The cloud failed to blanket the sky, instead, it was irregular, chaotic in where it chooses to be thick or sparse. In the gaps, the sky had darkened; the clouds were no longer white or paler grey, instead, they were blackened shadows that shift with the wind. There were times they moved just enough to reveal the half-moon, but for the most part, there was no light in their way to the Sunrise Sect.
Eventually, both of them reached the outskirts of the sect and started to climb the steps leading to his house. During their chat, Michael learned that the Guardians is categorized into five classes or tiers: Bronze Class, Silver Class, Gold Class, Platinum Class, and finally the Palladium Class.
The bronze class was the lowest in the order and the powerful class was the Palladium. The blonde he met was a Silver class Guardian as she wore a silver pendant on her neck while Gaya's sister managed to earn a spot in the Bronze class but after looking at the way the blonde treated the Xanali, Michael was sure that Xanali would get promoted to the SIlver Class soon.
When they finished climbing the steps, he vaguely saw the structure of his house because of the darkness. Gaya was extremely tired after a long walk and couldn't wait to jump on her bed and have a shut-eye. She mustered her strength and rushed towards the house but when she was about a few meters away from the door, Michael grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"Don't make a sound, come with me" Although she couldn't see his face clearly, she could sense the seriousness in his tone. She walked with him without making any loud noise and arrived behind a huge tree.
"Human, what is it?"
"There are assassins waiting for me in the house"
"What?! How? I didn't see anyone, how could you tell?" Gaya's heart skipped a beat and her body slightly trembled. She was no longer a powerful cultivator and now she had to depend on Ghost to survive.
"I can sense them, there are six powerful assassins inside the house to kill me"
"Shit, what do we do? you can kill them using some of your weird spells right?" Gaya believed that he could always perform some miracles and save the day but she vaguely saw him shook his head.
"It's not that simple," he said and opened up the System.
"System, status window"
Host: Michael
Cultivation Level: Body Refining stage, level 5
Experience Points: 65000/300000
Badass Points: 18000
Skills & Spells:
Wind Blast - LVL 2
Responsive Shield - LVL 3
Environment Scanning - LVL 1
Ignitia - LVL 1
Lightning Dash - LVL 1
Energy Devouver - LVL 1
Occupation: Disciple of Sunrise sect
Status: Healthy
Goals: Control the world
Utility Function: Banker - LVL 2 (Ratio - 1000 gold coins: 5 badass point(s))
Special Trait: 5-Star Alchemist
Subordinates: Gaya (loyalty level 42%)
Base of Operation: Sunrise Sect
"System, if I upgrade the Environment Scanning to the next level, can I sense the cultivation level of the assassins inside?"
[Yes, the upgrade cost will be 9000 badass points]
"Jane you bitch! you will pay for every single badass point you're going to cost me. System upgrade the scanner to the next level, I want to know the power level of those who are waiting to kill me '' It didn't take long to figure out who sent assassins to kill him. Until now, he only made two enemies, Celina and Jane. If Celina wanted him dead, she had the power to kill him herself and there was no need to send assassins after him, which left him with only one culprit, Jane.
He gritted his teeth and endured the acute pain in his mind. After Environment scanning reached level 2, he was able to sense the cultivation level of the assassins inside without laying eyes on them.
However, when he sensed their cultivation level, dark lines appeared on his forehead.
"Six Level 10 Body Strengthening stage, hmm. System, can Level 4 Responsive shield withstand the attacks of the assassins?"
[No, the level 4 responsive shield can only withstand the attacks of anyone on or under the Body Strengthening stage level 8. Level 5 Responsive shield can withstand the attacks of the cultivators from the Body Strengthening stage level 10]
"Let me guess, I don't have enough points"
[Yes]
This situation made him realize one of his biggest weaknesses but at the moment, he had no time to be angry at himself. He then took a deep breath and calmed himself. Just after a few seconds of picking his brain, a small grin appeared on his face
"Alchemy my darling, System, I want to buy a potion"
[ahhuh?] The system sounded curious for a moment.
"How much is the Devil's breath potion in your store?"
[5000 points]
"How much are Bugbear Tooth, King's Basil, Silver Bay Leaf, Serpent Barbs?"
[2000 points but the System recommends the host to buy the potion] there was a hint of tension in the System's voice but Michael's grin grew wide.
"No thanks, just give me the ingredients I asked"
[Does the host really wish to buy the herbs and not the potion?]
"You bloody system, are you trying to swindle me? I know what you're up to, you wanted to make me buy the potion and an antidote separately so you could take all my badass points away, it's not going to happen. Just give me the damn ingredients I asked, I can brew the antidote and the potion myself "
[The Devil's breath potion from the system can weaken the enemies for 5minutes whereas the potion brewed by the host will only weaken the enemies for two minutes]
"The Devil's breath will weaken any Body Strengthening stage cultivators by five levels, System. That means those assassins will become level 5 Body strengthening stage cultivators for two whole minutes after breathing the potion. Two minutes is more than enough for me to kill them"
"Human, what's the plan? should I scream and wake up the entire sect?"
When Michael finished his purchase and closed the system, he heard Gaya's idea.
"I have a plan that not involves you screaming"
"What is it?" she leaned forward and asked.
"Devil's breathe" he conjured flame on his hand to brew the Devil's breath using the ingredients he bought from the system.
"I never heard of such a potion, what's it do?" she curiously peaked at the flame and the house from hiding behind the tree. Michael was cautious not to alert the waiting assassins and stood behind the tree to hide the light coming from the flame.
Gaya waited curiously for another five minutes and saw him pour a dark red ooze into a glass vial and a silvery liquid into another vial before he put away the flame.
"How do you feel about using the Mark 3?" he pulled his sleeves up and showed her the Grappling hook. Even though the sky was dark, she could vaguely see the silver linings on the device around his wrist.
"You want me to use this? Heck yeah! finally!"
"Shhh!" in her excitement, she almost shouted.
[Does the host wish to give the Mark 3 Grappling hook to the Subordinate Gaya?]
"Yes only for a moment" he then removed the grappling hook from his wrist and put it on Gaya's wrist.
"Just aim at"
"I know how to use it, Human, I saw you do it," She said confidently.
"Alright, reach the top of the house and pour the potion down through the roof without alerting the assassins. They have to breathe the potion for a few seconds for the potion to work"
"What if it stinks and they run away before breathing it in?"
"The potion is odorless and the darkness will conceal the color of the potion"
"Wonderful, let's go and kill those fuckers!"
"And Gaya" he stopped her "after pouring down the potion, barricade the back door, we don't want our guests to escape, do we?"
"Of course, we don't, leave that to me"
Gaya nodded excitedly and sneaked her way around the house to reach the rooftop using the Mark 3 grappling hook. He waited for her to reach the rooftop and just as she said, she used the grappling hook perfectly and landed on the rooftop without making a loud noise.
Michael then walked towards the door and before he entered the house, he drank the antidote so the devil's breath wouldn't weaken him. After a few seconds, he sensed the assassins' cultivation power slowly declining.
"The devil's breathe is working, time to greet to unwanted guests"
Creak!
The door made a creaking sound when he opened it. He didn't forget to lock the door after entering his house. Then he took a few steps forward and retrieved his Seal Knife from the system's storage.
"Guys you can come out from hiding, six Body strengthening level 10 assassins to kill me?! I'm honored" when the moment he sensed everyone became level 5 Body Strengthening stage cultivators, he started to countdown in his mind.
"There are two of you under my bed, one behind the sofa, one on the kitchen, and two of you are hiding behind the curtain" After a few seconds, he saw six figures appearing before him one by one.
"How did you know? It doesn't matter, what matter is you were dumb enough to mess with you shouldn't have and now, you're going to lose your life" One of the assassins opened their mouth and spoke. Even though Michael couldn't clearly see their faces, he could vaguely notice their costumes resemble the Ninja costumes back on earth. But thinking that he's about to kill the assassins in Ninja costume, he laughed.
"Hahahaha" his laughter confused the assassins
"Check your cultivation level, you're no longer at Level 10" when he stopped laughing, his face turned serious and cold. The Assassins were initially for a second, they thought he was mumbling in fear but when they checked their cultivation level, their eyes went wide and their legs trembled in terror.
"And do you know what that means?" His grip on the Knife tightened and the killing intent in his pitch-black eyes risen.
The devil's breath was a dangerous potion that would lower someone's cultivation level without even the target realizing until it's too late. The darkness prevented Michael from seeing the terrified expressions on their faces after they checked their cultivation level.
"It means you're shit out of luck"