Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 209 Assassination

"Hehe... Ever since I broke through, I've been looking for an opportunity to vent... I didn't expect you guys to deliver yourselves to my doorstep!"

At this moment, Han Yi was at his most depressed. He was fleeing in a mess during the avalanche and had lost his way when he stumbled upon the Shadow Assassin Pavilion's stronghold, which immediately cheered him up.

"Wait, hold on!" Han Yi seemed to have thought of something and carefully observed the martial artists coming and going below.

These past few days, he's felt his luck has been bad; even a casual shout could trigger an avalanche. Now that he's on someone else's turf, he naturally has to be careful.

"It seems their strength is a bit weak..." After a long while, a look of suspicion appeared in Han Yi's eyes. The martial artists moving back and forth in this stronghold were all tall and burly, with fierce faces, and they frequently carried hidden weapons, daggers, and machetes, but...

However, looking around, these people all had values ​​of around 20, 30, or 40, which meant that their strength was at most at the Bone Refining or Blood Refining stage.

Han Yi himself, even empty-handed, has a value of '110~134'!

However, Han Yi quickly came to his senses.

Masters of martial arts with the ability to open meridians are not as common as cabbages!

There is a world of difference between a martial artist and a martial arts master. If a Blood Refining Martial Artist is the backbone of a sect, then a martial arts master is at least a high-ranking elder or even the sect leader!

At that level, it's not something that can be handled simply; one must comprehensively consider the person's status, interpersonal relationships, and so on...

“Shadowbreaker Pavilion, the stronghold of Anyan City. Others fear the power behind you, but I…” His eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

Actually, the Shadow Assassin Pavilion's stronghold wasn't exactly a secret in Anyan City. In fact, when Han Yi asked Bai Sanren to help him find out about the Shadow Assassin Pavilion last time, Bai Sanren also told Han Yi the location of the stronghold. But at that time, Han Yi was too weak to do anything about it.

The Shadow Assassin Pavilion can openly accept assassination missions without anyone daring to interfere, for two reasons.

First, the Shadow Assassins Pavilion claims to be a neutral force, indifferent to good and evil, and does not participate in any gang wars. As long as money is paid and a price is paid, they can be hired. Therefore, most local forces turn a blind eye to them, knowing that they might need these money-grubbing assassins someday.

Secondly, and most importantly, each of Shadow Assassins' strongholds is guarded by numerous experts. Moreover, each location doesn't just have one stronghold; Shadow Assassins is a vast force spread throughout the cities of Da Xuan. If it's discovered that a certain stronghold has been destroyed, someone will likely come knocking the very next day, searching for clues. If they find the person who came to provoke them, they will be swiftly and decisively eliminated!

Of course, this all depends on finding the perpetrator!

So, as long as we kill everyone... or don't let others recognize our identities, everything will be solved!

Han Yi had long been annoyed by this sneaky, scheming assassin organization. Since he had encountered them today, he might as well deal with them. It would also be a good opportunity to truly test the combat power of a Meridian Opening Martial Master!

With this in mind, Han Yi no longer hesitated. He silently circulated his internal energy and blood, and began to use the "Transformation Technique".

Crackling!

The muscles on his face twitched, and his bones and joints shifted, transforming him into a completely different person.

He then swiftly pulled a large black cloak from his back bag, covering his entire body, and donned a black judge's mask with a fierce appearance, protruding fangs, and eyebrows like flames…

So, Han Yi turned around again, the black-faced judge, to punish evil and promote good, and returned to the world!

Whoosh!

He leaped into the air, without using any of his vital energy, relying solely on gravity to descend. He first used his left foot to step on the boulder for leverage, then turned around and landed lightly in front of the doorway.

'Sure enough, after opening my meridians, my physical abilities improved, and even without using any martial arts, I can now do things that were impossible before.'

This gave Han Yi a deeper understanding of the overall strength of a Meridian Opening Martial Master.

However, although his moves were flashy, the passing men in black only glanced at him twice before hurrying away and paying him no further attention.

After all, people who go to the Shadow Assassin Pavilion's stronghold in broad daylight are either there to commission assassination missions or to carry out assassinations; in short, there isn't a single kind person there. So, don't stare at others for no reason. If something like "What are you looking at?" or "What's it to you?" actually happens, you'll really become the butt of jokes.

Han Yi wore a mask, revealing only a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes. His black clothes were incredibly dark, and he carried a huge iron sword on his back. The sword was jet black and shiny, exuding a chilling aura, making him seem unfathomable. He walked leisurely into the cave where the Shadow Fiend Pavilion's stronghold was located with his hands behind his back.

Before him lay a long, dark corridor, with brass lamps hanging on the walls on either side. The dim yellow light flickered in the air, illuminating the passage ahead. The faint light cast a long, slender shadow on him.

He walked all the way to the end, and soon a spacious underground hall came into view.

The hall was pleasantly warm and comfortable, with braziers and charcoal stoves in the four corners, burning bright red and emitting warm, cozy heat.

At this moment, several masked individuals, concealing their identities, were conversing quietly behind the counter in the hall. Upon seeing Han Yi enter, the people behind the stone counter glanced up at him, then ignored him. It was rare for someone to show their true face directly to those who came to the Shadow Fiend Pavilion, as they were all masked and concealing their identities.

Han Yi walked to an empty counter, where a man in black was twirling a dagger in his hand, looking at the object in his hand with a bored expression, seemingly reading a book.

His attire was no different from Han Yi's; he was also dressed in black and wearing a mask. The only difference was that there was a blood-red circle embroidered on his sleeve, resembling a pupil.

Seeing Han Yi approach, the twirling fingers stopped abruptly. He looked up and said lazily, "What brings you here, sir? Do you wish to issue an assassination order, accept a mission, or buy information?"

Shadow Assassins' underworld business involves almost everything: assassination, bounties, intelligence gathering, but their main business is, of course, assassination.

Han Yi tugged at his mask and coughed lightly: "I'm new here, may I introduce myself?" "Assassination, you can understand it literally. Tell us who the target is, we'll assess them, and if we can handle it, we'll quote a price, pay a deposit first, and then pay the rest of the reward after it's done!"

Of course, if customers want to do some part-time work and earn some extra money, they can also apply to join us and take on some bounty jobs. If the success rate is high and the number of jobs is high, they can apply to become a full member. After being assessed by a specialist, they will become one of our own…

As for intelligence, hehe, here, all information has a price, divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each level has a different price. If you're buying 'Heaven' level intelligence, then naturally everything will be detailed, but as for the money..."

The man in black spoke in a young voice. He seemed to have seen many newcomers like Han Yi before, and gave a detailed introduction, making Han Yi a little embarrassed to carry out his planned scheme.

"Haha, you don't need to worry about money, but I've heard that your Shadow Assassin Pavilion is the most professional in assassination. I have a big deal coming up, and I wonder if your Shadow Assassin Pavilion can handle it!" Han Yi laughed wildly, like an evil villain.

"Ha, you flatter us, sir. There's nothing we can't do, only things you can't say!"

"Please speak, sir!"

The young man in black said confidently.

"No, no, this matter is of utmost importance. Summon your hall master immediately; I must discuss this with him!"

Han Yi shook his head and said solemnly.

The young man in black scrutinized Han Yi for a few moments, then hesitated and said, "The hall master has a bad temper. If we disturb him with something so trivial, I'm afraid..."

"The person killed by so-and-so was a martial arts master who had reached the Meridian Opening stage..."

Han Yi hesitated for a moment, glanced around a few times, and whispered.

"Please wait a moment, sir. It is indeed beyond my authority to decide on a target at the Martial Master level. I will go and report this matter to the Hall Master immediately!" As soon as Han Yi finished speaking, a hint of surprise appeared in the black-clad youth's eyes, and he quickly turned around and walked towards the back hall.

For this stronghold, most of the missions they usually take on are for Blood Refining Warriors and Meridian Opening Warriors, which is indeed a very big business!

Maybe after this deal, I'll be able to meet my annual sales target!

The young man in black opened the iron door behind the counter and hurried along, thinking smugly to himself that for those of them in charge of internal affairs, there was only one way to live comfortably within the organization…

That means abandoning your conscience, regardless of gender, age, or innocence, to take more orders, make more money, and kill more people!

Soon, he came to Han Yi again, followed by a man in black.

"Lord Leng Wuchang, this is the person who requested that the target be a martial artist who has opened the meridians..." The young man in black whispered a few words in the man's ear before retreating.

At this moment, a middle-aged man of about forty years old emerged from the darkness. He had long, black, flowing hair, slightly pale skin, a thin face, and narrow eyes. He appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged man with a somewhat sickly appearance. However, the whites of his eyes were a strange blood-red color, just like the blood-red pupils embroidered on his sleeves.

"You want to assassinate a martial arts master?" Leng Wuchang walked up to Han Yi and spoke calmly.

This person is only about 1.7 meters tall, which is a huge difference compared to Han Yi's height of about 1.9 meters.

But he remained calm and didn't take Han Yi seriously at all.

Moreover, he didn't cover his face at all, clearly showing that he was very confident in his abilities.

"I have an enemy who once killed my family. He has now become a martial arts master. I wonder if you dare to take on his task?"

Han Yi feigned deep resentment and shouted angrily. "Heh, a mere martial artist, nothing to brag about... The number of martial artists who have died by my hand is no less than five fingers..." Leng Wuchang said calmly and indifferently.

And he clearly had the right to be arrogant. In Han Yi's view, Leng Wuchang's combat power had reached '108~125', only slightly weaker than Han Yi at present!

“However, guests should know that the target is a Blood Refining stage martial artist, which requires at least a hundred taels of silver. But if it is a Meridian Opening stage martial artist…” Leng Wuchang smiled slightly: “To deal with a Meridian Opening stage martial artist, it is not as simple as just killing them. We must take into account their status, interpersonal relationships, and most importantly, the aftermath!”

"Aftermath?"

Han Yi keenly noticed a word.

"A martial arts master is rarely alone; they often have external support from sects, relatives, friends, disciples, and so on..."

"As for our Shadow Assassin Pavilion, if we accept a mission involving a martial artist, after a successful assassination, in order to protect the safety of the person who issued the mission, we must eliminate all their connections!"

Leng Wuchang was unimpressed, his tone as indifferent as if he were simply killing fish and slaughtering chickens.

Han Yi felt a chill run down his spine. Bai Sanren had previously told him that the Shadow Assassin Pavilion was an extremely demonic and evil organization.

Just now, when he first entered the cave, he didn't have that feeling. He only felt it was similar to the Martial Alliance, a platform that organized martial artists to complete missions. Now it seems that what Bai Sanren said was really true...

He remained expressionless, feigning disbelief, and said, "Whether what you say is true or false is still unknown. A martial arts family has at least several hundred people. How could it be possible to eliminate them all!"

“This is easy. It could be poison or a trap. Last time, I did it all by myself…” Leng Wu laughed maniacally, picking up where he left off. But then he stopped, his expression turning unfriendly as he said, “Guest, there’s no need for you to probe further. We have our own ways of dealing with martial artists. If you don’t believe me, you are welcome to leave!”

"Haha, just curious, Hall Master Leng, there's no need to be so sensitive." Han Yi chuckled, brushing it off, and continued, "If the target is a martial arts master, regarding the price..."

"There's no fixed price for dealing with a Martial Master; it depends on their strength, background, and connections..." Leng Wuchang sneered, "However, the starting price for a Meridian Opening Martial Master is at least one hundred taels of gold!"

One hundred taels of gold!

One tael of gold is worth ten taels of silver; a hundred taels of gold is worth a thousand taels of silver!

The price for a Blood Refining Warrior is only one hundred taels of silver, but for a Martial Master, it is more than ten times that!

Han Yi was shocked by the price. He only had a few hundred taels of silver in total. In fact, his most valuable possession was his martial arts master status!

"So, we don't know who the guest's target is, where they are located, or what their background is," Leng Wuchang asked Han Yi. "We need to consider the price based on the characteristics of the target."

"Hmm..." Han Yi pondered for a moment before speaking, "Hall Master Leng, have you ever heard of Li Chengfeng?"

“Li Chengfeng?” Leng Wuchang chewed on the name repeatedly, lost in thought.