The Search
The atmosphere was a beautiful, enchanting night with pure air and a moon shining brightly in white.
Two groups of people were in the forest, inspecting and searching for a missing person.
The fourth elder was missing…
The first group ran with slight attention to detail, hoping to find something belonging to the fourth elder.
The second group was examining trace by trace, puzzle by puzzle…
"Pick up the pace more, we might find something," said the king's deputy, Yan Yue, speeding up his run.
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Farkan woke from his sleep after refining the Leopard Movement ability, his black eyes weary and his white hair scattered on the ground.
"I feel footsteps about 150 meters away from me," he thought internally.
"There's someone at the fifth rank, intermediate stage…" he said with a hint of tension.
Farkan quickly left the cave and climbed a tree next to it, one with dense foliage about 20 meters tall.
He put on his mask, preparing for any trouble.
The first group arrived and took a quick glance around the area. It consisted of four people: Yan Yue, the king's deputy, and three individuals from the investigation path.
Every kingdom has 3 to 6 people from the investigation path, offering their critical and deductive abilities to solve various cases…
They continued on their way, except for one person who turned back to investigate something.
"Did he discover anything?" Farkan wondered.
A medium-sized snake emerged from the cave, attacking the investigator.
The investigator stepped back and ran toward his group.
"Damn, there was a snake spending the night with me," Farkan said, scratching his hair slightly.
The second group arrived, consisting of just two people: a boy and a girl.
The boy was at the fifth rank, initial stage, his spirit exuding a brave, combative aura.
The girl was at the same rank as the boy, but based on her aura, she might be on the path of wisdom or investigation.
Farkan readied his sword. The girl looked at the cave, entered with a small lantern in her hand, while the boy stayed outside to guard.
The girl began examining the cave's ceiling and walls, noticing a small pillow in a semi-hidden corner.
"Comprehensive Deduction."
This ability allows a person to discern things based on small, relative details.
"A pillow, small leaves, a white hair…"
She stayed for about five more minutes before exiting the cave.
"The fourth elder was here…" she said with complete confidence.
Farkan looked at her in shock after hearing her deduction, which hadn't taken long.
The boy's name was Lu Bei, and the girl's name was Chi Wa.
"Really? Then he's still alive—that's good news," Lu Bei said.
Chi Wa looked at him with indifference.
"Yes, based on my deduction, he was here refining something or possibly escaping from someone. There was no blood."
"I'll send a message to the first group," Lu Bei said.
"Yellow Wind Message."
"We've found some deductions. Come to the cave you passed by earlier," he spoke, and then a pen wrote the message, folded it, and it was sent.
It was a folded paper that shot toward where Yan Yue and his group were.
The paper reached Yan Yue after five minutes. He opened it and read it.
"Let's head back normally; we've exhausted ourselves…" Yan Yue said.
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Chi Wa was sitting on a small rock when a medium-sized snake appeared beside her. She jumped in fear and moved toward Lu Bei.
"What are you looking at? Kill it!"
"But it hasn't done anything."
"Just get rid of it!"
Lu Bei drew his sword and charged at it with a loud shout.
He cut it into three pieces…
Chi Wa collapsed.
"I killed it—look, it was easy," he turned to her with a small laugh.
"Who are you?" Lu Bei said.
Farkan was looking at him from under his mask, holding his sword, then shifted his gaze to Chi Wa and stabbed her neck. Her neck became like a fountain gushing blood.
"Youuu!" Lu Bei grabbed his sword and lunged at Farkan.
"Lion's Claw."
Lu Bei's sword sharpened, and he roared like a lion.
"Black Timber."
Farkan blocked the strike, but the Black Timber ability shattered since it was still at the fourth rank. He flipped backward behind Lu Bei.
Lu Bei turned to counter, but Farkan quickly grabbed his face, slammed it into several trees and rocks,
leaving his head covered in blood. Farkan punched him repeatedly…
Then Farkan stopped punching and stepped back slightly.
"You filth," Lu Bei stood, his eyes completely white.
Farkan was taken aback.
"Final Punch."
He aimed his punch at Farkan's body, but Farkan dodged it swiftly, and the cave collapsed due to the ability's power.
"Hahaha," Farkan laughed.
"Thanks to you, I was wondering how to hide the details, and here you've done it," Farkan said, bowing mockingly toward him.
"You damn— I won't forgive…"
Farkan thrust his sword into Lu Bei's eyes, dragging it straight to the left, gouging out both eyes and splitting half his head.
"Hmm, this artistic scene will impress the deputy and his group."
He took a small vial and filled it with Lu Bei's blood.
"As for the girl…"
He stripped her of her clothes, finished by decapitating her, and placed her head beside Lu Bei.
He took another small vial of her blood.
He reached into Lu Bei's chest and took his ability, doing the same with the girl.
He stole their abilities: Final Punch and Comprehensive Deduction.
"If I'd left this girl alive, she would've exposed me," he sighed in relief.
"I'll reach the fifth rank through the forbidden method…"
He placed the two abilities into his red-colored pouch.
"Leopard Movement."
He moved 1,000 meters away from the forest in just three minutes, sending spiritual signals to Syl Fu to come to him.
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The first group arrived…
"Where are you? We're here," Yan Yue said, looking at the gruesome scene before him.
"What the—" He vomited immediately.
The others looked, and each of their eyes reflected shock, fear, horror, and dizziness.
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The End