Strangers

Weapons flew through the air as Li Mo nimbly darted about. He drew Short Blade from Li Mo waist and slashed forward with all his might, only to have another Short Blade of the same type appear in front of him, blocking Li Mo's Short Blade.

Then the weapon was pulled back, and Li Mo's body, which had exerted all its strength, was involuntarily propelled forward. Due to the impact of the force, he fell helplessly to the ground, where a throwing dart that had been stuck there during the previous battle lay.

The person fighting Li Mo obviously noticed this as well, so he quickly reversed his weapon and reached out to stop Li Mo's falling body. Then he felt a cold dagger pressed against his neck.

"I won!" Li Mo smiled happily. He had trained for eighteen years, honing his skills every day and thinking of ways to defeat his enemy. Finally, he had defeated him today. "Senior Brother, right!"

A bitter smile flickered across the resolute and serene face of the person supporting Li Mo. He was none Li Mo Sheng Heng, Li Mo's senior brother. Looking at the dagger against his neck, Sheng Heng chuckled and said, "Indeed..."

"You lost, Li Mo!" A voice interrupted Sheng Ge's next words.

Li Mo was stunned for a moment, then looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the steps in the distance. Li Mo slowly stood up, still holding the dagger in his hand, but not taking it away from Sheng Heng's neck, and asked defiantly, "Why?"

"This is just a competition, but you used something outside of the competition." The middle-aged man looked at Li Mo reproachfully. "You risked your own safety, your own life, to force Sheng Heng, who was worried about you, to save you, in order to win the victory. This is already an evil way!"

"But this is your teaching, Master!" Li Mo clenched his fists, veins bulging, and said excitedly, "Master, you taught us that Assassin are driven by their beliefs to overcome and utilize everything."

"And it was precisely by taking advantage of this that I defeated my senior brother!" Li Mo said excitedly.

"It's true that you should uphold your beliefs to overcome everything, but you went too far. Just like when you use your moves, you always go all out, leaving no way out. Did you even consider what would have happened if Sheng Heng hadn't reacted in time?"

"You'll only Destruction yourself by doing this!" the middle-aged man said sternly. "You're punished to spend the night on the mountaintop and reflect carefully on your mistakes."

"This... Master, although Xiao Mo went a bit too far, there's no need to punish him. It's already winter, and it's freezing cold," Sheng Heng said, scratching his head.

"Don't plead for him. Just look at the fact that his dagger is still at your neck!" the middle-aged man said coldly, his eyes closed.

Li Mo, Li Mo dropped the dagger in his hand, a lump in his throat. Without looking back, he limped around the temple's main hall and took a side path towards the mountaintop.

Sheng Heng wanted to chase after him, but was stopped by the middle-aged man, who said wearily, "He just failed to defeat you and is still resentful. Let him go to the mountaintop to calm down, and I'll ask Ling Ge to persuade him."

"Yes, Master," Sheng Heng said respectfully, running his fingers across his neck. Seeing a trace of red, a hint of worry flashed through his mind. He had some questions about his master's handling of the situation, but his long-standing respect and trust for his master kept him silent. However, a thought flashed through his mind: perhaps it would be better to let Li Mo win this time.

Half of the summit of Holy Sight Mountain has been cleared out to form a flat area, while on the other half of the mountain wall, an ancient inscription reads, "We firmly believe that faith is not everything."

"Contradictory!" Li Mo scoffed, standing atop the mountain, taking in the surrounding scenery. All the views below Holy Sight Mountain were now in his view. A cool breeze blew by, making Li Mo feel a chill.

The instructors at the temple at the foot of the mountain rang the bell, heralding the approach of night. In the Heavenmark Continent, night meant danger, as omnipresent Fate Beast threatened human lives.

Li Mo is a member of the Holy Sight Branch of the Assassin Order, or more precisely, the second disciple of this generation's Holy Insight branch. His master, the middle-aged man, is none other than the previous generation's Assassin Master Ke Su, who possesses superb assassination skills and powerful Sky Mark power.

The Assassin Ke Su had a total of five disciples. Sheng Heng was the first, while Li Mo, although younger, entered the sect earlier and was the second disciple. As an orphan, Li Mo was extremely competitive and always wanted to beat his senior brother Sheng Heng.

Today, he had clearly won, but he couldn't get his master's recognition, which made him extremely resentful. As the sun gradually set, Li Mo's gaze suddenly shifted as he looked down the mountain. There, a strange light flashed on the top floor of an ancient tower.

"Could it be Sky Mark?" Li Mo's heart stirred. Sky Mark is something with strange power; any kind of Heavenly Mark can bring magical power. However, although there are quite a few of these things, they are controlled by various large organizations.

The Assassin Order naturally possessed many Sky Mark, but because the Sky Mark were too powerful, they were only bestowed upon the disciple upon graduation. The ancient pagoda was located in the backyard of the temple, with few stories and not very tall, and it was also quite ordinary with no fancy designs. There were many similar ancient pagodas.

"The temple's backyard has always been locked, and we haven't been inside many times. We haven't paid much attention to that ancient pagoda before. If it weren't for that light, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Has the cult used some kind of secret method to do this?"

Li Mo shook his head, thinking, "What does this have to do with me? The real issue is figuring out how to defeat Sheng Heng." But then that strange light flashed through Li Mo's mind again. "If I take control of the Sky Mark, I should be able to easily defeat Sheng Heng, right?"

With this thought in mind, Li Mo looked down again, but did not find the ancient tower. If he hadn't seen it clearly before, he would have thought he was hallucinating.

"Hidden?" Li Mo calmed down, a strange light flashing through his mind. Finally, the ancient tower reappeared in Li Mo's eyes, a hint of pride flashing across his face. Some of his concerns were slowly thrown to the back of his mind.

"I was almost ready to graduate anyway, so it shouldn't matter if I get the Sky Mark early, right?" Li Mo reassured himself, using the stealth techniques he had learned to silently sneak into the backyard, then climbed up the ancient tower, rolled through the window and into the tower, and soon arrived at the top of the tower.

At the top center of the tower, a black gemstone rested on a central wooden pillar, which was engraved with various runes and surrounded by a pale yellow barrier.

As if sensing Li Mo's arrival, the gem emitted a slight ripple, and the surrounding barrier silently melted away. Li Mo ignored the numerous abnormalities, stepped forward, and grabbed at the black gem.

Suddenly, the black gemstone transformed into a black aura and surged into Li Mo's body. He pulled open his shirt and saw a tattoo there, resembling a pitch-black sun.