......
A few seconds passed by in the blink of an eye as two cloaked figures were on death's door. While gasping for breath, they fought off nearly a dozen blue figures that transitioned between attacking the two of them within separate parts of the blue misty screen that kept everything shrouded.
It looks like those blue floberries worked wonders in keeping everything nice and separated as I work on taking out each of them using the 'Old Fashioned Way'. Otherwise known as 'Two versus One isn't fair, so why don't we make it Two versus Ten??'.
Azmodeus had no shame when it came to being shameless, as he was willing to gang up on enemies slightly stronger than him if it meant he came out on top in the end.
He wasn't always like this, but after obtaining the Mirror Mirage and Super Strength Traits, some renditions of 'Numbers and Strength beat all' were engraved into his subconscious.
Nevertheless...
*Spurt!* *Spurt!*
*Bam! *Bam!*
Two heads were sliced off their shoulders as two cloaked figures fell to the cobblestoned surface of a random alleyway in the Outer Grounds of the Yang Sect.
Usually, there would be a number of people left in a state of disarray after seeing such a scene go down so close to a busy area. But in this case, a blue misty substance covered up the entire alleyway, attracting a little suspicion from patrolling guards but not enough to cause them to go and investigate.
So in the end, the two strongest Shadows of the Black Tiger Family died without a burial, as Azmodeus received a few system notifications not long after.
BLING!
*Ding!* *You have touched the body of the being known as 'Shadow Two'*
*Ding!* *Would you like to roll for one of his abilities?*
*Ding!* *Yes/No*
Azmodeus immediately clicked yes, as a similar roulette to the previous ones appeared in front of him.
After spinning around a few times and going through a thousand or so Evolution Essence, he was eventually able to obtain the 'Shadow Cleaver' Trait that he was hoping for.
However, his system notifications weren't over with just that, as a few more bombarded his vision.
BLING!
*Ding!* *You have killed two cultivators in the Peak Stages of the 20% Tempering Marrow Realm!*
*Ding!* *Would you like to Assimilate or roll for Abilities of both of the cultivators?*
Azmodeus clicked the assimilate button after realizing that he had already obtained the only Trait that he wanted from the two of them.
BLING!
*Ding!* *You have obtained 48 Points in Strength, 49 in Speed, 51 in Defense, 54 in Qi, and 42 in Cultivation Talent.*
*Ding!* *Your overall combat power has tremendously improved!*
*Ding!* *You have obtained 50,000 Evolution Essence for killing two cultivators in the Peak Stages of the 20% Tempering Marrow Realm!*
After these pop-ups appeared, Azmodeus decided to open up his system interface and see what he should do next in terms of Evolution Essence allotment.
BLING!
—------------
{[Infinite Evolution System]}
[Host: Azmodeus]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 12/115]
[Cultivation: Initial Stages of the 20% Tempering Marrow Minor Realm (Body Refinement Major Realm.)]
[Overall combat power: Initial Stages of the 40% Tempering Marrow Minor Realm]
[Level: 31]
[Evolution Essence needed for the next level: 60,000]
[Evolution Essence Bank: 2,900 → 32,000 → 82,000]
{[Stats:]}
[Strength: 245 + 84 (329)]
[Speed: 243]
[Defense: 240]
[Qi: 260]
[Cultivation Talent: 210]
[Spiritual Roots: Crystallized Embryo] (Rank: ???)
{[Assimilated Evolution Traits/Qualities]}
[Inherited Traits and Active Species Alterations:
[Stealth - Level 4] (J Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Mirror Mirage - Level 3] (I Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Super Strength - Level 3] (I Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Shadow Cleaver - Level 0] (I Rank)] → [0/100]
—------------
After understanding where his strengths and weaknesses lie, Azmodeus decided to use his remaining Evolution Essence to level up once and then level up his Shadow Cleaver Trait to Level 3.
After a few clicks and an increase in strength, a new system interface was presented before him.
BLING!
—------------
{[Infinite Evolution System]}
[Host: Azmodeus]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 12/118]
[Cultivation: Middle Stages of the 20% Tempering Marrow Minor Realm (Body Refinement Major Realm.)]
[Overall combat power: Late Stages of the 40% Tempering Marrow Minor Realm]
[Level: 32]
[Evolution Essence needed for the next level: 60,000]
[Evolution Essence Bank: 82,000 → 37,000 → 25,890]
{[Stats:]}
[Strength: 267 + 84 (351)]
[Speed: 266]
[Defense: 268]
[Qi: 285]
[Cultivation Talent: 225]
[Spiritual Roots: Crystallized Embryo] (Rank: ???)
{[Assimilated Evolution Traits/Qualities]}
[Inherited Traits and Active Species Alterations:
[Stealth - Level 4] (J Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Mirror Mirage - Level 3] (I Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Super Strength - Level 3] (I Rank)] → [0/100,000]
[Shadow Cleaver - Level 3] (I Rank)] → [0/100,000]
—------------
After using up the majority of his Evolution Essence, a wave of power washed over Azmodeus. Along with it, an esoteric black, murky energy enveloped his body before altering his very existence.
This must be happening because of my Shadow Cleaver Trait...
At this realization, he felt something else slightly change within him—something that he had before but no longer has now.
I am gaining more strength... but I feel that I am losing something that was quite important to the past me...
Azmodeus said it in a past tense way because what he 'lost' no longer held any importance to the current him...
"Just a second ago, I still held some modicum of emotion when I looked at the people I killed. But now, I feel absolutely nothing when I look at these corpses around me."
Azmodeus's eyes scanned the two headless bodies before him, as he felt nothing...
Not a single hint of remorse or empathy passed through his subconscious upon observing what happened after he reaped two lives.
"Remember, my lovely little boy, everything in life has a price, and you will need to pay that price if you wish to achieve your destiny."
"I understand, mother. I will do what I must in order to go further."
His slightly melancholic words echoed out as the blue mist dispersed into the air, and along with it, the boy who murdered two assassins in cold blood was no longer there.
It didn't take long before a few nearby pedestrians walked by and saw the two corpses. This forced hoarse screams out of their throats as a crowd started to form.
Eventually, a large group of people gathered around the alleyway, and inside the alleyway, there were a few dozen guards inspecting the gruesome scene before them.
.....