The scent of blood never truly left her.
Even in this new world, even in this young body, Alice—the assassin—remained.
And tonight, under the cover of darkness, she would remind herself just who she truly was.
---
Yuan City's underground market hummed with quiet danger.
Alice walked through its hidden corridors again, though this time not as an anonymous cultivator—but with purpose.
She wore a sleek, dark outfit made of lightweight spirit-weave cloth, easy to move in yet tough enough to absorb glancing blows. A black cloak draped over her back, blending her into the night, while a crimson red mask covered the upper half of her face. The mask shimmered slightly with an enchantment—anyone looking into it would feel a subtle unease, as if stared at by a predator.
This mask had once earned her fear and fame in her previous life.
Red Phoenix had returned.
At a discreet stall hidden behind a row of spirit weapon shops, Alice stopped. A burly man with tattoos across his face raised an eyebrow at her presence.
"Password?" he asked gruffly.
Alice said nothing—just reached into her sleeve and tossed him a black coin marked with a blood-red phoenix.
The man caught it.
Alice tilted her head slightly. "Got any jobs?"
He nodded and handed her a thin jade slip. "One of our top requests. Discreet kill. No witnesses. Level 6 target."
Alice scanned it with her spiritual sense.
Target: Zhen Tao.
Realm: Qi Condensation Level 6
Occupation: Human Trafficker. Known for dealing in orphaned cultivator children.
Personality: Cruel, paranoid, heavily guarded in the outer district.
Reward: 700 Tier 1 Spirit Stones.
Alice's grip tightened.
She didn't hesitate. "Accepted."
The man handed her a sealed pouch. "That's the down payment. 100 stones. The rest after proof."
Alice didn't respond—she was already gone.
---
That night, beneath a crescent moon, Alice crouched atop a slanted rooftop in Yuan City's slums.
Her target's compound loomed below—an old three-story estate fortified with guards and surveillance arrays. A pair of outer guards paced the perimeter. The inner courtyard shimmered with a faint blue glow—likely a low-grade detection array.
Alice smirked.
Child's play.
From her belt, she pulled out a Smoke Pellet and tossed it gently across the wall. It shattered silently, releasing a fine mist that shimmered faintly before dissolving.
She waited. Counted her breaths.
The detection array flickered, confused by the false signatures in the mist.
Alice moved.
She dropped from the rooftop and rolled silently across the grass, hugging the shadows.
Inside the house, the halls were dim. A servant dozed off in the corner. She bypassed him, her footsteps as light as feathers.
A pulse of spiritual sense revealed her target—Zhen Tao, seated in a private study on the second floor.
Alone.
Perfect.
She climbed through a side window, slipped into the room like a shadow, and unsheathed her black dagger.
The blade shimmered with both Fire Qi and Dark Qi—forged from shadowsteel and flame jade, materials she had personally smuggled and refined in her past life.
The perfect weapon for silent, clean kills.
Zhen Tao never saw her coming.
He blinked up from his scroll just in time to see the red mask.
"Wh—"
The dagger pierced his heart, severed his spine, and scorched his dantian in a single move.
A faint puff of flame and the smell of charred flesh followed.
Zhen Tao slumped in his chair, dead without a sound.
Alice wiped her blade on his robe and took out a small spirit-sealing pouch. From his body, she collected:
– A Tier 1 storage ring
– 80 Tier 1 Spirit Stones
– 1 Basic Beast-Taming manual
– A vial of high-grade narcotic pills
– And a jade token marked with a trafficker's emblem
Proof of the kill.
Before leaving, she lit a small Flame Talisman—one of her own design—and tossed it onto his papers.
Fire engulfed the study. By the time the guards realized what had happened, the flames had spread.
Alice was already gone, blending into the smoky chaos of the slums.
---
Back at the underground market, the same tattooed man nodded as she tossed the trafficker's token and a burned scroll onto the table.
"Clean job," he muttered. "No alarm. No trace."
He handed her a heavier pouch.
"600 Tier 1 Spirit Stones. As promised."
Alice opened the pouch and felt the weight in her palm.
She had money now—resources. With this, she could buy pills, talismans, weapons. She could cultivate faster.
She tucked the pouch into her cloak and turned to leave.
Before she vanished into the crowd, the man called out, "You want more work, Red Phoenix… just show the coin."
Alice didn't look back.
But a small smirk formed beneath her mask.
---
That night, Alice sat in her room, mask on the table, dagger across her lap.
She gazed out the window at the moonlit sky, thinking.
This world thought it was ruled by sects and empires, by princes and noble families.
But the shadows belonged to her.
And Red Phoenix had only just begun to spread her wings.