Chapter 16 - Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Li Kang lamented the loss of his tent and rucksack to Wanyi Group cultivator. That scoundrel, Li Kang thought. Now I'll have to sleep outside in this rain while I make my move on the Suhn Clan. As distasteful as that proposition was, Li Kang nevertheless would be a fool to waste the opportunity the rain provided to provide cover for his entrance into the Suhn Clan's holdings.

After considering his options at the edge of the forest, he finally crossed the boundary into enemy territory. With the yin yang daggers secured on his belt and Master Guansho's tome tucked into his robes, he felt confident that he could take on any Suhn Clan cultivators that he encountered. In addition to this, since he had used the pills to raise his cultivation all the way up to the peak of bone tempering phase 3, he felt confident that his ki channels would be equipped to cycle the ki absorbed by the dagger of avarice. Before he had been on the verge of meridian failure from absorbing the ki energy of the two men, but now he would be able to hold the ki energy in his improved and strengthened meridians and cycle it using the simple ki channel refinement method.

The sound of his footsteps muffled by the heavy rain, his ki sight active, Li Kang was suddenly aware of two cultivators ahead of him. It must be villains from the Suhn Clan! He thought. He slowed his pace and crept towards them. The ki aura sense he got from the two cultivators placed them at phase 3 of the bone tempering phase. At his current level, it couldn't be said that Li Kang was weaker compared to a cultivator at the pinnacle of the bone tempering phase, which would make these two an easy fight one on one. However, Li Kang couldn't afford to underestimate them when it was two versus one.

When he was ten feet away, he stopped behind a fallen tree and crouched down, observing the two. They were both well built men with the air of martial artists about them, their robes hanging from their waists in the old martial style despite the rain. One of the men had his long black hair drawn back into a warrior's tail. He turned to his companion with the shaved head and said, "You know brother Chen, it seems unfair that they would put the two of us rising stars in the Suhn Clan on extermination duty, don't you think?"

The shaved headed fellow replied, "Yes, yes, quite unfair that we would be sent out into the rain for a single Li Clan rat!" Both men laughed heartily.

For a moment Li Kang was dumbfounded. Did the Suhn Clan somehow know that he was the one who had killed Suhn Jin?

The man with the long hair continued. "It could have been the Wei Clan. Those bastards have been known to take hostages before. Plus in the timeframe, there's no way they could have gotten Jin out of our territory and back into theirs."

Li Kang breathed a sigh of relief. While it appeared that the Suhn Clan was indeed looking for Suhn Jin, these two cultivators were just throwing ideas around and didn't really know what had happened. That was a relief doubly so because if they had found the scene of the fight it would mean they had also found the healing pools, while Li Kang himself hadn't even had a chance to explore them in their entirety yet. The very idea of missing out on the increase in cultivation that he could gain from the pools made Li Kang grind his teeth together.

As he observed the two, he formulated his plan of attack. It didn't appear that they had any type of artifact to signal for aid if he attacked. However, the two did appear to have sharp senses. He didn't dare get any closer than he was now without risking detection. Li Kang did have one advantage though. His pilfered Suhn Clan robes would provide a moment of confusion when he approached, even if they quickly realized that he was not truly a member of the Suhn Clan, he would still have the advantage. With this in mind, not wanting to waste any more precious time that could allow for reinforcements to arrive, Li Kang smoothly rose from behind the log and approached the two men silently.

They noticed him as he got within five feet of the pair. The bald one said, "Halt! Who goes there?"

"I'm a friend." Li Kang replied, his hands gesturing to his Suhn Clan robes. As he did so, his left hand went behind his back to his belt and drew the dagger of avarice. He dropped into a fighter's crouch as the bald headed cultivator charged on him and drew his broadsword.

"You actually look the part," he snarled as he took a massive swing at Li Kang, who rolled out of the way. "But you don't sound like it!" The long haired warrior circled around to avoid his clan mate's wild swings.

Li Kang took the opportunity to draw the dagger of charity with his right hand and switched the two daggers. "Thanks, but I don't need advice from a dead spirit!" He exclaimed, weaving around the man's guard to stab him in right through his unprotected chest with the dagger of avarice.

The other cultivator howled with rage seeing his friend stabbed by Li Kang, and charged from behind, wielding a quarterstaff. The staff appeared to be an artifact of some kind as it glowed with runes all around its surface. Avoiding the staff, Li Kang created some distance between the two with a powerful leap backwards.

"Impossible," the long haired Suhn Clan warrior muttered. "How can he have such greater strength in his legs compared to me when we are at the same level of cultivation, bone tempering phase 3?"

Truly Li Kang's speed and dexterity was unmatched. No matter how fast the man spun his quarterstaff or how tricky he made his feints and thrusts, Li Kang avoided each one with ease. The Suhn Clan cultivator began to grow frustrated, wondering why Li Kang did not attack, and redoubled his attacks. "You bastard!" He shouted as he grew increasingly furious.

The true reason behind Li Kang's hesitation was not that he couldn't find an opening on the warrior. It would be simple enough to defeat him. No, the real issue was that he still needed to finish cycling the ki energy from the man he had just killed. Almost done, Li Kang thought. He could feel the ki energy cycling through his meridians as he practiced the simple ki channel refinement method while simultaneously dodging the long haired cultivator's attacks. Finally! He thought. The cycling finished, his cultivation had markedly improved, bringing him up to the bottom of the 4th stage of the bone tempering level.

This done, Li Kang drew the dagger of charity up the man's arm, disrupting his ki channeling. The glowing runes on the quarterstaff guttered and went out. Despite this, the warrior would not give up. He swung his staff low to hit Li Kang's legs, but at the last moment brought it up to catch him in the stomach. Thinking he'd scored a solid hit, he moved in with his right hand to deliver a palm heel strike. Little did he know, at his current cultivation level, the staff blow with the unpowered staff hadn't even phased Li Kang at all! Pretending to be doubled over in pain, Li Kang waited until the palm heel strike had almost struck his solar plexus and made his move, bringing the dagger of avarice up to stab him in the throat.

ki energy once again flooded his meridians and ki channels. He reflected, these Suhn Clan lackeys don't even understand the opportunity for advancement they've given me here. Each of their worthless lives is another huge stride towards the strength that I will need to stand atop this world! These villains would eradicate the Li Clan in a heartbeat if they could, so I will show them the same mercy! After spending an hour cycling the remainder of the power, Li Kang again felt the increase in his power as he explored his ki channels and meridians. What a foundation! He thought. The power of these grade one heavenly treasures is truly unmatched. No cultivator alive can have a foundation like mine, and I haven't even bonded a martial spirit yet!

Another rung higher on the ladder of destiny, Li Kang dragged the bodies of the two men into a ditch and covered them with miscellaneous debris. As he got them hidden from view his ki senses flared. I recognize that ki signature! It's the rogue cultivator from the Wanyi Group!