Hao imagined a swarm of bees storming down from above, wrapped in golden fury.
The Sovereign City would be doomed!
Total annihilation.
Flash sale of death.
No refunds.
And no one would even know why they were dying – just that everything suddenly smelled like flowers and burning honey.
He sucked in a deep breath.
Hao turned and looked at Old Tiger Zhao, who was rubbing his back, still rambling about the time he barely escaped the bees.
The man had definitely survived something.
But it sure wasn’t that.
There was no way Hao was going to tell the old man that the bees he fought were basically just a Temu version of it.
Might as well let Old Tiger Zhao keep his glorious near-death memory.
While the old man continued talking to Lin Yijun’s group, Hao stand quietly at the counter.
Back straight. Eyes closed.
He was cultivating now.
Not aimlessly waiting for customers like some store mascot.
Progress.
That was what this was.
Definitely not coping.
Totally not just pretending to cultivate to avoid hearing Old Tiger Zhao say “and then I punched the ground!” for the fourth time.
At the same time, inside the storage area –
The air was strangely tense.
Kurome and Tian Lu stood exactly five meters apart, staring at each other in silence.
On the side, Little Sneak sat calmly on a stack of carton boxes, swishing his tail, head tilted.
If Hao were to walk in at this moment, he might genuinely think a battle between the two store guardians was about to break out.
Had something happened?
Was there a falling out?
No. Nothing of the sort.
In fact, it all began just five minutes earlier.
When Tian Lu arrived downstairs to clock in for his morning shift, he was politely stopped by Kurome at the entrance.
’Tian.’ Kurome said softly, bowing her head a little.
’May I request a moment of your time? I would like to test a new technique.’
Tian Lu blinked.
It had been a long time since Kurome last asked him for a favor – this was the second time.
He straightened up and gave a single-word response, as always.
“Okay.”
They were coworkers, after all.
And he was starting to feel like this place wasn’t just a workplace – it was a family.
They even shared meals together upstairs sometimes.
With their mysterious venerable employer sitting at the head of the table.
So yes.
Helping a colleague test a move?
Absolutely part of the job.
Kurome’s gaze narrowed.
’Are you ready, Tian?’
Tian Lu nodded once.
Feet grounded. Arms raised.
He didn’t know what technique she was planning to unleash.
Didn’t matter.
He’d do his best to handle it.
Twin chakrams shimmered into his hands.
And with a quiet inhale –
He took his stance.
Kurome, who had been sitting low with her tail curled around her body, raised her right paw. is this good
Her movement seemed relaxed, almost lazy.
But the moment her paw pressed against the floor – the world changed!
A pulse of pure shadow qi burst from her body, expanding in all directions in a single instant.
Abyssal Veil Expansion.
It devoured everything.
Every flicker of light, every shape and shadow – gone!
The entire storage area was swallowed in thick, pitch-black darkness.
But it wasn’t just darkness.
It was weight.
It pressed against the skin like wet cloth, soaked in qi.
Tian Lu instinctively stepped back, eyes narrowing.
His vision failed him first.
Then his hearing dulled, as if someone had stuffed cotton in his ears.
Even worse, his spiritual sense – the thing cultivators relied on most – was smothered.
He could barely feel the space around him.
He felt slower.
’This isn’t just concealment.’ Tian Lu thought.
’It’s a suppression domain.’
What kind of terrifying technique was this?
Still, he had trained for situations like this.
He tried to speak.
“You.”
“Can.”
“Attack.”
No sound echoed back.
Even his own voice vanished into the veil.
Still, he knew the words had reached her.
Suddenly. The soundless air stirred.
Kurome moved!
Not with sound, but pressure, like a predator sliding through tall grass.
From the darkness below, she blinked from shadow to shadow, disappearing between patches of night.
Her form merged with the dark as if it belonged there.
Then – she struck.
From above and behind.
A black blur in the air.
Tian Lu spun instinctively.
But she was faster.
A claw lashed toward his back.
It grew larger mid-strike, stretching like a crescent of shadow.
Clang!
One of Tian Lu’s chakrams rose just in time, the impact echoing like thunder in the silent void.
Sparks flashed, but even they were swallowed by the veil.
He still couldn’t see her clearly.
But he didn’t need to.
His killing intent had always been sharp.
So sharp it carved its own path through darkness.
He could sense her.
Feel her.
The arc of her claw. The twist of her body. The faint heat of her breath.
With precision honed by decades, he let go of one chakram.
The chain snapped taut, letting the blade drop to the floor.
At the same time, his left palm pushed forward.
It struck the underside of Kurome’s cat body – her belly.
But before he could land a full push, her body vanished like mist.
She blinked into shadow again.
But Tian Lu didn’t look surprised.
Because that palm strike wasn’t meant to hurt.
Only to touch.
Just enough.
The remaining chakram spun into the air with a metallic whistle. Then his hands formed a series of quick seals.
One. Two. Three.
And then – his palms pressed together.
Like a prayer.
Crimson Guillotine Sigil.
A red aura surged out from Tian Lu’s body.
It slithered like a serpent – silent, cold, and hungry.
It searched the darkness with unnatural precision.
Then it locked onto her.
Kurome sensed it a breath too late.
She tensed, ready to dive back into shadow and vanish.
But the aura moved faster.
The red light touched her body.
It didn’t burn. Offered no restraint. Didn’t even cause any pain.
But it clung.
Kurome felt it. She felt a presence watching her from behind!
A faint crimson mark pulsed above her head.
A thread of Tian Lu’s killing intent now connected to Kurome.
She was marked.
He couldn’t see her, not truly. But now he didn’t need to.
He felt her location as clearly as if she were standing beside him.