Red Talon Piercing The Darkness

As they continued their journey, Hong Zhao took the time to instruct Ren Cai on vortex thrust. At first, they took more time than what they would have saved if they just moved at normal speed. But after a week, Hong Zhao was able to enlighten her in the early stages of the skill. They were at least able to go three times as fast as a normal run.

As he was instructing her on how to use the movement ability, he had only just remembered his own storage ring. In the beginning, he was able to obtain one reward from Lan per advancement in his cultivation. She had slowed down on giving him rewards when he became more proficient on his own, but he decided to check in the ring once more, just in case.

When he looked in the door for the seventh star disciple rank, a lone jade slip stood on a pedestal, awaiting his inspection. "A new technique?" He said excitedly as he picked it up and put it to his forehead. "Devouring light?" The information on the skill seeped into his mind. It was apparently a skill that exuded a dark mist from the pores of his skin. It did not so much devour light as much as block it out, though he could see how such a technique would go perfectly with his qi blocking uniform.

In the next few months, Hong Zhao trained the skill. When using it at first, the mist he exuded was too thick and became moisture instead of the mist, which resulted in his clothes only getting wet. Other times, he made it too light, and the mist just stuck around him, even though he was still visible to the naked eye. When he finally got used to the technique, he could tell that it would be one he could only use at night. If he used it during the day, it would just be a dark blotch which someone would still be able to see within the daylight.

When he used it at night, it was as if he teleported. The mist used the darkness around it in order to camouflage himself. When he did this, there was nothing giving away where he was located. He could use this skill as a smokescreen like he used in his previous life. "It's almost as if Lan wants me to just be an assassin like I used to be." He said to himself as he activated his devouring light technique. As he did, the darkness surrounded him while he was on a tree branch. Sitting still, he waited until a fierce beast appeared below. As it did, Hong Zhao moved to the forest floor below as silently as he could. The mist followed him like a blanket, not showing even a hand outside of its perimeter.

The beast was a dog type fierce beast. It was nearly twice the size of Hong Zhao with black and brown fur. When he landed behind the beast, Hong Zhao saw its ears prick up, and the beast sniffed the air. Yet the mist seemed to block most of his scent as well. It was if he was within a scentless and sightless barrier. He used his eagle vision to see through the cloud himself. If he didn't, he would be just as blind as someone would be when they looked at him.

Hong Zhao activated his devouring qi claws and launched himself through the cloud of darkness, straight at the beast's throat. Warm blood splashed on the claws and his uniform. The pearl like light turned slightly red as it collected the qi from the beast. If he were to bet, he would assume this beast was at least a third star disciple ranked beast. Though the energy was not enough to push him into the eighth star student rank, it was still enough to raise his cultivation base significantly. With this beast as well as the other three he had already killed earlier, he would receive quite the cultivation boost later.

"Isn't that boring?" Ren Cai said with a yawn as she watched him dispatch yet another beast effortlessly. "At least give them the chance to fight back."

"Maybe with any other cultivator, they might have that chance, but I'm an assassin." Hong Zhao said with a smirk. "It's not my job to be flashy, just to kill. That's all." He allowed his claws to disappear once again and then he stored the beast within his storage ring. "We will have meat for quite a while now." He smiled as he thought of the feast they would have tonight.

"We are making a stew tonight." Ren Cai said as she rolled her eyes. "There's only so much meat on a stick I can deal with."

"First I want to move for the next two hours. We need to pick up the pace if we are going to get to Yuan City in the next month." His eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction of the capital. They had been going strong for three months now. With how much travelling they had done, his muscles seemed to get more lean. All fat seemed to leave his body, giving him a look of a young man, instead of a young boy. Though he was only eleven years old now, his cultivation base gave him the appearance of an age well beyond what he was.

Ren Cai looked only a little older than she was. An eleven year old girl was still slightly underdeveloped and Hong Zhao still laughed when he saw her childish nature reflecting in her age. Even though she was a forty year old assassin, she was still able to act like a spoiled child upon occasion.

Though they had started the journey as little more than acquaintances, it was nearly impossible to spend as much time as they did with each other and not become friends.

The two raced along using vortex thrust, launching themselves into the trees and racing along the branches. If anyone were to look up, they would only be able to see leaves rustle as they passed. Only a fourth star disciple rank might be able to see them clearly, but it would take an eighth or ninth star disciple rank cultivator to keep up with them.

As they made their way through the branches, Hong Zhao's eyes became more and more fierce. If they pushed themselves as hard as they could, they would be out of the forest and into Yuan City by the next full moon. "Just wait, Li Wuhan. I will give you vengeance soon."