Assassins

"Xiang Jun! Get the hell out of my way!"

Meng Jing kicked the chubby little boy who had acted on his own aside.

"My opponent, I'll deal with him myself. Jiang Ping An, draw your blade!"

"I don't want to..."

Just as Jiang Ping An was about to say something, he suddenly sensed something. He rushed at Meng Jing, grabbed her in his arms, and leaped away.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

Meng Jing's little face flushed as she cried out coquettishly. It was the first time she had been held by someone outside her family, and she felt terribly embarrassed.

But then she noticed something, and her expression changed.

A throwing dart landed exactly where she had been standing.

At the same time, a golden light suddenly appeared, sealing off the area around them.

Four figures came rushing in from all directions at some unknown point, entering the golden light together.

"Spiritual Qi Shield!!"

The chubby Xiang Jun froze for a moment, then his face changed drastically as he rushed toward the outside.

A Spiritual Qi Shield was used to trap enemies. Now that throwing darts and this thing had appeared, the newcomers clearly meant them harm!

Xiang Jun's reaction was still too slow. His body slammed into the Spiritual Qi Shield and was sent flying back heavily.

The sudden turn of events made all three of them sink into grim moods.

"Haha, what luck. We ran into three assassination targets at once. We've struck it rich this time!"

A black-robed figure spoke in a sinister voice.

"Enough nonsense. End this quickly!"

One of the black-robed figures swiftly gave the order, and the four of them charged efficiently at the three children.

"Assassins!" Xiang Jun turned pale with fright. He raised his hands to form seals, preparing to use the Flame Art in defense.

But at that moment, a chilling, terrifying Sha Qi suddenly erupted from the four of them. Phantom figures of Cultivators who had died miserable deaths appeared in the air.

That aura was like an icy snake, drilling straight into Xiang Jun's heart and making his body stiffen as though he had entered the depths of winter.

Unprecedented terror surged within him. His body trembled, he could not move, and his spellcasting was interrupted.

Meng Jing also wanted to raise her blade and fight back, but the terrifying Sha Qi stiffened her body and hindered her movements.

"The Heavenly Fiend Art... Heavenly Fiend Pavilion assassins..."

Despair appeared on Meng Jing's face. Her father had been attacked by these assassins before, so she recognized their identities.

The Heavenly Fiend Pavilion was the strongest assassin organization. Its professional killers all cultivated the Heavenly Fiend Art.

The Heavenly Fiend Art was a technique that nurtured Sha Qi through killing. Once used, it could heighten battle intent and affect the minds of other Cultivators.

The more people they killed, the stronger the Sha Qi on them became, and the greater its influence on others.

These four were already Cultivators at Qi Refining Level 6 or 7. With this Sha Qi added in, their combat power was even more terrifying.

When the chubby Xiang Jun heard the words "Heavenly Fiend Pavilion," his expression went blank. He completely gave up resisting and prepared for death.

Forget four assassins arriving at once—even a single Heavenly Fiend Pavilion assassin was more than they could withstand.

What was more, the Spiritual Qi Shield outside blocked off any escape.

The four swung their swords, slashing toward the three youths' necks. Beneath their black robes, their faces were filled with greed.

They had originally accepted a mission to assassinate Jiang Ping An, but they had not expected to encounter three people at once.

All three of them were listed on the mission bounty board.

What genius bullshit? No matter how gifted they were, they would still die before absolute strength!

Cold light flashed, and blood sprayed.

The terrifying Sha Qi and the phantom figures of the Cultivators who had died miserable deaths vanished.

The four clutched their necks and stared at Jiang Ping An in disbelief.

"You... you aren't at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining..."

The mission they had received said Jiang Ping An's cultivation was at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

They were Cultivators at Qi Refining Level 6 or 7. Killing someone at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining should have been an instant kill.

Yet the ones who had been instantly killed were them.

"Now I'm at Qi Refining Level 6."

Jiang Ping An swung his blade again, severing their heads.

They had actually survived the first strike and even managed to speak. That was far too dangerous.

What if they unleashed some deadly move before dying?

Instantly killing four people at once was still a little difficult. He would have to be more careful next time.

Jiang Ping An silently reviewed his shortcomings, put away his rune blade, and began doing his favorite thing.

He crouched skillfully beside the corpses and began Looting Corpses.

With the Sha Qi gone, the other two regained their mobility.

Looking at the four corpses on the ground, then at Jiang Ping An calmly Looting Corpses, the two of them became dazed.

He had killed four assassins with a single stroke! He was actually this strong!

When they faced the Heavenly Fiend Art, they could not even move. Why had Jiang Ping An not been affected by it?

"Wuwu~ The outside world is so scary. I want to go home!"

The Spiritual Qi Shield disappeared, and the chubby Xiang Jun ran away crying. His pants seemed to be wet as well.

He had thought that placing eleventh in the Genius Battle made him formidable, but after experiencing death once, he finally understood just how weak he was.

He could no longer be bothered with flirting with pretty girls. All he wanted now was to go home and hide.

Meng Jing handled it somewhat better. She often went to the front lines to fight, so she remained relatively calm.

Looking at Jiang Ping An's stern, tranquil face, then at Xiang Jun fleeing in tears, Meng Jing suddenly realized that this young man seemed to be glowing, while everything around him had grown dim.

"You... what realm are you actually at now?"

From beginning to end, this young man had never panicked.

Meng Jing had wanted to challenge him and prove that she was stronger.

But the sudden assassins had made her realize that she and Jiang Ping An were not on the same level at all.

The gap between their strengths was enormous.

"Qi Refining Level 6."

Jiang Ping An did not mention his level as a Body Cultivator.

That was one of his trump cards. It could make enemies misjudge his strength and commit strategic mistakes.

Meng Jing felt extremely uncomfortable at his indifferent attitude. Everyone who met her used to treat her with utmost respect or desperately try to please her.

Only this guy treated her as though she were Woodhead.

"Go report this matter. I still need to cultivate."

Jiang Ping An had found three bottles of pills, two talismans, three identical cultivation manuals, four weapons, and two spirit stones.

These people did not even have storage tools. They were incredibly poor.

He carried the items back to the courtyard, ignoring the corpses on the ground and the girl behind him.

"What does this Miss take me for? A servant?!" Meng Jing shouted from behind him. "Just you wait! Sooner or later, I'll defeat you!"

Bang!

The room door shut.

Girls were really noisy.

Tiger Girl was still the obedient one.

Jiang Ping An placed the items on the table, his expression turning solemn.

These assassins had definitely come for him.

He was so certain because, before they died, they had mentioned his previous cultivation level.

There was no need to guess who had sent the assassins.

Xu Tao, the general of Flat Water County.

Xu Tao's son, Xu Hao, was the one Jiang Ping An had killed. Xu Tao could not possibly allow him to continue growing.

"Xu Tao, just another month or two. Don't be in such a hurry. I'll remember every one of these debts!"

Jiang Ping An forcefully suppressed his killing intent.

He touched his right eye. When he had faced the assassination attempt just now, his right eye had been of tremendous use.

His right eye had detected the danger in advance and helped save Meng Jing.

It had also released a force that resisted that strange, indescribable Sha Qi.

If not for his right eye, even if he had survived this time, it certainly would not have been easy.

He had no idea whose eye this was. Even after being removed on its own, it still seemed to be alive.

Jiang Ping An put away the two spirit stones. He did not rashly open the stolen medicine either; there were no labels saying what kind of pills they were, and it would be dangerous if they were poison.

Thinking of how he used to sniff any medicine he came across, he felt like an idiot.

At last, his gaze fell on the green-covered book he had found.

"Heavenly Fiend Art."

This should have been the cultivation technique used by those assassins. The aura it released could stir fear in people and render them unable to move.

Jiang Ping An opened it and began to read.