Chapter 284: A Casual Slaughter, The Unbound Stalker

Chapter 284: A Casual Slaughter, The Unbound Stalker

July 19, 2024

"Their auras are eerie, and they're brimming with murderous intent. I wonder which force sent them here to deal with us?" Lu Qing muttered to himself as he sensed the hidden auras of several individuals heading straight for their courtyard.

He immediately transmitted his voice to his master outside, "Master, there are a few people approaching, and they don't seem friendly."

As soon as he finished transmitting his message, Lu Qing felt a weight on his shoulder and turned to see Xiao Li staring alertly ahead.

"Xiao Li, you sensed it too?"

"Mm, Xiao Li sensed four very strong people heading this way," came Xiao Li's childish voice in Lu Qing's mind.

"Don't worry, stay here and protect Xiao Yan. I'll go take a look," Lu Qing reassured as he gently stroked Xiao Li's slightly fluffed-up fur.

When Lu Qing stepped out, he saw his master and Lin Zhirui standing in the courtyard with grave expressions.

"Lu Qing, Elder Chen just mentioned..." Lin Zhirui was about to ask a question, but when he saw Lu Qing's eyes, he quickly changed his words, "You encountered some issues with your cultivation, didn't you?"

"Yes, during the battle with that bald donkey from Xuankong Mountain today, I was affected by the backlash of his Vajra Dharma Body. My internal organs took some damage. However, it's not a big problem. I've already taken a pill, and as long as I rest and adjust my breath for a night, I should be fine by tomorrow," Lu Qing explained, his face pale and his breath weak.

"Then you'd better get well soon, Lu Qing. Thankfully, you hid it well during the day, and the people from Xuankong Mountain didn't notice anything amiss," Lin Zhirui said with relief.

As his words trailed off, four black figures suddenly appeared, wielding short swords and rushing towards them with incredible speed. Two of them headed straight for Lu Qing, while the other two targeted the old physician.

The speed of these four figures was astonishing. Even Lin Zhirui, who had received a prior warning from the old physician, was shocked.

Based on the auras emanating from these attackers, each of them was far stronger than him. They were at least at the Minor Completion stage of the Innate Realm or above.

More importantly, up until the moment they struck, he hadn't sensed their presence at all.

Even the precious treasure of his sect, which he had refined, hadn't given him any warning.

This was something that had never happened since he refined the treasure.

"Be careful!" Lin Zhirui exclaimed, unable to contain his surprise.

But the next moment, he witnessed an even more shocking scene.

Facing the assault of the two black-clad figures, Lu Qing initially looked startled. However, as they drew closer, his expression suddenly turned resolute.

A long sword had somehow appeared in his hand, and its gleaming blade sent a terrifying killing intent surging towards the two figures.

"Oh no!"

Lu Qing's soul power was exceptionally strong, and the killing intent he unleashed was truly fearsome.

Even though the two black-clad figures were seasoned warriors with unwavering minds, they couldn't help but falter slightly under the onslaught of such intense killing intent.

And in that brief moment of hesitation, Lu Qing's lightning-fast sword strike had already reached them.

Fortunately, the two figures were indeed formidable. Despite their minds being affected, their battle-hardened instincts kicked in, and they managed to raise their short swords to block the sword strike without the need for conscious thought.

Boom! Boom!

The short swords in the hands of the black-clad figures were clearly no ordinary weapons but divine weapons.

Even under Lu Qing's powerful slash, they didn't break immediately.

However, despite blocking the sword strike, the two figures were unable to completely withstand Lu Qing's monstrous strength in that moment of panic.

With just a single collision, they were sent flying like rubber balls, retreating even faster than they had come, crashing through the courtyard wall and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Trying to run?"

Lu Qing's soul perception was incredibly sharp, and he immediately realized that his two sword strikes hadn't inflicted serious harm on the two figures. Instead, they were using this opportunity to retreat and escape.

His eyes narrowed, and without any visible movement, he vanished from his spot, darting straight into the cloud of dust.

The next moment, the sword light flashed again, piercing through the dust without any hindrance.

Two miserable screams rang out, followed by silence.

As the dust settled, Lin Zhirui saw that outside the broken courtyard wall, the two black-clad figures lay on the ground, their heads separated from their bodies, dead beyond any doubt.

Turning back to the courtyard, he saw that at the old physician's feet lay the other two figures, each with a sword wound through their eyebrows, the fatal blow having pierced the brow chakra point.

"Lu Qing, what happened?"

At this moment, Ma Gu and the others rushed out of their rooms, startled by the commotion in the courtyard and the sight of the corpses at the old physician's feet.

"It's nothing. A few rats tried to sneak in for an assassination, but they were taken care of by me and my master," Lu Qing replied calmly.

"Lu Qing explained briefly and then sensed the residual sword aura on the two figures.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "Master, your sword technique has become even more formidable after comprehending the Sacred Pool."

Lin Zhirui nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Earlier, he had been too focused on watching Lu Qing's battle with the two black-clad figures and hadn't paid attention to how the old physician had dealt with the enemies.

He recalled the terrifying sword aura domain that the old physician had displayed on Sacred Mountain earlier and knew that this elder's attainment in the sword path had reached an unfathomable realm.

"The Sacred Pool is indeed profound, allowing one to increase their understanding tremendously. When you, Qing, break through to the Innate Realm in the future, you should also try to comprehend it." The old physician smiled.

"If I have the opportunity, I'd definitely like to witness its power."

Despite having his ability, Lu Qing was still very interested in this extraordinary place that could enhance one's understanding.

As for Lin Zhirui, upon hearing the old physician's words, his heart stirred.

According to the old physician, Lu Qing was still only at the Postnatal Realm. Had he really fought and severely injured Xuankong Mountain's Master Xuannu with Postnatal Realm cultivation during the day?

Lin Zhirui's heart trembled with disbelief.

He found it hard to imagine how Lu Qing had cultivated to possess such formidable strength that could rival the peak of the Innate Realm even while still in the Postnatal Realm.

"Zhirui, do you know who these people are?"

Lu Qing used his knife to lift the black masks off the two corpses in the courtyard, revealing the faces of two middle-aged men.

Although he had already secretly probed their identities and origins with his ability, he still wanted to hear Lin Zhirui's opinion.

Lin Zhirui examined them carefully for a while before shaking his head. "Forgive my ignorance, but I've never seen these people before, and there's no record of them in the dossiers I've read."

He also found it strange. According to reason, since these people were such formidable warriors, each of them at least at the Innate Realm or above, there should have been records about them in the Heaven's Secret Tower.

"If I'm not mistaken, these people should be from the Endless Tower."

At this moment, a voice sounded from outside, and the Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower walked in slowly.

"Master!" Lin Zhirui quickly greeted him.

"Master, do you know who these people are?"

Lu Qing was not surprised by the appearance of the Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower.

After all, their battle had been quite loud, and for someone as powerful as the Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower, it would have been strange if he hadn't noticed.

"I'm sorry for arriving late. Please don't take offense. These people's stealth techniques are indeed formidable. Even I was unable to detect their traces." The Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower apologized, a hint of regret in his voice.

"It's fine. They're just a few insignificant assassins. We could handle them without any trouble." Lu Qing smiled.

"These people are not insignificant."

The Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower condensed a sword aura in his hand and sliced through the chest of one of the corpses, tearing open the clothing to reveal a strange tattoo on the chest.

Seeing this tattoo, he sighed, "As I thought, they're from the Endless Tower. I didn't expect this terrifying organization to still exist."

"Master, what is the Endless Tower? I've never heard of this sect before." Lin Zhirui asked, curious.

"You've never heard of it because this sect disappeared hundreds of years ago.

I thought it had completely perished and ceased to exist, but I didn't expect them to still be hiding in the shadows." The Master of the Heaven's Secret Tower sighed.

"This Endless Tower was a fearsome assassin organization that suddenly appeared four hundred years ago.

However, its rise to power was incredibly rapid, and at its peak, it even surpassed the Seven Kills Tower."

"It was once more powerful than the Seven Kills Tower?" Lin Zhirui was astonished.

After all, the Seven Kills Tower was the most powerful assassin sect in the current world, and its influence was so great that even some of the Zhongzhou sects had to give way to them.

If this so-called Endless Tower could surpass even the Seven Kills Tower, then how powerful must it be?

"Indeed, the Seven Kills Tower has a long history and is an ancient assassin sect. However, when the Endless Tower rose to power, even this ancient assassin sect was outmatched in the art of assassination.

Once, these two assassin sects competed for dominance in the assassin world.

Each side sent ten Innate Realm assassins and ten Postnatal Realm assassins to compete in the art of assassination.

The result was a crushing defeat for the Seven Kills Tower.

Out of twenty matches, the Seven Kills Tower lost seventeen, and fifteen of their disciples died during the competition.

After that competition, the Seven Kills Tower suffered a heavy blow and had to withdraw from the contest for the top position in the assassin world.

From then on, the influence of the Endless Tower continued to grow, reaching its zenith.

"How formidable is the Endless Tower for it to have garnered such a fearful reputation, and yet, why have I never heard of this sect before now?" Lin Zhirui asked, his curiosity piqued.

A complex mix of emotions flashed in the eyes of the Master of Heaven's Secret Tower as he replied, "Because the Endless Tower went too far in their actions."

"This sect acted with extreme madness as they rose to power, accepting any request and carrying out countless cruel deeds, no matter the nature of the commission. After defeating the Seven Kills Tower and claiming the position of the number one assassin sect, their power inflated further, but instead of showing restraint, they became even more unbridled in their ways," the Master continued, his tone grave.

"Their assassination missions became increasingly reckless, and they were willing to take on any request, regardless of moral implications. They even accepted assignments to assassinate infants and didn't hesitate to kill disciples from other sects. To complete their missions, they employed despicable means, even going as far as poisoning an entire city to eliminate a single target, an act that incited the wrath of both heaven and humanity."

The group listened, their hearts pounding with shock and disbelief at the extent of the Endless Tower's atrocities.

Ma Gu couldn't help but interject, "Has the Endless Tower lost their minds? How could the other sects tolerate such outrageous behavior?"

"And so, they met their end," the Master of Heaven's Secret Tower stated solemnly.

"The Endless Tower's indiscriminate and ruthless assassinations branded them as no different from evil demons, and naturally, the other sects could not tolerate their existence. Thus, under the call of the Holy Mountain, all the major sects joined forces to exterminate the Endless Tower. Despite their strength, the Endless Tower stood no chance against the united might of the world. After years of purging and retribution, they were uprooted, their most secretive headquarters raided and destroyed, and all their disciples slaughtered without mercy."

The Master paused, his expression a mix of shock and determination. "To ensure the complete annihilation of this evil sect, the major sects even sealed away all information related to the Endless Tower, intending to bury their legacy in history. We believed that the Endless Tower had been eradicated, but unexpectedly, some remnants have survived, and judging from the situation, they seem to have regained their strength and are rising again."

The Master's gaze fell upon the corpses, his eyes reflecting a mix of astonishment and uncertainty.

"Master, you mentioned that the Endless Tower disappeared hundreds of years ago. How can you be sure that these people are indeed disciples of the Endless Tower?" Lin Zhirui inquired, his curiosity mirroring the complex emotions in the Master's eyes.

The Master pointed to the tattoos on the chests of the corpses, which he had exposed earlier by slicing open their clothing. "This tattoo is the unique mark of the Endless Tower. It is said that this tattoo is also a secret art, imbued with an incredibly potent drug. When an Endless Tower disciple finds themselves in a desperate situation, they can activate this secret art, absorbing the drug within the tattoo. This will temporarily increase their strength by more than tenfold. However, this secret art can only be used once, as the user will inevitably die from exhaustion afterward. Additionally, it takes time to activate, so as long as we interrupt them before they fully absorb the tattoo, there's nothing to worry about."

The group's eyes fell upon the tattoos on the chests of the corpses, finding it hard to imagine that such small markings could augment one's strength so dramatically. Ma Gu and the others felt a sense of relief that Lu Qing and the old physician had defeated these assassins before they could fully utilize their secret technique. The consequences of failing to stop them would have been unimaginable.

"Aside from this tattoo, there's also their concealment technique," the Master of Heaven's Secret Tower continued. "The Endless Tower possesses a core inheritance known as the 'Unbound Stalker.' This inheritance is exceptionally profound when it comes to concealing one's presence. Even a master at the Innate Realm would struggle to detect them. The Endless Tower's disciples were confident that once they chose to hide, no one could find them. And indeed, during the united assault by the major sects in the past, they were initially very difficult to track down. It was only after the Seven Kills Tower invested significant effort into studying and understanding the 'Unbound Stalker' that they became vulnerable and were ultimately eradicated."

The Master paused, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Lu Qing, a hidden meaning in his gaze. Lu Qing, unaware of the unspoken message, pondered for a moment before asking, "Master, in your opinion, who do you think sent these assassins to target us?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end