Chapter 121: Interlude- The Assassin
The moment that Inner Sect Disciple Chun Zeizhong had been waiting for years now, had finally arrived.
His slumber the night before had been a peaceful one, undisturbed both by the anxious dreams that had been plaguing him over the past week and signs of any intrusion in his quarters.
Yet, when he opened the first drawer of the standard issue almirah at his bedside, as had become a daily routine for the last few weeks, he discovered the reward he had been waiting for.
Oh, how he had waited for this moment, how he had struggled. Of the three original spies that had been converted to the Demonic Path, only he had not mysteriously disappeared.
The damn faceless were behind it, of which Chun Zeizhong was certain. He was grateful that the handler he had been in communications with had taken exacting precautions, mentioning not their names or even their statures in the Sect. He had known that there were two other comrades within the Heavenly Sky Sect that worked towards the same cause as him, sought the strength he so vividly desired.
Until his handler informed them that communications with the others had ceased, suspecting them to be either dead or in the midst of being convinced to give up any information they were aware of. The handler had urged caution, reminding him how close he was to fully proving his loyalty to the Demonic Sect he had been working for years now.
The handler knew much about Chun Zeizhong, more than he was comfortable with, but even then, it seemed like they did not know enough of him to deduce that it was not luck that had insured his survival, but rather, skill.
While the transition to a mortal to a cultivator had been a simple one, as he was whisked away from all he knew and for as long as he had known it in exchange for a pittance tossed out of a lord cultivators robe pocket, it had been far from an easy one. The Heavenly Sky Sect had taught him the reality of Ionea, of the brazen farce that was the Righteous Path.
The first time his hopes had been dashed had been his first attempt at the Inner Sect Exams. Having cleared the first two rounds, the third had boiled down to a simple test of combat. His opponent had been a branch family member of the Hu Family, likely the reason why he had to prove himself in the outer sect instead of directly taking admission in the Inner Sect.
Chun Zeizhong had been faster than his opponent, his control his jian a touch defter over his opponents sabre and whilst he only knew a single, basic sword style, the skill with which he employed it against his foe had outclassed the haphazard mishmash of sword skills from different styles that the Hu Family Scion had cycled through.
Even then, he had lost.
The deception was subtle, but not subtle enough to escape the eyes of two people. The Nascent Soul Elder that was presiding over the trial and Chun Zeizhong, who only sensed the nature of the treachery due to his proximity with the Hu Family Scion.
He had pushed and pushed his opponent until he was down to the last of his Qi reserves, forced into a flailing sword strike aimed to force him backwards, give the Hu Family Scion some room to cycle his Qi.
Chun Zeizhong parried the blow with a deft flick of his jian, but it was then, when his victory had been all but assured, did the change occur. The seemingly ornamental ring worn on his index finger revealed its purpose, flooding the Hu Family Scion with pure, elementless Qi.
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Forcing away that moment of hesitation, Chun Zeizhong committed to a slash with his blunted Jian with the intention of concluding the match.
His blow was batted away with an errant swipe of the Hu Family Scions sabre and then, without offering him but a moment to acclimatize, the momentum of battle shifted in the latters favor. From the jaws of defeat was reborn a rising Marayan, causing Chun Zeizhongs expression to pale as he realized that each sabre strike carried with it the same strength the Hu Family Cultivator had displayed at the beginning of the battle.
His loss was a sudden, unceremonious thing, his jian disarmed and the blunt edge of his sabre pressed against his throat in a torrential reversal. The battle had gone from a close thing to a complete loss.
He had gazed upon the Nascent Soul Elder with a flicker of hope in his eyes, only to find a pair of cold, stern eyes that met and held his gaze until Chun Zeizhong averted it in realization.
The Elder too, was from one of the legacy families.
The outcome of this battle was decided before it began.
That was the day Chun Zeizhong had learned the true nature of the Legacy Families. The terrible fact that no matter how hard, how desperately or how doggedly he pursued the path of ascension, a single wave of their hand was all that was needed to take it all away from him.
It was that bitter resentment that had festered as the same scene played out in a dozen other scenarios, until finally, Chun Zeizhong had enough.
The righteous path refused to give him a fair chance at ascension, so he turned to the demonic path.
It was said that the heavens always offered a path to survival, no matter how perilous the situation seemed. And Chen Zeizhong had found that to be true, for had it not been for the lessons the Legacy Families of the Heavenly Sky Sect had taught him, he would not have been so calm in the face of his final and most dangerous mission yet.
The closer Chun Zeizhong got to his objective, the calmer he had trained himself to be.A single misstep and it could all be taken away from him, like the Hu Family Disciple had done years ago.
A spatial ring and a blank sheet of papyrus contained both his final mission and reward.
He gingerly allowed his dagger to draw a line across his palm, watching the bloom of red beginning to pool in his now cupped palm. He allowed the blood to fall onto the blank sheet of paper and watched intently as a flicker of bright-red qi initiated the process.
Using his blood as the ink, words and letters began to form on the blank sheet of paper.
Chun Zeizhongs gaze flickered through one line after the next with razor sharp focus, before the ink stopped flowing and the words stopped forming. A moment later, blood flame consumed the letter, leaving behind not even the bitter ash.
He reached out for the spatial ring and retrieved a crimson pill from within, his gaze flashing with a dangerously obsessive look.
The message did not force him, not into the mission or into consuming the pill. However, if he consumed the pill then he would have to carry out the mission.
That only served to convince Chun Zeizhong of its authenticity.
He had to kill any one of Yao Shens disciples within the next week, the specifics of the task left up to him. That was why he liked working with the demonic path. They did not issue commands, only orders it was up to him how he wished to accomplish a task and that greatly reduced chances of his plan being leaked.
To kill a Soul Emperors disciples was no easy task, but
It was a small price to pay for the strength of a Mid-Nascent Soul Cultivator, even if it meant that he would not be able to cultivate beyond that stage.
Try not to hold this against me, O great Patriarch. Your own sect denied me the opportunity of ascension, so I sought another. Better to die free and unrestrained than bound and leashed to anothers whims, He sweetly whispered under his breath, his decision made.
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