Versatile Mage: Shadow Assassin

Soaked to the bone, Jing Wuji trudged toward the security room of Mingwen Girls' High School.

Blood, mixed with rainwater, had splattered all over him. The icy rain and the open wounds on his body were steadily draining his body heat.

The cold gnawed ever deeper into his consciousness.

He had to find Xinxia for healing—otherwise, he really would die!

Jing Wuji forced himself to keep walking. His lips were pale, whether, from the cold or blood loss, he couldn't tell.

He vaguely remembered seeing the soul essence of the Bone-Spike Iron Wolf get absorbed into his deer pendant, but his mind was foggy—he hadn't seen clearly.

Finally, staggering and barely upright, Jing Wuji returned to the guardhouse. Covered in blood, his appearance gave Ye Xinxia a terrible fright—then came overwhelming concern and heartache.

Just after seeing her face, he collapsed, dazed and unconscious.

Ye Xinxia, undeterred by the stench of blood clinging to him, gently cradled his head in her lap.

Closing her eyes, she connected the stars into a star path. A strange energy began to rise from her, and a holy, milky-white glow appeared at her slender fingertips—gentle as light, soft as flowing water.

The sacred light slowly flowed into the massive wound on Jing Wuji's chest, gradually filling and healing it.

A thin membrane formed over the wound, stopping the bleeding. Then the light wove together torn muscles, reconnecting ruptured blood vessels and nerve fibers.

As the gash on Jing Wuji's chest slowly faded, sweat poured down Ye Xinxia's brow. Healing him had taken a heavy toll on her.

Only once the wound was fully closed did she stop casting her magic—only to be hit by waves of dizziness and sharp internal pain. Her mana was thoroughly depleted.

Jing Wuji slowly regained consciousness and found himself resting on Ye Xinxia's lap, inhaling the faint scent of her body—calm and soothing.

The soft warmth cradling his head made him want to stay like that forever, but he summoned all his willpower and rose. The road to Anjie still stretched ahead—he couldn't stop now.

"Let's go," Jing Wuji said, pushing Ye Xinxia's wheelchair toward their destination. Lin Yun'er followed closely behind.

Not long after, Jing Wuji handed the wheelchair over to Lin Yun'er and darted ahead with Shadow Step to scout the path.

Ye Xinxia and Lin Yun'er passed the corpse of the Bone-Spike Iron Wolf. Blood from the body had already formed small streams along the ground.

So this is the monster Wuji-gege killed… it's huge. That battle must've been brutal. I must train harder—I don't want to be a burden anymore.

The girl quietly made a vow: She would fight beside Jing Wuji someday.

Jing Wuji took the lead, his eyes burning with silent fury as he watched familiar streets reduced to rubble and ruin.

The rain kept falling. The clouds thinned slightly, but there was still no sign of clear skies.

They passed Grandpa Li's convenience store. Bloodstains dotted the wall and the ground outside. Jing Wuji didn't dare go in—he was afraid he'd find Grandpa Li's corpse. If he didn't look, he could still pretend the old man had made it out.

He didn't know why, but his eyes stung a little.

Jing Wuji grew even more silent. The already heavy atmosphere grew suffocating—as though an invisible weight was pressing on their hearts.

He pressed forward, blazing the trail. Along the way, he encountered countless demons. Thankfully, they were only servant-class, but he'd already lost count of how many he'd slain. In the deer pendant on his chest floated ten soul essences—one from a warrior-class beast, the rest from servants.

Only the Bone-Spike Iron Wolf had dropped a complete essence. The rest were fragments—his luck couldn't have been worse.

Even as he consciously conserved mana, his reserves were nearly spent. They were only three kilometers from Anjie now!

Inside a residential building, Jing Wuji, Ye Xinxia, and Lin Yun'er rested in an abandoned apartment.

More and more monsters had begun appearing in Bo City. In just the three kilometers left to Anjie, there were over a hundred demons.

Jing Wuji knew he had no way of escorting both girls there unscathed.

But "he" could take Ye Xinxia to safety.

Closing his eyes to enter meditation, Jing Wuji stepped into his mental universe.

"…Are you there?" Jing Wuji asked reluctantly.

"You've already made your decision, haven't you?" a cold voice echoed through the mental realm.

"Yes. We're the same person, after all, aren't we?" Jing Wuji replied with a sigh. "I already knew this day would come, ever since we split six years ago. I just didn't expect you'd hand over control so easily."

"We separated for Xinxia's sake. She didn't want to see this side of me, so I gave you control."

"Alright, one last question. How can you use Heart's Eye so effortlessly?"

"…Because aside from this body and Xinxia, I have nothing. No past. No future."

That deep voice echoed again.

From the darkness stepped someone identical to Jing Wuji—only wreathed in faint black mist.

When they met, they extended their right hands and gave each other a high five. Then one walked into the dark, the other into the light.

…

Jing Wuji's eyes snapped open. His aura completely shifted—cold, dark, and grim.

Ye Xinxia, who had been watching him closely, immediately sensed the change. Her heart filled with sorrow.

Wuji-gege… has become that person again…

"Let's go," Jing Wuji said, taking the lead out of their resting place.

Lin Yun'er quickly followed, pushing Ye Xinxia. Though she didn't know him well, she could tell Jing Wuji was no longer the same.

His mana barely supports three uses of Shadow Phase. That means… only three chances for error. It's enough.

With Heart's Eye active, Jing Wuji silently analyzed his status.

Just a few steps out, he was confronted by three Giant-Eyed Sinister Rats—and a Blood-Marked Ogre Rat.

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

Jing Wuji didn't stop walking. His entire body radiated an overwhelming killing intent as he stepped through the rain, slowly closing in on the four monsters.

The four demons seemed intimidated by his aura, hesitating to move forward.

Eventually, one of the Giant-Eyed Sinister Rats could no longer withstand the pressure and lunged at Jing Wuji.

Ye Xinxia and Lin Yuner both covered their mouths, afraid that a scream born of fear might slip out and distract Jing Wuji in battle.

Jing Wuji sidestepped smoothly and, with a flick of his hand, conjured a shadow longsword—then struck.

The Giant-Eyed Sinister Rat's massive body crashed to the ground and never got up again.

"Ssshhhk—"

Its severed head rolled to the side, its neck spraying blood with a sharp hiss.

In the blink of an eye, Jing Wuji had beheaded it!

Such a swift and precise strike!

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