Shadow Pavilion

Lu Feng, on the other hand, poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

"Good wine!"

"Is it good? I want some too."

"No, children shouldn't drink alcohol."

"What do you mean, 'little kid'? How am I little?!"

Lu Shuang straightened her chest.

Lu Feng glanced at it subconsciously—indeed, it wasn't small.

Then, he quietly poured Lu Shuang a glass.

Lu Shuang noticed his gaze, her cheeks flushed red, and then she steeled herself, tilted her head back, and downed the drink in one gulp.

"Cough cough... This wine is too strong, it doesn't taste good at all, the food is much better!"

After saying that, she lowered her head, buried herself in her food, and refused to look up again.

After a satisfying meal, Lu Feng returned to his room, number two in the "Heavenly" section.

at the same time.

Inside the restaurant's kitchen, dozens of people were gathered in hushed tones, plotting something.

"Boss! Why didn't you let me poison the man and woman's food just now?"

"That person offered three hundred Low-Grade Origin Crystal right off the bat; he's clearly a fat sheep!"

A man with a pointed face and monkey-like features was the first to shout; he was the waiter who had served Lu Feng and his companion earlier.

At this moment, he no longer resembled a waiter at all; he was behaving like a notorious bandit.

The others looked at the shopkeeper, their faces also full of confusion.

In the past, when encountering such generous out-of-town customers, the solution was always to drug them, kill them, and rob them without anyone noticing.

The shopkeeper glanced at the crowd and said calmly:

Do you know what level of cultivation those two possess?

"Cultivation level? Boss, do you mean...?"

"That's right. It's normal that you, with your only Nei Jin cultivation, can't sense the opponent's true strength."

"But even though I've reached the Hua Jin Perfection, I still can't discern their true cultivation levels!"

"Think about it, someone who's so generous, could their cultivation level be low?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The amount of sleeping potion they had was enough to deal with martial artists who possessed Nei Jin or Hua Jin.

But if you encounter Grandmaster or higher-level expert, poisoning them is nothing short of child's play.

If they are discovered again, none of these dozens of people will survive.

"Then... what should we do? Just let them go like this?" the waiter muttered unwillingly.

"How could I possibly let go of a piece of meat that's already in my mouth!"

Upon hearing the shopkeeper's words, the flames of greed were rekindled in everyone's eyes.

"Boss, what do you mean?"

The shopkeeper didn't answer, but instead turned to look at a scantily clad woman with seductive eyes standing beside him.

"Sanniang, immediately contact the Shadow Pavilion and offer 100,000 Low-Grade Origin Crystal to hire a high-ranking silver-level assassin!"

"Boss, isn't it a bit too much to ask for top-tier silver-ranked assassins?"

Upon hearing that it cost so much money, the woman gasped in pain.

"A top-tier silver-ranked assassin? Those are the kind of people who can kill Great Grandmaster. We don't need to waste our money on that!"

"What do you know!" the shopkeeper scoffed.

"When you entered the shop just now, did you see the sword that woman was carrying on her back?"

"I see it, is there a problem?"

Everyone looked bewildered.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a Spirit Artifact."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Even the lowest grade of Low-Grade Spirit Artifact is worth a million Low-Grade Origin Crystal!

"If we weren't of a lower rank, we wouldn't be able to hire a top-tier assassin... Hmph."

"Here are 100,000 Low-Grade Origin Crystal. Go and return quickly!"

"Yes!"

The woman called Sanniang took the Origin Crystal, climbed out the window, and her figure quickly disappeared into the night.

Early the next morning,

Lu Shuang slowly opened her eyes, feeling an indescribable sense of ease and comfort throughout her body.

"What time did I fall asleep last night? I have absolutely no recollection of it?"

She tried hard to recall what happened last night, but all she remembered was sitting across from Lu Feng drinking and eating. After that, her mind went blank.

How is that possible?

She is now Grandmaster. Even when she was at the Hua Jin, it would have been impossible for her to lose consciousness after drinking just a couple of cups of wine.

What's more... she couldn't remember the last time she had a peaceful night's sleep.

"Could it be... because of him?"

Lu Shuang's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

"Knock knock knock."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

"It's me, Lu Feng." A familiar voice came from outside the door.

"They're here!"

Lu Shuang hurriedly got up, straightened her clothes, and then fiddled with the stray hairs at her temples in front of the bronze mirror before opening the door.

"Miss Lu, would you like to stroll around Cloud Water City a little longer before you leave?"

"No, let's set off immediately."

Afterwards, the two paid their bill, left the restaurant, and continued heading south.

Shortly after the two left, several furtive figures quietly followed them.

Not long after they took off, Lu Shuang's expression suddenly darkened.

"There's a group of people following us."

"I know." Lu Feng replied without turning his head.

"Pretend you haven't noticed, and keep flying."

Half an hour later, above a dense forest.

A black figure blocked their path.

"Someone is paying to have you killed."

The man in black, with a hoarse voice, launched his attack before Lu Feng and the other man could speak.

He activated his True Essence, his figure transforming into a streak of black lightning, and charged straight at her with a long sword in hand!

"Great Grandmaster Perfection, be careful!"

Lu Shuang spoke up to remind Lu Feng from behind, but there was no trace of worry on her face.

Although the person before her was Great Grandmaster Perfection of his cultivation, she herself was absolutely confident that she could kill him, let alone Lu Feng.

Faced with this devastating blow, Lu Feng stood rooted to the spot, motionless.

The man in black was overjoyed at the sight; the other party hadn't even had time to react. This deal was far too easy.

"Zheng--!"

A soft sound.

The man in black's pupils constricted sharply. He had been certain of a strike, and he clearly felt his sword hit the target! Why had the person before him vanished without a trace?

"Ah!"

Just then, the man in black felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He lowered his head with difficulty, and a Sword Qi pierced through his chest.

[Congratulations, host, on successfully defeating Great Grandmaster! You have obtained 10,000 Low-Grade Origin Crystal.]

Seeing this, Lu Shuang's eyes also flashed with surprise.

She knew that Lu Feng could kill this person with ease, but she never expected it to be in this way.

Just as the sword was about to strike, Lu Feng vanished into thin air and reappeared behind the man in black, thrusting his sword forward.

The speed was so fast that even she couldn't see clearly how Lu Feng did it.

"Leave the rest to me."

Lu Shuang glanced at something not far away, turned to Lu Feng and said something, then flashed away into the depths of the dense forest.

A moment later, she returned carrying a person and casually tossed him in front of Lu Feng. It was the same manager from the restaurant the night before.

"The rest of them are all dealt with. Leave one alive, see if we can get anything useful out of him."

"I... I..."

The shopkeeper's face turned ashen, and he was about to beg for mercy.

"Laugh."

A flash of sword light, and a head fell to the ground.

"How could you just kill someone like that?!" Lu Shuang said irritably.

"I just feel it's a waste of time."

Lu Feng shrugged, then squatted down and began searching through the body of the man in black.

After searching for a long time, I couldn't find the storage bag. As an assassin, when you go out to kill someone, you naturally won't carry any valuables.

In the end, he only managed to pull out a silver token from the other party's pocket.

The front of the token is engraved with the character "silver"; the back is engraved with the character "".

"It's an assassin from the Shadow Pavilion." Lu Shuang stared at the token and spoke in a deep voice.

"Shadow Pavilion? Never heard of it. Is it an assassin organization?"

Lu Shuang nodded and explained:

"The Shadow Pavilion is the largest assassin organization in the Great Qian Dynasty. Its assassins are divided into three ranks: Gold, Silver, and Bronze, and each rank is further subdivided into upper, middle, and lower ranks."

"Bronze-level assassins are all below the Grandmaster level; they can only accept jobs assassinating those below the Grandmaster."

"Silver-ranked assassins are at least Grandmaster level. As for gold-ranked assassins... I don't know much about them, I only know that a gold-ranked assassin once successfully assassinated Celestial Person Realm expert!"

"But don't worry, the rules of the Shadow Pavilion are that if the client pays, they only take action once, and regardless of success or failure, they will never pursue the matter further."

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng frowned slightly.

How could the Great Qian Dynasty tolerate the open existence of such a massive and terrifying assassin organization?

Lu Shuang seemed to sense his doubt and continued:

"Although the Shadow Pavilion makes a living by killing, there is an unwritten rule: they kill both humans and demons. As long as you can afford the price, you can even hire them to hunt down specific demonic beasts."

"The Great Qian Dynasty is plagued by demonic scourges, and the imperial court is unable to eradicate them on its own. In many places, it still has to rely on the Shadow Pavilion for help. Therefore, it has tacitly allowed its existence."

Lu Feng nodded upon hearing this.

Let's go.

The two then continued south.

Along the way, Lu Feng flew and fought, slaying demons as he encountered them.

As night fell, they would find a nearby town to rest and recuperate before continuing their journey the next day.