Chapter 67: Assassination [PART 1]
Wang Wei sneakily climbed the Mountain Heart Pavilion, moving carefully so as not to trigger any would-be traps. As he ascended, relief washed over him—the Elder of the pavilion truly wasn’t present. Initially, he suspected that Elder Mei might be using him to test the pavilion’s strength. After climbing for a while, he had confirmed that the elder wasn’t present as he couldn’t sense his aura. The only one present at the pavilion was just the useless senior disciple who didn’t even have spiritual roots.
As he walked up, he couldn’t help but have thoughts about what he would do to Xiang Yu once he reached the top.
Upon reaching the top, Wang Wei’s gaze immediately locked onto Xiang Yu’s house nearby. He approached it slowly, not making any noise. Observing the house, he couldn’t help but think that it was quite ragged for a senior disciple, but what else could one expect from a trash with no spiritual roots? He thought disdainfully.
Wang Wei moved more stealthily as he approached the house. He moved toward the window and peered inside, only to freeze in shock—Xiang Yu sat there, staring directly back at him, eyes focused and aware, as if he’d been expecting him all along.
After the initial surprise and shock subsided, Wang Wei mentally berated himself for his nervousness. "How could this trash with no spiritual roots have anticipated me?" he reassured himself. "He’s probably just staring aimlessly through the window." He couldn’t help but feel that the boy was really pitiful, even staring out the window all day like an idiot.
Inside, Xiang Yu observed the intruder calmly. After the earlier encounter with his junior sister, he had decided to always have his qi sense extended throughout the surrounding area, creating an invisible detection field around his house, this way, he could avoid any surprises. The moment he sensed someone approaching, he immediately ceased his cultivation. He studied the stranger carefully—from his aura, the man was clearly at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, powerful enough to qualify as an inner or even core disciple in the sect.
As he observed the stranger, he wondered if he was a messenger sent by his master, or an intruder. The latter seemed more likely as he could sense the killing intent radiating from the man. Despite the stranger’s attempts to mask it, with Xiang Yu’s maxed out Battle Intent, the man’s murderous aura was unmistakable, it practically screamed that he wanted Xiang Yu dead.
Xiang Yu remained outwardly calm while his hand secretly reached for his spatial pouch, ready to draw a weapon at the slightest provocation. His muscles tensed in preparation for the inevitable confrontation, while in his mind, he wondered who he had provoked to have such a strong person wanting to kill him.
Wang Wei scratched his head and spoke casually, "I was thinking of killing you quietly, but it seems I’ve been figured out." In the next breath, the wall separating them crumbled violently, sending debris and dust billowing into the air. Wang Wei strode confidently over the rubble, his boots crunching on shattered wood and stone. "Where are you? Hope you didn’t get crushed to death ’coz that would be too boring," he called out, his voice laced with amusement.
In the next instant, Wang Wei whipped around instinctively, lifting his sword just in time to block a lightning-fast attack. The impact sent vibrations through his blade and pushed him back several inches. Shock registered on his face as he stared at his trembling arm, then at Xiang Yu standing before him, sword in hand, looking completely unharmed.
"How?" Wang Wei demanded, his face contorting in disbelief. "How could someone without any cultivation have such strength?" he shouted.
Xiang Yu thought that his opponent’s reaction was weird. Couldn’t he sense his cultivation level? The same thing had occurred with his junior sister earlier. A thought flickered through his mind—perhaps the system had a cultivation-concealing function? If true, that would be an incredible advantage. But there was no time to ponder such possibilities at the moment. Pushing all distractions aside, Xiang Yu tightened his grip on his sword and charged forward to meet his opponent head-on.
...
As Xiang Yu charged forward. In his mind, the initial clash had revealed much about his opponent’s capabilities. He guessed that his opponent’s body refining was probably not that high, most likely just at the ninth layer. Since his own body refinement had reached the eleventh layer, he had the physical advantage. However, he remained cautious, aware that the realm difference between them could not be ignored.
Wang Wei’s higher cultivation realm meant richer qi enhancement, potentially closing or even surpassing the gap in base physical abilities. Yet Xiang Yu felt no urge to retreat. His confidence stemmed from his perfected Iron Body technique, which had been integrated into his Transcendent Dao Physique, multiplying its effectiveness several times over.
His master had told him earlier that if he perfected the technique and reached the ninth level of body refinement, he would be able to take a hit from a peak Qi Gathering cultivator. Now that the technique’s effect had been multiplied and he had reached the eleventh layer of body refining, he didn’t believe that he couldn’t handle an early stage Foundation Building cultivator.
The combination of his perfect-level techniques absorbed into the Transcendent Dao Physique created a formidable foundation. Xiang Yu mentally assessed his position—he didn’t lose out in strength, speed, or skill. But what made him even more confident was a new effect he had discovered in his battle intent, he could sense that the battle was winnable. He hadn’t expected the battle intent stat to have such a feature, this was really useful, he could finally know when to fight and when to run.
Wang Wei’s eyes widened in panic as he witnessed Xiang Yu’s approaching speed. He barely managed to raise his sword in time to block another devastating attack, the impact reverberating through his arms.
"You...you’re not trash at all," he stuttered, fear creeping into his voice. "You’ve been hiding your power all along!"
Xiang Yu remained silent, pressing his advantage with relentless pursuit. The situation had become more complicated—his opponent now knew his secret. Allowing Wang Wei to escape was not an option. Though Xiang Yu’s combat power had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he hadn’t actually broken through to that realm. This meant that he couldn’t fly, it would be really bad if Wang Wei discovered this limitation and decided to exploit it. He needed to maintain enough pressure to prevent Wang Wei from even considering aerial escape.
Xiang Yu delivered another sword strike. Wang Wei managed to block it, metal scraping against metal in a shower of sparks. But this was exactly what Xiang Yu had anticipated. Using the momentary proximity, he threw a powerful punch directly at Wang Wei’s lower abdomen. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, sending him flying backward until he crashed into the remaining walls of Xiang Yu’s partially destroyed house.
Moving with lightning speed, Xiang Yu appeared before his opponent could regain his footing. He placed his foot firmly on Wang Wei’s chest, exerting pressure that pinned him firmly to the ground. The cracked wooden planks creaked beneath them.
"Wait! Don’t kill me!" Wang Wei began to beg, his voice thick with desperation. Yet behind his pleading eyes, he was scheming. He hadn’t expected Xiang Yu to be hiding such power, but he still had one last resort—a trump card. As he continued his theatrical pleas for mercy, his hand slowly inched toward his pocket.
Though it pained him to use such a valuable life-saving treasure, Wang Wei calculated that the benefits would far outweigh the cost. When he delivered information about Xiang Yu’s true power—after supposedly killing him—the rewards would be substantial. The mere thought of the benefits he would receive was exhilarating.