The Master's Tower

Linglong snorted, "You can't treat a cute fatty like this, can you?" She said something witty and strange with a pout, her eyes becoming persistent and firm as she looked at the Blood Drinking Scholar.

The Blood Drinking Scholar's voice remained hoarse and deep, and he looked at Linglong, saying, "You think he's cute? This dead fatty is cute? You should know that from the moment Iron Hand Ya Zi fled injured, this person was beyond saving. Everyone considers him dead, yet you insist on saving him, are you bewitched? If necessary, I won't hesitate to teach you a lesson! Little Princess, you stand by the wall. It's best if you don't interfere with what happens next. You should know, my sword has never had eyes. I enjoy drinking blood, and my sword enjoys even more..."

Linglong's face turned ugly. She clenched her small fists, then slowly released them, retreating to stand by the wall, her eyes looking sadly at Ning Chang'an.

The Blood Drinking Scholar tilted his head to glance at Ning Chang'an, shaking the peculiar long sword in his hand, and a spray of blood droplets scattered. Ning Chang'an slowly untied the cloth bag from the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword, the sword now in his hand.

The Blood Drinking Scholar looked at the bloodstains on the ground. Little by little, they were inconspicuous on the mottled, dark ground, yet the fishy smell was exceptionally pungent. The Blood Drinking Scholar said, "Do you know what this is?"

Ning Chang'an replied, "Blood, human blood!"

The Blood Drinking Scholar asked, "Do you know whose it is?"

Ning Chang'an said, "I don't need to know. I only know it's definitely not mine."

The Blood Drinking Scholar said unhurriedly, "This is Iron Hand Ya Zi's blood. Iron Hand Ya Zi was my capable subordinate, but someone crippled his arm. With his hand crippled, he became useless, and there's no point in keeping him around. You probably don't know the common saying in the marketplace – 'judge the dish by the plate, look at the owner before hitting the dog.' The death of a dog is insignificant, but it's a shame that not just anyone can make it die. It's even more wrong to break its legs and cripple it. So, you can probably guess your fate, hmph hmph, it won't be good, at least you'll die more miserably than that dog. A peasant with no money but a lot of guts, a calf with no strength but a lot of spirit, you should never have come to Blood Stained Alley. You must have gone mad, and now you can finally rest in peace!"

The Blood Drinking Scholar spoke slowly, and coupled with his hoarse, deep voice, it was quite unpleasant to listen to. Yet, his demeanor had a strange resemblance to a scholar poring over scriptures by lamplight, appearing quite eccentric.

Ning Chang'an straightened the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword in his hand, pointing it directly at the Blood Drinking Scholar, and said, "Too much nonsense, let's fight!"

The Blood Drinking Scholar said regretfully, "Have a good journey on the road to the Yellow Springs!" He moved abruptly, flying off the wall, and attacked Ning Chang'an like a fleeting shadow.

When the Blood Drinking Scholar moved, his hands and feet were clean and swift, without any extraneous sound or movement. The tip of his sword aimed directly at Ning Chang'an's throat.

A killer's move, fast, accurate, insidious, and deadly.

The Blood Drinking Scholar's sword strike seemed exceptionally resolute, almost like a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble. Assassins shouldn't usually be like this; they focus on seizing opportunities for a swift kill, then retreating without a trace. However, the Blood Drinking Scholar was different. Relying on his peculiar sword style, he would draw blood whenever he attacked. As for whose blood it was, he didn't care. In the past, he would always be the one bleeding before fighting back from desperation, but as he gradually comprehended his sword techniques and accumulated killing experience, he would always be the one whose enemies bled to death while he remained unharmed. Subtly, he developed a fighting style that could be described as tragic and a cruel, bloodthirsty nature, attacking as if ready to break the net and perish together. In the assassin profession, such a killing method could be considered bizarre. That he could survive to this day showed the hardness of his fate and the formidable nature of his martial arts, far beyond the ordinary.

Ning Chang'an stared intently at the very tip of the Blood Drinking Scholar's sword, remaining motionless in his spot, using stillness to counter all changes.

In the blink of an eye, the Blood Drinking Scholar was in front of him. Cold light flashed from the sword's edge, and a fierce, chilling aura of desperation pressed directly onto Ning Chang'an's face.

Roar!

At the peak of his killing intent, Ning Chang'an suddenly thrust his long sword forward. The sword's hum echoed like a tiger's roar throughout Blood Stained Alley. The tip of the sword struck the Blood Drinking Scholar's sword edge with not a millimeter to spare. Weapons value an inch of length for an inch of strength, and an inch of shortness for an inch of danger. Ning Chang'an's elusive sword strike hit the Blood Drinking Scholar's sword edge. The overwhelming force made the Blood Drinking Scholar tremble, pushing him back ten feet from Ning Chang'an, unable to get close, let alone injure Ning Chang'an with a single strike.

The Blood Drinking Scholar's heart grew solemn, and gravity appeared in his eyes. Although his sword technique was incredibly tragic, injuring the enemy or himself, his only flaw was that needle-point-like tip. Most people, even if they noticed it, couldn't exploit it because no one was confident enough to hit such a tiny spot. But Ning Chang'an's strike broke it immediately. The Blood Drinking Scholar knew that the fatty in front of him was not simple; he had encountered a tough opponent. The Blood Drinking Scholar didn't know that this flaw was extremely similar to the flaw in the Cloud-Emerging Sword Style's strike. Lu Sheng was defeated in one move back then, and it was the same. Since Chang'an could break the Cloud-Emerging Sword Style then, it was no problem for him now.

The Blood Drinking Scholar retreated three steps. Just as he was about to press forward, Ning Chang'an attacked. He was fast, but this fatty seemed even faster. He was ruthless, but this fatty was a hundred times more ferocious. The Blood Drinking Scholar felt like a fierce tiger was charging at him, its teeth bared, ready to tear him to shreds.

Instantly, the Blood Drinking Scholar was suppressed and forced into a passive defense.

Ning Chang'an seized the advantage and pressed his attack relentlessly, following up with consecutive moves. Fierce Tiger Rending Feast, eighteen fierce thrusts delivered in one seamless flow.

Since his battle with the Fierce Wolf, Ning Chang'an's swordsmanship had greatly improved. His senses were sharp, his movements agile, and the momentum of the Tiger Aspect Nine Moves had gradually emerged in his swordsmanship. Once unleashed, he was no longer the same.

The Blood Drinking Scholar did not have Essence Cultivation protecting him like the Fierce Wolf. Facing the Fierce Tiger Rending Feast, after repeatedly blocking, he made a mistake and was pierced through the chest by Ning Chang'an. A bloody hole immediately appeared on the Blood Drinking Scholar's chest, and blood gushed out.

The Blood Drinking Scholar looked down at the bloody hole on his chest and let out a ferocious roar, "Good, very good!"

Ning Chang'an's eighteen sword strikes were too fast; he couldn't block them all, causing him to bleed and be wounded.

"Very good?"

Ning Chang'an sneered. Against cruel people, one couldn't give them any chance to resist; respond to violence with violence. Before his voice fell, he thrust his long sword forward again, a Tiger Leap strike. His body suddenly leaped up, like a tiger king pouncing on its prey. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword vibrated continuously, its hum piercing and deafening. Like a lightning strike from the heavens, the sword was domineering and incredibly fierce, thrusting directly at the Blood Drinking Scholar. The Blood Drinking Scholar let out a strange cry, raising his sword to resist, conjuring a bloom of sword energy, doing his best to neutralize Ning Chang'an's Tiger Leap strike.

Unfortunately, all of Ning Chang'an's strength was concentrated in this one sword.

Clang!

The Blood Drinking Scholar's sword bent, his palm cracked, and his thumb was almost dislocated. The intense pain caused the Blood Drinking Scholar to scream, and he retreated repeatedly. He could no longer hold his sword, and with a clatter, it fell from his hand. He finally knew it wasn't good at all, but it was too late.

Ning Chang'an's face was filled with a cold sneer. His back slightly curved, and his body leaned back like a drawn bow. With a roar, the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword was unleashed.

The sound of the sword breaking through the air was deafening.

The Blood Drinking Scholar's body suddenly flew up, the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword pierced through him, and then nailed him to the ground. At this moment, the Blood Drinking Scholar's chest exploded, his body almost split in two. His eyes, however, widened abruptly, his pupils filled with an unimaginable terror.

Ning Chang'an slowly walked forward, pulled out the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword, then flicked his sword, tossing the Blood Drinking Scholar's corpse to the wall like a sack. He turned to look at Linglong, who was still in shock, and said in a deep voice, "Whose dog was the Blood Drinking Scholar?"

Linglong took a deep breath after a long while, and said dazedly, "You killed him just like that?" She could hardly believe her eyes. The Blood Drinking Scholar died too quickly, and too shockingly. The image in her mind was still stuck on the moment the Blood Drinking Scholar was nailed to the ground and killed with a single sword strike, bloody and brutal.

This fatty had shocked her too much.

Ning Chang'an said calmly, "He's probably dead. If he could live, he wouldn't be human!"

Linglong stuck out her tongue. A brilliant light appeared on her small face, like a miser who had discovered a treasure trove filled with jewels and gold, enthusiastic and infatuated, her appearance both cute and slightly comical.

Ning Chang'an couldn't help but smile.

Linglong noticed her gaffe, her small face flushed, and she said with an embarrassed smile, "The Blood Drinking Scholar wasn't a dog, he was a slave. Slaves and dogs are different!"

Ning Chang'an asked curiously, "Whose slave was he?"

Linglong shook her head, "I don't know whose slave he was, but he was a slave of the Master's Tower. You are qualified to go to the Master's Tower to seek a Guest Official position, maybe even an elder. Go forward. Anyone who attacks you can be killed. Kill until no one dares to block your path, until everyone fears you, and you will see the back door of the Master's Tower. Once you have a position in the Master's Tower, you will have money, and with money, you can buy me candied hawthorns. Dozens of taels of silver can't buy a good candied hawthorn!"

Ning Chang'an was surprised, "You can't buy one?"

Linglong said, "You can't imagine how expensive that candied hawthorn is, so you need to be mentally prepared!"

Ning Chang'an was speechless. He wondered what kind of candied hawthorn could cost more than one tael of silver. Even when he was a child, he didn't particularly like candied hawthorns; he preferred plain hawthorns. He didn't understand candied hawthorns, so he couldn't imagine it at all. He couldn't figure it out, and Linglong didn't seem inclined to explain, so Ning Chang'an decided to stop thinking about it.

He loved adventure, loved novelty, and was full of curiosity about unknown things, but he couldn't get everything from imagination. Ning Chang'an looked at Linglong and smiled, "I'm really looking forward to seeing such an expensive candied hawthorn. I hope I can afford it then!"

Some people, regardless of good or evil, always give a good impression at first glance. These types of people are always extraordinary, born favorites.

Linglong was undoubtedly one of them. She was as cute and exquisite as a carved doll, full of spirit. Anyone who saw her couldn't bear to harm her and felt pity for her. To Ning Chang'an, she had always evoked good feelings, even though she was the first person to obstruct him after he entered Blood Stained Alley. However, this was determined by her position and couldn't be considered an enemy.