Zhao Ming's sword came down like a falling star, qi blazing along the blade.
Kai threw himself backward, activating Shadow Step again. The world blurred and he shifted, but this time only two feet instead of three. The technique was draining him faster than he had expected.
[SHADOW ENERGY: 87/150]
[WARNING: Ability usage exceeding current cultivation capacity]
[ESTIMATED REMAINING USES: 3-4 before complete exhaustion]
Zhao Ming's strike carved a deep furrow in the cart where Kai had been standing. Wood splintered everywhere, and one of the chained prisoners screamed as sharp pieces of debris struck him.
"Interesting technique," Zhao Ming said, his voice cold and analytical now. The initial shock was gone, replaced by a predator's focus. "But I can see it costs you. How many more times can you do that before you collapse?"
He was right, and they both knew it. Kai was burning through his shadow energy at a rate he could not sustain. A few more uses and he would be completely defenseless.
Behind Zhao Ming, the battle was going exactly as expected. Liu Jian had already taken down one guard. The young man was now clutching a deep wound in his side, his robes soaked through with blood. The other guard was retreating step by step, completely outmatched by Wang Shu's knife skills.
The driver had abandoned the cart entirely, fleeing into the safety of the forest. A smart decision.
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT]
[CURRENT SITUATION: Critical]
[ALLY STATUS: 1 guard critically wounded, 1 guard losing badly]
[ENEMY STATUS: All three at full combat capacity]
[RECOMMENDATION: Retreat immediately]
But retreating meant leaving behind potential death energy from five dying people. Two prisoners already near death, two guards about to die, and possibly the three attackers if something went wrong for them.
Kai's old business instincts fought with his survival instinct. In his previous life, he had learned when to cut his losses. But he had also learned that the biggest returns came from high risk situations that everyone else was too afraid to take.
"Brother Zhao," Kai said, backing carefully toward the edge of the cart while keeping his sword raised. "You are making a mistake. Senior Disciple Chen Yun himself assigned this transport. If it fails, there will be questions."
Zhao Ming laughed, a harsh sound in the dark. "Bandits attacked. Everyone died. These things happen on the eastern road. Chen Yun knows that. Why do you think he always sends the weakest disciples on these missions?"
[DEATH SENSE REVELATION]
[ANALYZING STATEMENT]
[CONCLUSION: This is standard practice. Chen Yun uses dangerous transports to eliminate weak disciples.]
[ADDITIONAL DATA: 7 previous "bandit attacks" in past year, all on transports with weak guards.]
The realization hit Kai like a bucket of cold water. This was not just Zhao Ming being a predator. This was a system of culling, probably with quiet approval from the sect leadership. Send the weak disciples on deadly missions, and let nature, or other disciples, remove them. The sect kept its hands clean while getting rid of dead weight.
In a twisted way, it was brutally efficient.
"So you are doing the sect's dirty work," Kai said.
"I am doing what needs to be done. The sect does not have resources for disciples who cannot cultivate properly. We are actually being merciful. A quick death is better than years of suffering as a failure." Zhao Ming's sword point never wavered. "Though I will admit, I do enjoy this part."
There it was. The line between necessary elimination and sadistic pleasure. Zhao Ming was not just removing weak disciples. He enjoyed it.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS]
[ZHAO MING: Confirmed sadist, multiple kills beyond sect's implicit approval]
[ASSESSMENT: Target justified for elimination]
[CURRENT PROBLEM: You lack the power to eliminate him]
A scream cut through the night. The last standing guard fell, Wang Shu's knife buried deep in his shoulder. The guard was not dead yet, but he was out of the fight.
"Liu Jian, Wang Shu, secure the prisoners," Zhao Ming called without taking his eyes off Kai. "I want to study our farm boy's technique a bit longer."
This was it. No more guards to distract them. Just Kai against three Foundation Building cultivators who had killed many times before.
Kai's mind raced through his options. Fighting was suicide. Running might work, but would waste the massive amount of death energy waiting to be harvested. And if he fled, Zhao Ming would hunt him down later. A witness who could cultivate could not be allowed to live.
Unless...
[SYSTEM QUERY]
[ACCESSING LOCKED ABILITIES]
[SOUL HARVEST: Requires target's death and proximity]
[SHADOW CLOAK: Requires 50 Shadow Energy, provides temporary invisibility]
[DEATH CONTRACT: Locked - Insufficient cultivation]
Shadow Cloak. Kai had seen it in his status but had not tried using it yet. Fifty shadow energy for temporary invisibility. That would leave him with only 37 for other abilities, but if it worked...
"Last chance to run, farm boy," Zhao Ming said, beginning to circle him slowly. "I will even give you a head start. Make it sporting."
Kai's hand tightened on his sword. The wounded guard was dying. His Death Vision showed the man's life force fading fast. Maybe thirty seconds left. If Kai could just survive that long...
"Brother Zhao, I have a question first."
Zhao Ming raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk before you die? I cannot tell if that is brave or stupid."
"How many disciples have you killed on these transports?"
The question made Zhao Ming pause, then smile. "You want to know how many came before you? Does it matter?"
"Just curious how long you have been doing the sect's dirty work."
"Seven transports. Fourteen disciples total, not counting the prisoners." Zhao Ming said it casually, like he was discussing the weather. "Liu Jian and Wang Shu have their own counts. We are quite efficient at cleaning up the sect's failures."
Fourteen murders. And he said it with pride.
[ZHAO MING: Confirmed multiple unjustified kills]
[TARGET STATUS: Extreme threat, justified elimination]
[DEATH POINT VALUE: 150 points]
The wounded guard's breathing stopped.
[NATURAL DEATH DETECTED]
[ABSORBING RELEASED DEATH ENERGY]
The pulse of death energy flowed into Kai like a cold wind. Not as much as the elderly disciple had provided, but still significant.
[DEATH ENERGY ABSORBED: 35 points]
[SHADOW ENERGY: 87/150 → 122/150]
Better. Not enough to win this fight, but enough to survive a bit longer.
"Did you just absorb his death energy?" Zhao Ming's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What kind of cultivation is that?"
Kai did not answer. Instead, he activated Shadow Cloak.
[SHADOW CLOAK ACTIVATED]
[SHADOW ENERGY: 122/150 → 72/150]
[DURATION: 60 seconds]
The shadows of the cart, the trees, the night itself seemed to wrap around Kai like a living cloak. It was not true invisibility, his Death Vision could still see his own outline, but his form blurred and darkened, becoming very hard to distinguish from the surrounding darkness.
Zhao Ming's sword struck the spot where Kai had been, but Kai was already moving. Not fast, but quiet, his footsteps muffled by the shadow energy surrounding him.
"Clever!" Zhao Ming called out, spinning around to scan the area. "But you cannot hide forever. Liu Jian, Wang Shu, spread out. He is still here somewhere."
The three killers began to systematically search the area. They could not see Kai clearly, but they were not stupid. They knew he could not have gone far.
Kai moved carefully toward the cart where the two chained prisoners lay. His Death Vision showed both of them fading fast. One from his earlier injuries, one from the shock and blood loss. They had minutes left, maybe less.
If he could just stay hidden until they died, harvest their death energy, maybe he would have enough power to escape properly.
"You know what I think?" Zhao Ming's voice carried clearly across the night. "I think your cultivation is death based. I have heard legends about death cultivators. Practitioners so twisted they feed on the dying. The sects wiped them out centuries ago. Too dangerous, too unstable."
He was not wrong. Death cultivation was clearly taboo in this world, considered evil or corrupted. If Zhao Ming survived to report what he had seen...
[SYSTEM WARNING]
[ZHAO MING: Has correctly identified your cultivation type]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: Critical - Cannot allow him to survive and report]
[PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATION UPDATED: Elimination mandatory, not optional]
The situation had completely changed. Before, Kai could have justified fleeing to live and fight another day. Now, if Zhao Ming escaped and told the sect about a death cultivator among the outer disciples, Kai would be hunted down and killed without question.
This had become a simple choice. Kill or be killed.
One of the prisoners stopped breathing.
[NATURAL DEATH DETECTED]
[ABSORBING RELEASED DEATH ENERGY]
[DEATH ENERGY ABSORBED: 25 points]
[SHADOW ENERGY: 72/150 → 97/150]
The second prisoner was still clinging to life, but only barely. Maybe another minute.
"Found something!" Wang Shu called from near the cart. His knife had detected disturbed shadows. "He is close!"
[SHADOW CLOAK DURATION: 20 seconds remaining]
Not enough time. Kai needed more death energy before his cloak faded, or he was finished.
Then he noticed something his Death Vision highlighted. Liu Jian, the bulky disciple, had a dark spot on his spiritual signature. Not from a new injury, but from an old wound that had never healed properly, weakened by poor treatment. His Death Vision showed it clearly now, internal damage that made his meridians unstable.
A weakness.
[TACTICAL OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFIED]
[LIU JIAN: Damaged meridians in lower back region]
[ASSESSMENT: Vulnerable to precise strikes]
[SUCCESS PROBABILITY IF TARGETED: 15%]
Fifteen percent. Terrible odds. But better than zero.
The second prisoner's breathing stopped.
[NATURAL DEATH DETECTED]
[ABSORBING RELEASED DEATH ENERGY]
[DEATH ENERGY ABSORBED: 28 points]
[SHADOW ENERGY: 97/150 → 125/150]
Power flooded into Kai just as his Shadow Cloak began to fade. He had maybe three seconds before he became fully visible again.
Three seconds to make a decision. Run or fight.
In his previous life, Kai had built his empire on calculated risks and recognizing when a situation demanded bold action. Every instinct screamed that fighting was suicide. But running meant certain death later when Zhao Ming reported him.
Sometimes the only way forward was straight through the danger.
[SHADOW CLOAK ENDING]
[SHADOW STEP: 3 uses remaining at current energy]
[RECOMMENDATION: Strike Liu Jian's weakness, then flee in confusion]
Kai burst from the shadows, his sword aimed directly at Liu Jian's lower back.
The bulky disciple spun around with surprising speed, but Kai had both momentum and the element of surprise. His blade struck true, piercing through the disciple's robes and into the damaged meridians his Death Vision had identified.
Liu Jian's scream split the night.
It was not a killing blow, but it was devastating. The damaged meridians ruptured, qi bleeding out in visible wisps of fading light. Liu Jian collapsed to the ground, clutching his back, his cultivation foundation critically damaged.
"Liu Jian!" Wang Shu rushed toward his fallen companion.
Zhao Ming's face twisted with pure rage. "You little..."
Kai activated Shadow Step, blurring backward into the cover of the forest. He could hear Zhao Ming's pursuit, could feel the killing intent blazing behind him.
[SHADOW ENERGY: 100/150]
[LIU JIAN STATUS: Critically wounded, cultivation damaged]
[COMBAT ASSESSMENT: One enemy disabled, two pursuing]
The forest was pitch black, but Kai's Death Vision showed him every root, every branch, every possible obstacle. He ran with a desperation fueled by shadow energy, pushing his weak body far beyond its normal limits.
Behind him, Zhao Ming's voice echoed through the trees. "Wang Shu, tend to Liu Jian! I will hunt the farm boy down myself!"
Good. Splitting them up improved Kai's odds, if only slightly. One Foundation Building cultivator hunting him was only a little better than three, but every small advantage mattered.
Kai ran deeper into the forest, his mind working fast. He had bought himself some time but not safety. Zhao Ming was faster, stronger, and would not stop until Kai was dead.
Unless Kai could change the game completely.
[SHADOW ENERGY: 100/150]
[CURRENT LOCATION: Eastern forest, 2 km from sect]
[NEARBY FEATURES: Old meditation caves - 400 meters northeast]
The caves. Where shadow energy was strongest, where death lingered in the very stones themselves. If Kai could reach them, maybe the environment would give him the edge he needed.
He changed direction, pushing his body toward the caves as Zhao Ming crashed through the forest behind him.
"You cannot run forever, farm boy! Your technique requires energy, and I can sense you weakening!"
Zhao Ming was right again. Kai's shadow energy was finite, and he had already burned through a large part of it. But he did not need forever. He just needed long enough to reach the caves.
The forest broke open and Kai saw the rocky outcropping ahead, the cave entrances like dark mouths in the stone. He stumbled toward them, exhaustion finally overwhelming his weak body.
[SHADOW ENERGY: 95/150]
[PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION: Critical]
[WARNING: Body near collapse]
Kai practically fell into the middle cave, the one he had used for his cultivation. Inside, the darkness was absolute, but his Death Vision showed him every detail.
More importantly, it showed him the thick concentration of shadow energy that filled these ancient stones. Energy he could draw on.
[LOCATION BUFF ACTIVATED]
[SHADOW ENERGY REGENERATION: Increased 500% while in cave]
[SHADOW ABILITIES: Enhanced effectiveness]
[HOME TERRITORY ADVANTAGE: Active]
Zhao Ming appeared at the cave entrance, his sword glowing with qi that pushed back against the natural darkness. His face was twisted with fury.
"Trapped yourself in a cave? That was a stupid move, farm boy. Now you cannot even run."
But Kai was smiling, standing in the deepest shadows of the cave, feeling the death energy of centuries flowing through the stone around him.
"Brother Zhao," Kai said quietly, his voice echoing in a strange way in the darkness. "You made a mistake coming in here."
For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crossed Zhao Ming's face.
The shadows in the cave seemed to move on their own, writhing like living things. The temperature dropped sharply. And Kai's eyes, reflecting the light from Zhao Ming's glowing sword, gleamed with something that was not entirely human anymore.
[SHADOW SOVEREIGN DOMAIN: Activated]
[WITHIN THIS SPACE, YOUR POWER IS ABSOLUTE]
[SHADOW ENERGY: 95/150 → 150/150 (Regeneration active)]
[COMBAT ASSESSMENT UPDATED: Victory probability: 67%]
"Welcome to my domain, Brother Zhao," Kai said, and the shadows lunged forward to attack.