Gao Yi

After having made his first weapon, Hong Zhao had almost forgotten about the journal that old man Xinyue had given him. Without a second thought, he brought it out and opened to the first page. As he looked through the first page, it listed almost every step of the young boy's experiences when making the dagger from start to finish. Though Hong Zhao had seen that the boy made many different attempts in the making of his first weapon, it was only the finished result that he had recorded in the memory stone.

Flipping through the first few pages, he saw a where he could improve the weapon. "It looks like all I need is a beast core at the same rank or less than my own rank in order to refine the dagger into a spirit weapon." He raised an eyebrow as he took a beast core from his storage ring. He had no shortage of the small pearls from his numerous trips into the forest. As he looked it over, he also checked the instructions. "All I have to do is crush the core and use my elemental qi to meld it to the weapon, which should fuse the energy of the beast core to the weapon." He whistled as he checked over his dagger once again. "It didn't say anything about qi being needed." He crushed the beast core and sprinkled it on the weapon. Bringing his flame elemental qi out, he ran it along the dagger, allowing the flame to melt the remains into the knife itself. "So this should be a ninth star student rank spiritual weapon?"

His eyes were torn from the weapon as he heard a crash from downstairs. His inward thoughts were drawn outward as he heard screaming. Without a second of hesitation, he stored the dagger back into his ring and took out his sword before heading out the door.

"Where is that brat?"

"Excuse me, sir." Hong Zhao stepped away from the last stair and looked into a face only a mother could love. The man was bald with a cross shaped scar on his cheek. He seemed slightly overweight, but he could feel the power of this man from the moment he entered the room. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"That's him boss!"

Hong Zhao looked over the shoulder of the first man and noticed the other one for the first time. It was one of the five men that had tried to attack him when he had entered the village. "You've got to be kidding." He groaned as his eyes met the other man's.

"My name is Gao Yi." The first man introduced himself. "You met my little brother before, and then you split his head open!"

"Dammit." Hong Zhao raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Are we doing this?" He looked from one man to the other. "Let me guess. Your family is a very influential family in one city or another and I killed the young master. Am I getting close?"

"He was the first to reach the ninth star student rank at the age of thirty within our family!" Gao Yi took a sword from his storage ring. "He was going to be chosen to become an honor guard for Zheng Guo, the City Lord of Yuan City!"

"Alright then." Hong Zhao unsheathed his blade and slipped his qi suppressor back into his ring. He allowed the qi from the sword to replenish his dantian as it raised him once more to a disciple ranked cultivator. "I guess I'll have to kill everyone this time." He sighed. "And then I'll have to kill your father, then your grandfather until your whole family is dead. That's how this goes, right?" He had read enough books to understand that these men wouldn't quit hunting him until he wiped them all out.

"That's the sword I told you about!" Gao Yi's man spoke in his ear. "The moment he put the blade away, his qi returned to the level of a ninth star student!

Gao Yi's nostrils flared. If he were to gain such an artifact, he would surely replace his brother in line for the honor guard. Even in death, his brother still mocked his slow cultivation. He hadn't made it to the ninth star student rank until he was thirty five. With such a difference, only a spirit sword would make up what he lacked in skill.

"I don't suppose you'd rather leave and forget this ever happened, would you?" Hong Zhao readied his blade as he watched the man's eyes light up with greed. "I promise you, this won't be as easy as you believe."

"Enough talk!" Gao Yi launched himself towards the young boy with the speed and ferocity of pure desperation, yet Hong Zhao activated vortex thrust and easily maneuvered the large man. Just as he did, the other man appeared from behind him. He could hear the sound of a sword singing through the air. He took the dagger from his ring just in time to deflect the incoming blow. With the serrated edge, he twisted the sword from the man's hand quite easily and tore through his jugular with his other weapon. Blood rained down within the inn as the man sank to the ground. This time, he wouldn't be heading back to find help.

Gao Yi's eyes darted from his dead companion to his opponent. He looked from Hong Zhao to his sword, and then to the dagger than was now at the ready. Hong Zhao's gaze never left his, even as drops of blood landed on his face, adding to the now imminent feeling of impending doom. Before he could talk himself out of it, he activated his movement ability and bolted for the door, yet when he reached it, he only met the end of a blade on his way out. "I told you this wouldn't be easy." The last words he heard before the lifeless body hit the floor.

"Master Xinyue, I must trouble you once more with cleaning up my mess." Hong Zhao bowed towards the old man who had been watching the whole time, before once again ascending the stairs.