Attempt
The patriarch of the Majestic Array sect sits with his leg crossed under the small table. On the table are a few documents neatly stacked with the brush and ink at the edge of the table.
The patriarch is an old man with white hair that goes down to his hips. He has a long beard that extends from below his nose to his chest.
Opposite the Patriarch is YuLing kneeling on the ground. They are in a small room, the only source of light is the soothing lamp at one edge of the room.
"I see, I understand." The patriarch says. "However, how can you not notice a spy among all the participants! Because of you, important figures who went to attend this competition are dead! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PRESSURE AND CONSEQUENCES THE SECT ARE FACING NOW?!"
"I-I admit I am a fool to entrust the job of carrying such an important check-up to my disciple. Please give me another chance!"
The patriarch sighs. "I know what you've contributed to the sect. And for that, I shall spare your life. But, I will dismiss your position in the sect, will you agree?"
"T-That's... Yes, I do."
"Leave."
...
YuLing leaves the room.
...
"So? Who was the bastard who fell for our bait?" The patriarch asks.
"It was a boy called Wang Ji." A voice says from behind the patriarch.
The patriarch smirks. "Do you deem him as a threat?"
"Definitely. The technique he executed is probably a Heavenly level technique."
"Heavenly level?! He used that to kill a Qi Condensation?"
"Moreover, he has cultivated the way of the sword and reached the seventh stage of sword intent. He even got the approval of Azrim and made a contract with it."
...
The patriarch rubs his chins. "Send 2 peak Foundation Establishment assassins. At the current stage, Azrim and Wang Ji are still very weak. Eliminate them at all cost"
"Understood."
-----------------
I gather Qi around Azrim, the aura manifests around the blade, but instead of white, it is dark red. This is only the first part of the sword of reign, there is a total of five parts. At my current cultivation, I can only use up to the second part.
The remaining points I have...50,362.
I realise some people coughing on the streets in XianFei when I look out of the window, my virus has already spread to this city judging by the skull above the victim.
Fever as a "symptom" of a virus is very vague. In actuality, it means that the virus was detected by the immune system but is very well at evading the immunity cells. Thus, the body heats up as it tries its best to fight the virus.
But a virus cannot evade forever. I will leave for Sarpin immediately after I get my compensation.
Two knocks were heard at the door, I open it to see an old man with a grey goat moustache, it was YuLing. He is in a terrible state with dark eye bags under his eyes.
"Ah, hello. Thank you very much, if it wasn't for you, the remaining survivors would not have made it. As such, I decided to give you the top 3 rewards for the competition as well as some money."
YuLing hands me two containers and a red outer coat, it has the design of golden outer lining with a dark red dragon soaring throughout the coat. There is one small string at the tip of the collar, I can tie the top collar together around my neck.
"This is fine craftsmanship. The robe negates arrays up to tier 4 and mitigates physical attacks. Most importantly, it is very comfortable to wear this robe and it protects you from the cold and heat." Says YuLing.
"I see..."
"These two containers have two extraordinary pills, each having its benefit."
YuLing opens the first container, and a crimson red pill reveals itself.
"This pill strengthens blood circulation in your body, enhancing reaction time and attentiveness. At the same time, it integrates fire qi into your spiritual roots and increases your affinity with fire."
So in conclusion, I can't use this pill right now.
He flips the second container open, inside is an orange pill.
"The second pill refines your body muscles through pure concentrated Qi and improves your spiritual roots. Now, before I can hand this to you, please answer a few questions."
He proceeds to ask me about what happened, who was the culprit, which sect was he affiliated with, and how I managed to kill him.
YuLing stares at the floor as he rubs his chin. "This... I see, thank you for informing me about this. I will now take my leave."
"Wait," I say. "Does the patriarch of your sect knows about these rewards?"
"No... I've made the choice myself with prior permission from the patriarch."
And YuLing left in a hurry.
...
I close the door and look out at the window. As if nothing happened at the competition this evening, the city is functioning as normal at night with some happy faces seen here and there.
Changing into the robe YuLing gave me, I quickly pack my belongings and leave despite the dark.
North... Where do the Sarpins reside?
(Anywhere with abundance nature and moderate Qi. They use nature to camouflage and hide from their predators, having different variations of green on their skin. You should go to Jiangxi as a start, it's the nearest to XianFei and has a direct route there, the Sarpins can be seen within an hour's walk from Jiangxi.)
Green? what do they look like?
(They look similar to... Frogs. But with 4 arms and two pairs of eyes. They aren't normally hostile to humans but will attack any human they deem as a threat.)
Among the darkness, two presences are observing me.
...
I ignore them.
The inn has some carriages parked out but only one has someone seated inside. I walk to that carriage. "Hi, can you take me somewhere?"
?
The ragged drunk driver looks at me and smiles. "Sure sure! I will take you anyyyyywhere if you have the money haha..."
"Jiangxi."
"Oh there? Sure sure! It's not far but seeing that I'm the only one here, how about 20 silver coins-"
I place the bag of coins beside him.
!
He sobers up when he realised it, he looks at me and rubs his eyes. "Ah haha! Sure! Get in! I will get you to Jiangxi as fast as possible."
...
He is smiling brightly as he pockets the coins, several teeth are missing.
I climb into his carriage. The windows are faulty and cannot be closed completely.
The driver shifts his position in the seat and glances around as if he is trying to spot something.
However, once he notices something, his eyes widen and he starts to move the carriage.
Suspicious isn't it?
-------------------
3 hours after the departure, we are close to leaving the mountainous region of Jiangxi. However, there is one specific road located between two mountains. Thus, blocking the moonlight to casting darkness on the road.
I look out of the window. I don't sense or see anybody except dark craggy structures which might be the rocky face of mountains.
Also, the driver is awfully quiet and still. Throughout the journey, he has been fidgeting and nervously sweating.
I take Azrim out and draw him.
...
Suddenly, a shadow dives through the tiny edge of the window and attempts to decapitate me.
!!!!
The shadow was met with the tip of a red qi blade.
?!!
The intruder managed to change his trajectory in time to avoid that but I take that opportunity to grab his head and slam it down.
*BOOOOOM!!*
The carriage, together with the ground below, explodes from the shockwave.
Another assassin attacks me from behind but my robe deflected his sword.
"Y-You! That robe-"
I twirl my body and slash horizontally behind, my attack created one swift cut in the surrounding mountains but that assassin dodged it as he jumps away.
Glowing red energy engulfs the sword and extends out from the tip, forming a longer sword. This is the second part of the Sword of Reign, the beginning stage of controlling and circulating Qi without the help of an object.
The assassin that sneaked into the carriage recovers and regroups with the second assassin.
"That geezer gave the robe to him...is he crazy?" One of the assassins mumbles.
I dash at the assassins.
!
Both of them charge at me, one preparing to parry my attack and the other to follow up.
However, instead of attacking directly, I jump up when I'm close.
?!
They try to stop their momentum to guard above their head but it was futile, I spin my body using the acceleration gained and slash at their nape from a distance.
I drop back onto the floor and somersault to my feet.
!!!!
Both of the assassins were knocked out cold and their body drop limply to the ground.
"How are they not dead?" I exclaim.
I walk up to their body and check their nape, there is a red swollen line as if a whip struck but no blood.
I sigh. The difference in the cultivation base saved them.
Judging by their breath... They are peak foundation establishment?! At least at the seventh stage of foundation establishment.
The fact that I even managed to knock them out is a miracle.
(That's because of that skill you extracted from Xie Mo. It may look underwhelming but it's because of that it is a heavenly level technique, the technique solely focuses on power and strength.)
I know...