Chapter 54. You must be having a good dream.

Hugong had not slept from the beginning.

He himself did not know why.

He vaguely guessed it was because of the hexagonal net or the Lingyao grass.

He lowered his head as if in submission purely for efficiency.

It wasn't that he couldn't fight back.

However, it was necessary to prevent the situation from dragging on and to avoid missing any opportunities.

He needed to assess the number of enemies.

If one or two were dealt with first and the rest took Songhua or one of the Tiankong Sect members as hostages, things would get complicated.

"Half an hour. When it's a full hour, the sleep will wear off."

The blue-robed assassin whispered softly, waking everyone up.

The other assassins nodded.

Judging from the state of the Tiankong Sect members, it was highly likely they would recover before a full hour. Cutting the lifeline wouldn't take more than a second, but it was time to act now.

"Still, there should be an order, right?"

The black-robed assassin smiled and looked around the Tiankong Sect members.

It meant they should watch the young master, whom the Tiankong Sect had tried to protect, die.

The black-robed assassin then took a step forward.

He approached and clicked his tongue at the sight of the young master, who had lowered his head.

"Tsk tsk, you've had a tough life. Why did you awaken unnecessarily? If you had just taken your own life, you wouldn't have come to this. Now, your arms and legs will go to the Tianhua Archive, your head to the Galaxy Battlefield, and your torso will be thrown into the mountains to feed the beasts."

Hugong also clicked his tongue inwardly.

'You've had a tough life too.'

Out of all the lives, why did you become an assassin,

and why did you happen to meet me?

Since you're meeting your end today.

The black-robed assassin gripped his sword.

At that moment, Hugong sent a mental message.

- Wait. I'll kill him.

The mental message was redirected.

The aura circled back and was delivered to the black-robed assassin from the rear.

The black-robed assassin turned around and looked at his companions.

Annoyance flashed in his eyes.

"Does it matter who kills him?"

"……?"

The four assassins' faces were filled with confusion.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"All of a sudden?"

The black-robed assassin laughed.

"How ridiculous. You just sent a mental message saying you'd kill him instead of me, and now you're pretending?"

"Mental message?"

"Right. Who is it?"

One of us sent a mental message?

The four assassins looked at each other suspiciously before turning their gaze back to the black-robed assassin.

At that moment,

Swish!

A streak of sword light sliced from the left to the right side of the black-robed assassin's neck.

The black-robed assassin's head separated from his body and floated up.

'……?'

Despite seeing it, the four assassins were too shocked to believe it. The unexpectedness made the scene seem to slow down before their eyes.

The severed head of the black-robed assassin spun in the air.

Due to the speed of the cut, it took a moment for the black-robed assassin to realize his head had been severed.

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened wide.

With half of his vocal cords still attached to his torso, no sound came out.

Blood gushed from the neck of his torso.

In that instant, the remaining four assassins were so stunned that their minds went blank.

Taking advantage of this moment, Hugong lunged at the white-robed assassin on the far right.

The white-robed assassin reacted immediately.

It seemed the "special grade" wasn't just a title.

Despite his body being frozen in shock, it moved instinctively.

The sword strike was already close.

Faced with the imminent threat of being bisected, he quickly shifted his stance.

As a result,

"Kraaaah!"

The white-robed assassin's left arm was severed.

His torso was spared from being split.

But it was cut almost to his shoulder.

He writhed in pain, spraying blood, and fell backward.

His severed arm flew toward Miaobingbing.

Feeling something in her hand, Miaobingbing, still half-asleep, thought, 'The pillow has come. Did they warm it? It's warm,' and placed the assassin's arm on her head.

The Golden Mark and the Anti-Demon Trio, along with the Wushan Duo, who had been waiting for death, were stunned by the sudden turn of events. Seeing Miaobingbing, they were even more surprised.

But the remaining three assassins had no time to marvel at their comrade's arm being used as a pillow.

The sword strike of the Tianhua Archive's young master, who had dealt with two of them in an instant, was already heading their way.

First, the yellow-robed assassin.

Facing the sword strike that seemed to split his head, the yellow-robed assassin drew his sword in a flash to block it.

With extensive training and combat experience, he was already thinking of his next move. After blocking the sword, he would step to the left and sweep the young master's side.

Even if the young master dodged, his two comrades would have the opportunity to attack.

That was his calculation.

But it was a delusion.

The moment the swords clashed,

Swoosh.

The yellow-robed assassin's long sword, imbued with inner strength, was sliced like paper.

The yellow-robed assassin's eyes widened.

'Divine sword?'

His shock was brief, as his head split like a melon.

It took only a single breath to deal with the three special-grade assassins. But the remaining two had enough time to react.

The blue-robed assassin shifted his stance and lunged at the fallen Songhua.

There was no reason to take the difficult path when an easy one was available.

The essence of a scholar steeped in propriety and law would not change.

The weakness of a well-intentioned person is clear.

Even a maid would be a valuable hostage.

The red-robed assassin launched a hidden weapon to support him.

It was both a direct threat and a way to buy time for the blue-robed assassin to grab the maid.

"Good move!"

Hugong praised and raised his sword to deflect the hidden weapon.

Clang, clang, clang!

Five hidden weapons were deflected in three directions.

The technique to counter hidden weapons, one of the Seventy-Two Segments of the Fenjie Sword Technique, was deployed.

The basic principle of Fenjie (纷节) is to disrupt and confuse the flow.

Three of the deflected hidden weapons headed toward the blue-robed assassin, one toward the red-robed assassin, and the last one toward the white-robed assassin, whose shoulder had been cut and was writhing on the ground.

It was a good move.

Thanks to the timely launch of the hidden weapons, Hugong could attack in three directions at once.

The blue-robed assassin, who had intended to grab Songhua, hastily retreated to avoid the more intense hidden weapons.

But the red-robed assassin, who had launched the hidden weapons, couldn't avoid them due to the close distance and the unexpectedness.

"Kraaah."

The writhing white-robed assassin stopped moving. A hidden weapon pierced his forehead, severing his life.

'What is this composure and ease?'

The pupils of the blue-robed and red-robed assassins shrank.

Their hearts pounded with fear.

Terrified, they accepted the reality.

The vague premonition that the Tiankong Sect might not be the problem had unfortunately come true. The young master was not someone they could handle, with or without the Tiankong Sect, whether he was awakened or not.

Swish, swish, swish!

The two assassins launched all their hidden weapons.

They didn't make the same mistake.

If Hugong deflected them, the speed of the hidden weapons would increase several times and return to them.

So, the hidden weapons were aimed at the fallen Golden Mark, the Anti-Demon Trio, and the Wushan Duo.

All aimed at vital points.

No matter how skilled the young master was, he couldn't deflect all the hidden weapons.

If even one hit, it could stop the young master, who valued human life, and buy them enough time to escape.

Immediately after launching the hidden weapons, the two assassins leaped out the window.

Hugong responded immediately.

Boom!

He stomped his foot.

Crack.

The wooden floor collapsed under the pressure of his Zhenjiao.

Hugong had already anticipated the launch of hidden weapons from the assassins' preparatory movements. In his prime, he could have ended both of them before they launched, but not now.

It was impossible to deflect all the hidden weapons.

If he couldn't block them, he could move the Tiankong Sect members to a different side.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

The Golden Mark, the Anti-Demon Trio, and the Wushan Duo, within the range of the collapsed floor, fell to the lower floor.

Hugong, who had stomped his foot, also plummeted downward.

But in mid-air, Hugong stepped on the falling wooden debris and used the recoil to soar upward.

Soaring up, he spun in mid-air and immediately chased after the assassins through the window.

Thud, thud, thud.

Meanwhile, the Golden Mark and the others fell into the room below, unexpectedly meeting their neighbors.

The Yinshan Five Assassins were already sprawled out, affected by the Manmianhuan.

The neighbors from the upper floor had fallen through the floor, making more noise than the usual floor noise, but most were too drowsy to complain.

Only the leader of the Yinshan Five Assassins, who was barely conscious, was awake.

The Golden Mark happened to land next to him, and they stared at each other, their eyes widening.

The Golden Mark stammered.

"Wh-Why are you... here? How old are you?"

"..."

The leader of the Yinshan Five Assassins didn't speak.

He was sixty-three this year.

The Golden Mark was sixty-two, so he was one year older.

But why was he asking about age like this?

In this situation!!

The Golden Mark wasn't the type to call someone "brother" just because they were a year older.

"Huh? Speak... up!"

"Sixty... three."

Under the Golden Mark's urging, the leader of the Yinshan Five Assassins finally spoke.

The Golden Mark was stunned.

"Brother?"

"..."

"I... am sixty-two..."

"..."

The leader of the Yinshan Five Assassins lost his words.

Meanwhile, the two fleeing assassins faced a dilemma.

The red-robed assassin was the problem.

The bleeding from his side, torn by the hidden weapon, was severe. Despite trying to stop it, it was ineffective.

His qi and blood were in reverse due to the forced exertion of his skills, and his pulse was racing uncontrollably as he confirmed the young master of the Tianhua Archive rapidly approaching from behind.

The leading blue-robed assassin momentarily stopped and turned back.

Clearly intending to support him, the red-robed assassin shouted.

"I'm wrong. Go ahead."

"You are wrong."

The voice, whispered in his ear, startled the red-robed assassin. In that moment, his head was severed.

Swish!

Thud.

The headless body of the red-robed assassin collapsed.

Hugong, who was about to lunge at the last remaining blue-robed assassin, stopped.

'...?'

Hugong tilted his head at the blue-robed assassin.

Unexpectedly, the assassin had given up on fleeing and was readjusting his grip on his sword.

Hugong smiled.

"You must be having a good dream."

Before the smile faded, his figure exploded into action.

The blue-robed assassin met the sword light.

Ten seconds later.

Thud.

The blue-robed assassin collapsed.

The thought that he might be able to handle it was a dream.

He was on his knees, coughing up blood.

His hands desperately tried to stop the blood gushing from his neck.

The broken sword lay pitifully beside him.

In his fading vision, he saw the back of the young master of the Tianhua Archive.

'The sword's edge...'

He couldn't understand even as he fell.

The young master of the Tianhua Archive had awakened not long ago...

What was there to understand?

How did it come to this?

Who did he offend?

Not just the young master, but the Tiankong Sect and the Miesha Sect as well.

'Did the Wuji Assassins abandon their principles...?'