39 Death Encounter

- Outside the Alchemist Guild -

"Where is Grandmaster Dun! I request an audience with Grandmaster Dun!"

"Like I keep telling you, Patriarch Zhou, Grandmaster Dun is busy-"

"Busy?! My son is dead by the hands of one of your alchemists, and you're telling me he's busy?! Fine! Let me see that brat, then! Since Grandmaster Dun won't handle his own guild's matters, then I will handle them for him!"

"This…" The employee looked at a loss for what to do, but just then, Xuan and the huntress appeared behind him.

"Which 'brat' are you talking about, I wonder?"

"Boy…" Zhou He's eyes narrowed as soon as he spotted Xuan. "… You dare to kill my son and stay in Cloud Catcher City?"

"Kill your son?" Xuan blinked, feigning ignorance. "You mean Zhou Hai? He died? Oh, my deepest condolences."

"Cut the bullshit, brat! If I don't have your head today, I'm not leaving! Get him!"

The guards around Zhou He immediately leaped forward in an attempt to grab Xuan, but all of a sudden, they were knocked back by a powerful shockwave as a newcomer arrived at the scene.

"Who wants to have my alchemist's head, I wonder?"

"Grandmaster Dun?" Xuan lifted an eyebrow. "Weren't you busy with the last rites organization?"

"I was," he corrected. "But how can I discuss anything with them when there is a dog barking outside my store?"

"Grandmaster Dun, don't go too far," Zhou He growled intensely. "Your alchemist—this brat here—killed my son. Is it too much for me to ask for his life in return?"

"If that were really the case, I would have no complaints," Grandmaster Dun replied. "However… do you have proof that it was my alchemist who did this? From my understanding, your son attended the hunting party arranged by the city lord last night, did he not? He could very well have died to a beast."

"Bullshit! I sent two Origin Transformation stage family elders with him, and he himself is a talent at the Qi Transformation stage—how could he have died to beasts?!"

"Mm, exactly," Xuan said, nodding along and making a show of counting with his fingers. "Two Origin Transformation stage masters, plus a Qi Transformation realm… were killed by me? I am only at the Core Formation stage, Patriarch Zhou. Does that seem believable to you?"

"Don't play dumb with me, boy," Zhou He snarled. "I know you're hiding something—a powerful artifact or something, perhaps? Either that, or you're somehow concealing your cultivation in a way that even I can't see through. The point is, your real strength level is nowhere close to a Core Formation stage trash, and you are perfectly capable of killing my son along with the masters I sent."

"Is that so?" Xuan smiled. "In that case… aren't you afraid I'm capable of killing you, too—just as easily?"

A bluff, of course. One that Zhou He saw through immediately with a laugh.

"Ha! If you could do that, you would've already done so by now, no?"

But Xuan's expression didn't change—this was a very subtle manipulation method. Even though what Xuan claimed had been a complete lie, just the very fact that he'd said it was enough to make an impression in Zhou He's mind, and create a lingering fear—no matter how little that feeling was.

"Patriarch Zhou, you keep claiming my alchemist was the one who killed your son and elders, but do you have evidence?" Grandmaster Dun asked, narrowing his eyes. "If not, then this is just plain accusation, and I must ask you to leave."

"Leave? Hah! I already said, Grandmaster Dun," Zhou He replied, narrowing his eyes dangerously and summoning his weapon—a long red sword, probably some variant of the Sanguine Blade found in his Space Ring. "I'm not leaving here today until I bring this brat's head with me—and if you intend on getting in our way… then don't blame me for not putting our years of cooperation in my eyes!"

In an instant, Zhou He lunged towards Xuan, sword drawn. "You two, take good care of Grandmaster Dun—this boy is mine!"

"You dare-!" Grandmaster Dun attempted to interrupt, but was immediately stopped by the two Origin Transformation stage masters following Zhou He.

"Apologies, Grandmaster Dun, but… we are merely following orders."

"Tch… your Zhou family will pay for this!"

Grandmaster Dun closed his palms together and condensed a fireball between them, but the two masters combined efforts to block the flaming projectile and counterattacked.

"Boy, you're on your own for this one!" Grandmaster Dun yelled as he dodged out of the way, bringing his fight to a different area to make space. "Just stall some time—it won't be long before the City Lord reaches here!"

Xuan, however, didn't seem concerned at all, easily evading Zhou He's sword and dashing away. Zhou He, following him with his eyes, let out a roar and charged after him.

"Trying to run? In your dreams!"

'Hmph… catch me if you can.'

With a smirk, Xuan activated his Swift Cloud Steps and Celerity (Rabbit) Zodiac technique—and thus began the chase around Cloud Catcher City.

*****

- Some Time Later -

"Whew… hah… pretty good at running, huh? Too bad you don't know the layout of this city, it seems… you're cornered now, brat."

Panting heavily, Zhou He slowly approached Xuan, who found himself in a dead-end with no place to go. It was just the two of them here, and help wasn't going to come anytime soon—the civilians they passed by on the streets were far too scared of the Zhou family to help since they had eyes everywhere, while Grandmaster Dun was most likely not done dealing with the two Origin Transformation stage masters yet. But…

"Is that so?" Xuan replied with a smile. "I wonder… is it really me the one who is cornered here?"

It took Zhou He a minute to interpret the younger man's words. But when he finally did, he frowned.

"… You lured me here… for what? A one-on-one duel away from prying eyes, so you can continue to hide your tricks up your sleeve? Ha! Aren't you getting ahead of yourself, boy? You think you can beat me? I am an Origin Monarch stage cultivator, multiple realms above you!" He looked around. "You think I don't know what you're really planning? You can try to stall time as much as you want, but… I can finish you off before any help arrives. I've already formed a barrier—no one will be able to hear us fight here, bastard."

It was true—there were no other presences nearby at the moment. Xuan was completely alone, a Core Formation stage cultivator against an Origin Monarch. No matter how talented he was, no matter what kind of artifacts he had, this was going to be a one-way battle—and it wouldn't be in favor of Xuan.

After all, he wasn't invincible. He may have obtained a technique akin to a cheat—which, by the way, he still found odd, since his luck was never this good in his past life—but even so, this cheat did not allow him to do everything he wanted.

But at the same time… it was just like Grandmaster Dun had said—all he needed to do, was buy some time.

With a cold gaze in his eyes, Xuan drew his blade—Black Mamba—and pointed it at Patriarch Zhou.

"Let's dance."

"Enough talk—your life ends here!"

Zhou He dashed towards Xuan with his blade, and metal struck metal. The two both activated their Sword Qis at the same time, and their strength levels were about equal.

"Oho… not bad. Your Sword Intent is almost on the same level as mine… too bad all that talent's going to waste without a life to use it on!"

Backing away briefly, Zhou He lifted his sword into the air, and called upon the heavens.

"Aid me, Law of Thunder!"

Immediately, a massive grey cloud formed above Zhou He's head, and a powerful bolt of lightning came crashing down from the sky to smite the spot Xuan was standing on. Naturally, Xuan didn't feel like turning to ash today, so he gritted his teeth and cast a defense technique of his own.

'Essence Guard!'

A crescent-shaped guard appeared above Xuan's head, formed out of 16 billion stat points' worth of Soul Defense. Xuan had a confident smile on his face, but the bolt of lightning remorselessly struck straight through the shield, shattering it instantly and hitting Xuan's body head-on.

"Ngh—!"

With a grunt, Xuan fell to the floor, clenching his fists tightly. His body wasn't actually that damaged thanks to the Residual Spirit Vest defensive artifact he had, but because it only fully blocked physical and Soul techniques, Xuan's muscles had been electrified and refused to move… not to mention how his heart felt like it was on fire.

The situation did not look good.

"Haha! You thought you could block the power of Laws with a mere Earth-Grade Soul technique?" Zhou He burst out in laughter. "Naive! Too naive!"

"This is it, brat," He snorted, walking closer to Xuan's fallen body and pointing his sword at his head. "You can repent forever… in hell!"

With every second that brought Zhou He closer, Xuan's head spun like cogwheels, thinking of an idea to turn the situation around. That nasty sneer on Zhou He's face… he was going to wipe it right off.

Raising his blade, Zhou He prepared to cleanly remove Xuan's head, but in that moment—Xuan let out a soft chuckle.

"You want to make me repent? Heheheh… get in line."

'Zodiac Technique—Hellhound's Fury!'

In an instant, a powerful burst of Qi erupted around Xuan, blowing even Zhou He back momentarily as he covered his face with his arm.

Hellhound's Fury—the skill of the Dog. A suicidal move, it grants the user enhanced physical traits and fighting vigor at the cost of lifeforce. At first glance, it was a stupid decision—but that was fine. Xuan needed to convince Zhou He that he was using up every last card he had up his sleeve, and this was necessary to do so.

"This is… the Twelve Zodiac technique? Bastard, why do you have that?!"

Xuan smiled. "That's not the only thing I have."

'Zodiac Technique—Flaming Boar Eyes!'

Flaming Boar Eyes—the skill of the Pig. Xuan's pupils disappeared as his eyes turned into fully red cannons, and from them came two melting lasers that aimed towards Zhou He.

"Tch… Bulwark of the Earth!"

Slamming his palm down into the ground, Zhou He summoned a large defensive wall in front of him, blocking Xuan's laser beams.

"… Hmph."

Unamused, Xuan slowly lifted his hand, and pointed his finger at the rock wall.

'Zodiac Technique—Combustion.'

The Dragon's technique, and the most powerful of them all.

Immediately, the wall burst into flames, reduced to ashes.

"Wha- how is this possibl-!"

ZAP!

Xuan's lasers painfully burned into Zhou He's vulnerable body straight through the defensive vest he had equipped, causing him to scream out in agony.

"GRAGHH!"

'How is this possible? Heh… Combustion is a Soul Technique, and my Soul Strength is 16 billion. Obviously your stupid wall won't stand a chance against that… and same with Flaming Boar Eyes. Even if my attacks aren't anywhere near as powerful as they once were, they're still more than enough to deal with you. Too bad, though… I didn't hit any vitals.'

As this was the first time Xuan was using this Flaming Boar Eyes technique, it was a bit difficult for him to control the aim. He'd originally been aiming for the heart, but the laser beams went wide and hit the arm and legs instead. They made holes in his body, though, so cleanly that no blood even spilled.

"…"

Zhou He remained perfectly still for a moment even after Xuan's lasers ran out, just standing there limply. Then, like a zombie, he laughed.

"Ohoho… you're done for now… brat."

Xuan narrowed his eyes as Zhou He gave his verdict.

"Vampiric Form… AWAKEN!"

Instantly, he transformed. His hair went from black to a deep red, and grew multiple times longer. His fingernails turned to sharp claws, and two fangs jutted out from his mouth. Slowly, he straightened his body again, wounds completely gone. Then, he took off his defensive artifacts and clothes to fully relish in the power, leaving only his pants and shoes on.

The muscles and skin underneath did not look like they belonged to a nearly-50-year-old man. Instead, they looked young and fresh, like Zhou He had gone back in time several dozens of years.

"… Finally can't resist using blood arts, huh?" Xuan muttered, preparing for hellfire.

"HAHAHA! It's been very long since someone has forced me to use this move," Zhou He replied, walking towards Xuan menacingly while inspecting his own hands. "But I must say… this feels nice. I should be thanking you… ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"

"—!"

Too fast to even react to, Zhou He dashed towards Xuan, who had no way of defending himself now that all his techniques had ran out. Before he knew it, a punch landed in his abdomen, and he was sent flying backwards.

"Mmf-!"

Xuan crashed into the wall, and the next instant, Zhou He was already there, lifting him up by the throat and choking him tightly.

"Brat… spill your secrets. If you do that, I might give you a painless death. Who are you… really?"

"…"

Such was the power of vampires. Greatly enhanced physical attributes that no normal human can ever hope to match directly, and impressive self-healing abilities. Since Zhou He wasn't completely vampire, he was immune to sunlight as well. Xuan's cultivation wasn't high enough to be able to react to attacks like this yet, so even though he had been prepared to cast Stray Cloud Path to avoid the punch, he simply was not fast enough.

Against this monstrosity, Xuan was powerless to fight back. He may be able to just barely go even with a normal Qi Transformation stage cultivator, but Zhou He was already an Origin Monarch. Not only that, he knew Xuan's top trick—Qi absorption. His son had probably told him about what happened at the alchemist competition, so he knew in advance not to use any Qi-based techniques against Xuan.

If Xuan had been in this exact position in his past life, when he was still low cultivation and a solo player, this truly may have been the end for him.

But in this life, things were different. He had chosen a slightly different path—he had allies. He was no longer alone. He saw the value in manipulating others—the value of having pawns willing to do his bidding.

And so, when he saw the shadow standing on top of the building nearby, he smiled.

Everything Xuan had done up until now had been an act. Taking damage, letting himself get choked like this, and playing weakside. He knew he could not beat Zhou He head-on with his low-grade techniques, and could only fight with him evenly at best. Because of that, if he wanted to win this fight, he'd need to be sly. Underhanded. Tricky.

And that's exactly what he did.

"… Hey, geezer. Do you want to know what the one weakness of vampires is?"

Zhou He frowned. "What are you talking about, boy? Have you gone insane on the verge of death?"

"No… it's that they don't have Divine Sense."

The original goal had been to just distract Zhou He enough to let the huntress shoot her shot, but this old fool's Vampiric Transformation played right into Xuan's hands. In that instant, an arrow flew from the shadow's bow, and struck the vampire's back. Zhou He's eyes widened briefly, and slowly, he turned around.

The shadow had already disappeared. He laughed.

"Hahaha! You think a mere arrow is enough to defeat me? It's not even poisoned, brat! I'll admit, I didn't see that one coming… but don't you worry. Right after I finish you off, I'll go get your little helper too."

With a bold smirk, Zhou He pulled the arrow out of his back completely nonchalantly, and snapped it in half with one hand before tossing the two parts off to the side of the alleyway. The wound that the arrow had made was so pitifully small, just barely enough to draw a tiny bit of blood—and even now, it was already starting to close.

But that tiny wound was all Xuan needed.

Immediately, he flipped his palm, and used his OWN blood technique.

'Transfusion.'

Suddenly, an enormous gush of blood came shooting out of Zhou He's back, and his eyes widened at the pain.

"GAGH! WHAT IS THI- AGH…!"

The blood flowed into Xuan's body like magic, and with every second, Zhou He got weaker while Xuan got stronger.

"Hmph… what is this, you ask?" He chuckled darkly. "A taste of your own medicine. You know the ancient Vampire race were the ones who created blood cultivation, but… do you know who wiped them out?"

Zhou He's grip loosened on Xuan's throat as the old man was forced to the ground, completely unable to do a thing with the gaping hole in his back and the blood from his veins being forcibly sucked out. Xuan bent down, leaned in beside the man's ear, and whispered softly:

"It was me."

"A-Agh… Transfusion… Transfusion!"

Zhou He struggled to use the same technique back on Xuan, but as expected, it failed miserably. Xuan laughed.

"Don't you know? That technique can only be used on living opponents if your Soul Strength is greater than my Soul Defense by a large margin."

"I-Im… possible… where did you learn… that technique…?! And how is your Soul… so much stronger than mine?!"

"I heard your Space Ring went missing a while ago," Xuan replied with a soft chuckle. "Oh, now that I think about it… I did pick up a random silver ring on the streets one day… it may have been yours? My bad, my bad."

"W-Wha… it was you…?!"

"Mm… now, I'll have you tell me. Where is the key to your family's vault?"

"Y-You dare! That is… where my family… keeps all its treasure… since ancient times…! Passed down through generations… if you steal those… my family will be done for…"

'Hemorrhage.'

"… AGH!"

Xuan leaned in. "Did I stutter? You should know the torturing capabilities of this technique better than I do, no?"

"W-Wait, I'll tell you! P-Please, stop- AGH!"

Xuan paused the Hemorrhage technique momentarily, stopping the blood vessels in his body from bursting. Zhou He calmed down a bit, but he was still completely at Xuan's mercy. After all, Transfusion was still active, and if this continued for a bit longer, Zhou He would literally die from not having blood in his body.

"T-The key… is in my other Space Ring… the one on my finger right now…"

Xuan blinked.

"Oh. In that case, you can just die."

"H-Huh?! Wait, I'll never forgive you, damn brat! Even if I turn into a vengeful ghost, I'll- AGHHHHH!"

Resuming Hemorrhage, Xuan stood back up as Zhou He screamed like a wailing dog, and the blood vessels in his body all burst at once.

From the outside, his body didn't look any different. But if one were to look inside, they would find a scene beyond disgusting.

Too bad the patriarch's screams would reach no one, thanks to the barrier he himself laid down in advance.

"… Whew."

<Grade: Transient -> Heaven.>

Xuan let out a deep breath. 100 Blood Essence, the requirement to progress the Divine Asura Eye, had been reached. That fight was far closer than he would've liked. If it wasn't for the huntress girl…

'… Hm? Wait, where did she go…?'

Xuan looked around and tried to sense her with his Divine Sense, but to no avail.

'… Oh well. She probably went to bring help. In the meantime…'

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was present, Xuan bent down over Zhou He's dead body as an ominous red Qi enveloped his body, and held his hand over the patriarch's back.

'This is a great risk, but… without risk comes no reward. Here we go.'

Closing his eyes, Xuan used Devouring Qi, and relaxed briefly as he felt the Qi enter his body.

<… >

'Not bad, not bad. From 1st layer Core Formation to 9th in a mere 2 days… this cultivation speed is simply incredible. I'll also pick up the defensive artifact that he threw away over there later, but the moment of truth comes now… will I be able to successfully absorb Zhou He's memories and techniques? Even if it hurts me like last time, the rewards will surely be worth it…!'

<͏M̡E̴͘M̧͟ÒR̵̸͟I̕͝͞È͢͟S̵̷ —͜͠ ̴͞E̶͘͘Ŗ̷̧R̵͘O̡R͝͏̧!̛>҉̛

"… Ngh!"

Suddenly, Xuan's system screen flashed red just like the previous time, screaming in error codes. Yet again, a powerful headache even stronger than the last one struck him, and he felt like his skull was about to explode.

"Damn… it…!"

'̶̧̧S̸̡E͘͟T̨͢ ̵͡M̛͞E͟ ̶F͡R҉E̶Ȩ҉̵!̶'̛̕

"Shut… up…!"

'̕G͘Ì͢͡V҉É̢ ́M̨͝E ́̀B̧͏ĄC͡K ͟M҉͠Y̨͝ ̶̡SÓ͢͠Ņ!̡̛'́̀

"Argh…!"

'͡W͘H́Y̢͢ W̡͘O̶N͘'̷̀T͏ ̷Y̨̡O͞Ų͠ J͏͘U̵̧͡S̴̢T͠ ̨D͏Í͠E̢͝ ̸͜Á́̀L͠RĘ̛͞A̸D̡͝Y̶͟!̸́'̨͟

"AGHHH!"

Unleashing a horrible scream, Xuan lost consciousness as the vengeful voices of Zhou He and Mamba combined took over his head. They ate away at his Soul Defense of 16 billion like piranhas, as if it were nothing. As if it didn't matter. As if it simply didn't exist.

Well, at least Xuan got his answer—he just didn't expect to faint as a result of it.

And in that moment, everything went black.

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