“Why! Why didn’t you get our transmission?! We set up the formation, and our mission was as good as done!” A short man yelled, covered in a beige shawl. Blood-soaked bandages constricted around his arm, which was cleanly sliced below the elbow. Regardless of his injuries, he was forced to kowtow to his senior.

  A tall person, covered head to toe in ebony garbs and a mask, crossed his arms in front of the bloodbrand disciple. “We had our own issues. A Rank 3 Sound Path ambushed us, sealing the formation. Bastard came in with a reed singing nonsense, yet we were outclassed,” he said with a rough voice.

  He stepped on the man’s only hand left, crushing its fingers. “S-stop! I have to report to the elder. You can’t kill me! I’m the only survivor left!”

  “Don’t put the blame on us. There were four of you, yet you lost to a pair of Rank 1 kids. I told you to grab the corpse of that girl, yet you couldn’t even do that. You can face Lord Reizou’s wrath for losing his favourite toy,” the shadow garbed person said, and with a wave of his palm, a dark wolf burrowed out of the earth. “Get on, we’ll head to base.”

  The short man almost teared up when he tried to move his missing arm, phantom pain sending surges of that memory. A Rank 1 swordsman that toyed with him like he was a pig in front of a butcher.

  And yet, the only reason he was alive was just to send a message. He could only hope the elder would have his back with the intel he gave. At least he wouldn’t have had to spend a week in the wild, trudging his way back to the sect.

  “Report seven. The developments of superior death warriors using clarity inducing toxins and meridian resurrecting minerals. Improved tactical qualities and potentially awakened memories. I’ll need to get more vessels,” A finger tapped on a decorated wooden charcoal desk. The hums of a ruminating man resonated, creating a song of the scholar. The carnelian jade glowing on the side signalled to the man, the sounds of his chair sliding as he stood up.

  He walked away from his study desk, looking out the window. Shards controlling the stage, and light danced in the dark sky. But if one gazed across at the horizon, there were no mountains or cities, only a single mass of land that existed in this realm, with a waterfall of light surrounding it. The man’s pure white eyes on the window reflected back at him, and he held his hands behind his back.

  Waiting.

  Seven knocks in a specific rhythm resounded. “Enter.”

  The masked man wearing ebony garbs entered, bowing at once with his fists clasped together, “Lord Shaoli, this servant is here to make a report.”

  Shaoli nodded, signalling him to move aside. He would hear his servant’s report later. For now, he had to deal with the other matter. The next man entered, blood splattering on the floor as he stumbled. The stench of old socks and soiled clothes filled his room. Within a breath, he smacked his head on the floor, bearing with the pain. “This humble slave is here to make a report as well.”

  “You’re the only survivor? Where are their bodies?” Shaoli questioned, remaining by the window. Only his back could be seen to this slave.

  “Yes lord. We were ambushed by the Seven Clouds. There was a spy within that caravan.”

  “And the goods were taken, vital ingredients for my experiments. I have lost a valuable Blood Path Rank 2, and one of Lord Reizou’s toys. Very good, it seems I’ve been set up,” Shaoli muttered. To think that right after being acknowledged by the leader, his rivals swiftly made moves to get in his way. Rising too fast had inadvertently attracted unwanted attention.

  “So you scurried back only to bring me this news? Not even their corpses were spared for you to bring? Now I need to explain myself to Lord Reizou.” Shaoli cut to the matter at hand. “So why did the enemy let you go?”

  The short man trembled. He had to grasp at straws to make sure he lived, yet Lord Shaoli figured out he couldn’t have survived on his own. Clearly, someone that could kill a Rank 2 wouldn’t struggle with a mid Rank 1.

  “Lord… Forgive me lord! It was a swordsman of the Seven Clouds. He said he was too lazy to kill me and wanted to send you a message.”

  “Oh? And what would this child of the Seven Clouds wish to say to us? Keep going.”

  The prostrating man took a moment to speak. “H-he said to keep sending out our sect members. He needs a whetstone for his sword.”

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  “Hahaha! What a rambunctious kid, still weaning off his mother, yet he makes threats.” Shaoli scratched his stubble, enjoying the small moment of forgetting his losses. “Well, I was once like that as well in my youth.”

  “Get up,” Shaoli ordered, for the first time facing towards the last survivor of his squad. With a thought, a crimson crystal manifested in his palm. “Take this. It will heal your wounds, so you can stop dripping blood in my room.”

  Having ingested the crystal, the stress and anxiety of his slave disappeared within an instant, and he slammed his forehead to the ground once more in prostration. “Thank you, Lord, for having mercy. The Heavens are kind!”

  “Your Lord is kind. Now leave,” Shaoli ordered. With just him and his servant, he heard the true report.

  “Our teleportation arrays around Unhallowed Monolith were taken down in one day by one man of the Sound Path. So he must be at least Core Genesis. Give me full details and a drawing of his identity. Either we have a rat, or someone’s been slacking too much. Find the one responsible.”

  The servant recounted, while also giving additional information pertaining to the incident with the caravan.

  “So, two Rank 1s could take out a Rank 2. I suppose both must be of heroic lineage, so it isn’t a surprising matter. But the woman running the caravan was originally a slave of Elder Willow Tea. I didn’t expect him to be the one stealing my deliveries the past season.” Shaoli tapped on his stubble. “And she had birthed a child with an outsider, so they wished to escape. The man must’ve had connections to the Seven Clouds to procure a cloud flare. What an absurd coincidence. Or perhaps Willow Tea already knew and used my squad to handle both matters.”

  Shaoli sighed. It seemed he had to pay this fellow a visit, since Elder Willow Tea was kind enough to reveal himself as the perpetrator. The girl being moved to that squad was also someone else’s recommendation, so now Shaoli had to appease Lord Reizou.

  “Tell our honey pot to keep working hard in Kallas Jungle. Double her merits if she bring in more vessels for me, but make sure to let her train suitable replacements just in case,” Shaoli ordered his servant while making his way back to his desk. His developments were already nearing its end. Once he announced a new system of Jiangshi, getting one step closer to the mythology of the true undead capable of wisdom and retaining their memories, his ranking would drastically change.

  The Undead, unlike a puppeteered corpse like a Jiangshi, could retain most of their intelligence, and even some of their cultivation. Once, they roamed the world in the distant past. Many loopholes existed to escape death while retaining one’s sanity. Back then, the world was young, still learning its capabilities before administering new laws and rules.

  Such knowledge has either been lost to the annals of time or made obsolete with the Genesis River increasing its influence amongst souls.

  The nameless servant bowed once more, agreeing to his lord’s commands. Right before he left the room, he received Shaoli’s final words.

  With nonchalance, he said as if it were a simple matter, “That slave’s use has run out. Cleanly destroy his heart and send him in as a vessel. His body should serve some use, at the very least.”

  When Shuren returned with the girl, Ming was washing his face in the lake, his sword now cleansed from the gore and blood. Ming stretched his right shoulder, sheathing his weapon once more. “Ready to head back now?”

  Shuren thought his face had a grim expression, but chalked it up to exhaustion. Nodding along, Shuren loaded up the remaining caravan goods on Ming’s cloud, while the girl slept in his arms. “You go ahead. I’ll need to take a slow pace since the child won’t handle the high speed,” Shuren laid her, heading towards the sect at a steady pace. This time they ensured not to have a high altitude, at least until they were far off from the Unhallowed Monolith.

  “Got you. We’ll make the report directly to an elder for this one, but we’ll stay at Evening Clouds to get a proper check-up.” Ming said, rubbing his cleaved shoulder. “Tsk, once I upgrade my body to Silver, it should be way easier healing small wounds like these.”

  “Small. Right. I’ll see you then.” Shuren said in jest. Though it would’ve taken almost overnight to head back at his pace, Shuren was long used to sleepless nights. A bag was tossed over in his direction, Shuren catching it with ease.

  “What’s this?”

  “Didn’t I tell you to prepare rations in advance? There’re some snacks there, eat your fill,” Ming yelled in the distance, smirking at Shuren. “Oi, don’t eat it all, yeah? Leave some for the kiddo.”

  “Who do you take me for?” Shuren chuckled.

  Shuren removed his outer robe, which, though dirty and torn, provided some cover against the winds for the girl. He took one last look at the Unhallowed Monolith behind him.

  The delegates representing major factions are now at the sect. Demonic cultivators are appearing near this region, and the Unhallowed Monolith is now stirring… These next couple years are the best for me to make my name and reputation here. Then I can come back to the Liu Clan, taking my rightful claims, gaining resources to give back to my family.

  In the distance, seven mountains stood like giants, as if holding up the sky from long ago. But they were not always there as landmarks of this region.

  “I have to work harder. Just 3 more stages, and I’ll be at Rank 2. Then I’ll gain more attention from the sect to become a Core Disciple,” Shuren’s eyes shined with passion, and even though he faced a life and death situation, he couldn’t help but smile to the point dimples appeared.

  Excitement rumbled in his heart.

  Excitement for the future.

  And I’ll soon be able to get grandfather’s letter from my father, the clue to deal with my cursed situation with the sword.

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