Xien Lou sat in his room, a storm of emotions sweeping over his face. The Xu Clan had always been brash and bold, and after having their strength questioned in public, they were likely to do something to shake the entire city.
He didn't know if his clan could survive. Over the years, their clan had degraded in size and talent. They would be taken out by one of the other clans, or their numbers would become so low the clan ceased to exist.
Sighing, Xien Lou was about to stand up when he felt a presence in his room. Turning to face the corner of his room, Xien Lou's hands suddenly lit up with a bright ethereal glow.
"Damn, I was sure I didn't make a sound. Though I did gain two levels in sneak." Thane stepped out of the shadows wearing an expensive black kimono, "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"
Thane smiled, "How I got in here isn't important, but my identity is much more interesting." Xien Lou still didn't let his guard down, and as he stared at Thane, his eyes glowed.
When he saw the amount of mana circulating through Thane's pathways, he scoffed, "I don't see what someone of the mortal realm can offer me."
"While my strength may be lacking, the chance I offer is not." Xien Lou's eyes narrowed. He could discern any falsehood in Thane's words.
Standing to his full height, Xien Lou lowered his hands, "You have five minutes before I call my guards and have you thrown in jail."
"Five minutes is more than enough," Thane said cockily, "What if you could reclaim your past glory. I heard you were quite the powerhouse back in the day."
"And how could someone as weak as you expect to do that?" Xien Lou responded immediately with a scathing tone. Thane shook his head, "I can't tell you that much. At least not yet. All I need to know is. Do you want to be the most powerful clan in Heartwood or not?"
Xien Lou snorted, "Not even the other clan patriarchs can force answers of me. I have no reason to answer to the likes of you." Thane sighed, knowing it would be a long shot to convince a man to trust him when he had just broken into his house.
"Fine, I'll take my leave, though you may want to keep your ear to the ground tomorrow," Thane said with a smile. "Now, I must be going. It was nice meeting you. I'll be back tomorrow night to see if your stance has changed."
Xien Lou watched Thane walk over to the open window and vaulted onto the roof. Moving over to the window, he shut it firmly, 'I need to see who is in charge of the night shift.'
Making his way back to the Xu compound, Thane stopped outside the west wall and only had to wait a few seconds before a familiar video game tune echoed pierced the air. Whistling back the melody, Thane smiled as Ling vaulted over the wall.
"So, was anyone suspicious of you?" Ling shook her head, "No, I used the technique Sonya taught me to hide my mana signature. It was difficult at first to get the hang of, but now it feels natural like breathing."
Thane scratched his chin, "You think she would teach it to me. It's going to be hard to pull this off if every cultivator can sense me from a mile away."
"I can teach you right now if you like. All Sonya had me do was imagine a film around my skin that blocks my mana from escaping." Annabelle said while moving a bit closer to Thane.
"A film, huh?" Closing his eyes, Thane pictured green wisps coming off of his body like smoke. Furrowing his brow, Thane messed around with the idea of a film, but he couldn't find the proper groove.
"Having trouble?" Annabelle asked, breaking Thane's concentration, "Yeah, but I'll figure it out later. I already set aside some time to figure out all this cultivation mumbo jumbo."
Annabelle smirked, "Maybe I've finally found something I'm better at than you. I might even come to your rescue sometime soon."
Thane smirked, "Maybe. I need you to do something. However, I talked to the Xien Clan patriarch. As you said, he wasn't too friendly. We need to show him what we can do."
Annabelle bit her bottom lip nervously, "What did you have in mind?"
---
Once Annabelle completed the task, Thane made his way outside the city. After getting a running start across the closest rooftops, he was able to jump over the fifteen-foot tall walls without the guards noticing him until he disappeared into the dark of the night.
When he was deep in the forest, Thane stopped and looked around, "This will do." Thane stripped down his armor until he was in a loose pair of pants with the rest of his clothes stored away in his ring.
Widening his feet, Thane closed his eyes and used Poison Tribulation. Immediately the familiar chill and burning sensation took him by storm. However, Thane didn't feel that his life was in danger. In fact, as the feeling grew stronger, Thane was filled with vigor.
Thane started to take tiny shallow breaths on pure instinct, making his eyes dilate, and his heart slowed down. As he took in more mana, Thane's mana pathways started to swell and overflow.
In an instant, Thane's eyes regained a semblance of clarity, and he emptied his lungs, providing the mana in his body a path to escape.
Like a fog machine, a dark green smoke poured from Thane's mouth, spilling out onto the ground. When he was forced to inhale, Thane was almost out of mana and short of breath.
Taking a few minutes to recover, Thane had a painful smile stretch across his lips, "Alright, now that's something."
[Notice: Start]
Congratulations! You have created the technique: Achlys Breath [Mortal Grade]-This technique uses the lungs and mana. To breathe a deadly gas that even the goddess of the poisons will fear. Cost 10 mana per cubic foot.
[Notice: End]
Thane frowned at the mana cost, "There has to be some way to increase your mana pool besides breaking through to the next rank."
Turning to the only way he knew how Thane focused on recovering his mana, 'While Achlys Breath is good for taking out large crowds of people, it won't win me any fights. I need something offensive. I made my mana into a gas. What about a liquid?'
When he was topped off, Thane changed the image in his mind to a vial sloshing around with a liquid the same shade of green as his poison gas.
Like before, Thane filled his body with mana until his body was overwhelmed and the vial in his mind's eye was full. Tipping the vial over, Thane could feel the poison running down his arms.
Opening his eyes, Thane saw his imagination wasn't fooling him as the same liquid from the vial dripped down his two limbs. As the poison splashed onto the ground, the grass and plant life in the immediate area withered away.
Trying to control the flow of the poison, Thane found it as simple as breathing. Turning his hand's palm up, Thane gathered the liquid into orbs until they were the size of basketballs. Thinking it was too stereotypical, Thane scrapped the idea for something more complex.
The streams of poison running down Thane's arms gained volume turning into serpentine bodies with scales. The poison turned into two snakes that moved as if they were alive from the inside of his wrists.
Pointing his palms at a nearby tree, Thane's snake lunged forward, extending a good ten feet before biting down onto the trunk. Like the grass, the tree withered away into ash.
[Notice: Start]
Congratulations! You have created the technique: Twin Cobras [Mortal Grade]-Unleash two snake constructs composed entirely of poison. They will chase any target until the user dismisses them or runs out of mana—cost 1 mana for every foot of poison.
[Notice: End]
After practicing his techniques for hours, the forest around Thane had been destroyed, all the trees were turned to husks, and a fine layer of ash covered the ground replacing the lush grass.
When he first arrived, it was the dead of night, but now the sun was starting to rise. Thane had begun to burn his stamina to stay awake, and his head was throbbing. The Realms had given him a debuff for emptying his mana pathways too quickly.
Sneaking back into the city was easy as Thane caught the guards as they were changing shifts. Collapsing onto his bed, all he wanted to do was sleep.
---
Xu Feng sat in his garden, his mind clear as he felt Ling's gaze roaming over his body. Sometime soon, he would make a move on her. Though she wasn't spouse material, it wouldn't be the first time Xu Feng took a servant to bed.
"Young Master Xu?" Xu Feng opened his eyes and smiled at Ling, who sat on the patio, "Is there a reason why I called on me?"
"Is being by my side not enough of a reason?" Ling bowed, "Forgive me, Master Xu, but I do have duties to perform. If you desire a companion, may I suggest a pet or beast?"
"Are you insinuating that I am some mere child asking for a puppy?" Xu Feng asked in a flash of momentary anger. Annabelle dipped her head from where she sat on her knees, "I did not mean any offense. I am pleased that Young Master Xu enjoys my company."
Xu Feng was about to respond when the sliding door opened, "Pardon me for the intrusion Young Master Xu, but your father has summoned you and the clan elders to the main hall."
Xu Feng frowned, "Again, what is it this time?" The female servant bowed, "The patriarch gave strict instructions not to speak of the matter."
Sighing, he stood, "If I must, Ling you are coming with me."
As the pair walked towards the main hall, Xu Feng noted that everyone they passed looked at Xu Feng before hastily walking away. After the fifth time, he increased his pace before taking a moment to gather himself before entering the main hall.
Immediately the smell of ink almost overpowered Xu Feng, but when he saw the state of the main hall, his concern over the smell disappeared.
One word was painted onto the walls and pillars leaving little of the original redwood exposed. When Xu Feng saw the word his mind went blank with furry.
"Weak."
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