Vengeance Demanded

Wuxia: Assassinated at the Start, I Awakened the Max-Level Dragon-Elephant Art

Endless Dreams of a Fish

This book is produced and distributed by Zhangyue Technology with authorization from Zongheng (Dejian).

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Chapter 1: Vengeance is Mine

At the foot of the mountain outside Yongtang City stand two earthen graves.

One new, one old.

Bai Yan is currently kneeling before the graves, pouring wine.

His mother passed away over a decade ago, and his father, who went to Black Wind Stronghold to suppress bandits three days prior, only brought back half a bloody, mangled corpse.

"Father, may you have a good journey. I will avenge you soon. The Imperial Guard has been pressuring me these past few days, so I'll be starting my duty tomorrow."

"Although you always hoped I wouldn't join the Imperial Guard, fearing my gentle nature would lead to me being bullied, rest assured, your son now has the power to protect himself. As long as I can avenge you, I will brave this dragon's den, no matter what."

"And..."

Bai Yan glanced at a masked corpse in the distance and whispered:

"Even if I didn't go, I have no choice now..."

He hadn't told anyone, but he was actually a transmigrator. It had been two years since he broke through the mystery of his prenatal existence.

Bai Yan's father, Bai Lizheng, was an Imperial Guard. With his care, Bai Yan lived a decent life. Not exactly living in luxury, but he never lacked food or drink.

Perhaps because he was too well protected by his father, Bai Yan had never experienced the bloody battles of the Jianghu. He only knew that martial arts were prevalent in the Great Yu Dynasty, and that powerful beings capable of cleaving mountains with a sword and diverting rivers with a palm truly existed in this world. But this was all hearsay, or things he'd heard from his father, which he treated as mere stories.

However, good times don't last. This situation changed completely three days ago.

A masked man, wielding a sharp blade and with bloodthirsty glints in his eyes, had stealthily infiltrated Bai Yan's home.

The masked man's skills were not bad; he was at least a capable fighter in the Jianghu, pushing Bai Yan into perilous situations.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Bai Yan awakened a system called the Max-Level Divine Art System.

This system's function was simple and brutal: as long as the host completed the tasks given by the system, he could obtain max-level martial arts, internal skills, external skills, lightness skills, sword techniques, palm techniques, etc.

His first mission was to eliminate the intruder.

Driven by an extreme will to survive, Bai Yan fought the masked man with a life-or-death gamble. He eventually killed him, completing the mission, and subsequently obtained a max-level divine art – the Thirteen Layers of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art.

This caused Bai Yan, who originally had only third-rate cultivation, to leap to the level of a Grandmaster.

He thought that would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, the assassination attempts didn't stop. Today, while visiting his father's grave, he encountered another attack.

"Father, I've investigated both groups of people. They aren't from any legitimate faction. I originally thought they were your old enemies from the Jianghu, but now it seems that's not the case."

"Their attacks were ruthless, aiming for a swift kill, and they carried no identification. They are clearly desperate killers who specialize in assassination. I suspect they might be connected to the Imperial Guard..."

The Imperial Guard traditionally followed a father's profession; when the father died, the son would take his place. It wasn't a matter of choice.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Imperial Guard were the Emperor's personal guards, appearing majestic and powerful. But only those within the Imperial Guard knew it was a perilous profession, where one's life hung by a thread. A slight misstep could lead to a fatal end.

In a feudal dynasty, lives were indeed as cheap as grass, and this wasn't just a saying.

Bai Yan had poor innate talent. Despite years of practice, his martial arts cultivation didn't improve much. It was only through Bai Lizheng's constant efforts, using medicine and whipping him, that he barely managed to reach the third-rate level.

The Martial Arts Realm had eight levels: starting from third-rate, they were second-rate, first-rate, Innate, Master, Grandmaster, Heaven-Man Induction, and Shattering Void.

Heaven-Man Induction and Shattering Void were already legendary realms, talked about often but never seen. Grandmasters were powerful figures who guarded regions and were rarely encountered. Most of the conflicts in the Jianghu were between Innate and Master level practitioners.

Third-rate was the starting point of the entire martial artist system, representing the lowest-tier disciples of major sects. In the Imperial Guard, they were mere pawns, expendable cannon fodder.

This was precisely why Bai Lizheng didn't want Bai Yan to join the Imperial Guard. Being bullied was one thing, but the primary concern was the mortal danger.

Logically, with Bai Yan's unimpressive cultivation, he shouldn't be a target for assassination. However, the problem lay in his identity: he was the son of Bai Lizheng, a Brigade Leader of the Imperial Guard. According to regulations, upon Bai Lizheng's death in the line of duty, Bai Yan was to succeed him and be promoted to Brigade Leader.

The Imperial Guard was already a precarious profession, a life-or-death gamble. No one didn't want to climb the ranks. The Brigade Leader position he was inheriting naturally blocked the path of certain individuals.

Busy with his father's funeral these past few days, Bai Yan hadn't reported to the Imperial Guard yet. With the position not yet officially assigned, there were many opportunities for manipulation. After all, when a person died, their position naturally became vacant.

"Father, please bless me from the heavens and help me find the mastermind behind this."

As his voice fell, a prompt sounded in Bai Yan's mind once more.

[Ding! Host has triggered mission: Vengeance is Mine!]

[If others do not offend me, I will not offend them. If they offend me, I will eradicate them completely!]

[Please find the mastermind and kill them personally!]

[Mission Reward: Max-Level Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms]