Three months later, Jasper Cole had all but forgotten what "rest" felt like.
Inside the Cultivation Tower, he had been "killed" more times than he could count. The trials kept escalating until he finally hit a hard wall at Bronze Tier, Rank 7—no matter what he tried, he couldn't push past it.
Lord Lin had been thoughtful in his own way. On the second day, he realized he'd never given Jasper a proper weapon. Someone arrived with a new short sword: a Bronze Tier, Rank 7 blade called the Lazuli Blade.
The name wasn't exactly intimidating, but the sword felt right in Jasper's hand—solid, balanced, made for real killing. It didn't carry an elemental attribute, yet Jasper could tell it wasn't inferior to Tomas Trell's Cloudpiercer Sword.
By the end of those three months, Jasper had burned through every scrap of cultivation resources he'd been given. In return, he finally broke into Bronze Tier, Rank 5. Bronze Tier, Rank 6 was right there—so close it felt like he only needed one more shove.
That was when Lord Lin appeared.
"The tower's energy is depleted," the old man said flatly. "It needs time to recover. And if you keep grinding in here, breaking into Bronze Tier, Rank 6 will only get harder. You need real combat for that."
Jasper didn't miss the way Lord Lin's eyelid twitched when he glanced at the empty pack, then at Jasper himself—clothes unwashed for months, hair a mess, eyes threaded with red. Jasper looked half-feral.
But the pressure rolling off him was nothing like three months ago.
Stronger Jasper meant better odds of bringing back Nether wart. That was what mattered.
Lord Lin had servants drag Jasper off to clean up. After a proper wash and fresh clothes, Jasper looked like a different person. A year had passed—his body now seventeen, his mind far older than that. He looked sharper, more awake. The endless training had left him built solid, not bulky, but strong enough that nobody would call him thin again.
He pulled on his assassin outfit. At Bronze Tier, Rank 5, he could finally draw out the gear's full effect.
The only problem was his wrist blades. The left-hand blade was Bronze Tier, Rank 4—still usable. The right-hand blade was only Bronze Tier, Rank 3, and that gap was starting to show. Worse, wrist blades weren't common in this world. Most assassins used small knives hidden in their sleeves.
Jasper didn't trust anyone to handle his gear, so he could only wait and hope the system would reward him with an upgrade.
Steward Xu arrived soon after. When the old man looked Jasper over, his expression shifted—subtle, but Jasper caught it. Steward Xu could feel it now: Jasper wasn't just a "useful boy" anymore. He was someone who could become dangerous.
"I'm glad you've become Lady Lin's shadow guard," Steward Xu said, voice firm. "Our guards operate in the open. Sometimes we're drawn away on purpose. You're different. You stay in the dark, and you stay close. No matter what happens, you don't leave her. You're her last line."
Then he produced a bundle and handed it to Jasper. "This is your reward for saving the lady last year. You were sent into the tower, so it was delayed. Now it's yours."
Jasper opened the bundle.
Five gold ingots.
He looked up, genuinely startled.
Steward Xu smiled as if Jasper's reaction amused him. "Don't refuse. You earned it. House Lin isn't short on money."
He left in a hurry, rattling off practical details as he went—Lady Lin's room, the places she liked to wander, the markings on her carriage.
Jasper waited until he was alone, then used Eagle Eye to scan the area. Lord Lin didn't show up for no reason—but nothing felt immediately wrong.
He stored the gold ingots into his system inventory without hesitation.
Carrying that kind of wealth around openly was an excellent way to die.
At House Lin's exchange hall, Jasper spent the gold fast. He bought fifty Mysterium Iron Needles and twenty fine-steel needles. He could've purchased a hundred Mysterium needles, but fine steel cost too much—twenty of those hit like fifty Mysterium needles.
Better materials meant stronger runes and cleaner detonations. He didn't want everything in fine steel, either. Using high-grade needles to wipe out fleeing small fry would feel like setting money on fire. And no matter how fast he was, he couldn't chase down a whole group scattering in different directions—not without burning through Shadow Assassination again and again.
When he left the estate, he revealed the insignia on his outfit. The Cloudspire Empire badge had already been ripped away and replaced with House Lin's guard emblem. Once the mark of a high-ranking guard showed, servants and escorts nearby straightened automatically, eyes lowered in respect.
Jasper pulled his hood tighter and headed for Lin Li's carriage.
That girl was always running off. If he lost her on his first day out, he'd never hear the end of it.
He mounted the horse beside her carriage and followed at an easy pace.
The carriage reached the market district and stopped outside. Carts weren't allowed inside—space was too tight, and even the city lord didn't get to ignore that rule. Riding horses in that crowd was just as bad, so walking was the only option.
Lin Li stepped down first.
Twelve guards followed, all House Lin elites. Fine-steel armor. Fine-steel weapons. Every one of them Bronze Tier, Rank 5.
Jasper left his horse outside as well. Nobody would dare steal a House Lin mount. Then he slipped into the crowd and trailed Lin Li from the shadows while she wandered stall to stall.
The longer he watched, the more one thing stood out.
Lin Li kept drifting toward anything related to enchanting—especially books. Manuals. Notes. Anything with those strange lines of enchanted script.
So the enchanting language can be deciphered here, Jasper thought. Or at least parts of it.
He followed without stepping too close, letting the crowd hide him.
Then the noise hit—shouting up ahead, people pushing back as if making space for something unpleasant.
Jasper pressed through the bodies until he saw the cause.
House Zhang's only son had arrived.
Cassian Zhang strolled forward with a lazy swagger, eyes locked on Lin Li. His grin was slick, hungry.
"Well, well," he drawled. "If it isn't House Lin's precious little lady. Out again? What's the point of staring at these boring books?"
He leaned in, voice lowering in a way that made the air feel dirty. "Come with me. I'll show you something fun. You'll feel real good, I promise."
Spittle glistened at the corner of his mouth as he reached for her.
Lin Li's guards moved instantly, blocking his hand.
Cassian's smile vanished. He flicked a gesture behind him, and his own escorts drew fine-steel swords in unison.
Twelve on each side.
Same armor. Same weapons. Same strength.
The difference was Cassian himself—Bronze Tier, Rank 4, a full rank above Lin Li.
Over the last three months, Lin Li had reached Bronze Tier, Rank 3.
Jasper slid closer, eyes cold beneath his hood.
If this turned into a fight, his job started now.