King of Ten Thousand Years

He watched as Luo Tian stripped them of all their valuables.

”Stop! That’s everything I own.”

Yan Lei wanted to cry but had no tears left, almost fainting from sheer rage.

The three of them, all at the Sixth Layer of Meridian Opening, had tried to rob someone at the Fifth Layer, only to be robbed in return.

If word of this got out, how could they ever show their faces in the Wu Mansion again?

Once the looting was finished.

THUD!

Luo Tian knocked Yan Lei unconscious and hung him upside down from a tree, along with the man and woman from before.

From a distance, they looked like three sausages hanging from the tree.

He let out a soft chuckle and floated away.

Luo Tian had spared the three because they were students from Panshi Martial Mansion. From the sounds of it, they were there for a student exchange with the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion.

If three people died at once, it would cause a considerable incident and trigger an investigation from the upper echelons of the two top Wu Mansions.

Back near the large tree.

An hour after Luo Tian had left.

WHOOSH!

A massive bird, carrying over a dozen figures, landed near the large tree.

”Over here! We found them—”

”Huh? Why are Yan Lei and the others strung up in a tree?”

Several students from Panshi Martial Mansion jumped down from the giant bird and hastily rescued them.

”Hmph! That Yan Lei always has to act on his own! The Elder specifically warned everyone they had half a day to roam the Martial City freely, but he snuck off on his own,” a fierce-looking youth said, his expression displeased.

”Yan Lei! What happened to you three!”

A deep, aged voice boomed from the bird, accompanied by a vast, ocean-like pressure.

The owner of the voice was an Elder from Panshi Martial Mansion.

After Yan Lei and the other two regained consciousness, their faces flushed red, and they stammered, at a loss for words.

They couldn’t exactly admit that they had tried to rob a Sun Chasing Holy Mansion student, only to be defeated—three against one—by a boy at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening.

”Elder, we... we were robbed.”

Yan Lei’s face was filled with shame, and he forced the words out, his voice strained.

”Get your asses up here now!”

Another, more domineering voice called out. It came from a wide-shouldered youth on the bird, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

”Yes! Yes...”

The mere touch of the wide-shouldered youth’s gaze made Yan Lei’s blood run cold, and he shivered.

...

「As evening fell.」

Luo Tian hurried back to the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, a sense of relief washing over him.

After leaving Celestial Extreme Martial City, more than one group had actually been tailing Luo Tian, but he had managed to shake them all off.

’I’ve reached Sunrise Peak...’

Luo Tian was passing a small hill, preparing to head up the mountain.

Suddenly, a dangerous chill pierced Luo Tian’s mind, and his Creation Technique began to circulate, issuing a warning.

’What!’

Goosebumps erupted all over Luo Tian’s skin, and he instinctively leaped several meters to the side.

At the same time.

WHOOSH! SWISH! SWISH!

Three dim, cold gleams of light shot out from the other side of the hill, tracing an arc as they flew toward him like lightning.

’This is bad!’

The piercing whistle disrupted the flow of Luo Tian’s True Qi.

His Spiritual Sense captured the image: they were poisoned Darts, their edges incredibly sharp, emanating a lethal aura.

The dim, cold lights were just too fast!

His Spiritual Sense could clearly track their trajectory, but his body couldn’t quite keep up.

SWISH!

Luo Tian barely managed to jerk his head aside, causing the first Dart to miss.

PFFT—BOOM!

The Dart pierced through a large tree, and with its remaining force, shattered a large boulder into dust.

’That’s at least as strong as an Attack from the Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening!’

Luo Tian’s heart sank. The Darts’ power was one thing, but the key was their incredible speed and deadly poison.

Anyone below the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening would surely die if struck by one of these Darts!

SWISH! SWISH!

The other two Darts traced strange arcs, anticipating Luo Tian’s movements. One aimed for his heart, the other for his lower body.

’I can only dodge one!’

At this critical moment, Luo Tian’s mind raced as he calmly assessed the situation.

’Behind that hill, there must be an incredibly powerful assassin—a professional.’

’The attacker is hiding on the path I have to take to get back to Sunrise Peak, and they struck at the exact moment I was most relaxed.’

Any other student returning to the Holy Mansion, about to reach their own residence, would have inevitably let down their guard, feeling a sense of security.

The three Darts had calculated trajectories, sealing off all of Luo Tian’s escape routes.

Of the two remaining Darts, one was aimed at his heart, the other at his legs.

Even at his top speed, Luo Tian could only dodge one of them at most.

’If it hits my heart, I’m dead for sure.’

’If it hits my leg, I won’t be able to escape either, and the poison is just as lethal.’

Luo Tian took a deep breath and quickly made a decision.

WHOOSH!

Channeling energy into his feet, he executed the Cloud Traveling Step, his body spinning in mid-air as light as a feather.

Luo Tian’s choice was to dodge the Dart aimed at his leg.

SWISH!

The second Dart grazed past the cuff of his pants, a cold sensation brushing against the skin of his leg.

At the same time, the third Dart, aimed straight for Luo Tian’s heart, was impossible to evade.

But just then, Luo Tian used the momentum from the Cloud Traveling Step’s leap to twist his body to the side as much as possible.

Instantly, his body shifted from facing the Dart head-on to presenting his side, reducing the target area several times over.

SWISH! TING!

The third Dart, whistling with a deathly chill, grazed past Luo Tian’s back.

His robe tore, sending a spark into the air.

Beneath Luo Tian’s robes, a golden half-armor was revealed, a shocking crack marring its surface.

This armor was none other than the Golden Lock Armor, the spoils he had taken from Du Yuncheng.

This Treasure Armor was a Low Grade Defense Treasure of the lowest tier. It only protected the area around his vital organs and was worth a few dozen Spiritual Essence Coins at most—far inferior to the one worn by the Young Marquis, Tang Wei.

But in this critical moment, this armor had saved Luo Tian’s life.

”Who’s there!”

Luo Tian roared, his body skimming close to the ground for a dozen meters before he leaped onto a large tree.

’Since the assassination attempt failed on Holy Mansion grounds, the attacker is sure to retreat.’

SWOOSH!

Just as he thought, on the other side of the hill, a youth dressed as a Bronze Student vanished into the distant woods with ghost-like speed, quickly disappearing without a trace.

’A Bronze Student?’

’The assassin disguised himself as a student and even infiltrated the Holy Mansion?’

Luo Tian was shaken.

His initial assessment was that the youth was definitely a professional assassin, with a Cultivation between the Seventh and Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening.

His earlier ambush would have been nearly impossible for anyone below the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening to withstand.

Luo Tian had only one impression of the assassin.

He had an average build and sallow skin—a sallow-skinned youth.

The description was far too common. With several hundred Bronze Students, it would be difficult to investigate.

’Who sent this assassin?’

Luo Tian’s mind raced, trying to figure it out.

’The Du Family? The Liu Family? The Qi Family?’

Luo Tian had offended too many factions to sort through them at the moment.

However, this incident was a wake-up call for Luo Tian. Even within the Holy Mansion, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

’I have to find that person! And I’ll make every faction that put a bounty on me in the Black Market pay the price!’

Luo Tian’s expression darkened.

If he didn’t strike back hard and make his enemies tremble with fear, similar assassination attempts would surely follow.

After entering Sunrise Peak, Luo Tian passed through the Bronze Area and thought about finding Cao Yang to ask about any Bronze Students who matched the description.

As a big shot in the Bronze Area who had been there for three years, Cao Yang knew all the students very well.

But on second thought, Luo Tian dismissed the idea.

For one, he wasn’t strong enough yet.

For another, he didn’t want to alert the enemy.

The assassin probably hadn’t expected Luo Tian to react so quickly, nor that his senses and vision were far beyond those of an ordinary person, allowing him to catch a fleeting glimpse of the attacker.

Moreover, Luo Tian also had the Qi Observation Skill. The assassin’s Destiny Chart would surely be different from an ordinary person’s. As long as he was determined, it was only a matter of time before he could pick him out!