The moment the dagger met the halberd, the forest fell into a suffocating silence.
Leaves trembled.
Wind recoiled.
Two figures stood facing each other in the clearing—one cloaked in black, presence thin as smoke; the other dressed in torn white, halberd in hand, aura restrained yet immeasurable.
Then—
They moved.
The assassin vanished first.
Not truly gone—but his presence thinned to near nothing, footwork light as drifting ash. A cold glint appeared at Xuanyuan Zhen's flank.
Clang!
Xuanyuan Zhen twisted his torso, halberd shaft intercepting the blade. The impact reverberated up his arms. Before the first dagger fully withdrew, a second struck from behind his shoulder.
Fast.
Too fast.
The tip sliced across his upper back.
Cloth parted.
Skin opened.
A thin line appeared.
The assassin pressed the advantage instantly. His movements were compact and economical—every step designed to enter the halberd's blind zone. He flowed like water around a boulder, daggers weaving silver arcs that aimed for arteries and tendons rather than brute force collisions.
Xuanyuan Zhen countered with sweeping arcs of the halberd. Golden holy Qi surged along the blade, illuminating it in a faint radiant glow. Heavenly purple Qi coiled deeper within, lending weight and dominance to each strike.
But the cultivation gap was real.
The assassin was at peak Qi Condensation Realm—his Qi thicker, sharper, more refined. Each collision sent subtle tremors through Xuanyuan Zhen's arms.
Another flash.
A dagger slipped beneath the halberd's arc—
Slash.
His thigh was cut.
Another.
His ribs.
Then his forearm.
Within moments, his once-clean white robes were shredded in multiple places, shallow wounds marking his body like bloody brushstrokes.
The assassin's eyes gleamed beneath the hood.
Poison.
Each blade carried venom refined specifically to numb meridians and weaken Qi circulation.
Xuanyuan Zhen felt it enter his flesh. A cold seep, a creeping numbness.
For half a breath.
Then—
It shattered.
The vitality of the Battle Saint Body surged like a golden tide, burning the toxin away. At the same time, the dominance of the Firmament Tyrant Body suppressed foreign intrusion.
The assassin faltered for the first time. Why was the poison ineffective this time?
Xuanyuan Zhen exhaled slowly. The pain had sharpened his focus. This was different from fighting beasts. Beasts roared, but humans calculated. Beasts charged, humans waited.
Another barrage forced him back. The halberd, though powerful, was heavy and lacked finesse in his hands. Twice the assassin slipped inside his guard, leaving shallow cuts across his shoulder and abdomen.
He was losing the exchange.
But not the battle.
With each clash—
He learned.
He stopped overcommitting to wide sweeps. Instead, he shortened the halberd's range, using the shaft to deflect and redirect. He adjusted his footing, lowering his center of gravity.
The assassin lunged low again, aiming for his knee joint—
Xuanyuan Zhen rotated the halberd vertically, the blade slamming into the earth. Soil exploded upward, disrupting the assassin's vision for a heartbeat.
A heartbeat was enough.
Golden holy Qi condensed along the halberd's edge, with Heavenly purple Qi gathered at its tip, oppressive and dense.
The assassin attempted to retreat—
But Xuanyuan Zhen stepped forward instead of back.
A calculated risk it was.
A dagger pierced his shoulder, but he ignored it. Pain meant nothing in that instant.
He trapped the assassin's wrist against the halberd shaft, twisting violently. Bones cracked.
The assassin tried to disengage—
Too late.
Xuanyuan Zhen's eyes were no longer those of a novice.
They were steady.
Cold.
Decisive.
He thrust.
Not wildly.
Not angrily.
Perfectly straight.
The halberd pierced through black robes, through muscle and bone, through the assassin's heart. The gathered Qi erupted at the point of contact, shattering any last resistance.
The forest grew still.
For a long moment, neither moved.
Then the assassin's daggers fell from lifeless fingers.
Xuanyuan Zhen withdrew the halberd slowly. Blood traced down the dark blade before dripping into fallen leaves.
He stood there, breathing evenly despite the cuts along his body.
His wounds closed gradually, flesh knitting together under the strengthening of his dual physiques. The poison had been burned off.
He looked down at the corpse.
His first human kill.
No triumph.
No hesitation.
Only clarity.
He removed the spatial ring and scanned its contents. Spirit stones. Tools of assassination. Vials of poison.
And a jade contract.
His name etched clearly upon it.
Xuanyuan Zhen.
Reward listed generously.
Client anonymous.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Anonymous?
Perhaps on paper.
But in his mind, certain faces surfaced easily.
Xuanyuan Han.
And those who indulged him.
His expression did not change.
He stored the ring.
Then, instead of leaving—
He lifted the halberd again.
He replayed the fight within his thoughts.
Too slow at the start.
Too reliant on raw power.
Poor angle control.
If the assassin had been Foundation Establishment Realm instead of peak Qi Condensation—
The result might have differed.
So he practiced.
Again.
And again.
The halberd moved differently now.
Sharper.
More restrained.
He mimicked the assassin's compact footwork. Practiced tighter thrusts. Focused on control rather than display.
Golden holy Qi circulated more fluidly.
Heavenly purple Qi responded faster to his intent.
By the time sunlight pierced fully through the canopy, his movements no longer resembled those of a beginner.
He rested the halberd across his shoulder.
The forest ahead was thick with spiritual beasts.
And somewhere, within the clan—
Someone believed him dead already.
A faint coldness settled in his eyes.
They would learn otherwise.