Chapter 19: Just the beginning

After leaving school, Sam took a different route than usual. 

He had been feeling a bit down today and decided to do something that would lift his spirits.

And what was his peculiar way of cheering up, you ask?

Well, it involved taking care of some unfinished business—by killing someone.

Today, those five bastards who had attempted to kill him on that unforgettable night had conveniently skipped school. But to Sam, their absence didn't matter much. What did matter was his burning desire for revenge.

Their actions had tested his patience long enough, and he was determined to make at least one of them die today. 

It was the only way he'd get a good night's sleep.

As the sky darkened, Sam found himself standing in front of a modest house, one of those typical rentals favored by school students. 

This particular house was inhabited by the very five good-for-nothings he sought.

"Codex," Sam called out, and a red screen popped up in front of him. 

-----

[ Master: Sam Flareheart ]

[ Status: Healthy, Evolving ]

[ Titles: Master Of The Codex Of The Supreme Immortals ]

[ Age: 18 ]

[ Inheritance: Inheritance of the Eternal Dragon Monarch ]

[ Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm (Peak-stage) ]

[ Body Cultivation: None ]

[ Race: Noble Dragon ]

[ Bloodline(s): Frozen Abyssal Dragon Bloodline, Crimson Inferno Dragon Bloodline, Primordial Chaos Dragon Bloodline (Assimilation: 5.07%)]

[ Spirit Vein(s): Nine-Heavens Spiritual Veins ]

[ Bloodline Abilities: Cryokinesis, Pyrokinesis ]

[ Physique: Mystic Voidheart Harmonic Physique (Assimilation: 26.08%) ]

[ Divine Powers: Divine Charm (Assimilation: 9.05%) ]

[ Cultivation Method: Nine Celestial Revolutions Sutra ]

[ Body Cultivation Method: Samsara Flesh Rebirth Art ]

[ Innate Abilities: Devour ]

[ Racial Abilities: Dragon Transformation ]

-----

Sam chuckled to himself, scratching his back as he thought aloud, "Seriously? Only 9% of my Divine Charm has assimilated, and my face is already turning heads left and right. I can't even imagine what'll happen when it reaches a hundred."

Besides the Divine Charm, the assimilation of his physique and bloodline didn't seem to bring about any noticeable changes. He didn't feel any different except for his increasingly irresistible charm.

He approached the house, his eyes fixed on the entrance. Faint sounds of a TV playing some movie drifted through the closed door. 

"God, I really hope all five of you are home tonight so I can send you all to Satan together," Sam muttered to himself with a chilling smile, his thoughts veering into a dark abyss.

He pressed the doorbell.

RING! RING!

Inside the house, the man watching the movie scowled, irritated by the untimely interruption. Who the hell would show up at this hour? He begrudgingly got up from his comfortable spot, annoyed at having to abandon his binge-watching session.

This man's name was Jack, one of the five teenagers who had attempted to take Sam's life that fateful night. Today, he had decided to skip school, spending the entire day in bed, indulging in a marathon of movies.

Reluctantly, he made his way to the front door and swung it open. There, on the other side, stood a striking young man with jet-black hair and icy blue eyes, wearing a sadistic smile that sent shivers down Jack's spine.

"Hi there," the visitor greeted.

"Y-You're alive," Jack stammered, taking a step back in sheer horror. His face contorted with disbelief and fear as if he had just come face to face with a living nightmare.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sam calmly stepped inside the house, his demeanor unsettlingly composed, while Jack involuntarily took a step back in sheer terror.

"Where are your friends?" Sam's eyes scanned the surroundings, detecting no signs of anyone but Jack. "You're alone?"

Sam felt a pang of disappointment that he couldn't enact his vengeance upon all of them together. 

Nevertheless, he quickly dismissed the thought, muttering to himself, "Oh well, who cares? As long as I get to kill one of you today."

Aghast, Jack stammered, his body drenched in sweat. He never fathomed he'd find himself in such a nightmarish predicament. He had naively assumed that Sam's threats were mere bluster, incapable of carrying out such gruesome intentions.

Little did he know how horribly mistaken he was, as the reality of impending doom began to sink in. 

Sam's cold determination and vengeful presence filled the room with an eerie, foreboding atmosphere.

Without a moment's hesitation, Sam materialized right in front of Jack, his movements too swift for Jack to react. 

In an instant, Sam had Jack's throat in a vice-like grip and delivered a brutal punch to his stomach.

Jack's world spiraled into a whirlwind of agony as the searing pain tore through his body.

He gasped for air, but Sam's relentless hold on his neck left him unable to make a sound. 

The excruciating torment was beyond anything Jack had ever experienced, and his face contorted in a grimace of sheer suffering.

"P-Please...let...me go," Jack whimpered, his voice trembling with terror.

"HAHAHA...let you go?" Sam's laughter filled the room, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Jack's spine. 

"Don't kid yourself," Sam sneered, his eyes filled with malevolence. With a swift and powerful motion, he flung Jack hard against the wall. Jack couldn't comprehend the unnatural strength Sam possessed as he collided with the unforgiving surface.

Fear gripped Jack's every thought, and survival was his only concern now.

As Sam advanced, his gaze icy and filled with disdain, Jack found himself begging for his life, his pain momentarily forgotten. "Let me go, I'll do anything you want, just... just don't hurt me."

Sam's expression darkened, and he regarded Jack with contempt. "Where did that smirk of yours go?"

"W-What?" Jack stammered, sensing an impending doom.

"The smirk you had when that Sterling bastard drove his knife through my chest," Sam hissed.

Jack realized there was no right answer, no escape from Sam's wrath. 

It was not a matter of if he would be hurt, but how severely Sam would choose to punish him.

"You know what?" Sam stared at the man before him with a visceral disgust. "I won't kill you just yet."

"W-What are you going to do?" Jack's voice quivered with dread.

"Yeah, I'm still thinking about that," Sam replied with a twisted grin.

Desperation fueled Jack's actions as he saw Sam momentarily lost in thought. He seized the opportunity and attempted to make a run for the door.

But his attempt was futile.

With his newfound strength, Sam, now at the Peak Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, was far superior in speed and power to any average human. 

Even if tens of Jacks were to attack him at once, there would be no escape.

"Did I give you permission to leave?" In the blink of an eye, Sam reappeared before Jack and delivered a brutal slap that sent him crashing to the ground, his body trembling with fear and pain.

Jack's mouth filled with warm, red blood, his eyes bloodshot and tear-filled. His heartbeat raced as he watched Sam, who now glared at him coldly, a sadistic smile dancing on his face.

"I just got a wonderful idea," Sam said, his voice dripping with menace.

'What is he going to do to me now?' Jack had already resigned himself to his fate, no longer begging for his life.

Sam approached him, his hand closing around Jack's right index finger, pulling it out and wrapping his own fingers around it.

"W-What are you doing?" Jack stammered.

"An experiment"

"...E-Exeriment?"

With that, Sam invoked his Cryokinesis ability, a power inherited from his mother's bloodline. It was his first time using this particular ability,but it felt like second nature to him. 

Although the intensity of his cryokinesis wasn't very strong, it proved potent enough to crystallize Jack's finger and shatter it into pieces.

As the coldness began to envelop his index finger, Jack felt a sense of cnfusion washing over him. What was Sam doing? How was he doing it?

Questions raced through his mind as his finger grew colder and started to ache.

"Stop it! Please stop it" Jack begged, but Sam showed no mercy. He wanted Jack to feel the pain, which was precisely why he continued.

Within moments, the coldness became unbearable, and Jack couldn't handle it any longer. He began to scream in agony. However, Sam quickly silenced him with a powerful punch to the nose, all while maintaining his vise grip on Jack's frostbitten index finger.

"Stop screaming, or your neighbors will hear you," Sam warned.

Jack's index finger grew numb, and he could no longer feel it. His entire hand shook uncontrollably, throbbing with pain.

"It's done." Sam's tone was cold and indifferent as he crushed the crystallized index finger into a thousand pieces. His gaze remained unfeeling, even as he observed Jack's pathetic, tearful state.

but could you really blame Sam?

After all, they had provoked him first.

They had made their choice.

By deciding to mess with him, they had, in essence, chosen to be on the receiving end.

In Sam's eyes, he was simply following the natural course of events.

"Just so you know," Sam calmly stated. "this is just the beginning. Today, I'm feeling quite generous, so I'll stop here for now."

He walked towards the door, his back turned to Jack. "but rest assured, I'll be back to finish what I started. So, try to enjoy your life as much as possible."

Each word that escaped Sam's lips felt like a death sentence to Jack. 

He was already in a dreadful state, with some of his bones broken, a nose that bled profusely, and bloodshot eyes. One of his ears throbbed with pain, the ringing sound tormenting him.

Despite his pitiable condition, nothing could drown out the weight of Sam's chilling declaration.