Chapter 91: A secret art

Two weeks later...

The Heavenly Mandate Stele in the center of the capital pulsed with golden light.

Every cultivator in the district stopped to watch the floating characters rewrite themselves in the sky above.

Theo, Liana, Corey, and Vespera sat by the open balcony of the Azure Cloud Teahouse.

The establishment occupied the highest terrace of the merchant district, offering a panoramic view of the sprawling architecture below.

They had a perfect view of the stele.

The glowing text updated the provincial rankings.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 45 - Marcus Vance.]

[Achievement: Survived an encounter with a mature Earth-Drake. Escaped a Syndicate ambush.]

The teahouse patrons murmured in excitement, but their gossip quickly shifted to more recent events.

"I heard the Shadow Syndicate failed an assassination at the border courier station."

"Failed? I heard Zuo Qiuyang himself was forced to flee. They say he lost a hand trying to breach the courier station’s defenses. Two junior disciples from the Silent Thunder Sect fought him to a standstill!"

"That is impossible. Zuo Qiuyang is an Inner Scenery veteran. Outer peak juniors would be slaughtered in seconds."

Corey set his teacup down. His eyes were wide as he looked across the table. "They are talking about us. Mostly you two, but still."

"Repelling Zuo Qiuyang is no small feat," Corey added, admiration lacing his voice. "How did you manage to break his shadow-domain?"

Theo took a sip of his tea.

He glanced at his master, who was currently occupied with a plate of roasted spirit-nuts.

"I utilized our master’s most profound legacy," Theo said with strict seriousness. "I channeled her signature art. It created the perfect opening for Liana to strike."

Corey leaned in, fascinated. "A secret art? Which one?"

"Yes, exactly," Vespera chimed in, wiping salt from her fingers.

She puffed her chest out proudly. "My personal tutelage saved your lives. You should both be grateful."

Liana stared at the two of them. Her lips twitched. Vespera had not taught Theo a single martial technique since they left the mountain, and

Theo had simply used his Abyssal Forge to blow a hole in the roof of the inn.

"Truly profound," Liana murmured, shaking her head.

A chime from the plaza drew their attention back to the stele. A new entry solidified.

[Provincial Prodigy Ranking: Rank 42 - Silas of the Bloody Rain.]

[Cultivation: Inner Scenery (Mid-Stage). Mastery of the Phantom-Strike art.]

[Achievement: Eradicated the Iron-River Mercenary Company. Assassinated the heir of the Silver Leaf Clan. Note: Subject suffers from severe Qi Deviation, resulting in fragmented memories and an erratic moral compass.]

"Silas," Corey muttered, reading the glowing text. "I have heard of him. The Syndicate’s most unpredictable blade."

Vespera sighed, tossing a nut into her mouth. "Last year, a wealthy merchant hired him to kill a rival guild leader. Silas took the coin, killed the target, and then returned to kill the merchant."

"Why?" Theo asked.

"Rumor has it the rival offered him double to kill the employer," Corey explained. "He collected bounties from both sides."

"That is terrible business practice," Theo noted. A mercenary who did not honor contracts was a dead man walking in the underworld.

"Actually, the rumors are wrong."

The voice came from beside their table.

A young waiter, dressed in the teahouse’s humble gray uniform, was pouring hot water into their clay pot. His hands were steady. His expression was placid.

"Oh?" Theo observed the steady stream of steaming water. "You know the truth?"

The waiter smiled kindly. "His Qi Deviation broke his mind. He did not accept a counter-bribe. He simply forgot who hired him mid-mission. When he saw two wealthy men involved in the contract, his fractured mind assumed both were targets."

"A compelling theory," Corey nodded, impressed by the local gossip.

"It is not a theory," the waiter said softly. He finished pouring the water. "I know this because I am Silas."

The ceramic teapot blurred.

The waiter thrust the scalding iron spout directly toward Theo’s throat.

The Qi Deviation had entirely detached the assassin’s actions from his emotional state, bypassing every instinctual danger sense a cultivator possessed.

Theo reacted, his Abyssal Forge flaring to life, but he was a fraction of a second too late to dodge smoothly.

He did not need to.

A hand shot across the table, moving faster than sound. Vespera clamped her fingers around the waiter’s throat, lifting him off the floor with an effortless flick of her wrist.

The teapot broke into pieces on the wooden planks.

Silas dangled in the air. His legs kicked helplessly.

"Master, wait," Theo ordered, standing up. "We need him alive."

Corey immediately drew a coil of spirit-binding rope from his spatial ring.

Within seconds, the Syndicate’s erratic assassin was tied securely to a wooden pillar in the center of the private balcony.

The other patrons had already fled screaming.

Vespera crossed her arms, analyzing the captive. "To hide your killing intent from me... your mental fracture is quite unique."

Silas writhed against the ropes. His eyes were wide with genuine terror.

"Why am I tied up?!" Silas cried out, his voice cracking. "I was just pouring tea! Help! Please!"

Theo frowned. "He is not acting. The assassination attempt triggered a personality shift."

Liana stepped forward. She observed the erratic pulsing of the man’s meridians beneath his skin. She retrieved the lockbox.

She opened it, withdrawing a single vial of the premium Ice-Vein Lotus extract.

"His internal energy is cannibalizing his mind," Liana said softly, uncorking the vial.

She coated her fingertips in the iridescent liquid and called upon her Supreme Yin energy.

A pale, frosty luminescence gathered in her palm.

She pressed two fingers against the center of Silas’s chest, driving the icy medicinal properties directly into his chaotic meridians.

The lotus extract, meant to soothe her own unruly energy clashes, acted as an immediate anchor for his fractured sanity.

The effect was instantaneous...

Silas gasped. The desperate thrashing stopped. His trembling muscles locked into a rigid posture, and the fearful panic in his eyes dissolved into a chilling, empty void.

The Mad Blade had returned.

Theo activated his Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye. He needed to be sure the assassin was fully lucid before proceeding.

"Speak," Theo commanded, stepping into the assassin’s line of sight. "Who issued the contract on me?"

Silas sneered. A bloody laugh bubbled in his throat. "The Syndicate does not reveal its clients, boy. You got lucky today. Tomorrow, a Heavenly Killer will come for you."

Theo did not argue. He simply stepped aside, gesturing to the woman standing behind him.

"If you prefer to keep secrets, I will let my master handle the interrogation."

Vespera stepped forward. She unleashed her aura.

The floorboards beneath Vespera’s boots groaned in protest, splintering under the weight of her intent.

Silas choked.

"I will talk."