*****
In a dimly lit space within the confines of the Black Tiger Family's main building, an old man dressed in black and white robes sipped tea, his gaze fixed on the bright moon hanging in the night sky.
Knock! Knock!
Despite the old man missing one of his eyeballs, it didn't stop him from swiftly redirecting his remaining eye in the direction of the sound of the knock.
"What is it?" he inquired with his old, raspy voice.
"S-Sir! The boy who killed the third Young Master has been spotted by one of our spies in the Yang Sect! Now he is just leaving the Sect Registry Grounds!" A shaky voice responded from the other side of the thin, Japanese-style doors.
"Is that so…?" The Old Man's eye narrowed as he exhaled coldly. "Send shadows eleven through twenty. I want him captured and brought before me alive."
"Eleven through twenty?? Are you sure, sir??" The voice behind the doors questioned, disbelief evident in his tone.
'Shadows eleven through twenty were all at the Middle and Late Pulse Condensation Stages, and yet Lord Black Tiger was sending them after a boy who was no older than twelve!?'
WAAA!
He was still deep in thought until a sudden wave of killing intent erupted from the old man's decrepit and wrinkled figure.
"Had I not made myself clear enough before…?" Lord Black Tiger asked, his voice oozing with death while his emotionless gaze pierced through the silence and bore into the screen doors.
"!!!"
The man outside the room nearly p*ssed himself right then and there. "N-No sir!" He stuttered nervously. "I will get this done right away!"
After that, he vanished from his spot and headed toward the barracks on the outer edge of the Black Tiger Family's main building.
Left alone, the old man's face seemed like it had come from the deepest, coldest layer of hell.
"You will pay for what you have done to my son, boy. That much, I will guarantee."
His voice, devoid of any emotion, echoed through the room as he gazed once again at the large luminescent moon shining in the star-spangled night sky.
_____
Meanwhile, in an area just outside the Yang Sect.
Azmodeus stood in an open space, awaiting the inevitable arrival of ten shadowy figures.
They had been on his tail for the past ten minutes or so, and he knew that there was absolutely no chance of him being able to escape their pursuit. So, he decided to try a different approach.
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
Ten figures, of varying sizes, both male and female, appeared on the far opposite side of the open field he stood at.
"Why did you stop, target #2056?"
The voice of the lead assassin echoed out as he looked at his target with a rare look of mild confusion on his usually stoic face.
"Target #2056, eh? That doesn't sound like a very nice thing to call your target. Couldn't I at least get a code name or something?" Azmodeus asked, his voice neutral.
"No, you cannot. You are not strong enough to earn one," the lead assassin responded coldly, his sinuous gaze narrowing as he focused on his target.
The rest of the shadows prepared themselves to strike. All of them knew only one thing in their life, and that was to kill.
They weren't like the previous 'assassins' that Azmodeus had faced earlier. No, these men and women were the real deal — they were genuine assassins.
"...Is there really no way that we can solve this dispute with words?" Azmodeus asked.
"No, there isn't. And you will be dead soon, so do you have any last words?" The first shadow replied. He tightly gripped his dagger, its razor-sharp edges dripping a green and dangerous substance.
'Poison, huh…?'
Azmodeus calmly observed the uniqueness of all ten of the assassins, having already basically understood what they were going to do next.
'Despite being trained assassins, aren't they going a little overboard for someone who they assume to be in the Early Pulse Condensation Stage?'
Even he could tell that none of the assassins seemed to be planning on holding back their punches.
'They were going to try and kill someone weaker than them and that too with everything they had? That's quite unusual for strong cultivators of their caliber.'
'It seemed like the Black Tiger Family had stripped them of their pride, turning them into obedient tools for the perfect and ruthless execution of any assassinations that they were told to dish out…'
Azmodeus sensed that this fight might become a tad bit more troublesome than he had anticipated, but it didn't bother him much. After all, before these assassins could arrive here, he had made his way back into the deeper parts of the Yang Forest and killed any Spiritual Beasts he found along the way.
And of all those Spiritual Beasts that had fallen under his hands, there was one in particular. One that would completely alter what should've been a 100% certain death for him with the arrival of the assassins…
_____
"It truly is a shame that we couldn't talk things out and settle this peacefully," Azmodeus murmured, a soft sigh escaping his lips.
SLICE!
Spurt!
A fountain of blood erupted where the head of the lead shadow used to be.
"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"
None of them even knew what had happened when, out of nowhere, the strongest of them had died in an instant!
However, they were taken out of their stupors by the dry voice of their target as he said, "It truly is unfortunate that words weren't enough to let bygones be bygones. Now, I'll have to take all your strength and make it my strength."
As Azmodeus's words echoed throughout the wide, open field, a few system notifications rang inside his head.
BLING!
[Ding! You have killed a cultivator in the Peak Stages of the Late Pulse Condensation Stage!]
[Ding! You have obtained 5,000 Evolution Essence!]
[Ding! Your Evolution Essence Bank has increased from 500 → 5,500]
[Ding! Would you like to Assimilate or roll for an ability from the being you just killed?]
Without hesitation, Azmodeus immediately clicked Assimilate. In an instant, his strength surged once again!
BLING!
[Ding! You have obtained 8 Stat points in Strength, 6 points in Speed, 7 points in Defense, 9 points in Qi, and 4 points in Cultivation Talent!]
[Ding! Your overall combat power has significantly increased!]
.....