"There are two kinds of blades in Qinghe: those that kill, and those that are seen killing."
The morning in Qinghe City began not with songbirds, but with the hiss of opening gates and the clatter of armored boots. Guards marched in loose formations, their uniforms mismatched — hired blades under local lords, bearing more rust than steel.
A curfew had ended. Rael moved with the tide.
Dust and perfume mingled. Somewhere above, laundry danced in the breeze while hawkers howled about talismans and beast oil. But Rael wasn't looking at faces.
He was watching shadows.
---
Eastern Courtyard Slums – Dustroot Clinic
Rael's ribs ached with every step. The fight with Lian had left a bruise deep under his skin, and the burning sting of blood poison still pulsed faintly in his arm despite ointment.
The clinic was nothing more than a stone hut covered in rice paper charms. A string of bones hung from the threshold — not for decoration, but deterrence.
Inside, a hunched old man stirred a black paste in a cracked jade bowl. His one eye gleamed as Rael entered.
"I smell corruption," the healer said. "Blood-borne."
Rael tossed him a strip of beast sinew and a copper bead.
"Enough?"
The old man snorted. "For that price, I'll keep you breathing. But you won't thank me for the method."
---
[Status Update – Post Treatment]
[Injury Cleansed: Mutated Blood Qi Neutralized]
[Pain Tolerance Boosted: +3% Combat Efficiency]
[Temporary Side Effect: Numbness (Left Arm – 1 Hour)]
[Passive Trait: "Bleed Resistance" – Pending Integration]
[Core Fragment Slot 1: Active (Trait expires in 71 hrs)]
Rael left the clinic with his arm wrapped and body weakened—but his mind sharper. Every strike, every scrape had taught him.
He was learning.
---
Worn Blade, Silent Steps
The city was a maze — not in its walls, but its politics. Rael had begun to understand the hierarchy.
Above him: Sect scions, merchants backed by clans, patrols with actual cultivation training.
Below him: Gutterborn, commoners with crippled roots, mercenaries too cheap for formal contracts.
And at the very bottom — those who walked the Web like him. Invisible. Disposable.
[Title Acquired: "Nameless Blade"]
[Effect: Reduces enemy alert radius by 5% in urban environments]
[Passive Skill Tree – Urban Stealth unlocked]
He moved like mist, reading lips instead of ears, studying every watcher, every pause in the rhythm of feet.
Not because he feared pursuit.
But because he was hunting again.
---
Target: Tuo Lan – Qi Stage 1, Bone Piercer Style
Tuo Lan was a brute — known for ripping out beast bones with his bare hands and embedding them in his arms. A bastard mix of body-forging and spiritual hardening.
He led the Mudbacks — a gang of low-ranked cultivators trafficking beast remains and forged blood tools.
Normally untouchable.
But a name had been whispered to Rael in the Web Registry last night. A bounty posted anonymously.
[Kill Order: Non-Public]
[Target Reward: Beast Core (Grade 2 – Ironback Ape)]
[Bonus: Forged Talisman – Martial Slot Upgrade Token]
[Special Condition: "Do not let him die cleanly."]
That wasn't just a bounty.
It was a message.
Someone wanted Tuo Lan to suffer.
Rael didn't question it.
He only asked: how?
---
Preparation – Bone Dust Trap
Rael knelt beneath a ruined shrine outside Qinghe's western waterway. There, he ground beast bone with wet ash and set it to simmer in red wax from a discarded alchemy shop.
It wasn't alchemy.
But it was smart.
[Item Created: "Bone Dust Delay Charge"]
[Effect: Causes extreme internal pain and loss of spiritual focus upon inhalation]
[Trigger: Manual / Range: 1 meter]
[Durability: One-time use]
He wrapped the charge and hid it inside a merchant's spice bag.
---
Staging the Kill – Waterway Ambush
Dusk. A storm rolled in from the east. Rain again — this time hot and slow, like sweat dripping from heaven itself.
Tuo Lan was drinking in an open courtyard beside the canal. Four gang members lounged nearby, their weapons obvious and their spiritual presence weak.
Perfect.
Rael didn't walk in cloaked. He didn't creep along roofs.
He walked in like a trader.
Bent over. Dirty satchel. Cloak smeared with clay.
[Skill Activated: Disguise (Basic)]
[Effectiveness: 78%]
[Threat Assessment: Tuo Lan – Cautious, not alarmed]
"I brought your ginger root from Lingba market," Rael said, voice hoarse.
Tuo Lan squinted, gestured lazily.
One of the gang members stepped forward, took the bag.
Rael watched.
Waited.
Snap.
The bag tore open.
Bone dust exploded.
The man coughed blood instantly.
Tuo Lan surged to his feet — but his step was slower.
Rael was already moving.
---
Combat Phase: Street Kill
[Engagement – Tuo Lan]
[Weapon: Broken Sabre – Edge Reinforced with Steel Nail Binding]
[Support Item Used: Bone Dust Charge]
[Enemy Status: Disoriented, Pain Surge – 42% Combat Efficiency]
Tuo Lan swung a spiked club in a heavy arc — but Rael was under it, rolling close, slashing upward across the man's thigh.
Blood.
Not fatal.
But weakening.
One gang member charged.
Rael kicked him in the knee — it cracked — and turned his attention back to Tuo Lan.
The brute screamed and lunged — but the pain had dulled his movement.
Rael didn't meet force with force.
He flowed.
[Severing Steps: Form II – "Redirect the Beast"]
[Qi Drain: -9]
[Enemy Impact: Redirected into Wall – Spinal Hit]
Tuo Lan collapsed.
Sputtering. Shaking.
Rael walked forward.
His hand trembling slightly from overuse. He raised the sabre.
Paused.
[Special Condition: "Do not let him die cleanly."]
He changed grip.
Turned the blade.
Pressed slowly — not through the heart.
But the stomach.
And twisted.
Tuo Lan screamed once. Then no more.
---
Loot and System Response
[Target Eliminated – Tuo Lan]
[Beast Core Claimed: Ironback Ape (Grade 2)]
[Bonus Item Claimed: Martial Slot Upgrade Token]
[Trait Available: "Bone Fortification (Lesser)"]
[Warning: Will interfere with future agility paths]
[Option: Store / Absorb / Discard]
Rael chose to store.
[System Alert: Martial Slot Upgrade Token Available for Use]
[You may now imprint a second Martial Art]
[Warning: Incompatible or conflicting paths will cause Qi Instability]
Rael exhaled.
He wasn't ready.
Not yet.
---
City Rooftops – A Name Remembered
Later that night, Rael stood over the rooftops, watching patrols sweep the lower quarters.
Somewhere across the city, the Web Registry updated itself.
Another name gone.
Another thread cut.
His thoughts weren't calm.
They burned.
"I'm not just surviving this world. I'm shaping it."
[Title Progression – Martial Strategist (Hidden Path): 2%]
[Emotional Status: Controlled / Deep Focused Anger]
[Location: Qinghe Lower Quarter – North Rooftop Line]
[Active Traits: None]
[Stored Traits: 2 | Trait Slot Expiry: 69 hrs, 18 mins]