Chapter 344: Venom in the Shadows

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: Venom in the Shadows

The private pavilion hummed with warmth.

Alena moved between the silk cushions, distributing cups of golden restorative tea. The scent of honey and ginseng filled the air.

"Drink slowly," she said, pressing a cup into Ariel’s hands. "It’ll restore your Qi channels."

Ariel accepted the cup and sipped, her vivid blue eyes closing in contentment. "Thank you, Sister Alena."

Mio flopped onto a cushion beside Mia. "That was a clean sweep. Seven to zero. We made them look like amateurs."

Mia smiled softly. "Alena carried the first half. The rest was easy."

Alena blushed, her tan skin darkening. "I just did what Damon taught me."

Damon sat at the center of the cushions, his back straight, his golden eyes half-closed. Ariel moved behind him and pressed her fingers into his shoulders, working the tension from his muscles.

"You’re too tense," she murmured.

"I’m fine."

"You’re lying."

Damon cracked a smile. "Maybe a little."

Ariel dug her thumbs into a knot near his spine. Damon exhaled slowly as the tension released.

Flare sat cross-legged nearby, the Inferno Phoenix Blade resting across her lap. She stared at the blade, her expression unreadable.

"You’re quiet," Damon said.

Flare looked up. "I’m thinking."

"About Fania?"

"About how to burn her faster than she can burn me."

Seraphina chuckled from her cushion. "That’s the spirit."

Lumina sat apart from the group, her disguise still intact, her eyes distant. She stared at the pavilion wall like she could see through it.

Damon watched her for a moment.

’She’s thinking about the cult. About tomorrow.’

He didn’t interrupt.

Some battles had to be fought alone.

Then his spiritual sense twitched.

Damon’s eyes snapped open.

His Incubus Celestial Eyes activated instinctively, piercing through the stone floor, through the foundation, into the maintenance tunnels below.

Three figures moved through the darkness.

Masked. Silent. Their Qi suppressed to near-invisible levels.

They carried something between them. A small glass vial, glowing with sickly green light.

Damon’s expression didn’t change.

He kept his breathing steady, kept his hands relaxed on his knees.

But his voice dropped into the Mind Transmission Technique.

"Mia. Below us. Three targets."

Mia’s eyes flickered.

She didn’t move. Didn’t react. But her shadow began to stretch, reaching toward the floor.

"Intercept them. Bring the leader alive."

Mia vanished.

The shadows swallowed her whole.

The maintenance tunnel was dark, cramped, and reeked of damp stone.

The three masked figures moved in single file, their footsteps silent against the packed earth. The lead figure clutched the vial of Corpse Rot, a concentrated demonic toxin designed to dissolve internal organs within minutes.

Their target was the Azure Dragon Sect’s water supply.

They had been paid handsomely. A hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones. A Heaven Grade technique. And the promise of Alistair Reventon’s protection.

They believed they were invisible.

They were wrong.

Mia emerged from the shadows behind the last figure.

Her Nightshade Fang daggers flashed once.

The rear guard dropped, a thin line of blood appearing across his throat. He didn’t make a sound.

The middle figure sensed something wrong and turned.

Mia was already there.

Her palm pressed against his chest. Shadow Qi pulsed.

His heart stopped.

He crumpled silently.

The lead figure froze, his hand reaching for the vial.

Mia’s dagger pressed against his throat.

"Don’t," she whispered.

The figure’s eyes went wide.

Mia grabbed his collar and dragged him into the shadows.

The pavilion door opened.

Mia stepped through, dragging the paralyzed assassin by his collar. She dumped him onto the floor like a sack of grain.

The women went silent.

Ariel’s hands stopped massaging Damon’s shoulders. Mio’s cup froze halfway to her lips. Flare’s hand moved to her blade.

Damon looked down at the assassin.

"Search him," he said.

Mia knelt and patted down the man’s robes. She found the vial first.

It was a small glass container, no bigger than her thumb. The liquid inside glowed with sickly green light, swirling like trapped smoke.

"Corpse Rot," Alena whispered, her face pale. "If that gets into our water supply, we’d be dead within minutes. There’s no cure."

Mio stood, her fists clenched. "Who sent you?"

The assassin didn’t answer.

Damon rose from his cushion and walked over to the man. He crouched down, his golden eyes meeting the assassin’s terrified gaze.

"You have one chance to speak," Damon said softly. "Who hired you?"

The assassin’s lips trembled.

He didn’t answer.

Damon grabbed his wrist and twisted it, exposing the inner forearm.

There it was.

A small crest, hidden beneath a cloaking tattoo. A silver serpent coiled around a shattered sun.

The Reventon Sigil.

Damon’s expression didn’t change.

But the temperature in the room dropped.

"Alistair Reventon," Damon said.

The assassin’s face went white.

Damon released his wrist and stood.

"Take him to the arena guards," he said. "Tell them he tried to poison our water. Let the tournament officials handle it."

Mia nodded and grabbed the assassin’s collar.

"And Mia," Damon added.

She paused.

"Make sure he talks before you hand him over."

Mia smiled softly. "Of course."

She dragged the assassin into the shadows and vanished.

The pavilion fell silent.

Ariel stepped closer to Damon, her hand resting on his arm. "Alistair is trying to kill us before we even reach the quarterfinals."

"Of course he is," Damon said. "He knows we’re the biggest threat to his son’s victory."

Flare stood, her hand on the Inferno Phoenix Blade. "Then we hit them first. Tonight. Burn their camp to ash."

"No."

Everyone turned to Damon.

"We play by the rules," he said. "For now. We report the assassination attempt. We let the officials investigate. And we win our matches fair and square."

"And what about Alistair?" Mio asked.

Damon’s golden eyes glowed.

"When the tournament ends, I’ll deal with him personally."

The women exchanged glances.

They didn’t argue.

Because they knew Damon kept his promises.

Alena stepped forward, holding a fresh cup of tea. "Drink this. It’ll help you focus."

Damon accepted the cup and drank.

The warmth spread through his chest.

But the coldness in his heart remained.

Alistair Reventon had made his move.

Now it was Damon’s turn.