Ethan Lin understood the dangers of overreaching in martial arts. Coming from the Huaxia era of a billion years ago, he had access to countless techniques, yet he knew that training in too many would hinder his growth. For now, Titanium Body, Tao Te Ching, Muscle-Tendon Classic, and Vajra Palm were enough to occupy him for ages. However, he recognized that relying solely on Vajra Palm for offense was insufficient, which led him to study the Ethereal Step Technique.
While in the Shaolin martial arts of Huaxia, the Ethereal Step Technique was considered a standard skill, offering only a slight enhancement in agility. Yet, in the Galactic Era, it had evolved into a formidable skill, bestowing astonishing speed. Mastered to a certain level, it allowed awakeners to achieve short bursts of flight, soaring briefly into the skies.
These assassins were ordinary first-level Purification Stage awakeners, utterly incapable of perceiving Ethan's movements as he employed the Ethereal Step Technique. Unable to track even his shadow, they could not defend against his strikes.
"Die!"
With a flash of golden light, Ethan's fist took down the third assassin.
The remaining assassin, a second-level Purification Stage killer from the Blood Hand Syndicate, was now trembling in fear. "Damn it! The contractor only mentioned Xena Xiao as a ninth-level Flesh Refinement awakener, not this monstrous genius with battle abilities beyond her level! They set us up to fail!"
Furious, he quickly sent a message to the Blood Hand Syndicate's headquarters, hoping to report this miscalculation.
But by the time his transmission ended, his five fellow assassins lay in pools of blood.
"Fusion!" he cried, desperately merging with his Guardian Spirit to amplify his power against Ethan.
With the fusion, his strength surged. Though he still couldn't see Ethan's movements, he could sense him just enough to block some attacks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ethan's attacks came at him relentlessly, one after another, as though he were a ghostly force targeting the assassin. But amid this assault, Ethan wasn't merely attacking—he was also meditating on the Tao Te Ching and furthering his mastery of the Ethereal Step Technique.
Initially, he'd only reached the threshold of the Ethereal Step Technique, on the verge of advancing to the level of proficiency. However, through this fight, he was applying the skill in real-time, with the Tao Te Ching assisting his comprehension. Insights flooded his mind, enhancing his spirit.
Then, suddenly, he felt it.
He had achieved a breakthrough, elevating the Ethereal Step Technique to the level of mastery. The skill's power surged to new heights.
"You've lost," Ethan said with a faint smile, his movements now even swifter, as he swept past the assassin like a fierce gale.
The silence was absolute.
The assassin froze, his body still for a moment before collapsing to the ground. His throat had been shattered by Ethan's Vajra Palm, his life extinguished.
In his last moments, the assassin's eyes widened, and one final thought echoed in his mind: "Such… speed!"
With a dull thud, his body hit the ground, lifeless.
The sixth assassin was dead.
In less than five minutes, Ethan had eliminated all six assassins.
Unseen, Liana Xiao observed from a high-rise building. Using a high-tech scope, she'd been monitoring Xena's movements. When she saw Xena fall under the first assassin's ambush, she'd believed her target was dead. Yet when Xena stood up, dispatching each assassin with chilling precision, Liana's face turned ashen with shock.
Those were six seasoned awakeners—yet Xena had eliminated them all.
Now, Liana felt only icy terror. "The Blood Hand Syndicate definitely won't strike again. But if Xena finds out who ordered the hit… she'll come for me, won't she?"
As the thought crossed her mind, her face went deathly pale.
…
After the final assassin fell, Ethan returned to the Guardian Spirit Space, relinquishing control back to Xena.
Xena resumed control of her body and, seeing the bloodied bodies strewn around, felt a wave of nausea. Although she hadn't personally killed the men, it had been her hands that delivered the strikes.
In contrast, this was Ethan's first time killing, yet he remained unfazed, adapting with remarkable ease.
"Xena, let's get out of here. The police are probably on their way," Ethan advised.
Xena nodded, quickly departing and leaving six corpses lying on the quiet, empty street.
Back at the Xiao estate, Xena immediately reported the attack to her grandfather, Bart Xiao.
Bart was furious upon hearing of the ambush and swore to uncover the mastermind behind it.
Before long, news reached them.
The killers belonged to the Blood Hand Syndicate.
In her room, Xena was discussing it with Ethan. "Ethan, what do you know about the Blood Hand Syndicate?" she asked.
Xena's brows furrowed. "They're a notorious assassination group, not particularly powerful but active in Feilan City and nearby areas. It's rumored that the leader of Blood Hand is only a peak Blood Transformation Stage fighter, though that may not be true. Since they took the job, someone must have paid them to kill me. But I don't understand—who would spend that much money to take me out?"
"Xena, think carefully. Who has the most to gain from your death?" Ethan pressed.
After a moment of silence, Xena murmured uncertainly, "Liana Xiao?"
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