Eternity Starts From His Seed

Eighth District.

Bubai stood on the narrow ledge of a towering sandstone pillar, the night breeze lightly ruffling his flowing, hemp cloak.

His hawk-like eyes penetrated through the shadows of the night, fixating on the distant sandstone building that loomed like a fortress compared to the single-floor structures around it.

Gang members roamed the streets below, their rugged figures silhouetted against the torch-lit sand.

Some also stood guard on the rooftops of the building, their eyes scanning the surroundings with a lazy intensity.

This was the headquarters of the Flower Picking Gang – a group that had long been under his radar.

From his vantage point, a ripple of invisible energy rolled outwards, sweeping the entire area, eventually bypassing the patrols and infiltrating the heart of the gang’s base.

Immediately, his divine sense mapped out the two floors above ground, and even dug into the hidden underground prison not mentioned in the intel.

“As I suspected, the intel is incomplete.” It wasn’t hard to guess why.

Underground, Bubai detected the contraband the gang trafficked, emanating a sorrowful, despairing aura that betrayed their illicit nature.

His senses also picked up on some of the guards still doing in-depth inspection of the goods this late at night, their excited faces hidden in the dim, flickering glow of torches.

The brothel and the gang. Clearly, there was a link between these scourges of society.

Alas, it was the unchangeable norm in this demonic sect.

On to the first floor, Bubai noted the rhythmic breathing of gang members, snoozing in their cramped quarters, many sharing the same room and even cultivation resources.

The communal living arrangements revealed the camaraderie and mutual reliance that defined their criminal brotherhood...

Finally jumping to the second floor, Bubai identified the guards still on patrol duty, their fatigue evident as they yawned and exchanged banter in hushed tones.

Skimming over these faces, his interested moved to the rooms on this floor. There were various storage rooms, a study, and finally, the large master’s bedroom.

Bubai’s attention zeroed in on his ultimate target - a figure immersed in cultivation on his sheepskin bed in the master’s bedroom.

This was the leader of the Flower Picking Gang, the same one that came to kick his stall in the West District Plaza.

Right now, the fatigue was apparent on this man’s face, yet he was still awake and working hard...

“Most should have been asleep by now… Did someone alert them? Taiyin clan?” Bubai scowled.

Gazing up at the moon obscured by mist, Bubai loosened his legs. “Too bad the big fish didn’t get hooked. Well, collecting some interest first won’t hurt.”

Letting his line of sight fall back onto his target, Bubai bent his knees to draw strength, muscles coiling like a spring, “Time to start.”

Fwoosh! Bubai launched himself off the ledge, watching the sandstone pillar rapidly shrinking beneath him...

The wind rushed past him as he soared upward, the vast expanse of the night sky stretching out before him.

At the zenith of his ascent, he unfurled the parachute strapped securely to his back- Fwip!

A billowing canopy caught the dark night wind, allowing him to glide silently toward his destination - the rooftop of the gang's fortress.

From this aerial perspective, his sharp eyes alone was enough to capture all the guards patrolling the perimeter.

But Bubai knew the truth - the gangs had fortified their stronghold against horizontal threats, but they hadn't accounted for an assailant descending straight from the heavens.

After all, Foundation Establishment cultivators were big shots, beyond the league they consider dealing with.

Well… There wasn’t much preparation that can be done other than standard welcoming procedures.

Normally, the dispersing Qi stemming from the utilization of flying artifacts would serve as an alert mechanim, which usually could be detected through normal Qi-sensing techniques.

Unfortunately for them, Bubai was purely using mortal means…

When Bubai breached the airspace above the rooftop, he skillfully adjusted his trajectory.

A subtle swerve carried him down toward his target.

Closing in on the rooftop, Bubai's hawk-like eyes narrowed with determination.

Moments later, the parachute vanished into the night, leaving him in freefall!

The wind embraced Bubai as he took the dive, a silent predator descending upon unsuspecting prey…

On the rooftop, four rugged gangsters stood as sentinels in three separate directions.

Two of the gangsters stood close together, chit chatting in hushed voices that drifted around the desolate rooftop.

The burly gangster with a prominent scar across his cheek, grinned and nudged his companion in the ribs. "Brother Chen, did you try the new good from the seventh district? She's something else, ain't she?"

Brother Chen, a wiry figure with a piece of grass dangling from his lips, chuckled. "Yeah, Brother Zhao, she's a real looker. She's got the whole prison buzzing."

Brother Chen leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I heard she's got a thing for guys with scars. You might be in luck, Brother Zhao."

Brother Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Well, ain't that a coincidence? Maybe I should go introduce myself, show her the ropes, you know?"

Brother Chen laughed, slapping his buddy on the back. "You do that, my man. Just don't let Big Lou catch you slacking off. He's in a foul mood tonight..."

Hearing his name, a lone guard at another corner, turned toward the two, hollering a gruff warning toward his chit-chatting companions. "Hey, you idiots! Boss said to stay vigilant. Quit yapping and keep your eyes peeled!"

Sadly, his sense of duty was unappreciated by his lackadaisical comrades.

One of the two waved dismissively, showing no concern for Big Lou's caution.

Big Lou, frustrated, looked away toward the other solo sentinel, who was already nodding off in a half-hearted attempt at vigilance.

“These jerks. After enjoying all the benefits, can’t even do simple guard duty properly!”

Turning his gaze forward, Big Lou activated his Qi-sensing technique and kept a watchful eye. At least nobody would escape his detection.

Suddenly, a soft sound, like a sudden breeze, caught his attention.

His face displayed confusion as he muttered, "What's that sound? Behind?"

Turning around, he saw his chit-chatting companions at the far end of the roof already sprawled on the ground, unconscious, their fate unknown.

Eyes widening, he turned to shout a warning to his final companion, only to see a shadow swiftly closing in on him!

Before the words could escape his lips, his mouth was covered to stifle any potential cries for help, and a powerful blow landed in his guts, forcing him to swallow the knock-out powder appearing in his mouth.

“Mmph-” His eyes bulged with shock as the wind was knocked out of him, his fading vision taking in the final sight of the scowling, scarred face...

Bubai, cold and efficient, softly settled the incapacitated guard onto the rooftop. Rooftop cleared.

Approaching the edge, Bubai extended his divine sense downwards through the rooftop.

He noted the only illumination in the passageway – two torches, flickering with a smoky glow.

He then immersed himself in the rhythmic movements of the guards, their patterns, the ebb and flow of their lines of sight.

Calculating the perfect moment, Bubai soon captured a gap in the guards' watch.

Immediately, he descended like a phantom through the narrow window below, his movements as silent as the wind.

When his foot lightly touched the ground, he surged forward like a shadowy wraith.

Swift and stealthily, he moved down the corridor, covering each drowsy guard’s mouth from behind, subduing them with a silent strike to their carotid arteries before pulling them into the shadows of the corridor one-by-one.

Alas, cultivators had sensitive ears, and the soft echoes of the other guards' muffled voices soon drifted into a vigilant guard’s ear, jolting him from his sleepy state.

Just a the guard turned to inspect the disturbance, two pebbles, shot out with uncanny accuracy and snuffed out the only two torches!

The fragile light extinguished, abruptly plunging the corridor into an impenetrable darkness.

“Huh?” Confusion gripped the remaining guards, their senses disoriented by the sudden loss of visibility.

Heavy thuds followed, a symphony of bodies hitting the ground.

Though the guards initially fumbled to grasp the situation, it didn’t take long for realization to dawn upon them. Unfortunately, there wasn’t many left.

Under the speed of the shadowy figure, only a wordless cry of "enemy" escaped before being abruptly cut off by a powerful uppercut connecting with the crying guard’s jaws.

The final guard crumpled against the cold, stone wall, consciousness slipping away in the veil of darkness.

Second floor corridor clear. Now, for the main target...

Bubai turned his attention to the bedroom door.

His divine sense detected the alerted leader within, who had abruptly halted his cultivation, reaching for a talisman tucked in his pants that were tossed to the side.

In a blur, Bubai closed the distance to the door.

A fist shot forward like a bolt of lightning, effortlessly punching a hole through the entire lock, the impact producing nothing more than a soft thud.

The leader's instincts kicked in, raising his talisman just like he did many times in his imagination-

The door immediately swung open, and reality smacked him in the face!

Bubai zipped into the room in a zigzag trajectory, completely hampering the poor man’s attempt to defend himself.

Before the leader could react further, a powerful punch connected with his face, the force so heavy that a couple tooth were knocked loose!

Wanting to follow the trajectory of his bloody teeth, the leader's body flung outwards, only to be caught by Bubai’s vice grip, preventing him from being hurled too far.

The talisman, its sizzling light dying out, hovered momentarily before being captured by Bubai’s hand.

Finally, Bubai’s gaze settled on the middle-aged woman on the bed. Her eyes had widened, yet her hand was instinctively covering her mouth in an attempt to suppress her own scream.

Smart. Bubai nodded in approval at the woman. Without wasting a moment, his finger dabbed a precise acupoint on her neck, rendering her unconscious.

His attention then shifted back to the leader, now flopped over the side of the bed, knocked out cold.

With an almost indifferent demeanor, Bubai dragged the unconscious leader back onto the bed, painting a bloody trail.

Now that the king had been captured…

“Time to clean the house.”