It was late at night, and the streets were deserted. Only the rows of Magic Energy Street Lamps flickered forlornly by the roadside.
He had just left the Alchemy Department and was making his way to the apothecary. His professor and classmates had all insisted he stay the night to watch the next day’s competition, but something had been nagging at him, so he firmly refused their kind offer.
Five States City had a unique charm at night. Walking alone beneath the moonlight, he felt a growing sense of melancholy.
’I wonder if my family on Earth is doing okay?’
Gazing up at the bright moon, Feng Hao’s mind began to wander. The memories from before he’d crossed over were still vivid in his mind. He’d never had the chance to confirm whether the apocalyptic scenes from the game were real or not before he was inexplicably transported here.
The Ancient Cang Realm had two moons: one with a cold hue, and one with a warm hue. They were known as the Yin Yang Double Moon.
Because of this, the nights here were relatively bright. Combined with the scattered street lamps, the surroundings were only slightly dim.
He still had a ways to go before reaching the apothecary. Feng Hao quietly admired the night scenery, humming "Lighting the Lamps with Stars" and feeling incredibly sad.
But at that very moment, a strange shadow darted out and blocked his path.
"Who’s there?" Feng Hao asked, startled. He instinctively drew his Su Mu Dagger.
The shadowy figure turned with a sneer, revealing a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a face full of cold, venomous hatred. He wore a slightly exotic, orange-yellow robe and held a long blade, its edge glinting under the moonlight.
"I am Sha Wenwu!" the man’s voice was hoarse, thick with hatred.
Feng Hao’s expression darkened, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He hadn’t expected to be attacked so soon after receiving the warning from Sun Yaowen.
’Talk about fast retaliation, huh?’
"So you’re Sha Mingliang’s father, the City Lord?" Feng Hao asked in a low voice. As he spoke, he stalled for time, activating the distress signal from his Thief’s Mark and carefully smearing three different poisons onto his Su Mu Dagger.
Sha Wenwu didn’t notice Feng Hao’s movements. In his eyes, a mere Third-tier Mage was nothing to worry about.
"Since you know who I am, prepare to die!" Sha Wenwu exploded with rage. His long blade flared with a ghostly cyan light as he slashed at Feng Hao with unstoppable force.
BOOM!
The stone pavement shattered instantly. Despite dodging with all his might, Feng Hao was still struck by the shrapnel and shockwave from the Secret Technique’s blast, his Qi Blood plummeting by over ten thousand in an instant.
’Fuck, this Fifth-rank old bastard is too strong to fight head-on,’ Feng Hao cursed under his breath, hastily activating Black Pupils.
He used Shadow Assault to evade the follow-up attacks while swallowing a few Qi Recovery Pills, then began teleporting frantically to dodge.
With such a massive disadvantage in both movement and attack speed, his technique and footwork were rendered nearly useless. He could only rely on his Shadow Assault Secret Techniques to evade and look for an opening.
Fortunately, his Tier Five Qi Recovery Pills restored Magic Power fast enough to keep up; otherwise, he would have no way to contend with Sha Wenwu.
"Let’s see how long you can keep up that Shadow Assault!" Sha Wenwu was well aware of the technique’s high energy cost. With a cold snort, he charged his long blade and unleashed a wave of energy. The cyan arc instantly transformed into a spectral tiger that roared as it charged at Feng Hao.
Feng Hao used Shadow Assault to dodge desperately, but the spectral tiger still grazed half his body. The terrifying impact sent him flying, and his Qi Blood dropped to just over twenty thousand.
Sha Wenwu let out a manic laugh and pressed his advantage, leaping forward and slashing down to end Feng Hao’s life.
’Now!’
Just as Sha Wenwu’s blade came slashing down, Feng Hao gritted his teeth and activated Shadow Assault, teleporting behind him. He precisely slashed at the nape of Sha Wenwu’s neck with Dark Moon Slaughter. The instant the attack landed, he used Shadow Assault again to create distance, unleashing Moon Wheel Dance in a spiraling sweep toward Sha Wenwu’s vitals.
SHUK! SHUK! SHUK!
This proved that the advantage of his hidden power was significant; even against a Fifth-rank Mage, he could still inflict impressive damage.
Unfortunately, Sha Wenwu had nearly one hundred thousand Qi Blood, so this amount of damage was far from decisive.
"You cunning little brat."
Sha Wenwu sneered, turning and swinging his blade to send Feng Hao flying dozens of meters. He reached up to touch the wound on the back of his neck, his eyes filled with contempt. "Too bad your pitiful damage is nothing more than a desperate struggle."
"Is that so?" Feng Hao smiled coldly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth before tilting his head back to swallow a few Blood Recovery Pills.
In the next moment, Sha Wenwu’s expression changed drastically. The three poisons on the Su Mu Dagger had taken effect. His powerful aura instantly deflated, and his face went deathly pale.
"Your dagger was poisoned?!" Sha Wenwu bellowed, hastily channeling his Magic Power to suppress the toxins.
Unfortunately, the toxins from the Soft Bone Powder and A Little Red were incredibly potent and couldn’t be suppressed. At best, he could only slightly inhibit the weakening effects of the Ghost Stone Powder for a moment.
"Now it’s my turn to counterattack!" Feng Hao cackled, charging forward. He wielded his pair of Su Mu Daggers with masterful proficiency.
Stabbing, slicing, slashing, flicking, cutting, chopping...
By dual-wielding them in both forward and reverse grips, he maximized his attack angles and flexibility. Combined with the two Secret Techniques, Dark Moon Slaughter and Moon Wheel Dance, he quickly overwhelmed Sha Wenwu, leaving him unable to catch his breath.
"Damn it, what is this poison?" Sha Wenwu felt his body growing weaker and weaker as his Qi Blood drained away at an alarming rate.
He swung his blade, desperately forcing Feng Hao back, and used the opening to swallow a few Antitoxic Pills. Unfortunately, they had no effect.
Soon, under Feng Hao’s relentless assault, Sha Wenwu’s Qi Blood was nearly depleted. With Feng Hao’s every attack aimed at his vitals, even his life force began to wane.
The shadow of death loomed over Sha Wenwu. He’d never imagined he would fall at the hands of a level-thirty brat.
"Don’t waste your strength. No one can cure my poison but me."
Feng Hao sneered as he attacked relentlessly, steadily breaking down Sha Wenwu’s mental defenses.
Driven to despair, Sha Wenwu furiously gave up on suppressing the poison and swung his long blade at Feng Hao. "You shameless whelp, I’ll take you down with me!"
"Haha, you think you can even hit me now?" Feng Hao laughed wildly, retreating with Shadow Assault.
"Just die—!"
Sha Wenwu roared and swung his long blade with all his might, trying to kill Feng Hao. But just as his swing reached its midpoint, the sound of bones cracking echoed from within his body.
The next moment, the long blade clattered from Sha Wenwu’s hand. His arms hung limp and useless as an all-consuming pain shot through his body.
"Aaargh!" As Sha Wenwu writhed in agony, his bones began to shatter one by one until he collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed.
At that, Feng Hao finally let out a sigh of relief. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and walked coldly over to Sha Wenwu. "People who try to kill me tend to meet bad ends. Your son was no exception, and neither are you."
"You shameless whelp... you... you’ll die a horrible death!" Sha Wenwu’s face was a mask of fury as he stared daggers at Feng Hao.
"Like father, like son. Neither of you are any good."
Feng Hao gave a contemptuous smile and brought his Su Mu Dagger down with a sudden slash. With a soft *thunk*, it pierced the center of Sha Wenwu’s forehead.