Black Dragon Society

Black Dragon Society

BOOM—

With a deafening crash, the door exploded at once, flying into Four-Part Fragmentation.

"Not good!"

One of the figures' expressions changed drastically. Sensing the threat of death, he immediately gathered all his cultivation to protect his body.

Yet even so, when he was struck by the palm imprint of the Great Strength Vajra Palm, his protective Internal Force was instantly shattered. The figure was sent flying more than ten meters before crashing hard onto the ground, blood spilling from his mouth again and again.

Although this Black Dragon Society assassin was a Superclass Martial Artist with more than eighty-five years of cultivation, Zhou Shan's Great Strength Vajra Palm had been driven by the Golden Bell Shield's one hundred and thirty-one years of cultivation. Its force was peerlessly fierce, capable of smashing even heavy armor to pieces.

"An Aperture-Opening Martial Artist—he's an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist!"

The other tall man from the Black Dragon Society was utterly horrified.

They had clearly accepted a level-five mission. The target should at most have been a Peak Superclass Martial Artist. How could he be an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist? An Aperture-Opening Martial Artist with more than a Hundred Years of Cultivation corresponded to a level-six mission.

Moreover, judging by that strike, he had severely wounded his companion, also a Superclass Martial Artist, in a single move. This was no ordinary Aperture-Opening Martial Artist—he possessed at least one hundred and twenty years of cultivation.

Did those intelligence gatherers eat shit? They can't even tell the difference between an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist and a Superclass Martial Artist.

The tall man cursed the ancestors of the Black Dragon Society's intelligence personnel for eighteen generations in his heart. At the same time, he retreated swiftly, turned, and fled, not caring in the slightest for his heavily wounded assassin companion.

If he lingered for another moment, he would leave his life here as well.

As the saying went, better a fellow cultivator dead than oneself.

Even husband and wife flew separately when calamity descended upon them, much less mere companions.

Besides, they were assassins. What feelings could there possibly be between them?

The tall man employed his lightness skill and moved swiftly, darting more than ten meters away in the blink of an eye. But Zhou Shan was even faster. With the Golden Bell Shield at one hundred and thirty-one years of cultivation, Zhou Shan's control over his body had reached the realm of Rigid and Soft Harmony. His entire body could be hard when he wished it hard and soft when he wished it soft.

When hard, the muscles throughout his body were as solid as steel, and the force of his strikes resembled wind and thunder. When soft, he was as pliant as cotton wool, his movement technique as light as a swan's feather. He could even race across waves without sinking.

Inside the room, Zhou Shan moved, light as a swan's feather, and swept into the courtyard like a gust of wind. Though the tall man had already used his lightness skill to flee more than ten meters away, Zhou Shan caught up with him in an instant.

"Black Tiger Saber Technique!"

Seeing that escape was impossible, the tall man let out a low roar from his throat and immediately drew his saber. Carrying the savage aura of the king of beasts, he slashed toward Zhou Shan.

The Black Tiger Saber Technique wielded by the tall man had already reached the realm where form and spirit were both present. Empowered by Internal Force, the towering ferocity it radiated was even more terrifying than that of a real tiger, like a humanoid Demonic Beast.

"Vajra Mountain Push!"

Facing the tall man's attack, Zhou Shan unleashed the killing move of the Great Strength Vajra Palm.

As Zhou Shan struck out with his palm, surging Internal Force howled forth and wrapped around his hand. The vast Internal Force then condensed into a palm imprint as large as a cattail-leaf fan, colliding fiercely with the blade the tall man had swung down.

BOOM—

With a deafening crash, the long saber in the tall man's hand could not withstand that terrifying power and immediately exploded into countless fragments. After shattering the saber, Zhou Shan's palm pressed onward without pause and smashed heavily into the tall man's chest.

At once, the tall man was sent flying backward and slammed hard against the courtyard wall.

"Pfft..."

The tall man opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He struggled to rise, but his entire body felt as though it had fallen apart, the pain making him bare his teeth and grimace.

"Speak. Who are you people?" Zhou Shan looked calmly at the two black-clad men lying on the ground. "Why did you sneak into my residence? Who sent you?

"If you tell me honestly, I can give you a quick death.

"If you refuse to speak, I can only lock you in the Black Armored Army's prison. There are plenty of people there proficient in the use of every kind of torture device. I guarantee you'll enjoy several different severe punishments every day and learn what it means to beg for life but not be able to live, to beg for death but not be able to die."

"Want to know who hired us? Try in your next life!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

At that moment, knowing they could not escape, the two Black Dragon Society assassins immediately used their tongues to open their false teeth and bit apart the poison prepared within them, swallowing it down.

"Not good, they're committing suicide!"

Zhou Shan immediately stepped forward, his five fingers clamping around one man's throat.

But he was still too late. The man had already swallowed the poison into his stomach and was rapidly refining it with his Internal Force.

This poison was a deadly toxin capable of killing someone instantly. His face immediately turned pitch-black, and his breath rapidly weakened like a candle burning down to its end. Even a Superclass Martial Artist completely lost all signs of life within several breaths.

Zhou Shan rose and checked the other man. It was the same.

Though the two men were dead and could no longer speak, Zhou Shan still found several things on them. Aside from some hidden weapons, knockout smoke, poison, and banknotes, there were also two tokens engraved with black dragon designs.

"This is... the Black Dragon Society!"

Zhou Shan picked up one of the Black Dragon Tokens to inspect it. On it were the three words: "Black Dragon Society."

On the other side was written: "Level Five."

"So they were assassins from the Black Dragon Society. No wonder they killed themselves."

Seeing the words on the token, Zhou Shan's pupils contracted slightly.

The Black Dragon Society was a super assassin organization whose business spread across the world.

It had already existed during the Great Chu Dynasty, before Great Jin, and possessed a long history and profound foundations.

Every province under heaven had a branch of the Black Dragon Society, with countless assassins. So long as one could afford the price, even having them assassinate a Martial Dao Grandmaster or even a Supreme Martial Dao Grandmaster was no problem.

The assassins of the Black Dragon Society were divided into nine levels.

Level one was the lowest, while level nine was the highest.

Among them, level-one assassins were merely entry-level martial artists. Level-two assassins were third-class martial artists, level-three assassins were second-class martial artists, level-four assassins were First-class Martial Artists, and level-five assassins were Superclass Martial Artists.

The two Black Dragon Society assassins Zhou Shan had killed were level-five assassins.

Above them, level-six assassins corresponded to Aperture-Opening Martial Artists; level-seven assassins corresponded to Half-step Grandmasters who had opened the twelve regular meridians; level-eight assassins corresponded to Martial Dao Grandmasters of the Innate Realm; and level-nine assassins corresponded to Supreme Martial Dao Grandmasters.

The Black Dragon Society was a force far more powerful than even the Guiyuan Sect.

However, the Black Dragon Society was a pure assassin organization. It only dealt in killing for money and selling intelligence, never competing for territory or vying for the position of ruler of the realm.

Who exactly wants me dead?

Zhou Shan pondered inwardly.

Black Dragon Society assassins would not act without reason.

Someone must have posted a bounty at the Black Dragon Society's Qingyang Commandery branch, which was why assassins had accepted the mission.

"The Liu Family!"

A killing intent flickered in Zhou Shan's eyes.

Although he had no evidence, after thinking it over, Zhou Shan felt that among all the people he had offended, only Captain Liu Liu Xuan of Ye County had the means to hire level-five assassins from the Black Dragon Society.