Dark Night Killing Intent

Dark Night Killing Intent

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

Zhou Shan led two hundred Black Armored Army soldiers on a bandit-clearing campaign, making a full circuit of Qingyang Commandery.

It could not be said that they had wiped out every bandit in Qingyang Commandery, but at the very least, all the larger bandit groups within the various counties had been eliminated. What remained were merely small fry, incapable of posing much of a threat.

Besides, in these troubled times, bandits could never truly be eradicated.

They might be wiped out today, yet new bandits would emerge after some time. Refugees who could no longer survive would become bandits just to stay alive. Some people even dared eat their own kind, let alone become bandits.

With the bandit scourge within Qingyang Commandery cleared away, albeit only temporarily, Zhou Shan's mission was considered complete. He had made up the merit needed to exchange for the Golden Bell Shield martial art.

From now on, completing missions would earn him additional merit.

Zhou Shan returned to Qingyang City with one hundred and ninety-one Black Armored Army soldiers.

During the month-long bandit-clearing campaign, they had still lost nine Black Armored Army soldiers.

However, those losses were exceedingly small.

Before long, Zhou Shan arrived at the military camp to report back to Commander Wu.

"You did well. The bandits in Qingyang Commandery have been cleared out seven or eight tenths of the way. Now merchant caravans can travel normally between the various counties and conduct business without worrying about being robbed by bandits."

Commander Wu nodded approvingly at Zhou Shan's month of hard work.

"Thank you for the praise, Commander Wu. It was merely my duty," Zhou Shan said calmly.

"The bandit-clearing mission is complete, so you have made up the merit required to exchange for the Golden Bell Shield. From now on, completing missions will earn you the corresponding merit." Commander Wu said, "By the way, your cultivation should have reached the Superclass level by now, shouldn't it?"

"I haven't tested it." Zhou Shan said, "But I took a Golden Jade Pill, which increased my cultivation by fifteen years, as well as a Lesser Origin Pill, which increased it by ten years. My cultivation should have surpassed seventy years. Does Commander Wu have a mission for me?"

"There is no mission suitable for you at present. Besides, you have just completed the bandit-clearing mission, and the Black Armored Army under your command has worked hard as well. Rest for a few days first." Commander Wu said, "If there is a mission, I will send someone to notify you."

"Alright, then I'll head back first."

Zhou Shan nodded.

"Fine!"

Commander Wu nodded.

Zhou Shan left the military camp and returned to the Zhou Residence.

Name: Zhou Shan

Talent: Nine Breaths Assimilation

Cultivation Technique: Golden Bell Shield (131 years of cultivation) Traits: enhanced poison resistance, enhanced rebounding force, enhanced Internal Force body protection, Rigid and Soft Harmony

Great Strength Vajra Palm (131 years of cultivation) Traits: doubled strength, impervious to blades and spears, strike objects from afar

Great Strength Vajra Leg (131 years of cultivation) Traits: doubled strength, impervious to blades and spears, explosive speed increase

Eagle Claw Iron Shirt (60 years of cultivation/perfected) Traits: Bronze Skin Iron Bones, Pierce Stone Through Metal

Zhou Shan opened the panel and checked his data.

The Golden Bell Shield's cultivation had already reached one hundred and thirty-one years. Of the traits displayed after the cultivation, aside from the final Rigid and Soft Harmony, poison resistance, rebounding force, and Internal Force body protection had all been enhanced. His immunity to poison was stronger, the rebounding force was enough to kill Peak First-rate Martial Artists, and the golden bell formed by his Internal Force body protection had become thicker as well.

When he had just reached seventy years of cultivation, the golden bell formed by his Internal Force had only been a thin layer, several millimeters thick. But now that he possessed one hundred and thirty-one years of cultivation, the thickness of the condensed golden bell had increased severalfold.

With no missions to carry out, Zhou Shan devoted himself to cultivation within the residence.

Late at night, the city's residents had all gone to rest.

Only a few places, such as gambling houses, brothels, and pleasure boats, still flickered with firelight.

At this moment, two masked men dressed in black appeared outside Zhou Shan's residence.

"This time, the target lives here," the thick-browed, broad-eyed man on the left said quietly.

"That's right." The other man, a tall fellow with triangular eyes, nodded before saying, "The target this time is called Zhou Shan. After entering the residence during the day, he never came out. Moreover, aside from Zhou Shan, there are no servants in this residence."

"This Zhou Shan is only fifteen this year, isn't he? Yet the mission has been rated Level Five, and the Society has dispatched two Superclass assassins like us." The thick-browed man licked his lips. "This mission is rather easy."

"Don't be careless." The tall man said solemnly, "Though Zhou Shan is only fifteen, he is extraordinarily gifted and possesses Innate Divine Strength. Since the Society rated this as a Level Five mission, it must have conducted a thorough investigation and determined that his strength has reached the level of a Superclass Martial Artist."

"Even if he is a Superclass Martial Artist, both of us possess more than eighty-five years of cultivation. And we are joining forces. Even against a Peak Superclass martial artist with over ninety years of cultivation, we could put up a fight." The thick-browed man said, "Dealing with a greenhorn who has only just reached the Superclass Martial Artist level will be as easy as turning over one's hand."

"In any case, it never hurts to be careful."

As they spoke, the two silently slipped into Zhou Shan's residence.

They were Level Five assassins of the Black Dragon Society.

Someone had placed a bounty with the Black Dragon Society for Zhou Shan's life, and they had accepted the mission.

The three-meter-high courtyard walls could not stop two Superclass assassins from the Black Dragon Society.

In the dead of night, the residence was utterly silent.

Other than Zhou Shan, there were no servants in the entire residence, nor were there any dogs guarding the grounds. It felt empty and deserted. The surrounding rooms were pitch-black, no sounds emerging from them. Everything was deathly quiet.

The two Black Dragon Society assassins searched the rooms one by one for Zhou Shan's location. Both were Superclass Martial Artists; they walked without a sound, making not the slightest noise.

In a side room in the rear courtyard, Zhou Shan, who was cultivating, suddenly twitched his ears.

With the Golden Bell Shield having reached one hundred and thirty-one years of cultivation, his body had been tempered by abundant Internal Force, and every aspect of his physical constitution had improved dramatically. It was not merely his strength, resistance to blows, endurance, and explosive power—his senses, including hearing, smell, and vision, had all been greatly enhanced.

At this moment, Zhou Shan heard faint breathing outside the room.

"There are two people in total."

Zhou Shan's brows furrowed slightly.

From the breathing, he could tell that there were two people slowly approaching the room where he was.

Moreover, he did not believe these two were thieves sneaking in to steal. They had most likely come for him.

This was the residence of a Black Armored Army captain. What foolish thief, having eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, would dare sneak into a Black Armored Army captain's residence to steal? That would be like an old man eating arsenic—seeking death.

He heard no footsteps, only incomparably faint breathing. And from those breaths, Zhou Shan knew these two possessed considerable martial skill, at the very least Superclass Martial Artists.

"Creeping around like ghosts—die!"

The moment he sensed that the two had reached the door, Zhou Shan raised his hand and unleashed a Great Strength Vajra Palm strike. A terrifying palm imprint immediately burst from his palm, blasting toward the figures outside the door.

(End of chapter)