Night fell over Mistwood Manor like a heavy shroud. The fog from the spirit vein grew denser, swirling around the courtyard like living tentacles.
To an outsider, the manor looked abandoned and silent. But inside, it was a loaded gun waiting for a trigger.
Kai stood on the roof of the main hall, his black robes fluttering in the cold wind. He held a thin silk string in his hand. The string ran down from the roof, disappearing into the overgrown grass of the courtyard.
"Lian," he whispered into the darkness.
"I am here, Brother," Lian's voice came from inside the hall. She was hiding in a reinforced closet, clutching a crossbow Kai had bought from the hunter's stall. She wouldn't be fighting, but she was his last line of defense.
"Remember," Kai said, his eyes scanning the bamboo forest outside the walls. "If they get past me, shoot. Don't close your eyes."
"I won't."
A moment later, the bamboo rustled. It wasn't the wind.
[Eye of Insight Active.]
Through the dense fog, Kai saw red silhouettes burning like signal flares.
[Target: Blood Skull Disciple x4.] [Cultivation: Qi Refining Stage 3.]
[Target: Deacon Gui (Leader).] [Cultivation: Qi Refining Stage 5 (Peak).]
Kai's pupil constricted. 'Stage 5 Peak. He can condense Qi into armor. My sword might not pierce him easily. I have to soften him up.'
The five intruders vaulted over the manor wall with practiced ease. They landed silently on the mossy grass of the courtyard. They wore crimson masks and dark red robes. The scent of blood hung around them—the signature of the Blood Skull Hall.
"Careful," Deacon Gui hissed, holding a curved dagger that glowed with a sickly green light. "This place is thick with Yin Qi. It disrupts sensory perception."
"It's just an old house, Deacon," one disciple scoffed. "Iron-Head was trash. Probably got killed by a lucky trap. We'll find the brat, skin him, and be back before midnight."
They moved forward, stepping deeper into the tall grass.
Kai, watching from the roof, smiled. It was a cold, cruel smile. "Welcome to my board."
He pulled the silk string.
Click.
In the grass below, the string tugged the pin off a buried ceramic pot. Inside the pot was an Explosive Qi Pill surrounded by rusty nails and scrap metal.
BOOM!
The ground erupted. A ball of fire and shrapnel tore through the silence of the night. The disciple who had scoffed was standing right on top of it. He didn't even have time to scream. His lower body was instantly shredded, turned into a mist of blood and bone.
"Ambush!" Deacon Gui roared, summoning a barrier of red Qi around his body.
The shockwave knocked the other three disciples off their feet.
Kai didn't wait. He leaped from the roof. Gravity? Irrelevant. He descended like a hawk, the Blood-Drinker's Jian held high.
He landed on the disciple furthest to the left, who was still trying to stand up. Squish. Kai drove his boots into the man's chest, pinning him to the ground, and thrust his sword downward. The blade pierced the disciple's throat, pinning him to the earth.
[Blood-Drinker's Jian Effect Activated: Thirst Sated.] [Qi Recovery +5%.]
"There he is! Kill him!" Deacon Gui shouted, pointing his dagger at Kai.
The remaining two disciples, though shaken, were trained killers. They drew their sabers and charged.
"Formation!" they yelled.
Kai yanked his sword out of the corpse. A red mist began to rise from the blade, swirling around him. He didn't retreat. He reached into his sash and threw two objects.
"Grenade!" one disciple shouted, diving for cover.
But they weren't explosives. They were rocks. Kai used the flinch to close the distance.
Dragon Sutra: Flash Step.
He burst forward, channeling all his Qi into his legs. He appeared in front of the disciple who had dived. Before the man could hit the ground, Kai's sword flashed in a horizontal arc.
Slash.
The head rolled away.
"You little demon!" The last disciple, terrified, swung his saber wildly.
Kai ducked under the swing, spinning his body. He slammed his palm into the disciple's chest. Palm of the Void. It wasn't a powerful attack, but it pushed the disciple backward... right into the well.
"Aaaah!" Splash.
The disciple fell into the freezing water of the corrupted spirit well.
"Help! It's cold! Something is grabbing my leg!" The water churned. The Yin Qi in the well, agitated by the battle, surged. The disciple screamed as the cold energy invaded his meridians, freezing his blood instantly. He sank beneath the surface.
Silence returned to the courtyard, broken only by the crackle of the burning grass.
Kai turned to face the last man. Deacon Gui.
Gui stood ten meters away, his face hidden behind the crimson mask, but his body language screamed fury. He had lost four men in thirty seconds. To a child.
"You..." Deacon Gui's voice trembled with rage. "You are not a normal cultivator. Traps. Deception. You fight like a coward."
"I fight to win," Kai replied, flicking the blood off his sword. "History is written by the victors, not the honorable corpses."
"Die!"
Deacon Gui moved. He was fast. Much faster than Kai. Qi Refining Stage 5. At this stage, a cultivator could coat their body in Qi Armor, making them impervious to normal steel, and boost their speed to superhuman levels.
Gui blurred, appearing instantly behind Kai. His green dagger slashed toward Kai's kidney.
Kai sensed it with his Eye of Insight, but his body was too slow to dodge completely. He twisted at the last second.
Rip.
The dagger sliced through his black robe and cut a shallow gash in his side. The pain was sharp and burning—poison.
Kai rolled away, clutching his side. 'Poison. Green Viper Toxin. Paralysis agent.'
"Fast," Kai gritted his teeth. "System! Antidote!"
[Processing... Inner World Alchemy Fire circulating to burn toxins. Cost: 10% Qi.]
He felt a searing heat in his side as the poison was neutralized.
Deacon Gui laughed. "Running away? My dagger is coated in Viper bile. Your legs will go numb in ten seconds."
He walked slowly toward Kai, savoring the kill.
Kai backed up until his back hit the cold stone of the well. He was trapped.
"Any last words, brat?" Gui raised his dagger.
Kai looked up, sweat dripping down his face. He smirked. "Yeah. Look behind you."
Gui didn't fall for it. "A childish trick."
"It's not a trick," Kai said, pulling the Hidden Ghost Token from his pocket. "Release!"
He pumped his remaining Qi into the token. A high-pitched shriek tore through the air.
From the token, a translucent, smoky figure erupted—the Wandering Yin Spirit Kai had captured earlier. It wasn't strong enough to kill a Stage 5 cultivator, but it was terrifying. The ghost, shaped like a screaming face, flew directly into Gui's face.
"What?!" Gui yelled, swatting at the spectral figure blinding him. "A ghost?! You practice the Demonic Dao?!"
The ghost shrieked, clawing at Gui's mask, freezing his skin with Yin energy. It bought Kai exactly two seconds.
Two seconds was all he needed.
Kai reached into his robe and pulled out his last Explosive Qi Pill. He didn't throw it. He lunged forward, grabbed Gui's arm, and jammed the pill directly into the joint of the Deacon's elbow.
"Let go!" Gui roared, blasting Kai away with a burst of Qi.
Kai flew backward, crashing into the grass. He pointed his finger at Gui.
"Boom."
CRACK-BOOM!
The pill detonated at point-blank range against Gui's Qi Armor. The armor held for a split second, then shattered. The explosion blew Gui's right arm clean off at the elbow.
"GGAAAAAHHHH!"
Gui fell to his knees, blood spurting from the stump of his arm. The shock and pain broke his concentration. His Qi Armor vanished completely.
Kai stood up. He was battered, bleeding, and exhausted. But his eyes were burning. He walked over to the kneeling Deacon.
Gui looked up, his mask blown off, revealing a face twisted in agony and fear. "Wait... wait! I am a Deacon of the Blood Skull Hall! My Master is an Elder! If you kill me, he will hunt you to the ends of the earth!"
Kai raised the Blood-Drinker's Jian.
"Let him come," Kai said hoarsely. "I need the XP."
Swish.
The head of Deacon Gui rolled onto the grass.
[Ding!] [Enemy Defeated: Deacon Gui (Qi Refining Stage 5).] [Level Gap Bonus: +200% Experience.] [Congratulations! You have leveled up.] [Current Cultivation: Qi Refining - Stage 3.]
[Blood-Drinker's Jian Evolution: 35/100.] [Weapon Unlocked Skill: "Blood Slash" (Releases a blade of blood Qi).]
Kai collapsed onto his knees, using the sword to prop himself up. The level-up energy washed over him, closing the wound on his side and refilling his stamina.
The door to the main hall opened. Lian ran out, ignoring the carnage. She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She was shaking.
"I saw it... I saw it all," she sobbed softly. "I thought you were dead."
Kai patted her head with his bloodstained hand. "Not yet, Lian. Not yet."
He looked at the headless bodies scattered around his courtyard. This was a victory, but it was messy. He relied too much on traps and items. If Gui had been Stage 6, Kai would be dead.
He needed to build his forces. He couldn't do this alone anymore.
He looked at the ghost token, then at the bodies. An idea formed in his mind. A dark, ruthless idea fit for a villain.
"Lian," Kai said, standing up. "Go back inside. I have to... clean up."
"What will you do with them?" Lian asked, looking at the corpses.
Kai looked at the dead disciples. In the game, there was a forbidden technique called Corpse Refining. He didn't have that. But he had the Hidden Ghost Token. And the souls of these cultivators were still lingering, fresh from death.
"I'm going to recruit some new guards," Kai whispered.
He held up the token. It pulsed hungrily.