Asura Mad Emperor

With matters concluded here, Qinchuan didn't linger and first found Li Zhi alone to give him a few instructions.

Although the competition was not officially over, Qinchuan knew it had essentially ended; the Eldest Prince of the Taiyuan Ancient Country would no longer be able to leave the Heavenly Demon Forest.

The imperial families of Tianyuan and Taiyuan were willing to wait here, so let them wait. Qinchuan, however, had no spare time to accompany them in wasting time at this place.

After bidding farewell to everyone, including Li Zhi and Li Gong, Qinchuan rushed back alone to the Qin Residence in Tianqing City.

The competition was supposed to last three days, but Qinchuan's round trip took only two days. Zhou Xi, who had gone to pick up Qin Xiaoyu, had not yet returned, leaving the entire mansion deserted, without a single person in sight.

Qinchuan didn't delay at all.

He immediately found a secluded secret room in the mansion.

Next, he set up a super Spirit Gathering Array and a Great Formation that could completely isolate external aura around the secret room.

Now lacking materials, the two formations he laid out were not on par with the formations he had set up in the past, but they were sufficient for his current needs.

The Awakening Pill · Marrow was ready, and he couldn't wait a moment longer to break through.

Breaking through the Innate Body was of the utmost importance, so Qinchuan naturally took great care not to allow even the slightest accident to occur.

Once everything was properly prepared, he stepped into the secret room and began his closed-door cultivation.

…

The outskirts of Tianqing City.

An old man and a youth approached from the east, gliding through the sky.

The old man's aura was amiable and gentle. His movement technique was unpredictable as his figure shifted and blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment as if he were part of nature. If one didn't observe intentionally, they might overlook his presence.

The young man had a sullen but handsome face and exuded a sharp aura. His entire being seemed like a finely-honed sword, radiating a daunting and solemn killing intent that could make one's heart tremble from a distance.

"We've finally arrived at Tianqing City."

Gazing at the towering city walls of Tianqing City, hidden within the forest, the youth let out a long sigh and spoke somberly.

"The Young Hall Master really, out of all tasks, tasked me with coming to this Tianqing City to kill a Meridian Opening Realm nobody."

Dissatisfaction was evident in the youth's eyes as he shook his head and continued, "Tianqing City is the weakest among the four Ancient Kingdoms, and some stronger sects dare to defecate on their necks."

"What kind of formidable people can come from such a place? Not only that, but the Young Hall Master also instructed me to kill a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, truly dull."

Named Leng Yi, this young man was an assassin from Shadow Hall, whose realm had reached the peak of the Nine Layers of the Spirit Martial Realm, just one step away from entering the Dao Palace Realm.

As professional assassins operating in the shadows, members of Shadow Hall were used to dealing out lethal strikes to their enemies, often exceeding their own realm in combat. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

He had once killed a cultivator at the first layer of the Dao Palace Realm while he was still at the Nine Layers of the Spirit Martial Realm.

His ability to slay cultivators with martial arts, countering Divine Skills with the power of Mysterious Techniques, was indeed astonishing.

After the story of his assassination of the Dao Palace Realm expert spread, his reputation soared within the Shadow Hall. He was personally taken as a disciple by the leader of the Shadow Hall and given the title Leng Yi, a great honor indeed.

Leng Yi was very proud. He considered himself well-versed in the art of assassination, and felt that targeting those of the same realm would no longer enhance his mastery of the Dao.

Therefore, he often kept an eye on the strong figures in the Dao Palace Realm on the ranking lists, aiming to assassinate another Dao Palace Realm expert to refine his martial arts.

However, to his surprise, the Young Hall Master had recently given him a mission to come to Tianqing City and assassinate a Meridian Opening Realm Cultivator named Qinchuan.

He was quite dissatisfied with this. A Meridian Opening Realm martial artist could easily be handled by just any outer sect disciple; having him, a cultivator at the Nine Layers of the Spirit Martial Realm, come for this was like using a cleaver to kill a chicken.

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Not only that, accompanying him was a Shadow Hall elder in the Great Saint Intermediate Stage—Mo Ying.

This made it even harder for him to understand.

Mo Ying, aware of what was on Leng Yi's mind, said indifferently, "Yi'er, what is the first rule of our sect that I had you memorize when you first joined? Do you still remember it?"

Leng Yi was stunned for a moment, and after a while, he answered with shame, "Disciple remembers. Never underestimate the target."

After speaking, Leng Yi underwent a subtle change in demeanor, retracting the disdain that had shown earlier and his sharpness became much more restrained.

Mo Ying nodded imperceptibly and said, "There are always higher heavens above this one, and people beyond people. Even an eagle at full strength will hunt a rabbit—We must never take a much weaker enemy lightly!

Although Qinchuan only possesses the strength of the Meridian Opening Realm, according to Young Hall Master Leng's report, he is accompanied by Ye Xuanji, the youngest saint of recent years. For Ye Xuanji to willingly become his protector, Qinchuan must have some extraordinary abilities.

At that time, you must not be distracted or careless, and you must aim to kill with one strike."

Leng Yi, still harboring resentment and dissatisfaction, nevertheless nodded and responded with a yes.

Originally.

Initially, when Leng Dao and Yuan Qingtian caused a commotion in Exquisite Pavilion, Qinchuan outsmarted and trapped Yuan Qingtian, leading to his death, and Leng Dao escaped amidst the chaos.

After fleeing back to the Shadow Hall, Leng Dao exaggerated the incident and laid all the blame for Yuan Qingtian's death on Qinchuan and Ye Xuanji.

For over half a year, the Shadow Hall had not acted rashly, partly due to Ye Xuanji and partly because Qinchuan seemed to be close with the Eldest Prince.

Before fully understanding Qinchuan's background, the head of Shadow Hall did not want to start conflict again; after all, Yuan Qingtian was not an elder of the Shadow Hall. He simply wanted to use the name of Shadow Hall to seize the treasures of the Exquisite Pavilion.

But just as the master of Shadow Hall was planning to put the matter aside for later, he received a commission from a mysterious person.

The commission from this mysterious person was to kill Qinchuan, and the price offered was so high that it was irresistible.

Even when he first saw the commission's price, he doubted whether the other party had made a mistake.

After confirming it time and again, he realized that there had been no mistake.

"Right, before we set out, the Hall Master gave me a brocade pouch, instructing me to open it only after we arrived at Tianqing City."

"Now that we are nearing Tianqing City, we can open it to see what it says."

The elder seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke up.

As he spoke, he moved his hand, and a luxurious brocade pouch appeared in his palm.

Leng Yi's face showed a curious expression and he murmured, "What is the Hall Master playing at? Assassinating a mere Meridian Opening Realm Cultivator, why all this solemnity? Even if we are not to underestimate him, such caution seems as if we are afraid of him."

While he was speaking, Mo Ying had already opened the brocade pouch and swept over the soul stone inside with his Divine Sense.

The next moment, after seeing the record within the soul stone, his entire demeanor changed dramatically.

...

On a road near Tianqing City.

Two dazzling figures were speeding along on their spirit beasts.

The girl in white was as cold as snow, usually silent and unexpressive, while the girl in red was lively and adorable, full of enthusiasm, asking questions nonstop as they traveled, although the girl in white patiently answered them.

These two were none other than Zhou Xi and Qin Xiaoyu.

Finally nearing Tianqing City, and thinking of soon seeing her beloved brother, Qin Xiaoyu could not contain her excitement. The mount below her seemed to sense her owner's agitated state as well, quickening its pace a bit more.

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