A Waste of Time-Chapter 45: Stray Embers

Daemon was in an excellent mood when he opened his eyes. The sun was up and he found Ippo training alone at his spot with no one else in sight. "You really didn't hold back on the poor girl, huh!" he said while taking his seat at the table. He sighed inwardly since the leftovers from yesterday's meal might not be enough to fill a corner of his starving stomach.
"She needed a man in her life and I was there to fill that spot, so... I played with her for a while and left a mark as a small deposit for the near future." Ippo grinned lewdly, salivating as he remembered how it felt to fondle and grope Jia's body—a joy that lasted for only an hour and ended with the girl in a mess of moans and gasps, body fluids drenching the insides of her thighs and running down to her feet.
Daemon just shook his head and finished his meager meal, then stood and walked over to his clone. "Stop training for a moment and watch. I have a new trick I want to try."
He activated Asura's Buff and targeted one of the wooden training dummies Ippo had already riddled with Arrows. The nearest was over sixty meters away, the furthest hidden inside the woods at more than a hundred meters, positioned at a tricky angle.
"Chain Lightning," he said. Instantly he sensed some strange rule forcing him to choose a method of activation. Everything within 150 meters fell within range of the Skill.
Since this was his first time using Chain Lightning, Daemon naturally wanted to experiment. Instead of Single-Attack, he chose Multiple-Attacks to understand how the Skill’s mechanism worked.
As if the System mocking him for his narrow-mindedness, time seemed to freeze for the world—except for him. Silver-blue Lightning covered his body, but he realized time hadn’t truly stopped. It had only slowed dramatically for him alone. He could see his clone reacting sluggishly as shock began to appear on Ippo’s face.
Calculating the trajectory was child’s play. He deliberately chose four trees near the Skill’s maximum range.
Crackle
Vzzzt
Boom
Boom
Boom
Bang!
Ippo saw the Lightning appear on Daemon’s body and vanish with the final crackle. A split-second later, three booming noises echoed from the far East, West, and North, followed by a loud thud to the South.
Then came the sound of three trees crashing down while the fourth groaned loudly, tilting dangerously.
Sizzle.
"Oh shit!" Daemon gawked when the last tree caught fire. He vanished from Ippo’s side and reappeared mid-air near the burning trunk, clutching the largest pot he could find.
Splash.
He doused the flame before it could spread, touched the leaning trunk with his foot, and disappeared again.
Clatter.
Ippo saw him reappear beside him like a ghost, the pot clanging among the kitchenware. The joy he’d felt after having fun with Jia evaporated instantly. Honestly, he would’ve given Daemon a beating if he could.
"You can use Magic now, huh? I guess I really need to train harder to keep up." Ippo muttered, gritting his teeth.
Daemon shrugged to act nonchalant, but inwardly he begged this fellow to take it easy. He was struggling to keep the nutrition intake balanced with his clone’s harsh training schedule, which only grew more severe as Ippo’s familiarity with his exercises climbed relentlessly.
Maybe I should go hunt instead of waiting! But what if Ippo’s left alone and something happens while Ru and Jia aren’t here?
"Damn it!"
"Uh... My bad, my bad." Daemon smiled wryly as his thoughts reached his clone. He raised his hands in mock surrender, then gathered Arrows from the dummies before returning and picking up the smaller Bow.
For the next thirty minutes they trained in silence—one practicing thrusting form with a Spear and small Tower-Shield, the other loosing Arrows at various targets, changing angles, and testing his aim on the move or while off-balance.
Finally, Daemon sensed the three girls approaching camp. It would take them time to prepare a proper meal, and he didn’t want to rush Xia when he could hunt instead and wait for the good stuff.
"Good luck, brother." He patted Ippo’s shoulder and winked before slipping into the woods with a quiver and the small Bow slung over his shoulder. In his other hand, he carried a few rolls of rope.
"Ippo. Where’s young master Daemon?" Jia asked, peeking into the tent.
"He went to hunt, left just a while ago. You girls better make him a sumptuous meal—he’ll be starving when he gets back." Ippo answered, stealing a glance at her body and licking his lips before resuming his training.
Jia blushed and panicked when Xia noticed his actions and gave her a teasing smile. "L-let’s go, then. I’ll help you, sister Xia."
"Well, thank you sister Jia. I’m dying to hear more!" Xia grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the campfire.
Little Mei squinted at Ippo suspiciously before snorting and slipping inside the tent to tidy up.
Ippo rolled his eyes, already scheming how to teach that girl a lesson about respecting her betters.
"Gu Zhu. How did it go? Good results, I hope." A mature, alluring woman sat in her office at the top floor of the Seven-Gold Pagoda’s branch—the largest Trade-House in Blue-Luan Town and one of many branches scattered across the five Kingdoms and four Empires.
As manager, she also secretly traded information in the underworld. Whenever an unfamiliar Cultivator appeared within their territories, her people dug up every scrap of information before sending it up the chain of command.
When this young man suddenly arrived, trying to trade Spiritual Treasures and Spirit Resources—including the Rare-Quality Evil-Eye Flower petal—she tried to delay the transaction while sending one of her most trusted underlings to investigate him.
"Yes, manager Ling." Gu Zhu bowed, produced a scroll, and handed it over. "I thought the cost would be high, but I was surprised to find everything went smoothly at a ridiculously low cost!"
Ling Sue unrolled the scroll, her eyes widening.
A hired Assassin? A mortal orphan struggling to raise his sister, refusing to have her join any Sect? So they’ll be doomed to live as lowly Loose-Cultivators! Who gathered this? It’s pathetic!
"Since you’re done checking my background, does that mean you’ve prepared what I need?" Ru’s voice drifted in from outside, startling them both.
The Swordsman pushed the door open. Behind him, Ling Sue and Gu Zhu saw the two guards stationed at the door lying face down, foaming at the mouth. "I’m in a hurry, so... Let’s stop this cat-and-mouse game. We can play again next time I visit," he said, placing everything he wanted to trade on her desk and sighing inwardly. The manager of the Assassins Guild had been useless, having nothing he needed except a Cultivation Technique perfect for Jia’s desperate situation. "I didn’t come to your branch to waste time. Do you have what I want, or have you been playing me for a fool?" Ru squinted at her.
A chill ran down Ling Sue’s spine. She knew there was a senior Cultivator always protecting this Trade-House, but who knew if this man was a suicidal maniac who valued face over life? "O-of course not, senior Ru!" But Ling Sue hadn’t climbed the ranks on her beauty alone. "I wouldn’t dare. But the issue with the price is..." She let her silence and gaze speak for her.
"Two Spirit Treasures for Cultivators with Earth Affinity below Foundation Establishment Realm, four Earth Spirit Stones, and a petal of the Evil-Eye Flower." Ru listed calmly. "All I asked for was two Lightning Spirit Stones, two Fire Spirit Stones, two Protective or Offensive Spirit Treasures for Fire or Lightning Affinity below Foundation Establishment.
"To make it fair for me... I’ll also take one Barrier-Breaking Pill. It must be the best you have.
"And... add a few Water, Fire, or Lightning Spirit Stones to sweeten the deal. If you don’t have Fire or Lightning, fine.
"Bring one Wood Spirit Stone and the rest Water Spirit Stones. Check for Yellow-Scale Fruits, too, and bring one of those. Then we have a deal." He wasn’t even looking at Ling Sue but at the wall behind her.
Creak.
"Bring him what he wants," said a middle-aged man in white, stepping out from a hidden door. Protector Jian’s presence made Gu Zhu bow lower before hurrying off.
"Wait!" Ru called, pushing his traded items to the far side of the table. "These now belong to your Seven-Gold Pagoda."
Protector Jian’s eyes narrowed. A fleeting greed flickered when he saw the Evil-Eye Flower petal. "Fellow Daoist Ru is bold and aboveboard. Admirable. But I’d advise you to show restraint—especially beyond our Trade-House’s safety." He smiled faintly.
Ru lazily wiped his eye with his sleeve. "Thanks for the advice, but are you done inspecting them? I’m still in a hurry."
Ling Sue’s eyelid twitched at Ru’s blatant disrespect toward Protector Jian, known to be in the Middle-Ranks of the Qi Gathering Realm.
The man in white nodded for Gu Zhu to collect the goods. "Bring the Fire Belt, Lightning Crown, High-Quality Barrier-Breaking Pill, two Fire and two Lightning Spirit Stones, six Water Spirit Stones, one Wood Spirit Stone, and the Yellow-Scale Fruit." When Gu Zhu left, he sat opposite Ru with a polite smile. "Please don’t mind my curiosity, fellow Daoist Ru. May I ask—why the hurry? Where exactly are you heading?"
Ling Sue began to sweat. She hadn’t expected Protector Jian to pry, nor Ru to actually answer him!
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