Counterkill the Night Raven Tower Silver Rank Assassin

Lin Zhao left Zhao Zhong's small courtyard and turned toward Xuanyao Tavern at the street corner.

The night rain had just ceased. The bluestone roads of Northern Garrison City gleamed with a damp, frigid light. Moss carpeted the bases of the walls, and several washed-faded brown tunics hung from crisscrossing clotheslines overhead. Tattered oil-paper lanterns swayed in the wind, casting dim yellow halos that stretched the shadows long, then short.

The moment he turned into a deep, secluded alley, a chill ran down the back of his neck. It felt as though a needle-like gaze had stabbed into him—that was the martial instinct forged through years of fighting on the brink of life and death.

He spun around sharply, yet saw only the fading shadow of a wild cat darting past the wall. There was no one else around. Only the wind swept fallen leaves along with a soft rustling.

Alarm bells rang wildly in his heart. Lin Zhao secretly circulated the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique. The Mystic Dragon Qi Seed at his heart pulsed with his heartbeat, streams of black inner qi flowing through his meridians and gathering in both arms.

If someone had lifted his outer robe at that moment, they would have seen inner qi winding around his forearms beneath the cloth armor like living creatures, savage as a cluster of dormant dragons. This was precisely the phenomenon that appeared only when an Upper Grade breathing technique had been cultivated to the Entering Martial Master Realm.

"Whoosh!"

A piercing sound suddenly tore through the air. Lin Zhao looked up to see a black shadow pouncing down from the tiled house beside the alley, a poisoned Tiger Fang Dagger in its hand glinting with an eerie blue chill as it drove straight at his face!

The strike was as swift as a shooting star. He had no time to draw the Frost Condensation Sword and could only raise his arm to block.

"Riiip—"

His coarse-cloth robe split open at once. The Mystic Iron plates embedded within the cloth armor burst apart like shattered jade. The dagger's edge scraped across his flesh, producing the crisp sound of a blade slicing leather.

Lin Zhao felt a searing pain in his arm as immense force hurled him away. He crashed heavily into a garbage heap at the end of the alley. Rotten stench rushed into his face, startling a swarm of rats into scattering in all directions.

"Fine skills!" He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up. Before he could even inspect his wounds, three poisoned throwing knives had already shot through the air, their cold gleams reflecting the broken lantern shadows and sealing every path of retreat.

Lin Zhao hastily circulated the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique. The silver-white inner qi of the Mystic Wolf Qi Seed surged into his legs, and his speed abruptly soared. Like an arrow loosed from the bowstring, he shot from the garbage heap, sending rotten vegetable leaves and broken baskets flying everywhere.

Inner qi covered his palms like shields. He slapped aside the throwing knives with a wave of his hand. Amid a series of sharp cracks, every knife embedded itself in the blue-brick wall. The blue poison on their tips seeped into the cracks, leaving scattered black stains.

"Clang!"

The Frost Condensation Long Sword flew from its sheath. Lin Zhao tapped off the ground and closed in, his sword stance rising like the Three Talents standing together. It was the Three Talents Slash he had practiced bitterly for years.

The qi force carried by the blade secretly contained both Binding Force and shocking force. This was his unique method of fusing the inner qi of two techniques. The black Mystic Dragon qi specialized in defense, while the silver-white Mystic Wolf qi specialized in swiftness. Interwoven together, they made his sword moves both fierce and agile.

The black shadow hastily raised his dagger to block. With a crisp "Clang," the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and the dagger nearly flew from his hand. He let out a muffled groan. "What kind of wicked force is this? How can a low-rank Martial Master possess such inner strength?"

Before he could recover, his wrist twisted sharply. The dagger shot at Lin Zhao's heart like a venomous snake flicking out its tongue. The move was tricky and vicious—the Night Raven Tower assassins' secret art, Netherworld Sting.

Only then did Lin Zhao see his opponent clearly. The man wore tight black night clothes, and a bronze Black Raven Mask covered his face. He looked exactly like the assassin who had tried to kill Lin Zhao half a year ago!

"Night Raven Tower! You again!" Lin Zhao's eyes turned bloodshot. This assassin organization specialized in eliminating rivals for the powerful and wealthy. Their previous attempt had failed, yet they still clung to him like ghosts that would not disperse.

He had no time to consider how his movements had been exposed. He pushed both Breathing Techniques to their limits, inner qi steaming from all over his body and bursting free of his clothing's restraints. Martial artists judged realms by inner qi, and such abundant qi ordinarily required more than ten years of hard training for a mid-rank Martial Master to attain.

Behind the mask, Zhou Bo'an was deeply shaken. "The intelligence said Lin Zhao is only sixteen and has just entered the low-rank Martial Master Realm. How can his inner breath be so profound? Could I have targeted the wrong man?" But with the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to release it. A fierce gleam flashed through his eyes. "Who cares who he is? Take his head back and report in. The five thousand taels of gold are what matter!"

The dagger struck like a tempest, every thrust aimed directly at a vital point, fully displaying the ruthlessness of a Night Raven Tower Silver Rank Assassin.

Yet Lin Zhao's basic swordsmanship had long since reached perfection. Blocking, deflecting, and slashing flowed together in one seamless motion, more rounded and polished even than Zhou Bo'an's, a veteran who had immersed himself in martial arts for thirty years. The advantage of the Proficiency Panel was on full display now: every move was precise to the utmost, without the slightest unnecessary motion.

"What a brat!" Zhou Bo'an cursed inwardly. His figure suddenly turned elusive as a ghost, using the alley's shadows to evade and counterattack. He drove the Shadow Leopard Breathing Technique to its limit, his movement speed rivaling the famed martial arts technique, "Treading Snow Without a Trace."

In his eyes, although Lin Zhao's inner strength was powerful, his movement technique was ultimately his weakness. As long as Zhou Bo'an dragged things out until the other man exhausted his inner qi, victory would be his.

But he had not expected Lin Zhao to have already cultivated the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique. The Mystic Wolf Qi Seed was inherently suited to swiftness, and coupled with the Rushing Wolf effect, Lin Zhao's speed did not fall short of his in the slightest!

Even more fatal was the Binding Force in the Three Talents Slash. Every time sword and dagger collided, Lin Zhao's inner strength wound its way up Zhou Bo'an's arm through the dagger, numbing his meridians with shocks. It was precisely the bane of swift swordplay.

"Courting death!" Lin Zhao sneered. The Mystic Dragon Qi Seed suddenly erupted, black inner qi coating his palm like thick liquid as he reached out and seized the incoming dagger with his bare hand!

"You dare?!" Zhou Bo'an was scared out of his wits. In thirty years of roaming the martial world, he had never seen such a fierce act of taking a blade barehanded. "This dagger is coated with Seven Absolute Snake Venom! It can corrode even Mystic Iron armor. You are seeking your own death!"

Blood dripped through Lin Zhao's fingers, but his gaze only sharpened. Today, he would capture this bastard alive and force out the identity of the mastermind behind him!

His five fingers clenched fiercely. Zhou Bo'an felt agonizing pain in the web of his hand and could no longer hold the dagger. He could only let go and abandon the weapon. A moment later, he feared he would be dragged over along with it.

"Madman! You've truly gone mad!" Zhou Bo'an was both shocked and enraged. He had exhausted every method, yet could do nothing to Lin Zhao. Now that he had lost his weapon, how could he dare continue the fight?

He rolled aside to evade the long sword, kicked off the ground, and sprang onto the wall. Like an ape, he leaped onto the roof eaves. Tiles rustled beneath his feet as he was about to vanish into the night in the blink of an eye.

The man's movement technique was too fast. Lin Zhao hurried after him to the open space at the alley entrance, only to see the black shadow racing across the connected rooftops, on the verge of slipping into another dark alley.

His gaze darkened. He picked up the Tiger Fang Dagger from the ground and scraped the head of a Mystic Iron arrow hard against its blade. This was battlefield quick thinking he had learned from Zhao Tieying: sharpen the arrowhead with a poisoned blade, so it could both pierce armor and add poison.

He drew the ox-horn bow full as the moon. As the bowstring trembled, Lin Zhao poured all his Mystic Wolf inner qi into the arrow. Silver-white inner qi clung to the arrowhead, making its speed three parts faster.

Just as the black shadow was about to leap into the dark alley, he suddenly released the string. "Hit!"

The arrow split the air like thunder, chasing after him with a shrill whistle.

Zhou Bo'an screamed from atop the roof. A spray of blood burst from his shoulder, and he fell like a kite with its string severed, crashing heavily onto the bluestone road. A crack split across his mask.

A numb, itching sensation had already spread across Lin Zhao's palm where the dagger had cut him, creeping through his meridians toward his forearm. His heart tightened. He knew the Seven Absolute Snake Venom was taking effect.

In his previous life, such deadly poison would have required the proper antivenom. But in this world of high martial arts, only inner qi expulsion and Detoxification Pills could save him.

Daring not delay, he circulated the Mystic Dragon Qi Seed. Black inner qi wrapped around the poisoned blood like wandering threads and forcibly drove it out through the wound. It splattered onto the ground, congealing into blackish-purple droplets.

He then took the water pouch from his waist and repeatedly washed the wound with clean water. Fortunately, the inner qi protecting his body had blocked most of the poison earlier. The wound was shallow, and the amount of poison that had entered him was limited.

Moreover, the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique itself possessed a poison-purging effect. The Mystic Dragon Qi Seed near his heart trembled slightly, continuously consuming inner qi and transforming it into Pure and Turbid Qi. Like a broom sweeping away filth, it passed through his meridians and expelled the last traces of numbness and itchiness.

In mere moments, feeling returned to his palm. Only his face had grown somewhat pale from the excessive exertion.

After simply binding the wound with a strip of cloth and swallowing a wheat cake to restore his strength, Lin Zhao slipped out of the alley under cover of night. Like a ghost, he trailed behind Zhou Bo'an. He knew perfectly well that when the assassin was struck by the arrow, the Seven Absolute Snake Venom on its head had surely entered his wound as well. He did not know whether the man carried Detoxification Pills, but as a Night Raven Tower Silver Rank Assassin, his cultivation was at least that of a mid-rank Martial Master. That little poison should not be enough to kill him.

That arrow had originally been meant to pierce his opponent's heart. Yet the assassin's sense for danger surpassed that of ordinary people, and at the crucial moment, he had instinctively twisted aside and avoided the fatal point.

"Shot and poisoned, he is at his weakest now." A cold glint flashed through Lin Zhao's eyes as he pushed the Mystic Wolf Step to its limit. His figure was nearly nothing but an afterimage in the darkness. Tonight, he would eliminate all future trouble!

At the end of a deep alley stood a secluded residence, silent as a graveyard. Zhou Bo'an staggered inside while bracing himself against the courtyard wall. He slid the bolt into place behind him, then jammed it shut with a Mystic Iron bar. Only then could he no longer hold himself up. Clutching his back, he slowly slid down to the ground.

The arrowhead was deeply lodged beneath his left shoulder blade, less than half an inch from his heart. Blood had long soaked through his black outfit, flowing across the ground in a dark-red stream.

"Damn that Lin Zhao! He is an Eagle Archer! Why did the damned intelligence not mention a word about his archery being this formidable?" Zhou Bo'an cursed through gritted teeth, cold sweat streaming down his brow.

He was originally a Silver Rank Assassin dispatched by Night Raven Tower, ordered to assassinate this minor centurion of Lin Family Fortress. He had assumed Lin Zhao was merely a pampered wastrel living off his family's legacy. Even if he knew some martial skills, he could not possibly be a match for a mid-rank Martial Master like himself.

Who could have expected his opponent not only to possess profound inner qi, but also archery so extraordinary it had reached a miraculous level? Had Zhou Bo'an not reacted in time, he would already have died on the spot.

"Fortunately, he was struck by Seven Absolute Snake Venom. He must be collapsed on the ground by now. Once I remove this arrowhead and apply medicine for metal wounds, I will go back and take his life!" A vicious gleam flashed in Zhou Bo'an's eyes. Enduring the pain, he tightly gripped the fletching with his left hand and shoved hard. With a "Squish," the barbed Mystic Iron arrowhead burst out beneath his right ribs, carrying foul-smelling bloody foam with it.

Pain surged over him like a tide. His vision went black, and he nearly fainted. Yet as he clenched his teeth, a savage smile tugged at his lips. "I am a Night Raven Tower Silver Rank Assassin, after all. This little wound will not take my life!"

As he struggled to rise, his entire body suddenly stiffened. A cold numbness was spreading from his heart, and the Mystic Leopard Qi Seed pressed above it trembled violently, as if resisting the poison's invasion.

"Not good! It's Seven Absolute Snake Venom!" Zhou Bo'an's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly held his breath and focused his mind, forcefully suppressing his surging blood and qi. He knew better than anyone that while a mid-rank Martial Master could expel poison with inner qi, emotional agitation would only hasten the poisoned blood's assault on the heart. Once the poison entered the heart meridians, not even the highest cultivation could turn back the tide.

"Netherworld Martial Venerate above, protect your subordinate through this trial!" he urgently recited. Mystic Leopard inner qi poured from his dantian like a stream, winding through his meridians toward the poison and slowly guiding it to the wound.

This process was even more dangerous than removing the arrow. Every fraction of inner qi he circulated made his heart feel as though it were being pricked by needles. Cold sweat dripped from his brow, striking the ground and leaving specks of moisture.

Who knew how long passed? At last, black blood sprayed from the arrow wound, and Zhou Bo'an finally caught his breath. His face, however, was pale as paper.

He staggered over, retrieved a secret Night Raven Tower Detoxification Pill, and swallowed it. He then thickly applied medicine for metal wounds to his injury. As an assassin, carrying life-saving medicine was ordinary practice, but though the pill entered his stomach, it only eased thirty percent of his discomfort. The poison and injuries had intertwined, greatly weakening its effects.

"Hah... I finally snatched my life back. The Netherworld Martial Venerate truly has protected..." Leaning against the wall, he panted. Before he could finish, a thunderous boom erupted outside the courtyard gate. The thick wooden door had been kicked flying with a single kick. Amid the shower of splintered wood, a burly figure wreathed in white vapor stood at the entrance. A large hand straightened the Rakshasa mask on his face, and cold eyes stared directly at Zhou Bo'an. It was Lin Zhao, who should have been incapacitated by deadly poison!

"You? How is that possible..." Zhou Bo'an's pupils contracted violently, and he nearly jumped up in shock. He had clearly seen Lin Zhao struck by Seven Absolute Snake Venom. How could he have appeared here completely unharmed?

Four arrows tearing through the air answered him.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The four arrows came in a string, like shooting stars chasing the moon, so fast that the eye could scarcely follow them. They shot toward both his arms and both knees.

Zhou Bo'an had only just forced out the poison and had expended more than half his inner qi. How could he possibly dodge in time?

Several muffled "Squishes" sounded. Mystic Iron arrowheads pierced through bone and embedded deeply in the ground, nailing all four of his limbs firmly to the blue bricks.

"Aah—!"

A shrill howl tore through the night. Agony wracked Zhou Bo'an's limbs, and he could no longer support himself. With a "Thud," he collapsed to the ground, his limbs twisted at grotesque angles. His eyes were filled with shock and unwillingness.

The Rakshasa mask slowly drew close, its shadow blanketing Zhou Bo'an's face. The voice beneath it was icy enough to pierce bone. "Speak. Who hired Night Raven Tower to assassinate me? Tell the truth, and I will grant you a quick death."

Lin Zhao planted a foot on his chest. The Mystic Iron spikes beneath his boot sank deep into flesh, crushing the breath from him. "If you refuse, I do not mind letting you discover whether an assassin without his manhood can still cling to life."

"You... you madman!" Zhou Bo'an was both terrified and furious. Just as he was about to curse aloud, a crisp "Crack" reached his ears. His pupils shrank, all color draining from his face. Excruciating pain erupted from beneath his waist, darkening his vision as he nearly ground his teeth to pieces.

"Aah—! I'll talk! I'll talk!" He finally broke down, his voice choked with sobs. "I truly do not know who the employer is! Night Raven Tower always operates in secret. Assassins only deal with the organization's brokers and never learn the employer's identity! Right, the broker assigned to me will come to this residence at dawn tomorrow to collect the remaining payment. If you want answers, ask him! If I speak even half a lie, may Heaven strike me with thunder! Please... give me a quick death!"

His heart had turned to ashes. His limbs were ruined, leaving him a crippled shell. His lower body had been mutilated, and he was no longer a man. Living on like this was more painful than death.

Lin Zhao's eyes remained calm and undisturbed. With a sweep of the Cold Moon Sword, Zhou Bo'an's head rolled onto the ground, his eyes wide open and filled with unwillingness.

He then dragged the corpse into the woodshed, piled firewood over it, and set it alight. Amid the roaring flames, the mangled body gradually turned to ash, leaving not the slightest trace behind.

Afterward, he carefully searched the residence and eventually discovered a hidden compartment beneath the bed. Inside was a locked Mystic Iron Box.

He circulated Mystic Dragon inner qi into his fingertips and sliced through the chain like a sharp blade. With a "Clatter," the iron box sprang open. Dazzling golden light rushed into his face, nearly blinding him. Red silk lined the box, atop which lay more than a hundred glittering gold ingots, along with a stack of one-hundred-tael silver notes. Together, they totaled more than twenty thousand taels!

Seeing the chest full of gold and silver, Lin Zhao's breath caught, and wild delight flashed through his eyes. "This counterkill not only removed a future threat, but also brought me this windfall. When misfortune reaches its limit, fortune arrives! With this money, buying Pangolin Dragon Essence and training cavalry are one step closer!"