Writer's Note: planned for Monday. I try to invent new ways an element can be used. Of course, I am also improving the other triplets. That way, the story gets a little more interesting.

Chapter 15: Settling Loose Ends

"You're not precise enough," Yang laughed and smashed his fist into his sister's solar plexus. She doubled over and fell to the ground, coughing and rasping for air. "It's a been a week and you still rely too much on your speed. The only good thing you've done is reach the level of Understanding Darkness."

"Did you kill your fifteen magical beast quota for the day?" Guan Hai asked as he appeared.

"Those things? Too easy," Yang laughed, his mastery of the spear clearly advanced. "What is the status of the others?"

"Sun Yi and Lu Jing entered late Spirit Forming Stage, Guo Mei reached the peak and Guo Lin is currently preapring to break into the Elemental Adept Stage," Guan Hai said. "Sima Qing already reached initial Elemental Adept," Guan Hai answered.

"No doubt, she used her resources as a daughter of the imperial. Not only that, she must be one of the emperor's children with a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo. The emperor....I forgot about him. Perhaps, in the future, the hierarchy of the palace should undergo some...changes," Yang grinned.

The next day, Yang was resting in his room when his sister burst in. Her face was pale and she was obviously wounded as he saw her bloodied arms. The veil that covered her face was ripped, but still hide her facial features.

Yang knew Mei only wore it when she had to hunt souls. Lately, she killed to collect the souls. It seemed she was plotting something with the souls. However, she was injured this time.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I was killing three homeless to devour their souls and convert it into my Spirit Realm. With enough souls, I can enter the third cultivation stage. However, I did not expect to encounter a noble who was hellbent on exacting justice. It seemed he was a uncle of one of the people who were poisoned to death. He came from out of town and thought I was the perpetrator," Mei answered.

"And he's following your blood trail here. Shit," Yang cursed. "You go bandage up and rest. Leave the idiot to me. Did anyone see you?"

"Him and four others. They are all at the Element Adept Stage and he is a forty something man at the Meteor Vessel Stage. He seemed tired from racing here from out of the continent, from what I gleamed. He is resting with the four in a luxurious manor with red tiles in the northern district," she answered and quickly left.

"Meteor Vessel plus four. There are also servants to consider. Moon Scale and Shadow Fang, we're going hunting," Yang said and the two hydras hissed and followed their master out. The two hydras followed their master as Yang willed the blood into his hand. Slowly, the blood trail formed a sphere in his hand as he followed the trail. He arrived where Mei had escaped and saw several blood stains and cracked walls and road.

He covered the whole area with water, save for around him and his hydras. He focused lightning into his feet and stomped, the lightning spreading and entering the water. Sizzling sounds were heard as the whole area was electrocuted. He breathed at the water and it froze, shattering into countless pieces as he snapped his fingers.

Whatever evidence there was only existed in the blood sphere floating above his free hand. Very few were capable of what he did due to his Understanding of the Elements. He also had his hereditary memories and his own centuries of memories.

He condensed the blood sphere, hardening it until it became a metal ball of blood. He opened his mouth and the spirit energy seemed to drain from the blood ball. It slowly shriveled and vanished as it lost all its spirit energy. The blood from the area, before he destroyed the evidence, did not only contain her blood. It seemed his sister wounded one of the four near the noble.

This was good because he had the man's blood. Fresh blood of a practitioner was different to magical beasts. They could memorize and track the spirit energy signature of the person whose blood was lost. He ran through the streets, killing a guard who saw him and left the corpse to his hydras as he arrived in front of the red-tiled house. The hydra appeared a few minutes later while he was lost in thought of how to proceed.

"Master," the hydras said as they dipped there heads and saw Yang grin.

"Take these vials and throw them in every window you see. Do not break the vials in your mouths," Yang warned.

"What do the vials do?" the hydras asked.

"Some are contain itching powder, some contain gases that cause you to cry uncontrollably, some cause paralysis, and most kill," Yang answered as he made dozens of vials appear before them. "Go nuts."

Yang rushed into the front yard as the vials flew in the air. He teleported behind each guard and beheaded them before they could notice. Not even the maids and servants outside the house were spared as he watched the vials break through the windows.

Crashing and screaming began to resound and Yang spread out his spirit energy over the house. Soon, mirrors of light appeared as sweat poured down his brow. The mirrors began to vibrate and all sounds were cut off from the outside. The mirrors slowly merged to form an invisible dome over the house. His hydra stopped flinging vials as they ran out and quickly ran to their master's side.

"Breathe your poison inside and send your spirit energy into me to seal the dome," Yang ordered and the hydras released toxic purple fumes from their mouths into several holes that appeared before their heads. The poison could not escape the dome and entered the house through the broken windows. The hydras began to pour their spirit energy into Yang as the dome shrunk and forced the poisonous fumes inward.

"Fuck. Not lethal enough," Yang cursed as he sensed one man inside manifest spirit energy. The house shook and exploded as a bleeding man appeared from the explosion and cracked the dome with his two swords. yang and his hydras were sent flying after the man struck the dome three more times, shattering it.

"Get rid of the poisons and the bodies. I'll handle the Meteor Vessel practitioner," Yang ordered and raced toward the man with his Moon Lotus Spear in hand.

"You runt! You challenge me at your cultivation?" the man roared and his two swords clashed with Yang's spear. Yang felt his arms numb as he was sent back ten steps as he crashed backwards.

"Hmph. Just wait until one particularly nasty vial's effect takes hold," Yang muttered as he readied his spear. He teleported around the man, stabbing and slashing with his spear. He paused momentarily as the man missed and stomped his feet, tiny spikes of earth appearing and piercing the bottom of the man's feet.

"Fuck," the man cursed and was about to leap back when Yang used his Paralysis Mist Breath Art. The man breathed some of the poisonous mist and felt his muscles slow down. Yang took opportunity to use his Moon Slicer Art to create more wounds. He lowered himself into a stance, covering his spear with rock. He leapt forward using lightning to increase his speed.

"Stone Breaker Art, explode!" Yang roared as he exploded the rock around the spear as he hit the man square in the chest. The man screamed as the rock fragments pierced his chest in multiple places. Yang tossed aside his spear and grabbed the man's arm, twisting it. The man cried out as his back was turned and Yang put his free hand on the man's head.

"Coiling Spirit Drain Art," Yang growled and started to drain the spirit energy of the man. He quickly released his hand only to use his other hand as the man frantically swung his arm backwards. Before the man leaped back, Yang did a push kick and then a sweep kick to knock the man to the ground.

Yang used the Stone Breaker Art around his feet and jumped on top of the man, impaling him with his feet that have turned into two lethal spears of stone.

"Impossible," the man said as he realized he could not recover his spirit energy over time.

"The more you bleed, the more spirit energy you lose. With the vial I made, it kills off your access to your Spirit Realm. That is why you lost," Yang said as he mocked the man. Yang coughed blood. He knew it was a result of straining his body. "Tonight, you are the first I kill with this technique."

Lightning crackled around his left hand as ice began to cover Yang's fingers. Yang grinned evilly and a lance of ice appeared in his hands. The very air sizzled as lightning and ice fused into one, a jade mist of poison appearing. The man's eyes widened as Yang stabbed the lance into the man, pinning him into the ground with the two spears of rock.

This time, the man did die from being impaled as the ice lance pierced the center of his chest. The poison then began to act, actually devouring him cell by cell.

"This art is one using bacteria poison, poison that targets the very cells. The more powerful you are, the faster the poison spreads as it uses your own spirit energy to kill you. All I need to do is nick you once. I leave the two pieces of rock and the ice lance as a message. That and your your wrecked house," Yang spat and walked away as all the flesh, bones, hair, and skin were destroyed. Even the man's clothes were destroyed.

"Master," the hydras hissed as Yang fell to his knees. He had used too much spirit energy to make the dome and received internal injuries when it shattered. His hydras were also distributing their spirit energy into him. The forcefully broken distribution also injured him further.

"Cover the ground with your acid Moon Scale," Yang said as he rode Shadow Fang. Moon Scale not only had poisonous fumes, half of its heads could spit acid. Moon Scale covered the ground with its poison, dissolving the ground to reveal the soil and dirt beneath. Whatever blood and sweat could be found were destroyed.

"Yang," Mei cried as she saw her brother appear in the grounds, his face pale and with shirt breath.

"It is finished. They're all dead. No witness live to tell the tale of your deeds tonight," Yang rasped. "I need time to recover. No one ids to disturb me tomorrow."

"I'm sorry. I messed up," Mei said.

"What were you planning with their souls?" he asked.

"I wanted to make a cage with their souls. I gathered enough by collecting a thousand souls. Grandma told me about it. That's why I killed so many. Most of the souls were kept away so the Eye of Darkness's hunger for souls was always barely sated," she answered.

"A beast only becomes more dangerous when it is trapped in a cage," Yang warned.

"I know. That is why grandmother is buying materials for a forbidden ritual she read about. It will pit my soul against the eye and only one of us will remain. If I win, the Eye only becomes a catalyst for my growth without any side effects. If I lose, the Eye of Darkness will takeover but is limited by my cultivation due to the cage. It can easily be slain then," Mei answered. "With the Eye subdued, there is no question I will surpass you."

"But I have a neidan that also stimulates my poison cultivation," Yang thought and smiled.

"I'm guessing you won't need to kill others anymore?" Yang grinned.

"No, but I imagine it won't be me on a killing spree from now on," Mei said. "Grandma does not believe I will ever surpass you. Even mom and dad no longer lie to me and said the same to my face, and I don't know why," she said.

"Best you don't find out. I already scare you. You don't want nightmares for the rest of your life. Believe me, the secret is that terrifying," Yang laughed and ordered his hydras to retreat to his room.

"What is Yang hiding?" Mei thought as she watched him and his hydras disappear.

"Mei?" Lin frowned as he appeared a while later. "Are those bandages under your sleeves?"

"I was injured. I'm fine. Ensure Yang does not get disturbed. He expended too much spirit energy. I imagine he was inventing a new practitioner art," she answered.

"He is a genius," Lin agreed. "I wanted to tell him that I can fuse fire and earth to make lava now. The gap in power is only widening big sister."

"Not for long," she smiled and left Lin alone.

"Did she not wonder why I came out? Did she not notice I am an initial Elemental Adept now?" Lin sighed. No one had noticed a man silently observing from the start. It was precisely the retired imperial guard captain: Guan Hai. He quickly left and appeared in Shen Hua's room, Shen Dong and Sima Qing already there.

"Guan Hai reports to the Little Majesties," Guan Hai said as he knelt on one knee.

"Report," Shen Dong said.

"Yes, Prince Shen Dong. Guo Yang has indeed mastered his spear, fully integrating it with his element arts perfectly. He and his two hydras destroyed the residence of the man who witnessed his sister kill someone. As per your instructions, I ensured no reports reached the officials," Guan Hai said.

"Also, his poison arts seemed to become even more cruel and lethal. They now target cells and can destroy the body utterly and completely. He defeated and killed the man in the initial Meteor Vessel Stage," Guan Hai reported.

"So my guess was wrong. Guo Yang was not the one killing the homeless," Shen Hua said.

"Yes, cousin. However, Guo Yang should be the one who poisoned the entire closed off section of the city. There should be no doubt now," Sima Qing agreed.

"There's more. This is something that should interest you three," Guan Hai said.

"Speak," Shen Dong ordered.

"I saw the girl, Guo Mei, collect souls," Guan Hai reported, stunning the three royals.

"A soul reaper? That's impossible. All the fragments of the Elemental Sovereign of Darkness are either sealed or absorbed by the powerful clans in secret. The only one unaccounted for, besides the Heart of Darkness is..." Shen Dong began.

"The Left Eye of Darkness, the eye which was the first to develop a sentient mind of its own. Well, it is the only Eye of Darkness as it assimilated the Right Eye before it disappeared. It also contains knowledge of where the other Fragments of Darkness are sealed," Shen Hua finished.

"If that's true, she is one of the two unaccounted practitioners with a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo!" Sima Qing concluded.

"What are your orders?" Guan Hai asked.

"You're not reporting to father?" Shen Dong asked.

"No. I and my clan owe our lives to Concubine Li. She is your mother, so I owe my life to you. I am also retired. I have no reason to report to the emperor," Guan Hai said.

"Aunt is a powerful practitioner who is the only concubine to reach the Earth Mortal Stage," Shen Hua agreed. Of her uncle's concubines, only Concubine Li treated her like family. It was why she asked to accompany Shen Dong and became part of the emperor's plans.

"What about you, sister. We have different mothers," Shen Dong asked Sima Qing.

"If news gets out, only chaos will roam the land as everyone will attempt to attain the Fragments of Darkness. News spreading will only hasten the apocalypse," Sima Qing answered.

"Great. Now we have to watch all three triplets," Shen Dong sighed.

"True, but now we can enlist their add and making you the new crown prince will be easier," Shen Hua said.

"Eldest brother is the crown prince but a perverted, fat ass. As for Second Brother, he has a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo but he is too violent and bloodthirsty, aiming to conquer the world. However, both are father's choices to replace him for when he becomes a Sky Mortal and focuses on his cultivation to immortality," Shen Dong agreed.

"They cannot be allowed to replace the emperor. Perhaps the cunning of Guo Yang will assist us. If we provide the necessary incentives, he will comply. However, we must expect to follow even the most ridiculous and harmful methods and give him complete trust," Guan Hai said.

"Yes, and that scares me the most. However, for the empire; those two cannot be candidates for the throne," Shen Dong agreed.