TL: Etude
Li Hai was a martial warrior, but only a beginner. He was already sixty years old, and this was the level he had reached in his lifetime. He was a servant arranged by Mo Shaobei's father and had always been doing things for him.
"Young Master, I have already investigated thoroughly. Ye Tian comes from an ordinary family. His parents were once martial artists, but they died in the wilderness more than a year ago. Now only Ye Tian and his younger sister are left," Li Hai truthfully reported.
"If it were not for my closed-door cultivation to become a martial warrior, he wouldn't have been able to live even for a month. Hmph, find someone to kill him!" Mo Shaobei said, his face filled with killing intent.
Li Hai's face changed, "Young Master, if we kill someone at the base and it's discovered, even our Mo family might find it troublesome!"
"If it's found out, indeed, it will be troublesome. But what if it's not discovered?" Mo Shaobei smirked coldly.
"If it's not found out?" Li Hai suddenly thought of someone, "Young Master, are you thinking of hiring Shadow to do it? But the price for Shadow's services is not cheap, at least 1 million!"
1 million to kill a martial disciple; in Li Hai's view, this was a waste.
And Mo Shaobei had just ascended to the level of a martial warrior, so the family funds he could mobilize were not much, perhaps just over 1 million.
"That young man's talent must be pretty good, as he's reached the martial disciple realm so young. He's not just a beginner martial disciple, his talent must be basic but probably not intermediate. But even so, with the aid of intermediate fierce beast blood and spotted snake blood, he might be able to ascend to the martial artist realm in a year or two. The cost required to kill a martial disciple is not the same as killing a martial warrior. I want to strangle him before he grows up. Do you understand? 1 million is indeed a significant amount for me now, but in a year or two, what is a mere 1 million?" Mo Shaobei analyzed.
"Young Master, I understand. I will contact Shadow right away!" Li Hai said.
With that, he left.
In the room, Mo Shaobei muttered to himself, "Although Shadow only has a secondary talent and cannot progress after becoming a beginner martial warrior, he is an incredibly rare multi-talented martial warrior. He has a type of shadow talent that enables him to hide in shadowy places, making him a terrifying existence among martial warriors. Even I might not necessarily be able to evade Shadow's lethal assassination. Ye Tian is as good as dead!"
Soon after, he put this matter aside and continued his cultivation.
...
A day later.
As usual, Ye Tian finished his cultivation in the small grove at the academy and prepared to return home. But just as he was about to leave the grove, his expression subtly changed, and a trace of shock appeared deep in his pupils.
He looked discreetly at a tree three meters away. It was a large tree, and under its shadow, there was nothing, completely empty.
However, Ye Tian knew that there was someone there.
Human: Li Cun
Cultivation Talent: Low
Shadow Talent: Basic
Copying talent had become an instinctive talent for Ye Tian. He could sense everything within three meters around him at any time. If anyone or anything approached him, he would know.
This was also a way for him to protect himself.
"This person called Li Cun must have used his shadow talent to conceal his form, so my naked eye can't see him. With an awakened talent, he is undoubtedly a martial warrior, but with only low-level cultivation talent, his strength is clearly at the weakest stage of a martial warrior!" In just an instant, Ye Tian had figured out Li Cun's situation.
It was now evening, and night was about to fall. Most of the academy's students had left, and only he was in this small grove. Li Cun's intention to hide here was obvious.
"Is he here to assassinate me?" Ye Tian thought to himself.
He didn't know Li Cun, so it was clear that someone had hired Li Cun to assassinate him. Without guessing, he knew who it was.
"Mo Shaobei!" Ye Tian's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
He had only thought that Mo Shaobei would use some petty tricks to give him minor trouble. He hadn't expected that Mo Shaobei would dare to hire someone to assassinate him.
"If I live, Mo Shaobei, you must die!"
Ye Tian swore.
The situation at hand was not very favorable for Ye Tian, but it also represented an opportunity for him. His talent for duplication could be used again, but he had not yet decided what to duplicate. Now, a magnificent talent had appeared before him.
The shadow talent was indeed a comparatively transcendent one for weaker martial warriors. Once he possessed the shadow talent, there were many things he would be able to do that had previously been impossible.
"If I want the shadow talent, I must first kill Li Cun!" Ye Tian had calmly stated.
He walked slowly, feeling in his bones a murderous intent about to envelop him. He knew that Li Cun was about to make his move.
However, just as Li Cun was about to act, Ye Tian struck first.
Whoosh!
The talent of speed was activated.
Ye Tian, with his 800-jin strength, was not slow to begin with. With the amplification of the speed talent, his velocity had already surpassed that of ordinary martial warriors, even rivaling those in the middle stages.
Li Cun had thought that killing a martial disciple would be easy, so he did not pay much attention to Ye Tian. He was immediately stunned by Ye Tian's speed.
"Die!"
Ye Tian's iron blade hacked down fiercely.
Rip!
The iron blade struck an object, and a spatter of blood burst forth.
"Kid, you're asking for death!"
Li Cun appeared from his shadow form, a wound on his right arm, the injury fairly serious. If Ye Tian's strength had been just a bit more substantial, his arm would have been severed.
With his right hand injured, Li Cun attacked Ye Tian with his left, holding the knife. Although this greatly reduced his combat effectiveness, he felt he could still kill a martial disciple.
But very quickly, he was dumbfounded!
Ye Tian's speed was too fast, much faster than his own, and his blade technique was incredibly sharp. Even Li Cun's twenty years of expertise in the blade did not compare to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian gradually suppressed Li Cun with his speed and blade skills, while Li Cun's injured right hand continued to bleed, causing his condition to deteriorate.
Suddenly, Ye Tian seized an opportunity and slashed at Li Cun's chest, severely wounding him.
"Kid, you wait!"
Li Cun's figure flashed, and he vanished.
However, Ye Tian did not stop, continuing to hack at an empty spot.
Boom!
With one strike, a figure was sent flying—it was Li Cun.
"Damn, you actually saw through my shadow talent; this is impossible!!!"
Li Cun was obviously incredulous.
At Linhai Base, not to mention martial warriors, even elite martial warriors couldn't see through his talent ability. Only great martial artists who could extend their mental power could detect his presence.
Relying on his shadow talent, he had become an existence that many martial warriors at Linhai Base dared not provoke. He never expected that dealing with a martial disciple would be so embarrassing.
Ye Tian did not speak, only responding to Li Cun with his blade.
Soon, Li Cun could no longer hold on, and Ye Tian's blade cut through half of his neck, killing him outright.
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