Godslayer: The Progenitor of Symbiotes

Seeing the man's actions, Shenli was even more confused. He was clearly a follower of the Church of the Old Gods, so why would he feel admiration for the Night Watchman?

A kind smile appeared on the lips of the man in black beneath his straw hat. "An eye for an eye, a sword for an eye, how about we call it quits?"

Shenli twisted his wrist and glanced sideways at the bright moon on the horizon. "To be honest, your style is even more sophisticated than my boss's, but... I like it very much!!"

A loud whooshing sound rang out as a powerful, divine hand grabbed at the black-clad man's hat!

The man in black leaned back, and at the same time, a grappling hook suddenly flew out from his right arm, embedded itself in the wall in the distance, and abruptly retracted!

The divine power's right tentacle instantly shot out, grabbing at the black-clad man's ankle. "You bastard, you took the bait and now you want to run away?"

With a powerful tug, the black-clad man's pupils contracted sharply, and the grappling hook was forcefully pulled off the wall!

In mid-air, two throwing knives appeared out of thin air in the black-clad man's hands. Two flashes of cold light streaked as the knives flew straight toward the divine power!

A water curtain appeared before the divine power, and the flying knife crashed into the water curtain, unable to advance an inch.

A cold glint flashed in the man's eyes, and a hand grenade appeared in his hand...

"No way, they're going to go all out already?" Shenli whipped his left hand, knocking the grenade from the black-clad man's hand.

The tentacles retracted completely, and the divine power rapidly extended towards the man in black, completely entangling him.

Shenli removed his bamboo hat, revealing a young face of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Both his appearance and hairstyle gave him the air of an ancient swordsman.

"Tsk tsk tsk, buddy, you think you can mess with me with this little bit of strength? So, what's your purpose?"

The man in black knew perfectly well that he could no longer resist. The coldness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by endless composure.

"I can join you, but you have to do me a favor."

"Huh?" Shenli chuckled. "How do you know I'll agree?"

The man in black smiled calmly. "From what I've observed, you must be planning something, right? And it's a dangerous matter, isn't it?"

"So what? You think I wouldn't dare kill you? I don't have my boss's kindness."

The man in black swayed slowly. "Believe me, compared to the Tomahawk Squad on First Street, the value I bring is definitely higher."

“If you follow them, you can only kidnap people one by one, while I can directly win over most of the people on Second Street.”

Shenli thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "The boss of Second Street?"

The man in black nodded calmly.

"Then why did you run away just now? Did you make a fool of me?" Shenli looked at the man in front of him with dissatisfaction.

"If your strength is not as good as mine, then your boss must not be very good either, and I have no need to cooperate with you."

"...The reason is acceptable. Come with me." Shenli released the man in black, jumped off the roof, and picked up the two unconscious men again.

The man in black put his straw hat back on, picked up the fallen grenade, and followed Shenli.

"To be honest, you really startled me just now. The whole thing you did, plus the angle I was at, really made you look like a knight-errant." Shenli, who was walking in front, suddenly spoke.

"Looks like I'm still not cool enough. Next time I'll have to hang a knife on my waist." The man in black's casual voice slowly rang out.

"Come on, if no seated believers return during this time, I'll knock you down with one punch. You don't have the right to scare me." Divine Power waved his hand and said.

"Actually, if you didn't rely on external forces, I could have escaped," the man in black said quietly.

After a moment of silence, Shenli said smugly, "Actually, you're still jealous. Don't worry, as long as your demands aren't excessive, you'll have this ability too."

He led the man in black back to Battle Axe's residence. Battle Axe and the others had not yet returned. Shenli first found two ropes and tied up the two unconscious men.

“Sigh, they’re a bit slow.” Shenli clapped his hands, walked to the table and sat down. “You sit down too, and tell us what you need us to do.”

The man in black removed his straw hat and parted his lips slightly, "Help me get revenge."

"That's not difficult. Tell me, who do you want to kill?" Shenli asked casually, without any pressure.

"Kill [Huang Sha]."

Shenli frowned. "Ah, this still has to be done by my boss, but it's not certain that he can succeed. After all, my boss is only at the 'Pool' Realm now, and can barely fight against someone at the 'Sea' Realm."

The man in black nodded in understanding. "I know. I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have that ability. As long as he agrees, I can wait."

"Alright! I'll go see the boss tomorrow and make sure he agrees." Shenli slammed his hand on the table, full of confidence, but the next second, his face was full of curiosity. "But, it seems like you have a story to tell?"

The man in black smiled and took off a platinum bracelet from his right wrist. "I am a martial artist, and also an orphan. I have never known who my parents are since I was a child."

“After being picked up by my master, I have been practicing martial arts since I can remember. I was very naughty back then. If my master didn’t watch me for a while, I would sneak out to play. Every time I came back, my master would not say anything.”

“Back then I was young and didn’t understand things. My master rarely spoke, so I thought he didn’t like me. Later, when I got older, I asked him why he didn’t hit or scold me. He just said, ‘For a martial artist, the best state of mind is to be free from desires and wants. I’ve taught you what I needed to teach. As for whether you practice it or not, that’s your business.’”

“At first, I was very angry and thought he was just making up an excuse. Until one day, my master came back covered in wounds and blood and gave me the bracelet. He told me that there was a wooden box under his bed and that I should get it and then hide.”

"Finally, before he died, he left me with one sentence: 'It doesn't matter. You must become a great hero in the martial arts world, and... you must be the kind who has no attachments.'"

“I was terrified at the time. After I got the wooden box, I ran away as fast as I could. I don’t know how long I ran, but I know that after it got dark, I was already deep in the mountains.”

"The next day, I opened the box that my master had left me. Inside were two slips of paper and a book containing his life's worth of martial arts insights."

"From one of the notes, I learned the truth about the world, about the 'Night Watch,' and most importantly, about the 'Church of the Ancient Gods.'"

"It turns out that my master and my grandmaster were both owners of forbidden ruins. My grandmaster was killed by the 'Ancient God Church'."

"As for the other note, it contained only two sentences: 'A true hero should be free from desires, resentments, and hatred.' 'Practice martial arts diligently, let go of hatred, and you will become a great hero.'"

"It wasn't until then that I remembered the little things in my life, like how they would cover me with a blanket in the middle of the night and rush to buy me medicine when I was sick."

"So, it's not that he dislikes me; he just knows his fate, which is why he's been doing this on purpose."

His seemingly casual words inexplicably revealed a sense of sadness, much like the man before him in the dim light…

He was just telling a story that didn't belong to him.

Shenli thought for a moment and managed to say, "Xia Ke... a very good name."