Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist

The heavy, saltwater-tinged coastal fog rolled through the sprawling streets and towering stone archways of Abyssal Pearl City, bringing with it a chilling, damp cold that seeped deep into the stone foundations. The morning sun struggled to pierce the thick, grey canopy, casting long, distorted shadows across the central market districts. To the ordinary mortal residents and the low-level wandering martial artists, it was merely another dreary, bustling morning within the grand oceanic hub.

However, within the heavily fortified, profound-iron walls of the Crimson Tide Guild Hall, the atmosphere was suffocating. A massive, crushing weight of absolute panic had firmly taken root.

Guild Master Gu Heng stood atop the highest observation balcony of his grand fortress. He was a colossal man, standing nearly seven feet tall. His thick, heavily muscled frame was a direct product of mastering the Crimson Blood Iron Body Art, a brutal cultivation method that packed his flesh with extreme physical density. Yet, despite his overwhelming physical strength and his Peak Core Formation cultivation base, his massive hands trembled slightly as they gripped the stone railing.

He stared intensely toward the northern district of the city.

The Azure Peak, the ancestral mountain stronghold belonging to his lifelong rivals, the Silver Gale Sect, was entirely silent.

”Guild Master Gu Heng,” a rough, grating voice called out from the heavy iron doors behind him.

Grand Elder Gu Shan stepped onto the balcony. He was similarly massive, wearing thick, dark red iron-plate armor that clanked heavily with every step. His face was scarred, his expression deeply grim.

”Speak, Senior Brother Gu Shan,” Guild Master Gu Heng commanded, not turning his gaze away from the distant, quiet mountain. ”Tell me the scouting reports were false. Tell me those arrogant wind cultivators simply activated their grand array for a closed-door training session.”

Grand Elder Gu Shan shook his large, bald head slowly. ”The scouting reports are absolutely accurate, Guild Master Gu Heng. We sent three elite stealth units to the base of the Azure Peak. The massive silver entrance archway has been completely pulverized into dust by immense physical weight. The jade steps are stained dark with dried blood.”

”The Heavenly Wind-Lock Array?” Guild Master Gu Heng asked, his voice tightening.

”Shattered completely,” Grand Elder Gu Shan replied, his tone heavy with dread. ”The runic pillars maintaining the defensive dome were snapped in half. There are no wind currents circulating the peak. There are no disciples standing guard. The entire mountain is dead, enveloped in a strange, lingering aura of extreme cold and crushing metal essence.”

A heavy, suffocating pressure settled deep within Guild Master Gu Heng’s chest, physically restricting his lung capacity. The Silver Gale Sect had possessed five hundred elite core disciples, a dozen senior elders, and a Peak Core Formation leader. They had occupied that mountain for centuries, perfectly matching the Crimson Tide Guild in military might and resource accumulation.

Now, they had been entirely eradicated in a single night.

”Who possesses the raw physical power to accomplish such a slaughter without drawing the attention of the municipal guards?” Guild Master Gu Heng muttered, his thick brow furrowing. ”The Myriad Ocean Palace envoys are currently occupied in the outer oceans. Patriarch Nine Nether Bloodfiend is miles away. Who struck the mountain?”

”The rumors spreading through the lower tavern districts speak of City Lord Lin Wanyue,” Grand Elder Gu Shan supplied, stepping up to the stone railing. ”They claim she led a hidden faction of rogue mercenary cultivators to reclaim the four premium spiritual islands, and the Silver Gale Sect foolishly attempted to challenge her territorial decree.”

”Lin Wanyue is a newly ascended Late Stage Core Formation cultivator,” Guild Master Gu Heng scoffed, shaking his head. ”She possesses strong water-attribute arts, but she lacks the sheer destructive vanguard necessary to butcher five hundred entrenched experts on her own mountain. She is a puppet for a larger, hidden predator.”

He turned away from the balcony, his massive boots cracking the stone floor.

”We are exposed, Senior Brother Gu Shan,” Guild Master Gu Heng declared, his voice rising in urgency. ”If this hidden faction can effortlessly erase the Silver Gale Sect, we are undeniably their next target. The City Lord estate holds a grudge against our expansion into the harbor districts. We must fortify our walls immediately.”

”I will mobilize the heavy infantry units,” Grand Elder Gu Shan nodded, his massive hands curling into fists.

”Infantry is useless without proper sustenance,” Guild Master Gu Heng corrected sharply. ”Our Crimson Blood Iron Body Art demands continuous, extreme cellular reconstruction. Without a steady supply of Blood-Marrow Pills, our disciples will suffer severe internal muscle tearing during prolonged combat. Furthermore, our defensive arrays require fresh Abyssal Star-Iron nodes to withstand heavy bombardment.”

He marched back into the grand hall, pointing toward the large wooden table covered in countless trade scrolls.

”Empty the central treasury,” Guild Master Gu Heng ordered, his tone absolute. ”Send every single quartermaster into the commercial districts. Liquidate our reserve spirit stones. I want you to buy out every available healing herb, every crate of Abyssal Star-Iron, and every single Blood-Marrow Pill from the Golden Tide Consortium auction houses. We will stockpile resources for a three-year siege if necessary.”

”It shall be done immediately, Guild Master Gu Heng,” Grand Elder Gu Shan bowed respectfully, before turning and rushing down the heavy stone corridors to execute the emergency purchasing orders.

Guild Master Gu Heng stood alone in the grand hall, his heart pounding a heavy, erratic rhythm against his dense ribs. The true horror of the situation was the absolute silence. No formal war had been declared. No challenge had been issued. The predator simply waited in the dark.

Several miles away, deep within the opulent, towering spires of the City Lord’s estate, absolute tranquility reigned.

A massive, incredibly complex Void-Sealing Hexagram Array encompassed the entire underground command chamber. The high-tier formation lines glowed with a faint, pulsing silver light, completely absorbing all sound, spiritual fluctuations, and thermal heat dispersion originating from within the room. Even a Late Stage Nascent Soul inquisitor standing directly outside the heavy ironwood doors would perceive nothing but empty, solid earth.

Wang Jian sat comfortably upon a large, high-backed chair carved from deep-sea obsidian. He wore his immaculate white scholarly robes, his dark, starlit eyes completely serene as he observed the frantic, invisible war unfolding across the large stone table before him.

Shangguan Wan’er stood directly over the table, entirely focused upon her task. She wore a tight, professional dark blue merchant gown that perfectly outlined her exceptionally thick, hourglass figure and her massive, heavy breasts. Her pale blue eyes darted rapidly across dozens of glowing jade transmission seals and unfurled trade scrolls.

Lin Wanyue stood beside her, clad in her dignified purple and gold City Lord robes, her mature, curvaceous form radiating the dense, searing heat of her recently refined Heavenly Flame Essence.

”Master,” Shangguan Wan’er spoke, her voice crisp and deeply respectful. ”The surveillance arrays embedded within the commercial districts confirm massive, uncoordinated movement from the Crimson Tide Guild. Their quartermasters are currently flooding the central market squares.”

”They are behaving precisely as a frightened beast should,” Wang Jian replied smoothly, resting his chin on his knuckles. ”They perceive the impending slaughter, and they seek to thicken their hide. What are their primary acquisition targets, Wan’er?”

Shangguan Wan’er slid three glowing jade seals across the smooth stone table.

”They are desperately targeting high-vitality medicinal herbs,” Shangguan Wan’er reported, her long fingers pointing to the specific ledgers. ”Specifically, Crimson Sun-Flare Roots and deep-sea Blood Coral. They are also attempting to purchase massive bulk crates of Abyssal Star-Iron to reinforce their outer wall array nodes. They are offering double the standard market exchange rate in pure, high-grade spirit stones.”

”Shall I deploy the municipal guards to the market squares?” Lin Wanyue asked, turning her sapphire eyes toward Wang Jian. ”I can easily issue a formal City Lord edict declaring a temporary halt on all bulk mineral trades, citing municipal security concerns following the Azure Peak incident. That will forcefully freeze their purchasing power.”

Wang Jian smiled, a cold, calculating expression that sent a familiar shiver of devotion down Lin Wanyue’s spine.

”No, City Lord Lin Wanyue,” Wang Jian instructed, his voice a low, commanding rumble. ”Issuing a public edict draws unnecessary attention to the estate. It transforms a quiet strangulation into a loud, political conflict. We do not need a public confrontation today. We will simply bleed them dry using the very markets they rely upon.”

He turned his gaze back to his subjugated merchant queen.

”Wan’er, you possess the supreme access codes for the Golden Tide Consortium’s shadow networks within this city,” Wang Jian stated. ”You also possess direct access to the immense spirit stone reserves we confiscated from the Silver Gale Sect treasury, alongside my own personal wealth. Execute the strangulation.”

”With absolute pleasure, Master,” Shangguan Wan’er bowed deeply, a ruthless, mercantile light flashing in her eyes.

She turned her full attention back to the massive array table. She placed both of her hands flat against the glowing runic nodes carved into the stone surface, channeling her profound spatial and calculation affinities directly into the communication network.

”Initiating complete market saturation,” Shangguan Wan’er murmured, her breath shallow as she maintained ten simultaneous, highly encrypted negotiations through the proxy merchant channels she had established over the past month.

She did not physically leave the room, yet her presence blanketed the entire commercial sector of Abyssal Pearl City.

”The Crimson Tide quartermaster in the eastern plaza is currently negotiating for five hundred stalks of Crimson Sun-Flare Roots from an independent supplier,” Shangguan Wan’er narrated her actions aloud, her brow beading with sweat from the intense mental exertion. ”He is offering two thousand spirit stones. I am intercepting the supplier’s private communication line.”

She slid a jade seal sharply to the left.

”I am offering the independent supplier ten thousand spirit stones for the exact same batch, payable immediately via anonymous proxy transfer,” Shangguan Wan’er declared. ”The supplier has accepted my bid. The Crimson Tide quartermaster’s transaction has been canceled. The herbs are currently being diverted to our secure warehouse in the southern district.”

”Flawless,” Wang Jian praised lightly.

”Moving to the Abyssal Star-Iron shipments,” Shangguan Wan’er continued, her hands moving rapidly across the trade scrolls, physically altering the destination routes of massive cargo ships currently docked in the harbor. ”The Golden Tide Consortium local branch manager has agreed to sell forty crates of iron to the Crimson Tide Guild for fifty thousand spirit stones. I am overriding his local authority using my supreme executive codes. I am flagging the iron crates as ’defective and highly unstable’.”

She tapped three specific formation lines on the table.

”I have ordered the Golden Tide harbor guards to heavily quarantine the iron crates,” Shangguan Wan’er explained, a wicked smile curving her luscious lips. ”The Crimson Tide quartermasters are currently standing at the docks, completely furious, staring at their required metals behind a barrier they cannot legally breach without declaring war on the Consortium.”

”And the Blood-Marrow Pills?” Lin Wanyue asked, genuinely impressed by the sheer, devastating efficiency of the invisible economic assault.

”Those are entirely refined by the Azure Cloud Commerce Guild’s local alchemists,” Shangguan Wan’er noted, pulling a final trade scroll toward her. ”I am not buying the pills. I am buying the alchemists’ time. I have just forwarded an anonymous, massive commission to the Azure Cloud Commerce Guild for ten thousand low-grade water-breathing elixirs, paying an absurd premium.”

She looked up, meeting Wang Jian’s dark eyes. ”Their entire alchemical workforce is now contractually obligated to focus solely on our useless commission for the next month. They have formally denied the Crimson Tide Guild’s request for Blood-Marrow Pills, stating they lack the manpower to fulfill the order.”

Wang Jian chuckled, a deep, dark sound that vibrated comfortably through the underground chamber.

”In less than two hours, you have completely severed their supply lines without a single blade being drawn,” Wang Jian noted, reaching out to gently trace the curve of Shangguan Wan’er’s hip. ”They are trapped inside their heavy iron fortress, entirely cut off from the resources their physical bodies require to survive.”

”They will undoubtedly attempt to bypass the formal commercial districts, Master,” Shangguan Wan’er warned, leaning into his touch, her breathing heavy. ”When a beast is starving, it abandons the safe hunting grounds. They will turn to the deep black market networks located in the slum districts near the western docks.”

”I am counting on it,” Wang Jian stated calmly.

He lifted his gaze toward the shadows lingering in the far corner of the massive command chamber.

”Chen Ying,” Wang Jian called out.

The darkness seemed to separate. Chen Ying stepped forward, completely silent. She wore her form-fitting Phantom Silk Formation robes, the dark, star-core spider silk absorbing the ambient light around her. Her cold, beautiful face was an emotionless mask, her slender hands resting lightly upon the hilts of her twin Shadow-Piercing Void Daggers.

”Master,” Chen Ying bowed gracefully.

”The Crimson Tide Guild will inevitably attempt to smuggle resources through the western black market alleys tonight,” Wang Jian instructed, his tone shifting into absolute, freezing lethality. ”They will likely send a heavily armed convoy, led by high-ranking elders, carrying their own physical spirit stones to trade directly with the smugglers.”

He leaned forward, his dark eyes locking onto her icy gaze.

”You will take ten of our most elite, highly trained female assassins from the Fragrance Melody Sect,” Wang Jian commanded. ”You will intercept their convoy in the alleys. I do not want a loud, explosive battle. I do not want destroyed buildings. I want you to meticulously, quietly dismantle their vanguard. Sever their tendons. Puncture their spiritual seas. Cripple them completely, take their wealth, and leave them bleeding in the dirt.”

”They rely on heavy, blood-refined physical arts,” Chen Ying analyzed instantly, her mind perfectly suited for tactical assassination. ”Their skin is dense, their muscles thick. I will instruct the unit to avoid striking center mass. We will target the connective joint tissues, the popliteal arteries behind their knees, and the radial nerves in their wrists.”

”A flawless strategy,” Wang Jian approved. ”Leave one senior elder alive, but thoroughly crippled. He must crawl back to his Guild Master to deliver the message of their absolute starvation.”

”It will be done exactly as you command, Master,” Chen Ying bowed once more, before stepping backward and seamlessly vanishing into the shadows of the chamber, deploying her Violet Cloud Steps to exit the estate undetected.

By the time the heavy evening fog rolled back into the sprawling, crowded streets of Abyssal Pearl City, the atmosphere inside the Crimson Tide Guild Hall had shifted from panic to outright, desperate fury.

Guild Master Gu Heng paced heavily across the grand hall, his massive boots striking the stone floor with explosive force. Every single quartermaster he had dispatched that morning had returned completely empty-handed.

”Explain this to me again!” Guild Master Gu Heng roared, grabbing a trembling quartermaster by the collar of his robes and lifting the man entirely off the ground. ”You left this hall with fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones! How do you return without a single stalk of Crimson Sun-Flare Root?!”

”Guild Master, please!” the quartermaster gasped, kicking his legs frantically. ”The market is completely frozen! Every independent supplier, every minor merchant guild... they all claimed a hidden proxy buyer purchased their entire inventory hours before we arrived! They offered five times the market value! We could not match the bids!”

Guild Master Gu Heng threw the man aside. The quartermaster crashed into a stone pillar, coughing violently.

”And the Golden Tide Consortium?” Gu Heng demanded, turning his furious gaze toward Grand Elder Gu Shan. ”Did they release the Abyssal Star-Iron shipments?”

”They refused, Guild Master,” Grand Elder Gu Shan replied, his scarred face tight with anger. ”The local branch manager claimed a sudden, catastrophic defect in the ore stability. The municipal harbor guards established a physical quarantine around the docks. When I attempted to press the issue, the guards threatened to cite us for violating City Lord Lin Wanyue’s new security protocols.”

”It is a coordinated strangulation,” Guild Master Gu Heng realized, running a heavy hand over his bald head. His massive, densely packed muscles twitched involuntarily. The Crimson Blood Iron Body Art required daily nourishment. Without the necessary herbal pastes and Blood-Marrow Pills, his own flesh was beginning to slowly consume its internal vitality, causing a deep, aching weakness in his joints.

”If we do not secure medical supplies within the next three days, our core disciples will begin suffering severe muscle ruptures during their routine training forms,” Grand Elder Gu Shan warned grimly. ”We will be crippled without a single enemy cultivator setting foot on our grounds.”

Guild Master Gu Heng gritted his teeth. The invisible predator was bleeding them dry, forcing them into a corner.

”We bypass the formal markets,” Guild Master Gu Heng decided, his voice low and dangerous. ”The underground smugglers operating in the western slum districts care absolutely nothing for municipal embargoes or proxy buyouts. They trade strictly in hard currency and stolen goods.”

He looked directly at his trusted senior brother.

”Grand Elder Gu Shan, you will personally lead a convoy to the western alleys tonight,” Guild Master Gu Heng ordered. ”Take ten of our absolute elite Core Formation vanguards. Take two hundred thousand physical spirit stones from the deep vault. Find the smuggler known as Old Ma. He hoards stolen medical supplies. Buy his entire hidden stockpile and bring it back here.”

”The western alleys are treacherous, Guild Master,” Grand Elder Gu Shan noted, though he did not show any fear. ”The fog rolling in from the harbor will severely limit our visual range.”

”That is exactly why you are taking the elite vanguard,” Gu Heng countered. ”Move silently. Avoid the main thoroughfares. If anyone attempts to block your path, crush them completely and leave no witnesses.”

”Understood,” Grand Elder Gu Shan bowed.

Within the hour, the heavy rear gates of the Crimson Tide Guild fortress groaned open just enough to allow eleven massive figures to slip out into the dark, damp city streets.

Grand Elder Gu Shan led the convoy. He wore thick, dark red iron-plate armor over his dense muscles, his heavy spiked mace resting easily against his broad shoulder. Behind him walked ten highly trained Core Formation experts, all possessing the thick, intimidating physiques characteristic of their brutal body-refining sect. They carried large, heavily warded spatial pouches containing the massive fortune in spirit stones.

They moved with surprising speed for their size, their heavy boots making very little noise against the damp cobblestones. They avoided the brightly lit, neon commercial districts entirely, navigating through a labyrinth of narrow, winding alleyways that cut through the impoverished western slums.

The coastal fog here was incredibly thick, a dense, grey soup that reduced visibility to a mere twenty paces. The salty moisture clung to their iron armor, dripping slowly onto the stones. The air was dead, devoid of the usual sounds of drunken sailors or stray animals.

”Stay close,” Grand Elder Gu Shan commanded in a low, grating whisper, his eyes scanning the swirling fog. ”Do not break the physical formation. Keep your spiritual senses pulled tight against your bodies. We do not want to broadcast our presence.”

They advanced another three hundred paces, entering a particularly narrow, deep alleyway flanked by towering, crumbling stone tenements.

High above them, perched silently upon a jutting stone gargoyle, Chen Ying watched their approach.

She was completely invisible, her Phantom Silk Formation robes flawlessly absorbing the ambient light and completely masking her thermal signature. Her breathing was so shallow and controlled it produced absolutely no sound. Her cold, calculating eyes tracked the precise physical movements of the eleven massive men below.

She raised her right hand, issuing a series of rapid, silent tactical gestures using her slender fingers.

Hidden across the rooftops and behind the damp wooden crates lining the alleyway, the ten elite assassins of the Fragrance Melody Sect received the orders instantly. They drew their specialized, razor-thin short swords, the blades coated in a dark, non-reflective paste.

Chen Ying did not initiate the ambush with a loud battle cry or a flashy display of elemental magic. She relied entirely on perfect, ruthless physical mechanics.

She dropped from the stone gargoyle, falling silently through the thick fog.

She landed directly behind the rearmost Crimson Tide elite guard. The man, standing nearly six and a half feet tall and packed with dense, iron-like muscle, did not even register her arrival.

Chen Ying did not attempt to stab him in the back; his thick muscles would likely trap the blade. Instead, she dropped into a low, crouching stance, shifting her weight entirely to her front leg. She drove her Shadow-Piercing Void Dagger horizontally across the back of the man’s knees.

The razor-sharp blade found the exact, vulnerable gap in his heavy armor, cleanly severing both of his popliteal arteries and his major hamstring tendons in a single, fluid motion.

The elite guard’s legs instantly gave out under his massive physical weight. He collapsed backward with a heavy, muffled thud, his mouth opening to scream in sudden agony.

Before the sound could leave his throat, a second assassin stepped from the shadows beside him, driving a thin blade precisely into the side of his neck, severing his vocal cords and puncturing his carotid artery. The massive guard choked silently on his own blood, his hands grasping desperately at the damp cobblestones as his life rapidly drained away.

The entire execution took less than two seconds and produced absolutely no significant noise.

”Hold,” Grand Elder Gu Shan suddenly ordered at the front of the column, holding up a massive hand.

He possessed decades of brutal combat experience. He did not hear the assassination, but his highly refined combat instincts registered a sudden, unnatural shift in the air pressure behind him.

He turned around slowly, his heavy iron boots scraping against the stone.

The rear of his convoy was entirely swallowed by the thick, grey fog.

”Tenth Brother?” Grand Elder Gu Shan called out softly, his grip tightening on the heavy shaft of his spiked mace.

There was no response.

”Form a circular defensive perimeter! Now!” Grand Elder Gu Shan roared, instantly abandoning stealth. He flared his Mid-Stage Core Formation aura, the dense, blood-red spiritual energy pushing back the fog in a twenty-foot radius.

The remaining nine elite guards drew their heavy sabers and battleaxes, quickly forming a tight circle, standing back-to-back. Their breathing was heavy, their eyes darting wildly into the swirling grey mist.

They were surrounded by absolute silence.

Then, the shadows moved.

Ten female assassins, clad entirely in pitch-black Phantom Silk, darted smoothly from the fog. They moved with terrifying, fluid speed, completely bypassing the heavy, sweeping strikes of the Crimson Tide guards.

A massive guard swung a heavy battleaxe in a brutal horizontal arc, aiming to cleave an approaching assassin in two. The sheer physical weight of the axe displaced the heavy, damp air, creating a low, whooshing vacuum tunnel.

The assassin did not attempt to block the devastating kinetic momentum. She simply dropped flat onto her back, sliding across the wet cobblestones beneath the deadly arc of the axe. As she slid directly between the massive guard’s spread legs, she thrust her short sword upward, driving the blade directly into his unprotected groin and severing the major femoral artery.

The guard roared in pain, dropping his axe to clutch his bleeding thighs. A second assassin immediately stepped onto his broad back, using his collapsing body as a springboard. She vaulted into the air, landing lightly on the shoulders of the adjacent guard. She crossed her twin blades against his throat and pulled sharply backward in a scissor motion, cleanly decapitating the man before he could raise his heavy shield.

”Demonic whores!” Grand Elder Gu Shan bellowed, his face contorted in absolute fury.

He identified the leader of the assault immediately. Chen Ying stood ten paces away, her cold, beautiful face entirely devoid of emotion, the blood dripping slowly from her Void Daggers.

Grand Elder Gu Shan charged forward. He channeled the entirety of his dense, blood-red Qi into his massive spiked mace. He swung the heavy weapon in a devastating overhead strike, aiming to crush Chen Ying into a bloody paste against the cobblestones.

The physical weight behind the strike was immense. The mace tore through the fog, generating intense thermal friction that slightly warmed the damp air around it.

Chen Ying did not retreat. She utilized her Violet Cloud Steps, her footwork blurring as she shifted her stance entirely to her left foot, pivoting her body sideways.

The massive spiked mace slammed into the cobblestones exactly where she had been standing a fraction of a millisecond prior. The sheer physical momentum shattered the stone street, creating a deep crater and sending razor-sharp rock fragments flying outward.

The violent impact forced Grand Elder Gu Shan’s heavy arms to overextend downward, his right shoulder dropping slightly to compensate for the massive follow-through.

It was a microscopic physical vulnerability, but to a supreme assassin like Chen Ying, it was a massive, gaping doorway.

She stepped directly inside his heavy guard.

Before Gu Shan could wrench his heavy mace free from the shattered stones, Chen Ying brought her left dagger upward in a rapid, diagonal slash. The blade cleanly bypassed the thick iron plating on his forearm, finding the exposed joint at his elbow. She sliced through the tough, dense muscle fibers, completely severing the primary flexor tendons in his right arm.

Grand Elder Gu Shan grunted heavily, his massive fingers instantly going numb and involuntarily releasing the heavy shaft of his mace.

He attempted to swing his massive left fist, aiming a brutal backhand strike at her veiled face.

Chen Ying ducked smoothly under the massive arm. She stepped perfectly behind him, placing her left hand firmly against his broad, armored back for leverage. She drove her right Shadow-Piercing Void Dagger directly into the base of his spine, angling the blade slightly upward.

The incredibly sharp metal pierced the thick iron armor, cleanly entering his flesh and puncturing directly into his Dantian.

Chen Ying twisted the blade sharply.

Grand Elder Gu Shan let out a ragged, horrific gasp as his Spiritual Sea was violently, irreparably ruptured. The dense, blood-red Core Formation Qi he had cultivated for a century exploded outward uncontrollably, venting out of the puncture wound like steam escaping a cracked boiler.

His massive, heavily refined physical body immediately lost the internal spiritual support required to maintain its extreme density. His legs folded entirely under his own massive weight.

He crashed heavily onto his knees, coughing up a thick mouthful of dark blood onto the wet cobblestones. He was completely, permanently crippled.

Chen Ying pulled her dagger free, wiping the blood cleanly on his dark red cloak.

She looked around the alleyway. The skirmish was over. The ten elite Crimson Tide guards lay dead or bleeding out on the cold stones, their tendons severed, their throats cut, their heavy weapons utterly useless against the fluid, physics-based precision of the Phantom Silk assassins.

The assassins moved efficiently through the carnage. They did not utter a single word. They stripped the dead guards of their heavily warded spatial pouches, securing the two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones the convoy had brought for the smuggler.

Chen Ying stepped around to the front of the kneeling, gasping Grand Elder.

Gu Shan looked up at her, his vision blurring, his massive body trembling violently as his muscles began to spasm without their required spiritual nourishment.

”Who... who are you?” Grand Elder Gu Shan wheezed, blood dripping from his chin. ”Why... why attack us...”

Chen Ying looked down at him, her sapphire eyes completely cold.

”You are starving, Grand Elder Gu Shan,” Chen Ying stated simply, her voice carrying no malice, only absolute, chilling fact. ”Return to your Guild Master Gu Heng. Tell him the markets are closed. Tell him the alleys are sealed. Tell him the Crimson Tide Guild will starve to death behind its own high walls.”

She turned away, not bothering to deliver a finishing blow.

She raised her hand, issuing a final, silent tactical gesture.

The ten female assassins fell back into the thick, swirling coastal fog, completely vanishing into the shadows of Abyssal Pearl City, leaving absolutely no trace of their presence save for the slaughtered convoy.

Grand Elder Gu Shan was left entirely alone in the dark, damp alleyway. He clutched his ruptured stomach, the agonizing pain radiating through his massive, failing body. He looked at the dead bodies of his elite vanguard, the stolen wealth, and the terrifying, inescapable reality of their situation.

They were trapped. They were bleeding. And the invisible predator had barely even begun to tighten its grip.