Chapter 2

As Luo Li disappeared, not far away, under a slanted window of a brothel, two people quietly watched Luo Li until he vanished into the Lianyou Bookshop.

One of them was a burly man with solid muscles, red hair cascading over his shoulders, and an air of endless savagery, like a fierce beast. This man was the porter who had disappeared on the mountain. He fiercely crushed the wine flask in his hand.

With just that squeeze, the bronze wine flask, which should have been hard as metal, crumbled like tofu, scattering into countless pieces in all directions!

"Secretly giving silver to the little beggar, truly fond of doing good deeds, punishing evil and promoting good, hehe, acting on behalf of heaven? Pah!"

"Why do I hate him so much every time I see him! Why am I so angry!"

The porter roared in anger, like a raging beast. An indescribable bloody aura emanated from him, and the seven or eight parrots and mynah birds hanging in the room trembled in fear!

"That Ma Lahei, if we hadn't blocked his escape route, could he have caught up with Ma Lahei? That Elder Tianli, if we hadn't killed his four major protectors, could he have approached the enemy? That Luo Tianyu, if we hadn't blocked his seven bodyguards, would he have had the time to enumerate his crimes?

"But why, why is he a famous killer in the world, the Heavenly Way Killer, acting on behalf of heaven, while we are nameless soldiers, without any titles, pah!"

Beside him, a beautiful woman smiled at the red-haired giant. This woman had skin as smooth and tender as a newborn baby's, red and white, crystal clear, with a slender and graceful figure that was astonishing. Her waist was not just narrow but also round and smooth, swaying gently like the waist of a beautiful snake. She was the top courtesan of the Cuihong Brothel, Little Qing.

The red-haired giant shouted again, "Why, humph, isn't it because of the master's favor? Without the master's protection, how could he take the lead, acting on behalf of heaven?

"Heavenly Way Killer? Pah, he's just like us, a killer, with blood on his hands, pretending to be cold and noble!"

Little Qing suddenly shook her head and said, "Menglong, you're wrong. He doesn't rely on the master's protection; he relies on his sword!

"Just because his sword is fast, fierce, and venomous! Can you break Ma Lahei's 72 Tan Legs? Ma Lahei's 72 Tan Legs can kick 17 times in an instant, but he was still pierced through the throat by his fast sword.

"Elder Tianli's Iron Shirt, impervious to blades and bullets, your Dragon Transformation couldn't even scratch him, but he still pierced his vital point with his fierce sword, killing him on the spot.

"Luo Tianyu's Soul Chasing Hands, one of the three great poisons in the world, but his venomous sword is even more poisonous! So, you're wrong. He relies on his sword, not the master's protection!"

Menglong's eyes narrowed, revealing a thin slit, even more sinister. He whispered, "Little Qing, by saying this, who are you siding with?

"You know, the Ascension Conference, which takes place every five years, is only three months away. To leave this spiritless land and escape the Longevity Poison, you must gain a chance at the Ascension Conference and then leave this Silver State prison, joining the Seven Kill Sect's main hall and entering the true world of splendor.

"But in the last two sessions, the killers from our Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall performed poorly, so this session, our Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall only has two spots. The master likes him, so he will definitely get one.

"The other spot, both of us have a chance. If we don't kill him, we will have to fight each other to the death! But I don't want to fight you to the death, I really don't!"

Saying this, he showed a tender look and then said decisively, "But I don't want to die! So we have to kill him! Kill him, and we will have two spots!"

Little Qing looked at Menglong, gently picked up her teacup, took a sip, and her gaze remained gentle, as if she were talking about something trivial:

"Then let's kill him!"

It was as if she was talking about squashing an ant.

Menglong took a deep breath, looking at Little Qing. Seeing her determination, all his prepared persuasive words were in vain, and he hesitated, slowly saying:

"Will you really do it? You are his Little Qing, his childhood friend, growing up together, like a pair of lovebirds. It's said that during the Shadow Trial, he saved you three times."

Little Qing smiled and said, "We have grown up, the past is the past. For our survival, we must kill him!"

Menglong looked at her and said, "Why? I don't understand. Why did you choose me, this rash brute, over that childhood friend, the Heavenly Way Killer? It doesn't make sense."

Seeing Menglong's apparent rashness, but knowing it was an act, if he were truly rash, he wouldn't have survived this long.

Little Qing slowly said, "Why? Because I know him too well, my Senior Brother Luo Li! His sword, his foundation, his character, I know them all too well!

"Sometimes, the most terrifying are not your enemies but your family and friends! Knowing too much is not a good thing.

"The reason I gave up on him is mainly because he has no supernatural abilities. I can confirm he has no supernatural abilities at all! No potential!

"Also, he is too fond of doing good deeds, almost daily. It comes from the heart, not an act! But we are killers, I have killed women, children, and the elderly, my heart is black, and we are not the same kind of people! Different paths, different goals!

"Without supernatural abilities and no potential, yet fond of doing good, in the outside world, in the Seven Kill Sect, he won't last long. So I chose you! Only with your cooperation can we survive longer in the Seven Kill Sect."

Menglong laughed and said, "Good! Good! Good! This world is cruel, good people don't get good rewards! We can only survive with a black heart! By the way, are you sure he has no supernatural abilities?"

Little Qing said, "No, absolutely not. I have known him since childhood, and I can confirm he has no supernatural abilities!

"I know everything about him, so I don't see a future for him. I gave up on him, so he is doomed!"

Menglong sighed and said:

"Good, it's better that he has no supernatural abilities, then I can rest easy! Actually, he is a good person and doesn't deserve this fate, but this world is cruel, good people don't get good rewards, so Senior Brother Luo Li, you should just die!

"Let's go, Little Qing, our hearts are black, let's go all the way, let's go to the hall, accept the mission, and send our senior brother to the other side to be a good person!"

The two stood up, opened the entrance to the underground passage, and entered the underground!

On the other side, Luo Li entered the underground passage. The Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall had been operating on Dragonhead Mountain for hundreds of years, and the entire mountain was hollow, with countless passages and hundreds of halls. The walls were inlaid with strange gems, emitting soft light, making everything bright.

Luo Li followed the passage, and every Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall disciple he met bowed respectfully:

"Salute, Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother Luo Li, greetings!"

Luo Li smiled and nodded, and in a few steps, he arrived at a large hall. This hall was located underground and was the core hall of the place.

In the hall, there were about thirty people, all killers who had left the small town. They were all dressed in black, with only their eyes visible.

Seeing Luo Li, they all stood up and bowed, saying, "Salute, Senior Brother!"

The Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, to be precise, was the training camp of the Seven Kill Sect on the Silver State Continent. Every five years, through the Ascension Conference, a few disciples would be selected to join the outer hall of the Seven Kill Sect.

The Silver State Continent had no spiritual energy, making it a spiritless land. Without any spiritual energy, cultivators could only consume their internal spiritual energy, unable to replenish or cultivate, making it a prison and a grave for cultivators.

However, the land contained strange blood energy and produced blood ore, used for forging. Because of this blood energy, many people born on the continent had strange supernatural abilities. Therefore, the Seven Kill Sect established the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall here to absorb people from this land into the outer hall of the sect.

The Seven Kill Sect had a thousand such branches spread across various small worlds, continuously supplying new blood to the outer hall.

In the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, there were four ranks. The first rank was the fledglings, countless young people collected by the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, who underwent various training. Like the little beggars outside, they were deliberately lured here and would eventually be brought here for training.

This training was the most arduous, with an extremely high death rate, sometimes requiring mutual killing, with only one out of ten surviving.

The second rank was the Shadow Killers. After completing the fledgling training, surviving the Longevity Poison, and mastering one of the 18 Seven Kill Techniques, they could become one of the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall's killers. The many senior brothers Luo Li encountered on his way, the black-clothed people in the hall, and most of the killers in the small town were like this.

However, the Shadow Killers were at the bottom of the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, nameless and faceless, needing to constantly risk their lives to assassinate others, accumulating merit, and eventually advancing.

The third rank was the Iron Badge Killers, like Luo Li, Menglong, and Little Qing. There were twelve of them in the entire Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, each with their own name and title, leading various Shadow Killers.

The fourth rank was the Bronze Badge Killers, like the Hall Master of the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, Master Ciyun, the three elders, the fat innkeeper of Yunlai Inn, the fortune-teller at the Daoist temple, and the crippled old man, the training instructor, Chen Cripple. They were the controllers of the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall, the instructors and mentors of the many disciples, all of whom they had trained. Above them were the Silver Badge and Gold Badge Killers, the ranks in the outer hall of the Seven Kill Sect, but here, the Iron Badge Killers were the limit.

Luo Li arrived and sat at the front among the black-clothed Shadow Killers, waiting silently. Soon, Menglong and Little Qing arrived.

Menglong looked at Luo Li and coldly snorted, always treating Luo Li this way. Little Qing walked over, sat beside Luo Li, and gently held his arm, looking like a gentle and affectionate bird, saying:

"Senior Brother, I haven't seen you for days! I missed you so much..."

Her eyes conveyed deep affection, completely different from her earlier demeanor, truly the most ruthless are the beautiful women!

Luo Li smiled and said, "Very good, very good, I have been practicing the Fierce Sword Technique recently..."

Besides them, a disheveled middle-aged man arrived, unkempt, holding a large wine gourd, taking sips from time to time. He was called Wanderer, and like Luo Li and Menglong, he was one of the twelve Iron Badge Killers of the Heaven's Absolute Killing Hall.

At this moment, a bell rang, and four people entered. The leader was the old abbot of Ciqing Temple, Master Ciyun, followed by the fat innkeeper of Yunlai Inn, the fortune-teller at the Daoist temple, and a crippled old man, the training instructor, Chen Cripple.

The four entered the hall, and Luo Li and the others stood up, bowing and saying:

"Salute, Hall Master! Salute, Elders!"

In unison, their voices were loud and clear!

Master Ciyun was not tall, with a commanding presence, always holding a string of crystal-clear prayer beads, continuously chanting sutras. With his continuous chanting, visible light cycled between him and the prayer beads.

His face had a faint smile, and he looked at everyone. Under his gaze, everyone lowered their heads!

This was an intangible pressure. All the disciples present were at the innate realm, while Master Ciyun had reached the innate realm, the ninth level of the Qi Cultivation stage, exuding an unparalleled dignity that made everyone silent, waiting for his orders!

Master Ciyun slowly clasped his hands together, his eyes lowered, like a statue, motionless. The faint smile on his face gradually faded. When he finally lifted his head, it seemed he had made a decision. His expression, devoid of joy or sorrow, took on a cold, blade-like chill, almost making the surrounding air temperature drop sharply.

He slowly said:

"Xinling Marquis, the first day of the tenth month, Black Wind Pass, Little West River, kill!"

The words were not loud, but the killing intent was overwhelming. Instantly, the three elders behind him shouted in unison:

"Kill!"

Then all the disciples below shouted together:

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill, kill, kill!"

The cries of killing shook the heavens, piercing the sky!

After seven kills, this person would surely die!