"The Heavenly Court Organization was founded by the first Lord of the Heavenly Court, a peerless Quasi-Emperor."
The gaunt old man spoke leisurely. "But although a Quasi-Emperor bears the word 'Emperor' in his title, he ultimately cannot compare to a true Ancient Great Emperor."
"So compared to those Extreme Dao Holy Lands, our Heavenly Court lacks a certain depth of heritage. We have neither an Emperor Weapon nor Emperor Scriptures."
"From the outset, our Heavenly Court's assassins stand a head below the core disciples of those Extreme Dao Holy Lands. Their foundations are insufficient..."
As he spoke, the old man looked at Feng Jiu as though he were a monster. "Merely by studying Quasi-Emperor Scriptures, you have brought forth the new from the old, surpassed every assassin who came before you, and entered the Divine Forbidden Domain time and again..."
"It is hard to imagine how terrifying you would be if you had been born into one of those Ultimate Dao powers and studied Emperor Scriptures."
"Young man, do you harbor any dissatisfaction?"
The old man asked gently.
At his words, Feng Jiu's gaze wandered. He wondered whether eighty or a hundred assassins were hiding nearby, waiting for him to voice a single complaint before the old man smashed a cup as their signal and they swarmed him, hacking him into eight hundred pieces.
"My loyalty to the Heavenly Court is unwavering! Heaven itself can bear witness!"
Feng Jiu straightened his back.
-Loyalty!
"Very good."
The old man smiled and offered him the golden sheet in his hand. "Although our Heavenly Court's scriptures are somewhat lacking and cannot forge the deepest foundations for you, there is naturally a reason we can strike terror into every holy land in the world."
"You may already know that our Heavenly Court possesses the supreme Secret Technique representing the pinnacle of speed in the world..."
"It is none other than one of the famed Nine Secrets... Nine Secrets: Xing!"
"Of all the divine abilities under heaven, speed alone cannot be overcome."
"No matter what supreme heavenly art or Ultimate Dao scripture you possess... if you cannot hit your opponent, it is meaningless."
"With this, even when facing those Extreme Dao Holy Lands, our Heavenly Court stands as their equal, yielding no ground-the uncrowned king!"
The old man's expression turned solemn. Towering killing intent swept outward, seeming to shroud everything around him in a deathly gray gloom, as though it had all been "killed"!
This was a Saint... a Saint among assassins!
"Your talent has earned my recognition."
The old man looked at Feng Jiu. "Normally, the Heavenly Court follows a strict order of succession. Its most essential Secret Technique is passed down only to the Divine Son and Divine Maiden... unless you reach the realm of Saints."
"But your brilliance is astonishing. Though you possess only a Mortal Body, you dazzle past and present alike and have entered the Divine Prohibition Domain. I have decided to make an exception and grant you access to the inheritance of Nine Secrets: Xing."
"Only a portion, of course."
Feng Jiu raised an eyebrow at this, then accepted the golden page. He examined and studied it carefully, comparing it with the footwork the Heavenly Court had taught its assassins in the past, and countless insights sprang into his mind.
In a haze, his understanding of speed surged forward, as though he were about to stand upon a more transcendent plane.
But when he reached the end of the golden page, it abruptly cut off, leaving him stranded halfway up with nowhere to go. He felt like coughing up blood.
"The Secret Technique is incomplete." He sighed.
"Indeed," the old man said calmly. "The complete Nine Secrets: Xing comprises nine Dao diagrams that seize the wonders of heaven and earth. The first Lord of the Heavenly Court was already a Saint when he obtained it, yet even he could not fully decipher it. Only after consuming an Immortal Divine Medicine and contemplating it over two lifetimes did he reach its pinnacle and set foot in the divine domain of time."
"What I have given you is only the first Dao diagram... although it is merely one ninth of the whole, fully comprehending it will be enough to transform your speed. No one below the Saint realm will be able to match you."
The old man smiled and asked, "Do you want the later sections?"
"Then go and kill. Kill until heaven and earth are overturned..." His laughter grew louder. "The first Lord of the Heavenly Court's lifelong regret was that he never attained the Dao..."
"But the era you were born into is a Golden Age..."
"If you can slaughter every prodigy and outstanding talent of this era, perhaps you can become an Emperor through killing and fulfill the wish of all our past patriarchs!"
"King Body prodigies like that Candidate Saint Son of the Yaoguang Holy Land this time."
"Kill one, and I will give you one Dao diagram."
"Kill two, and I will give you two Dao diagrams."
"Four, and you get three."
"Eight, and you get four."
"And so on."
The old man's eyes blazed like torches, terrifying and intimidating.
"Kill to the very end. Pave your path with the blood and bones of countless prodigies, hone the coldest killing intent, and crown yourself king of assassins!"
At that moment, Feng Jiu fell silent, grumbling inwardly.
With this way of killing... these quotas...
No wonder everyone across the Eastern Wasteland wants them beaten down...
Normally, even a single Eight Prohibitions prodigy is a holy land's lifeblood. Who wouldn't go mad when their roots were severed?
But then Feng Jiu recalled all the rumors about the Heavenly Court, Hell, and Human World-collecting the bones of kings, skinning Saints... and felt it was only to be expected.
On the Emperor Road, there is no right or wrong, only your death or mine...
But if I kill like this instead of winning people over with virtue... can I still become the Heavenly Emperor someday?
The youth felt faintly troubled, but ultimately accepted the assignment the old Killing Saint gave him.
In all seriousness, given the combat strength he had demonstrated, this was hardly difficult.
As long as they could not likewise enter the Divine Forbidden Domain, even King Bodies at the Eight Prohibitions level could be kicked to death like dogs by the roadside!
He also had this era to thank. Countless special physiques were emerging-there were simply too many.
Perhaps physiques such as the Sacred Body, Innate Dao Embryo, Lunar Body, and Sun Body-the finest in the universe-might not produce even a single bearer throughout the entire Golden Age.
But lesser physiques that merely made up the numbers, such as Divine Bodies, were plentiful. Several people with the same physique might even be born on the same planet in the same era.
Ultimately, the so-called full mastery of such physiques amounted to nothing more than becoming a king who had severed the Dao. Beyond that, the physique ceased to be an aid and became a shackle, unfit to take its place upon the universe's grand stage!
Only by breaking those shackles and achieving ultimate sublimation would they become worth watching.
Slaughtering those lesser physiques to adorn the coming Golden Age with a vivid splash of blood, Feng Jiu trod upon the bones of outstanding talents, bringing bloody rain and a reeking wind as he left his unmistakable mark upon this world.
At last, he stood before the Heavenly Court's innermost hall and received the complete inheritance of Nine Secrets: Xing, imprinting its profound truths of speed upon himself.
"Lay down the butcher's blade, and become a Buddha on the spot."
He murmured these words and set down the Killing Sword in his hand, seeking to wash away all worldly adornment and clear his body and mind as he set out to sever the Dao.
"You want an outside posting, overseeing a local contact station?" An elder of the Heavenly Court Organization nodded. "Certainly. How about Saint City?"
"Good!"
Feng Jiu set out, carrying with him the Heavenly Court's many anecdotes and curious tales, intending to begin a quiet life in the years ahead.
He cleansed himself of killing intent and focused on his path of cultivation. From time to time, red hair sprouted over his body, solely so he could invoke Reflection of his former peak state, bring the Divine Prohibition upon himself, and examine his own cultivation path.
What kind of Dao should I sever?
Then one day, a frail young man stepped into the hall and offered a reward that would astound the world, all to have one person killed.
"I want you to kill someone!"