“That’s it?”

“We’ve done our best. Gathering information on Core Disciples is not easy.”

Sicario snorted and took the offered papers. “So that’s him? Shao Lin? What about the other guy?”

“We’ve been unable to find him. Nobody really knows much about him. Apparently, he joined the Sect less than a year ago and then suddenly became an honorary Core Disciple, according to some of his friends.”

“An honorary Disciple? Really? Are you taking me for a fool?!” Sicario barked. “Why would an Elder take a lowly Mortal as his Disciple?!”

The man Sicario was shouting at lowered his head in submission. “It’s what we heard. It’s probably not accurate, but we have been unable to locate him to confirm. The last time anyone has seen him was over a month ago when they went into the wilderness. He hasn’t come back since.”

“Useless!” Sicario snorted and burned the papers in his hand. Having read them once, he already remembered everything there was. But if his other target was absent for so long, maybe the problem already took care of itself. The wilderness was dangerous after all, especially so for a Mortal.

A knock was heard on the door and then a male voice came through.

“Boss, the target was seen on the move.”

“Where?” Sicario asked, not letting the other man in the room respond.

“He’s been seen walking towards the eastern part. Another unknown man is with him, and we suspect they are trying to leave.”

Sicario grinned. “Finally.”

He triggered the mechanism and opened the door, turning to the courier. “Let’s go. Guide me there.”

The messenger looked uncertain and glanced at the man sitting inside the room behind the desk, looking helpless. After receiving an affirmative nod, he then cupped his fists and turned to Sicario.

“Follow me, Senior.”

The two men then left the bar they were in and came to the back street. They then turned around and made a beeline to the place the person they were looking for was last sighted.

----------------------------------------

“There!” The courier pointed at two figures slowly walking out of the Sect. They had to run to catch up to them, and now he and Sicario were standing at the edge of the Sect.

“Good job. Here, for your work. And now go back.” Sicario tossed a Spirit stone to the man and then hastily made his way toward his target as his guide quickly turned around and left.

Whatever was going to happen, the man wanted none of it. And Sicario could appreciate that. He needed privacy for his work and the fewer witnesses there were, the better.

His facial structure shifted, giving him a new look, and the soles of his feet glowed with a barely perceptible golden color, allowing him to catch up to the pair fairly quickly. As promised, one of the two was the target, Core Disciple Shao Lin, and a quick scan placed him at Golden Core Third Layer.

Sicario grinned and scanned the other person beside him. It was an unknown guy in the middle of Nascent Soul. Though he was not the target, that didn’t matter to him as he was never a merciful person. Whenever he was there to kill, he did his job thoroughly.

Considering they were so much weaker than him, dispatching their corpses quickly should be the biggest obstacle. He gripped the Soul Breaker and sped up.

First, he had to get rid of the distraction, so Sicario aggressively flashed his Soul, stunning the clueless man into stillness. Or, it should have, yet the man somehow still turned, looking utterly confused.

Sicario nearly aborted his attack, but then steadied his heart and continued. His fist was empowered with his peak Golden Core Qi, ready to blast the man into a thousand pieces.

Time slowed down for Sicario and his fist hammered into the chest of the man. He felt every bone in his body transfer deadly force through his knuckles and into the ribcage of his target.

But to his surprise, instead of being torn apart, the man was simply blown away like a cannonball, breaking through many bushes and trees in the way as his body bounced and rolled from sight and disappeared.

Sicario was stunned for a moment, his aching fist still feeling the aftereffects of bashing it against an indestructible wall. That’s what it felt like at least. The man was most certainly not simple, but he didn’t have time to be thinking about that.

His eyes shifted to his real target after noticing movement. The man was already jumping back, his hands holding the string of a bow, arrow already nocked and aimed at him. He then blinked and watched the arrow leave the string as it was flying closer.

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Sicario internally smirked at the futile attempt and simply sidestepped it, letting his Qi flow through him. Time slowed down even more as his thoughts sped up, and the Soul Breaker glinted dangerously in his hand as the arrow slipped by.

One powerful step, and he was there, face to face, with the man named Shao Lin. The blade moved like a shark’s fin through water, until it reached golden, reinforced flesh. And then it continued through like it wasn’t even there.

The hand holding the bow was cleaved clean off at the shoulder, just as the Soul residing inside was cut, preventing the man from retaliating completely.

Shao Lin roared in slow motion, yet his scream was muffled and distorted in Sicario’s ears. He wasted no time and went straight for the heart with his Soul Breaker blade.

However, just as he was about to stab, the badge on Shao Lin’s chest exploded into a milky-white barrier and pushed the blade back.

“Gah!” Sicario groaned as the Soul Breaker was nearly knocked out of his grasp. He silently cursed in his mind. He was hoping his target wouldn’t have any life-saving treasures, but it seemed he was too optimistic.

He wasn’t too worried though. With time, the barrier would exhaust its energy stores, even more so if he attacked it. However, just as he was about to do that, a white sphere separated from the barrier, and amid an ear-piercing screech, flew into the sky and exploded.

The boom was deafening, and a pillar of red light formed ominously in the sky, reaching all the way to the ground. Anyone with a brain would immediately understand it was some sort of a distress beacon, and so close to the Sect, it was impossible to miss.

“Shit.”

Sicario frowned and a lapse in concentration returned him back to the normal flow of time. Worse yet, he noticed the man he had punched come back, completely unharmed. And if that wasn’t enough, Disciples from Law Enforcement suddenly came from everywhere, surrounding him completely.

They were armed with all kinds of weapons, some of them even with empty fists. But Sicario just laughed at the pathetic display of force. None of them came even close to his power, which was even more apparent after no more than three seconds later, as pieces of them lay strewn across the floor everywhere.

Sicario reappeared back at his original spot and wiped the blade of crimson blood.

“Pathetic. None of them ever even stood a chance, yet they tried to stop me.” Even the man he punched previously died to his blade, his head separated from the body in one, though admittedly somewhat difficult, strike.

He was just about to focus back on his original target who was squirming on the floor as blood pooled around him, when another person landed between them with greater flare. It was an Elder.

Dust rose to the sky as the Elder scanned the dead, but then his sharp gaze turned to him. To the mighty Sicario.

He gulped, his mind nervously calculating his chances against a stronger opponent. He knew his chances were slim, but he knew that before accepting the job. Death was always a possibility, though not a large one.

He was scared, that was true, however, if there was one thing Siciaro was not, it was a coward.

He released his Qi, empowering himself with absolute speed. Time stopped. Everything froze in the air, even dust and debris remained simply suspended there, floating. His eyes shifted to the Elder, slowly. His eyes stared at him, but there was no movement. Good.

He looked towards the ground and pulled. Telekinetic abilities were brought to their full display as he was slowly bent down and soon became horizontal to the ground. All his muscles flexed at once and he, with excruciating slowness, extended his hands to the earth.

His legs and feet touched the grass and began sinking, such was the force he applied. Time was frozen, nearly, but the speed of his thoughts allowed him to maneuver faster than anyone else.

There came a pulse of Qi from his body. It was moving slowly, at a snail's pace, but still fast enough. The ground hardened into a diamond.

He crouched down, hands and feet firmly anchored into the earth. He looked at the Elder. The fool was still staring at where he used to be. He grinned, his lips parting painfully slow.

Time to die, old man!

His body began moving, every fiber of his being summoned to do his bidding. His leg muscles flexed, his tendons stretched, storing the energy like a spring, and his body contracted, preparing for a pounce.

Release!

The hardened ground split in an instant, the cracks spreading backward while his body accelerated forward. He was moving, there was nothing to stop him. The Elder was clueless. Another split-second and he would separate his head from his body.

That was his chance!

Sicario internally laughed and looked at the Elder. Those eyes, those damn arrogant eyes, staring at empty air. The arrogant fool!

He blinked. Slowly. It seemed like it was taking an eternity to do so. When he opened his eyes again, the Elder was staring at him. His heart froze.

Impossible!

The Elder frowned. He frowned fast! Faster than he ever could.

No! No, no, no! He needed to go faster! Faster! Qi circulated through his legs, despite being so quick, it still felt slow and sluggish, like honey!

Faster!

The Elder’s body glowed for a moment, the glow spreading to the ground beneath him.

Shit!

The Elder took a step forward.

Shit!

Sicario was already in the air, mid-pounce, slowly gliding towards the Elder, dagger in hand. The Elder moved to the side with a simple step. He was totally going to miss his target!

Shit! Shit! Shit!

The Elder took another step forward, coming nearly face-to-face with him. His expression was blank. The arrogant kind of blank. The kind of blank expression that told him he had everything under control. The Elder extended his hand and straightened his palm.

Shit! Shit! Shieeeet!

The palm stopped but Sicario kept moving, unable to change direction. His shoulder bumped the palm. The palm didn’t move, but his body did.

First, his skin got compressed, then his muscle, then his bone. Then his bone snapped.

It hurts!

Then his muscles tore. Then his skin broke, exploding into a million pieces in slow motion. There came a mist of crimson blood as his flesh and bone were liquified.

He felt it, he felt it all! Agony! Absolute agony! The feeling of having your limb blasted apart, the feeling stretched from an instant into long excruciating minutes. He couldn’t do it.

His concentration began failing him. Everything began speeding up. His thoughts slowed. The pain was too much, he needed to release, he needed to escape this eternal prison! Everything sprang back, back to normal speed…

… and exploded.