Aura suppressed, pores closed, and only using one's innate speed was enough to hide a cultivator from another one's senses, at least while the distance was above half the latter's maximum.

And from that point or closer, concealment methods like talismans, spells, and treasures would be required.

Since his arrival into the ravine, Bai Qi had been using all of the possible methods, with both formations and the materials of the towers greatly helping him remain undetected or hide when required. And from the events of the past two days, it was clear that his approach was working, especially since he discovered that none of the cultivators present used mindpower scans to amplify their senses.

But that had just changed, as this time, three hundred feet before reaching his new targets - they discovered a trace of his presence. And even while using a Warrior Lord level concealment talisman complemented by a batch of spells, and even the passive effects from the [Afterlife Beacon Flower Cloak].

Bai Qi's quick mind and keen intuition made him react right as he felt something was wrong. And right it time, as it was a moment before the two cultivators turned to the spot he was on. And when they did, Bai Qi immediately went unto the ground. Then, using the passive concealment formation of the cloak, he quickly used a slight amount of inner qi to burrow a couple of feet without any traces.

***

[Anning-du], a group that specialized in assassinations and bounties. Usually, the group did not participate in such things as open combat or sieges. But its boss owed a favor to the [Seven Souls Sect], one he agreed to repay in such a manner. Thus, [Anning-du] joined the siege, sending thirty of the close-to disposable [Sleeveless].

Between that thirty, there were Feng and Ping. And both had been patrolling the surroundings of the 11th tower, the easternmost of the third line. Their turn to patrol would only end at sunset, and it promised to be a dull and unrewarding task. Or so they thought until their trained senses caught on a concealed presence just three hundred feet away.

{Did you feel it?} Feng, a young man with an unusual crown of golden hair, confirmed with his companion.

{I will check. Prepare the signal if something goes wrong.} The common-looking, even dressed in worker garb, Ping answered. And after summoning a couple of, two feet long, short spears began slowly making her way toward the suspicious spot.

{It may be another trial by one of the seniors, so don't use poison right away.} Both being fresh blood, with only a year as [Shortsleeves], Feng reminded his companion of the so usual tests, or cruel jokes, that the older members practiced.

{If it's one of them, the poison will not affect them anyway.} Ping half-shrugged and then cut the connection to avoid distractions.

With careful and silent steps, not even a strand of qi or aura released as she moved, she approached the spot where they had sensed the presence. Ping's senses examined every leaf, blade of grass, and rock while her mind power scanned several hundreds of feet to each side.

Suddenly, she felt a trace of a passive formation, something that any ordinary cultivator would have missed, coming from a patch of slightly irregular grass. Even she would be unsure why it was strange, but it looked misplaced, and with her senses pointing to it as well, Ping's two short spears, which actually were throwing darts, left her hands.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

Both penetrated the grass, but nothing followed, so she moved closer, intending to verify it.

She questioned as she reached for her darts and found that the patch of grass was actually a cloak woven of it. Several options came into her mind, but considering all the variables, she felt it was one of finding the owner of this treasure.

***

Bai Qi was just two feet below the cloak, and while he had escaped detection and doubled his concealment measures by now, he could not just stay there until they left. After all, who knew when would that happen, and what if they had other detection methods?

Bai Qi wasn't wrong about the latter. The cultivator just above him was already examining the cloak with the intent of gathering enough traces, be it aura, qi, or even smell, to search for the owner. And while he wasn't sure of it, the decision he reached of acting turned out to be the correct one for that moment.

***

Ping was starting to check on the remaining presence traces on the cloak as she felt something wrong. While low-ranked members, their training was good. And they were trained to act on their instincts, so she immediately jumped back, even without knowing why.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Tear*

Her reaction had been correct. Just as she jumped back, a figure suddenly jumped out of the ground, and a qi-infused knife hand slashed at her. Thanks to her movement, the hand aimed at her dantian area mainly missed her, only tearing the hem of her skirt.

"Nice reaction." A voice said with a tinge of admiration, but Ping did not even manage to discern the speaker as the figure turned blurry, exploding in a flurry of punches, slashes, and kicks. Three dozen movements, all executed even before either of them touched the ground!

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*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

Some she avoided by jerking her body, and some she blocked with either knees, elbows, or the small pole of her short spears. But the force behind the attacks wasn't low, as even in the air and with no preparation, every impact had made Ping feel it with her entire body.

Both landed simultaneously, but surprisingly, Ping saw no one in front. Only an instant later, her senses caught that the one who attacked her had already rushed away.

"Feng, alarm, now!" Having felt the danger behind each blow, she was clear that this was no test. And so, she shouted right away, only then turning around and rushing after the attacker with the poisoned spearpoints prepared to skewer him.

***

Feng had followed every single movement of Ping since she took the first step. Alert and with both hands inside the sleeves, the left touching the alarm stone, and the right his weapon.

He tensed as Ping's darts left her hands but then relaxed when she picked up a cloth-like item from the ground. He, at least himself, considered that both were already on the level of the more experienced [Sleeveless]. After all, the win record in their spars proved it, even more for Ping, who had lost only three of the last twenty.

But even though everything looked fine, the members of the [Anning-du] were taught that you could not drop guard until your pair confirmed everything, twice. Thus, while the sudden appearance of someone from below the ground and the subsequent attack on Ping would astonish someone else, Feng's mind remained calm.

*Grip*

He gripped the stone, prepared to shatter it as soon as Ping confirmed that the attacker was an enemy and not one of the seniors.

Regretfully for him, by following the rules engrained into him by training, Feng failed to raise the alarm in time. After all, when Ping's words, "Feng, alarm, now!" entered his ears, the attacker's figure was too close.

Feng did try to shatter the stone right away, but the attacker's aura, and one superior to Feng's own, had concentrated on him. And the suppression slowed his movements enough to prevent Feng from applying enough force to shatter the stone.

***

Bai Qi avoided using his aura for suppression purposes, as it was simply too costly for his liking. Still, in such cases, when he did need the opponent to slow down, Bai Qi did not hold back, and his aura surrounded the golden-haired enemy, preventing the latter from using whatever alarm method they had.

As Bai Qi had acted before the female enemy shouted, he was reluctant about the spent soul power. But the slightly sour expression and thoughts were followed by a brief smile. One that crossed his face as the existence of an alarm was confirmed.

And then, the smile was replaced by a cold expression as Bai Qi's qi-infused fist crashed against the almost frozen peak Sage cultivator in front.

*Swoosh* *Splatter*

Two breaths since Bai Qi had emerged, and one of the opponents had already fallen to the ground, his entire chest destroyed by the qi contained in Bai Qi's fist.

Between Bai Qi's cultivation and prowess, even while limited by the formation, his strength was still comparable to a 5th or even 6th level Warrior Lord. Thus, the peak Sage had simply no way to survive the impact.

***

Furious and even sad for the death of someone who had been with her since the start, assigned to her as a pair as she started training, Ping still managed to examine the situation calmly.

And while she would not wish more for anything than killing the bastard right away, between the training and her usual rationale, she managed to assess the situation so, in place of approaching the remaining fifty feet, Ping decided to go for reinforcements.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

But simply retreating would be impossible, so she first threw the poison-coated darts at the attacker and only then changed directions. She was clear that if the Warrior Lord enemy used his aura, she would be unable to reach the tower, but thankfully, the supplies also included something else.

*Gulp*

A pill of [Soul Raising Demon], hidden in the mouth of every [Anning-du] assassin for such situations, activated as soon as she swallowed it, and Ping's aura immediately grew in strength.

The after-effects and recoil would be anything but nice, but thanks to it, her peak Sage aura would be comparable to one of a 1st or 2nd level Warrior Lord for a hundred breaths. Not useful for fighting an opponent of that cultivation, but her defense and speed would increase to help her escape. And most importantly, as to avoid being suppressed so easily.

***

"Not bad, but..." Bai Qi murmured as he sidestepped the two projectiles, and his senses concentrated on the dashing away companion of the one he just killed.

Bai Qi waved his arm, and several dozens of his mortal-quality throwing daggers appeared. After infusing them with enough aura to break through the abruptly increased defenses of his target, he waved his arm again.

*Swoosh*

And as they flew out, Bai Qi turned around, used a tendril of qi to pick up the [Storage Ring] of the one he had killed first, and started walking away, slowly preparing his concealment again.

A couple of breaths later, his senses caught on the disappearance of the escapee's presence, but Bai Qi felt nothing but a bit of disappointment. He shook his head and then disappeared again.

In truth, Bai Qi had not planned to kill anyone near this tower, following his goal of finding the wolf-fur-robed cultivators he had learned about before. To his surprise, a pair of peak Sages almost managed to discover him and forced him to take action. Regretfully for them, it had been a mistake.

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Somewhere close to an hour after Bai Qi had left the surroundings of the 11th tower, a pair of the haphazardly dressed [Sleeveless] cultivators part of the [Anning-du] group exited it.

"I wonder how are the young blood doing. Should we test the two again?" A tall and lanky man asked his complete opposite, a smallish and roundish woman.

"You just want to play with them again. Why not leave the poor guys alone for at least a week?" While she spoke with notable exasperation, the woman's tone delated it wasn't true her true emotion, as it also contained stifled laughter.

"Both show promise, and you remember how did the old bastards treat us when we were Sages, right?" The man asked in turn, revealing a crooked grin.

In response, the woman released the previously suppressed chuckle and nodded. But suddenly, as their senses failed to notice any signs of the pair they were speaking about, both of their expressions turned serious.

***

"Curse that dog-born bastard. I do not care for the price on his head or anything else, but we have to find and kill him!" Looking at the dead body of Ping, their youngest member, a man roared with fury as his aura flared.

"Not only did he kill them, but even left a signature?! Screw the orders. Let's go after him!" A nearby standing woman growled in response while pointing at one of the thirty or so daggers on the ground. On the visible part of the blade, and actually, on the blades of every other dagger as well, three characters were carved - [Black and White].