"Don't forget, if there's something that can be shared, as knowledge, I hope you will not keep it to yourself."
"I did find something I can share," Ken said with a confident smile. Now that he was back in his sect, he needed allies. His grandfather could make a strong backer, and any relationship required giving if one wanted to do some taking.
"Oh, what is it?" Dominic asked while leaning forward from his chair, intrigued.
"I gained a Darkness Qi technique when I stumbled upon an inheritance in the mountains. It's a Heaven-grade technique."
The young schemer knew what would interest his grandfather. In fact, this Darkness technique didn't even come from the secret realm, and there was no need to mention that he hadn't run into any inheritance grounds in the mountains of the central zone.
When Ken memorized different techniques to come up with new uses for his Bloodlust Qi, he learned many Darkness Qi techniques in the clan's treasury for reference. He also learned quite a few techniques when he used to spar with Annie.
By now, he knew enough about the Darkness Qi to be capable of altering the techniques he had access to and improving them by integrating all his knowledge about cultivation.
Thus, the technique he presented to his grandfather was actually created by himself.
"Which technique is that? Do you know its exact grade?"
Dominic's breath turned hurried with excitement. Their access to Heaven-grade techniques set the elite families apart from the commoners. They were the only ones who could teach their descendants such arts even if they couldn't become core disciples, and the Sue Clan only had two Darkness Qi Heaven-grade techniques.
"It's an intermediate Heaven-grade technique, and its name is 'Cut of the Night'. It's an art that uses both Saber Qi and Darkness Qi to create small saber slashes. As soon as the Darkness Qi pervades your enemy's body, it will rush to their eyes to blind them, to their ears to deafen them, to their nose to make them lose their sense of smell, to their tongues to rob them of their sense of taste, and eventually their whole body to make them lose their sense of touch."
"If I landed so many cuts on them, they would be dead," Dominic raised an eyebrow in doubt.
"Indeed, the target of the Darkness Qi will be the closest area. With a single scratch on the cheek, you might be able to take the gift of sight from your enemy, and with a good cut to the wrist, they might lose their ability to sense the weapon in their hand."
Ken explained to his grandfather the mechanism behind the technique.
"I see. No matter where I hit them, they will pay a price. It's a great technique, and even fits me perfectly, haha! You've done well, I will make sure to protect your interests in the clan as much as I can."
Dominic laughed merrily as he grabbed the technique book from the air impatiently.
"I will take my leave now, Grandfather," Ken said with a smile when he noticed Dominic's eagerness to read the technique.
"Yes, yes, of course. Talk to the guard outside about arranging you with a maid and guards, as well as anything else you need," Dominic said excitedly as he got up from his patriarch chair and headed to the training room.
Ken exited the room and found the guard that escorted him there waiting at the entrance to the mansion.
"Young Master Ken, did the reunion with the patriarch go well?" The guard asked respectfully.
"Yes. Please supply me with a discipleship token, a clan token, and inner disciple robes with the clan's embroidery. Also, check for me whether my guards, Henry and Miles, are back from the Divine Sword Sect. If they aren't, hire some new guards for me."
"Consider it done, Young Master. Henry and Miles have returned and remained hidden in their houses ever since their return two months ago. They didn't answer the call of the patriarch either," the guard reported.
The reason they were hiding and unwilling to leave the inner sect grounds was obvious. They were tasked with guarding a member of an elite clan, and they could not show up unharmed when their client was missing.
"Tell them that I've returned, and they can come and resume their duties as my guards."
"Do you need a maid?"
"No, I have my old one."
Ken preferred to have his loyal former guards than to hire new ones that he didn't know to whom they report at the end of the day of his every action. He could trust Henry, hence he also trusted Miles.
As for Soleil, the girl used to be a spy of Norman and Krone, and those two were dead now. Her life was in Ken's hands since he could just kill her as punishment for stealing resources, so he could trust her to a certain degree as well.
He remembered Sol's betrayal, but he knew that it was a result of pampering her with too many resources before stopping altogether; this time, he had never pampered Soleil with resources and never exposed her to his secrets other than superficially.
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"DAMN KID!"
A young-looking man with emerald eyes and loose black hair shouted at the empty desert.
He enveloped himself in Qi and made his limp body float to a place of a nearby ally. He was too wounded, and he would get killed easily by any other seventh-stage entity right now. Even those in the sixth stage would pose a serious threat if they were slightly talented.
"Frank, open the damn cave and let me in, I need a place to rest."
"Atum, is that you? Are you bringing your troubles over here? Go away and get killed somewhere else, don't compromise my location!"
Atum heard a panicking voice from underground.
"There's nobody after me, I just fell into a trap. Stop being a coward and let me in."
"Oh, come inside, come inside. I was going to let you inside anyway, haha! I'm not scared of some righteous cultivators."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om