16 - Fated

The sun and moon changed.

Winds and tides shifted.

Fate and destinies intertwined.

In a breeze, a week had passed, and the cultivators who had rushed into the forest to hunt were returning to exchange their points. Most of them have used the time effectively and productively, while others were not so much. Some who returned were relatively unharmed, while some were unscathed, but the number of participants has reduced.

The hunting competition was an open one, so you could join in at any time to participate, so the officials didn't need to worry about the death toll.

The cultivators who were with factions moved to their tent to tend to their wounds, while the rogue cultivators lined up to exchange the cores they have collected. The multitude of cultivators brought different types of monster cores and breasts. Some brought beasts with relatively unharmed, while some only brought the cores of these beasts.

On this note, the humans who follow cultivation try to imitate the beasts as that's how it started in the beginning of times. They followed the beasts' movements and breathing patterns and tailored themselves a cultivation technique. This is also the reason for the humans' core formation to be different. While beasts were born with a solid core that needs to be refined, humans need to gather and condense Qi to form a core.

It all comes down to the difference in anatomy and the natural order. Why do you think that cultivation is called a battle against the heavens? The human cultivates to break free from the restraints of their mortal coil. That is also the reason for the tribulations. The lightning is a test from the heavens to see if the mortal was worthy to ascend while also trying to kill him.

In the exchange venue, the official appraiser granted different points to different beasts and cores depending on their rank, rarity, and damage. Soon the points and names of the participants started to appear on the Banner of Valor. The names increased in number, and the ranking of the participants kept changing as new ones brought more beast corpses.

Most of the cultivators who were in the exchange venue only brought beasts from Rank 0 and Rank 1. Some were really damaged, but the appraisers refused even the damaged ones and exchanged them. The most rare one was a Green ostrich, which was a mutant of wood and earth affinity. This ostrich, being a mutant, increased its total points, but its feathers were torn and damaged, reducing the points, which led it to only have 80 points in value, including its core.

While the Ostrich was a rare one, others didn't disappoint with their hunt. A team brought a pack of flaming Wolves which were really hard to hunt due to their numbers and skills. Another brought a low Rank 2 Armadillo, earth affinity, could easily dig through the ground and was a pain to hunt.

But what attracted the most attention was a trapped Shadowcat, sibling of the shadow puma. These cute little murder muffins have evolved to hide and kill in the shadows. They also only hunted at night, making them hard to catch and kill. Although they were hard to catch and were killers, what made them attractive was their value as a pet. 

Women still loved cute little creatures but just added it with the murder attribute.

The Shadow cat, being alive, gained the cultivator a full 100 points. Some even wished to buy it from him before he could exchange it for money, but the guy just exchanged it. The cultivator valued the points even though some offered much more. It was due to the exchangeable items in the exchange store. Some of them could not be afforded even if you spent ten times the value on the market.

This also showed how wealthy the empire was.

The rogue cultivators kept exchanging their points and took their leave to do their own thing, to go back into the forest, or into the city. After the rogues left, the cultivators from the faction came; these were of the lower level group as the top one have yet to come from the forest. 

Since these cultivators belonged to a sect or faction, they all worked as a group instead of individuals. These people were also the ones who gathered most of the lower level beasts and one or two high level beasts. This brought them up the leaders board pretty quickly but not to the top. 

The banner of valor now showed hundreds of names, of an individual and faction. These all had their points attached to them. Some were in a lower rank than the points they earned due to their spending, while some just hoarded without much spending.

But the decision was up to the cultivators.

"They have really gathered some valuable items."

"Yes, sir. We also gained some rare beasts and cores that could be used for alchemy. With the amount we would also have cut a small portion of beasts in the out ring."

"Good."

The Man stated as he checked on the items that were exchanged. If other cultivators were here, they would have recognized the man. He was the one who explained the rule at the beginning of the competition.

The Man was the overseer of the hunting competition. He was also a peak Golden Core realm expert. He was also responsible for maintaining order in case some mishaps happen. He would alone be a deterrence if a rogue cultivator thought to try his luck.

"A shadow cat," He muttered as he lifted the bound beast.

The shadow cat struggled but froze in fear when it met his eyes. The beast recognized the difference in level and became submissive. Strength was always a factor in the world of beasts. Looking at the now amicable cat, the man nodded.

"I think we could gift this to Mistress Jin of the Shadow Moon," The man muttered.

The Shadow Moon was an information guild, something like that. They ran brothels on the light and dealt information in the shadows. They had people everywhere and provided top-class information. Being an organization that runs solely based on money, they were neutral to any faction and were loyal to none. You could buy their services with enough money. This was the reason that their presence was left alone by the empire.

"I think it will suit her," The official said in agreement.

"Continue the work," The man said and took his leave from the storage. The guards bowed as he left and he met with the other officials who were doing their work.

"Did the heirs return?" He asked.

"No sir, they have not," The official answered.

The man turned to the forest, his gaze to the horizon. 

Baiyun and Jailiang were moving towards the entrance of the demonic forest, back to the exchange venue. They had successfully killed the poison crawler and its spawns, which took them a whole day. The thousands of spawns were really hard to deal with. 

After their alleged murder of a family, they found other weaker beasts and killed them. Throughout the week, they used their combined strength to kill two more rank 2 beasts. They were not that successful as Jailiang and Baiyun had many bruises and cracked bones. Their Foundation realm cultivation meant that their bodies were stronger and recovered faster than a mortal's. 

This hunting spree had also filled their limited pocket rings to the brim with corpses, mostly with spider spawns. So, now they were returning to empty their slots so they could hunt more. They traversed fast but more cautious as they not only needed to be on guard against the beasts but the humans too.

"Sis, do you think our siblings would be back by now?" Jailiang asked.

"No, they have more people and more rings to store their hunt," Baiyun gave a short answer.

Jailiang didn't ask more.

"Ling Hao, can I ask why you are here," Feng Rong asked as he released an arrow.

Ling Hao swung his twin swords and answered, "What do you mean? I am protecting you."

Feng Rong knocked another arrow, "Do you want me to believe you?"

"It was purely coincidental, Feng Rong," Ling Hao answered.

"That you somehow met my group while a whole gang of silver back monkeys was chasing you," Feng Rong stated as he killed another monkey with his flaming arrow.

"Yes, it was. Would you believe that it was a relief that I met you instead of all the other cultivators?" Ling Hao asked as he sliced the monkey that was falling from above.

"No," Feng Rong injured another monkey.

"Hahaha, Ling Hao never forgets to entertain," A mighty laughter came from the side.

"I am honored, Elder Ha," Ling Hao stated as he continued to kill the monkeys.

Ling Hao and his twenty men, Feng Rong and his five guards were now surrounded by silver back monkeys. Elder Ha sat undisturbed by the monkeys as they stayed away from him. The Nascent soul expert had retracted his aura to not scare the monkeys away but kept enough that they wouldn't disturb him.

About ten minutes ago, Feng Rong and his group were camping for their morning meal when Ling Hao came with hundreds of silver back monkeys chasing him. His arrival alerted the group but they were already caught in the mess to run away.

Now they were fighting the silver back monkeys together. Elder Ha just watched as the Foundation establishment struggled to keep the peak Rank 1 monsters at bay. He was enjoying the show.

Feng Rong used his arrows to knock the monkeys that lunged at them while Ling Hao or someone else killed them. His arrows were running out, but the number of monkeys didn't seem to reduce. Ling Hao was using his short swords to keep them away while their guards used their swords and spears to keep the monkeys away.

"Ling Hao, you better compensate for the mess you have created," Feng Rong said as he knocked another arrow and killed another monkey.

Ling Hao rushed and struck one in its heart, "How about 50/50 of the beasts we kill?" 

"80/20," Feng Rong injured another.

"60/40." Ling Hao compromised.

"70/30," Feng Rong readjusted.

"60/40."

Feng Rong turned to Ling Hao and gave him a hard stare while head-shotting a poor monkey. Ling Hao looked at the now lifeless beast and decided to change his offer, "65/35, no more."

"Okay," Feng Rong agreed before he started to shoot the arrows in a barrage.

He then pulled out a talisman and ignited it. With the talisman igniting, the arrows that were shot glowed red before exploding, killing many more monkeys with it. The arrows that were knocked were aimed in a way that the explosion surrounded them but not hurt them.

"Hey, that's cheating," Ling Hao stated as he saw the monkeys run away, frightened.

...

In the shadows of the night, we hide, in the darkness, we kill. We have no name, we have no life. We are only tools of our masters and we kill those that stay in our path. 

This was the motto of the assassins. They lived and died in the shadow, never revealed to the world, and today they had a job. Remove an obstacle in their liege's path. They would make his trouble disappear so the sun could shine on them.

They were the 'Nameless'.