Said With a Smile (Part 1)
In mere years, he racked up a double-digit kill count of underground lords. Had he wanted to eradicate the two-hundred-odd of them, it wasn’t beyond him. While others had to consider the consequences of killing one of the League of Assassins’ primary chiefs, the young man was among the three who could let loose without sizing them up. In fact, the more assassins they killed, the more it benefited them.
Master Ku lowered his head, then shook it. “This one does not recognise him or know where he is.”
The young man smiled it off as though he wasn’t expecting anything and then sauntered off, muttering, “Yeah? Dang. This city isn’t big but isn’t exactly small, either. I’ll never finish searching every corner of this place on my own. I need to find a trusty navigator…” Having gone far off, he suddenly looked back and added, “By the way, please let your boss know that I haven’t met my quota, so I’ll be collecting from your headquarters soon. Please tell him to set up some formations, or it’ll be dull.”
Master Ku responded with a palm-fist salute. “… This one is grateful for your magnanimity.”
An assassin inquired, “Who is he? He sounds awfully stuck up.”
“He is the top agent of Emperor’s Entourage and one of The Ultimate Three. His imperial alias is Tianhu.”
The most prestigious title one could be conferred as a martial artist was Supreme Ten Saints. Following them, the patriarchs and matriarchs of sects in the martial world had bragging rights, but many recluse, retired and old patriarchs-slash-matriarchs would be forgotten. It would’ve been even harder to remember all of them if the adepts of the imperial court were considered part of the martial world. When it came to competence, nevertheless, The Ultimate Three were the undisputed champions. A simplistic way of viewing it would be, the Supreme Ten Saints had the power to polish and spread their name, while The Ultimate Three had the power to turn the pugilistic world on its head.
During his time assigned at Nanjiang’s border, Tianhu singlehandedly kept the twelve Sacred Beasts in check without even trying – a feat that not even Martial Paragon could achieve in his prime.
“I don’t know why he’s shown up here; however, he’s spared us. In accordance with the stipulations of the pugilistic world, we are disqualified from involving ourselves in the matter. Our mission was to protect Miss Ming, but she modified the commission. We accept one commission per payment. We have killed the beast, so we have fulfilled the contract.”
“Should we not notify Miss Ming, then? It would be the morally right thing to do.” From their perspective, Ming Feizhen could use any help he could get.
“Your emotions have clouded your judgement. Have you forgotten our rules?” Master Ku scolded the assassin with his gaze, pretty much scaring him enough to buckle at the knee. “The hardest contract to fulfil is called favours. You cannot owe too many favours or too few. There are things you can help with and ones you shouldn’t. This ends here today. We are even. If you help them once, they will have to return the favour once. You are an assassin. How do you know that they won’t be your target one day?”
Not one word contained a shred of emotion.
“… But our client… Did you not say he has to be your…”
Master Ku peered in the direction Tianhu went. “What does a clash between gods have to do with you?”
None of them understood the remark. Nonetheless, they followed Master Ku along their designated escape route.
Nobody noticed Black Feathers Shuyu’s corpse gradually withering, and the “thing” snooping around in the shadows having a party in his mental plane. His sinister energy had increased by so many folds that the meridians Ming Feizhen ruined were showing signs of activity again. If his progress was linear, Gewu wouldn’t need years; all he needed at the moment was an advanced internal discipline to reconstruct his frayed meridians, and he’d recover within two years as well as gain strength surpassing his previous seventy years of work.
If he was so inclined, Gewu could give elites a run for his money with his current physical prowess alone. If he had the luxury of time, he would’ve loved to kill a few assassins for the giggles and his comeback ceremony. From his perspective, Master Ku’s group didn’t spare him. He spared them. His body was now durable enough to benefit from feeding on anything. All that said, there was an order for everything.
Ming Feizhen. Ming Feizhen!
Gewu’s golden eyes illuminated the path in front of him.
***
The “victory” smoke signal finally spread across the sky on the fourth day. The outcome was decided the moment the mutated beasts weakened drastically for some unexplained reason. Vice-General Beussent helped enact the blueprint Martial Paragon left behind for Xiuyu’s general to follow prior to taking off to tackle Wazi. Having fought alongside Nanjiang’s King and learnt from Feng Xue, it was easy for Beussent to carry out the instructions.
By the time he returned to the frontlines, Beussent had the results of the divide and conquer strategy to show. Those who surrendered were taken captive to circumvent meaningless bloodshed.
Luo Clan’s elites toppled the one-thousand-odd troops lying in ambush deep within Nieyao City, with Feng Jian taking their general’s head.
The imperial court’s forces slew over six thousand enemies, in addition to capturing over three thousand, on their way to a resounding and bloody victory.
Glossary
Imperial alias – In case it’s not clear, it’s an alias an Emperor confers.
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