Seeing his aunt's body flop onto the ground, Gran gritted his teeth and commenced his attack on the imposing figure. Although through rumors, the person in front of him was no doubt stronger, he had to go down trying. Maybe he can be lucky and momentarily daze him so he can escape.
Seeing the two titans preparing to fight, Soru didn't want to involve himself in the ensuing chaos any longer. He slipped back into the shadows removing his presence from everyone there but the assassin.
As he made his way out of the mansion, he fell into deep thought about how the mysterious person was able to see him. If he was disguising as Gran's maid, that means he probably saw him in the shadows when he walked past him didn't he?
'That was too close of a call. It seems that if there is too big of a cultivation gap or have enhanced senses, they are able to perceive me. I have to be careful with how I use this ability."
He finally reached the outside of the mansion before he saw another explosion that shook the ground and made him fall over. A chunk of the mansion behind him was missing as the two cultivators continued to fight. He was in over his head by staying there any longer so he quickly got on his feet and rushed towards the city.
Since Cherry lived in the outskirts, the mayor of the city and its enforcers would take some time before they reached the mansion to aid Gran. He continued to trek the road whilst hiding from vehicles that passed him with the natural darkness that the night gave him.
Green Grazed City was the city that he grew up in, enslaved, and shipped. He didn't have any particular feuds with the city and its inhabitants until the mayor decided to overlook his enslavement. It was inconsequential in the mayor's eyes so he understood to some extent. That didn't mean he couldn't plan revenge against him and his own family.
And so, he set his plan in motion for the assassination of his parents and his brother. These are the people who wronged him and he wasn't opposed to enacting petty grudges let alone getting revenge.
His parents would be easy since Soru himself lived with them for all his life knowing their habits and personalities inside and out. The only real problem was Soru's brother, Hazi who was part of the Green Grazed Sect and lived there. He would rarely go outside so Soru would have to hatch a plan to assassinate him while he was still inside the sect which was the problem.
Although Hazi was in the Second Stage of Sensory Refinement, one higher than Soru, a quick surprise attack would suffice. He just had to be careful of the elders and deacons that roamed the perimeter as to not get caught like before.
'Enough thinking, I need to rest before anything else.'
He went towards a cheap-looking hotel to rent a room. The receptionist sneered at the poor look of Soru already believing him to be a beggar. His previous butler attire was barely recognizable under the layers of dirt and grim that was splashed on him during his escape.
"10 Bronze Coins for a night, if you can't cough it up then you better leave! Beggars are not welcome to loiter and dirty the presence of this hotel!"
In response to the receptionist's haughty attitude, he couldn't help but snarl inwardly.
'Me dirty up this already shabby hotel? Do you have a screw loose in your brain?' Soru's brain was thinking this as his mouth was conveying a different meaning.
"Oh, of course, I have 10 Bronze Coins! Let me just..."
He made it look like he was rummaging through his pockets, but in actuality, he activated Shadow Camouflage and reached behind the counter. While the idiot of a man was watching Soru struggle with his pockets, he was able to snag a few coins from him with the art of misdirection.
"Ah, here it is."
Handing over 10 Bronze Coins, the man behind the counter was pleasantly surprised and changed his attitude.
"Here is the key to the room, have a nice night."
Soru rolled his eyes as he grabbed the keys and left. He couldn't stay here for long as that guy would find out he's been fooled. Probably. As long as he gets his head out of his ass.
Inside his worn-down room, he started to hatch a plan similar in the way that he escaped Madam Cherry. Thinking everything through was what made him able to escape. Those few variables like the guy from 'Hell's Gate' and Gran ultimately hadn't affected his escape but were important nonetheless.
Without a proper plan, he would die at the entrance of the sect. And so he put his brain into overdrive in coming up with a plan.
---
It's been one entire week since the news has spread of the defeat of Gran Cherry and the burning of Cherry's mansion. Gran Cherry was an alumnus of the Green Grazed Sect bringing it great glory in the olden days before leaving to acquire better opportunities. After all, Green Grazed Sect was only a small-sized sect compared to those others in the world.
Hazi was in the secluded residence that was provided to him as being part of the Inner Sect. Sects are divided into three main sections, the Outer Sect for lower cultivators, Inner Sect for stronger cultivators, and the Core Section for the elites.
Even with all the resources from the Inner Sect, his own contributions, missions, and his parents' help, Hazi was still stuck at the bottleneck that was the Second Stage of Sensory Refinement.
'This can't be! Surely my destiny doesn't end here! I shall rise in this world of wonders gathering all the power and pleasure I want! I can't stay here and become an Elder for the Inner Sect!"
Not once did he even think of Soru when he heard of the news of the Cherrys. Cherry was a big name in the small city but that hardly interested him. He accepted that his cripple of a brother died during the fight and burning of the mansion.
He was busy cultivating with some star fragments laying around him. Sucking the Star Energy from each small fragment using a cultivation technique, he was hoping with this batch of small fragments, he would finally reach the Third Stage.
As he was breathing in the energy, he couldn't help but feel a gust of wind enter his house. He looked around warily using his senses to sweep the perimeter. When not sensing anything, he grunted about how a gust of wind interrupted his cultivation.
Closing his eyes once again, he started to breathe in once more until he felt a hot burning sensation at the base of his throat.
Opening his eyes in shock, he quickly reached for his neck to stop the blood flow and hastily looked around for his attacker. Who would dare attack him from within the sect? Is this one so confident that he wouldn't face the wrath of the Sect Master for the humiliation of death within the sect?
He crawled himself to a corner and he still wasn't able to see the attacker. This made the fear in his heart triple. If he couldn't see his attacker, then that would mean he was just that much more powerful. Before he could wallow in despair, a murky figure started to materialize inside the shadows.
It took him a second to realize who it was.
"S-Soru!"
He could barely let out the words in a garbled state as he stared into the black eyes of his brother. Wait, didn't his brother have brown eyes before?
"How does it feel Brother? To be stabbed so ruthlessly? True to how you stabbed me so blatantly, I also decided to stab you in the front instead of the back."
"H-H-How can you..."
A gush of blood stopped Hazi from finishing his sentence but Soru could make out the words he wanted to say by the indignant look on his brother's face.
"How can I hear? Or how did I escape the mansion and get the power to kill you? I would love to tell you, but it seems as if you will die the next minute so does it really matter if I tell you?"
Hazi could feel his life slip away more and more as his brother stood before him mockingly.
"Mom...Dad....Sect...Master..."
"Hmph, Mom and Dad died by my hands already. Their cowardly screams were muffled by the wet streams that were coming from their pants before I stabbed them as well. You will die a dog's death, with no one finding your body until you have already rotten."
With that last sentence, the life in Hazi's eyes dimmed and he succumbed to his death. Even in death, unable to accept the fact that Soru was the one who ended their own family's bloodline.
---
A few days later, a young lady wearing Outer Sect robes stood before a certain residence.
"Big Brother Hazi? I-I came to take you up on the t-that offer. B-Big Brother Hazi?"
Not hearing a response from the house, the young female creaked open the door a little to make sure she doesn't disturb him if he was cultivating.
The moment she saw what was inside, she fell backward and screamed her lungs off. The scream attracted other disciples that hurried to her location.
"What's wrong Little Sister? Did Hazi do something to you?"
"N-No! Look!"
Unable to muster any more words, she pointed towards the door prompting the few disciples to take a peek. What they saw inside almost made them puke while the young lady fainted on the spot.
"You! Go grab an Elder and tell him to bring the Sect Master as well! It's an emergency!"
The one in charge of the group ordered another to fetch the higher-ups and he ran without hesitation.
A few moments later, an Inner Sect Elder and the Sect Master were walking to the location of Hazi's house.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience Sect Master, you didn't need to come yourself. I'm sure I could have solved this myself."
"Don't worry Elder Lu, I had nothing to do anyway, and the way that disciple burst into the meeting room saying it was an emergency piqued my interest. I have to see what made him not fear for his life by interrupting us."
Both men brushed past the hoards of disciples that heard of the commotion and entered the house. Wrinkling their nose in disgust with how bad the smell was, they saw what everyone was talking about right away.
Hazi's body was leaning against the wall with his head laying beside him detached from his body. There were words written on the walls next to him in a bloody red text.
"I'm coming after you, next Mayor! - HG"
Elder Lu saw the initials at the end and his face paled at the implication. What would THAT organization want with an Inner Sect disciple of Green Grazed Sect and the Mayor as well?
He looked over to the Sect Master who had a grim expression on his face. Without saying any more words, he stormed out of the house with heavy steps.