"Uh, okay then." I raised both hands and stayed where I was. I might not be a totally evil bastard, but I wasn't some hero either. If he said he didn't need my help, then I wouldn't offer it. Not to mention, I was pissed at his attitude. If that was how he was going to be, then he could f right off.
Meanwhile, the rest of the salamanders were beginning to back away after seeing the fate of their comrade. The spiky-haired guy didn't seem to care that they were backing off, though. He dashed up the incline and kicked off the ground, leaping high into the air before landing like a comet in the midst of the salamanders. Flames erupted from his body and swallowed the retreating mob of salamanders.
An immolated salamander pounced out of the inferno, one desperate ploy to bring down its killer before its death, but the guy simply punched a fiery fist into its gut before its jaws could close around his neck. A crater blew open in the salamander's body and it careened into another of its blazing brethren, their ashes mingling together. Whirling around, the guy kicked another salamander that was charging at him, snapping its head off. Its neck, softened by the flames, turned into ashes as the head was torn off, and the body dropped like a rock before being consumed by the fire.
Straightening, the guy scanned the inferno, which was slowly flickering out now that its victims had been consumed completely. Then he stalked off without even glancing at me.
I watched him, impressed. Despite not liking his attitude, I had to admit that his power was the real deal now that I had witnessed his fighting prowess firsthand. He was telling the truth when he said he could take care of the salamanders all by himself. I wondered if he was from one of the major orthodox sects. But if that was the case, why was he by himself? Shouldn't he be leading either a group from his own sect, or at least a small coalition of cultivators from the various orthodox sects? I was pretty sure there should be a lot of people dying to follow him.
Obviously that wasn't something I could simply ask him, so I stayed silent as I watched him leave. Sighing, I made to follow, but I wisely kept my distance. The guy might be as strong as me, and I wasn't sure who would emerge the victor if we fought. I had a few tricks up my sleeve, but I would rather avoid an arduous battle against such a powerful opponent if possible.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought. I would have to eventually confront him sooner or later. The both of us were competing for the True Fire, after all. He didn't look like the type who would give up just because I beat it to him. And that was assuming I reached the True Fire before he did.
I guess I would worry about that later. That was a bridge to cross when I came to it. It wasn't as if I had a hundred percent chance of losing, anyway. I was sure I could figure something out.
"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. Chi Yan treats everyone the same way."
I turned around at the voice, shocked that I had allowed someone to get this close to me without noticing. The rich young kid who seemed about fourteen years old was standing nearby, his tall bodyguard beside him. As always, I couldn't see the latter's face, hidden as it was beneath a hood.
"Chi Yan?" I repeated. The kid nodded.
"He's one of the strongest cultivators in our younger generation. He's a core disciple from the Elemental Mountain Sect, having mastered the Esoteric Fire Arts. Most people in the Tian Xuan Continent should know about him. But he's always on his own, refusing the company of even his fellow disciples from the same sect. Nobody knows the reason why." The kid shrugged. "He just seems to hate everybody."
Yeah, I could tell…
"You're not from around here, are you?" The kid tilted his head and studied me. "You're not a familiar face. I haven't seen you around before."
"Yeah, you could say that." My guard was up. I couldn't let him know that I was from a demonic sect. That was probably why he hadn't met me before. The kid didn't seem to mind my caution though, and he instead smiled politely.
"Forgive my lack of manners. I'm Huang Qian Jin." He gestured to the shadowy bodyguard beside him. "This is my bodyguard, Hui Ying."
"I'm Hei Ye," I replied with a nod of my head. Huang Qian Jin watched me and glanced at Hui Ying.
"We've been watching you from afar." Huang Qian Jin nodded when Hui Ying appeared to make some hand signals. "Hui Ying is wondering where you learn those Black Shadow Sect techniques from. He says he has never seen you in the Black Shadow Sect before."
"Wait, what?"
A chill ran down my spine. I had learned those techniques in order to disguise myself as an orthodox sect, but I never imagined they would backfire and caused my lies to be exposed instead. Just how coincidental could this be? Of all the people to run into, I had to meet someone who was formerly from the Black Shadow Sect. But that couldn't be right. Wasn't the Black Shadow Sect destroyed a long time ago? How would there be any survivors? Perhaps there was a chance that this was a misunderstanding. Praying against hope, I asked timidly as I glanced at Hui Ying.
"You are…?"
"That's right," Huang Qian Jin confirmed with a cold smile. "Hui Ying was from the Black Shadow Sect."
Oh, fuck…
Well, that made some sense. Just because the Black Shadow Sect was destroyed didn't mean that there were no survivors. The survivors would lay low and hide elsewhere, and there was no reason to remain members of the sect when there wasn't many people left. They would just disband and join other factions. So I didn't doubt the truth of Hui Ying or Huang Qian Jin's words.
Cold perspiration dripped down the back of my neck, but I maintained a façade of calm. I raised a hand and pointed upward. "My late master taught it to me. I'm not an official disciple of the Black Shadow Sect, but he sort of taught me a few techniques before he died."
Huang Qian Jin watched Hui Ying perform sign language before he spoke for him.
"Hui Ying wants to know who your late master was."
"Uh, I don't know his name." I thought quickly and decided to describe the previous peak master of the Human Peak – my predecessor, in other words. "He had somewhat dark skin and black hair. A bit tall and on the thin side, sort of like me, but with sunken cheeks and hollow looking eyes."
I wasn't very tall, but I was skinny to the point where people wondered if I was underweight.
"Ah, Master Cang Bai," Huang Qian Jin said with a nod after Hui Ying gestured something to him. Even though I didn't recognize the name, I nodded frantically.
"I guess? Like I said, he never told me his name. I just called him Master."
"Understandable." Huang Qian Jin then waited for his bodyguard to finish signaling before turning back to me. "If you would like, why don't you follow us? Hui Ying is offering to teach you several more Black Shadow Sect techniques because it appears you guys have a connection. A duty to teach his juniors, or something like that. He says that your skills are incomplete because you're still using the outdated and obsolete Shadow Strike. It's too inefficient. He says he can teach you Shadow Sword Strike and other techniques."
"Really?" My eyes widened. If that was true, then I had struck gold.
Huang Qian Jin nodded with a proud smile. "I don't mean to brag, but Hui Ying was a former expert in the Black Shadow Sect before he came to the service of my family."
"Sure!" I replied enthusiastically. This wasn't the time to be arrogant like one of those cultivation story protagonists who strutted about, sneering, "You don't have the qualifications to teach a god like me." if there was a way to grow stronger or add more skills to my currently limited repertoire, then I was going to take it, even if it meant swallowing my pride. Humility was worth a lot more than pride. Lowering my head, I expressed my gratitude. "Thanks. I'll be counting on you then."
While we ascended, Hui Ying offered me advice that Huang Qian Jin translated for me, but just hearing it wasn't enough. I needed to put it into practice. I wasn't actively looking for enemies to try the new techniques out on, but I was undeniably itching for a fight. For now, though, the only people I saw were other groups of cultivators slowly scaling the mountain. Some, like Chi Yan, were ahead of us, fighting off packs of salamanders and other spirit beasts. None of them had attacked us yet, but we didn't have to wait long for something to happen.
A movement at the corner of my eye caused me to whirl around. I saw a flurry of movement, the waving of a bushy crimson tail. Then I caught a glimpse of fang-filled jaws and red fur, accompanied by a streak of fire.
A fire fox.
Normally fire foxes were known for their incredible speed, but I nullified that speed with Shadow Steps. Disappearing into the shadows, I allowed my would-be assailant to sail past my position, its flames engulfing the ground and baking the earth uselessly, before I emerged behind it. It didn't even see my counterattack coming, the newly learned Shadow Sword Strike cleaving its head off in one blow. Fire continued to erupt from its mouth as its head arced into the air, a trail of blood following it, before dropping onto the ground.
"Not bad!" Huang Qian Jin said from afar, his eyes wide. "Hui Ying says that he has never seen anyone learn Shadow Sword Strike so quickly before."
For his part, Hui Ying was also moving from shadow to shadow, dispatching another fire fox that tried to pounce on his charge. His sword lashed out, the blade wreathed in black qi, and separated the fire fox's head from its body. The red-furred carcass toppled over lifelessly, blood pumping out of the severed neck.
I studied the bodyguard intently, determined to copy his movements and master the techniques he had just imparted to me. Then I moved off once more, using Shadow Steps to jump from shadow to shadow. It was a very useful technique that allowed me to traverse relatively great distances in an instance while delivering attacks from the enemy's blind spot, catching them off guard and striking from where they least expected. I had already practiced this skill often enough, which was why I was executing it effortlessly, much to Hui Ying's amazement.
Honestly, practical experience was the most important thing when it came to learning combat techniques.
As for Shadow Sword Strike, it was similar to Shadow Strike. Apparently I had already established a solid foundation by learning Shadow Strike, so it was only a step up to acquire Shadow Sword Strike. I simply needed to re-orientate my movements and adjust the stance and flow of my qi, and I was able to perform it adequately. Not as perfectly as Hui Ying, admittedly, but this was my first time using it in actual combat. And I would only get better with more practice, especially on the battlefield.
The poor salamanders found that to their cost, and I was impressed by how easily the Shadow Sword Strike penetrated their armored scales. The basic Shadow Strike would never be able to do that.
Hui Ying moved his hands, and Huang Qian Jin spoke for him. "You're a natural, Hui Ying says. He wish the Black Shadow Sect wasn't destroyed…you would have helped them secure a bright future."
"You're exaggerating," I responded awkwardly. Then I glanced from rich kid to bodyguard. "You can tell what he says? You know sign language?"
"Yeah." Huang Qian Jin's shoulders slumped somewhat, and some of his bright optimism faded. "We've been together for a long time now, so it's more convenient for me to learn sign language to communicate with him."
"I see." I nodded, but I didn't pursue the matter. If they didn't want to tell me, then they had a good reason not to. It wasn't my business anyway. And besides, I had secrets of my own, secrets that I couldn't tell anybody. If I didn't want anybody to pry into my affairs, then I should start by doing unto others what I wanted them to do unto me.
"All right, let's go." Huang Qian Jin looked forward, where ghostly will o' the wisps drifted, resembling lanterns or floating fireballs with eyes. Ghostly flames flickered around the ends of their airy tentacles, and they began to hurl the fiery projectiles at us.
Hui Ying grabbed hold of Huang Qian Jin and disappeared into the shadows, ensuring his charge didn't get hit. I did the same, and then the both of us emerged behind the swarm of will o' the wisps. Swinging our swords in flawless coordination, we sliced the phantom like spirit beasts apart. Despite their intangible appearances, the qi infused into our blades was able to slay them.
Hui Ying nodded gratefully at me – or so I assumed, because I couldn't see his features at all. They remained dark under his hood. Again, I quashed any curiosity that welled up inside my chest. I wasn't going to ask them anything they felt uncomfortable in answering. Instead, I sheathed my sword and stared upward.
"Let's go," I suggested, praying that Chi Yan and the other cultivators ahead wouldn't get to the True Fire before we did.