"Well... Here I am."

When the assassin heard these words, he could not help but gulp in fear. The implication behind this unseen man's speed was simply unfathomable.

​​

To be able to arrive at his blind spot without him getting a sniff of when and how that happened was absolutely ridiculous! This assassin should know because he was a master in the arts of hiding.

And a pretty accomplished one at that!

This kind of thing just doesn't happen unless there was a huge gap in strength or this unknown master has used some kind of advanced concealing technique beyond that of his understanding.

'Fight or flee!' the assassin thought briefly. There was really no reward to be had for any heroics or useless shenanigans he might do if that would culminate in him losing his life for it.

That would be funny for him to do because he was an expert assassin who loved slaying his targets as they sleep. To be a warrior and face a foe head on was definitely not one of his strengths.

Especially not against someone who was clearly more powerful than our poor assassin.

'FLEE!' the assassin dashed to the left, away and beyond the reach of the mysterious master at his back.

The assassin's steps were heavy and gone was the cover of silence that he had meticulously applied ever since his arrival.

After all, what mattered most right now was to get away as fast as he possibly can.

The floors echoed loudly and some were even wrecked along his path. It could be judged from this alone on how this measured panic had increased the adrenaline rush in this assassins movements.

"Oh? You are a runner after all. And here i thought that you could at least serve as my good sparring partner for tonight." Clark taunted as he saw the quickly escaping black shadow assassin.

He was calm though because he knew that no rat can totally run away from his eyes.

"BANG!" a sorry figure of a man bounced back as if it hit something so hard against its passage.

A few inches more and this pitiful soul could have almost exceeded 30 feet away by doing one of the assassin's signature high jump which could have take him outside the influence of Clark.

But alas, it was all for naught because an invisible force has flattened him back unto the very earths that he wanted to escape from.

"HAK!" the assassin spit dust and coughed blood in the ounces. He felt that he may have suffered an internal bleeding just from that one attack alone.

In fact, he was sure of it with every hard breath he took.

"HAK!"

"HAK!" he exhaled his lungs out and there was more even more blood in result to his efforts. Although he appeared not worse for wear when he arrived but it was an entirely different matter on the inside.

He was badly injured! The man looked at the place he once crouched upon and witnessed for the first time the target that he was tasked to finish.

'What in the hairy balls of Suyan is this?!' The assassin cursed using the famous name of the God of Beggars.

He had seen a colored sketch of Lu Chen and the details matched perfectly except for the fact that the current person who stood opposite him now has turned much younger than what was portrayed in the painting he had on his pockets.

'I hate it when the information is faulty to begin with. It makes the job a little more difficult than necessary.'

The assassin grumbled wordlessly and took his time to recover well in the grace period that he was freely given.

And it did not take him long to conclude a glaring truth that he definitely did not expect since taking this job.

"It's seems that this may very well be my last dance with death." The assassin whispered after his loud coughing stabilized. He gazed intently at the foe that cornered him still even to this very moment.

The assassin could not feel any surge of spiritual essence from the young man, a boy really, and that only meant one of two things.

Either the boy was an ordinary mortal that has not began to practice any cultivation methods yet or this boy was way way out of his league.

The latter opinion was perhaps the most probable reason behind this enigmatic boy's appearance. 

'No. Not a boy... but a monster!' The assassin nodded in conclusion. He stood and smiled excitedly at his opponent. He was a person who had killed thousands of people already.

He did not care if his victims were innocents or not because for as long as he can sate the bloodlust in him, that fact alone was enough.

If he would die here then it would be a long overdue visit for justice to finally make him pay for his sins. 

"But it's not over yet. I can still live through this!' the assassin encouraged himself one last time.

Since he could not escape the quick eyes of his supposed prey and at the same time, it would also be suicide to take a frontal engagement against the Lu Chen of today then it was a smart option to create some clever opportunities instead.

"WHOOSH!"

"WHOOSH!"

"WHOOSH!" Three daggers made their way towards their targets and a second later, the number of corresponding lantern lights exploded on the scene.

The assassin would no doubt wished that he had brought more daggers along this unhealthy expedition tonight but it was no use because reality was ever unforgiving to the unprepared.

Only one corner in the courtyard was diffused of its light but this was more than enough for the brave assassin to try once more.

He sprinted towards the safety of this inky darkness for the second time tonight.

"You are stubborn, i give you that. But that still wouldn't be enough for you to escape with your life intact." Clark shook his head in disappointment. 

He would have liked to fight happily against this deadly assassin in one engagement or two so that he could take stock of his strengths but his expectations has failed him, yet again.

'Nah, in the end, it doesn't even matter. I could always play later I suppose.' Clark smiled and made a grasping motion with his left hand.

"BOOM!" a body who attempted to jump over the courtyards was repelled mercilessly from the sky. The explosion was huge and deafening.

"CREAK!" even multiple hard bones could be heard breaking from this impact alone.

And since this had happened two times already it would be a no-brainer that people from the household has heard of the commotion at this time.

More than that, news of this would spread like wildfire in the city especially when one never truly slept in this kind of world.

Well, at least this was true of them cultivators who wished to fight against the will of heaven.

"Better to end this early. It would not be good if anyone would know that i could easily apprehend a 5th Stage Mortal Shedding Realm already." Clark muttered. This assassin was a level 5 cultivator!

A class that belonged to the 13 strongest clan leaders of Nexus city already. So it was indeed not on Clark's best interest to get revealed long before he wanted to appear in the eyes of the masses.

A recently immovable figure disappeared and when it materialized once more, it was already upon the downed body of a broken man.

"PUCHI!" another heart was crushed that in turn reaped the life of one person in this cold dark part of the world. Still, there was no assurance at all that the dead shall remain dead after its sad passing.

"Corpse Resurrection." a barely audible voice whispered and after that, a man in dark clothing stood in subservience towards the new master that has called it back to life.

"Hide for now." Clark addressed his fresh summon.

"As you wish, master." the nameless assassin muttered and from his voice alone, it could be perceived that this new undead was already too old beyond his time.

Alas, this little detail mattered not because from tonight onward, time shall not anymore diminish this man's body and mind. He will stand tall along the passage of time because of this cursed magic.

"Now since that's done. All i have to do is wait." Clark said and stayed exactly where he stood.

But there was one thing that he needed to do first to assure that his identity continued to remain hidden as it was.

"Convert my spirit stones to shop points, Nancy. And please help me purchase that item." Clark requested to his handy system cheat.

He had already consulted with Nancy earlier tonight but delayed the purchase because he was judging whether to buy a magical item or a cultivation technique that would conceal his true cultivation realm.

Eventually, he decided to pick the best between the two even if it was prized a little bit too heavy for his current wealth of spirit stones.

"Affirmative, host. You have 31,500 spirit stones at the moment...

Converting spirit stones to shop points...

Congratulations, host! You now have 3,150 shop points!

Purchasing advance cloaking device...

Exchange successful!

You now have 150 shop points left, host. Thank you for making use of the system shop!" Nancy replied cheerfully.

"My 30,000 spirit stones... gone just like that." Clark wanted to cry on the spot.

He touched the necklace that magically materialized from out of nowhere and knew for a fact that the deal has indeed been finalized.

"But it was a good buy after all. If i had chosen a cultivation technique instead, it would have cost me 10 million spirit stones to have something of the same effect."

"And this little cute thing could even fool a True Immortal!"

"This is definitely a wise exchange!" Clark convinced himself but that did not mean at all that it did not hurt. He mused in silence and caressed the gold intricate designs of the magical necklace.

The necklace was already hanging on his body but he did not like this placement at all.

'It is too obvious! I should hide it somewhere else on my body!'

'A bracelet?'

'Nope!'

'An earring?'

'Still can be seen plainly. So... no.'

'Teeth braces?'

'Too advanced!' 

'Now where shall i put it instead?' Clark mused briefly. Five breaths was all it took before a brilliant idea came unto his mind.

"Can i change the form of this treasure, Nancy?"

"Affirmative, host. Almost all items sold in the system has this innate ability to change form at will."

"Good. Good." Clark smiled. He knew that his plan could be implemented smoothly.

"I want you to put this thing on my..." Clark said the last word using only his mind.

"Are you sure, host?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Do it now, Nancy." Clark confirmed.

"Affirmative, host."

"BOINK!"

"Hummphhhh!" Clark almost passed out from the tight pressure in his lower extremities.

"Na na na Nan cy... lo lo lossen it a bi bbbit... pupppp lleasseee..."