"Where are your accomplices?" He asks me, his tone now more serious.
"Accomplice? Why? You don't believe I alone am capable of taking down your son's guards?" I ask him mockingly.
"That's impossible, a fifteen year old? and one who is yet to..." He pauses as he notices something.
"Wait, isn't that Ki I've been sensing around you for a while now? You've activated your dantian? When? How?" He asks confused.
"Are you going to keep talking or are you going to come at me Ximen Hong?" I ask him mockingly.
He looks at me, annoyed at the way I speak to him.
"I don't know what you and whoever is with you are up to but I'll take you back to the clan and interrogate you." He says to me as he picks up his sword.
"I told you earlier, I have no accomplice, it would be in your best interest if you do not understand me." I say to him as he begins to walk closer.
Wait, what the fuck? Why did I say that? wouldn't it be better if he underestimates me? why am I warning him?
This fucked up Murim is beginning to rub off on me.
He swings his sword at me, using the flat surface to hit me.
I block it with my left forearm as I leap away.
"Fuck! That was heavy." I say to myself as my left arm trembles from the impact.
He attacks me again with his sword in his right hand.
But I'm not going to remain on the receiving end.
I rush at him closing the distance between us.
He tries to grab me with his left arm.
I dodge it.
I grab that arm, pull myself to his back and bend his arm to the back before pushing him away.
"Ok ok I could use some of those techniques." I say to myself as he looks at me, puzzled on what had just happened.
"It seems I really should not underestimate you." He says as he spins his sword in his hand.
He rushes at me at high speed and so I dash a little closer towards him, thereby reducing our distance faster than he expected.
Now his face now within my reach I launch a clean right jab, right in his face.
Any other human would have fallen back from the impact but this bastard, even after I hit him right in the face, he still swings his sword at me.
But I move out of the way thereby his sword misses me.
Increasing the distance between us I throw a dagger at him.
This dagger was moving at almost 600m/s but this bastard slaps it away with his sword as if it's a mosquito.
I begin to wrap myself in Ki.
Rather than only using Ki to power my movements I also reinforce my body with it.
I wrap my fist with Ki, this is not something I should be able to do at the level of First Rate, so it's really straining on me.
But I have to do what I have to do.
To survive.
To avenge Diana.
This is a little easier than doing it with a weapon.
Since a weapon is not directly a part of my body.
Using so much Ki my red hair begins to fade back to black.
The dark mist around me begins to subside.
Let's hold on, for her.
I rush in throwing a heavy right hook.
He blocks it with his left hand.
I immediately follow up with a left uppercut but he dodges it by moving a step back.
I immediately follow him, not letting him create any distance between us.
I hit him with my fist in his chest.
This impact causes a ripple sound wave in the air.
It sends him a few feets back.
"Wow, a kid at the age of fifteen to be this strong, that would've been a blessing for the Ximen Clan, but at this point, you are a criminal." He says with his hand at the point of impact.
"Surrender now and I'll make your punishment light, even I wouldn't want to lose a warrior like you." He tells me while coming closer.
I couldn't really focus on what he was saying.
I was getting light headed.
The strain of using Ki directly on my body at just the level of a First Rate is just too much.
"I just received word that the leader wants us to begin our conquest on the Murim, so in times like this, we could never have enough of geniuses like you." He starts yapping.
Conquest of the Murim? whats he talking about.
"Conquest of the Murim?" I ask him.
"Our leader has a great plan to unite the Murim, to rule over the Murim, but a few years back before you were born there were two hindrances, the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader of the time and an Assassin known as Sangdaejong." He states.
I and my sister?
"So we had to get rid of them." He says.
"So you guys killed them?" I ask, my voice now deeper.
"Well, not exactly, we weren't the only ones who saw them as a nuisance, the Imperial family, the Orthodox Faction, the Unorthodox and the Heavenly Demon Cult themselves.
So we used their envy, their hate, to unite each other to concoct a plan to remove this nuisance.
They were unstoppable beings, there was no way we could stop them, except...
What if they couldn't use their Ki.
But they were immune to all poison.
But we somehow did it.
And after years of the poison settling in, it was time.
The Imperial Family, The Orthodox Murim Alliance, The Unorthodox faction and even the Heavenly Demon Cult, they all sent powerful men numbering at total over three hundred, and none was below the level of Martial Master, there were even three Supreme Peaks.
But even with that, even without Ki, this bastards were still so formidable.
Of all the three hundred plus martial experts, only two Supreme Peaks and four Grandmasters survived.
It was a great loss on all sides but at least, the job was done.
And now that the hindrances are gone, each faction had gone back to fighting against each other.
But we of the Blood Cult have been silently building our strength, for fifteen years now.
And it is finally time." He finally comes to a stop with a huge smile on his face.
I couldn't say anything, I was speechless.
My head low.
My arms trembling.
My eyes dark.
So it wasn't just the Cult?
The Orthodox faction? the Unorthodox? and even the Imperial Family?
My head is getting fuzzy.
I want to go on a rampage right now.
But what rampage could a weakling possibly go on.
I turn back and begin walking towards where I had dropped my sword.
I was not thinking straight.
I pick up my sword and turn to Ximen Hong pointing the sword at him.
"I thought you would be reasonable Yeong." He says with a sigh as he begins walking towards me.
As he comes closer, my hair suddenly flares in the air glowing completely blood red.
The dark mist that had subsided becomes more vivid.
"Heavenly Demon Technique, First Form..."