Undercurrents in the Lu Lineage

"I understand all this, and I know you're innocent, but what's the use? The employer doesn't trust you and isn't willing to entrust the task to you. We can't just force you to do it, can we? Besides, most people in our line of work believe in fate. Many of them firmly believe in it, so naturally they don't dare to take the risk."

"Then what should I do?"

"There are three options. First, change your identity. Anyway, you don't have any notable achievements with your current title, so there's no loss in discarding it."

Qingyan frowned slightly and refused, saying, "To achieve legend, one must face difficulties head-on. There is no reason to back down when faced with challenges. Those who easily waver in their will rarely accomplish anything significant."

"Secondly, consider changing industries. Actually, I've wanted to say this for a while now. You have a much brighter future in other industries than in this one. Although I'm just an intermediary and this might sound a bit sentimental, I still want to put myself in your shoes and think about things from your perspective. There's no need to cling to the dream of being an assassin. Changing your path might lead you to a brighter future."

"Even as an assassin, I can forge a successful path! This is just a small hurdle on the road to legend. If I can't even overcome this difficulty, what's the point of talking about dreams? Wouldn't it be better to just stay in the countryside and farm peacefully?"

"What a stubborn fellow. Fine, I knew this would be the outcome. You don't seem like someone who listens to advice, otherwise you wouldn't be so good at everything you do. So let me tell you about the third method: don't look for an employer, just complete publicly posted tasks—tasks that anyone can take on, with no restrictions, and whoever completes it first gets the bounty."

The middleman handed three thick stacks of documents to Qingyan, saying, "There aren't many publicly available missions, and they're mostly the kind where the rewards don't match the difficulty. There are only these three right now; take your pick."

If the reward were generous or the task were not difficult, it would have been completed long ago; there would be no reason for it to remain.

With the utmost professionalism, Qingyan carefully reviewed the contents and finally selected one document, saying, "This one will do: Lu Ling, disciple of the Tea School and young patriarch of the Tea-Tasting Manor."

"You certainly have a good eye. You picked the most difficult one right away. Everyone else would avoid it like the plague, but you're eagerly going for it." The middleman said with a hint of mockery, "Don't forget that the Lu Lineage still has a Spirit Transformation expert in charge. You killed their young patriarch, aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

"If others are unwilling to do it, there won't be a situation where the job is snatched away. As for the retaliation from Spirit Transformation expert, if an assassin doesn't know how to conceal their background and leave clues at the scene, they deserve to be retaliated against."

Qingyan's tone was resolute, conveying a sense of resolve that he would rather die than fail in his mission.

"Have you thought it through? Are you really not going to change it? Or should you reconsider?"

As the middleman, his commission came from the deposit. Although both of Qingyan's missions were canceled, his income was not affected. He didn't mind doing this kind of good thing where he could sit back and collect money without causing trouble a few more times. And there was no such thing as a deposit for public missions.

"No need to think about it. I happen to be working part-time as a prop maker in the Nation of Beauty right now, making props for a theater troupe sponsored by the Lu Lineage. I heard they're going to participate in some kind of Nine Arts Phoenix Fledgling Competition. I can take this opportunity to gather information and infiltrate the Lu Lineage's manor."

Although he received a deposit for free from the last mission, so much time has passed and he hasn't been able to get a new mission. Qingyan can only try to earn some extra money. He never expected that he would be able to use this temporary job identity. He can't help but believe that this is fate's arrangement.

"By the way, a publicly announced mission can't be canceled, right? Who's the person who commissioned the mission?"

Having suffered two losses, Qingyan was starting to get scared. Clients kept having these inexplicable accidents, and then he was always blamed for them. Did he have to check whether the client's cultivation level was sufficient to protect themselves before accepting any missions in the future?

"No, don't worry about him. A public mission is equivalent to the employer transferring the mandate to the Crimson Eye Society! The mission won't be canceled unless the time limit is reached. Even the employer doesn't have that right. Whether he's alive or dead, the mission will continue."

Seeing that Qingyan looked terrified, the middleman half-comforted and half-jokingly said, "In a sense, the Crimson Eye Society the one who commissions the missions. Unless the Crimson Eye Society destroyed, the missions won't be canceled."

"Now I can rest assured," Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. "This time, I'm determined to complete the mission and take the first step on the path to legend!"

Chapter 298 The Undercurrents in the Lu Lineage

In a clearing in the Hide-and-Seek Forest, the scene was devastated, with gaps left by crisscrossing energy energies and black scorch marks from the intense heat. What was once a small hill had now turned into a basin, and the rising smoke testified to the fierceness of the battle.

An old man lay face up in the center of the basin, his eyes wide open in anger, his death unresolved. There was a fist-sized hole in his chest, but not a drop of blood flowed from it, presenting a bizarre scene.

"Tsk, I never expected that the old man from the Lu Lineage, who was rumored to be bad at martial arts, would actually have such abilities. He almost escaped."

The speaker was a woman with disheveled hair and a sallow complexion, but her eyes were exceptionally beautiful and sparkling. However, there was a hint of malice in her gaze, which added a touch of meanness and ruined her rare and precious quality.

"After all, he is a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster. If he is determined to escape, it will be extremely difficult to stop him in a one-on-one fight. That is why I took action. Please forgive me."

The speaker was a red-haired man who did not wear a crown, letting his long hair fall freely over his shoulders, giving him a captivating androgynous beauty.

"Hmph, enough with the empty words. I've done what I promised you. Now it's your turn, Crimson Eye Society fulfill your promise."

"Don't worry, I will create an opportunity for you to meet with the young patriarch of the Si Clan in a month."

The sallow-faced woman pressed, "What are you going to do? Words aren't enough; you need to produce some evidence that will convince me."

The red-haired man wasn't angry. He clapped his hands, and one of his subordinates stepped forward. This man was unremarkable in appearance, extremely ordinary-looking, and there was nothing noteworthy about him.

However, under everyone's gaze, the subordinate's face began to blur, as if a lump of clay was being kneaded by an invisible hand, and his body shape also changed, until finally he looked exactly like the old man on the ground.

The sallow-faced woman frowned slightly. This was clearly not martial arts. Although there were disguise techniques in the world, they required a long period of preparation and the use of props. Yet this person had completed the disguise so easily, without even touching his face. If she didn't know that Sea Continent could no longer use Technique Method, she would definitely have thought that the other party had used "Transformation Spell."

Aside from Technique Method, only Divine Arts could achieve a similar effect, but there was no sign of divine power flowing from the opponent; instead, they exuded a repulsive aura.

"Is he... Anomalies?"

Although it seems absurd, it's the only answer available at the moment.

The red-haired man smiled, neither confirming nor denying, but his silence was an answer in itself. The yellow-faced woman stared at the Lu Lineage's transformed Spirit Transformation form, which had been transformed from the Anomalies, for a while before finally looking away. Although she didn't understand how the other party had subdued the Anomalies creature and given it the ability to Anomalies, these things were irrelevant to her, who was eager for revenge.

"What do you think of this plan? He would impersonate the Lu family's grandmaster, gradually gain control of the Lu family, and then send an invitation to the young patriarch of the Si family on the day of the Nine Arts Phoenix Competition."

"Can."

The sallow-faced woman couldn't fathom the reason her target had refused. An invitation from a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster was something he wouldn't ignore unless he was certain he'd been replaced.

The red-haired man said, "If needed, I can also send my men to lend you a hand."

"No need." I will avenge this myself. Anyone who dares to interfere is my enemy!

The sallow-faced woman gave a warning, then turned and left, disappearing into the dense forest.

"A woman blinded by hatred... So be it. Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to find a Spirit Transformation cultivator I could use."

The red-haired man chuckled, withdrew his gaze, and looked at his transformed subordinate, saying, "I will have someone issue a public mission to assassinate the young patriarch of the Lu Lineage. You will use this as a pretext to carry out the plan and plant our people at the Tea-Tasting Manor."

"I will obey my master's orders."

The disguised elder of the Lu Lineage spoke in the same voice as the real person and bowed respectfully.

"Chief, it's fine to force the Lu Lineage to protect themselves by offering assassination missions, but we also need to be careful that members don't mistakenly accept missions, which could cause us unnecessary trouble," a man dressed as a clerk warned.