King of Ten Thousand Years

”Speak! Who hired you?”

At this moment, the assassin’s cultivation had been crippled. Reeling from one psychological blow after another, his body trembled, and his face was a mask of despair. He was like a young girl, stripped bare layer by layer.

In this state, it was only a matter of time before they could force the information out of him.

ROAR! WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a few scattered Demon Beasts and flying birds zipped past nearby.

Luo Tian’s brow twitched. ’I might be running out of time.’

”CAW CAW CAW... Boy, do you need this god’s help?”

A scorched, smoking Crow abruptly appeared from a corner of the woods overhead.

”Ugly Bird, why are you back?”

Luo Tian’s heart tightened. He scanned his surroundings but didn’t see a large number of Demon Beasts in pursuit.

”Relax! This god ate plenty of Demon Beast heart meat and recovered some of my power. I can temporarily mask that thing’s aura, so Demon Beasts won’t be able to sense it from a distance,” the Crow said, looking smug.

’Mask?’

’That thing’s aura?’

Luo Tian glared at it menacingly. ”In the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range, besides sleeping with beautiful female birds, what other trouble have you caused?”

”Ah... n-nothing...”

Realizing it had slipped up, the Crow quickly tried to recover. ”What this god means is, you don’t have to worry about being implicated, boy. Besides, I can make this assassin confess quickly.”

”I’ll give you one chance to prove your worth. Otherwise, I’m taking you back,” Luo Tian said impatiently.

He could tell this Ugly Bird wanted to eat more Demon Beast Heart Essence to increase its strength and avoid returning to the Celestial Book.

”A piece of cake.”

The Crow chuckled and flapped its wings, flying in front of the assassin.

”CAW CAW CAW...”

A demonic shriek that sounded like grinding metal, accompanied by wisps of foul-smelling, scorched smoke, enveloped the assassin.

”Ugh... COUGH COUGH...”

The assassin became dizzy and disoriented, choking until his Divine Soul felt unsteady. He looked to be in even more agony than if he were being brutally tortured.

Just watching made Luo Tian’s scalp tingle.

A few breaths later, the assassin’s mind was lost. His gaze was dull, and his entire face was pitch-black.

”Alright, you can ask him now.”

The Crow said with a self-satisfied look, retracting the foul, scorched smoke.

Dubious, Luo Tian looked at the dazed assassin. ”Who hired you?”

”The clients were the Du Family of Qingchang City and the Qi Family of Lingyun County,” the assassin said, his face devoid of expression.

Luo Tian wasn’t surprised to hear the answer.

Luo Tian had killed Du Yuncheng, the Young Master Du, so the family’s Patriarch would surely spare no expense to have him killed.

As for the Qi Family from the County City, Luo Tian had crippled the arm of their Young Master, Qi Hong, during the Wu Mansion’s test.

These were grudges formed even before the Holy Mansion’s test.

”Which assassin organization do you belong to?” Luo Tian asked again.

The assassin replied, ”The Soul-Seeking Underworld.”

”The Soul-Seeking Underworld?”

Luo Tian’s expression changed.

After entering the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, his understanding of the Martial Arts World was no longer what it used to be.

The ”Soul-Seeking Underworld” was an extremely famous assassin organization in the underground Black Market, with a presence in every nation on the continent.

As long as one could pay a sufficient price, the Soul-Seeking Underworld claimed they could assassinate any expert.

Historically, the Soul-Seeking Underworld had a glorious record of successfully assassinating Monarchs and Earth Element Realm experts.

Of course, since Luo Tian was in the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, the risk and difficulty of assassinating him were extremely high. The Qi Family and the Du Family must have paid a fortune for this.

Moreover, as Luo Tian’s demonstrated strength grew and his status in the Holy Mansion rose, the price to hire the ”Soul-Seeking Underworld” to kill him would only get higher.

’Once I become a Golden Student, or even a Sunshine Student, these two families won’t have enough capital to hire someone to kill me unless they bankrupt themselves.’

A cold glint flashed in Luo Tian’s eyes.

Once he became a Golden Student, he would be a Core Student of the Holy Mansion. His ability to protect himself would increase dramatically, and ordinary factions wouldn’t dare to provoke him.

If he became a Sunshine Student, he would be a dragon among men—someone the Holy Mansion and the Azure Cloud Kingdom would focus on cultivating. He would be considered a member of the kingdom’s upper echelon.

At that time, Luo Tian would have the power to launch a devastating strike against those two families.

CRACK!

Luo Tian asked a few more questions before twisting the assassin’s neck. He moved the body and tossed it to the outskirts of the dense forest, where it was devoured by several Demon Beasts.

Just then, the number of nearby Demon Beasts began to increase. Luo Tian quickly got up and, with the Crow in tow, carved a bloody path straight toward the frontline Battle Castle.

”CAW CAW! Boy, you can’t take this god back to the Celestial Book...”

”Once I eat more heart meat, this god will return to my former glory as the Ancient First Divine Beast and help you slay gods, exterminate demons, and sweep through the Ten Thousand Realms!”

Along the way, the Crow boasted wildly.

Whenever Luo Tian killed a Demon Beast, it would scurry over and bite off a piece of its Heart Essence.

Although the creature had no direct combat ability, it possessed a bizarre power. Even when swarmed by numerous Demon Beasts, it could emerge unscathed, albeit looking pathetic and comical.

Demon Beasts that attacked it would inexplicably act erratically, lose their aim, and even hinder or harm one another.

In this regard, not even Luo Tian could achieve this, even if he cultivated his ”Cloud Traveling Step” to the stage of Great Success.

This was because it had nothing to do with speed or Body Technique. It was a ”Mysterious Power” that transcended the normal Martial Arts System, one that even Luo Tian’s Spiritual Sense could not perceive.

...

「Half an hour later.」

A Battle Castle situated in a gap in the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range came into Luo Tian’s view.

”Finally made it.”

Luo Tian let out a small sigh of relief, a hint of exhaustion on his face.

Along the way, Luo Tian and the Crow had ”teamed up” to kill dozens of Demon Beasts, including three High Tier Demon Beasts.

In battle, the Crow specialized in luring enemies while Luo Tian was responsible for killing them. Their efficiency was even greater than Luo Tian’s entire team.

ROAR! WHOOSH!

On the side of the Battle Castle facing the mountain range, a ceaseless stream of Demon Beasts and flying birds charged toward the human world.

Within the Beast Tide, the number and proportion of One-star High Tier beasts were steadily increasing.

Two-star Spirit Level Demon Beasts also appeared from time to time, launching fierce assaults before being repelled by the Spirit Sea Realm experts on the Battle Castle.

Luo Tian carefully approached from the side of the castle wall that faced away from the mountains.

This was because the Battle Castle was surrounded by the Beast Tide. The pressure was greatest on the side directly facing the mountains, but the other directions were also under attack from a certain number of Demon Beasts.

Near the Battle Castle, many Martial Artists and Wu Mansion students were busy killing Demon Beasts.

Seeing the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion uniform on Luo Tian, these people didn’t question him, merely casting a strange glance at the cawing Crow.

Soon, Luo Tian spotted students from the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion in a certain area.

In the Battle Castle area, there were more Silver Students, and he even saw a few Golden Students.

”Brother Luo, you’re back.”

Chen Haofei and a few other team members greeted him, looking slightly excited.

Luo Tian smiled faintly and was about to speak.

”You’re that Luo Tian?” a cold, hostile voice interjected.

Luo Tian glanced to the side.

He saw a tall youth in a pale golden robe, scrutinizing him with the air of a superior.

’A Golden Student?’

Luo Tian felt the fluctuations of nine Qi Veins, from which an immense pressure emanated.

’This person’s cultivation has probably reached the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening.’

”I am. What can I do for you?” Luo Tian replied nonchalantly. The other party wasn’t being polite, so there was no need for him to be humble or tolerant.

”Insolent! How dare you disrespect a Golden Student!”

”Luo Tian! Apologize to Senior Yue Jing at once,” a few Silver Students shouted harshly.

”So, it’s Senior Yue Jing.”

A sharp glint flashed through Luo Tian’s eyes. This was one of the four big shots of the Golden Area.

It was this very big shot who had ordered to ”take care of” Luo Tian, making students like Ji Xingjun and the others act as his willing pawns.

”Luo Tian, why did you come back alone?”

Yue Jing’s brow furrowed slightly.

In fact, he had been aware of the plan by Ji Xingjun, Li Hai, and Tang Wei to ambush and kill Luo Tian. He had even provided them with some minor assistance.

Otherwise, the three of them wouldn’t have been able to coordinate so quickly to surround and attack Luo Tian.

”I got separated. Is that a problem? Do I have to report to you?” Luo Tian said irritably.

Hearing this, the other Sun Chasing Holy Mansion students present cast pitiful glances at Luo Tian.

”Haha! You idiot, Luo Tian!”

”Senior Yue was appointed as a captain by the Holy Mansion High Level! He’s in command of all student combat in this area. Anyone below the rank of Golden Student is forbidden from disobeying him!”

The Silver Students next to Yue Jing grinned and laughed.

Luo Tian felt a little disgusted. He hadn’t expected Yue Jing to hold such a position.

”Heh, I have the right to question your actions!”

Yue Jing revealed a mocking sneer. He released a powerful aura and said condescendingly, ”For all I know, you might have deserted your post.”