33: Chapter 33 Shadow Demon Breathing Technique Characteristics! Shapeshifting! Investigation!

The crowd dispersed.

Rowan walked to the assassin's corpse and bent down to inspect it.

Soon, he found several items in the corpse's clothing.

What interested him most was a scroll made of some kind of dark animal hide...

It felt cold to the touch and carried a gloomy aura.

On the cover were twisted characters that looked like living shadows.

Shadow Demon Breathing Technique

"Shadow Demon Breathing Technique..." Rowan's gaze narrowed slightly. This was perhaps the key to the opponent's ability to perfectly disguise himself as a servant.

A moment later, guards discovered a young male corpse in a corner of the castle's kitchen where debris was piled up. It was the real servant who should have been on duty delivering water today; his neck had been snapped.

Butler Henry came to report with a pale face, his voice trembling: "My Lord, it is little John... he was only sixteen... it is my dereliction of duty that allowed someone to sneak in..."

Rowan waved his hand, cutting off his confession:

"Strengthen the screening and provide compensation to his family."

"Yes..." Butler Henry retreated in some trepidation.

The courtyard was bright with torches, and the panic was gradually calmed by orderly instructions.

Rowan stood on the steps, watching the assassin's corpse being carried away, his gaze deep.

"A Senior Knight-level assassin, exquisite disguise... is it a professional killer organization?"

He pondered in his heart.

Viscount Gladstone? That was the most likely possibility.

It seemed that Ulysses's death hadn't made him stop; instead, it had made him willing to spend a large sum of money to hire professional killers.

He walked back to the study, dismissed the servants, and then took out the Shadow Demon Breathing Technique scroll.

Unfolding the scroll, it recorded a strange knight Breathing Technique.

This was a Breathing Technique extremely suitable for assassination, focusing on the flexibility and agility of the body.

It also focused on changing the shape of muscles and bones, thereby achieving a near-perfect disguise effect.

It could even simulate the battle aura characteristics of lower-level targets for a short time.

Cultivated to a high level, it was said that one could conjure shadow clones that were indistinguishable from the real thing, hence the name Shadow Demon.

Of course, this assassin had by no means reached that level; he had come to assassinate in his true form.

After reading it, Rowan did not hesitate. Following the instructions of the Shadow Demon Breathing Technique, he tried to guide his battle aura, running it along several extremely awkward and subtle meridians.

At first, it was difficult, but with the coordination of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace and the assistance of Insight for internal observation, he quickly found the way.

A battle aura cycle belonging to the Shadow Demon Breathing Technique was established by him.

The system panel appeared:

[New Breathing Technique operation mode detected: Shadow Demon Breathing Technique (Excellent)]

[Do you wish to start the Myriad Manifestations Furnace Breathing Technique smelting function to extract the Shadow Demon Breathing Technique trait?]

"Yes!"

As the command was given, the strange battle aura cycle just established in his body was like being thrown into an invisible furnace, beginning to be violently devoured and decomposed.

Countless traits regarding "body manipulation," "aura simulation," and "shadow affinity" emerged.

It took less time to consume than smelting the Crimson Breathing Technique.

[Smelting complete!]

[Successfully extracted trait: Shape-shifting (Blue)]

Effect: Consumes battle aura and mental energy to slightly adjust facial muscles and bones, changing appearance, body shape, and height. It can also simulate the basic aura and life fluctuations of those whose mental strength does not exceed one's own.

Continuous consumption during the duration of the effect; restores to original state after cancellation. The realism of the effect and consumption are affected by the target's complexity, imitation precision, and one's own control.

[Myriad Manifestations Furnace Breathing Technique proficiency + 32!]

A cool and malleable sense of energy merged into his limbs and bones, especially his entire skeleton and muscles, as if a strange control force had been injected into them.

With a thought from Rowan, his facial muscles and subcutaneous bones began to squirm and adjust slightly.

A few breaths later, the reflection in the mirror was a strange face that looked slightly weathered with mediocre eyes, and even his height had shrunk by two centimeters, his temperament becoming mediocre.

With another thought, he quickly returned to his original appearance.

"Shape-shifting... a rather practical ability." A sharp glint flashed in Rowan's eyes.

He summoned the complete system panel to count his gains.

[born succubus more children more blessings system]

[Name]: Rowan Flynn

[Age]: 22

[Current qualified partner (rating greater than 90)]:

Sylvia Latour (92 points)

[Current number of offspring]: 7

Mia Flynn (3 years old, eldest daughter)

Aidan Flynn (3 years old, second son)

Finn Flynn (3 years old, third son)

Maeve Flynn (1 year old, fourth daughter)

...

[Inherent profession]: Succubus

[Inherent skills]:

Charm lv.3 (1106 / 10000)

Drain lv.2 (2496 / 4000)

[Second profession]: Myriad Knight

[Professional skills]

Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique lv2 (Perfect) (Official Knight) (1203 / 10000)

Current traits: [Frost (Blue)], [Insight (Blue)], [Blood Rage (Blue)], [Shape-shifting (Blue)]

Winter Oath-Keeper Swordsmanship lv3 (257 / 5000)

Skills: Frost Heart Realm, Frost Flower Slash, Instant Snow Step, Frost Instant Ice Thorn...

Silent Pilgrimage Archery lv3 (24 / 5000)

Skills: North Wind Arrow Rain, Frost Bridge Continuous Shot, Silent Funeral, Winter Veil Canopy...

[Qualified offspring quantity milestone rewards]:

7: Obtain [Random Profession Card × 1, Profession Random Skill Card × 2] (Claimed)

14: Obtain [Designated Profession Card × 1, Profession Designated Skill Card × 2]

28: Obtain [Random Saint-tier Profession Card × 1, Saint-tier Profession Random Skill Card × 2]

...

Rowan's gaze fell on the current traits of the Myriad Manifestations Furnace Breathing Technique, his thoughts shifting slightly.

The newly added [Shape-shifting] trait was also of blue quality.

It seemed that Excellent-level Breathing Techniques could only smelt blue-quality traits?

Outside the window, the night was deep, and the autumn insects were lonely.

The reinforced patrol torches in the castle cast flickering shadows.

Rowan walked to the window and looked south, the direction of Viscount Gladstone's territory.

In his amber eyes, cold light was sharp.

"It seems I need to be more proactive."

...

Three days later, Ice Lake City.

Rowan changed into an inconspicuous mercenary outfit and entered the city alone on horseback.

He did not go to the inn where he usually stayed but found a place called "Old Anchor Inn" with a dilapidated sign in the bustling dock area to stay.

This place was well-informed and the people were mixed, making it easy to hide.

While dining in the public restaurant, several fragmented conversations drifted into his ears.

"Have you heard? The news from the royal capital is not looking good..."

"Do you mean... that rising star of the royal family?"

"Yes! That Dawn Knight, Mason. I heard that at the critical moment of trying to break through to Sky Knight... something went wrong."

"Really? Isn't he said to be the empire's once-in-a-century genius, a sure Sky Knight?"

"Who knows? It's being spread with vivid details, saying there were abnormal energy fluctuations in his place of seclusion, and some people even said they saw the royal family secretly transporting high-level healing potions inside..."

"But later the royal family spoke up, sternly refuting this as a rumor, saying that Lord Dawn Knight is still in seclusion seeking a breakthrough, and there is no conclusion yet."

"Hmph, refuting rumors? The more anxious they are to refute rumors, the more likely it is..." The person speaking lowered his voice, and the subsequent words were drowned out by the clinking of wine glasses and the crackling of the stove fire.

Mason?

Breakthrough to Sky Knight failed?

Rowan held his rough wooden cup, slowly sipping the ale in it. Under the shadow of his hood, his eyes flickered slightly.

He had no way of judging the truth of this news.

Sky Knight, that was a strategic force in the true sense, capable of flying through the air with their physical bodies, coming and going like lightning, one person capable of facing a thousand troops, one of the cornerstones of the royal family's deterrence.

The birth or fall of every Sky Knight was enough to affect the situation of a region.

If that Dawn Knight, who was known as the number one person under the Sky Knight and was highly anticipated by the royal family, really failed the breakthrough and was even seriously injured, the blow to the authority of the Augustus royal family would be huge!

The powerful nobles who were already restless in various places, lurking cults, and secret forces would probably all become more active.

The current chaos in the North might just be the prelude to a bigger storm.

"Hey, forget about whether Dawn Knight makes it or not." At the table next to him, a man who looked like a small merchant said to his companion: "Instead, our business has taken a turn for the better."

"The Radiant Griffin materials that were swept clean a while ago seem to have loosened up a bit in the last two days. I heard someone from the Black Tooth Chamber of Commerce let slip that there is stock now."

"Oh? What about the price?"

"Of course, it's still a bit high, but it's better than having a price but no market..."

Rowan's heart stirred. One of his purposes for coming here was to purchase raw materials for the lionheart dawn secret potion.

Of course, the main purpose was to find out the background of the killer who came to assassinate him.

An organization that could send a Senior Knight-level killer and had a professional Breathing Technique would never be unknown.

For the next two days, Rowan was like a drop of water entering the sea, silently merging into the intricate undercurrents of Ice Lake City.

He used [Shape-shifting] to change his appearance and identity, entered the black market intelligence market, and purchased various true and false news about killers, assassins, and mysterious organizations.

As an important material distribution center and mercenary group station in the Will Province of the North, Ice Lake City's underground world had tentacles far deeper than they appeared on the surface.

Here, as long as you could afford the price, you could always buy some interesting things.