Immortal Freeloader 92 (Patreon)

As I watched Aisman fight, I was making notes about the way to use the Palm of Verdant cleansing in combat situations. I might have the perfect understanding of the skill itself, but that didn’t automatically come with contextual understanding.

Also, watching someone with higher cultivation use the technique was a different thing. She was able to use some of the more advanced moves in a way I couldn’t do with just two active gates, which helped me a lot.

Of course, that was only because of my own Perfect skill, allowing me to dissect her moves in a way only a master could do.

Curious how any further improvement would affect my understanding, I decided to trigger the latest set of rewards I had received. The others were nice, but the real difference was the palm technique, which was the only one that went through a breakthrough.

The new formation around the Spring Palace was strong enough to keep that momentary glow contained, so I didn’t move away while Aisnam continued to fight. The new information about the palm technique filled my mind, and my perspective on Aisnam’s fight changed once more.

Not only did I get a better understanding of her strategies, which she was building based on her stronger perception and reaction speed, but also I developed a deeper list of her mistakes. I was already capable of seeing her tactical mistakes due to the gap between the two skills, but the difference between Perfection and Minor Immersion was like the difference between day and night.

Before, I could still enjoy the fight despite her lower skill, but once I reached Minor Immersion, that was gone. The number of mistakes I could see multiplied, turning it into a frustrating experience. Like I had mild OCD while walking in a museum of crooked paintings.

Luckily, that wasn’t bad enough that I had to leave. I just needed to focus on something other than her battle.

Like, exactly what had been going on. Their claim that the Zaim family had already been assassinated was interesting, but only in a theoretical manner. I might have a different opinion of the Tiger Fist army had been trying to invade the capital with their army — well, even more than they already did — which would end up in a bloodbath, I might have been tempted to intervene, though even that, I wasn’t sure.

I was self-aware enough to know that I was a selfish person.

However, the Royal Family didn’t even deserve that momentary consideration from me. The only one that I cared about was Aisnam, and since she was content prioritizing selling her injured state rather than trying to help the rest of the Royal Family, I was happy to follow her lead.

Pearyin fought for ten minutes, letting them push her toward the gate of the Spring Palace, where she would be seen by others. “Fight harder, morons. We’ll be noticed. I don’t want to fight our way out,” one of them said. “We need to leave before they discover the body of the King. Pull the weapons.”

“But I thought we were going to keep them.”

“You should have fought harder, then. Do you want to explain to the commander that we failed,” the first one countered even as he reached to his belt and pulled a dagger? The others did the same. The daggers didn’t look new, showing the signs of time and usage, but each had a spirit stone buried in their hilt.

Qi weapons that martial artists could use. “No! You’ll die even if I die myself,” Aisnam shouted loudly. Loud enough for every guard to hear. She pulled a dagger, one that glowed visibly, looking like it was an incredible cultivation artifact.

It was an ordinary dagger.

As Aisnam pulled the dagger, she even used the opportunity to bite some kind of small pill. Then, she spat out blood and trembled. “Excellent acting,” I muttered even as I watched her. She acted good enough that, if I wasn’t Qi-sensitive, I might have actually fallen for her trick. And, I certainly didn’t expect her to prepare some kind of blood capsule to fake coughing blood.

It was a good lesson. Just because cultivators were arrogant and reckless didn’t mean that they were above using dirty tricks to create misunderstandings. I wasn’t the only person in the world who understood the value of information.

Once Aisnam pulled that dagger, the Tiger Fist assassins dashed forward, pushing themselves to the limit as they wanted to take Aisnam down, but it was pointless. Aisnam killed one with a mere slash of Qi. No skill, just a burst of power that left several cracks on the knife as she tried to make it look like she was using a disposable artifact.

The second attack was missed, and the Tiger Fist assassins started running away. Aisnam chased them. “Assassins. Defend the royal family!” she shouted, her voice enhanced with her Qi, spreading every part of the palace and a good part of the city.

She slowed down noticeably, acting like using the dagger tired her out. But, the assassins continued to run away, but once they had reached the outer ring of the royal district, she had killed a second one. Meanwhile, the other two escaped.

More accurately, she had let them escape. “Guards, at arms!” she said. She looked damaged and exhausted, occasionally coughing fake blood, totaling far more than what she might have possessed in her body.

I watched the rest of the show from the roof while Aisnam ‘valiantly’ led the royal guards toward the palace, surrounding some of the assassins who had decided to raid the treasury after their victory.

The assassins were not a small force. Ten connate realm Tiger Fist Connate Ream martial artists, and six Royal Guards who decided to support the winning side. Well, at least, what they thought to be the winning side. And that didn’t factor in the four assassins that had been dealt with. On Aisnam’s side, there were only six Connate Realm martial artists, and all of them were already wounded.

Some of the royal guards ran away, thinking those odds were impossible to face, while some stayed with her despite what seemed to be impossible odds.

I stayed on the roof, making no move to support her. After all, I knew of her true strength, not just in reality, but also in my role as the wandering martial artist. Therefore, I didn’t need to ruin her plans to play more roles. I stayed at the Spring Palace, protecting her home instead.

I was glad that I watched the battle from such a great distance, away from the blood and gore. Meanwhile, Aisnam played the resistance as chess, using her fake artifact whenever the assassins and their collaborators seemed ready to win.

With every Connate Realm martial artist falling, the loyalist palace guards turned more passionate, their fallen comrades unable to blunt their enthusiasm. Whenever she pulled back, looking more and more exhausted — but only looking — she had delivered some inspiring words, calling the soldiers to defend the kingdom and save the king.

A man who had long deceased.

When the battle extended, I started to frown. I could see that she was using the counter-attack against the assassins in a way to establish her prestige, but I was worried about a pincer attack from the Tiger Fist army.

Since the Spring Palace was guarded by my formation, there was no harm for me to leave momentarily. I passed the weakened outer defenses easily, wanting to see exactly what the Tiger Fist army was planning.

I didn’t want to intervene, but there were certain strategies that might force me. But, when I arrived at the outer walls, what I had seen surprised me.

Tiger Fist army was retreating from the capital with great haste.

“I see,” I muttered as I remembered the scene of Aisnam letting the two Connate Realm martial artists escape. Their news, combined with the other Connate realm martial artists unable to get away must have given them the impression that Aisnam was stronger than she had first shown.

But that impression was temporary. Their spies would eventually report the details of the fight, and they would realize they missed their golden opportunity.

I had to admit. It was an elegant plan. By using a fake artifact, Aisnam not only intimidated an army, but she also did so in a way that didn’t reveal her full strength. She was still that injured cultivator, and only with a broken artifact she was able to fight against a few Connate realm martial artists.

There was nothing for me to do. I returned to the Spring Palace, and started to play with the formation. My objective, create a small hidden apothecary that could automate some of the processing through formations.

After all, I could easily imagine her next move. She was going to ask her mysterious trade partners for a lot of essence pills and other martial artist supplements.

Things would be very convenient if I didn’t need to go to Markas for every order…