Outline:
Hung Lee tries to find out more about the sword that Huo Feng has. Some how his cousin hears about it. Now its a race to the finish line.
Huo Feng has to go out and use his cultivation manual but it means he must kill at least one person.
Who will he kill?
Pan to Azul, he's searching and looking for all his hunters. Who will get him his Celestial Mirror leopard.
They all say no and some even mock him.
End of chapter he doens't know what to do, and he still has a bad relationship with Khan
okay, critique this honestly without being pc(politically correct):
Hung Lee paced back and forth across the hall.
He had to act fast. What if that peasant boy had already used the sword? What if he had taken what was in it?
He couldn't bear the thought.
The shadow servant was already out, looking for more information on Huo Feng. But it had been hours and he still hadn't gotten any word from the servant. He clutched his hairs. This couldn't be happening.
'That fool doesn't know what he has. If I'm not careful, he'll alert everyone to the presence of the Jiang Ling sword.'
Hung Lee couldn't take it anymore and rushed out of his sect dwellings, heading to go look for Huo Feng. He took only a few steps out before the shadow servant appeared before him.
*Aaah* he let out a small yelp, as he recognised the man who was at his feet. He composed himself quickly.
"What did you find out? Hurry, tell me." The noble almost put his hands on the servant to force himm to speak. The only thing stopping him was the massive cultivation difference between them.
He was at the third stage of the first realm of mortal refinement. The Peak tier of Early Mortal refinement. The shadow servant was at the second realm, at the efooting tier of Middle Mortal refinement.
Qi was multiplicative, and the stronger you were, the more it became compounding. The difference between them, even though they seemed so close was like the difference between them was like that of a rainy breeze and that of a windstorm.
He didn't dare to be too forward, even though he was the one with authority over him.
The shadow servant spoke up, "The one you asked me to keep my eye on, he's heading to his master's residence. From my searching around, he's known to be there whenever he's hiding from you."
Hung Lee sighed a breath of relief. Even if the peasant was harmed by a donkey as a child, he wouldn't dare tell another soul about the sword. Especially not a master who barely wanted him.
The noble put a hand on his chest, "That's good. Then let's head back inside. With how much of a recluse his master is he's probably not even there, he'd be sticking his head in a sea of books and…"
Hung Lee stopped, noticing the weird aura emanating from his servant. That was the thing about these shadow servants. They had been bred since infancy to not talk back or speak when not spoken to. All traits for a good servant, but, whenever they needed to say something, or thought there was trouble nearby, they would still have to communicate it, or they would be severely punished.
The kinds of horrors his grandfather preserved for these…things, made even Hung Lee doubt his humanity.
The only way for these servants to communicate their discontent was through their mannerisms and their aura, so masters had to be trained in recogninsing it.
"What's wrong?"
"Your cousin, Hung Zhen, is there."
All the color drained from Hung Lee's face. His knuckles turned white and he let his eyes and jaw widen. "Take me there," the noble screamed.
The servant didn't move. Hung Lee spun around, intending to land a fierce kick on the slow servant. He connected his kick to the servants, raised up forearm and heard a dull, shearing sound.
He dropped to the floor in pain. He'd forgotten, they were servants not pack animals. Furthermore, they belonged to his grandfather, even if he let them follow him around for his protection and basic tasks?
How would his grandfather look if some of his own personal creations were going around being treated like horses. Where would be his face?
The servant wasn't allowed to obey such a command. Hung Lee, gripped his shin, growling in agony.
"Call me a lean carriage. Quick!"
The servant obliged and within moments had put him in a carriage headed for the elder's residence.
###
Hung Zhen sat back, laid on his silk brocade couch. *Sssss* He took a sip of green tea from his porcelain cup.
He was thin, and the height of a normal man, with a long thin nose and a sharp jawline. He ran his hand his neck-length, combed back hair, and tilted his head towards a servant. "Where is Li Dong?"
The servant beside him scrambled to answer, bowing first, with this head and knees, touching the ground. Hung Zhen did not look at him, "My prince, we do not know. You sent him out for you cousin, Hung Lee."
He took another sip from his cup, letting the silence draw. The servant remained in the bowing position. A glint passed through his eyes as he held his cup. It was getting cold.
"Yes, yes, I know. He should be here soon." Hung Zhen adjusted himself on his seat. "If he does not find anything, what should I do to you?"
The servant shivered, "My prince, I swear on my life and that of a thousand generations before, your cousin has been acting out of order. He's sent his shadow servant on ten times more missions in the past week than the past 3 months."
*Hmmm,* "Am I deaf?"
"No, my prince."
"Then why are you shouting?"
The servant kept quiet, debating on what to say, "I apologise, my prince. I am just very concerned about your rising to your proper place as patriarch of the Hung family."
Hung Zhen chuckled. "Are you sure you are not more worried about your wife and daughter?"
The prostrated man did not speak. Hung Zhen chuckled some more. "Get me some more tea. This one has gotten cold."
The servant rushed to go get his tea and left the room. Now, Hung Zhen was alone.
"Come out."
A shadow servant, much like that of Hung Lee slinked out, only this one had a silver marking on his arm.
"What did you find?"
"Hung Lee, has a small rivalry with a peasant boy from Lunis. He's been harassing him ever since they got into the sect. Your rival claimant," Hung Zhen's knuckles whitened at that, "hired a band of cultivator's from the sect to ambush him after the peasant received a fake mission. He came back with a sword."
"Oh? And is this sword so important that my snivelling cousin would send out his shadow servant? Twenty times at least?"
"It seems the peasant found a Jiang Ling sword."
Hung Zhen crushed the cup in his hands.
"Does anyone else know?"
"Only your cousin, and us, not including his shadow servant."
The prince clenched his teeth, the skin stretching out and whitening around his jaw and mandibles, he forced the words through his grit teeth, "Does. Anyone. Else. Know."
The shadow slave responded, "If you are speaking off you're grandfather, not yet."
He flung a porcelain plate into the wall, shattering it into a thousand different pieces. "The elder will not be happy about that."
"Damn him. Damn him, Li Dong." The prince took in a deep breath, calming down, "Make sure this does not get to him. Or my grandfather."
Li Dong kept quiet.
"Bah, what does it matter? I am almost as strong as that book sniffing elder." He turned around to look at the mess he had made. "Come, let us go, we will find this peasant boy and my sword."
Li Dong followed along silently.
Moments alter the servant walked in with simmering hot tea. Only to be left with the sight of the elder's broken porcelain, his eyes fell in horror.
###
Huo Feng marched across the sect grounds towards his master's lodging. A strange sword hidden in a hilt within his clothes.
He had read through every single character on the manual that came out of the sword. When every line had poured into his mind, and branded themselves there, he burnt the manual. He didn't want to take any chances and didn't know how to put the manual back in the sword.
One thing he did know from the manual, was that the first step to cultivating it, was blood. He needed to kill a man. The more powerful the better.
For this, he wanted a duel, a death match. Disciples weren't allowed to kill each other in the sect. Except for one instance, and that was it.
The only problem was, as someone who had a master and wasn't like all the other untethered disciples, he needed to get permission from his master. Elder Bai Sun.
Flashes of dismay and sorrow, crashed through his mind as he walked. They were of his mother's kidnappers. She was probably dead now. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but as he grew up into a man, he fought the thought more and more.
He didn't even want to imagine what they did to her.
No! His plan was simple. If the only price the manual asked for in return for power was life and solitude. He would gladly pay it.
This would be his first installment.