The Whip Was Soaked in Iodine

That night, the Feng Family members who had gone looking for other Heavenly Demons in Luyang City returned one after another, empty-handed.

This was exactly what Du Ge had expected.

The world inside the Simulation Field was called Dagan. It occupied the fertile Central Plains and was surrounded by several small countries.

Together, these countries had a population of more than eighty million.

Now, only a little over six hundred contestants remained in the Simulation Field.

Scattered among a population of over eighty million, those six hundred contestants were like raindrops falling into the ocean—not even enough to make a splash.

Even if the contestants focused on sects or big cities, Luyang City alone had hundreds of thousands of people, and the Feng Family had sent out only five or six people.

Having five or six people search the vast city for contestants hiding among the locals—contestants who, after taking over someone's body, looked exactly like the locals and possessed their memories—was no different from searching for a needle in the ocean.

Running into a Wang San was already a stroke of incredible luck.

When they failed to find any other Heavenly Demons, Feng Shiyi offered a few words of comfort and sent them off to rest.

Du Ge and the others also went to their rooms.

Their rooms were adjacent. Feng Yunjie was at one end, with Du Ge beside him, then Wang San, and Feng Shiyi next to Wang San.

Wang San had just joined them, and Feng Shiyi didn't trust him. But he was also afraid Wang San might turn against them, so he didn't dare seal his acupoints as he had before. He could only keep an eye on him to stop him from escaping.

The direct disciples who had gone looking for Heavenly Demons slept in several rooms across the hall, with two of them staying on watch.

With such tight security, there was almost no chance Wang San, who knew no Martial Arts, could escape.

Du Ge had his own plans, and the Feng Family had theirs. But life was unpredictable, and almost nothing went smoothly according to plan.

Something unexpected happened that very night.

In the middle of the night, after traveling and practicing Martial Arts, Du Ge was fast asleep when two muffled groans abruptly woke him. Then he heard faint but chaotic footsteps and breathing outside and on the roof.

His eyes flew open, and he sat up. What was going on?

A classic scene from a wuxia drama—an attack in the night?

Were they after them?

Wasn't this happening a little too soon?

Where had things gone wrong?

A string of questions flashed through Du Ge's mind. He quickly got dressed, grabbed the sword and knife pouch from beside his bed, and shouted, "Second Master, we're under attack!"

After shouting the warning, Du Ge held his breath.

The night was pitch-black, but with his heightened senses, he could see far better than an ordinary person. He made out a blowpipe pushing through the paper window.

A nighttime attack with knockout smoke—now that was a classic package.

Du Ge's sudden shout startled the attacker. The blowpipe jerked back, but it was too late. Du Ge flicked his hand and sent a throwing knife flying.

He hadn't trained specifically in hidden weapons, but he didn't need to be like Li Xunhuan and hit his target in the throat every time.

At a distance of ten or fifteen feet, it was enough to hit someone with a thrown knife. With Du Ge's strength, a hit would leave a hole in the body. It was nearly as deadly as a pistol.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out, and blood spattered the window frame.

At the same time,

their cover blown, the people outside suddenly descended into chaos.

A window shattered in the room next door. Du Ge rushed into the hallway, ignored Feng Yunjie, kicked open Wang San's door, and charged inside.

Wang San hadn't been as alert as Du Ge. He'd inhaled the knockout smoke and passed out. Now a man in black had him slung over one shoulder and was rushing for the window.

Du Ge raised his hand and threw another knife.

The man in black was carrying Wang San and had his back to Du Ge. He never imagined anyone would throw a hidden weapon in the dark. By the time he heard the whistle of the blade, it was too late to dodge. The knife struck him in the back. With a scream, he fell face-first to the floor.

Du Ge was just about to go check on Wang San.

Suddenly, his personal profile flickered.

He raised a hand and opened it.

The other fields hadn't changed much, but a new entry had appeared under Advanced Skills:

Backstab: When you attack someone from behind, you gain a speed bonus. The higher your attributes, the greater the bonus.

What the hell?

Could Advanced Skills keep developing beyond just one?

Would new skills emerge whenever the conditions were met?

Du Ge froze, then was overcome with excitement. If he'd known, he would've been throwing knives into people's backs from the start.

Backstab was limited to attacks from behind, but unlike his previous two purely supportive skills, it boosted his offense.

This skill was great!

Outside the window, someone heard the commotion and leaned in to look. Du Ge flicked a knife at him. The man ducked back and dodged it, clearly more skilled than the one in the room.

By now,

everything outside was in chaos.

Feng Shiyi's frightened voice rang out. "Iron Sand Palm? Are you from the Iron Palm Sect? The Feng Family has no grudge against you. Why attack Xingyu Tower in the middle of the night?"

"Finish this quickly. Leave no one alive except the Heavenly Demons." Another, unfamiliar voice answered. Then torches blazed outside, lighting up the night.

The Iron Palm Sect?

The Heavenly Demons?

They really had come for them. The Feng Family was small, and no one paid them any attention under normal circumstances. There was no way they would've been exposed so quickly otherwise.

There was a mole!

Du Ge immediately figured out what had happened. He took a couple of quick steps, scooped Wang San off the floor, yanked the throwing knife from the black-clad man's back, and hurried out of the room.

Even if it was more dangerous outside, there was knockout smoke in the room, and he couldn't stay. His senses might have improved, but he still needed to breathe. Holding his breath this long was already impressive.

In the inn's hallway,

Feng Shiyi, his nephew, three direct disciples of the Feng Family, and more than a dozen men in black were locked in a desperate fight. Every one of them was wounded. The two direct disciples assigned to patrol had already fallen in pools of blood.

The attackers outnumbered the Feng Family members and were more skilled. Aside from Feng Shiyi, the Feng Family members were being forced back at every turn.

As Du Ge stepped out, another direct disciple of the Feng Family screamed and died in the hallway.

The hallway was narrow, and with so many people packed together, throwing knives risked hitting an ally. Du Ge decisively dropped Wang San, drew his sword, spotted a man in black attacking Feng Yunjie, and thrust at his back.

The men in black were well trained and coordinated. One of them saw Du Ge draw his sword, withdrew from the fight, and moved to intercept him on behalf of his companion.

But Backstab was too fast. The moment the man stepped back, Du Ge was already behind his companion like a ghost. His sword pierced straight through the man.

The man's eyes bulged. "Hall Master, there's an expert!"

At his words, several of the men in black fighting the others immediately broke away and surrounded Du Ge, intending to deal with him first.

Du Ge cursed his rotten luck and yanked his sword free. Watching the men approach, he quickly said, "You can't kill me. I'm a Heavenly Demon. You have to take me alive."

The men in black across from him seemed not to have expected him to be such a coward. They froze in place.

One of them glanced at Du Ge and said, "If you're a Heavenly Demon, drop your sword and we'll spare your life."

Du Ge suddenly looked behind the man, his face lighting up with delight.

The man in black spun around, but there was no one behind him. Realizing he'd been tricked, he tried to turn back, but it was too late. He threw himself forward, but there was no saving him.

Pain stabbed through his chest as a gleaming sword tip emerged from it. All he could manage was the word "Coward" before he slumped to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing.

The Backstab succeeded, and a warm current spread through Du Ge's body as his attributes rose bit by bit.

Watching their companion get sneak-attacked and killed right before their eyes, the others seethed with rage and swung their blades at Du Ge as one.

As Du Ge parried their blows, he said, "I'm a Heavenly Demon. You can't kill me."

"I'll kill whoever I damn well please—and that includes Heavenly Demons!" one of them said, his eyes bloodshot.

"Don't be reckless. If you kill me, your men will have died for nothing," Du Ge said. "Do you think your leader will spare you when you get back?"

Their attacks suddenly faltered. The weapons that had been aimed at Du Ge's vital spots shifted toward his arms and legs—places where a wound wouldn't kill him—and their strikes grew noticeably weaker.

They couldn't kill him, but they could still injure him. Du Ge's bluff wasn't going to make them stop fighting.

Even so, having to hold back left them all deeply frustrated.

Du Ge had eyes in the back of his head, so being surrounded was already easy for him. Now he was under even less pressure. He easily blocked the blades coming at him and looked around at the others. "That's more like it. Killing someone and capturing them are two different things. Don't let a moment of anger ruin the Iron Palm Sect's grand plan. If you fail your mission and end up getting yourselves killed too, what a waste. The dead are gone; the living still have to carry on. You have to look on the bright side. You on the left, make your swings a little smaller. It's fine if you hurt me, but don't hit your own men..."