Her cheeks suddenly burning, Cat Girl smacked Li Ban's hand away and frantically pulled down her veil. As if to mask her fluster, she immediately changed the subject.
"Just stay away from Yan Jiu. Her background isn't simple. She's no ordinary 6th Tier."
"How complicated can it be? Is she a Wizard?"
"Not exactly. Either way, the situation surrounding her is incredibly troublesome."
Li Ban rubbed the back of his hand, now red from her slap. "Got it. I'm not even sure if I'll ever run into her again anyway. You know as well as I do that joining Assassin Hall wasn't my choice."
His future moves all depended on Zhai Liu's arrangements.
Du An had his own ulterior motives as well; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone along with the plan so easily.
The two walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the small woods for a while, soon catching sight of the main road up ahead.
Cat Girl finally spoke again, her voice steady once more. "When you go back, tell them you've already seen Yan Jiu's face and might be compromised. If their goal in sending you to Assassin Hall is to have you assassinate her, tell them to drop the idea entirely."
Cat Girl stopped in her tracks. "Have you ever heard of black powder?"
Li Ban froze for a second, then nodded.
"The most potent black powder is powerful enough to blast apart mountains," Cat Girl continued. "Even a mere child could hold a flame and ignite it, though that child would likely not survive the blast. And among the elements, there are abilities much like black powder."
"I don't know what exactly they want you to do, nor do I know how much strength you still have. But when it comes to life-and-death struggles between big shots, it's best to stay as far away as possible."
Li Ban shook his head, then nodded, before finally shaking his head again.
"It's out of my hands."
They always said that once you stepped into the martial world, your life was no longer your own.
Yet the martial world was everywhere, and people were restrained wherever they went.
It was just that some places had somewhat reasonable rules, while others completely disregarded humanity.
And as it happened, neither the world of Li Ban's true body nor the one his false body occupied were places of freedom and democracy.
"Since it's out of your hands, don't play the hero next time." Cat Girl was referring to the refugees Li Ban had saved. "Kill when you need to kill. No one's life is more important than your own."
"I know," Li Ban said. "If I had no other choice this time, I would have made my move."
He realized with some surprise how easily those words had just left his mouth.
It wasn't like back when he was tested in that bamboo courtyard, unable to even put up a false front.
Cat Girl stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "A single general's success is built on ten thousand rotting bones. As long as you keep climbing, you'll have to trample over human lives.
"That's how I climbed up here. Unless you choose to hide your identity forever and waste away into old age, your hands will inevitably be stained with blood."
Li Ban looked down at his own hands.
They were already stained with blood.
"Cat, do you think this world is real or fake?"
Li Ban suddenly asked the question he had been intentionally ignoring for a long time.
Cat Girl shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I feel it's real, so it's real. If I die, then wealth, power, nobles, and commoners will all mean absolutely nothing to me."
Li Ban nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right. My feelings are real, so it must be real."
His recent experiences in the Wizard World made it impossible for Li Ban to keep lying to himself by calling it a "virtual world."
If it really was a virtual world, why would the Laboratory want to extract its Core Elements?
If it really was a virtual world, why would the General betray the Laboratory and hide here?
Then there was that Mission Assistance System. It seemed incredibly powerful, but in reality, the Laboratory on the outside had no control over the Wizard World's information. They needed Li Ban to dictate everything to them verbally every time.
It was obvious that the Laboratory, which touted itself as the "true" reality, was actually powerless against the Wizard World.
The more questions he asked, the more contradictions appeared.
The filter of treating this place like a game had been completely torn away.
What were once merely cruel game settings had become genuine, breathing darkness.
This place—this Wizard World—might have many bizarre rules and logic-defying phenomena, but just like the Laboratory, it was a real, living world that nurtured life.
Late at night.
Yu Province.
Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
Qin You, a 3rd Tier smelting refiner, got out of bed and quietly left his room.
Someone was patrolling right outside his door. Catching sight of him, the guard chuckled. "Brother Qin, you'd better cut back on getting intimate with the little sisters-in-law. Just look at you. How many times do you have to get up to piss a night?"
Qin You's face instantly flushed red. "Y-y-you're slandering my good name! I just had too much to drink tonight and need to take a leak, that's all."
He even thrust his hips out a bit. "Your daddy is way more capable than you!"
The two patrolling smelting refiners were very familiar with Qin You. Seeing him curse back out of embarrassment, they didn't get angry. They just exchanged an amused look and waved him off.
"Hurry up and get to the latrine before you wet your pants."
Qin You jogged off, cursing under his breath, and ducked straight into the latrine at the end of the corridor.
This wasn't the first time Qin You had been mocked for coming out to use the latrine.
And there was a reason for that.
Everyone living in their pagoda was a man.
There were 2nd Tier corpse collectors, 3rd Tier smelting refiners, and an even greater number of slaves.
The slaves, however, lived at the very bottom level and only came up daily to work.
In the past, the corpse collectors and smelting refiners all had chamber pots in their rooms for convenience.
But ever since they discovered someone using a chamber pot to smuggle out extracted elements, everyone had been forced to use the communal latrine.
On top of that, dedicated slaves conducted thorough inspections at every level to prevent any contraband.
These rules had all been established by the current tower master, Wan Chengming, after he took power.
While it increased Fanggu Pagoda's elemental stockpile, it also cost these low-tier spirit practitioners their chances to make some extra cash on the side.
The subordinates were actually quite dissatisfied with this.
However, in a world where personal strength was everything, those at the bottom had no choice but to bottle up their discontent.
Naturally, Fang Chengming's reforms after taking over went beyond just this one rule, and the low-tier spirit practitioners weren't the only ones whose interests were harmed.
He had also directly exposed the former vice-tower master, Lin Han, for using the Eternal Trading Association to embezzle funds.
He completely purged the spirit practitioners belonging to Lin Han's faction and threw Lin Han himself into the Yu Province Death Prison, a facility run by his trusted aide, Du An.
Rumor had it that Lin Han had already gone mad. The only reason he was still alive was because his family had paid exorbitant amounts of money to sustain his life.
As a result, plenty of people in the upper echelons were also displeased with Fang Chengming.
The grievances from both the top and the bottom converged, brewing into a suppressed storm within the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
No one knew when it would finally erupt.
Returning to the frequently pissing Qin You.
His late-night bathroom breaks were due to one reason on the surface.
But the sheer frequency of them stemmed from a completely different motive.
Arriving at the latrine, Qin You relieved himself while scanning his surroundings.
Spirit practitioners generally had excellent physical constitutions. It was incredibly rare for someone like him to need to get up multiple times in the middle of the night.
He had married eight wives. Although they all lived in the outer courtyard, he went back every noon, enjoying a different woman every single day without repetition.
His lecherous reputation was widely known throughout the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
The others' attitude toward his frequent nighttime latrine visits was half mockery and half sheer envy.
Affording eight wives as beautiful as flowers wasn't something a man of ordinary wealth could manage.
The vast majority of Qin You's monthly salary was spent on his women. He even had to find ways to earn extra income on the outside just to keep from going bankrupt.
But no one knew that Qin You went to such exhausting lengths simply so that no one would immediately suspect him when he snuck out at night.
Once he confirmed no one was around, Qin You instantly flipped out through the latrine window.
One of the elements he possessed was called "Nimble Sinew," a living-type element.
Nimble Sinew allowed him to perform contortions impossible for ordinary people, and even alter his body shape to a certain extent.
For instance, the latrine window was only the size of a human head, meant strictly for ventilation. Yet Qin You managed to squeeze right through it, slipping straight to the outer exterior of the pagoda.
Normally, Qin You wouldn't dare do something like this.
The tower master's Black-Winged Qiongqi frequently rested upon the top of the pagoda. Anyone scaling the outer walls would likely become the beast's midnight snack.
Recently, however, the tower master had captured a giant fleshy-winged snake. After feeding the snake's gall to the Black-Winged Qiongqi, the beast showed faint signs of ranking up.
Overjoyed, tower master Wan Chengming immediately took the Black-Winged Qiongqi into secluded cultivation, hoping his mount would seize the opportunity to advance to the 6th Tier.
Naturally, these spirit beasts lacked the identity of spirit practitioners and couldn't fuse with elements.
Once they reached adulthood, their tiers were basically fixed, and their innate elements could only grow to the corresponding strength of that tier.
Any subsequent advancements were practically hopeless.
Wan Chengming had nurtured the Black-Winged Qiongqi for a very long time, yet he had only managed to push it to peak 5th Tier. Taking that final step was incomparably difficult.
So, upon noticing the signs of its impending breakthrough, he dropped everything else to focus entirely on tending to his mount.
Which gave Qin You the perfect opening to scale the pagoda from the outside.
Of course, aside from the tower master, the Myriad Ancient Pagoda also had floor masters and vice-tower masters.
But right now, only one vice-tower master remained. A replacement hadn't been chosen yet, so the floor masters spent their days scheming against one another, each hoping they would be the one promoted.
Aside from tower master Wan, very few of the higher-ups were willing to live in the main pagoda.
The main pagoda looked magnificent and imposing from the outside, but the interior was dark, claustrophobic, and reeked of rotting corpses.
With tower master Wan absent tonight on top of everything else, Qin You seized the chance to confirm something.
Something he had been observing for two whole years.
He suspected that tower master Wan Chengming was none other than the "General" the Laboratory had been searching for!
Tonight was a prime opportunity. If he missed it, he didn't know how many years it would be before another one like it appeared.
Qin You carefully scaled each level of the pagoda, controlling his breathing until he reached the seventh floor.
This floor was the tower master's residence. The vice-tower master lived one floor below.
Knowing he couldn't afford to waste time, Qin You broke the corridor window from the outside and quickly slipped in.
The hallway was empty.
Qin You had been here before when meeting the tower master and knew the layout.
He swiftly confirmed that no one else was around.
The guards assigned to this floor should currently be stationed at the top of the stairs.
However, they conducted a patrol every two quarters of an hour.
Qin You had timed it out. As long as his luck wasn't atrocious, he wouldn't run into them.
Upon arriving at the top floor, Qin You didn't head for the tower master's main quarters.
That place was rigged with mechanisms. Even though he had specially studied lockpicking, a single misstep could trigger a trap and draw the guards.
Instead, Qin You chose to enter through a hidden ventilation window between the corridor and an adjacent room.
He had his eye on that hidden window ever since he first came to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
It was exactly for this reason that he had chosen the concealed "Nimble Sinew" as his third element.
He had kept this element hidden, never letting a single soul find out about it.
All for this very moment.
Qin You forcefully compressed his body down to the size of a cat. Just as he was halfway through the hidden window, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
Cursing inwardly, he threw caution to the wind regarding any scratches he might leave on the frame and violently wrenched himself through.
Dropping into the room, he immediately scooped up the dislodged window panel and pressed it back against the opening.
He froze completely, pausing even his breath.
The patrolling guards didn't notice anything amiss and walked right past the window below.
Qin You waited a little while longer before properly wedging the loose window panel back into its frame.
Then, he turned to scan the room he was in. Following the observations he had made in the past, he walked over to the bookshelf.
There was a mechanism behind this shelf.
It wasn't particularly well-hidden, but there was usually a person or a spirit beast guarding it, making it nearly impossible to approach.
Qin You felt along the bookshelf, inspecting every joint, and soon located the abnormality where the mechanism lay.
In his free time, aside from lockpicking, he had also studied the art of mechanics.
While he only knew the basics, it was more than enough for a relatively simple contraption like this.
Qin You began to dismantle the mechanism, his excitement growing by the second.
Finally, with a soft creak, the bookshelf shifted open a tiny crack.
Since it hadn't been triggered normally, Qin You had to shove hard to push the shelf fully open.
Behind it, he discovered a hidden alcove.
The alcove could only fit one person and offered very little floor space.
Inside, there was nothing but a narrow cabinet and a black-and-white sphere floating in midair, shaped remarkably like a raspberry.
This sphere wasn't solid; it looked more like two clusters of black and white mist swirling and interweaving together.
Qin You reached out to touch it.
His hand passed right through the black-and-white mist, but he was completely unable to move it.
Qin You tried using the Mission Assistance System, but the system gave no response either.
'Can it not determine that I've obtained it, or does it simply not count as an element?'
'I have to get it out of here.'
Qin You looked back toward the hidden room's entrance.
Yet he was keenly aware that there was absolutely no way he could take it away today.
The patrolmen would definitely come looking for him when they realized he hadn't come out of the latrine.
Qin You immediately changed his mind. 'I'll run a test to confirm!'
He stuck his left pinky finger into his mouth. His expression twisted savagely as he opened his jaw wide, then clamped his teeth down hard.
Crunch!
The joint of his pinky snapped off.
Enduring the agony, Qin You gave a forceful yank to sever the final shred of skin and flesh, then spat the bloody, severed finger into his right palm.
He tentatively placed his pinky into the raspberry-like mist.
When he pulled his hand back out—both the blood and the severed finger were gone.
The mist began to churn, as if it had been disturbed.
Qin You tucked his left hand into his shirt to prevent any blood from dripping onto the floor.
Finally, the Mission Assistance System chimed.
[Core Element discovered. Transfer requires one hour. Please ensure your safety and proceed with caution. Do you wish to begin the transfer?]
All pain was utterly forgotten, replaced by unbridled joy in his eyes.
'That's it, this is it. The Core Element!'
Soon after, the grin on his face faded into hard resolve.
'Do not transfer.'
He was acting alone right now. He simply didn't have the time, and attempting it would only be beating the grass to startle the snake.
He had to create a better opportunity!
A warning bell suddenly began to ring. The news of Qin You's disappearance quickly spread across Fanggu Pagoda's fourth floor.
The patrolling smelting refiners immediately reported it to the floor master, who in turn forwarded the matter to the vice-tower master.
The vice-tower master—who had moved to the secondary pagoda due to a conflict with Wan Chengming—directly ordered the lockdown of Fanggu Pagoda.
After confirming that Qin You was indeed nowhere to be found on the fourth floor, this vice-tower master, Gao Jingyan, rolled his eyes calculatingly and actually led a group straight up to the seventh floor—tower master Wan's residence.
"Vice-Tower Master Gao." The guards stationed on the seventh floor stood up to block his path, refusing to let Gao Jingyan's group barge in. "You cannot enter without the tower master's orders."
Gao Jingyan didn't even bother explaining himself to a few mere 3rd Tier guards. Sweeping his hands out as if parting water, an invisible, massive force slammed into the two guards, blasting them back into the walls on either side before they crumpled to the floor.
"Search! We must ensure that the traitor hasn't entered the tower master's room."
Gao Jingyan's words sounded highly righteous, but in reality, he was already striding onto the seventh floor, intending to use this excuse to break into Wan Chengming's quarters.
But at that exact moment, the sound of a window shattering echoed from up ahead.
By the time everyone rushed over, they only caught a glimpse of a pair of feet vanishing out the window.
Gao Jingyan hastily thrust his palm forward. With a loud crash, the window frame was obliterated by an unseen force.
Gao Jingyan shot a look to his men, but instead of giving chase himself, he spun around, about to step right into tower master Wan Chengming's room.
"Vice-Tower Master Gao, what do you think you're doing?"
A gruff voice suddenly rang out from behind the group.
Gao Jingyan froze right where he stood.
Turning around, he saw Wan Chengming—who was supposed to be sequestered in the cultivation chamber protecting the Black-Winged Qiongqi—standing right there at the entrance to the seventh floor.