Gu Xuanming stood as silent as a statue with hands drenched in innocent blood.
He knew he was caught; he needed to kill both of these assassins.
There was also the fact that someone was even trying to assassinate him in the first place.
It was strange.
To try and assassinate the son of the greatest benefactor of the village, one would call that courting death.
“Do not bother struggling.
We are fully aware you haven’t opened your meridians yet.”
Gu Xuanming remained silent.
“Are we sure?
Just because Zhao Cangsheng hasn’t broken through yet doesn’t mean he can.”
“Heh, of course I’m certain, brother.
After all, B-grade talents are still inferior to A-grades.”
Gu Xuanming had immediately become suspicious.
There was never any information spread about Zhao Cangsheng’s progress.
If that was the case, how could they know about his progress in the first place?
At first, he couldn’t make sense of it until he thought a little harder, coming to a conclusion.
‘Could they be assassins sent by the Zhao clan?
That’s the only way they would know of his progress, no?’ He thought.
He wasn’t sure, but it was a good place to start.
“Look, let’s just kill him.
We must satisfy the master.”
“Understood.”
Predatory eyes laid on Gu Xuanming as they slowly approached, making no sudden movements or sound.
They were 100% confident in their victory.
Gu Xuanming was unarmed; he was weak and a daddy’s boy, as they thought.
They then froze.
Swoosh!
One of them had moved as swiftly as a shadow would, appearing behind Gu Xuanming, almost as if he had teleported.
Clash!
“W-what!?”
The man was left bewildered when he saw a kunai between Gu Xuanming’s fingers, using them like claws of sorts.
The truth was, he did indeed have weapons.
During his time cultivating, he had a little break to sip water and look through the support package.
When he did, he found the kunai that his father had given him.
His father didn’t think he would be safe, believing people would try to assassinate him.
The same thing happened to him since he was related to a highly influential man in the Northern Plains.
This left him with no choice but to always be armed.
That is why, within the sleeves, there were slots for Gu Xuanming to put his kunai in.
It allows him to keep them hidden as well as quick access to them.
That was why Gu Xuanming was not afraid.
While not in his 1st stars, he knew enough martial techniques that were made for self-defense, especially against assassins.
Gu Xuanming immediately pushed the man back.
He stumbled back, having not expected a concealed weapon.
He had assumed all young masters solely relied on their cultivation and techniques.
As far as he was aware, that was how all cultivators were.
Even when it came to weapons, it was only about injecting qi into the blade.
He just couldn’t fathom the idea of it.
But reality would not allow him to think any longer.
The assassin spotted a flash of reflecting light, moving away before his throat could be slit by Gu Xuanming.
‘He’s fast!?
But…how!?
He shouldn’t have opened his meridians!
Did he lie to us!?’
Gu Xuanming had blended with the shadows somehow, escaping the sight of the assassin.
Unfortunately, he had relied too much on his sight to hear the nearly silent footsteps approaching from behind.
Gu Xuanming had almost snapped the man’s spine when the other one had used the wall as leverage to leap off like a peacock and intercept the attack before it went through.
That wasn’t the end of it, however.
Gu Xuanming placed his finger in the hole of the kunai and then did a throwing motion with said hand.
This turned on the kunai for the first time in years.
These kunai weren’t your average kunai; they were magical artifacts, objects imbued with a certain type of qi, allowing them to commit mythical acts with or without the input of a user.
His kunai were able to create chains between the handle and the blade, allowing the user to have more range and a chain.
Having thrown the blade in the other assassin’s direction, he realized it was getting closer, noticing the chain as well.
He used his sickle, catching the chain before it could hit his eye, and threw it to the ground.
This kept one of his kunai on the ground, but he still had many more.
Gu Xuanming immediately began an exchange between the two assassins.
From the skill level he gathered, they were about average.
In fact, they were so average that Gu Xuanming felt like he needed to humiliate them first.
However, he discarded such thoughts, seeing it as a waste of time, especially since he needed to get to the black market and it would take a while to get the skin on.
Looking at the two men who were beginning to feel fear, feeling cheated, he decided enough was enough.
He already knows everything he needs to know.
Gu Xuanming first took the chain and immediately wrapped it around the first assassin’s neck in quick succession!
“W-what!?”
“It is said that if you squeeze on the neck, blood vessels and the esophagus are squeezed shut, cutting off blood flow and air flow.
But if you snap the neck, you die rather fast.”
Snap!
He had pulled with such force that the man’s neck snapped, killing him on the spot!
The other man began to tremble, feeling a deep-seated fear he had long since suppressed, the fear of death.
Gu Xuanming looked over at the second assassin, his presence heavy, his silence deafening, his cool ice.
“Ga—” Before he could scream, Gu Xuanming threw his kunai straight at the man, piercing the skull and out of his mouth!
He didn’t stand a chance.
He fell limp to the ground.
He now stood before three dead bodies.
‘This is rather unfortunate.
I only intended to kill him, then dispose of the body.
But now I have two more bodies on my hands.’
‘…But I can use their bodies to test my theory.
If my theory about the Zhao clan is true, then they wouldn’t go public if I…’
A grin appeared on his face.
‘I will have to do it later.
For now, I need to put on the skin.’
…
A tall man dressed in commoner clothing stood by a mountain entrance.
It was near the forest, and it led straight into the mountain that was Gue Ming village.
It was the entrance to the black market, and Gu Xuanming had begun to approach wearing the skin of his victim.
Of course, he appeared a little uncanny, so he had bought himself another artifact from a nearby shop.
He also brought a robe from another shop to cover a lot of the scars on the skin, mainly his back.
“Hmm?
Another one?”
The closer he got, the more he began to feel something was off.
He appeared uncanny.
Gu Xuanming immediately got into action, throwing the spherical artifact at the man.
“Wha—”
Bang!
A flash of light enveloped his vision, blinding him briefly before the artifact went to work.
Gu Xuanming appeared before the man, and he started to act as if he hadn’t thrown the ball.
The artifact he threw was an illusion type.
It cast an illusion that removed all of the uncanniness of his appearance, making the man see him as the original unnamed man.
I also erased the memories prior by 5 seconds, so it doesn’t remember that Gu Xuanming threw the ball.
The man flipped through the drawings he was given, finding his face and nodding.
“Alright, you can enter.” The man said, smiling.
Gu Xuanming began to walk down the tunnel, following the arrows that would lead to the market.
However, he took a turn down the opposite path once he was no longer in sight of the guard.
He immediately took off the skin, changing up his hairstyle and throwing the hood over his head.
Everyone knew his face, so covering it was essential.
He then threw the skin down the path and turned back, going around the corner and continuing to follow the arrows.
The path got darker and darker, each torch getting further and further until he saw blue light.
When he reached the entrance, he found himself before a large area, with blue gems illuminating the cave.
The place was filled with all sorts of shady people and poor people.
There were also many stands that had illegal objects for sale.
Gu Xuanming smirked, walking into the place.
He could feel the gentle breeze from outside brushing against his face when he turned.
‘Pills.
Pills.
Pills.’
Glancing left to right, he was searching for pulls.
He ignored the calls of other people who wanted to sell him items.
There were nuances at the moment, but maybe he would need them when the time came.
He continued to look around until finally!
He spotted small boxes with pills inside them.
They looked rather fancy for a dark market.
He approached the stand, seeing the old woman who stood behind the counter.
“You looking for meridian tempering pills?
The cultivator had banned those, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“…yes.
Do you have any that open the meridians?”
The woman raised an eyebrow.
“Open?
You got some sort of sickness?
I know some sickness can lock your meridians, slowly killing you.”
“I am dealing with that.
Care to help me?”
The woman chuckled, reaching below her stand and pulling out another container.
She then opened the box, revealing three qi pills.
Each pill was a blue ball, oozing qi in the form of blue steam.
“How much?”
She raised her hand, revealing 5 fingers.
Gu Xuanming pulled out 5 primordial stones and threw them onto the stand, walking away with his pill box.
He was satisfied.
He got what he needed, and he intended to come back once you reached the 1st star.
After all, he’s heard that cultivators at this stage have abandoned identity of sorts.
They can freely change their appearances if they wish, change their gender, muscle mass, and everything.
As he exited the cave, the man watched him leave, not thinking for a moment.
…
Nangong Xuanhe was within the forest, looking into space as he sat atop a boar he had managed to kill despite not being in his 1st stars yet.
“To think I’m not even in my 1st stars yet, and I can do this.”
“I don’t know what this is, but this is making my cultivation and learning on par with an A-grade talent!”
Tapping the air, a jade slip had suddenly manifested in his hand.
It appeared so suddenly, with no indication of its source.
“Hmm?”
Nangong Xuanhe looked off into the distance.
He had miraculously gained far sight, allowing him to see from quite far away.
When he did, he noticed his brother, who was walking back, now wearing the original robe he was gifted.
“Brother…”
“With my new power, I swear I will defeat you!” He shouted quietly.