Bandit Extermination Job

  Taking a deep breath, Ryker used a healing technique to recover quickly, the roar had been so powerful it sent him flying before he used both Shadow Traversing Technique and Night Concealing Technique, making the mysterious attacker (cough Rock Bear Lord cough) think he was dead. 

  It's the only reason he survived but the injury he garnered remained, the roar is so powerful it hurt him to this degree. He looked at the rabbit, protected by his qi as it trembled. Looking at it closely, he sensed its strength around the 6-Stage Genesis Gathering, similar to Ina. 

  He gave it a mental order to check the surroundings, not wanting any Genesis Beast or bandits taking advantage of his current predicament. The rabbit squeaked, moving around the forest before letting out it didn't sense any foes.

  However, despite that, Ryker didn't put his guard down. The bandits were able to fool the senses of Genesis Condensing experts so a rabbit at the Genesis Gathering could miss them. He focused on recovering, the Life Gifiting Mantra allowing his recovery to speed up. 

  In just one hour, only his external wounds remained, though he let them remain, he still needed to bait the bandits after all. Giving another order, the rabbit left him, though it remained near him, acting as extra ears.

  Ryker then staggered, acting like he was badly injured before grabbing one of his healing pills to recover. He was about to put it in his mouth when a knife pierced it. He looked to see a man with a crooked nose, giving him an evil smile.

  "To think my luck is so good that I found a dying Genesis Formation expert. Well, you going to die anyway so let me help you speed up the process!" the bandit lunged at him, before finding he was slowly being lifted.

  "To think I would catch something so soon. Now, tell me where the rest of your group is and I'm going to give you a swift death," he threatens the man.

  The bandit laughed, "If you going to kill me then kill me! I'm never telling you anything!" 

  Ryker raised his brows before using a Soul Technique. Soul Techniques are techniques using the soul. Divine sense is a Soul Technique, one focused on detection. The Soul Technique he used is called the Spirit Punishment. What it did was essentially grind the souls of the victims, making them suffer a fate worse than death before dying.

  The man screamed, begging for mercy, saying he would tell where the rest of his groups were. But Ryker turned a deaf ear. Pretending he didn't hear anything as the bandit regretted not taking the swift death option. 

  Soon, the man's voice dried down, his throat hoarse as he screamed for hours. Sensing he was still alive, Ryker used his soul to grab the tattered soul of the bandit before using the Life Seeing Technique, essentially looking at his memory to learn the whereabouts of the bandits.

  After searching through his memory, Ryker burned the man's body, muttering to himself, "Interesting,"

-x-

  The bandit's hideout is surprisingly close to the Rock Valley, one of the reasons why they remained undetected. The other reason is the hideout is hidden, a powerful technique preventing anyone from sensing it.

  Something Ryker experienced as he reached where the hideout was yet he couldn't see it. However, he knew of its existence and how to get it to show itself. So he waited. Soon, a bandit appeared before using an Art to pass through. Unbeknownst to him, Ryker took that exact moment to slip in.

  He remained undetected, Shadow Traversing Technique plus Night Concealing Technique making him hidden from the rest of the bandits. He counted the bandits, the number slightly higher than reported, a troublesome 30 strong men.

  The worst part is he had trouble sensing their existence. No doubt the art they practice makes them undetectable. He remained patient, waiting for the right moment to strike. Waiting for the leader, he sensed the door being opened but nothing seemed to pass through, at least that is what it looked like.

  Thanks to his stronger divine sense, he was able to make a silhouette of the man, being covered in a Concealing Art, making it nearly impossible for anyone to sense his presence. However, the bandits seemed to be able to detect him, judging by how they turned their heads when he was in the area.

  He remained still, observing them when an opportunity presented itself. The bandit leader stopped using the art, allowing him to see the man. The others did the same their presence now clear.

  He used his soul to mark them, allowing him to detect them. Once every single bandit was marked, he crouched behind the bandit leader. When he looked towards his subordinate, Ryker lashed out, his sword piercing the man's chest, his last look was one of complete surprise.

  The others, shocked by their leader's death weren't able to do anything when he used his superior cultivation and proceeded to kill them, only leaving their heads intact for proof.

Looking at the massacre, Ryker walked deeper into the hideout before finding a weak obstruction. He passed through it before finding a corpse, one not belonging to the bandit. Despite being dead for who knows how many years, it still looked like it had just died.

  He was not surprised as he had seen from the memory of the bandit they found an intact corpse. It was from the corpse they were able to learn the Concealing Art, the insight coming from the corpse allowing them to learn the Art that the corpse practiced.

  Ryker was not surprised as he could guess the corpse might belong to someone at the 2nd Grand Realm. The most likely conjecture is that the corpse and another expert battle each other which leads to their mutual death.

  He looked at the corpse, sensing that it emitted some type of dark energy. No doubt it mastered the Law of Darkness to a certain degree. Taking advantage of the corpse, Ryker proceeded to absorb and refine the dark energy, comprehending the Law of Darkness.

  By the time he opened his eyes, he felt like his comprehension of the Law of Darkness had risen, allowing him to use and practice any technique related to the Law of Darkness with ease.

  "Thank you senior for your guidance," he said paying his respect to the fallen expert. He then dug a hole before burying the expert, paying one last respect before leaving, intending to head to the city now he had done his missions.