Jennifer smirked with satisfaction. “So, do I get your answer now? My dear brother, have you made up your mind about my previous proposal, Andrew?”

“Don’t call me so affectionately. I’m not your brother now, and I have nothing to do with the Wiltonstein family.”

Ethan Thompson replied coldly, “As for the answer you want, whatever I told you last time, it’s the same this time.”

He could sense that the original owner of this body felt extreme aversion toward the Wiltonstein family.

At this moment, Ethan Thompson was also quickly searching through his own memories, and soon found the reason.

About ten days ago, Jennifer Wiltonstein had approached the original owner, intending to have him return to the Wiltonstein family. However, he would have to undergo a magical ritual called the “Pureblood Spirit Rite” and become the adopted son of his uncle, Christian Wiltonstein.

As the name suggests, the “Pureblood Spirit Rite” could purify the Wiltonstein bloodline within Ethan Thompson’s body.

And his uncle, Christian Wiltonstein, ranked ninth among the current Wiltonstein family head’s children.

However, due to Christian’s outstanding abilities and his formidable power at level fifteen, not only had he entered the top five in the family’s line of succession, but he also served as a major general in the Federal Defense Forces, wielding great authority.

This was clearly a win-win “deal.” Christian, nearly thirty and still childless, could gain a reliable pawn within the family, greatly boosting his own competitiveness. Ethan Thompson could also regain a life of wealth, perhaps even surpassing his previous status, becoming the envy of all as a scion of a prestigious family.

“You really are a hopeless fool!”

Jennifer’s expression had already turned grim. “This is Christian uncle’s charity to you, and it’s an opportunity I worked so hard to get for you! Don’t be ungrateful! Do you know how many collateral family members are hoping to be adopted by Christian? Their magical talent could leave you in the dust.”

“In your eyes it may be foolish, but I simply refuse.”

Ethan Thompson responded calmly, his tone laced with sarcasm. “So I have to wash away my father’s bloodline, is that it? Just like you, Jennifer Wiltonstein?”

Not to mention the original owner of this body—even as an outsider, he found such behavior repulsive.

“So what? Blood from the East is a stain on our sacred Wiltonstein lineage.”

Jennifer hugged her body tightly, her expression tinged with disgust. “I only regret that the ‘Pureblood Spirit Rite’ can’t wash away all of his blood! I really don’t understand how stupid our mother had to be to marry a Chinese man from the East.”

Ethan Thompson’s eyes grew even darker. “Don’t forget, without our father, you wouldn’t exist either. He never did you any wrong.”

According to the memories he’d found, the original owner’s parents had actually doted on this older sister, even treating her better than the original Ethan Thompson.

Before transferring to Linden Academy, Ethan Thompson had only attended a high-end private school. But Jennifer Wiltonstein had always studied at ‘Stellar Vein,’ the best aristocratic boarding school in America. His father, Charles Thompson, did everything he could to provide Jennifer with everything possible: the best cultivation potions, the finest cosmetics, the most luxurious designer clothes and bags—so much so that the younger Ethan Thompson, born eight years after Jennifer, was nearly driven mad with jealousy.

And the result? His sister actually regarded their father’s bloodline as a disgrace, full of hatred.

Knowing all this, it was easy to understand why the original owner of this body so deeply resented his own sister.

He even suspected that his parents’ deaths were likely triggered by the shock of Jennifer undergoing the “Pureblood Spirit Rite” eight months ago. This was outright betrayal—a knife to his parents’ hearts.

The original owner could still clearly recall the scene of Charles Thompson’s hair turning white overnight.

“Staining the Wiltonstein bloodline is his greatest sin. So what if he gave birth to me? There was a time when I would rather never have been born into this world.”

Jennifer fixed Ethan Thompson with a knife-like gaze, coldly staring at him. “You’ve never experienced what I’ve been through. What right do you have to say these things?”

“I haven’t experienced it, but I can guess.”

Ethan Thompson’s lips curled in a cold, mocking smile. “You just resented that your parents couldn’t buy you ‘Saint Laurent’ clothes, couldn’t let you live in the top-tier dorm at ‘Stellar Vein,’ couldn’t give you millions to squander, so your classmates looked down on and mocked you. So you see them as a disgrace, is that it—”

Suddenly, a crisp ‘smack’ echoed in the room. Before Ethan Thompson could finish, he felt as if his left cheek had been struck by an elephant’s trunk, his whole body sent flying until he crashed into the wall behind him.

Blood trickled from Ethan Thompson’s nose and mouth, his vision swam with stars, and his ears buzzed.

He couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself. The reason Jennifer was able to slap him flying was partly because it caught him off guard, and partly because her combat strength was truly impressive—by this world’s standards, she was at least level twelve or above.