Task Complete, Cao Mo's First Kill

He darted inside, using the shadows of the corridor pillars to move like a cat to the outside of the main hall's window.

Several moving figures appeared on the window paper. Among them was a burly man with a face full of coarse flesh and a scar on his left cheek, who was embracing two concubines and bragging loudly—it was Zhao Kui.

"...Once I swallow the 'Green Snake Gang' to the south, no one in this western district will dare challenge me!"

Zhao Kui downed a mouthful of strong liquor and slammed his empty cup onto the table with a sharp crack.

Cao Mo frowned slightly. He saw seven other people in the hall. One was in the early Void Glimpse Realm; he figured that must be the vice-leader. The rest were around the Grandmaster level.

Charging in directly was possible, but if he alerted the others in the front yard, it would inevitably lead to complications.

He was an assassin, so he was accustomed to assassination.

His gaze swept over the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard. Its trunk slanted towards the main hall's roof, its branches and leaves dense enough to hide in.

His body flickered, and Cao Mo silently landed on the roof, not disturbing a single tile.

He lay on the rafters, looking down through the gaps in the tiles, taking in the entire scene within the hall.

Zhao Kui was getting up to relieve himself, staggering towards a side room off the hall, followed by only one guard.

Now!

Cao Mo's fingertips moved with spiritual energy, and the dagger at his waist unsheathed with a swish. Its blade was pitch black—it was his usual 'Shadow Devouring Dagger'.

He slid down from the roof like a falling leaf, landing outside the side room window, precisely out of the guard's line of sight.

Inside the side room, Zhao Kui was relieving himself into a chamber pot, muttering curses.

Cao Mo suddenly pushed open the window, his figure darting in like a phantom. The Shadow Devouring Dagger brought with it a chilling, cold light, aiming directly for Zhao Kui's back.

"Who?!" Zhao Kui, after all, was a cultivator in the Middle Void Comprehension Stage. He instinctively sensed danger and spun around, crossing his arms to block.

Pfft—

The dagger pierced his sleeve but was blocked by a shield condensed from spiritual energy by Zhao Kui.

In that split second of delay, the guard had already kicked open the door, his blade slashing towards Cao Mo's back.

Cao Mo didn't dodge. He slapped the guard's chest with his backhand. The guard let out a scream and flew backward, crashing into the wall and losing consciousness.

Zhao Kui seized the opportunity to retreat. The skull jade pendant at his waist lit up red, and a blood-colored barrier enveloped him:

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Black Wind Gang's headquarters?"

"The one here to take your life." Cao Mo's voice was icy. The Shadow Devouring Dagger drew three afterimages in the air, a move from the 'Instant Shadow Dagger Kill Technique' with its three variations, targeting Zhao Kui's throat, dantian, and brow.

Clang, clang, clang—

The dagger collided with the blood-colored barrier, making a sound like metal striking metal.

Zhao Kui's face changed drastically. The barrier, capable of withstanding an attack from a peak Void Glimpse cultivator, showed signs of cracking.

He hadn't expected his opponent to be in the late Void Glimpse stage yet possess strength far exceeding his realm.

"Guards! Assassin!" Zhao Kui roared, trying to summon the men from the main hall.

How could Cao Mo give him the chance? He suddenly crouched, the dagger sliding along the ground, precisely piercing the shattered part of the barrier again. The blood-colored barrier instantly dissipated.

"Ah—!" Zhao Kui screamed and knelt on the ground.

The Shadow Devouring Dagger followed upwards, a flash of cold light severing his neck.

Zhao Kui's eyes widened in disbelief before he finally fell lifelessly to the ground, his blood staining the blue bricks.

Cao Mo quickly severed Zhao Kui's head, wrapped it in cloth, and then retrieved the skull jade pendant from his person—this was the mission token.

After doing all this, he glanced at the unconscious guard, did not kill him, and turned to rush out of the side room, disappearing into the night after a few leaps.

It wasn't until half an hour later that the guards in the front yard noticed something was wrong and discovered the gruesome scene in the side room.

The Black Wind Gang's headquarters descended into chaos. Cries and shouts tore through the night sky, but the assassin was long gone.

Inside a general store, Cao Mo placed Zhao Kui's head and the jade pendant on the counter, instructing them to be given to the bounty issuer before leaving.

"Fellow colleagues, I have not failed your expectations! The mission is complete," Cao Mo said to Jing Ke and the others after returning to their base!

Jing Ke stepped forward with a smile and said, "You've worked hard, Brother Cao! Get some rest first."

He then carved the character "Completed" onto the main monument.

The next morning, as Qingzhou City's morning market opened, several rogue cultivators gathered, discussing something in hushed tones.

"Did you hear? Zhao Kui of the Black Wind Gang is dead!" a bearded cultivator said, taking a sip of hot porridge, his voice tinged with excitement.

A cultivator selling inferior pills nearby raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "Zhao Kui? That menace with the scar on his left cheek? He was in the Middle Void Comprehension Stage, who would dare touch him?"

"Who knows? This morning, the Black Wind Gang people were frantically searching for the killer everywhere, saying Zhao Kui was beheaded and died in a side room at their headquarters."

The bearded man clicked his tongue in amazement, "They say he died silently—that method sounds like someone from an assassin organization."

A cultivator in a green shirt put down his chopsticks, "I think it must have been the Misty Rain Tower.

"Hasn't the Black Market been buzzing about it these past few days? They set up a bounty monument, specifically taking on these 'troublesome matters'."

"Misty Rain Tower?" the pill seller stammered, "You mean the Misty Rain Tower that can go toe-to-toe with the Qingyun Sect?"

"Good heavens! Are they trying to become the third-largest assassin organization in the Eastern Region?"

"Perhaps." The bearded man chuckled, "In my opinion, with the Misty Rain Tower emerging, the skies of Qingzhou might change from now on."