---
Chapter 6: An Assassin's Lesson
The wind was sharp that night, howling through the trees of the Bloodgrove like the whisper of ghosts.
Suzan sat alone by the dying embers of the campfire, his armor half-removed, eyes fixed on the dark horizon. His two martial souls—the Dark Soul and the Sword of Severance—had receded into his core, resting after the earlier battle. The Shadow Minion lingered silently behind him, alert but unmoving.
Then came the flicker.
A faint ripple of air—barely noticeable to anyone else.
Suzan's fingers tightened.
> [Warning: Killing intent detected.]
[System Ability Suggestion: Shadow Merge – Activate?]
> Yes.
His body went cold as the Shadow Merge took hold. Darkness enveloped his limbs, hardening his skin, enhancing his senses. His heartbeat slowed… and the world turned to shades of shadow and silver.
From behind a tree barely thirty paces away, a figure lunged—silent, swift, a Zarephian Moonblade assassin.
Clad in silk robes that bent light, the assassin moved like flowing smoke, twin daggers poised to strike at Suzan's spine.
Suzan ducked.
The blades slashed through where his head had been a heartbeat ago.
Spinning low, he swept the assassin's feet from under them. But the attacker recovered mid-air, flipping to land with catlike grace, eyes narrowed behind a silver mask.
"You're sharper than the reports say," the assassin said coolly. "That makes this more entertaining."
Suzan didn't reply. He extended a hand.
> "Devour."
His Shadow Minion shot forward like a phantom arrow, slamming into the assassin. They fought in a blur—steel clashing, shadow howling. The assassin was fast—clearly a 3-Star. But Suzan wasn't just fast anymore.
He was efficient.
As the assassin parried the minion and whirled to strike Suzan again, he stepped inside the blow. A palm to the chest. A surge of dark essence.
> [Target: Human Cultivator (3-Star) devoured.]
[Level increased: 4-Star Cultivator.]
[New Skill: Dark Sight – Permanently see in total darkness. Hidden entities revealed.]
The assassin's body went limp, drained of aura. Suzan lowered it gently to the ground.
"You tried," he said quietly. "But you were prey the moment you stepped into my shadow."
---
The next morning, Suzan and his knights returned to Elvador Keep, dragging the assassin's body behind them. The entire stronghold watched in hushed awe as the young heir—now clearly 4-Star—walked with quiet confidence through the gates.
Duke Renald met him in the war hall.
"A Zarephian Moonblade?" he said grimly, examining the corpse. "That's no scout. That's a message."
Suzan dropped a bloodied token on the table—a lotus carved from sapphire.
"The Azure Lotus," he said. "Their elite unit."
Renald's eyes darkened. "They're testing the waters. Preparing for more."
Suzan sat across from him. "Then let them come. I'll devour every spy, assassin, and chosen warrior they throw at me."
The Duke studied him for a long moment.
"You remind me of myself when I was young," Renald said. "But colder. Sharper. More dangerous."
Suzan gave a ghost of a smile. "Good. I plan to surpass you."
---
In the days that followed, Elvador Keep became a fortress. Armies were moved. Spies were captured. But most of all, Suzan trained.
Not in the traditional sense.
He hunted.
Rogue mages, bandits, and beast-tamers along the borderlands became his prey. One by one, he tracked and absorbed them. He refined his Shadow Minion until it could mimic his fighting style. He tested the limits of Shadow Merge, eventually using it in short bursts without full exhaustion.
By the end of the second week, Suzan stood at the edge of the training cliffs, shirtless under the sunrise, his aura pulsing like a black flame.
> [Level: 5-Star Cultivator.]
[Next requirement: Defeat a Mythical Beast or a cultivator of equal level.]
[Reward: Shadow Army Fragmentation – Ability to split Dark Soul into multiple entities for short durations.]
---
That evening, Renald approached him again.
"It's time," he said. "The Youth Tournament will begin in a fortnight. The empire's capital, Thalrion, awaits us."
Suzan nodded. "And the other heirs?"
"Zarephian is sending their crown princess. Vael Thorne, their Beast King's bastard son. Both rumored to have rare dual Martial Souls. Both have killed."
Suzan turned his gaze skyward.
> Let them come. Let them fight.
> I will rise over their corpses, step by step, until the world bows.
---