Disappearances

While eating, Ye Mo paid attention to the surrounding discussions.

"Did you hear? The Tiger Martial Institute will hold a recruitment competition in two months." A thin man said with interest.

"I know, too bad these bastards don't accept anyone over sixteen years old or I would have smashed everyone there to secure myself a place." Assured a bulky one with a large beard from the other side of the table.

"Tchh, are you crazy, what if they hear you?" The thin man panicked, hushing his companion to quiet down.

In this part of the city, the hate and loathing of the inhabitants converged on the wealthy, the noble and the powerful, and all these characteristics could be found in one kind of person, cultivators.

However, more than these sentiments, what conveyed cultivators towards mere mortals was fear and subservience.

The bearded man laughed, remarking, "It's okay, fancy guys like them would never come to this kind of place."

In Azure Water City, there are many clans and three martial institutions.

Joining a martial institute was akin to a carp turning into a dragon. The status it would confer would make one untouchable by anyone who is not a part of an institute or a major clan as long as they didn't want a group of experts paying them a visit. Even those with a powerful standing in the city could only fight you, but couldn't take your life if they didn't wish to suffer the consequences.

Martial institutions were also the best place to cultivate in the city, with many resources and a suitable environment, as such, everyone wished to become one of their members. However, getting into a martial institute was very difficult, the participants had to be under sixteen to be allowed in the competition, in addition, there were usually thousands of youths participating and only the top twenty would be accepted so it was nearly impossible for most people.

Ye Mo left the place with a stomach full, satisfied. The last time he had a normal meal like that was when his parents were still alive so he was in a good mood.

"Two months is a bit short but I have no choice, I'm still too weak. I must get my hands on battle skills and cultivation techniques as soon as possible." Ye Mo was adamant about joining the Tiger Martial Institute. He didn't have any time to lose, to achieve his dream he had to make the most out of every second.

Returning to his home, he started cultivating his body by absorbing qi in his flesh. When the sun went down and darkness enveloped the city, Ye Mo rose up.

He came back a few hours later with a body on his shoulders. It was a girl with a plain face, caked in makeup, but with dirty hair, probably from the moment she lost her life and fell on the ground.

She was a prostitute working in a brothel.

On her way back home, she was ambushed by Ye Mo and killed on the spot.

Proceeding the same way as with the drunkard, he absorbed her blood and life force then dealt with the remains and sat down to cultivate.

He did so the whole night and at daybreak he returned to the restaurant.

Keeping this routine Ye Mo passed his days eating, killing, and cultivating the nine revolutions fiend body.

After three weeks it became harder, people in the slums started to realize something was going on. They all locked themselves in their houses and those going outside never went alone. In the meantime, the gangs realized many strange deaths occurred these days and organized themselves, setting several traps for the killer.

There were multiple times when Ye Mo tailed someone and felt the presence of several persons following quietly. They were obviously waiting for the culprit to make a move on the bait to catch him, but they didn't notice Ye Mo and even if they did, they wouldn't suspect a kid to be the killer.

Ye Mo wouldn't expose himself either so he simply left.

He couldn't hunt in the slums anymore so Ye Mo set his eyes on the rest of the city.

There, he was much more meticulous, he would only target the poor and those with no social standing while previously he would only concern himself with their strength or if they had connections with a gang. He was also very careful not to leave any traces whereas he didn't care to leave blood or hairs of his victims at the crime scene previously.

When killing he also looted the bodies. Sometimes he wouldn't get anything and other times he would have a big surprise like once when he found two silvers and eighteen bronze coins on an unassuming man. It probably was an act of him to hide his wealth from others. Currently, he could eat until full and didn't have to worry about money anymore which was a major problem for most of his life.

This way, Ye Mo resumed his routine until two weeks before the competition.

Seated in the same restaurant as usual, a thoughtful expression was on his face.

"I can feel I am very close to breakthrough the first revolution, my meridians are almost healed as well. I only need one or two more people and I can do it." Ye Mo was visibly troubled.

Many people disappeared in the past month because of him, among them were the three merchants that buried him alive. However, now the authorities were alerted by these incidents and many teams of guards could be seen taking turns as they patrolled the city at all times.

It was very risky to keep going and chances were some cultivators would involve themselves to deal with him. He had to find a solution before the competition or he wouldn't be able to assure himself a spot in the top 20. Who knew what kind of people there would be among the participants, he had to be ready for any circumstances, and to assure himself of his success there weren't many ways, he could only grow stronger!