This district is eerily quiet tonight. I hope granpa Chonglin is right, and it's worth it.
Wu Lei was approaching an old decrepit warehouse, where his mentor claimed a secret storage with expensive goods was situated. They hired the Serpent Scales to protect it, which was quite an investment. But tonight was a special night, as most of their heavyweights would be attending a funeral of one of their boss's right hands.
A perfect opening.
Lei entered a thin alley between two slum houses, twenty steps from the warehouse, and effortlessly climbed onto one of the houses' roofs by pressing at both walls. Feels good, having two arms.
Lei looked at the warehouse's roof again.
No one's around. Twenty steps away, but I also need to fly half my height upwards. Should be doable.
Lei calmly exhaled, then rapidly took a running start.
Jumper boots! Fire qi infusion! Propulsion dao shard!
He launched himself into the air, leaving a fiery trail behind. He crossed the empty street mid-air, then landed on the warehouse's rooftop, activating propulsion dao shard upwards and spreading his limbs to reduce the fall noise. Combined with his boots' soft soles, he barely made a sound, and was no louder than a housecat jumping from the couch.
What a weird building, Lei thinks. No windows outside, only a reinforced wooden gate, but there should be some in the inner yard. If I won't be able to "hit" it today, I need to at least scout it properly.
Lei quietly sneaked through the roof, then approached the inner yard.
Ember Eyes. He activated his signature technique, dark and thermal vision might come in handy. Eh, I wish Xin was here, with his perception abilities, I wouldn't need to go through so many hurdles. No, I am good enough.
Inner yard is clear. Some boxes, barrels, footprints, too — people smoke and piss here, but not much else.
Lei hung down and deftly dropped from the roof, to the side of one of the windows, then peeked inside.
"You heard that?" A nasal male voice asked, in an opposite corner of the warehouse.
Lei's heart dropped.
"Of course I did! Can you imagine? Killed while dining with his family, that's not following the creed!" Lei relaxed, it seems the guards are talking about the murder of one of Serpent Scales' lieutenants earlier this week. The gang warfare in Clay Nest was becoming more and more unhinged every day.
"The creed? The Xuanwu patriarch won the war, it untied his hands. This means he'll attempt to purge Xuanwu Tai Ming's faction soon, so us Scales will also be targeted. Things are fucked."
"Eh, still think it's the fucking guild. Morang was a recruiter, without him, our 'roofing' expansion will go to shit. The guild is in cahoots with FETS now."
Lei was listening carefully to what they were saying. He didn't know much about this "Morang", and who killed him, but he needed to be alert. Given the direction the voices are coming from, it seems it's safe to peek inside.
Lei looked deeper into the warehouse, and saw a lot of shabby wooden boxes standing around. He saw two small heat emanations coming from the opposite corner of the building, where the voices were coming from. It's just two men here, it seems. But what are the goods? The boxes are sealed, need to get a closer look…
"This all sucks. I think we need to fuck off from the North, it's too much fuckery for such little gains now..."
"And by 'we', you mean me and you or all the Scales?" A nasal voice asked again.
"Better all of us, of course, but I wonder if I should just terminate my contract. I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing."
"Nah, listen. Let's at least get the money for this gig. Once we get the pay, we break through immediately, and Bao Hai can no longer bully us. He's shit, just has a core…"
Lei quickly analysed. Two mortals, clearly qi active, given how they're treating the breakthrough, with a rank one officer. Is he around? What's that "it" that will be ready soon, though? I need to find out. Lei carefully sneaked deeper, then hid behind one of the boxes.
"Careful, he'll soon come upstairs. You're fucked if he catches you talking shit."
Lei smirked, these guys are a goldmine of information. Need to see if they have guardian amulets. They probably do.
"Eh, whatever. I am so..." The guard yawned. "Fookin sleepy. Unbearable."
Lei scanned the building as he quietly moved. Twenty steps wide, twenty five steps long. They said "upstairs", means there is "downstairs". But where?
He quickly brainstormed a list of options.
Outside? No, probably not.
In the inner yard? Might be, but I haven't seen anything. Maybe I should check again?
Inside the building? Under the boxes? Possible, but maybe there is some other hidden passage? Could keep spying to find out more, could rush the guys, kill them and look for it myself. Or could retreat and come tomorrow, bringing help.
Lei felt conflicted. If he killed these two, it would probably trigger their alarms, meaning it would alert a rank one downstairs. He might lock himself in or come out to fight, and who knows how many people they have on standby? Most people can't catch me, especially in this city, but it's still dangerous. So many things could go wrong!
Xin is taming the totem as we speak… Feng Chonglin is right, once he returns, he will wipe the floor with me! With people like him and Ming, I have no chance... Unless I take risks. This run is only possible tonight, tomorrow night their gig is over, and they'll be gone!
Lei peeked around the corner, from behind one of the boxes. Two men, sitting on folding chairs, next to each other. One holds a cup, another one is bare-handed. Both are armoured, but wear no helmets. Can't see the second guy, but the first one wears some necklace on his neck. Fuck, must be the guardian amulet.
Molten Heart. Lei felt his fire qi intensify, as molten metal qi flowed through his veins, even his night vision became more powerful.
"Ey, bro. You know what I think?" The man further away from Lei asked his friend.
I guess he'll never know!
Jumper boots! Propulsion dao shard!
Lei grabbed his meteoric sabre's hilt inside of the bag of holding on his back, and pulled it out mid-air, as he rapidly flew past them.
Fire qi infusion! Lei's slash cut the first guard's skull in the middle, then passed right into the second guard's neck, beheading him instantly. The top half of the first guard's head slid down and fell on the ground with a splashing sound, blood gushing through a massive wound.
Lei heard a vibration from under both guards' armors. The amulets. Shit.
"Wait! Somet..." He heard a muffled sound somewhere underground. Right, it's somewhere inside this room!
Lei quickly looked around, then noticed fresh footsteps, formed by walking on the dust, leading to one of the boxes. Right, there it is! Rank one cultivator downstairs! He quickly ran up to that box.
"What's going on?" He could now hear more clearly. A male voice, hoarse and at least middle-aged. Sounds rather calm.
"Something triggered the alarm, think I should..." A bassy voice answered.
No turning back! No time to think! Lei grabbed the bottom of a heavy box that was blocking his way, then prepared to lift it.
Fire qi infusion! His hips were empowered, and together with his Molten Heart raising his strength, he effortlessly flipped it on its other side in one explosive motion, away from where the passage was. Lei felt intoxicated with this strength, it would take two massive brutes working together to perform this motion without qi powers! Once the box flipped, it also cracked, and its contents, cheap tableware and pottery, crashed and poured outside.
But Lei was focused on the passage that opened up. He saw a reinforced metal door, with a massive lock protecting it.
"They moved the box! Quickly, the bolt!" The previously calm voice sounded more worried now.
"Yes, yes!" The second man quickly closed the inner latch and added another spin to the lock, just in case.
Lei smirked, then pulled out a second meteoric sabre from his bag of holding!
Let's try this. One against two, but also a race against time! Just how I like it!
Lava Spit! He leaned closer and spat on the lock, the liquid that formed quickly melting it away. Who needs a lockpicker?
"It's a single man! Using metal path!" A hoarse voice informed their partner, but it sounded quite worried now.
Oh, perception ability! Probably sniffing. Well, you're wrong, I wield two elements! As Lei thought this, a strange sensation assaulted his own nose, calling out to his inner landscape. Something buried, something insignificant insight of Lei's core answered in a pleasant sensation. His blood qi surged up!
Then a pungent smell assaulted Wu Lei's nostrils, slightly intoxicating, coming from inside the room he was trying to break in. That room is filled with blood qi! I guess that lump of blood qi is useful for something. Neat!
Lei had no time to worry about the source of his powers, he knew he had to be as quick as possible, or he'd have a bunch of Serpent Scales on his tail. Let's speed this up.
He crossed his blades and pointed them where his Lava Spit was destroying the lock, then exhaled. I haven't mastered this dao shard just yet, but with a few seconds to channel, it should be doable. Lei rubbed the points of his meteoric blades, in a motion similar to Xin's Resonance Palms, then stabbed them into the melting hole.
Explosive Matchstick!
Bang! The lock was completely destroyed, and the door hinges themselves cracked, so nothing held the door in the doorframe now.
Smash! Lei kicked the door in with a powerful qi infused kick, and it fell on a person who was standing in front of it. Despite not having a direct visual, Lei saw a bunch of heat emanations in the rising dustwave, knowing where his opponents were.
Ember Skin dao shard! Lei used his new defensive method, and his skin was covered in scorching fiery qi emanations. Still, they didn't hurt his chitin armour, and this was exactly why Lei picked this method.
Propulsion dao shard! Qi infusion! He stabbed at the obscured opponent, who still hadn't got rid of the door pressing on him, but his hand was pressed by something firm, as if it hit a hand made of stone.
Earth path!
"Stop him! Stop him!" Lei didn't know what the second person was doing, but he could hear him shout.
"Argh!" The earth path master moved the door that fell on him to the side, and Lei saw a figure covered in jade-like crystal spikes.
No time to think!
Stab! Stab! Lei infused two strikes, but dealt no significant damage.
Jade Fist Launch! The enemy master punched at Lei, even if his fist wasn't in reach for a melee strike. The street urchin side-stepped instinctively, and a fist sized stone flew past him at a rapid speed, almost as fast as a crossbow bolt!
Damn! At point-blank range, this thing could kill a rank one master! Lei backed away, fighting such an opponent in close quarters is too dangerous. My heat vision saved my ass!
"Fuck!" The enemy master was angry as he charged Lei. It seems that the move he just launched was a compound move, his trap card, and missing it frustrated him greatly.
"Push! Push! Almost ready!" The second master shouted. Lei quickly made a conclusion — rank one blood path master, powering up. Shit, earth path and blood path complement each other so well! This earth path master is durable and can zone me as the blood path master powers up!
Stab! Slash! Lei retreated up into the warehouse again. Should I run? No! I need to circle around the boxes, then rush down the stairs again, to execute the blood path master!
No, that's a bad idea! An intuitive conclusion arrived into Lei's mind, but he couldn't explain it. Instead, he rushed the earth path master!
"Help! Come help!" The earth path master shouted out to his partner, blocking with his jade crystal arms, clearly overwhelmed. These blades were quite sharp and heavy, a normal man would usually wield them with both hands, but Lei's Molten Heart made him strong enough to pull off dual wielding without much effort.
"Fine!" the blood path master's voice sounded very nervous now. He wasn't happy, having to leave his hiding spot, but he felt like he had no choice.
Splash! The blood path master stabbed his wrist with a dagger. He instantly formed the gushing blood into a ball, the size of an apple, and shot it at Lei.
Boom! It exploded as Lei effortlessly dodged it, and splashed him with qi infused blood, emanating ominous energy. His Ember Skin felt the pressure, and was being drained without being actively damaged. Shit, if it goes on like that, it will fade away!
Fire path wasn't known for its defence, but with Lei's Molten Heart intensity boosting, Ember Skin became a decent solution in his combat system, capable of at least somewhat nullifying most rank one methods. Its weakness was that the areas that were hit would fade and cool down, and had to be manually lit again, which required knowing the correct technique. So far, Lei could only activate the dao shard, and such manipulation was beyond his reach.
Earth grasp! The enemy master stomped on the ground, hoping to trap Lei as he avoided the blood ball. Lei almost landed right into the hole that opened, but used the propulsion shard to move his leg away, then rolled to the side.
"Predictable!" Lei shouted out while repositioning, his heart desperate to escape his chest once again.
What now? Which one of them should I engage? They both have ranged methods, both are durable and probably inferior to me in melee. I've got to make a choice. Lei slashed at the earth path master and retreated behind one of the boxes.
A wild idea flashed in Lei's mind. If I don't know who I'm engaging, they also wont! And if I create unpredictability, they'll open up!
Jumper boots! Lei leaped on top of one of the taller boxes and pointed a sword at each of the masters.
The earth path master was confused. Why is he trying to claim a highground against two masters with ranged methods? This is probably a bait, I should move closer, or he might rush my partner with his superior movement!
Is this a bait? The blood path master's thoughts were similar as he formed another ball of blood, aiming to probe his opponent.
Propulsion dao shard! Lei was now injecting his own qi into this shard, as it ran out of natural charge. Good, now a counter-attack!
Lei landed on his feet, then quickly cut a corner and rushed towards the blood path master. The earth path master will cross the corner in just a few moments, but I have my opening! Time to probe him!
Jumper boots! The charge is running out, but it's good for now! Fire qi infusion! Explosive matchstick! Lei charged into his opponent while rubbing his blades.
Blood bubble! The enemy manifested a gooey blob of blood, trapping Lei's blades inside. Lei's hit was only strong enough to pierce halfway into the bubble.
Explosive matchstick dao shard! Lei spent plenty of qi to trigger an explosion again. This should destroy the bubble!
Technique failed.
It was harder to trigger with the blades wrapped in foreign qi and liquid, and Lei was far from proficient with this shard. He manifested a pitifully weak scorching flame, strong enough to set his blades free, but that was about it.
Syphon Whip! The opponent's wrist still bled heavily, and as one arm held the bubble, the second one slashed Lei with a sharp emanation of blood qi gushing out from the wound.
Slash! Lei was hit where the opponent's blood splashed him, and the whip penetrated through his armour and faded the Ember Skin technique. As sharp pain pierced his mind, Lei saw a serious chunk of his melting blood escape from his body, right into the enemy master's aperture!
Lei didn't lose composure, his martial instincts overtook him and guided him to run away. The earth path master will come from the left, need to go right. As Lei retreated, the blood path master didn't chase him.
"I injured him! He's wasting qi! Let's squeeze him!" He shouted to his partner.
Lei circled around the boxes, clearly more mobile than his earth path opponent. Just need to not get caught, my wound is not that bad. But how do I take them down?
An idea!
"Lei, you can't rely on gimmicky strategies, you have to develop a proper combat system." He remembered his friends criticising him.
"This move is dangerous and opens you up, no one will fall for it!" The instructor bashed his idea after a training session a few days ago.
"Stick to the basics, don't gamble your life away!"
But what if I am right, and they are all wrong?
After all, I'm the Crimson Demon, crazy combat moves are my signature!
Lei ran into a passage, formed by a wall in the corner of the building and a tall gathering of boxes almost reaching the ceiling. I'll intentionally corner myself!
What is he doing? Did he get lost? An earth path master used his tremor sense to spot Lei. There he is! He can't use his mobility and swing his blades in that passage! He prepared his Jade Fist Launch and ran after Lei.
Lei's martial spirit surged. This will only work if the move is perfect, and my opponent loses his cool head. If they both approach at the same time, it's over.
The earth path master also tried to analyse the situation. The enemy master is fast, and even cornered, he can still escape through aerial techniques. I need to turn this corner, use tremor sense to spot him and shoot a jade fist at him! Need to stay mindful, though!
The earth path master turned the corner, but what he saw next surprised him. Lei was squatting horizontally, his feet on the wall, his blades stuck into nearby boxes, helping his arms hold his body and defy gravity! Molten blood was dripping from his wound, and his eyes glowed like little embers in a dimly lit room. It felt like entering a cellar and suddenly seeing a bat!
Fire qi infusion! Propulsion dao shard! Iron Lung technique!
Molten Meteor Somersault! Lei pushed himself off the wall, spun twice before reaching his opponent, then dropped his metal qi infused leg on the opponent's head.
What? The earth path master pointed his fist at him, but this weird position he found Lei in, combined with his weird motion, caught him off-guard, wasting just one precious moment.
His head exploded like a watermelon dropped from a horse carriage.
Push! Push! Lei's blood was heated by the Molten Heart, and his martial spirit urged him to run forward. Claim the loot, it's yours!
Blood spike! Blood spike! The enemy master launched two identical lances formed from firm blood qi at Lei, with a tiny delay. One served to make him dodge, another to impale him!
A familiar motion. Lei's martial instincts were brilliant, he recognized that pattern! Just like the iron mantis!
Lei dodged the first spike and took the second one head on, with his right shoulder, where his Ember Skin was still untouched, and his armour was quite thick. It still hurt, but it wasn't the end of the world.
"You are nothing in comparison!" Lei shouted out to the confused blood path master as he rushed him. I am out of qi, but it's fine, Lei thought. You made a fatal mistake in your judgement of the situation!
"Hya!" The blood path master whipped Lei with the Syphon Whip again. Lei accepted this hit head on, not even attempting to dodge it.
What the fuck is wrong with him? I'll drink his blood, he'll faint in one more strike, the blood path master thought! Indeed, this hit cut at Lei's chest, where his Ember Skin was weak, and drained a huge chunk of blood. Lei felt his head get dizzy.
Good.
Front kick! Feint! Jab! Low kick! Side kick! Low kick! Lei kept assaulting the enemy master, who was now coated in blood qi energy. He was empowered by Molten Heart, but was still not doing any significant damage. His meteoric iron sabers were still stuck in that wall!
This guy is crazy, I need to finish him! I'll use his own blood against him! Syphon Whip! The blood path master slashed at Lei's hand again, tearing his bicep and cutting into the bone. He drank even more of Lei's blood this time, and felt delighted. Wait, why was this technique so hard to activate, what's with my qi control?
Lei rolled back and grinned. In his mouth, just between his teeth, there were two pills — blood stoppage and blood restoration.
The enemy master backed away and prepared another series of Blood Spikes. It will soon be over, mortal medicine isn't enough to outsustain my methods! Wait.
The metal qi emanations are still there, but he's clearly using the fire path? Could it be... Two elements? Is this why I feel so hot all of a sudden? Molten Heart?
He died from a heart attack.