Cultivation is Creation

This guard was one of the late-Tier 1s, his rouqi control sharp enough that he sensed something wrong the moment I appeared behind him. He managed to start turning, his sword already leaving its sheath...

I Blink Stepped away just as his blade whispered through the space where my neck had been. Another Blink Step put me behind him, but he was already moving, his experience showing in how he maintained his guard even while spinning to face me.

"Intru—" he began to shout, but Yggy shot from my sleeve like an arrow, wrapping around his face and muffling his cry.

I Blink Stepped in close, risking a counterattack. My left hand caught his sword arm while my right struck his throat. His body's natural reflex was to gasp for air - exactly what I was waiting for.

In that split second, Yggy uncovered the lower portion of his face, allowing his mouth to open, which was exactly when I activated the Explosive Seed rune. The tiny seed construct shot between his parted lips and went straight down his throat.

The guard's eyes widened as he realized what was happening but Yggy once again covered his mouth preventing him from spitting it out, not a moment later, the seed reached his stomach and detonated.

The explosion was completely contained within his body - nothing more than a slight tremor visible from the outside. One moment he was struggling, the next he went limp in Yggy's coils.

"That," Han Renyi's voice was shaken, "was close."

"Too close," I agreed. "We need to be more careful. These late Tier 1 Rouqin have better combat instincts than I expected."

"They're Zhou Shentong's personal guards," he reminded me. "They might not have access to high-level techniques, but they're still experienced fighters."

He had a point. I'd been treating them like typical guards, the kind you could usually take down with basic techniques. But these men were survivors in a world where reaching even Tier 1 was becoming increasingly difficult. They'd probably earned their positions through combat experience rather than just cultivation level.

"Three left," I murmured, activating Hawk's Eye again to track the remaining guards. "Two mid Tier 1 near the main gate, and one late Tier 1 patrolling the inner courtyard."

"The ones at the gate work as a pair," Han Renyi supplied. "They never patrol separately."

That could be either a problem or an opportunity, depending on how I handled it. Two opponents meant more chances for something to go wrong, but it also meant they'd be focused on working together rather than watching their surroundings.

I made my way along the wall, staying in the shadows as I approached their position. The two guards were standing at their post, engaged in what looked like a casual conversation. Through Hawk's Eye, I could read their relaxed postures and unfocused gazes. They weren't expecting any trouble.

Time to disappoint them.

I readied Leaf Storm, preparing to launch a widespread attack that would hit both guards simultaneously. But before I could act, one of them stretched and started walking toward my position.

"Going to check the west section," he called to his partner. "Back in a minute."

Well. Sometimes the universe just hands you a gift.

I waited until he was well away from his colleague, then used Blink Step to appear behind the remaining guard. His body barely had time to tense up before Leaf Storm's razor-sharp projectiles sliced through his throat.

I caught him and quickly concealed the corpse behind some nearby crates, then waited for his partner to return. The second guard reappeared right on schedule, looking relaxed and completely unaware that he was walking into an ambush.

One quick Blink Step and a precisely aimed Leaf Storm later, and he joined his colleague in the shadows.

Now there was only one guard left…

Moving carefully through the compound's gardens, I made my way toward the inner courtyard. The layout here was more elaborate than the outer sections – carefully maintained flower beds and ornamental trees that probably consumed more resources than most families had to spare.

"Showing off his wealth even in his gardening choices," Han Renyi commented bitterly. "Those white jade flowers? They require special soil imported from the northern mountains. And those ever-blooming plum trees need constant rouqi infusion just to stay alive in this climate."

I had to admit, the plants were impressive given the world's declining energy. Through my connection to plant life, I could feel how they struggled to survive, each one maintaining a delicate balance between growth and conservation. It was like watching someone try to run a mansion on a candle's worth of power.

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The last guard was proving to be the most challenging to approach. He maintained a precise patrol route through the garden, his movements showing the kind of spatial awareness that comes from years of combat experience. More importantly, he kept his rouqi sense active constantly, creating a bubble of awareness that would detect any significant energy signatures.

"He's good," I admitted, watching from behind a decorative rock formation. "No blind spots in his patrol, maintains consistent awareness, doesn't establish any predictable patterns... This one actually knows what he's doing."

"He should," Han Renyi replied. "That's Zhang Ruiyang, Zhou Shentong's personal combat instructor. Father says he was famous as a duelist before he was recruited."

That explained a lot. Unlike the other guards who were probably hired muscle, this one was a genuine expert who'd simply been limited by the world's declining energy. In terms of pure skill, he might actually be more dangerous than Zhou Shentong himself.

"Any chance we could just go around him?" Han Renyi suggested hopefully.

I shook my head. "His patrol route covers all approaches to the main building. We'd never get past him without being detected." I paused, considering our options. "We need a distraction."

That's when I noticed something interesting about those expensive imported plants. The white jade flowers Han Renyi had mentioned – they were technically in the same family as certain hallucinogenic species I'd read about. I wondered...

"Azure," I thought, keeping this particular conversation private, "what are the chances these flowers retained some of their more interesting properties even in this world?"

"Based on our observations of other transplanted species," he replied, "approximately 72%. Though their effects would likely be weakened due to the reduced energy density."

“Would it be better to use the red sun energy?” I asked Azure. “It’s shown the ability to cause mutations…”

“This is what I’d recommend, Master. It’d likely be more effective, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to cripple or kill a Tier 1 Rouqin.”

I would rather not face a duellist head on, even a slight advantage would have to be good enough when coupled with a sneak attack.

I reached out with my wood element affinity, connecting to the nearest cluster of white jade flowers. They responded sluggishly at first, but as I fed them a tiny amount of red sun energy, their natural processes mutated.

Within moments, they began releasing a fine pollen into the air – invisible to normal sight, but I could track it through my connection to the plants. The evening breeze carried it directly into Zhang Ruiyang's patrol route.

The effect wasn't immediate. For the first few minutes, I worried it hadn't worked at all. Then I noticed subtle changes in his movements – slightly slower reactions, minor hesitations at turning points, the occasional shake of his head as if trying to clear it.

"Now," I whispered, mainly to myself. "While the pollen's affecting his concentration..."

I activated Blink Step, appearing directly behind him. In the same motion, I triggered Leaf Storm, sending a wave of razor-sharp leaves toward his exposed back. It should have been a perfect ambush.

Should have been.

Instead, Zhang Ruiyang moved with a speed that shouldn't have been possible given his affected state. His sword left its sheath in a horizontal arc that would have bisected me if I hadn't immediately thrown myself backward. The leaves of my attack scattered against his blade like confetti, deflected by a precise rouqi enhancement that spoke of decades of practice.

"Master," Azure's voice held a note of concern, "his movements suggest—"

"He was faking," I finished, already Blink Stepping away from his follow-up strike. "He detected the pollen and played along, waiting for us to make our move."

"Impressive setup with the flowers," Zhang Ruiyang murmured, pointing his sword, which now flames dancing along it, at me. "But I've spent decades training to resist such tricks. Did you really think garden variety toxins would work on me?"

"A fire user," I muttered. "Because of course he is. The one element that's particularly good at burning through plant techniques."

"Worried?" Zhang Ruiyang asked, his sword tracing a burning arc through the air. "You should be. Fire beats wood, young master Han. Always has, always will."

A/N

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