Mixed Blessing System

Lothur heard coroner Klossner's question and remembered the situation from days ago when he had fought alongside some allies against leaders of local powers.

In that situation, he had been ambushed, with several individuals ready to assassinate him.

Fortunately for him, those people were no longer capable of endangering his life at that time.

But even with all his improvement in strength, Lothur thought nothing of taking revenge on those people, going after each of those involved.

In that situation, he had not suffered in the fight against them, nor had his family and close ones been affected.

He wanted to live in peace, preferably not being forced to fight constantly or having to lead. So pursuing revenge now that he was stronger would go against his goals, which were far above the priority of eliminating those opponents no longer dangerous to him.

With that in mind, Lothur said. "Yes, that was true. It still is. If those people and others no longer bother me, I will not pursue past issues against them."

"I have my own issues to worry about, so I will not get involved in the problems of people who are not trying to harm me."

"Oh? Is that true?" Gomeric asked, liking that.

As Lothur's ally and someone with no interest in instabilities related to the cycle of revenge, he would prefer that this young man deals with such matters in the manner of the elders.

Elders would typically try to appease complicated problems using business deals, sometimes marriages, and other mechanisms used to avoid wars.

Of course, sometimes, an experienced and strong cultivator would choose to take a matter to its ultimate consequences. But in Lothur's situation, many would prefer to use the advantage of force and alliances to pressure opponents into accepting disadvantageous deals.

That was like putting the useful and pleasant together for Gomeric.

If, on the one hand, this would avoid a local war, on the other, it could bring good business for all of Lothur's friendly powers!

Lothur nodded affirmatively. "Yes, I have no interest in pursuing anyone who is not getting in my way. I will only act if one of these powers insists on annoying me, endangering my family and friends, or trying to impede the progress of my business."

"Otherwise, even a little competition I would accept, as long as the opposing side doesn't use dishonest methods."

Aiken was impressed with Lothur's response, although he did not like it so much since he had a lot of resentment toward the local powers that had hurt his family badly over the years.

He wished to return all the trouble he had put up with until recently. After all, who would not feel somewhat vengeful after suffering for centuries?

But he understood that, rationally, Lothur's decision was the smartest.

Could killing an enemy eliminate problems permanently? Yes, if that enemy was the ultimate opponent. Otherwise, if someone supported that person, a bigger or stronger enemy could turn their eyes on the killer of their representatives.

In this situation, a vengeful cycle could begin, bringing more and more powerful opponents to Lothur, preventing him from living in peace and perhaps taking advantage of opportunities.

Negotiating 'peace,' on the other hand, could prevent more powerful beings from coming after him and even ensure that he would only have to deal with those he already knew for a significant period of time. In other words, he would have the bonus of dealing with weaker beings while he was at the beginning of his plans, the best time for peace.

War had its benefits, but only those prepared could reap the best fruits!

Aiken judged that his son-in-law was still far from reaching that level, so even with his background, he comprehended Lothur's positioning.

'That's not bad. He'll be able to create a home for Viktoria and Annaliese, and who knows, even for the Frost family in case something bad ever happens to Mabel and me.'

After this matter, August Klossner left Lothur's estate satisfied with his associate's position, feeling that young Ritter's destiny was indeed to become a great influence.

Something that the great influencers of this world had in common was precisely the ability to know when to give up something and go on to a new path without excessively regretting their losses.

The bad investment was a lesson, but nobody was obliged to go to the grave with it or even to cheer for its success!

It was better for the investment to work out, but if it went fail, patience. After that, it would be time to change strategy and add new knowledge of how to avoid mistakes.

Lothur seemed to have this, and that fellow was ready to talk to some of his local contacts, enemies of this silver-haired young man, people who, like Chris, did not want to go against this him for eternity.

Gomeric and Hilda also left after a while, taking Elke back home since she was not yet married to Lothur, and staying there would give curious souls the wrong idea.

As for Aiken, he waited a while longer to see his two daughters, who rushed off to test their powers as soon as they finished absorbing the previous medicines.

...

"Unbelievable!"

"Anna really has changed a lot! She doesn't even look like that girl who liked to roll around in cultivation!" Aiken said this as he watched his daughter perform the moves of the Frost family's main technique.

He could tell she was progressing a lot recently just by her cultivation alone. Still, seeing her smooth movements, he could not help but open his mouth in shock.

Annaliese was demonstrating slightly superior skills to his, even considering the difference in experience and cultivation!

'I wonder what happened? Recently she has been getting powerful, and even her talent seems to have increased...' He thought as Lothur looked at his sister-in-law's status.

Unfortunately, only the attributes he could not see, the mental ones, had changed. So Lothur could not quantify Annaliese's gains.

But when Viktoria moved to demonstrate her gains, Aiken and Lothur immediately opened their mouths in surprise to see her doing something totally new but very powerful.

Viktoria closed her eyes and waved her right hand in and out, moving from near her torso to farther away. When she did this, the air pushed out by her hand seemed to freeze, as the 'vacuum' zone behind her hand formed a small vortex.

As this small vortex formed, spiritual energy began to gather about it, while the air in that training area of Lothur's house lost much of its warmth.

'Ice? How is that possible? Viktoria has no techniques based on this element...' Aiken realized it was not a technique, but a skill!

Gulp!

As he opened his mouth, seeing his family's bloodline for the first time, an ice sculpture similar to a coniferous tree appeared from the vortex in front of Viktoria, emitting compelling energy.

It gave off such an icy feeling that even Aiken, level 15, felt as cold as if he had entered a cold room when it finished forming.

Hell, even Lothur, with his Bronze-grade ice resistance, unconsciously put his arms together as he felt the icy sensation it emitted!

...