Yuan City was no longer sleeping.
News spread like wildfire through the slums, markets, and even the noble estates.
Zhen Tao—a trafficker too cruel even for the underground—had been assassinated in his own home.
No guards had seen the killer.
No traps had been triggered.
No alarms had gone off.
Only a symbol remained—
On the wall above the smoldering remains of his study: a single red feather, painted in blood-red ink.
Below it, two words burned into memory:
Red Phoenix
No one could erase it.
They tried.
Water didn't work. Qi didn't react. Even formation masters failed.
The Paint Talisman was a creation of high technique and untraceable origin.
It was as if a ghost had left its mark and vanished into the wind.
---
Meanwhile, in the quiet corners of Yuan City—beneath an abandoned shrine-turned-hideout—Alice meditated, her legs crossed, crimson eyes closed.
Qi surged through her meridians in roaring waves, spiraling faster and fiercer with every breath.
The reward from her first assassination was worth it:
– Two Tier 1 Qi Enhancing Pills
– A bottle of Spirit-Gathering Incense
– Over 600 Tier 1 Spirit Stones
She had spent wisely.
The incense burned beside her. Her cultivation manual opened before her, dark and flickering with ink etched in cursed fire essence.
The room pulsed with energy.
On the first night, after hours of focus, her body shuddered—
Her dantian shook, cracked, then burst with light as she broke through to the 5th level of Qi Condensation Realm.
The next night, using her final pill and a soul-calming talisman, she pushed further.
Qi exploded within her like thunder.
6th level.
She opened her eyes.
Her power had grown.
And it was only the beginning.
---
Dressed once more in her signature black cloak and crimson red mask, Alice walked through the underground market like a silent breeze.
Whispers followed her everywhere.
"Did you hear? That trafficker was Level 6!"
"No one saw her, only... red lips under a red mask."
At the assassination guild stall, the tattooed broker stiffened when he saw her.
He nodded respectfully. "Red Phoenix. Got something... difficult, this time."
He slid her another jade slip.
Target: Mo Han
Realm: Qi Condensation – Level 8
Occupation: Slave Merchant & Arena Lord
Location: Eastern District, guarded by hired rogue cultivators
Reward: 1,200 Tier 1 Spirit Stones + 1 Tier 2 Spirit Stone
Note: Brutal, paranoid. Rarely leaves his compound. Believed to have a Tier 2 defensive artifact.
Alice's eyes narrowed slightly behind her mask.
Level 8 was no joke. Two levels above her. And with a defensive artifact?
Still… it wasn't impossible. Not for her.
She reached for the slip, then paused.
"I'll need poison," she said simply.
The broker nodded, pulling out a small vial wrapped in seals.
"Venom of the Night Widow Spider. Silent. Paralyzes Qi flow within ten seconds."
Alice pocketed it.
"I'll need a night," she said. "Maybe two."
And just like that—she turned, cloak billowing behind her.
The underground market had seen assassins before.
But none like this.
None like Red Phoenix.