Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 413
Chapter 628 My Rules
Entering the stronghold, he saw a vast hall inside. It was extremely simple. The only thing in this hall was an elder resting with his eyes closed.
When Long Chen entered, the elder’s eyes popped open. His eyes were extremely turbid, making him look exactly like an ordinary, mortal elder.
“Sorry to disturb you,” said Long Chen lightly as he appraised the surroundings.
“Long Chen? Hehe, interesting. You’re on the kill list, but you actually dared to come here. Youngsters these days really are brazen,” praised the elder.
“There’s no way around that, as my character is just like that. But the world is always changing. For example, the position of hunter and prey often changes, don’t you think?” asked Long Chen.
This person was definitely an assassin. Although this person had completely reserved his aura, Long Chen’s sharp spiritual perception could still sense endless resentment on his body. That was the resentment left behind by the people he had killed. Now that it had been absorbed by his aura, it was something that would never wash away.
“Oh? This theory of yours truly does exist. But it doesn’t hold water with my Bloodkill Hall. Prey should just hide as best as they can, doing anything they can to dodge the arrow of the hunter. Once the hunter finally gives up, the prey will also regain its freedom. But if a prey walks into the hunter’s room, that’s not in accordance with the rules. Even if the prey manages to bite one hunter to death, it will simply bring on more hunters, and then it won’t have the slightest chance of surviving,” said the elder.
Obviously, he was extremely familiar with who Long Chen was. He had already escaped from bronze, silver, and gold rank assassins. Then he would only have to endure one more wave of violet gold assassins before, in accordance with the Bloodkill Hall’s regulations, the mission to kill him would be marked as a failure.
Once a mission failed, the Bloodkill Hall would never create a new mission to kill that target. That was why he was warning Long Chen. If Long Chen didn’t act according to the Bloodkill Hall’s rules, then no matter what today’s result was, Long Chen would forever have to face this world’s most terrifying assassins until he died.
“Rules? Those are just things the strong force upon the weak. As for the experts, they are both the players and the referees. This kind of game is too senseless, and I don’t like it.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Oh? Then what do you want?”
“I like to play according to my own rules.” Long Chen shrugged.
“Your rules?”
“My rules are: if someone doesn’t offend me, I won’t offend them. If a person offends me, I’ll endure for a bit, and then if they continue, I’ll pull them up by the roots!” Long Chen seemed extremely relaxed as if he was just talking about a game. There wasn’t the slightest graveness to his voice.
But Long Chen already viewed the Bloodkill Hall as enemies. They had already come after him several times, and he was done with this senseless game.
As for him saying that he would ‘endure for a bit’, that was really just nonsense. Other than enduring a bit toward pretty women, it seemed he never exercised any forbearance.
“Pull them up by the roots? Hahaha…!”
The elder laughed heartily as if he had heard the world’s funniest joke. Tears even squeezed out of his eyes.
Long Chen didn’t say anything. He simply stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, a smile on his face as he waited.
After getting tired of laughing, the elder finally said, “Do you know just how laughable your words are? Do you know how enormous the Bloodkill Hall is? Let alone you, even your Xuantian Dao Sect’s patriarch doesn’t have the qualifications to say that he will uproot the entire Bloodkill Hall. Do you want to continue making jokes?”
Long Chen shook his head. “I don’t know how enormous the Bloodkill Hall is, and I also don’t know who the Xuantian Dao Sect’s patriarch is. But I know that your Bloodkill Hall has tried to assassinate me. So you are my enemies, and what I do to my enemies is always the same. As for whether or not my words today are a joke or the truth, you’ll never have a chance to find out. Perhaps in the nine springs you’ll eventually hear the news that your Bloodkill Hall was destroyed. At that time, I hope you can also laugh so heartily.”
“According to the Bloodkill Hall’s rules, I can’t attack you right now. But since you’ve provoked my Bloodkill Hall’s dignity, it goes without saying that I can only kill you here. After killing you, I will confess my repentance to the Killing God.”
After saying that, the elder suddenly disappeared. A dagger pierced straight toward Long Chen’s back, coming incredibly quickly.
Long Chen sneered. He raised a lightning-covered hand.
Just as Long Chen’s hand was about to reach the dagger, the space in front of Long Chen twisted, and the elder appeared in front of him, a dripping dagger stabbing toward his chest.
This was an extremely exquisite diversionary tactic. When the elder had first disappeared, that strange dagger had come from behind him. At this time, anyone would think the elder had appeared between them and would turn.
But as soon as you did that, you would have fallen into a deathtrap, as the elder had merely used an illusory art to make himself temporarily vanish. As for the attack, it was just his Spiritual Strength controlling a dagger. In other words, before Long Chen had even arrived, that dagger had already been set up behind him.
“What a routine.”
Long Chen sneered. The instant the elder’s spiritual energy had activated, he had sensed it. Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength was a hundred times greater than the elder’s. How could he possibly be fooled?
He blocked the dagger behind him with one hand, and then he ignored the dagger in the elder’s hand, instead smashing his fist at his chest.
This fist relied on nothing more than brute strength. But if the elder was struck by it, his body would immediately explode.
However, before that fist reached the elder, his dagger would pierce into Long Chen’s body.
The dagger had countless barbs on it, and the liquid dripping off it was obviously poison.
If Long Chen was struck, then it was possible for the poison to instantly take his life. But then, the elder would also be unable to dodge Long Chen’s punch. Both parties would die.
And yet, despite having lived for so many years, this elder clearly didn’t want to die yet. Stamping on the ground, he was like a phantom, rapidly retreating, dodging Long Chen’s punch.
His body suddenly shook, and he turned into figures that surrounded Long Chen. Those eight figures were incredibly fast, and their afterimages made it look like Long Chen was surrounded by hundreds of people.
Suddenly, one figure shot at Long Chen’s side, but Long Chen’s fist blocked his attack.
“A simple smokescreen. As expected, without preparing beforehand, you assassins are just a bunch of idiots. You actually call yourselves heavenly emissaries of the Killing God? The only thing you know how to do is reap people’s lives in the dark. But in an open fight, your only fate is to die.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Bastard, you dare blaspheme the Killing God?! Die!”
BOOM!
The elder had previously only used a Meridian Opening cultivation base to fight Long Chen. But now, he was truly infuriated, and he fully released the power of a Xiantian expert.
“I’ll let you experience what is true assassination-!
PFFT!
Suddenly, a lightning spear pierced through the elder’s chest. A large hole was left behind by it, and endless thunderforce instantly numbed his nerves.
“Sorry, I tend to be a bit impatient. Rather than listening to your chatter, I’ll borrow your head for a moment.”
Long Chen was actually quite interested in these assassins. But he wouldn’t let go of a chance to kill them.
When it came to killing arts, it was Long Chen who knew the most efficient methods. He was s
omeone who had killed his way out of a mountain of corpses.
As soon as that elder had released his aura and begun preparing to use a powerful technique, he had left himself open for a single breath. As a result, Long Chen hadn’t let that opportunity escape him, and he had killed him with a single blow.
Long Chen pointed his finger at the elder’s head, and his vast Spiritual Strength surged out.
“Soulsearch.”
Long Chen used the most barbarous method to break the elder’s spiritual defenses and examine his memories.
“A spiritual seal!” Long Chen was startled.
BANG!
The elder’s head exploded, and Long Chen hastily circulated his spiritual qi to block the blood from splashing on him.
The instant the elder died, a dozen black-robed experts appeared in the hall. Each of them held a black crossbow in their hands, and a flurry of arrows rained down on Long Chen.
Those crossbows were strangely powerful and fast as lightning. At such a close distance, and with Long Chen being distracted by the elder’s head exploding, it could be said that this attack was truly perfect.
It went without saying that these assassins’ arrows would all be poisoned. Being struck by this many arrows would definitely be difficult to bear.
“Lightning Shield.” Endless thunderforce surged out of Long Chen’s arms, forming a large barrier.
The arrows all exploded on impact. In front of his thunderforce, these arrows were useless.
“Even in broad daylight, you like to wear black and hide your faces. That really must be miserable for you. Fine, I’ll send you to the other world. I hear that it’s always dark there, and you won’t have to suffer so much during the day.”
BOOM!
Long Chen detonated his lightning shield, and this stronghold was blown to pieces. As for the assassins, they had been prepared, but they were still sent flying, vomiting blood.
“Brothers, they’ve finally come!”
Gu Yang was the first to charge forward, his eyes scarlet. His spear smashed toward those assassins.
Chapter 629 As Many Come, As Many I’ll Kill
Powerful qi waves erupted. Over a dozen figures were blown out of the stronghold, but cold light suddenly flashed, instantly killing them.
Yue Zifeng: “I got eight.”
Gu Yang: “I got seven.”
Song Mingyuan: “I got two.”
Li Qi: “What the fuck, you guys are too fast! I still didn’t get one! Can’t you leave one for me?”
Li Qi was irritated. It was twice now that his prey had been taken from him. These brothers of his really were brutes, not giving him the slightest face.
“It’s fine, don’t you have me to accompany you?” Guo Ran stood calmly to the side.
These assassins had been instantly killed. They were a bit surprised, because they really had been too weak.
“Boss, what’s going on? It’s a bit different from expected,” said Guo Ran curiously. Originally, they had thought this would be a nest of assassins, and that there would be a bloody battle today. But this had been too easy.
Long Chen sighed, “Looks like my expectations were wrong. This is just a place for them to hand out missions. The high level assassins probably don’t stay here. These assassins here are all just silver rank assassins.”
“What? But wasn’t that old man a Xiantian expert? How could he only be a silver rank assassin?” asked Gu Yang.
“Their ranks have nothing to do with cultivation base. It is only determined by their assassination arts. If their assassination abilities are lacking, then even a Sea Expansion expert would still just be at the silver rank.
“Furthermore, the higher their ranking is, then each time their cultivation base advances, there must be an equivalent increase in their assassination ability. If there isn’t, then they’re essentially discarded. That old man should probably be someone like that, and so he had no choice but to be some random worker here.
“Because of the Bloodkill Hall’s rules, assassins won’t attack those with lower cultivation bases than them. And so this old man was most likely washed out. As for the others, I’d guess it’s about the same. Although their cultivation bases were also in the Meridian Opening realm, they were much weaker than the silver rank assassins I ran into last time. This time, it really was a miscalculation. Our strike ended up landing on nothing but weaklings,” sighed Long Chen.
“If it’s like this, then assassins aren’t as hard to deal with as I thought,” said Li Qi. Previously, he had been worried.
“You’re wrong. They are killers in the dark. As assassins, they don’t face their opponents head-on. That’s why if they fail to kill you in an instant, they will flee. Although their true combat strength is much weaker than yours, if they take advantage of when you’re off-guard, then any of you, other than Yue Zifeng, might easily be killed. They specialize in concealing themselves, and when combined with their assassination arts, most people would find it impossible to defend. Don’t look down on any assassin, because any of you could lose your lives,” warned Long Chen.
Their hearts shook. It was true: assassins did not face their enemies head-on. It was their skillful killing techniques that were the most difficult to deal with.
“Why did you say Yue Zifeng was an exception?”
“Because he’s a sword cultivator, and his spiritual perception far surpasses others. Sword cultivators are the most difficult targets for assassins. Not only will the assassin be easily sensed, but a sword cultivator’s weapon also never leaves their side. They’re also the fastest attackers of all cultivators. So none of you can beat him in that regard,” said Long Chen.
“Fine, I admit I can’t beat him. His attack speed really is monstrous,” sighed Gu Yang.
This large movement drew the attention of all of Chaos City. Experts from both paths were watching from a distance. Seeing this, they all sucked in a cold gasp of air.
Long Chen had actually attacked the Bloodkill Hall’s stronghold. Was that a declaration of war against the Bloodkill Hall? How was that any different from asking to be killed?
The Bloodkill Hall had existed for countless years. Although they were all a bunch of shameful fellows, there was no one who questioned their strength. Even the Corrupt path would never incite any disputes with them when they cooperated.
These silent, shadowless fellows were just too terrifying. They were like reapers who had come out of hell. They might appear by your side at any moment to reap your life.
The Righteous path had waged war against the Bloodkill Hall several times in history. But their gains were very limited. The public strongholds of the Bloodkill Hall were not their important bases. The destruction of those strongholds didn’t affect them at all.
However, that kind of conduct did infuriate the Bloodkill Hall. It was said that a few thousand years ago, the large sects that had participated in attacking the Bloodkill Hall had all had their elite disciples assassinated in just a single night.
That matter had shaken the entire cultivation world. The Righteous path had been completely infuriated, but the Bloodkill Hall had released word that anyone who dared target them would never be able to sleep peacefully again.
Those large sects were all extremely powerful with profound foundations. They had countless experts, but they were unable to do anything to the Bloodkill Hall.
After all, no one knew where their headquarters were. No matter how much power they had, there was nowhere to release it. As for those assassins, they would tirelessly kill their elite disciples, and there was no way to defend against them.
The large sects stamped with fury, but there was nothing they could do. They could only give in and silently accept this fact. From then on, no one dared to cause any trouble for the Bloodkill Hall. The ones who the Bloodkill Hall set their sights on could only cry about their bad luck.
By destroying this stronghold, Long Chen had done something no one had dared do for the last few millennia. He had
once more provoked the Bloodkill Hall, and he was just in the Meridian Opening realm.
“This time, the entire cultivation world is going to be shaken.”
People couldn’t help sighing. Long Chen was really too brazen. Perhaps even the Xuantian Dao Sect wouldn’t be able to help him now. He would have to meet the crazy assassins of the Bloodkill Hall.
Most importantly, the Xuantian Dao Sect wouldn’t even dare try to protect him, because if they did, the Bloodkill Hall would send assassins against their other disciples as well. That was something the Dao Sect did not want to see.
There was no one who could remain guarded forever. Being entangled with the Bloodkill Hall’s assassins was incredibly troublesome. So even the Xuantian Dao Sect wouldn’t want to provoke those madmen.
“Boss, should we leave now?” asked Gu Yang.
“Wait a moment. There are still some secrets here.”
Long Chen examined the rubble and suddenly stamped his foot on the ground. The earth flew up, revealing the entrance to an underground room.
The entrance had only just appeared, and the dust had yet to scatter, when countless lights shot at Long Chen. They came so suddenly that Gu Yang and the others couldn’t even react.
Long Chen’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t even bat an eye. With a single punch, he released a powerful qi wave that blew those lights back into the passageway.
Miserable screams rang out from the underground room. There had actually been people hiding down here. Long Chen walked in and saw it was very spacious. There was a square, three-hundred-meter altar.
Atop the altar was a statue of a red-haired man with a pair of red wings. His eyes seemed to icily look at Long Chen. Although it was just a statue, it seemed to have its own life. Long Chen felt like there really was someone staring at him.
“You are their Killing God?”
Long Chen examined the statue. The Bloodkill Hall believed in a Killing God, and so they had built this statue here so they could worship him at any time.