Chapter 63: Descent

“Speak! Who exactly sent you here?” Dongbo Xueying’s voice rang out beside the ears of the three assassins.

“We don’t know! We truly don’t know!”

“We received the mission from the Blood Blade Tavern. We don’t know who issued it!” The three assassins were filled with terror.

Dongbo Xueying furrowed his brows.

A mission from the Blood Blade Tavern? Could it be that the noble young master’s family had actually placed a bounty? If so, then it would be practically impossible to trace the mission issuer directly.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three streaks of cold light flashed.

Under the shroud of The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) and darkness, the three assassins’ eyes widened in horror, each with a small hole appearing in the center of their foreheads.

“Since you dared to attack my home and have no useful information, why would I let you escape with your lives?” Dongbo Xueying glanced at the three fallen corpses. He had just thrown three spindle-shaped darts. When he was in the Prefecture City, he had purchased a large batch of high-quality short spears and many convenient darts. After all, using short spears against weaker opponents would be a waste. Dongbo Xueying had bought a whole chest of these darts and stored them in his ring of storage.

…

On the alchemical airship soaring through the night sky, Xiang Pangyun was peering down with cold eyes.

Buzz~~~

Suddenly, the The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) surged within the castle below. With Xiang Pangyun’s extraordinary vision, he could clearly see the air distort as a young man in black approached Feng Mo, then a long spear appeared in his hand and he attacked instantly!

Three consecutive spear strikes, swift as lightning, and Feng Mo was already dead!

“Hmm?” Xiang Pangyun’s pupils constricted. Then his mouth curled into a grin, and his blood-red eyes gleamed with unprecedented excitement. “Unity of Heaven and Man? At only twenty-two years old? And he killed Feng Mo in a single exchange? Excellent! This is truly wonderful! I didn’t expect that just coming out for a chance encounter, I would actually find such a rare plaything!”

“At twenty-two, already achieved Unity of Heaven and Man, and his strength is this formidable! He still has plenty of time to gradually find his own path. There’s probably an eighty or ninety percent chance he’ll cross into the Transcendent!”

“If the Longshan Pavilion confirms Dongbo Xueying’s strength, those Transcendent organizations will surely rush to invite him. Such a prodigy!”

“Or perhaps, he has already joined one of the Transcendent organizations?”

Xiang Pangyun mused silently.

He had lived for a very long time and naturally came into contact with many secrets.

In this world… there truly exist Transcendent beings! The armies of ordinary humans are utterly meaningless against the Transcendent. The Transcendents are the true rulers of this world!

And the Six Great Transcendent Organizations are the six major groups formed by these Transcendent beings.

The Empire? It had long decayed!

The Six Great Transcendent Organizations are the true hidden ruling forces in this world, and they have existed for a very long time! The Earth Temple and the Blood Blade Tavern are two of the six Transcendent Organizations, particularly unique among them.

“A future Transcendent being, what a pity! You won’t have the chance to cross into Transcendence!” Xiang Pangyun’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Wait for me here!” Xiang Pangyun commanded.

“Yes, Master.” The servants piloting the airship replied respectfully.

Whoosh.

Xiang Pangyun leapt downward.

Though it seems lengthy, from the moment Xiang Pangyun witnessed Feng Mo’s death, he barely paused to think before leaping down.

…

In the courtyard of the castle.

Dongbo Xueying had just slain Feng Mo and was looking with slight puzzlement at the chest area of Feng Mo’s corpse. There was a rather strange bronze breastplate there, and the patterns on it seemed extraordinary even to him: “This bronze breastplate might be the finest alchemical treasure I’ve ever seen.”

“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying’s expression changed suddenly as he looked up toward the high sky.

Above in the sky.

A muscular man in dark red robes, his face sharp as if carved by a blade, was descending rapidly. His robes flapped violently, and a visible crimson aura erupted from him, surging downward like a visible tidal wave!

The man descending like a demon god, Dongbo Xueying immediately recognized him. The appearance of such a high-level expert had long been drawn into pictures.

“Xiang Pangyun?”

“Hmph!” Dongbo Xueying immediately focused his mind. The The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) he controlled surged upward and directly collided with that crimson aura at a hundred meters high in the sky.

Boom~~~

The two surging forces collided head-on. Because Dongbo Xueying’s mental power was merged with The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power), the moment of collision, he immediately sensed the endless murderous intent contained within that crimson aura.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Innumerable cries of slaughter echoed in his mind. Dongbo Xueying was slightly surprised by his opponent’s technique but easily resisted the impact of the murderous intent. How firm was Dongbo Xueying’s will? Moreover, after achieving Unity of Heaven and Man, his mental power had been nourished and had become even stronger. This murderous intent was something he could completely ignore. However, ordinary Silver Moon-ranked or weaker individuals facing such a tangible wave of murderous intent would likely have their legs go weak and collapse to the ground in fear.

“He has merged murderous intent with The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power)? His crimson aura not only contains the impact of The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power), but also the impact of murderous intent.” Dongbo Xueying thought in astonishment. “They say Xiang Pangyun is a madman, a terrifying assassin. Just this level of murderous intent is already beyond comprehension!”

“Xueying, what’s going on?”

“What happened?” Many people within the castle were alarmed.

After all, when Dongbo Xueying used The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power), even the air distorted. Though this invisible force didn’t harm his allies, it still alarmed many.

Moreover, the battle with Feng Mo, the clash of spear and curved blade, each collision producing a loud sound!

This had already alarmed the people in the castle.

Not to mention… the collision between Dongbo Xueying’s The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) and the crimson aura above created an even more shocking scene. The sound of the two forces’ controlled The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) colliding was like thunder.

“Uncle Zong.” Dongbo Xueying spoke, and Zong Ling, as a Meteor Knight, was the first to arrive beside Dongbo Xueying.

“The bronze breastplate on this corpse is a very special alchemical treasure.” Dongbo Xueying said. “Uncle Zong, you can take a look. It should be useful for you.”

The more powerful a Title-ranked warrior is, the less help such alchemical treasures provide.

Zong Ling nodded and instantly reached out to remove the bronze breastplate. He continued to take other storage treasures, weapons, armor, and so on. But suddenly—

“Boom!!!”

Xiang Pangyun, descending from hundreds of meters high, landed directly on the inner castle wall. Standing on the battlements, his crimson aura surged outward, instantly pressing the soldiers on the wall to the ground, some crying out in terror, and some weaker soldiers were so overwhelmed that their faces turned pale and blood seeped from their mouths and noses.

Although The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) only had a suppressing effect on Silver Moon Knights and Meteor Knights, it posed a life-threatening danger to ordinary soldiers.

“Dare you still resist before me, Xiang Pangyun?” Xiang Pangyun looked down at Dongbo Xueying. “Dongbo Xueying, you truly have courage.”

“Boom boom boom~~~”

The The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) controlled by Dongbo Xueying was like a vast invisible dome covering the surrounding area, continuously colliding with the crimson aura around Xiang Pangyun.

“Xiang Pangyun?” Zong Ling’s face changed drastically. This terrifying great demon lord? A Title-ranked warrior who had dominated Qinghe Prefecture for nearly a century?

“Uncle Zong, go help protect Qing Shi.” Dongbo Xueying immediately said. Under his control of The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power), he had already seen Qing Shi, puzzled, stepping out of his room.

“Alright.” Zong Ling no longer wasted time looting the corpses. This could be dealt with later. He immediately leapt and flew to the third floor of the main castle building, arriving beside Dongbo Qing Shi.

“What’s going on?”

“What is happening here?”

Qing Shi was somewhat dazed.

Earlier, he had been lying in bed hugging the quilt, falling asleep after crying. His older brother had never treated him like this before. He hugged the quilt and cried until he gradually fell asleep.

The surging The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power), the loud sounds of weapons colliding, and the clash of The Power of Heaven and Earth (cosmic power) between the two Title-ranked warriors, even the screams coming from outside, startled Dongbo Qing Shi awake, and he immediately came out.

As soon as he came out…

He saw his older brother Dongbo Xueying standing downstairs, beside a corpse, and further away, three more corpses lay fallen.

At the same time, the surrounding scene was very strange.

The air itself was distorting.

A vast area around his brother seemed like an invisible air Shroud, while the man in dark red robes standing on the battlements radiated a crimson aura. The invisible dome and the crimson aura were colliding.

And just looking at that crimson aura with the naked eye was enough to instill fear! Qing Shi had experienced few hardships and trials, and his face involuntarily paled.

“Uncle Zong, what’s going on?” Qing Shi was somewhat panicking, while Zong Ling came to his side.

“It’s Xiang Pangyun!” Zong Ling said solemnly. “He is the most terrifying assassin in all of Qinghe Prefecture, even more fearsome than the ancestral master of the Si Clan, ‘Si Lianghong’! In fact, many Title-ranked warriors usually can’t even survive a single move against him!”

“What?” Qing Shi was stunned.

A Title-ranked warrior, how formidable could that be?

In front of Xiang Pangyun, they couldn’t even survive one move? After all, the Si Clan’s dominance in Qinghe Prefecture was built upon their ancestral master! But Xiang Pangyun was even stronger than the Si Clan’s ancestral master?

“Dongbo Xueying, the reason I came here this time is actually due to a mission from the Blood Blade Tavern. I came for the life of your younger brother, Dongbo Qing Shi.” Xiang Pangyun, standing on the battlements of the wall, had a strange expression, his voice echoing through the air. “I have no interest in killing you. Step aside quietly, I’ll kill your younger brother, and then I’ll leave immediately. After all, the Blood Blade Tavern didn’t offer any reward for killing you.”

Xiang Pangyun was doing this on purpose.

In fact, this mission was accepted by Feng Mo. Even if Xiang Pangyun killed him, he wouldn’t be able to claim the reward!

He said this merely to mock Dongbo Xueying, to toy with Dongbo Xueying’s mindset. If he could shake Dongbo Xueying’s determination through this, even better. As a madman assassin who openly exposed his identity, his reason for killing was never about the bounty! For this madman, killing itself was a form of enjoyment.

“Kill me? A mission from the Blood Blade Tavern?” Qing Shi was stunned. Was this terrifying scene all because they came to kill him?

…

“Kill my younger brother?” Dongbo Xueying looked at Xiang Pangyun standing on the battlements, his voice icy cold. “Unless I, Dongbo Xueying, am dead, no one will ever harm my younger brother! Not even you, Xiang Pangyun!”

“Brother!”

Watching everything from the balcony of the main castle building, Qing Shi felt a lump in his heart. Looking down at his older brother’s somewhat blurred figure through the distorted air, he seemed to see once again that towering figure who had always stood before him since childhood, that image as solid as a mountain, forever protecting him.

“For your younger brother, you’re willing to throw away your life. How touching! Since that’s the case… then die!”

Xiang Pangyun’s face suddenly turned fierce, and with a loud roar.

Whoosh.

A crimson figure instantly shot forth from the battlements, a cold blade of light cutting across the sky. Everyone nearby, merely seeing that single slash cutting across the sky for dozens of meters, felt their hearts tremble with fear.

“Brother.” Qing Shi, beside Zong Ling, trembled with tension.