The Heavenly Empress' Assassin

In the Heavenly Court, the most exalted height that a family or clan could reach was the rank of a 'Named Family'. This title wasn't just an empty honour, but rather brought a permanent blessing to all people bearing their surname. The further that the family developed, the more powerful its boons would grow. No other person outside of that particular Named Family could ever bear the same last name, unless they were not from the Heavenly Dao. Additionally, depending on the specific surname, the family would also gain a certain amount of influence over the Heavenly Dao's laws that were related to the name in question.

But even amongst these Named Families, which had grown to an almost uncountable number over the eons, certain ones stood out above the rest and were granted positions of power within the Heavenly Court. They were referred to as the 'Pillars', with those at the most important stations named the 'Supreme Pillars'.

The Winter Family was one of these. Only a few thousand other families could hope to contend with them. While that might sound like a lot, due to the sheer unfathomable number of beings ruled over by the Heavenly Court, a few thousand were actually extremely few. The patriarch of the Winter Family, Theoderick Winter, was one of the few people who only had to bow their heads to a single person: The Heavenly Empress.

His loyalty was beyond question. His unstoppable rise had begun in the same generation as that of the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress. While there had been some scuffles in the early days, he ultimately became one of their earliest supporters paving the way to the top. Coupled with his own incredible abilities, the Winter Family became one of the first Named Families to ever exist.

The eons that had passed since the Heavenly Emperor's untimely demise at the hands of outside threats had not diminished Theoderick's loyalty to the couple that he had effectively grown up with. Yet, he had still noticed long ago that the Heavenly Empress alone would not be able to endure the outside pressures and the burdens of rulership indefinitely. A part of the most perfect whole was missing ever since her husband's death, and she had only been holding on as best as she could since then.

Therefore, it came as no surprise to him when the Heavenly Empress called upon all members of the Heavenly Court and announced that a competition that would decide the next Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress would be taking place seven eons later. She would retire after handing over her duties to a new generation.

While those who couldn't perceive the extreme exhaustion in her eyes were blindsided by this development, all older Retainers and supporters merely heaved a sigh of relief. No matter what personal grievances they might have with each other, the Heavenly Empress was someone who they all respected from the bottom of their hearts. Witnessing her wear herself out beyond any and all reasonable limits had long since been worrying them.

Still, her mention of a kind of contest was of great concern to everyone. If it wasn't for external enemies applying constant pressure, keeping the entire Heavenly Court pulling on the same rope, then they would have long since started to eradicate each other. There would not be a situation where the number of Named Families was practically countless!

From the scant details that already got revealed, it was clear that the various contestants most definitely were allowed to eliminate each other. Put differently, a brutal slaughter was inevitable. For the first time since the Heavenly Court's establishment, their own people would be fighting each other on a grand scale! Still, all of them acknowledged that this was necessary. If the heirs to the throne couldn't rise above everyone else and suppress them, then they wouldn't be qualified to inherit those supreme positions.

Things would have been different if the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress had brought forth any offspring. But perhaps because they had both been too focused on running the court well, bettering the lives of their people, they had not felt the need to leave behind a new generation yet. This was actually quite common amongst the most powerful individuals. Only rarely would they ever have children, for a whole plethora of very complicated and important reasons. Once one exceeded a certain point, carrying on the family line would exceptionally significantly impact one's health, strength and fate. But of course, that was merely one of the many factors in play.

As a result of the Heavenly Empress' announcement, all those most exalted beings finally got a reason to kick off somewhat of a "baby boom" within their circles. After all, only those less than 50 years old would be allowed to partake in the competition! Therefore, no matter what other children that they might already have, they couldn't participate.

The following eons were primarily spent strategizing and preparing for the birth of their children, so that they could have the highest possible chance of winning! After all, everyone was aware that if a personal enemy's offspring won, then their entire family was at risk of extermination!

Theoderick also couldn't help but worry about what kind of mess a lot of different Named Families' children would turn the Heavenly Dao into if they actually managed to become the victors. If there was one downside to the Heavenly Emperor's and Heavenly Empress' policies, it was that they were too generous and understanding, too accommodating to vastly different kinds of people. In part, this approach existed because additional manpower was necessary, to the extent that often, former enemies from beyond the Heavenly Dao would join under their banner. But it was also done because that supreme couple believed that time would straighten out even the most dastardly people–and if not them, then their descendants.

However, Theoderick profoundly disagreed with this. The amount of inexcusable evil committed by many of his 'peers', despite their eons of service to the Heavenly Court, had convinced him otherwise. Perchance, he was not looking at the full picture and hadn't stepped back far enough, but in his heart, he was certain that some people would never ever change.

That didn't mean that he was an unflinching, headstrong ally of justice either, though. Sometimes, acts deemed as 'evil' by others were necessary–either to further one's own goals, or for the greater good. One could argue that this made him exactly the same kind of person as those that he was worried about, and this was partially the case. Because he was like them, he knew the dangers that they posed. But also, at the same time, he was aware that those such as him were the mildest and kindest of that bunch of vile evildoers.

Therefore, when several eons had passed and his child Theodore was born, he wasn't particularly concerned about his Unique-grade Talent requiring him to kill others. Rather, he was overjoyed that he would indubitably have a great future ahead.

Ever since the 50-year time period before the competition had arrived, Theoderick had brought seven children into being, far more than most of his peers. Both he and his wives were utterly exhausted, with their origins strained to the point of almost shattering. It would take a very long time for them to recover–especially in his case. Fortunately, the Winter Family didn't only have one supreme expert of his calibre, so they wouldn't be in any particular danger.

Amongst all of his siblings, Theodore was the youngest, having been born 22 years before the final deadline. And yet, he was the one with the most outstanding aptitude amongst them all. While the others each excelled in their own right, some even having the potential to vastly surpass their parents, Theodore still stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Due to their impeccable upbringing, his siblings didn't hold this against him, and rather chose to support him as best as they could from a young age. All of them had–to some extent–underwent the training that had been prepared for them over the past eons, so their maturity, capability, enlightenment and Dao Heart refinement degree were far beyond what a regular genius could achieve.

Amidst a loving but stern family, with the most abundant resources that anyone could ever imagine, young Theodore steadily grew up. Because everyone's power and cultivation levels–no matter what form they might take–would be reset to zero upon commencement of the competition, the Winter Family didn't allow any of their children to cultivate in reality. This was despite the fact that all of them had been born with a cultivation level far higher than what most regular geniuses could aspire to reach in their entire lives.

Instead, the Winter Family made the children endure countless illusory lives that would feel just as real as anything else that they had ever experienced. This way, not only could they sharpen their skills and accumulate insight into various disciplines, including cultivation, but they could also hone their minds and refine their Dao Hearts.

Almost every Named Family made use of this approach, as the ability to make weaker beings experience illusions expertly crafted for them was actually not particularly difficult to acquire. The challenging part was to create the exact right illusions for every person, and to guide them towards the correct goal and the abilities that one wanted them to possess. This was where the Named Families, and even the Supreme Pillars, varied widely. Coupled with every single person being born ever so slightly different–not all of them destined for the same amount of mental greatness–despite the practice of making their children experience illusory lives being extremely wide-spread, the results diverged massively.

At the age of 18, Theodore, who had up until that point been exclusively educated by his family, was finally mentally developed enough to brave those illusory experiences without suffering permanent damage.

Within moments, countless lives could be endured. Therefore, by the time that he once again awoke in reality and finished his training in this aspect–as well as his Dao Heart refinement–he had turned from an outstanding youth into an 'old monster' with experience eclipsing anyone who could not compete with a Named Family.

He had come face to face with pretty much everything in those illusory lives, mostly due to his mental resilience that had proven to vastly exceed the rest of his family. Even his father, as the one personally in charge of the illusion, had been shocked by the potential of his youngest son!

Before this experience, Theodore had never once taken a life, in essence leaving his Unique-grade Talent, Grim Reaper's Levy, on the cutting room floor. Even during the illusions, he couldn't make use of it, as nobody that was a part of the Heavenly Dao was capable of emulating it. But now that he was back, a bloody storm was soon to follow.

Theodore was not a deranged lunatic delighting in massacre, yet there was nobody that he didn't dare to kill other than his own family members. If it meant furthering his own power and preparing himself better for the upcoming feud, he wouldn't even blink an eye at eliminating entire planets or realms. Still, the very moment that he killed someone with a worthless Talent, he realized that he needed to be far more selective with his targets.

This, however, came with its own difficulties. After all, the Winter Family had a reputation to uphold. If they did not do so, and appeared as villains in the public eye, that would give his opponents more excuses and reasons to focus on getting rid of him. A great public image was of utmost importance, as there were always some who would be swayed to his side, or kept from interfering with his matters, if he maintained it. Additionally, should he–by chance–lose, then his family wouldn't have a bigger target on its back due to his actions.

Most of those that could provide him with outstanding Talents were the descendants of Named Families, or otherwise noteworthy individuals. Every single one of them that fell by his hands required extensive periods of planning and the steadfast assistance of his family.

So, over the four years following his illusory lives, Theodore of the Winter family gained an outstanding reputation amongst his peers. If anyone of his generation was seen as an ally of justice, other than some truly saint-like figures, it could only be him! Maybe, he was sometimes excessively keen to exterminate evil, as he wouldn't let even a single sinner that he came across go. But other than that, nobody had any complaints about him.

While everyone was aware that this was merely how he wanted to be seen by others, there were no cracks in his image at all. It was impossible to tell whether he was being genuine. Of course, the most powerful beings of the Heavenly Court could have figured out the truth, but every renowned heir and offspring of theirs had been shielded from all potential forms of spying to such an extent that nearly no information regarding them could be made out. Perhaps–other than the Heavenly Dao itself–only the Heavenly Empress could say anything about them for certain.

In this manner, unbeknownst to everyone but his most trusted family members, a huge portion of all outstanding individuals that perished before the competition began were silently eliminated by Theodore. Their most useful Talents all bolstered him to an extent that made him truly look forward to the 'hunting ground' that he was about to enter. He recognized that even with all of his preparations, his Talents were still nothing compared to those of many others whose circumstances were publically known. And more importantly, no-one knew what kind of unprecedented monsters had been bred during those past 50 years.

Yet, he was still full of confidence in his chances. Of course, he remained as prudent and careful as ever. Amidst his ceaseless plotting and schemes, the night before the most important event since the Heavenly Emperor's passing finally arrived.