Chapter 15: Ch 15- New Skill
"Fortunately, the corpse is still intact. Otherwise, there would be no way to copy the talent."
Mo Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
He had already tested the limits of his Copy Talent back in the small wilderness area. If a corpse was too badly damaged, he could no longer see its talent information, and naturally, there would be no way to copy anything from it.
"Copy Shadow Talent!"
With a single thought, Mo Yuan activated his Talent. In an instant, the copying process began.
A few seconds later, it was complete. The Standard Grade Shadow Talent had been successfully copied. Without wasting any time, Mo Yuan chose to fuse the talent on the spot.
Fortunately, fusing a Standard Grade talent was no longer as painful as it had been in the beginning. His physical strength had increased many times over compared to before, and after experiencing several talent fusions, his body had gradually become more accustomed to the process.
Apart from a slight burning pain spreading through his body and a layer of sweat covering his forehead, he didn’t feel much discomfort.
Ten minutes later, the fusion was complete. Mo Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
His talent panel had changed once again.
Human: Mo Yuan
Cultivation Talent: Superior Grade
Speed Talent: Standard Grade
Saber Talent: Superior Grade
Shadow Talent: Standard Grade
"Four talents..."
Mo Yuan smiled with satisfaction.
He didn’t know what the situation was like in the larger human bases. But within Dong Hai Base, he was certain that nobody possessed more awakened talents than he did.
Among cultivators of the same realm...
He was absolutely unmatched.
"This Lin Xuan should have brought some valuable things with him."
Mo Yuan crouched beside the corpse and carefully searched it.
The first thing he noticed was Lin Xuan’s saber. It was a completely black blade with a narrow blood groove running down the center. Even after such an intense battle, there wasn’t a single nick on its edge.
In comparison, Mo Yuan’s own Fine Iron Saber had been badly damaged.
"It looks like this black saber is a real Primordial Weapon."
"It’ll make a perfect replacement."
Without hesitation, he put the black saber away before continuing his search. Soon, everything on Lin Xuan’s body had been collected.
There was one secret manual.
Three Gold Cards.
Five White Cards.
Along with several bundles of scattered paper currency. Seeing his harvest, Mo Yuan became even happier than when he copied the Shadow Talent.
After all, Shadow Talent increased his future potential. But money solved immediate problems. One Gold Card represented one million yuan. One White Card represented ten thousand yuan.
Altogether, Lin Xuan was carrying more than three million yuan.
"Gold Cards are basically the bank cards of this world."
"Dong Hai Base doesn’t have the ability to manufacture them."
"I heard they’re produced by the major human bases."
"The banks inside Dong Hai are also controlled by those large bases, so these cards can be used almost anywhere."
Mo Yuan silently calculated.
With more than three million yuan added to his wealth, his financial situation had completely changed overnight. Combined with the Shadow Talent he had just obtained, his confidence in growing stronger increased even more.
Before long, even the Hong Family wouldn’t be able to threaten him.
"There’s still one problem that has to be dealt with."
"Hong Yuan."
A cold light flashed across Mo Yuan’s eyes.
By now, the conflict between him and Hong Yuan had already become one where only one side could survive. Even if he chose not to retaliate, Hong Yuan certainly wouldn’t stop.
Once Lin Xuan failed to report back while Mo Yuan remained alive, Hong Yuan would immediately realize the assassination had failed.
At that point, he might send an even stronger assassin. Perhaps a Late Stage Origin Vessel Realm cultivator or even an Origin Core Realm expert.
Mo Yuan couldn’t allow that to happen. The longer he waited, the greater the danger would become. He had to eliminate Hong Yuan before Hong Yuan could make another move.
Of course...
He couldn’t openly kill Hong Yuan as himself. If he did, the Hong Family would hunt him down without hesitation.
"I’ve got it."
Mo Yuan looked down at Lin Xuan’s corpse.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his face. Now that he possessed Shadow Talent and Lin Xuan’s black saber...
He could completely disguise himself as Lin Xuan.
"First, I need to deal with the body."
Mo Yuan quickly found an abandoned spot deep in the forest. After digging a deep pit, he buried Lin Xuan’s corpse before carefully covering every trace.
Even if someone discovered the body in the future, it would likely be months from now. At least for the time being, nobody would suspect anything.
By the time everything was finished, the sky had already gone completely dark.
Mo Yuan immediately hurried home. After returning, he didn’t rest.
Instead, he spent the entire night studying his newly obtained Shadow Talent. Only after personally testing it did he realize it wasn’t as invincible as it first appeared.
Maintaining Shadow State continuously consumed energy.
More importantly, it could only be used while standing inside shadows. If bright light shone directly onto his body, the Shadow State would immediately disappear.
There were other limitations as well. While hidden, he couldn’t launch an attack. The instant he attacked, his body would automatically leave the Shadow State.
Likewise, if someone struck him while he was hidden, the Shadow State would also collapse immediately.
After understanding everything, Mo Yuan nodded.
"Shadow Talent is perfect for hiding and assassinations."
"It can also be used to escape danger at critical moments."
"But it isn’t meant for direct combat."
After finishing his tests, Mo Yuan turned his attention toward the final item.
"The secret manual."
He slowly opened it.
The more he read...
The brighter his eyes became.
"This is actually a saber technique."
The manual recorded a Steel grade Blade Skill.
Its name was...
Shadow Blade.
The technique only contained a single move.
Shadow Kill.
It was an extremely fast blade attack. The strike emphasized speed above everything else. It attacked like a bolt of lightning, leaving the opponent almost no time to react.
However, what excited Mo Yuan even more wasn’t the blade move itself. It was the explanations about the Saber Dao.
Although he possessed Superior Grade Saber Talent, he had never received proper guidance regarding the path of the saber.
This manual finally filled in that missing knowledge.
According to the manual...
The Saber Dao was divided into three major realms.
Form.
Momentum.
Intent.
Ordinary people who practiced the blade could only grasp Form. No matter how many years they trained, they would never touch Momentum.
Only those born with Saber Talent could truly comprehend the next stage.
As for Intent...
That was an even higher realm. Even many powerful cultivators spent their entire lives without reaching it. Besides introducing the Saber Dao, the manual also explained the ranks of blade skills.
They were divided into four grades.
Iron
Steel
Mithril
Adamant
"An ordinary cultivator can barely scratch the surface of a Iron Grade Saber skill."
"Without Saber Talent, it’s impossible to fully master one."
"As for a Steel Grade Saber Skill..."
"It would be even harder."
Mo Yuan quietly sighed.
"Lin Xuan possessed such a powerful Steel grade Blade Skill."
"But unfortunately..."
"He never awakened Saber Talent."
"Otherwise..."
"The one lying dead today would’ve been me."
Thinking back to the battle, Mo Yuan couldn’t help feeling fortunate. If Lin Xuan had mastered Shadow Blade properly, defeating him would have been far more difficult.
"I’ll let Hong Yuan live for a few more days."
Mo Yuan slowly closed the manual.
"I’ll first master Shadow Blade."
"The moment I reach the entry level..."
"That’ll be the day I collect his life."
With Superior Grade Saber Talent, Mo Yuan’s understanding of blade techniques was astonishing. A Steel grade Blade Skill that ordinary cultivators might never learn even after decades of practice...
Only took him three days to reach the entry level.
Not only that. His understanding of the Saber Dao also improved rapidly.
His Blade Form had already reached Perfection. He was only one step away from comprehending Blade Momentum.
Late that night...
Inside the Hong Family.
Hong Yuan’s residence.
At this moment, Hong Yuan’s mood was extremely bad. Three whole days had passed. Yet there was still no news from Grey.
Lin Yan stood respectfully beside him. Even without looking, he could clearly feel the anger radiating from Hong Yuan.
"That damn Grey..."
"He couldn’t have taken my money and disappeared, could he?"
Hong Yuan’s face darkened.
"It’s already been three days."
"Don’t tell me an Origin Vessel Realm cultivator can’t even find a chance to kill one Origin Seed Realm student."
Lin Yan carefully replied,
"Young Master, although Grey is greedy and always demands payment in advance..."
"His reputation has always been reliable."
"Perhaps he accepted another mission at the same time and hasn’t found the right opportunity yet."
"It’d better be like that."
Hong Yuan snorted coldly.
"Otherwise..."
"I’ll make Grey understand what it means to offend the Hong Family."
After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling Lin Yan to leave.
Lin Yan respectfully bowed before walking out of Hong Yuan’s courtyard.
The night was unusually quiet. Darkness covered every corner of the Hong Manor. As he walked through the silent paths, Lin Yan suddenly felt an uneasy chill run through his body.
For a brief moment...
He sensed an intense killing intent.
He stopped walking.
After looking around for a moment, he smiled and shook his head.
"I’m probably overthinking things."
"Who would dare attack me inside the Hong Family?"
Just as he took another step... A figure silently emerged from the darkness. A black saber flashed through the night.
The strike was unbelievably fast. So fast that even Lin Yan’s thoughts couldn’t keep up. He only had enough time to see a cold black blade before his consciousness rapidly faded away.
At the final moment before death...
Only one name appeared in his mind.
"Grey..."
"Why... would Grey kill me?"
That became Lin Yan’s final thought.