"Why aren't you talking? Don't tell me you forgot how?" I mocked, making sure my voice dripped with contempt as I looked down at him—like he was a piece of shit on the road.

In the heat of the moment, he attack me.

I stepped aside, and the blade cut through empty air.

He didn't stop.

A second strike came immediately, then a third—wide arcs that would have been deadly against anyone else.

But my reflexes were too fast; there was no way he could hit me.

"You look pathetic right now."

"You…" he hissed through clenched teeth, eyes flashing as he struggled to use his ability, and hide his presence.

Finally, it worked. He completely vanished from my sight.

clang!

I met his dagger with my own, and once again he looked surprised that I was able to read his attack like an open book.

Poor guy—he didn't realize that the reason he was struggling was because he foolishly revealed his power in the past.

"You might be able to fool my eyes and other senses, but you can never fool reality. And in reality, your body still exists within this very rooftop."

Qi resonance didn't just let me see him. It let me see everything.

No concealment. No trick. Not even an ant could slip past my perception.

In this state of deep focus, every small disturbance within my range registered in my mind, and my body reacted on its own—far faster than conscious thought.

He launched more attacks at me, but in the end, it was all useless attempt. His combat style lacked the finesse and discipline of true martial arts.

This was why cultivation was a more stable form of power in the long run.

Abilities relied on what you were given.

Cultivation relied on what you earned.

And when the gap between those two grew wide enough, no amount of power could bridge it.

I tilted my head slightly, watching his confidence crumble in real time.

"What a boring fight," I let my words drift out on a sigh. "Is this really the quality of Darkness members ?"

I yawned.

He mistook it for an opening, and drove his dagger straight at my chest , air screaming as he poured everything he had into the thrust.

Big mistake. I was done playing around.

I flicked my wrist and swatted his arm aside like it was a fly, not a deadly attack. The impact twisted his body off-balance—and before he could recover, my palm cracked across his face.

smack!

He tumbled to the ground, my palm leaving a red pattern across his face.

Not learning his lesson, he stood up gain, only for my palm to meet his face for the second time.

On his third attempt, his speed doubled in an instant. He lunged towards the rooftop exit, but I was already there—catching him by the neck and hurling him back to the center.

To normal humans, he would be very fast.

But compared to me?

The gap was too wide.

It was the difference between a heavyweight champion at his peak—and a newborn who hadn't even learned how to crawl.

"Tell me," A faint smirk played on my lips, "did you honestly think you could outrun someone near the speed of sound?"

All he could do was glare, fingers pressing at his neck, still sore from where I had nearly crushed it.

By now, he realized he got no way of winning. I saw him reaching for his phone, probably to call for help, but when he glanced, there was nothing.

"Looking for this?" I asked mockingly.

"Give it back!" he shouted.

"Is that it?" I asked, hint of disappointment slipping into my voice.

"You talked a big game during my guild announcement. For a second, I thought you might actually have a celestial weapon to make up for that embarrassing lack of firepower."

His jaw tightened, pride screaming louder than his pain.

"If that's everything you've got, then I'll end your life here."

I let the silence stretch. Let the wind fill the gap.

Then my lips curved into a knowing smile, as if a new thought had just occurred to me.

I crouched slightly so we were eye level.

"Give me information on Darkness. Their structure, their contacts, how they operate. Do that, and you walk off this place alive."

He swallowed hard, eyes darting as if weighing his options, then forced a laugh—a laugh that tried to sound fearless but faltered halfway through.

"Mr. Mercer. I'll admit it. You hid your power far too well."

He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, straightening just enough to look defiant.

"But do you really think killing me is wise. If I don't make it back alive, Darkness will burn your guild to the ground."

I didn't move. Didn't so much as blink. I simply looked at him—like he was a fool for even trying to bluff his way out of this.

"You think I'm afraid of Darkness? If they come after me, I'll make sure that they regret it." I grabbed him by the head and lifted him off the ground.

My grip tightened just enough to make the point. "You're not even worth remembering."

His body started trembling, his confidence collapsing completely.

"Now," I said coldly, increasing my grip, "tell me everything I want to know about Darkness. Start from the beginning:"

Just as I thought things were going my way, I heard a click from his mouth.

Seconds later, he swung at my head, awkward as his stance was. I barely saw it coming, and even after blocking, it sent me five steps back.

"Oh, so you still have something up your sleeve."

He clenched his fist, and his teeth ground together so hard that they started cracking and falling out.

crack!

My eyes narrowed as I watched his skin darken, the color draining into a dull, earthen brown.

It spread fast, his flesh drying, hardening, splitting apart like cracked desert mud under a merciless sun.

crack!

Thin fissures crawled across his body, glowing faintly orange.

When the transformation settled, what stood before me was no longer fully human.

He grew bigger and his body covered in thick, cracked skin. He looked heavy and slow, like a walking slab of stone barely holding together.

I almost laughed.

Then he took a step.

The ground snapped beneath his foot, and in the blink of an eye the distance between us vanished. One moment he was there—the next, right in front of me.

I summon my weapon on instinct. His first strike came down like a hammer, and I barely managed to block it.

clang!

My feet left the ground as I stumbled back another five steps, arms still trembling from the force of the blow.

Whatever he drank before must have triggered this.

"You think popping some shady drugs is gonna win this for you?"

Breathing deeply, I decided to get serious and end the fight as soon as possible.

He threw another punch, but I easily ducked under it. I followed with a powerful punch in the abdomen that made him squirm, then an uppercut, a jab, and a hook, each strike flowing into the next.

I heard the sound of bones cracking under my fist, and it only pushed me to punish him further.

Blow after blow landed as I ran my combos on him, until he finally caved in, kneeling on the ground, panting and vomiting green blood.

The number of liver shots he took should've killed him many times over, which only showed how durable his body became.

"I'll give you one last chance to answer my questions, so choose carefully—this will be your final warning," I warned.

His eyes flashed white.

I felt it immediately—my ability slipping past his mental defenses for the first time.

Still, I didn't lower my guard down.

I checked him for any trace of external interference, letting my Qi sweep through his body.

There it was.

A foreign mark filled with unknown energy lodged deep in his temple.

A failsafe.

If he talked too much, it would detonate and blow his head off. Like what happened to Daniel.

I didn't know what would trigger it. A word. A name. A thought.

So it was safer to erase it completely.

I adjusted the flow, threading my Qi around his temple, tightening, tightening—

thud!

The detonation ripped through his head. His skull erupted from within, and I was left staring at yet another headless corpse.

'Damn it. What an annoying self‑destruct ability.'

I tossed the corpse onto the ground without ceremony.

Shadows peeled off my feet and surged forward, slicing through flesh and bone in silent arcs. In seconds, there was nothing left worth calling a body.

Just scraps.

Reporting the incident would be a hassle I didn't need. Paperwork. Questions. Eyes I didn't want on me yet.

Moreover, his disappearance would buy me more time than outright reporting that he was already dead.

I talked big about being ready for the darkness, but that was just me intimidating him.

[DING!]

[Prerequisite Fulfilled: Eliminate a Direct Member of Darkness]

[Repeatable Mission Unlocked: Earn points by killing members of Darkness according to their star level.]

One Star: 1 Point

Two Star: 2 Points

Three Star: 3 Points

Four Star: 4 Points

Five Star: 5 Points

Special Star: 10 Points

[Points can now be used to purchase items from the System Store.]

I stared at the glowing notification, and smile. Finally, my system was acting a bit more generous, and the appearance of the Store couldn't have come at a better time.

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