Choosing a Bounty

Ling Li turned around to see a bald, burly man wearing a black mask. His aura was at the two-star Dou Spirit level, and a Silver Badge hung from his chest as he eyed Ling Li with ill intent.

This doorway was seven or eight meters wide, and there was still some distance between it and the bounty board. How could anyone stand here to read the board? Clearly, the other party had seen that Ling Li was young and looked like a newcomer, so he had deliberately come to pick a fight!

There were a total of eight bounty boards in the Eight Fan Sect. Yet the farther inside one went, the fewer people there were. It was not because those outside did not want to enter, but because they did not dare.

The bounty boards themselves were a kind of alternative intelligence. Even if one lacked the strength, surely there was no harm in looking for entertainment?

Perhaps that was possible elsewhere, but in a place like the Black Corner Region, whenever people could use their hands, they used both hands and mouths. If one stepped into the Eight Fan Sect with the left foot first, that foot might get hacked several times. Not to mention that many assassins were eccentric by nature; casually crossing boundaries was simply courting death.

"Die!"

After saying that, the man did not wait for Ling Li to respond. He threw a punch straight at Ling Li's head, vicious and tricky in angle, without holding back in the slightest.

Fiery red Dou Qi flickered over his fist, raising the temperature of the surrounding airflow. The space around it also seemed slightly distorted by the intense heat.

The burly man's punch was extremely fast. Almost the instant his words fell, his fist pierced through Ling Li's head. Yet the savage expression on his face first froze, then turned to surprise. With a sweep of his fist, he saw Ling Li's figure suddenly turn into black mist and disperse.

What he had struck was actually an afterimage!

The burly man inwardly cried out in alarm, but it was already too late. At some point, Ling Li had appeared behind him. Dark Night flashed with cold light in his hand as he shouted in his heart, "Swallow Return!"

Ling Li had always followed the principle that he would not offend others unless they offended him first. But since the other man had already stomped on his head, there was naturally no reason for him to show mercy.

The cold gleam slashed out by Dark Night suddenly split into three. Three pitch-black Blade Qi streaked forward with mist-like black trails. Two crossed and struck his neck, severing his arms and head at an angle, while the final Blade Qi cut off both legs.

My blade technique actually gained 1 Experience Point! Ling Li was somewhat surprised. During the half year he had wandered throughout the Gamma Empire, his blade practice had never stopped. Yet after an entire half year, he had only gained a little over ten Experience Points. Now, a single slash could earn him 1 Experience Point?!

After being able to release Dou Qi externally, Swallow Return seemed to have completed its final piece. Back then, when he had only possessed the strength of a Great Fighting Master, he simply had not had enough Dou Qi to use it.

Ling Li's move successfully drew the attention of quite a few people nearby. However, many merely glanced at him before looking away. Clearly, dismembering a silver-grade assassin in a single move was enough for his strength to gain their recognition.

Ling Li walked over to the burly man and tore the badge from his chest. This was a special badge issued by the Eight Fan Sect, representing its owner's strength. There were eight grades in total: Bright Gold, Gold, Bright Silver, Silver, Bright Copper, Copper, Bright Iron, and Iron. However, not every assassin possessed such a badge. Only four Bright Gold badges had been made, and the number of badges at each lower grade was (2+n)∧2.

Thus, there were only twenty-five Silver Badges in total. Anyone who wanted one could only take it from its owner. Now, one Silver Badge had fallen into Ling Li's hands.

After tearing off the badge, Ling Li used Dark Night to skewer the burly man's limbs like chunks of meat on a skewer. In only a few breaths, the man's corpse had been drained into a dried husk.

Not only that, after advancing to the Dou Spirit realm, Ling Li's eyes could now see Soul Bodies. While Dark Night sucked the man's blood, Ling Li discovered that the burly man's Soul Body had also been torn apart and devoured by Dark Night.

"100 Experience Points!" Ling Li was somewhat astonished. This could be said to be the most Experience Points he had gained in a single instance since obtaining Dark Night!

Could Devour Spirit, aside from devouring energy, also devour Soul Bodies?

Calmly pulling Dark Night free, Ling Li walked to the bounty board. There were many bounties posted on it, most with rewards of one hundred thousand Gold Coins. Only a small portion exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand, and the postings at that price were somewhat old, seemingly having gone unclaimed for a long time.

Of course, the assassination targets were not limited to the Black Corner Region. There were even people from neighboring empires. Ling Li even saw a bounty for the king of a small empire, with the pitifully low reward of only one hundred and thirty thousand Gold Coins. Yet three Dou Spirit-level assassins were actually scrambling for it!

"Looks like the only wealthy people on the Dou Qi Continent are alchemists. Even Dou Spirit-level people are still poor enough to pick at their toes..." Ling Li could not help sighing.

Some second-tier alchemists who were only Dou Masters or Great Fighting Masters could likely earn over one hundred thousand Gold Coins from refining a batch of slightly better second-tier medicinal pills. Yet these assassins tied their heads to their belts and risked their lives, only to possibly fail to earn that sum...

After searching the board behind the fifth door for quite a while, Ling Li finally selected a target with a bounty of one hundred and twenty thousand.

After tearing down the bounty posting, he found a hidden compartment behind it. Inside was a scroll containing detailed information about the assassination target.

Ling Li reached into the hidden compartment, flipped his hand, and placed the scroll into the System Space.

With the item in hand, Ling Li left the Eight Fan Sect and wandered around Black Seal City for a while. Black Seal City had a somewhat small population, but it was undoubtedly prosperous. Free from the shackles of law and morality, the local customs were quite open. Ling Li saw several slave shops displaying their slaves right on the street, flaunting how well-endowed and skilled they were, or how curvaceous they were, to catch passersby's attention.

After wandering for over an hour, Ling Li had originally wanted to visit the Black Seal Auction. However, no major auction was being held recently, and entering the Black Seal Auction House required paying a sizable admission fee. After considering it for a while, Ling Li decided to forget it.

As the sun set, Ling Li left Black Seal City beneath the evening glow. He set up a tent in a mountain range, preparing to make do for the night.

Inns and taverns had always been Ling Li's favorites, but he did not dare stay in the inns of the Black Corner Region. No one could say whether an inn might be a shady establishment. Rather than sleep uneasily in the city, he would feel more at ease sleeping outside it.

After gathering some dry firewood, Ling Li lit a small campfire. The hide of a third-tier magical beast crackled beneath the flames. Rendered fat slowly dripped down and burst within the fire, causing the flames to leap as an enticing aroma of roasted meat spread through the air.

Beside the campfire, Ling Li casually sprinkled seasonings over the magical beast with one hand while holding the scroll in the other, reading the assassination target's information by firelight.