Chapter Thirty-Five: What Weapon Do You Use?

Fu Qian glanced at the middle-aged man who had emerged from behind the stone tablet.

He was slightly plump with an unremarkable appearance, wearing a loose-fitting sweater. His hair was thinning at the forehead, and his face wore a constant, pleasant smile. At first glance, he looked like a twenty-five-year-old software engineer.

The moment he had left the group, Fu Qian sensed someone tailing him. He had ignored the man, but he hadn't expected the fellow to be so persistent as to follow him all the way here.

Although the man appeared harmless, his arrival had been utterly silent—his body seemed as light as if it lacked mass. He was clearly an expert in skulking and stealth. Being targeted by such a character was rarely a good sign.

"I must say, you’ve really impressed me." The middle-aged man looked at Fu Qian, his eyes reflecting those of a cat toying with a mouse. "You keep a low profile on the surface, but in reality, your cultivation level is likely the highest in your entire group. Even I nearly lost track of you."

"To be so low-key and patient—given time, you would surely achieve great things. That is, of course, assuming you have any time left."

"You’re too kind."

Fu Qian kept his eyes fixed on the ring of invisible barriers, offering a perfunctory reply as if he hadn't even heard the man's final remark. His reaction clearly caught the middle-aged man off guard; the man narrowed his eyes.

"Actually, I'm curious. Can you tell me why you left your team and ran all the way out here?"

"I’m leaving."

"Leaving?"

This answer was clearly beyond the man's expectations.

"Yeah. The atmosphere here is a bit stifling. I’m going home to get some rest."

Fu Qian’s tone was as matter-of-fact as if he were simply saying he needed to go find a place to relieve himself.

...

"Li Weixuan is personally leading this exploration mission. It’s an opportunity people would kill for, and you want to go home?" The smile on the middle-aged man's face turned cold. "If that’s the case, you needn't worry, because I’ll be sending you on your way shortly."

"You are welcome to try running, or pull out your Arrow Bell and see if Li Weixuan can make it in time to save you."

*Arrow Bell?*

Fu Qian thought for a moment. He recalled the team members mentioning it during some idle chatter. Simply put, it was a survival tool provided by the Academy to every student sent out for field training, much like a flare gun. Given that communication devices often failed completely in forbidden territories, one could activate and fire it in a life-or-death situation to signal for help and coordinate support.

"No worries, I don't need to call for backup yet." Fu Qian waved his hand dismissively, frowning at the man, and asked a question he actually cared about.

"What weapon do you plan to use to kill me?"

*What weapon?*

The middle-aged man was visibly stunned, his expression one of utter disbelief, as if to say, "Are you insane?"

"Aren't you concerned about *why* I want to kill you?"

"Not really. And are you sure it’s actually me you want to kill?"

Receiving no answer, Fu Qian sighed.

"What do you mean?" The man’s eyes sharpened.

"Just a guess. You’ve been tailing me since I left the group. You’ve had countless opportunities to strike, yet you chose to follow me all the way out here. Now that you’re finally acting, you aren't ambushing me—you’re showing yourself openly, telling me I’m going to die. It feels like you’re deliberately creating pressure to force me to run."

"You even reminded me that I could use the Arrow Bell to call for help. None of these actions look like anything a professional assassin would do."

"Your true target must still be deeper in the ruins. Are you trying to make a feint in the east to attack in the west?"

"Are you hoping to drive me as far away as possible, then use the Arrow Bell to lure Li Weixuan over to rescue me, giving you a chance to slip back and take out your real target?"

"Interesting... then why don't you try to guess who my target is?" The middle-aged man lowered his voice, seemingly tacitly confirming Fu Qian’s hypothesis.

"That's not very hard to guess. First, we were divided into three teams. The fact that you targeted me so quickly suggests that I am likely in the same team as your target. When you were tailing us, you noticed me leaving the group and decided it was a good opportunity to follow."

"There are nine other people in that group besides me. Judging by your performance, you are clearly highly skilled in stealth and assassination—you followed us all the way here without even Dean Li Weixuan noticing."

"Considering it’s impossible for Li Weixuan to keep his eyes on our group every single second, you could have easily found an opening to kill your target and flee. It wouldn't have been a worse choice than what you're doing now. But you didn't choose that, which means you lack the confidence to eliminate the target in one strike and fear you wouldn't be able to escape if Li Weixuan intervened. Therefore, you need more time to ensure the mission is completed."

"With your level of strength, who in our group would make you doubt your ability to land a killing blow? Ji Liushuang, or Yuan Xin?"

Fu Qian watched the man. His pupils flickered noticeably when Ji Liushuang’s name was mentioned.

"I see. It’s Ji Liushuang."

*Ha.*

The middle-aged man let out a burst of laughter. "If it is as you say, why do you think I want to kill Ji Liushuang?"

"Now, that’s a bit of a tough one for me. That student Ji looks like someone of very high status. I assume it’s another one of those power struggles between wealthy conglomerates or noble families. Once you get involved in that kind of mess, it’s only natural for a hired dog like you, specialized in assassination, to show up."

Fu Qian remained expressionless. He truly had zero interest in these ridiculous, convoluted affairs, yet somehow, they always seemed to find him.

"You're courting death..."

Under the barrage of Fu Qian's mockery, the middle-aged man finally lost his composure, uttering a stereotypical line of enraged frustration. "Killing you first and triggering the Arrow Bell myself will work just the same."

The next moment, the man moved like lightning, appearing instantly at Fu Qian’s side and unleashing a palm strike, silent and swift. A terrifying, murderous aura instantly enveloped Fu Qian.

*Sigh, turns out this guy uses martial arts after all.*

Fu Qian let out a sigh. *What a waste of my precious time!*

He had hoped that someone acting as an assassin might at least have some kind of divine weapon he could use to test whether it could damage the barrier. How disappointing.

Facing the terrifying blow, Fu Qian flashed to the side.

When he had been testing the barrier earlier, this man hadn't arrived yet, so he surely wouldn't realize there was an invisible obstacle here. How could he not take advantage of that? This was the very reason he had been standing there motionless.

Fu Qian’s dodging speed clearly caught the man by surprise; he hadn't expected that even with his utmost caution, he had misjudged the situation.

The strike missed. Just as he tried to shift his momentum, he slammed headlong into an invisible barrier.

*What the hell!*

Staring at the empty air beside him, the middle-aged man’s mind stalled for a second.

Before he could recover, he felt a sharp pain in his flank. A long, red whip flashed by, splattering a mist of blood. At the same time, a feeling of inexplicable, violent rage welled up in his heart.

*This whip is strange!*

The man braced himself against the invisible barrier, dodging the next two strikes, and the feeling of agitation in his heart lessened slightly. *The wound in my flank is minor. I must be careful not to get hit by the whip again and try to engage in close-quarters combat...*

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw Fu Qian’s face, inches away.

*This guy is actually giving up his reach advantage to fight me in close quarters?*

The man couldn't comprehend Fu Qian’s actions, but then a sharp pain pierced his flank. Something had penetrated the wound, and its tip branched out into countless fine threads that entangled themselves deep within his internal organs.

The next moment, a surge of heat erupted. Amidst a sky of blood-red light, his corpse fell heavily from the air.