"Collect everyone's Dao Bottles. I want all of you to complete Earth Vein Foundation Establishment together!"
Bai Xiaochun temporarily suppressed his excitement and gave the other Spirit Stream Sect disciples their orders.
"Yes, Uncle-Master!"
The Spirit Stream Sect disciples were overjoyed. They hurriedly collected the Dao Bottles left behind by the Three Religions disciples who had died.
With Fang Lin, Zhao Rou, and the others dead, the Earth Vein Qi they had absorbed returned to the world, replenishing the Earth Vein Qi within Falling Sword Abyss.
With Bai Xiaochun's help, Hou Yunfei also woke up and began drawing in the Earth Vein Tide again.
Meanwhile, in Assassin World.
Deep in the woods of the Black Tortoise Kingdom, inside a ruined temple.
A massive Earth Yellow Fist Aura came crashing in. The temple doors exploded instantly with a thunderous bang.
Plum Blossom Thirteen jolted awake and instinctively drew her twin blades, stepping in front of A Qi.
But when she saw Stone Gate, who stood before her like an iron tower, and Black Bird flying in midair, her expression turned grim.
She had expected the leader to send Shadow Assassins after A Qi, but she hadn't expected two to arrive at once.
With her abilities, holding off even one would be her limit. She stood no chance against Stone Gate and Black Bird.
"Looks like today's going to end badly!"
Plum Blossom Thirteen murmured inwardly.
"Qing Feng's mark."
"Are you Qing Feng's apprentice?"
A seductive female voice sounded.
Manjusaka suddenly appeared, dressed provocatively and holding a fan. She eyed Plum Blossom Thirteen with interest.
"Another one!"
Plum Blossom Thirteen's pupils contracted, and her heart sank. The last sliver of hope she had vanished.
"That man is the Assassin World's highest-level bounty target."
"If you help him, you'll be making an enemy of the entire Assassin World and the Black Tortoise Kingdom."
"Out of respect for your master, I'll pretend none of this happened if you leave now."
Manjusaka chuckled softly, bypassing Plum Blossom Thirteen and gliding toward the man sitting cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed.
"Looks like I'll have to kill my beloved myself after all!"
With a swish, the folded fan in Manjusaka's hand flashed along its edge, transforming into a deadly blade as she thrust it at A Qi's throat.
"Get away!"
Plum Blossom Thirteen's brows drew together as she swiftly swung her sword at Manjusaka, but the latter easily dodged.
"Looks like you want to die with him!"
Black Bird cackled as he lashed out with the thorn-covered whip in his hand, trying to drag Plum Blossom Thirteen out of the temple so he could torment her before finishing her off.
"Clang..."
A crisp sword ring sounded. A streak of purple light flashed past, and Black Bird's whip was instantly severed.
"Ha..."
A Qi let out a long yawn and stretched before slowly rising to his feet.
"I slept so well with a beauty by my side."
A Qi smiled at Plum Blossom Thirteen. Her face flushed slightly. She couldn't believe he was still joking at a moment when their lives were on the line.
"Too bad I opened my eyes and saw you weirdos. What a mood killer."
"So, Seventh Brother's furious, and the consequences are dire."
A Qi shifted his gaze from Plum Blossom Thirteen to Black Bird, Stone Gate, and Manjusaka.
"Do you really think you're still the Number One Assassin Under Heaven?"
Black Bird's hoarse, icy voice rang out.
The Assassin Leader strictly forbade infighting among the Shadow Assassins. So although Black Bird had never accepted that A Qi was the Number One Assassin Under Heaven, he'd never had a chance to test himself against him.
But today, he wasn't after the bounty. He wanted only to kill the assassin who had once been the strongest with his own hands.
"I'll cover you. Find a chance to escape," Plum Blossom Thirteen whispered to A Qi.
"Heh. None of you are leaving today. You're all going to die here."
Manjusaka giggled behind her hand. At the same time, Stone Gate took a step forward, his massive frame completely blocking the temple entrance.
"Big guy, you're blocking my view of the sunrise."
Without warning, A Qi thrust out with his blade. A fierce Purple Saber Qi shot straight toward Stone Gate.
Stone Gate sensed an unprecedented threat. He hurriedly crossed his arms in front of himself, and his inner force formed a semicircular yellow shield at their crossing point, protecting his entire body.
"Whoosh..."
Among the Seven Great Shadow Assassins, Stone Gate was a heavily armored fighter. Not only was he immensely strong, his defenses were the strongest of all the assassins.
Black Bird, Manjusaka, and even Plum Blossom Thirteen all believed that A Qi, as he was now, couldn't break through Stone Gate's defenses.
But in the next instant, the Purple Saber Qi from Magic Blade Thousand Blades pierced straight through the shield without resistance and swept across Stone Gate's neck.
Stone Gate's movements stopped at once, and the light faded from his eyes.
A thin line of blood appeared across his neck, then gradually became distinct.
"Gulp..."
As everyone watched in utter shock, Stone Gate's enormous head fell from his neck and rolled twice across the floor.
"Boom!"
His headless body crashed heavily to the ground, sending dust billowing into the air.
Time seemed to stop. Silence filled the ruined temple. Black Bird, Manjusaka, and Plum Blossom Thirteen stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
They didn't know how strong the Number One Assassin Under Heaven had been, but there was no way he could have pierced through all of Stone Gate's defenses and killed him with such an effortless strike.
What's more, A Qi had lost his memories, and his strength was nowhere near what it had been at his peak.
When Manjusaka came to her senses, she immediately darted backward, putting as much distance between herself and A Qi as possible.
In her eyes, A Qi, who looked harmless and wore a smile, was far more dangerous than the murderous Number One Assassin Under Heaven had ever been.
Only now did she realize that "Seventh Brother's furious, and the consequences are dire" hadn't been a joke.
She gave A Qi a long look, then immediately prepared to flee and report what had happened to the leader.
"Did I say you could leave?"
A Qi had meant to kill Manjusaka first, but Black Bird spread his wings and swooped toward him.
"The stronger you get, the more I want to hunt you down!"
Black Bird laughed maniacally as he lashed his whip at A Qi again.
Unlike Manjusaka, Black Bird wasn't frightened by the strength A Qi had shown. If anything, it made him even more excited.
"A freakish, foot-scratching man like you should really try not to get so excited around me."
A Qi gripped Magic Blade Thousand Blades and slashed with lightning speed. Purple Sword Qi surged into the sky. Black Bird, ready for the attack, beat his wings and changed his descent, barely dodging the strike in the blink of an eye.
In the next instant, the snake-like whip coiled around A Qi's lower leg.
With a fierce flap of the wings on Black Bird's back, A Qi was yanked through the hole in the ruined temple's roof and dragged outside by the whip.