"In this city, even silence has a price."
Qinghe did not sleep.
Not truly.
Even in the dark hours before dawn, the alleys pulsed — with whispered deals, silent steps, muted sobs. Somewhere a jade flute played a haunting tune, blending with the hiss of steam and the creak of pulley lifts hauling dyed silk bolts up tower balconies.
Rael walked among them like a ghost.
His breath slow, shallow.
[Qi: 63 / 100]
[Status: Slightly Injured – Rib Contusion]
[Weapon Technique Progress: Severing Steps – 32%]
[Trait Expiry: "Situational Improviser" removed]
[No permanent traits gained.]
His blade, broken at the edge, was wrapped tightly in coarse linen and slung over his shoulder. With his cloak hood pulled low and his body language honed, he passed unnoticed between clusters of beggars, shop runners, and low-tier cultivators waiting for work.
He wasn't searching for food.
He was searching for names.
---
East Web Pavilion – Shadow Registry
Beneath Qinghe, older than its painted gates, was the Web.
A network of old smugglers, disbanded sects, fallen assassins, and debt-bound cultivators.
And at its heart: the Registry.
A record of names that mattered.
Rael stood before a rusted door behind a butcher's stall. The alley reeked of fish entrails and goat blood. The only marking was a crimson string tied to the door handle — invisible to mortals, burning faintly to those who cultivated.
He knocked.
Three short. One long.
Silence.
Then a voice:
"Name."
"Rael."
"Lineage?"
"None."
"Coin?"
Rael dropped a pouch — half-filled with beast sinew, some bones from the swamp toad, and the cracked core of the wild hound he'd slain.
Silence again.
Then:
"Accepted."
[Web Access – Tier 0 Clearance Granted]
[You may now view unclaimed missions, bounties, and dueling invitations below Qi Stage 2.]
[Caution: Failure to complete missions may result in body forfeiture.]
---
Inside the Registry
Dim oil lamps. Thick paper scrolls bound with red twine. A young girl with silver-threaded eyes sat behind the ledger, her voice mechanical.
"Three options match your skill level."
Rael stepped forward.
"Read them."
---
1. Mission: Escort Silk Loom Cart
Client: Yao Family
Task: Escort cart to Qinghe East Gate
Pay: 2 Spirit Coins
Risks: Potential robbery by street clans
Time Limit: 1 hour
Status: Low prestige, minor reward
2. Duel Invitation: Yan Fei – Qi Stage 1
Terms: Public bout at Third Bell Square
Wager: Winner claims loser's technique scroll
Status: Open to challengers
Condition: Duel must end within ten moves
3. Assassination Contract: "Spider Fist Lian" – Cultivator, Stage 1
Task: Eliminate target in Outer Threads Quarter
Reward: 7 Spirit Coins + bonus for swift kill
Warning: Marked as unstable. Uses mutated blood qi.
---
Rael stared at the third entry.
Spider Fist Lian.
[Estimated Combat Threat: Medium–High]
[Special Traits: Unstable blood aura, limb mutation]
[Expected Reward: Weapon upgrade possible]
[Risk Factor: 63% Death if unprepared]
He tapped the parchment.
"I'll take this one."
---
Outer Threads Quarter – The Hunt Begins
Rain.
Not the gentle kind. Hard, needle-thin spears of water that turned alleys into rivulets and made every tile groan under the weight of sky.
Rael crouched beneath an overhang.
Spider Fist Lian was a name. A curse. A tale that scared drunk cultivators and made the street whores bolt their doors before midnight.
Lian wasn't strong by realm standards.
But he was fast.
Erratic.
And worse — he'd consumed beast blood.
Rael studied the man's habits from afar. A half-day of stalking, silent movement, no disturbances.
[Trait Gained: Hunter's Patience (Temporary)]
[+10% First Strike Success Rate for Stealth Engagement]
[Duration: 3 hours]
He caught Lian in an abandoned silk steaming house — the cultivator hunched over a brazier, muttering nonsense, his arms swollen with black veins, claws twitching from mutated fingertips.
One wrong move, Rael knew, and he wouldn't survive.
So he didn't attack.
Not yet.
He waited.
Waited for the breath between madness and calm.
Then moved.
---
Assassination – Combat Phase
[Assassination Initiated – Lethal Terms]
[Opponent: Spider Fist Lian – Qi Stage 1, Blood-variant]
[Weapon: Bone Sabre (Cracked Edge)]
[Modifier: Surprise Strike]
Rael dropped from the rafters.
His foot met Lian's shoulder.
The blade followed — low, slashing for the throat.
But Lian twisted, roaring, eyes wild.
His clawed hand scraped Rael's arm — a burning sting spread immediately. Corrosion.
Rael fell back, rolled, struck again — not for power.
For redirection.
[Severing Steps Activated]
[Strike Redirected – Energy Flow Broken]
[Qi Depletion: -11]
His second strike caught Lian's hip.
A burst of foul blood hissed into the air.
But Lian didn't slow.
He bellowed — mouth splitting unnaturally wide — and charged.
Rael took the impact full force, slammed into a brazier, felt fire on his shoulder.
He gasped, nearly dropped his blade.
And then — instinct.
He didn't block.
He moved.
One final arc, as the scythe inside him surged.
[Unyielding Scythe Root – Pulse Triggered]
[Attack: Decisive Cut]
[Target Vitality – Severed]
Lian froze mid-lunge.
Blood burst from his throat in a quiet mist.
He crumpled.
Dead.
---
[Kill Confirmed – Spider Fist Lian (Blood Mutated)]
[Core Extracted: Partial Blood Qi Variant]
[Trait Eligible: Blood Sense (Pending)]
[Warning: Blood Sense degrades sanity over long-term use]
[Choose to absorb, store, or discard]
Rael sat in silence.
His arm burned.
His ribs ached.
But he was alive.
He chose to store the trait.
[Trait Stored in Core Fragment]
[Degradation begins in 3 days if not used]
[Weapon Upgrade Available – Option Triggered]
---
Return to Web Registry
He dropped the head in a blood-stained cloth.
The girl behind the desk blinked.
"Seven coins," she said.
"And the bonus?"
She slid him a steel ring.
Not ornate.
Just engraved.
[Item: Bloodbane Ring]
[Effect: +4% Resistance to Mutated Qi | Hidden Slot: 1 Passive Trait]
[Binding: Requires one successful assassination to attune]
Rael pocketed it.
He didn't ask questions.
---
That night, beneath the broken kiln roof, he sat with the burning scroll open beside him and the Bloodbane Ring in his palm.
He didn't smile.
But his eyes flickered.
[Qi: 41 / 100]
[Mental State: Calculating / Focused]
[Weapon Art Progress: 43% – Severing Steps]
[New Path Unlocked: Martial Path of Execution | Optional Title: "The Silent Thread"]
[Status: Unknown / Unclaimed by Any Sect]
The city slept.
But Rael?
He planned.