The night was still.
Too still.
The courtyard outside Asura's residence was bathed in moonlight, but it felt like it had been dipped in ink. Shadows twisted unnaturally, stretching and pulling as if alive. The air was thick with murderous intent—sharp enough to cut skin, silent enough to make a scream vanish.
Four assassins from the darkest depths of the Shadowfall Kingdom surrounded Asura.
They wore masks carved with demonic runes, their presence invisible to normal eyes. But to Asura's Supreme Martial Eyes, their movements were as slow as snails trapped in honey.
Each held a different weapon—a curved sickle, twin daggers, a chain wrapped in bones, and a sword so black it seemed to drink the light.
Their objective was clear:
Kill Asura. Leave no trace.
The First Strike
The assassin with the bone-chain attacked first. It hissed through the air like a serpent, glowing faintly with a strange poison. Most warriors wouldn't even see the movement. It targeted Asura's neck with surgical precision.
But before it could reach, Asura tilted his head slightly—and caught the chain with two fingers.
The assassin's eyes widened. That technique was fast enough to strangle a mid-tier elder. Yet this boy...
Crack—
The chain shattered.
And so did the assassin's arm.
Asura flicked his wrist, sending a wave of crimson qi surging through the air. The assassin was blown back into a tree, his body folding unnaturally before going limp.
One down.
Dance of Shadows
The second and third assassins moved in unison. The one with the twin daggers created dozens of afterimages, each slashing toward Asura's vital points, while the other launched the black sword in a spiraling arc—aimed directly at his back.
Asura didn't move.
Instead, his Heaven's End: Path of Asura pulsed.
The air around him twisted. His aura surged. And the moment the dagger assassin closed in—
Asura vanished.
No… not vanished—
He was behind them.
Both assassins froze. Too late.
With two fingers, he touched the back of the dagger assassin's neck. A pulse of martial qi surged from his fingertip. The assassin fell, eyes wide, spine severed by a qi thread thinner than silk.
Asura then caught the black sword mid-air, flipped it, and drove it straight through the heart of its owner.
"Three," he whispered. "One left."
A Real Threat
The last assassin—the one with the sickle—was different.
He hadn't moved.
Instead, he stood in the moonlight, chanting something ancient. Dark energy coiled around his body as he activated a forbidden technique. His presence exploded, tripling in strength. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"You're not human," he hissed, eyes glowing violet. "They told me you were powerful… but this? This is demonic."
Asura tilted his head, grinning. "Wrong. I'm not a demon."
He stepped forward.
"I'm the one demons fear."
The assassin howled and launched his attack—sickle wrapped in death qi, slicing horizontally. But Asura's eyes glowed.
In that moment, time slowed. The assassin's breath froze. His weapon felt heavy.
And then—
Slash.
Asura didn't move from his spot, but the assassin's body fell in two.
No technique was seen. No sword was drawn. Only Heaven's End—a martial truth too fast, too pure, too lethal.
Aftermath
Within seconds, all four assassins were dead. Their corpses disintegrated into smoke—the Shadowfall Kingdom's sign of disavowing failure. They would not even be remembered.
Asura stood still for a moment, eyes glowing faintly, breathing calm.
Behind him, Lira appeared, eyes wide in shock. "You were ambushed by assassins… and you didn't even draw your sword?"
Asura shrugged, grinning. "Didn't feel like it."
"But they were… Shadowfall assassins."
"Yeah. Pretty weak ones though."
Shao joined with a low whistle. "That last guy was at peak Earth Realm."
"He was sloppy," Asura replied. "And afraid."
A Storm Awakens
Far away, in the palace of the Shadowfall Kingdom, an elder received word of the failed assassination. The crystal in his hand cracked from fury.
"So… even our elite were crushed."
Another voice, ancient and grim, echoed behind him.
"He's awakened the Thunder Qi inside him."
"Should we send another group?"
"No," the old voice muttered. "Send the Twelve Scourges. This boy… must be erased."
Final Scene – Asura's Transformation
Back at the academy, Asura sat under the moonlight, blood dripping from his hand—not his own, but tainted with shadow poison.
He held up his palm. Threads of thunder crackled between his fingers, mixing with the demonic red aura swirling around his body. The Thunder Qi was finally submitting to his will.
Good, he thought.
He closed his eyes—and smiled.
"Heaven's End… let's evolve again."
As his aura surged, somewhere deep within the academy, ancient seals cracked—responding to the presence of a power long forgotten.
A storm was coming.
And Asura stood at its center.
End of Chapter 82