Red Talon Piercing The Darkness

The next few weeks moved swiftly as they made their way to Yuan City. Hong Zhao had hunted many different fierce beasts using his devouring qi claws. During the night, they would hunt and move and during the day, they would cultivate. At most, they would get two hours of sleep within a week. Being disciple ranked cultivators, they rarely needed to sleep in order to keep a clear head. Nor was it that important for them to eat more than one meal a day, which they would have close to sunrise before they began cultivating. With this routine, Hong Zhao had made it to the eighth star disciple rank.

As they neared the capital, they confronted even fiercer beasts and Hong Zhao became the proud owner of two three ninth star disciple ranked beast cores. He refined his sword and Ren Cai's odachi before they headed out once more.

Their routine kept them on the move. It also kept their senses sharp and their guard up as they continued onward. Ren Cai would joke with him every once in a while, making him give into laughter from time to time. He knew she was trying to lighten his mood. From time to time, she would tell him that he shouldn't be so serious. Joking that if he kept his features in a scowl, how would he know how to smile when the time came?

As they travelled one night, Hong Zhao noticed the atmosphere was somewhat off. Ren Cai was no longer joking. Instead, she was scanning the area, as if she were waiting for something. Hong Zhao activated eagle vision and noticed quite a few qi signatures further ahead. Most of them were sixth and seventh star disciple ranked, but he could also sense a few ninth star disciple ranked cultivators and one warrior ranked cultivator. Hong Zhao's eyes became serious as he stopped in his tracks. The branch that he landed on didn't even shake as he kept himself light.

Looking at Ren Cai, her features went slightly cold as she looked at him. "You noticed then?" She sighed inwardly as she unsheathed her odachi and pointed it at Hong Zhao. "I think you said that this weapon is an eighth star disciple ranked odachi, correct?" She examined the blade like a mother would her child. "Thank you very much for thinking so highly of me."

"It was you?" Hong Zhao's face became slightly pale as he drew his own sword. He knew he was done for if those cultivators were to notice them. "How could you betray me so easily?"

"Betray you?" She looked questioningly at him. "I was just doing my job. I'm sure you can appreciate that, Jason Slate." She said his old name mockingly. "The job is what is important, anything else is second, am I right?"

Hong Zhao swore openly at her as he activated vortex thrust. He swung his sword as fast as the wind, yet she parried with equal force. He cursed himself for having taught her such a useful technique as vortex thrust. When she had complained about having to grow into the odachi, she had to have been putting on a show. When she used the sword, it was like an extension of herself.

Hong Zhao used the momentum of the colliding blades to push himself backwards, simultaneously forming five qi balls. He placed them on every opposite branch as the one he landed on as he propelled himself backward. When Ren Cai chased after him, he activated qi explosion, yet she was just outside of the range of the blast as she raced towards him. She not only was helping him with his battles on the way, but also learning his movements and finding ways to maneuver through them. Hong Zhao cursed at himself yet again as he blocked yet another attack from Ren Cai.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with the sword, Hong Zhao activated devouring qi claws and launched himself towards Ren Cai. As he did, he noticed tiny flashes of qi heading towards him. Using his claws, he slashed the qi needles away from him. He then used vortex thrust to it's maximum potential, nearly disappearing on the spot. He launched himself upwards, then straight down to Ren Cai, who was waiting with her odachi raised to the sky. Hong Zhao kicked off of a tree just in time before being skewered by Ren Cai''s blade. Turning to face her while in the air, Hong Zhao activated qi shot and sent two beams of lustrous white qi to his opponent. Ren Cai blocked one with her blade, yet the other one still got her in the left shoulder.

Hong Zhao smiled to himself. He had gotten first blood. He could see Ren Cai's mood shift from playful to hateful in a blink of an eye. Though he was enjoying himself, it only lasted a moment. He noticed her lips moving and then a sinister smirk which warped her features as a dark shadow appeared behind Hong Zhao. Before he could do anything, the world went dark. The last thing he saw was a look of victory upon his would-be friend before everything faded into nothingness.