The clouds on the dark sky broke apart letting the round moon illuminate the light. The shadow of the retreating clouds followed still on the background before the sky became clear. Two figures can be seen standing on an alleyway watching each other intently. Any movement will cause a rift to the balance so they remained still.

But things will never remain the same. One small distraction is enough to cause a movement. One sound of a cat running on the roof made Kun Shao to look at the corner of his eyes. The god killer used this small distraction to break the ice moving the balance to a pit.

With a smooth step, the god killer flew up towards the roof whilst walking in the air. The motion is flawless and elegant that even the tresses of the black robes waved in the air, dancing majestically in the view of the moonlight. He seems to look like flying than jumping up, walking in an invisible staircase that only existed on his might.

Kun Shao cursed his incompetence as he followed behind the god killer. He took ten needles from who knows where and threw it up to the direction of the god killer. He also leaped up in the air, using his frail looking legs to push him up in the sky. A pound of dust puffed out from the ground where he is from, showing a strength enough to crumble the pavement.

The god killer anticipated the incoming attack so he wasn't scared of being hit even in the air. As if having wings, the god killer managed to turn around as he faced the incoming needles with a straight face. He only bended his body on the side to dodge one needle, bended his body on the other direction again to dodge the other, and flail his arms around to whip the needles away. None of the ten needles touched him, not even scraping a little on his clothes.

He landed on the roof softly like on a feather while still looking at the direction of the hermit gardener. Kun Shao did not immediately follow as he flew up higher than the roof carrying another series of the sharp needles. He held them on his sides to increase the force of projection before throwing it down to the position of the god killer. The directions of the needles are concentrated this time sticking close that merely avoiding it is not enough.

The god killer quickly unsheathed a sword and clashed the metals. With a -ding- -ding- -ding-, he faced the needles head on. Sparks were created when two metals collided, creating an illusion of fireworks dancing on the skies. Since the clouds covered the heavens again, the sparks created a wonderful picture - if only it wasn't a real fight and just an exhibition. The needles that were thrown were quickly dispelled to the other side.

Kun Shao is falling on a projectile. Using the weight of gravity, he mounted his self to step on the god killer and earned force as he falls down. The god killer only blocked the step using his sword and attempted to slash the other quickly but Kun Shao used a force to push him away before jumping around in a somersault in the midair. He landed on the side of the roof in a crouch before standing in an upright position.

The god killer was surprised by the force and was pushed a few meters away. To say that he wasn't injured is impossible. A line of blood escaped the corner of his lips as the sword that he used to block the attack crumbled. One silver metal was stuck on his upper shoulder creating a dark pool of liquid to highlight the black cape. He did not expect that Kun Shao would still be able to throw needles on the close proximate position.

"Not bad," Kun Shao said. "Out of the ten needles that I released, you manage to get away with only one."

The god killer tossed the destroyed sword on the side and plugs the needle out from his shoulders. The needle only broke a portion of his shoulder blades but it is enough to render his right arm useless. The scent of blood with the sound of metal clanging permitted the air. The god killer held his shoulders when a smirk still appeared on his face.

It was painful, ah. But this pain is only little compared to the scorching heat released by the seal.

Without the sword, the god killer only has the legendary weapon on his hands, yet he never dared to use it against Kun Shao. When the hermit gardener decided to attack using martial arts, the god killer received it barehanded by blocking each hand by the use of his own style.

Kun Shao swiftly moved his right hand in a form of a blade to hit the god killer's neck. The god killer blocked it with the back of his palm then using the slide of momentum to hold on the wrist of the enemy. Kun Shao swatted the hand holding his wrist to avoid longer contact and used his left hand to repeat the same action. The god killer is also fast on his movements as he tried to defend his body.

It was Kun Shao who is delivering the punches and the god killer steps back to avoid being hit. Kun Shao fisted his palms and motioned it to hit the chest of the enemy. The god killer blocked it by crossing his arms out then pushing the man away. Kun Shao used the momentum to do a roundhouse kick wanting to hit his head but the god killer blocked it up again.

That kick was just a feint when Kun Shao suddenly pushed his self to the ground and used his other leg to kick the god killer's calves to get him off the ground. The god killer didn't see this move coming and decided to step back. But he was too late adjust his balance and Kun Shao successfully delivered the hit... if only he did hit his calves.

He is sure that the contact is very close to hit any of the lower body part but Kun Shao's leg somehow just scraped the robe and get pass on it as if the body that he was kicking is made up of air. The force that he used is enough to break both of the bones but sadly, he was faced with an empty space. The god killer can see that Kun Shao was distracted and used this moment to deliver a blow.

Creating fire from his palms, the god killer directed the concentrated bullet fireballs to the body of the hermit gardener. Since Kun Shao was still off the balance, he could not stand up and just rolled away to avoid the bullets just on time. He only regained his body function when he was a few meters apart and he used his arms to push him up the ground. The god killer ceased using his fire and watches the older man to stand up.

The clouds, then again, dispersed to let the moonlight take a peek to the ground. Kun Shao watched as the figure before him shone with the light. The hood is covering the face of the perpetrator so he can't recognize its appearance, just only that little smirk that it makes. The wind seem to visit their figures as it blew pass them.

The god killer, somehow, made a respectful bow before Kun Shao. It held a deep meaning that even the hermit gardener was surprised. Then, the god killer took a paper from his inner robes and burned it using his fire. It quickly catches the whole body of the god killer that was burned only a second before becoming ash.

Ah, the god killer has escaped again.

The hermit gardener dwelled only a while before turning around. He hopped down from the roof and walked his way back to the body of the killed god. The head of the god was found only a few feet away from the body when it rolled away from the hit.

Kun Shao saw that both of the eyes are still open so he crouched down to close it. He found some traces of candy wrappers littered around the body, and a few unopened candies on the hand. He shook his head while clicking his tongue. This young god who only made a small name was killed without reason. He must have been walking his way home from work.

He stood up after retaining the pieces of the body and took a talisman. He lit it up using his power making the talisman glow. The paper of incantation escaped from his hand as it flew up in the air and went to the direction of the palace. This will call the reinforcements and to alert the ministers about the death of the twelfth god.

Kun Shao remained on the alleyway as he waited for the backup. He touched his neck subconsciously while watching the dead body. He thought that that small miscalculation could have caused his death. His defenses are down on that time and he could see the legendary weapon gleaming sharply. The god killer could have used it to snap his head off, but instead he used a fire technique to attack him. He thought that this god killer is so stupid to use a blunt blade to kill him...

Or maybe he wasn't really planning to kill him.

The skills of the god killer are quite good but it wasn't enough to eliminate a master. Kun Shao could have defeated him if only he managed to throw the god killer off his balance. He was genuinely surprised when his kick only passed through the robes hitting nothing but air. The god killer could have not avoided on time so why is he not able to hit something?

It was describes that the god killer is tall. But what if all of this time he was just actually floating in the air? And the appearance that he made was just covered by his clothes so nobody ever detected his true nature. What if all this time the god killer is a woman? What if all of this time the real god killer is just close nearby?

Kun Shao doesn't want to conclude from speculation. He would quickly see the emperor and tell him his report. Maybe this time they will be able to see the pattern of the killings and to catch the murderer off the line.

The officers arrived after a while. Kun Shao reported the events honestly without leaving any scene out. The officer asking him somehow wondered how this weak looking god managed to have a one on one fight with the god killer but he kept on recording the information professionally. The leader of the group saw Kun Shao and immediately saluted.

"First Class gene-" but before he was able to mutter the title a monster suddenly appeared before him. He quickly shuts his mouth and walked closely to Kun Shao.

"First Class general," he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I no longer owned that title." Kun Shao said.

"But still, you are still the stron- Aw aw aw, stop stepping on my foot!" The officer complained.

"Ling, where is the Imperial Scholar? I want to talk to him." Kun Shao quickly diverted the topic.

"Lao shi? Oh, he just left earlier. It seems that he was summoned by His Majesty. He quickly left after receiving the news," the officer reported honestly.

"He was summoned?" Kun Shao is confused. Why would the emperor call Zhong Song down knowing that they are only getting married? Well, he already expected that the emperor would also collect a few information about the god killer but...

"We don't have the details but it seems that His highness has received a few clues about the killer. His majesty needed Lao Shi's vast knowledge about the humans so..."

"I see," Kun Shao nodded. Zhong Song is the very one who carried a lot of information about humans. It's normal that he would be needed in this kind of thing.

"Does the gener-, ehem, I mean the former general need something from the scholar?"

"Maybe," Kun Shao said. "I have to follow him down."

"Then shall we prepare-"

"Don't, I'll go there by myself. You take good care of here. Everyone is now in danger. We must stop the god killer for completing the seal."

His senses suddenly told him that something bad would happen. His many years of attending the battle field after a long time ago; he knows that this little disarray of information means that something big will come up. He left the scene without the sound and fled to the darkest shadow to depart.

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Yay! I updated!