Chapter 181: Severely Injured and Intel

What?!

The man hiding in the tree was shocked to his core. He never expected someone to suddenly appear beneath his hiding spot and expose his presence so effortlessly. And he hadn't sensed it at all.

The hidden man dared not move a muscle. He wasn't sure if Lu Qing had truly discovered his presence or was merely bluffing. He still held on to a shred of hope, confident in his stealth techniques.

But the next moment, he realized his mistake.

Seeing that his shout hadn't prompted the person in the tree to reveal themselves, Lu Qing knew that whoever it was, had ill intentions. He looked up and saw only lush branches and leaves, like a canopy, obscuring the person's figure.

However, with his spiritual soul power and the divine soul rune framework he had condensed, Lu Qing's sensory abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary martial arts master. Even without Xiao Li's guidance, he could clearly sense where that presence was hiding.

Without hesitation, he picked up a stone the size of a fist that he had casually picked up on the way and, using a hidden weapon technique, hurled it upwards with explosive force.

With Lu Qing's current strength, even an ordinary stone could contain tremendous power when infused with his qi and blood.

Boom!

The stone, accelerated to its limit and imbued with immense force, instantly penetrated and blasted open the tree canopy.

Amidst the shower of falling leaves and broken branches, a figure tumbled down from the tree. He rolled on the ground, stood up, and stood there with trembling arms, his face filled with shock as he stared at Lu Qing.

He was shocked that Lu Qing had truly seen through his tracks, and he was also surprised by Lu Qing's decisiveness in taking action.

Wasn't this young man supposed to be a chivalrous and righteous young hero, according to rumors? Why would he make a deadly move without even verifying his identity?

Recalling the previous moment, the hidden man was still shaken.

Lu Qing's attack had been too sudden and incredibly precise in locating him, leaving him no time to dodge, forcing him to take the brunt of it.

Now, his arms were numb and throbbing with pain. It would take at least a while for him to recover.

"Thankfully, I had put on soft armor earlier. Otherwise, my hands would've been crippled by that one attack." The hidden man felt fortunate and dared not underestimate Lu Qing anymore.

Just a casually thrown ordinary stone had packed a punch comparable to a martial arts master.

The young man before him was definitely not an ordinary Internal Organs Realm warrior! Not to mention, he still couldn't fathom how Lu Qing had detected his presence.

"Finally decided to come down, huh? I thought you'd rather die up there in the tree," Lu Qing said calmly.

The hidden man before him wore plain, old clothes, and his appearance was unremarkable, resembling any young man from the countryside. If he were walking in the village, no one would suspect anything amiss.

However, Lu Qing wasn't concerned about his appearance.

The top assassins of the Seven Kills Tower all mastered the muscle-changing bone-transforming technique, allowing them to easily alter their facial features. If this man was sent by the Seven Kills Tower, his current appearance might not be his true one.

Therefore, Lu Qing immediately activated his ability.

Soon, a dense red light of ability appeared on the young man's body.

[Lin An: One of the Twelve Heavenly Killers of the Seven Kills Tower, codename 'Shadow'.]



[Cultivation: Later stage of the Internal Organs Realm, minor achievement. Proficient in various assassination secrets, especially stealth techniques.]



[Due to the Seven Kills Order issued by the Seven Kills Tower, he seeks to assassinate you to claim a position among the top twelve Heavenly Killers and obtain sect rewards.]



As expected, he was an assassin from the Seven Kills Tower. Lu Qing's eyes turned cold.

Sensing the chill emanating from Lu Qing, the Seven Kills Tower assassin, 'Shadow,' was startled.

But he showed a look of anger instead: "What do you mean by this, sir? I was merely resting on the tree. How have I offended you to deserve such a deadly attack? If I didn't have some skills, I might have been killed by your unprovoked assault."

Facing Shadow's pretended anger, Lu Qing's expression remained unchanged.

He stared at him calmly, "Is that all the backbone a Seven Kills Tower assassin has? Since you dared to come after me, are you prepared to die?"

"Shadow" trembled inwardly.

It had only been a few days since the Seven Kills Order was issued, and Lu Qing, in this remote location, already knew about it!

Where did he get this information from? But he still feigned confusion: "What Seven Kills Tower? Sir, you must have misunderstood. I was just passing by and meant no harm."

However, seeing that he was still pretending, Lu Qing didn't feel like wasting any more words on him.

Chapter: Unknown

Lu Qing stepped forward, the dirt flying from under his feet as he closed the distance to appear before "Shadow." His right hand curled into a fist, he punched the air with a tiger's roar, unleashing a ferocious Tiger Fist that targeted the assassin's chest.

Feeling the formidable might of this punch, "Shadow" was shocked.

Although he didn't know how Lu Qing had become so certain that he was an assassin from the Seven Kills Tower, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.

Lu Qing's fist seemed too powerful, and if he showed any more weakness, he feared he would be beaten to death on the spot.

No longer concerned with his disguise, "Shadow" burst forth with all his qi and blood, and a short sword appeared in his hand, stabbing towards Lu Qing's fist.

As formidable as Lu Qing's fist was, leaving him almost no room to dodge, "Shadow" was not without a counter.

Either Lu Qing was too overconfident or he had forgotten to bring a weapon, for he fought barehanded against a sword.

"Shadow's" short sword was coated with a potent poison; as long as it pierced Lu Qing's fist, even slightly, death would be certain.

Facing "Shadow's" counterattack, Lu Qing remained calm. Just as the sword was about to pierce his fist, he suddenly lowered his shoulder, causing his fist to narrowly avoid the sword's edge.

Then, with a quick flick of his finger, he struck the flat of the sword.

Although it seemed like an effortless tap, the force that landed on "Shadow's" sword was astonishing, causing his already injured arm to tremble uncontrollably, and he almost dropped the short sword due to the numbness.

Seizing this opening, Lu Qing turned his fist into a palm and slapped it onto "Shadow's" chest.

With the explosive force of this powerful palm strike, a loud crack of breaking bones sounded, and "Shadow's" body was sent flying backward until he crashed into a large tree about thirty meters behind him, shaking loose countless leaves before finally coming to a stop.

He lay on the ground, his fate unknown.

One move to defeat the enemy! A top-notch assassin from the Seven Kills Tower, a powerful Internal Organs Realm cultivator, was defeated by Lu Qing in a single move.

However, Lu Qing's face remained expressionless.

Looking at the motionless assassin on the ground, he flipped his hand, and a stone appeared in his palm once more.

With a loud whoosh, Lu Qing threw the stone without hesitation, aiming straight for "Shadow's" head.

Indeed, just as the stone was about to smash his skull, "Shadow," who had intended to take advantage of Lu Qing's relaxed state to launch a sneak attack, suddenly moved, dodging the stone and darting into the forest to flee for his life.

However, before he could escape more than a few meters, the sound of breaking air was heard again.

Boom!

This time, "Shadow" couldn't dodge, and the stone Lu Qing had thrown struck him squarely in the back.

The powerful force caused "Shadow" to be unable to withstand the impact, even with his soft armor, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Amidst the blood, there seemed to be fragments of internal organs.

Thud!

Such a severe injury would be difficult for even an Internal Organs Realm cultivator to bear, and "Shadow's" body fell to the ground like a broken sack, rolling a few times before becoming still.

"Don't play dead. You're wearing armor, so my attack will only incapacitate you, not kill you."

Looking at the motionless "Shadow," Lu Qing took a few steps forward but stopped seven steps away, his expression indifferent as he said, "Get up."

"Shadow" didn't move.

Lu Qing didn't get angry but instead flipped his hand, and a stone appeared in his palm once more.

"Guess, this time, can your head dodge my stone?"

"Cough, cough! You're really cautious, even at a time like this, you're still so careful," "Shadow" said, facing Lu Qing's death threat.

He knew that continuing the pretense was futile.

With a bitter smile, he struggled to his feet and half-sat, half-leaned against a large tree, his face full of dismay as he looked at Lu Qing.

"Although I don't like the Seven Kills Tower, I have to admit that you guys are quite something. If one is careless, it's easy to be caught off guard and plotted against by you guys."

Lu Qing looked at the badly injured "Shadow" and still did not approach him.

"You're really something, so young yet so powerful. No wonder the latest Hidden Dragon Ranking placed you 29th by the Tianji Pavilion."

"Shadow" looked at Lu Qing as if he were looking at a monster.

Previously, when he had seen the Hidden Dragon Ranking, he, like others, had thought that Lu Qing had made it onto the list because of his unprecedented martial arts talent.

But now he knew that while Lu Qing's martial arts talent was indeed terrifying, his combat talent was even more so.

That fist earlier was truly astonishing; even a martial arts master proficient in fist and foot techniques might not be able to match it.

A martial artist in the initial stage of the Internal Organs Realm, yet his fist technique was comparable to that of a master.

Such an unbelievable thing actually existed.

"Shadow" felt that his martial arts beliefs were about to be shattered.

More importantly, aside from his terrifying martial arts talent, Lu Qing's thoughts were also exceptionally meticulous.

Time and again, "Shadow" tried to lure him out and expose a weakness, but to no avail. He was even more difficult to deal with than a centenarian veteran of the martial world.

Could this really be just a teenager in his teens?

This thought suddenly flashed through "Shadow's" mind.

"Enough nonsense. I won't kill you now, do you know why?" Lu Qing asked, unmoved by "Shadow's" flattery.

"So, you must want something from me." "Shadow" smiled bitterly.

"That's right." Lu Qing nodded. It was easier to deal with smart people. "I don't have many demands. Just tell me the locations of the Seven Kills Tower's bases, and I might let you die a painless death and leave your body intact."

"You want to know the locations of our Seven Kills Tower bases?" "Shadow's" eyes widened, and then he seemed to realize something, his face twisting with disbelief. "You don't plan to take revenge on us after finding out our locations, do you?"

Lu Qing didn't answer, but his calm expression gave "Shadow" his answer.

"Hahaha... So, it's true that the young know no fear. Ignorance is bliss, and the young are always hot-blooded, daring to even think of taking on our Seven Kills Tower!" "Shadow" laughed.

"So, will you give me the locations or not?" Lu Qing asked.

"Give? Of course, I'll give them to you!" "Shadow" sneered. "How could I not let you when you're asking for death? I just wonder if you really have the guts to actually go and mess with our Seven Kills Tower!"

"Don't try to provoke me. Whether I go or not is my business. Anyway, you won't be around to see it." Lu Qing replied indifferently.

He made no attempt to hide his intention to kill "Shadow."

"Shadow" could naturally sense Lu Qing's killing intent, but he no longer cared.

The stone that Lu Qing had smashed into his back had already shattered his internal organs.

He was now gravely injured and only barely clinging to life due to the strong vitality of an Internal Organs Realm warrior.

Unless he could find some legendary healing elixir, even if Lu Qing let him go, he wouldn't survive for more than a few days.

"Good! You've got guts!" "Shadow" praised.

"It's always been us from the Seven Kills Tower assassinating others. This is the first time I've seen someone daring to provoke us. Lu Qing, just based on your courage, your place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking is well-deserved!"

Lu Qing: ...

He realized that people in this world seemed to take the Hidden Dragon Ranking very seriously.

No wonder the list seemed to have the function of gathering luck when it was so highly regarded by all martial artists.

Since he had agreed, "Shadow" was quite straightforward and immediately recited a series of place names.

Lu Qing silently memorized them, and "Shadow" finally believed that this young man wasn't bluffing. He truly intended to take revenge on the Seven Kills Tower.

A sense of excitement filled "Shadow" as he looked forward to seeing how this young monster would clash with the sect.

As a killer who had taken countless lives, "Shadow" felt no sense of belonging to the Seven Kills Tower.

He had been captured by the Seven Kills Tower at a young age and subjected to cruel assassin training, enduring untold torture.

For such a cold-blooded organization, he only felt hatred and not an ounce of gratitude.

However, precisely because he had grown up in the Seven Kills Tower, he understood its terror.

So, even though he despised and hated it, he couldn't bring himself to rebel against it.

Now, seeing someone daring to take on this behemoth, even though he knew the odds were slim, he still felt thrilled.

With these thoughts in mind, "Shadow" continued, "Lu Qing, the Seven Kills Tower bases I mentioned earlier are actually just minor ones. Even if they're destroyed, the Seven Kills Tower won't care at all.

But there's one place. If you can destroy it, the Seven Kills Tower will definitely suffer heavy losses and go crazy with grief!"

After saying this, "Shadow" revealed another location and also explained in detail the various mechanisms and defenses of that place.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end