necklace bearing the "Reyes" character from the direct heir, they could command the entire Ember Gate and beco the next Sect Leader.
On this cold winter night, under a pitch-black sky, a massive villa hidden in a remote region of a certain country was also eerily silent.
Aside from the courtyard lights that remained on, the luxurious Main House had long since extinguished its own. The courtyard lights, being distant, failed to illuminate the splendid building.
In the dead of night, as snow fluttered down, it was bitterly cold, with temperatures more than ten degrees below zero.
Against the vast whiteness, any black shadow that erged would be particularly jarring, imdiately suggesting an ill-intentioned visitor.
The figure was clad entirely in black and wore a black mask, much like a bank robber fearing identification by surveillance caras. Only a pair of eyes was visible—shadowy and filled with a heavy killing intent.
He was agile, possessing considerable martial arts skills, and his climbing technique had reached a peak of finesse. In just a few minutes, like a black swallow, he scaled the Main House to the third floor. Stealthily concealing himself in a dark spot, he produced several round stones from sowhere, then drew a black, silenced pistol. He threw the stones at the door of a large room. They struck with a loud thud, sure to awaken the highly alert man inside.
After throwing the stones, he aid the pistol at the door, ready to shoot the mont the man in the room ca out. His confident deanor suggested his marksmanship might be good enough to shoot through the eye of a needle.
Indeed, there was movent in the room. A tall man in a robe quickly opened the door. Upon seeing him, the black-clad figure imdiately pulled the trigger. The man was shot between the eyebrows and fell dead to the ground instantly.
Seeing his success, a glint of smug satisfaction appeared in the assailant's eyes. He erged from hiding, approached the fallen man, and kicked the corpse. "Noah Reyes," he said in a mocking, hoarse voice, "weren't you supposed to be highly alert? Wasn't it said that wherever you went, an impenetrable defense system, one that no one could breach, would be erected? Yet here you are, dead at my hands."
As the assailant spoke, he squatted and searched Noah Reyes's body thoroughly. His expression turned grim; he found nothing on the body, not even the family emblem necklace.
"How could the item you're searching for possibly be on him?" A deep, magnetic, and pleasant voice suddenly cut in. Then, the real Noah Reyes appeared, standing by the staircase railing, arms crossed, a faint smile on his lips as he looked down at the assailant.
"So, you ca to kill ," Noah Reyes said, uncrossing his arms and strolling towards the assailant. "Didn't you know I have countless body doubles? Can you tell which one is the real ? The one lying there, or the one standing before you now?" He showed no fear that the assailant might shoot, because behind him, nurous n in black, ard with submachine guns, had already erged.
Seeing the tables turn, the assailant spun around to flee.
With a flick of his wrist, Noah Reyes sent an incredibly sharp dagger flying from his grasp. The assailant hadn't even seen him holding it, yet the dagger flew true, accurately plunging into the assailant's heart from behind. The man didn't even have ti to utter a sound before collapsing, dead.
"Unmask him. Let's see who he is," Noah Reyes said, walking over to the fallen assailant. He towered over the body, gazing down with a natural expression, showing no hint of panic despite having just killed a man.
He possessed a handso face, comparable to Glades Horne's, stood an impressive one hundred ninety centiters tall, and exuded a complex aura: at once noble, icy, fierce, and yet capable of gentleness.
A man in black hurried over, crouched beside the body, and pulled off the assailant's black mask. It revealed a face that bore so resemblance to Noah Reyes, though he appeared slightly younger.
"Young Master, it's your twenty-third uncle."
Noah Reyes frowned slightly, waved his hand, and commanded, "Send him back to the old man. Tell him to keep better control over his dozens of children. If they all end up dying by my hand, it would make terribly unfilial."
"Yes," the man in black complied.
Noah Reyes turned and left, not casting another glance at his uncle.
Noah Reyes was the sole direct heir of the current leader of the Ember Gate, and thus its Young Master. With the current leader in semi-retirent, Noah had gradually beco the new de facto power within the Ember Gate, and his formal succession ceremony was imminent. He was the current leader's only direct son. His death would shatter the strict rule that only a direct heir could inherit the leadership, thereby opening the way for collateral branches of the family to compete for the position. Although Noah was highly capable, his circumstances were extrely dangerous. He didn't even dare live in his own ho for fear of assassination and had prepared countless body doubles ready to die in his place.
At thirty-three, he also dared not marry or have children. He supposedly hadn't even touched a woman. Oh, but he had—once. In a major city in Syrena, he had encountered a passionate young beauty.
His most loyal Assistant had advised him more than once to seek female companionship, marry early, and produce an heir to guard against unforeseen events. Noah understood the importance of this. However, an even more critical issue weighed on him: any woman he showed care for, or even spoke to at length, seed to et an untily death. He couldn't bear the thought of more won dying tragically because of him. Until he possessed enough power to deter all threats, he felt he could not marry or father children openly.
Yet, as a precaution, he had quietly traveled to Syrena a month prior. There, he had his most loyal Assistant procure a woman for him, intending for her to secretly bear his child. Crucially, apart from Noah himself, not even this trusted Assistant knew what the woman looked like.
What he had truly wanted was an ordinary girl from a good family.
Instead, what he received was a beautiful young woman who had been drugged with an aphrodisiac. By her appearance, she was at most twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
So he had left the necklace with the young woman, thinking that once his circumstances stabilized, he would return to Syrena to find her.
Currently, he didn't even know her na.
He dared not allow anyone to investigate her identity, fearing she too might et a tragic end.
Even if that night of passion doesn't result in an heir, or if it does and she chooses not to keep the child, I will not regret it, nor will I bla her, he resolved. To him, any woman wearing the necklace—the symbol of the head of the Reyes Family—was his future wife.
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