The daggers sang. Sparks could almost be seen where their silver-white blades clashed with the ink black torrent of hair.
The instant the two made contact, the hair wrapped around the daggers and engulfed them entirely.
It just kept growing like the branches of a tree, elongating and immobilizing all ten daggers.
“Hmph.” The ability user snorted derisively. There were deep bruises under both his eyes and an unhealthy flush to his cheeks.
“Useless spell type.” He mocked.
The black hair exploded at the same time, rushing towards the young man like an all-consuming swarm of locusts from every direction.
The new development even made Yi Xiangnan sweat bullets from his new hiding spot.
However, he soon learned his worry was unnecessary.
The dark-haired young man’s indifference remained unchanged. He hadn’t spoken another word since identifying the ‘Rank C’ as one.
Despite being so taciturn with what seemed like emotions no humans should have swirling about in his red eyes.
When he raised his hand once more.
30 daggers materialized, dotting out half the sky. It was such an effortless gesture, as if his supply was inexhaustible.
The daggers rang out like thunder. The sound forcing its way into everyone’s eardrums.
With another casual gesture from the young man, the daggers struck like lightning, re-appearing before the ability user in what seemed like an instant!
They were like fish in water, like migrating birds gliding over the sea, like the gleam of a blade concluding its arc. The most persistent weapons that would not rest until they cleaved off the enemy’s head!
And the young man standing before them just looked on indifferently.
He did not need to speak.
“Annoying!” The Rank C ability user screeched. The unoccupied portions of his long hair stretched in an attempt to intercept the daggers that suddenly closed the distance once more.
Yet the hair came up empty.
Three daggers cut through the air, turning sharply before razing a precise, brutal path through the strands, clearing the way.
An opening appeared in the black enclosure with just a few slashes, revealing both their figures.
The severed strands scattered to the wind the instant they were cut, like ink black willow leaves.
Yet the black hair continued to surge forward. At the same time, the remaining daggers seem to give up on resisting entirely. A dozen blades shot down from above at the ability user immediately afterwards, their blades blinding bright in the sun.
The razor sharp black hair lunged for the young man at the same time.
They seemed a split second away from tearing each other apart.
…
Li Li thought the jig was almost up more than a few times. She steadied her expression and continued to feign disinterest.
In truth, she was focused on observing the target’s ability.
As a fellow ranged ability, the ‘spell-type ability to materialize daggers’ she chose to falsify didn’t have much of an advantage. It was very normal for the fight to devolve into a stalemate.
They were both Rank C ability users of similar strength with similar restrictions. There was nothing to gain in continuing to exchange blows like this, and she didn’t intend to expose the other applications of her ability.
The target had drained many mimic-type abilities already, some of which had been described in the commission intel. The victims’ relatives must really want this guy’s head.
She recalled seeing a mimic-type ability with particularly high defensive parameters but also a glaring weakness.
Even as the target’s attack was about to rend her body in two, she was determined to force him to go on the defensive first!
As soon as the target uses that ability, she could end this battle in an instant!
…
Daggers and sharp black hair rushed in opposite directions.
Just before the moment of impact, scales broke out over the arms of the Rank C ability user. His nose elongated into a snout as he partially morphed into a crocodile, his head snapping up to chomp down on three blades plunging down.
The black hair that was about to hit the young man disappeared without a trace.
A person could only use one ability at a time. The Rank C ability user had to give up on attacking in order to go on the defensive.
The remaining ten daggers hit the scales lining his limbs and chest, each impact sending up a shower of sparks.
Crack!
The blades in his mouth snapped.
The crocodile-like ability user scoffed, “You can’t pierce my defenses!”
It was then.
“Fwip!”
Two daggers suddenly materialized on the side. They sheathed themselves in the ability user’s eye sockets just as he caught sight of them.
He instinctively unclenched his jaw.
The eyes were a weak point for crocodiles. When both eyes came under attack, his instincts betrayed him and drove him to flee.
“This damned incomplete ability!” He roared.
Same-type draining did not grant a perfect copy of an ability like bloodline inheritance would. The received ability would have more imposed restrictions or even a drop in rank.
In this case, the ability he received had an enhanced restriction: the overwhelming urge to flee as soon as both eyes were injured!
With another roar, the ability user’s scales receded as he tried to pull out the daggers buried in his eye sockets.
It was at this time the six daggers the long hair once immobilized appeared around him.
After a few muffled impacts, the Rank C ability user fell to his knees before his upper body hit the ground.
The young man had not taken a single step during the entire encounter.
His red eyes coldly took in everything. Not even victory could cause the slightest of ripples.
His gaze was free from impurities, his eyes reserved only for his target. Nothing else around him could leave a mark in that red expanse, including the person he save, Yi Xiangnan.
Yi Xiangnan stared at this person, dumbfounded. An idea suddenly came to mind.
Why didn’t the young man choose to go on the defensive in the face of the overwhelming attack?
The young man was like a honed blade, no different than the daggers he controlled.
He was unimaginably powerful, but also very…
Insane.
…
Li Li kept her cold mask in place after eliminating the target. She knew she still had an audience around.
“Come out.” She ordered.
This new persona of hers was also cold and aloof, but with a taciturn twist. She mentally dubbed him ‘Ice King Li 2.0’.
She wasn’t playing party mode anymore, she was going solo!
Still, that didn’t prevent her from maintaining her persistent chracteristics, such as supporting others.
Yi Ming, the previous target of her ‘support’ wasn’t around anymore, but this passer-by looked like he would be quite obedient.
Yi Xiangnan hesitated for a while before poking his trembling head out from behind the wall. “Are you talking to me, sir?”
He looked absolutely terrified of her, but still tentatively poked his head out because of an equally overwhelming amount of goodwill towards her.
Li Li pointed at the target slumped in front of her, only to see the passerby hug his head in fear and cower as soon as she raised her hand.
Recalling how daggers always started flying when she did that before, Li Li felt like she could understand his reaction.
Besides, she didn’t intend to do a flawless job at characterization for herself. It was better to be fear.
“Take it. Come with me.” She ordered succinctly.
With that, she turned and left without giving the passerby a chance to refuse.
Not that he would anyway.
Just as she thought, Yi Xiangnan hauled the Rank C ability user onto his back and quickly caught up with her after seeing she was leaving.
That being said, he didn’t dare to say anything. He just obediently followed with his head bowed.
And follow he did until nightfall, during which Li Li grinded out a dozen commissions.
The receptionist’s smile was a bit strained as she finished processing the latest one. “Congratulations on completing the commision. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Someone whispered on the side, “How many times has he been back this afternoon?”
“Those were all intermediate level commissions…”
“When did a bigshot show up?”
Just when the receptionist thought that Li Li would take on another commission, she said, “No, that’s all.”
She was tired too.
Li Li glanced at the time. It was almost time to leave the manhua world.
Yet just as she was about to leave the main hall, all the lights suddenly went out.
Li Li paused just a step from the threshold.
Being suddenly thrown into darkness was a big shock for everyone. More and more voices piled up, clamouring to figure out what was going on. It was at this time that a mechanical female voice cut through the rowdy main hall.
“Alert. Alert. Alert.”
The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, pouring into each person’s ear without discrimination.
The huge screen in the bounty hall shifted. All the low and intermediate level commissions disappeared as the lines dividing the screen disappeared.
Only one line in large font was left in the end.
Level SSS commission. Illusionist. The Dark Principle.”
The announcement repeated in the silent hall three times.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths.
Li Li blinked slowly. She didn’t expect things to progress this quickly…
To put it another way, she expected the Ability Association to keep quiet about this matter and handle it by themselves instead of making things public. So there were rifts within the Association as well, ah.
The hall instantly exploded after the conclusion of the announcement. The volume of these discussions would have drowned out even the mechanical voice from earlier.
“A Level SSS commission! SSS!” Yi Xiangnan, who had followed Li Li around all afternoon, couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Finishing a single commission like this could elevate a civilian directly to aristocrat status!” He murmured excitedly.
That was the temptation of class mobility!
“Will a lot of people take it on?” Li Li asked offhandedly.
She read her own description off that giant screen.
Concept-type illusionist, The Dark Principle.
She could already sense all the trouble that was coming her way in the future.
Yi Xiangnan was shocked by her question. This was the first time this bigshot had taken the initiative to ask him anything.
Still, the answer was quite simple when you thought about it. Most people valued their life over things like status. A Level SSS commission was simply not something ordinary ability users could get involved with.
Only fools and lunatics would gamble with their lives for mere status.
But before Yi Xiangnan could even respond, he heard the bigshot murmur something to himself.
The dark-haired young man stared at the screen. Despite his somewhat gaunt side profile, his tone was very assured.
“In any case, the only one to succeed in the end will be me.”
His voice wasn’t very loud, but Yi Xiangnan heard him all too clearly.
The bounty for this Level SSS commission seemed to have already fallen into his hands. It had become his new prey.
But that was a Level SSS commission!
Yi Xiangnan couldn’t help but take a step back.
He was even more sure of it now. The young man before him was a lunatic.
A ticking time bomb who couldn’t care less about the consequences of his actions!
The young man was a sharp blade that would surely, eventually plunge into someone’s chest.
And that ‘someone’ would either be his enemy or himself.
…
[Establishing channel…]
[Welcome back to reality.]
The manhua updated as always at midnight. Li Li was too tired to care after running around all day and went to bed.
She didn’t grope around the bed for her phone until the next day.
She didn’t have any morning classes today.
This chapter picked up right where the previous one left off. Tang and the boss found Yi Ming in the ruins of the Tarnished Bronze headquarters.
The rain had yet to stop. Yi Ming felt droplets falling on him as he woke up.
Those were Tang’s tears.
The emerald-eyed girl was terribly scared. She stood beside him, clasping his hand tight as she used her healing ability. “Wake up, Big Brother! Wake up!”
Yet Yi Ming’s first words after waking up were, “I’m sorry.”
He stared up at the rainbow shimmering in the sky with wide blue eyes.
“I couldn’t bring Li back.”
