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Yang Fei led his group of sisters in a mighty and imposing march.
Players nearby saw this scene and quickly made way.
"Wow, why is that little star strutting around again?"
"Don't you know? He was just killed earlier. It was spectacular!"
"What? With so many sisters protecting him, how could that happen?"
"The opponent was Shadow. What do you expect?"
"Shadow's incredible! But daring to provoke this group… those women seem dangerous."
...
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
Some players, seeing Yang Fei's lineup, shook their heads and sighed.
"Shadow's done for. There's a hunter in Yang Fei's team who can counter stealth."
"Exactly! I tried sneaking past once and was caught by her eagle eyes."
"If Shadow's invisibility doesn't work, he's just a fragile assassin."
"And the mage in their group has a lot of control skills. Shadow's doomed..."
Many felt sorry for Shadow but still followed from a safe distance to watch the drama unfold.
Yang Fei, confident and smug, ignored the onlookers trailing behind.
"Perfect," he thought.
With so many witnesses, he planned to kill Shadow publicly and prove a point.
"Let them see—going solo, especially as an assassin, is pointless."
"How can a fragile little assassin compare to me, a noble mage?"
Though Yang Fei was just an ordinary mage, he held his profession in high esteem.
Hidden classes like Shadow's assassin specialization? To him, they were overrated.
"Hidden class? So what?"
"You'll be my stepping stone. You kill the golden boss; I kill you. That's the food chain!"
Beside him, the hunter girl with the "Eagle Eye" skill walked proudly.
Earlier, when Yang Fei was killed during a boss fight, her skill had run out of mana. She felt deeply guilty.
"If only I'd kept my mana to maintain Eagle Eye..."
"Brother Yang Fei died because of me!" she thought, full of self-blame. Yet she still felt proud to be useful to him, sticking close by.
However, her plain looks left Yang Fei uninterested. To him, she was just a tool.
After all, she and the others willingly handed over their earnings and lifespans. What could be more satisfying?
The group headed toward the Valley of Weeping Funerals.
Yang Shung, cloaked in invisibility, observed them from a distance.
"So aggressive," he muttered, smirking. "Coming for revenge, are we?"
With the boosted stealth from his Shadow class, Yang Shung was untouchable at this stage.
He approached Yang Fei silently, his movements precise.
Rather than attack, Yang Shung reached out and lightly patted Yang Fei's shoulder twice.
"Who?!" Yang Fei spun around, startled, but saw no one.
The gentle tap didn't count as an attack, so Yang Shung's invisibility held.
A cold voice whispered in Yang Fei's ear: "Just letting you know—you're about to die."
Realizing it was Shadow, Yang Fei panicked.
"Protect me! Protect me!"
Before the others could react, Yang Shung's figure darted into view, his blade flashing in an instant.
-2218!
-2275!
-2197!
With a single strike, Yang Fei was killed again, along with the sisters beside him!
Though Yang Fei had activated his magic shield, its protection—only capable of absorbing 300-500 damage—shattered instantly.
This time, Yang Fei noticed something chilling. Shadow's damage was higher than when they last fought!
"Damn it!"
Yang Fei revived in the town square, his face pale and twisted in frustration.
In just two deaths, he'd lost most of the tradable lifespan his sisters had saved for him. Shadow had reaped it all!
"How is this possible?" he fumed.
Turning to the hunter girl beside him, he barked, "Didn't you use Eagle Eye? Why didn't you see him?"
The girl stammered, "I... I used it! There was no one in my vision! Not even a shadow..."
Her voice trembled, both in fear and guilt. She had failed again and feared being cast out by Yang Fei.
Yang Fei, however, didn't blame her directly. Scolding his followers would make him less popular.
Instead, he turned to his team channel.
"Why couldn't Eagle Eye detect Shadow?"
One of his assassin-class teammates hesitantly replied, "I... I saw something about stealth levels in my attribute panel. Could it be that Shadow's stealth is higher level?"
The hunter nodded quickly. "Yes! My Eagle Eye has an anti-stealth level of 1. If the target's stealth level is above 2, I can't detect them!"
Understanding dawned on Yang Fei.
Shadow's stealth was higher than anyone on his team could counter.
His scalp tingled.
"This guy moves unseen. If he wants me dead, how can I stop him?"
His earlier bravado evaporated. Facing Shadow, he felt utterly powerless.
Shadow had even taunted him by patting his shoulder before killing him.
The pressure was suffocating.