Night Slaughter

In the dean's office, Hong Li sat behind his desk faced with the three investigative instructors.

"Have you discovered anything?"

"We found some miscellaneous details about his life, but nothing important or of any use yet, we have a lead about a mysterious student from our institute who sold many valuable items to several establishments before the competition, amassing a great amount of gold. We were about to dig in this part when you called us back, if you give us a bit more time, we might obtain-"

"I already gave you plenty of time." Hong Li interrupted. "I told you if you didn't find anything by the end of the competition you could conclude this investigation, there is no need to waste any more resources on this affair. Now, go back to your respective posts and await my next calls."

The three instructors immediately complied then left the room, not daring to push this matter any further.

Hong Li was left by himself, pondering.

"This is strange, in the images of Li Qiang's fight, Ye Mo seem to block with his wrist guards but the scene is immediately engulfed in dust and we can't see much more till Li Qiang gets hit by the needles. He has never been seen wearing those iron bands before, where does they come from?

If they could block Li Qiang's peak-tier battle skill then they might be a high-tier spiritual weapon, but Ye Mo seldom left the institute this past year so I don't know where he would find the chance to get one."

"These three mentionned a student amassing funds in the market, but there is little chance it was Ye Mo, he's just an orphan and doesn't possess any assets so where would he get anything valuable to sell, even if it was him, we're not talking about buying candies at a confectionery here, a spiritual weapon of this level amount to thousands of golds, even I can't buy one so casually much less a kid like him. Well, none of that matter anymore, he will leave for the Raging Saber sect in a few days, it will be their problem from then on."

At this thought, Hong Li's brows eased greatly and his shoulders fell down.

Ye Mo had caused too much trouble and surprises while many questions still remained for Hong Li to feel anything but relief at his departure.

While the dean was freed of worries, in the combat chamber, Ye Mo exchanged blows head-on with the wooden puppet.

Suddenly, the puppet sweeped down with its leg, trying to make him fall.

Ye Mo grabbed the puppet's head and jumped, supporting himself with one hand as he avoided its leg, then while still in the air, he pointed at his opponent with his other hand.

However, a second passed yet nothing happened.

Ye Mo's eyes narrowed slightly before the puppet kicked at him.

Ye Mo blocked with his wrist guards and landed beside it then jumped backward with ease, his body arching through the air before his hands met the ground. With a powerful push from his arms, he launched himself upward again, flipping smoothly in repeated motions until he left the circle range and the puppet stopped chasing him.

With this moment of respite, Ye Mo contemplated his situation.

"I failed the release of the Radiant Finger Strike. For it to land without mistake, there is two methods I need to practice in this week, the first is improving my aim by launching the skill from a distance. This gives me enough time to properly manipulate my Qi and strike, but requires great precision with the light ray. At any rate, if you are bad with your aim then there is still the second method, using the Radiant Finger Strike in close combat."

"This comes with risks since my opponent won't let me do as I wish, I will have few opportunities to unleash the Radiant Finger Strike at this range and they will all come with a precise timing, if I am too slow or fail the manipulation at this moment, I am almost guaranteed to get hit by something the next instant. I can't allow myself to miss in this situation so I have to ingrain in my brain the process to release the ray through continuous repetitions. But foremost, I need to recover my Qi."

Ye Mo sat down and swallowed one of the top-tier Qi rejuvenating pills he acquired after the year-end competition.

The failure that just occured was his second use of the Radiant Finger Strike so right now, his Qi was nearly completely exhausted.

It was already the second pill he used today, at this rate, all the Qi rejuvenating pills he has will be consumed before the end of his training as his energy was restored at a fast rate.

Outside, the city was in a festive atmosphere. After the competition a lot of people chatted about the biggest surprises that took occured over a drink, others celebrated the place they reached with their family and friends and many rather took these days to rest plenty after such an intense week.

There were also those who brooded over a bad performance or grieved about someone's death, but those remained at home and wouldn't be seen in the streets of the city.

Ye Mo instead spent his time in fervent practice to increase his mastery of the Radiant Finger Strike and improve himself.

In a corner of the room was set a mattress with a blanket that he placed when he arrived. Ye Mo planned to sleep in the combat chamber for as long as he was allowed inside and spend all his time training with dedication. He wasn't someone who required much comfort to live to begin with, Ye Mo could even sleep in contact with the floor if necessary so staying on this mattress wasn't inconvenient at all.

Seven days passed in a flash.

In this time, the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment fully advertised Ye Mo's spiritual weapon as their creation and credited themselves for his success.

Actually, they didn't simply reveal his iron wrist guards, but they entirely attributed all of his accomplishments to the Ironheart Weaponsmiths formidable craftsmanship, wether it was his strength during the competition, killing Li Qiang, attaining first place or his unordinary battle abilities, even unrelated aspects like his cultivation, they were all due to the weapon they made for him and if anyone desired to meet the same prowesses, they had to get one themselves at their establishment.

Ye Mo was very secretive and people knew little to nothing about him. All this time, they have been searching a reason for this nameless individual to achieve the title of champion this year so everyone was quick to swallow the Ironheart Weaponsmiths words and finally find what they sought in their puzzlement.

This announcement made waves in the city and the Ironheart Weaponsmiths sells increased sharply while their popularity reached a new height. From the credulous, to the weak or even the skeptical everyone wished to buy a weapon at their establishment and see their might rise immediately, only the poor and those who fully trusted their strength didn't care about acquiring one, but even they still dismissed Ye Mo's success as mere reliance to his wrist guards.

This way, Hong Li had a few of his questions answered which led to other interrogations while the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment grew quickly, overshadowing the Dragonfire Foundry and the Armament Artisans.

Around Ye Mo's house, numerous students were still waiting outside.

Many of the original crowd left but most of them were replaced by new arrivants, yet all of them patiented beside the house for several hours. 

They were akin to addict gamblers in the fever of a game. Even if one lost once, twice or ten times, he would always think it was just bad luck and must have gotten rid of it with this last fail, if he stops now all he did was lose his money but if he try once more, this time he will surely win the jackpot.

These students were the same, they have been waiting for so long and suffering this much in the cold that now they believed Ye Mo might show up at any moment. If they left at this time they would have been waiting for nothing, wasting their time instead, but if they stay a bit more they will finally achieve their purpose.

The more they waited, the more they were reluctant to leave while the thought Ye Mo will appear soon grew, hence there were still students standing near his house after a week, wishing to become his friend and learn how he was able to obtain his weapon from the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment.

When night came, dark clouds covered the sky and the first droplets fell down, giving all of them the determination to finally stand up and walk away.

Not far from this place, Fang Jishen went to sleep, lulled by the sound of the rain hitting against his window outside.

Still, his sleep, like his days were far from peaceful.

The Liu clan had asked him to take part in the year-end competition to track Ye Mo's every movements and report back to them, however, Fang Jishen feared greatly for his life in this environment and went against the Liu clan's wish, deciding to not register himself.

Nonetheless, he was still afraid they might reveal his betrayal to Ye Mo, to avoid this he sent them several false reports recounting how he was fighting in the Jade Forest, but unfortunately lost his trace at some point. He secretly hoped the Liu clan wouldn't go through the trouble to read every single name inscribed on the banner to find his and that Ye Mo would die in the competition as well so he could be freed from all his worries.

Since Ye Mo took first place in the competition instead and returned, Fang Jishen has lived in fear, ignoring the Liu clan's letters while never stepping a foot out of his house of the week and sending his servants in courses at his place to meet his needs.

"Ye Mo will leave soon to join a sect, I just need to hold till then, everything will turn well once he goes away, I won't need to fear his wrath anymore nor the Liu clan will be able to threaten me." Fang Jishen repeated himself everyday.

His clothes were soaked in sweat and he moved his head left and right in his sleep with a pained expression, he seemed to have a very bad dream.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, but far from relieved, he has never been as frigtened before in his life.

An obscure shadow stood at the foot of his bed.

There was someone before him!

He couldn't see who it was in the darkness, but he could clearly tell it was looking straight at him without moving.

For how long has it been here?

What was its purpose?

Which person hide behind it?

Fang Jishen's breath was cut short and his heart skipped a beat in front of this terrific vision.

He thought he didn't wake up from his nightmare yet, but he could feel it was indeed reality.

After an instant spent in deep fright and consternation, Fang Jishen took a deep breath and was about to scream at the top of his lungs when the figure at the foot of his bed abruptly moved and put its hand against his face as it grabbed his head and raised him out of his bed.

Fang Jishen was maintained in the air, unable to shout or call anyone while his feet were seen flailing around in an attempt to free himself, but the strength of the assailant was too great.

His left eye was situated between the figure's forefinger and thumb so he still had a vision on the situation, but couldn't do anything.

At this moment, a streak of lightning flashed outside for a split-second, illuminating the room.

As they stood before the window, half of the shadow's face was revealed before the room returned to darkness but even if only a quarter was seen, Fang Jishen would have recognized it in an instant with his black hair raised to the sky and his eyes shining in a cold light.

Ye Mo!

Fang Jishen stopped struggling, he knew he couldn't do anything. The person before him killed Li Qiang and took the first place in the competition, surpassing Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu, what was he to do by himself? He didn't even think of using battle skills, aware he could be killed in a blink before he channeled his Qi.

He wanted to explain himself, but he couldn't even talk.

"You didn't believe I really wouldn't know, right? Everyone's acts and choices carry consequences, it's time for you to experience them." An emotionless voice drifted across the room.

Immediately, the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body was used and Fang Jishen's blood was absorbed. In a breath of time, all that remained of him was a patch of skin over a feeble skeleton, a few bones falling down by themselves and turning into dust upon the ground.

Ye Mo snatched the chain tied to a blue gem that Fang Jishen carried around his neck then released his remains.

He dusted it off when a woman carrying a small lantern in her hand entered the room to check on her master.

When she saw Ye Mo beside the bed, the lantern fell from her hand and she was about to yell, but Ye Mo already moved and appeared beside her, an arched blade grew from his wrist guard and with one movement of his arm, he decapitated her.

Ye Mo quickly absorbed her blood as well before he did a tour of the whole residence, entering each room and slaughtering the servants along any person that lived with Fang Jishen.

"It has been a long time." Ye Mo thought in indifference.

Although he killed a dozen of people, not a trace a blood could be found in the surroundings.