Chapter 113: Assassination and Roadside Ambush

Late into the night, after politely declining the Third Prince’s invitation to stay at the West Fifth Quarters, Gu Xiaopang left the palace, tipsy and accompanied by Bai Ling’er.

In Gu Xiaopang’s own words, staying in the palace? Forget it. Just thinking about that calculating Emperor, who always managed to get the better of him, made him feel deeply uneasy.

Little Princess Zi Wan’er, who had spent the better part of the night serving at the banquet, felt a surge of jealousy as she watched Bai Ling’er naturally drape her arm around her future husband. She couldn’t help but snort in annoyance.

***

The capital remained brightly lit throughout the night. Gu Xiaopang and Bai Ling’er took a shortcut toward the inn where they had been staying during the Celebration of the Dynasty.

In a dark, unnoticed corner, an unremarkable middle-aged man in black followed them silently.

It was a dark and windy night, perfect for murder.

Bai Ling’er, having only had a few drinks, was perfectly sober. She gently steadied Gu Xiaopang, who was swaying as he walked, and they moved forward at a leisurely pace.

As they reached a secluded, dark path, the assassin—a cultivator at the early Nascent Soul stage—finally made his move.

Several grim, meteor-iron throwing stars whistled toward Gu Xiaopang in an instant. Simultaneously, the assassin gripped two poison-tipped daggers and lunged forward, following close behind the projectiles.

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Although he hadn’t made a conscious effort to sober up, Gu Xiaopang’s mental fortitude was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He cleared his head instantly, waving his arm to deflect the incoming stars. At the same time, he pushed Bai Ling’er to the edge of the path, lifted his leg in a sharp, hook-like motion, and struck downward at the approaching assassin with the force of a mountain-cleaving blow.

The assassin, highly professional, retreated immediately after his first strike failed. He retracted his daggers, pivoted his body, and nimbly evaded the counter-attack.

"Who are you?" Gu Xiaopang demanded. "Why are you trying to assassinate me? Do we have a grudge?"

"No past grievances, no present enmity. I work for the Absolute Kill Tower; I simply take money to resolve problems for others."

"Absolute Kill Tower? Never heard of it." Gu Xiaopang scoffed. "But no matter who you are, since you dared to come for my life, I won’t let you leave in one piece."

Hating those who resorted to treacherous backstabbing, Gu Xiaopang switched from defense to offense, lunging forward while simultaneously condensing his mental energy into a sharp spike, driving it directly into the black-clad man’s mind.

"Ah!..."

The moment the assassin screamed in agony, Gu Xiaopang had already produced two rhinoceros horns, pinning the man’s poison-dagger-wielding arms firmly against the wall beside the path. Simultaneously, he delivered a forceful knee strike to the man’s dantian. The impact was severe; the Nascent Soul entity sitting within the assassin's dantian hadn't even opened its eyes before it was struck and heavily crippled by the blow.

"Tell me, who hired you to kill me?"

"Don't even think about it!"

"Are you not afraid of death?"

"I am! But once I entered the trade of an assassin, I was prepared for the possibility of failing a mission and being killed myself."

"Sigh, you’re a tough man." Gu Xiaopang sighed. "It’s a pity, though. Life is precious and infinitely beautiful. It’s so good to be alive—why are you being so foolish, insisting on seeking death?"

"Xiaopang, the assassins of the Absolute Kill Tower are all like this. I doubt you’ll get any valuable information out of him," Bai Ling’er noted.

"Don't worry, Sister Ling’er, your little brother isn't incompetent."

He asked Bai Ling’er to turn around and shut off her senses. Once she complied, Gu Xiaopang began repeatedly stabbing the assassin’s mind with his mental energy needles.

"Ah... please... give me... a quick death!"

"Dream on," Gu Xiaopang retorted. "You dared to assassinate me, so now that you’ve failed, your life and death are under my command. If you can provide some valuable information before you die, maybe I’ll grant you that quick death. As for now... let’s continue."

"Ah!..."

Even Gu Xiaopang had to admire the resolve of such an assassin. It took over seventy strikes of mental agony before the man finally broke, his spirit shattered, and began confessing what he knew. This was only possible because of Gu Xiaopang; such mental torture was beyond what most could endure, and standard interrogation methods would have been useless. As for soul-searching? That was impossible—the assassin’s soul would have self-detonated the moment anyone tried.

***

The assassin didn't know the exact identity of the employer, as his rank was too low, but he was certain of one thing: the employer was a high-ranking member of the Asura Mansion.

The "Absolute Kill List" of their organization was not something one could easily end up on. It included everyone from the Tribulation Transcendence stage down to the Qi Refining stage. There was no contract they wouldn't take, provided the price was right. And the term "Absolute Kill" was simple: regardless of how many assassins were sacrificed, they would not stop until the target was completely eradicated.

Gu Xiaopang was quite shocked to learn that he had been ranked tenth on the list. To value a small fry like him so highly—one could only imagine the exorbitant price the person from the Asura Mansion had paid.

Bai Ling’er, standing nearby, also gasped, her mouth slightly agape in surprise.

On the currently published list, the top fifty were all cultivators—young or old—at the late Golden Core stage or higher. Without exception, everyone in the top twenty was above the Nascent Soul stage. The tenth spot had originally been held by a sect elder at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage. The top five included four Spirit Severing stage experts and one at the Tribulation Transcendence stage.

And this was only the list for the Southern Domain branch of the Absolute Kill Tower.

It seemed the person from the Asura Mansion, or perhaps the entire mansion itself, was truly determined to kill him. Gu Xiaopang’s gaze turned chilling, fixed toward the center of the Southern Domain, his killing intent difficult to conceal.

***

"Do you want to live?" Gu Xiaopang asked.

"Naturally, but since I’ve revealed the employer’s identity, even if you spare me, I’ll be a dead man the moment I go back."

"Then don't go back."

"Not go back? That’s impossible. We all have an 'Absolute Kill Soul Mark' on us; only the power of a Tribulation Transcendence expert can remove it."

Following the assassin’s gesture, Gu Xiaopang saw a cotton-like mark on the right side of his neck. After verifying it with Bai Ling’er, it was confirmed: to remove the mark, either the host had to die, or a cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence stage or higher had to perform the procedure.

"What if I could remove it for you? Would you be willing to serve me from now on?"

"You can... how is that possible?"

"Just tell me, are you willing or not?"

"I am willing."

"Good. Channel a strand of your soul energy into this scroll."

After consulting with Old Man Qin, who had just awakened after digesting a cluster of soul energy, Gu Xiaopang produced an ancient-looking scroll as if by magic.

The assassin, knowing the situation, didn't hesitate to channel a strand of his soul into the scroll. The moment he did, he felt as if a thin mist had been draped over his soul—a mist that Gu Xiaopang could use to extinguish his soul entirely with a single thought. The assassin shuddered, and his eyes changed completely when he looked at Gu Xiaopang again.

Bai Ling’er watched, bewildered, as Gu Xiaopang reached out and tapped the cotton-like mark on the assassin’s neck.

"My goodness, the mark is actually gone? Xiaopang, how did you do that?"

"Heavenly secrets are not to be revealed."

"Forget it, I’m from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion; are you really going to talk to me about heavenly secrets?"

"Haha!"

"Your subordinate, Fu Yi, greets you, Young Master."

After exchanging communication jades, Gu Xiaopang handed a magical mask to Fu Yi and sent him off to the hidden market at the Earth Monument in the center of the Southern Domain.

***

Returning to the inn, they took two rooms and retired for the night.

"Master, this scroll is a treasure."

"Of course! It’s an ancient relic; you think it’s something ordinary?"

"Then why don't you help me recruit a few Tribulation Transcendence or Spirit Severing experts as subordinates? We could go straight to the Asura Mansion and wipe them out. Tsk, just thinking about it is exciting!"

"You brat, why don't you ask me to help you recruit some at the Great Completion or Ascension stages while you're at it?"

"Uh, that would be even better!"

Old Man Qin, now in spirit form, no longer felt like a breeze would blow him away as he had when they first met; his form was now exceptionally solid. He reached out and flicked Gu Xiaopang’s forehead a few times.

The ancient scroll wasn't something Old Man Qin had made, but something he had stumbled upon over ten thousand years ago. After learning its function, he had dismissed it as useless and left it at the bottom of his trunk. After all, for someone who was already at the Ascension stage, it was truly meaningless.

But for the still-weak Gu Xiaopang, it was incredibly useful, and Old Man Qin had produced it at just the right time.

Although Gu Xiaopang wasn't yet seventeen and hadn't even reached the Golden Core stage, his combat prowess rivaled that of the late Nascent Soul stage. His future opponents would almost certainly be above that level. Fighting alone had its limits.

If used well, this scroll would allow Gu Xiaopang to develop a formidable, loyal faction that could never betray him. For now, he could only control Nascent Soul cultivators, but as his own cultivation and combat power increased, he would eventually be able to control those at the Spirit Severing, Tribulation Transcendence, and higher stages.

However, there were limitations: the scroll could support a maximum of two thousand subordinates at each level.

Still, two thousand people—even if it sounded like a small number—was more than enough for Gu Xiaopang. Imagine having two thousand Nascent Soul or even Spirit Severing experts under his command... As for the Tribulation Transcendence stage, he wasn't sure if there were even a hundred such people on the entire Wind God Continent, let alone those at the Great Completion or Return to Truth stages.

Of course, for Gu Xiaopang, who had come from a world of rule of law, equality, and harmony, this method felt a bit sinister. In his heart, he vowed never to use it on anyone who wasn't an enemy.

***

As the morning sun rose, Gu Xiaopang, who had been meditating, stretched his arms and opened his door, just in time to see Bai Ling’er opening hers.

"Morning, Sister Ling’er."

"It’s not early anymore, you know."

"Haha."

After a simple meal, they checked out and set off once more.

The journey was leisurely, and they soon left the capital. On a mountain path leading to Nanyan County, danger loomed again.

In a hidden mountain hollow, a gaunt old man nearly two meters tall, at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, and a middle-aged man with sharp features but hollow, empty eyes—also an early Nascent Soul cultivator—had been waiting for a long time, their auras completely concealed.

As Gu Xiaopang and Bai Ling’er approached, less than a mile away, the man with hollow eyes flashed out, his massive blade forged from black meteor iron swinging down toward Gu Xiaopang with tremendous force.