Neither Vilkan's squad nor the mercenaries noticed the third party moving through the forest.
A presence followed them like a silent ghost.
Sogen walked beneath the canopy, his breath perfectly concealed by the Stealth Suit. Even his footsteps melted into the soil without a sound. He observed everything from a distance—like a spectator waiting for the right moment to enter the stage.
Ahead, the battle with the Ember Serpent was reaching its climax.
The enormous beast was riddled with wounds, its once-glorious crimson scales cracked and blackened. Yet its eyes still burned with savage will, refusing to yield.
Vilkan suddenly roared and shot into the air.
Spiritual energy wrapped around his fist as he descended like a falling meteor.
BOOM!
His strike smashed directly into the serpent's skull. The ground trembled. The creature convulsed, let out a final wail, and collapsed heavily into the dirt.
Silence followed.
Then—
"We won! The Ember Serpent is dead!" a mercenary shouted, laughter mixed with relief.
His joy lasted only a heartbeat.
A dagger pierced through his chest from behind.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he looked down in disbelief. One of Vilkan's men calmly pulled the blade free and let the body fall.
"Vilkan! What are you doing?!" Lasaar, the mercenary leader, roared. "Stop your men!"
He turned toward Vilkan—and his heart went cold.
Vilkan was smiling.
A smile without warmth.
Lasaar instantly understood. "Everyone, regroup! Now!"
He glared at Vilkan. "Why…? We fought together!"
Vilkan wiped dust from his sleeve as if bored. "Lasaar, don't act stupid. The deal was that you'd take the skin and scraps. At the time we needed cannon fodder, so we agreed."
His eyes turned cruel.
"But now the serpent is dead. Why would I share something so precious with insects?"
Lasaar's face turned pale. "We don't want anything anymore! Let us leave!"
Vilkan laughed.
"You should have thought of that before being greedy. Go to hell and regret it."
He waved his hand lazily.
"Kill them all."
Before his men could move—
A head flew into the air.
One of Vilkan's subordinates collapsed, blood spraying from a neck that no longer existed.
No one saw the attack.
Then another died.
And another.
Panic spread like wildfire. Some ran toward Vilkan. Some dropped to their knees begging for mercy.
None were spared.
From the shadows, Sogen watched the Dark Shadow Blade return to his hand like a loyal serpent.
So this is its true nature… In darkness, it becomes invisible even to cultivators.
His gaze was calm, almost indifferent.
Within moments, Vilkan stood alone among corpses.
"Who is it?!" Vilkan shouted, sweat dripping down his face. "Come out and fight like a man instead of hiding like a rat!"
Footsteps sounded from behind the trees.
A masked youth emerged.
Vilkan froze.
Even now—standing only a few meters away—he couldn't sense the boy's presence at all. What shocked him more was the age beneath that mask. Fifteen? Sixteen at most?
And his cultivation… was equal to his own.
Sogen tilted his head slightly. "You use people as shields, then call others cowards?"
Vilkan's expression twisted. "Naïve brat. If you had stayed hidden, you might have lived."
His aura exploded.
"D-Grade Innate Talent—Body Strengthening, activate!"
His muscles bulged, skin turning hard like forged iron.
"My defense can withstand even those a level above me. Now die!"
He charged.
Sogen's chain blade struck—only leaving a shallow cut.
Vilkan sneered and threw a heavy punch.
Sogen evaded with a single step of Heavenly Mirage Footwork.
No need to waste time.
A sword appeared in Sogen's hand.
"Solar Sword—Fourth Form: Sun Blasting Slash."
The air ignited.
Vilkan's instincts screamed. He tried to retreat—
Too late.
The blazing arc passed through him cleanly.
His body split in two, the wound edges charred as if even blood had been erased.
Sogen stared at the result, slightly stunned.
So this is the fourth form's power…
Ding!
Host has killed an Earth Realm Fifth Bottom Stage cultivator.
Rewards: 30,000 System Coins, Basic Healing Pill ×3.
"Rewards from killing cultivators as well?"
He crouched to search the corpse.
The moment his fingers touched it—
SSS-Grade Innate Talent: Everything Is Mine—Activated.
Absorbing D-Grade Talent: Body Strengthening.
A sphere of light rose from Vilkan and entered Sogen's chest.
Golden veins spread across his body. His bones creaked, muscles tightening with new strength.
Moments later, it ended.
He clenched his fist. Power surged like a deep river.
"System, show status."
Host Status
Name: Sogen Vesga
Age: 15 years, 7 months, 12 days
Powers: Cultivation Power, Spiritual Power
Innate Talent
SSS Grade – Everything Is Mine
Acquired Talent
D Grade – Body Strengthening
Passive: Body hard as rock
Active: Doubles strength & defense (30 min)
Type: Grows with cultivation
Cultivation: Earth Realm 4th Peak Stage
Spiritual Stage: Not Started
Techniques: Solar Sword Technique, Heavenly Mirage Footwork
Sogen exhaled slowly.
So I can steal the talents of the dead…
In his clan, he had never even touched a dead animal.
No wonder I never discovered it.
The surviving mercenaries watched him like they were facing a demon.
Sogen ignored them and walked to the Ember Serpent.
"Solar Sword—Third Form: Whirling Sunlight."
The head separated cleanly. He retrieved the Ember Core.
This time—nothing.
"So it only works on humans."
He glanced at the corpse. "Clever beast. Pretended to be dead, waiting to self-destruct. Without Spiritual Energy, we'd all be gone."
Ding!
Quest Completed – Ember Serpent slain.
Reward: 10,000 System Coins.
Sogen turned to the mercenaries.
"I only need the core. The rest is yours."
He paused.
"Sell it. Give compensation to the families of the dead. And leave this town quickly—the ones behind Vilkan will come."
Without another word, he stepped into the forest and vanished like smoke.