Come again tomorrow morning.
In the secluded alley, many people waited in front of the gate, only to receive Mo Wujiang's indifferent voice.
Unlike the others, Chen Jing did not lament. On the contrary, he was even more looking forward to this unfolding.
The longer the Black Hand's "test and trial mission" is delayed, the better. It gives him time to learn martial arts and develop new trump cards.
Just as Chen Jing was about to leave, Dao Nan called him back.
Dao Nan pulled him to a corner, keeping it mysterious.
"What's going on? Why are you acting so suspiciously?" Chen Jing asked.
Dao Nan didn't keep them in suspense and answered directly:
"I've received information that the Black Hand gang plans to hunt 'slave souls'!"
Seeing Chen Jing's surprised expression, Dao Nan became smug: "Aren't you shocked?"
At this moment, Chen Jing was recalling his battle with the slave spirit from afar. The opponent's movement speed, listening ability, and terrifying throwing knives had all left a deep impression on Chen Jing.
Chen Jing suspected that the slave spirit was definitely on par with the "corpse driver" cultivator known as the priest, or even stronger. Such a slave spirit could not possibly be a monster at the Body Realm or Blood Realm level; it was at least at the Core Realm. None of the three major hunting groups dared to hunt such a powerful character, regarding it as the top predator and avoiding it at all costs. Yet Black Hand dared to hunt it.
No, the mastermind really dares to do that; he's probably backed by some sect from the Xia Dynasty...
The Black Hand's strength is probably greater than the three major hunting groups combined... The three major hunting groups only have three or four extraordinary individuals on the surface. Even if some of them are disguised cultivators, they are still no match for the Black Hand, whose core team consists of more than a dozen people, with a large number of elites, and who can mobilize the city's guards!
"Why hunt down slave spirits?" Chen Jing asked. "Aren't Black Hand afraid of suffering too much loss against such a powerful opponent?"
His underlying meaning is that since the Black Hand is already facing the threat of assassins, why should it concentrate its forces to hunt down a formidable opponent?
"I don't know about that. It's said that our trial is also related to clearing out the periphery and relieving pressure on the core team of the Black Hand," Dao Nan said, throwing out another piece of information.
Chen Jing looked at Dao Nan and realized for the first time that he had such a wide range of connections.
Dao Nan felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so he added, "You haven't been back to our hunting group's camp these past few days, otherwise you would definitely know about this. This matter was notified to the three major hunting groups by the Black Hand, who want to hire the hunting groups to conduct a siege and reconnaissance of the hunting grounds."
"As for whether the trial mission is related to it, that was Commander Ma's guess."
Is this... an attempt to appease people? Chen Jing suddenly had a thought.
Because Ash City has recently been under lockdown, many people have expressed their opinions, especially the powerful hunting parties. Although the Black Hand could suppress them by force, that would ultimately make enemies. He used this method of hiring people to allow the hunting parties to receive money while giving them time to make arrangements, plans, and formulate tactics. By the time they are ready, the assassins will probably have found what they can find, and they won't be able to find what they can't find even after searching for a long time.
Hmm... Although I disguised myself at the time, if I'm captured and all the assassins who saw me come to identify me, I might still become a suspect... I wonder how many of those I rescued have escaped... I hope I don't get caught...
Feeling uneasy, Chen Jing went to his master's house alone with a dictionary and borrowed the martial arts manual from before, and began to study it carefully.
Regardless, stronger combat power and more trump cards bring more opportunities...
Chen Jing first read through the outlines of the four martial arts books.
They all belong to the "Shadow Sword Sect" martial arts, and are all at the Blood Realm level, but "Shadow Cloak" and "Shadow Step" are at a slightly higher level, approaching the Dan Realm.
The martial arts described in "The Fake Soldier" allow one to create an illusion of a weapon attack while swinging it. Although the effect is short-lived, it is quite easy to activate, requiring only the flow of spiritual energy and coordination with the attack.
The martial arts described in "The Ghost Blade" can imbue weapons with a layer of strange spiritual power. Once it touches an enemy, the spiritual power enters the body, blurring the enemy's vision and senses, causing them to misjudge the target and distance, and making their attack and defense completely opposite.
Shadow Step is more like a technique than a martial art. It allows a person to merge with a continuous stream of shadows, moving forward almost instantaneously. However, it takes a long time to execute, and the distance covered by teleporting within the shadows is not as fast as running in the same amount of time. Despite its short distance, long execution time, and significant limitations, this martial art still excites Chen Jing.
Compared to it, "fake soldiers" and "deceptive blades" are more like acrobatics!
"Shadow Cloak" is a "stealth" that can be activated quickly. It has a very short casting time and a short duration, but during that time, the user's figure will be completely hidden and cannot be detected.
Chen Jing had an idea. The biggest drawback of his "invisibility" was that it took a long time to activate. If he encountered an encounter, he would be attacked and interrupted before he could dive into the "dark sea"!
However, if you use "Shadow Cloak" first, and then dive into the "Dark Sea" during the duration of "Shadow Cloak", you can achieve the effect of disappearing instantly.
"The Shadow Cloak and my invisibility are somewhat different... They are different in principle and manifestation. The Shadow Cloak can conceal its form, and attacks and interactions will not cause it to disappear, at least for the duration, but it cannot cover up information such as sound. My invisibility is more thorough, as if it directly blocks all of other people's senses, but it will be broken once there is any interaction..." Chen Jing thought.
"First, learn 'Deceptive Blade' to increase your direct combat ability. 'Deceptive Blade' is relatively simple to learn and use. If I learn 'Fake Soldier', I'll have to study the corresponding tactics to make the illusionary swords mislead and deceive... Then learn 'Shadow Cloak' to improve my survival ability." Chen Jing quickly made a decision and began to read.
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