Chapter 1004
Chapter 1004 - 990 Departure
1,482 words
•
8 min read
"Chris, are you sure this is okay?"
Walking on an unfamiliar main street, Lu Ping’an had taken on an entirely different appearance.
His skin was deliberately darkened, his smooth black hair made slightly curly, even the black colored contacts he usually wore were mixed with a touch of light gold this time.
Added to this was a purposely altered, odd accent, in the eyes of an outsider, he seemed like a Central Asian hybrid.
"No problem, Su Xi is completely dead. Furthermore, no one knows about his death. As a once indifferent assassin, his social connections were remarkably simple. His interactions with people were extremely cold and stiff. No one would come up to chat with him voluntarily, which makes him a suitable identity for you to disguise as..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t display any distinctive decorations, just simple trousers and a short-sleeved shirt, again abandoning his auxiliary devices and walking on foot.
Gone was his accustomed smile, his face now bore an icy coldness that warned strangers to stay away.
This hybrid named Su Xi, from the moment he graduated from the assassin camp at six years old, had neither personal hobbies nor the disposition to chat.
Though somewhat uncomfortable, such a personality was good news for Lu Ping’an’s disguise.
This was one of Big Cat’s "alternate" identities and also a fringe person with some connection to the Church of the Lady of the Forest.
"The Lady of the Forest is one of the less extreme groups in the Natural Church, but there are still some things, some people who are too extreme. ’Maple Monk Association’ is one of them..."
"...Sounds like Awakeners?"
"Similar, a gathering of ascetics inclined to seclusion. This is exactly what you’re lacking now. Aren’t you pursuing the Constant Motion path? Some things are unavoidable..."
Su Xi was dead through and through, and as an assassin, his social relations were extremely simple, an identity quite suitable for impersonation.
Big Cat had included this identity in her collection, even concocting a fake scenario of "Su Xi went to the Exotic Realm to cultivate" to preserve the freshness of this identity, keeping it in reserve.
She was keeping an eye on him also because Su Xi once did a few jobs for the Lady of the Forest and was quite liked by several high-ranking members of the sect. Joining the Church was merely a matter of saying the word.
"What is his personal strength? Since he is favored, he must be good."
"...Don’t know, he was slapped to death. But it’s said he might be a third or fourth-tier Fighter/Runner Path."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an felt somewhat helpless.
This was typical of being too outstanding, attracting trouble that could not be resisted in any way.
Not yet twenty and possessing such strength was indeed enough to be proud of, yet because of his connection with the Church of the Lady of the Forest, he attracted the Lady’s mortal enemy, a trouble so great he was slapped to death.
The attire Lu Ping’an was wearing was actually that of the unfortunate man himself. To impersonate him well, Big Cat specifically pointed out a past treasure location and a safe house.
"...Heh, he wasn’t exactly a good thing either. Take a look at this and remember it well..."
Looking at an album Big Cat brought out, Lu Ping’an had just flipped through two pages when a subtle smile appeared on his face.
"Good taste, just a bit heavy..."
The colorful photos were all of undressed women. Judging by the unprofessional shooting technique, it was a personal hobby.
But from some expressions that were clearly involuntary, it was apparent that Su Xi was no good man, he couldn’t even be called a person.
"He was an orphan from birth, lacking maternal love. The women he sought were all post-thirty and rather voluptuous. His attitude was different towards his admirers than towards others. This hobby was somewhat well-known, be careful not to mess up the act."
At those words, Lu Ping’an stopped flipping through the photos. He had the feeling he’d been duped again.
"He started young, was heavy in his killings, and grew up quickly. His age isn’t much different from yours; a little makeup and you could disguise as him. Of course, as an assassin, he didn’t have any close friends, so there’s no need to worry about being exposed."
But Big Cat kept chattering away, appearing quite serious, and Lu Ping’an sighed, having no choice but to remember it all.
According to the plan, he was to disguise himself as Su Xi who had succeeded in his cultivation and achieved a transformative breakthrough, infiltrating the Church of the Lady of the Forest. As for the purpose of infiltrating... well, it probably wasn’t anything good.
"Can’t we make a trade? I’m not asking for much."
"...Others can, but you absolutely cannot."
"You have inherited my path, and you would be the most nutritious supplement for that bitch Lin Nu. You’d better not show your face in front of her true will or her deputies... at least not before you reach Rule-level."
Big Cat dismissed Lu Ping’an’s idea of a "friendship trade," but in a way, this was actually in line with Lu Ping’an’s expectations.
If he had to trade "knowledge" the normal way, learning bit by bit, God knows how long it would take.
But if he used his own method, well, it would be very quick, incredibly quick...
"Lu Ping’an, these three people, they are Su Xi’s rare social connections; two are already dead—one I killed, and the other truly disappeared. The last one you probably won’t meet, but if you do, it will be quite troublesome..."
Meanwhile, Big Cat kept babbling about some nonsensical things; she seemed to have fallen into a rare state of fervor.
"I understand the paths, but why a martial monk..."
What Lu Ping’an was least accustomed to was that his entire dining set was placed in the courtyard; now he wasn’t even wearing the red hand gloves that had become somewhat of a trademark.
Without armor or weapons, and even the book that he usually had on his belt was taken off, which made him feel uneasy and even subconsciously insecure.
"Not a martial monk, but a Fighter."
"...Is there a difference?"
"Yes, a martial monk is an Advancement of an Awakener, which you can’t handle. And now you need this kind of power to supplement your own rules; you can only take an indirect approach."
Lu Ping’an was to take the Eternal Moving Spirit path, and the most basic requirement was to supplement the professional system of "Constant Motion."
In this regard, the cultivation of the body by a Runner/Fighter and the cultivation of the spirit and soul on the Awakener Path are not something that could be bypassed.
And having chosen the Runner Path, Lu Ping’an wouldn’t be able to obtain the complete Awakener Path...
"So you’re saying, if it’s incomplete, there might be a possibility?"
"How did you acquire the powers of a Beast Tamer and even a Healer?"
"Oh, you mean find a high-level Awakener, kill them, and then loot their remains for items?"
"...It’s not that easy, that was a reward bestowed upon you by Fate. Under normal circumstances, you could kill a thousand and still not gain such a level of ’Path’. What I mean is, we need to borrow ’outside forces’!"
In Chris’s experience, there were many ways to borrow external aid.
For instance, once Lu Ping’an’s Soldier Path reached the level of the Black Knight, it was clear that he had acquired the powers of "Life" and "Death."
Lu Ping’an was unable to attain the profession of Awakener; likewise, he could not hold the regular Advancement of a martial monk. However, he could take on the lower foundational profession of a Fighter, then leap to certain special Advancements of a martial monk which didn’t require support from the Awakener side, to indirectly gain some powers of the Awakener system.
For Lu Ping’an, once a window was opened, filling in the rest was not difficult... He could directly spend money at the Library to purchase corresponding Professional Abilities and knowledge, forcefully bolstering himself.
But that way was the Main Road, and it also meant high costs and a great deal of time, and what Lu Ping’an most needed now was time, while the fastest and most time-efficient way was...
"To borrow Divine Power, to covet the blessings of the God of Martial Fight? An exclusive feast for Fighters, haha, quite interesting, reminds one of the past..."
— End of Chapter 1004 —