The First Swift Sword!

The rain pattered down, dripping from Chu Qing's chin.

Chu Qing dazedly opened his eyes, finding himself beneath a large tree, a blood-stained Long Sword in his hand, leaning against the trunk.

Not far away lay a corpse, impaled through the heart by a spear and hanging from a tree.

The surroundings were a deep forest, a fine mist falling from the sky. A cold wind blew, seeming to chill him to the bone.

Everything registered in an instant, but before he could observe further, his vision spun as if the stars had shifted.

A strong sense of dizziness washed over him, making him feel nauseous, yet unable to vomit.

"What's going on? Where am I? How did I get here... Who is that dead person?"

One question after another flooded his mind, and the intense dizziness in his head subsided.

At the same time, scenes began to play out before his eyes.

After a while, Chu Qing opened his eyes again. The daze in his gaze had vanished. He gently rubbed his forehead.

"So that's how it is..."

Chu Qing, nineteen years old.

The third son of the Chu Family in Heavenly Dance City... but he had run away from home at the age of twelve.

The reason was the Chu Gate Twin Prodigies, Chu Tian and Chu Fan.

The two brothers had displayed astonishing talent since childhood. Chu Tian possessed his father's demeanor and was the best candidate for the next family head. Chu Fan, with his innate divine strength, was sent to the Taiyi Sect to become a disciple of Cui Buno, the master of the Wrathful God Fist.

Chu Qing was the most mediocre of the three brothers, so the Chu Family head, Chu Yunfei, arranged a marriage for him.

However, Chu Qing had his own aspirations and was unwilling to accept such an arrangement.

Thus, at twelve years old, he left a letter stating he was going to practice his chivalrous path and that his father and brothers should not look for him.

He had been gone for seven years.

Yet, for most of those seven years, he had remained hidden, diligently cultivating the family's Ultimate Skill.

It was only a year ago, feeling his martial arts had achieved some success, that he truly began to roam the jianghu.

Then he encountered the 'Sin Mirror Platform'.

The Sin Mirror Platform was an assassin organization. Their tenet was 'acting on behalf of heaven, using killing as punishment,' claiming to exclusively kill wicked and evil individuals in the jianghu.

This tenet naturally gained Chu Qing's approval.

Therefore, he joined the Sin Mirror Platform and became one of its assassins.

It wasn't long before, less than a year, that Chu Qing discovered the Sin Mirror Platform was not what it seemed.

It claimed to "act on behalf of heaven" but was actually "acting for its own selfish gain."

This time, the mission he received was to assassinate Zhou Changtai, the master of the Zhou Family Manor in Red Tree Ridge.

According to the information provided by the Sin Mirror Platform, Zhou Changtai preyed on the local populace and committed evil deeds. Not only did he condone his younger son's abduction of local women, but he also beat the father of a woman who came to reason with him to death and hung his corpse in front of the manor for three full days. He was truly a heinous criminal.

However, after Chu Qing investigated, he discovered that this was all fabricated.

Therefore, not only did he not assassinate Zhou Changtai, but he secretly warned Zhou Changtai to be wary of someone plotting against him.

He intended to withdraw quietly, but unexpectedly, he was ambushed halfway.

The ones who ambushed him were precisely assassins from the Sin Mirror Platform.

There were five of them. They seemed to have known Chu Qing's route in advance, setting up an ambush and launching a surprise attack.

Fortunately, ever since Chu Qing discovered the Sin Mirror Platform's duplicity, he had been on guard.

Thus, although the sudden turn of events was swift, he still had time to react.

He fought and retreated along the way, narrowly escaping death several times before finally managing to break free. However, just as he thought he was about to escape to safety, he was blocked by the most skilled fighter among the five.

This person's codename within the Sin Mirror Platform was Blood Spear, and his martial arts ranking was above Chu Qing's.

In a fierce battle, Chu Qing sacrificed his life, ultimately perishing together with his opponent.

The corpse hanging from the tree opposite, pierced through by a long spear, was that of the Sin Mirror Platform's Blood Spear.

After roughly piecing together the entire sequence of events, Chu Qing felt a bit of a headache.

"A chuunibyou runaway, his enterprise half-finished, he met his end midway..."

He summarized it in his heart, yet couldn't help but murmur to himself:

"But which deity did I offend to be transmigrated here out of the blue?"

He looked down, feeling pain in every inch of his body.

Chu Qing had arrived here after several bloody battles, so his injuries were considerable.

But he still struggled to stand up.

His current situation was extremely dangerous. Three of those assassins were still alive. In his current state, he would surely die if they caught up to him.

However, before that, he had one more thing to do.

This matter had been puzzling him for a long time.

He came to the corpse of Blood Spear, looking at the top of Blood Spear's head:

"What is this thing floating above its head?"

Ever since the dizziness in his mind recovered, he noticed a rectangular object floating above Blood Spear's corpse.

It emitted a faint, hazy glow, making it impossible to see the details within clearly.

After obtaining the original owner's memories, he knew that the experts in the jianghu, who came and went like clouds, were as numerous as carp crossing a river... but they didn't understand ghosts and spirits. He figured Blood Spear hadn't cultivated to the point of soul departure, allowing his primordial spirit to escape after death.

This thing was rather peculiar then.

Chu Qing pondered for a moment before leaping up.

Although it was his first time using Qinggong, he felt no unfamiliarity.

It was as if it had integrated into his instincts.

With a reach of his hand, he grabbed the object.

Immediately, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Assassin System activated successfully!]

[Received one 'Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest'.]

Chu Qing froze, his body naturally landing.

The object he had just held in his hand had quietly disappeared.

A panel then popped up before his eyes.

[Assassin System]

[Host: Chu Qing]

[Current Quests: None]

[One unopened Martial Arts Treasure Chest, do you wish to open it?]

Chu Qing examined it briefly, finding the system remarkably concise.

Without much hesitation, he directly nodded:

"Open."

[Opened successfully, obtained Ultimate Skill: Swift Flying Sword!]

Before Chu Qing could be surprised, streams of information flooded into his mind.

At the same time, his body also felt various strange sensations. He felt soreness and numbness in his waist, back, arms, and legs.

However, this change came and went quickly.

In just a moment, it had already subsided.

It was at this exact same moment that the sound of wind breaking suddenly came from behind his ears.

Chu Qing's heart stirred:

"So fast!"

Immediately after, as if by instinct, he turned his feet. The Long Sword, which had never left his hand, suddenly rose.

This sword strike omitted all superfluous rituals and unnecessary movements.

Simply and plainly, it was just one move—a thrust.

Hummm!

A black-clothed figure wearing a mask heard such a sound.

But he didn't know where the sound came from.

He held a saber in his hand, but he could no longer slash down.

Because before that, his throat had already been pierced by the sword.

This sword strike... was faster than sound!