Chapter 286: Chapter 285: The Death of Ma Pingfan

Pʟease reading Οn ΒʘXNOVEL.ϹΟM“Boss, do you have sesame paste?” A man wearing a black hood walked in, and the aroma of sesame oil swirled around the room.

“Indeed, how much would you like?” The eager junior waiter welcomed the guest. The peculiar attire of the man didn’t surprise him; the imperial city of Mysterious Kingdom was a mix of all sorts of strange people.

“Get me two bottles, two ounces in each.”

The waiter thought this guest had a peculiar way of speaking, just as he was about to make a jest with this guest, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Turning around, he met the eternally smiling face of the shopkeeper.

“Allow me to serve this guest, you may leave.”

“Yes, sir.”

With an apologetic grin, the shopkeeper addressed the hooded man: “Our new hire isn’t aware of the customs; besides the two bottles of sesame paste, what else would you like?”

“Five blocks of red fermented tofu, one block of white, all in one container.”

The shopkeeper blinked in surprise. Was he mishearing?

While the shop seemed to be a regular grocery store, it was, in fact, a branch of the assassin organization, Death Knell Tower, in the Mysterious Kingdom.

The Death Knell Tower was a well-kept secret, known only to those who’ve spent years lurking in the darkness, those capable of deciphering the codes.

The mention of the ‘two bottles of sesame paste’ was a code implying the commencement of business. The newbie waiter was unaware of the implications, and to prevent him from annoying the customer, the shopkeeper sent him away.

Fermented tofu corresponded to the ranking of the targets to be assassinated. One block red fermented tofu represented Qi Cultivation; two blocks represented Foundation Establishment Stage, and so on, with five blocks representing Divinity Transformation.

A block of white fermented tofu represented an initial stage.

The guest wanted to assassinate a major figure in the early stage of Divinity Transformation!

The shopkeeper, having been in this profession for decades, had never witnessed a request this big.

The shopkeeper was informed that the headquarter of the Death Knell Tower had moved to the Celestial Empire and all the disciples had to report there. He hadn’t expected such a massive deal before his departure.

“Any problem?” Yu Feng asked.

“As long as you can afford the corresponding price, there will be no problem.” The enthusiasm of the shopkeeper escalated.

No matter if what Yu Feng said was true or false, the Death Knell Tower always operated on the principle of ‘Payment first, execution later’. Whether they can execute or not is a separate matter; payment is mandatory.

There had been instances with the Death Knell Tower where they solely accepted the money without undertaking the task.

Yu Feng took out two Storage Rings.

“What’s inside?” The shopkeeper was curious about the contents of the Storage Rings.

“According to your rules, you have to hand over the Storage Rings to your superiors. They will decide. You do not have the authority to know what’s inside.”

“I apologize for the intrusion.”

The shopkeeper understood that the man in front of him was likely a powerful figure, capable of commissioning an assassination of a God-Transformation cultivator. Consequently, he must be a God-Transformation cultivator himself.

Involvement in disputes between the God-Transformation figures was way above his pay-grade as a mere foot soldier in the Death Knell Tower, and he dared not dip his toes into these murky waters.

After going through multiple layers of personnel, the two Storage Rings ended up with a God-Transformation stage assassin.

He opened one of the Storage Rings.

“This is… Cultivation Technique?” The God-transformation assassin thought it was a Spirit Stone but turned out to be a Cultivation Technique.

“Could it be a Cultivation Technique that helps one reach the Body Integration Realm?”

He casually flipped through two pages and, as if seeing a ghost, shivered and threw away the Cultivation Technique.

This was his Cultivation Technique.

“This… This is impossible!” The normally calm and composed assassin was losing his grip on his emotions.

His Cultivation Technique was a closely guarded secret, known only to the Master of the Death Knell Tower. However, why would his Master bother to play such a prank on him!

After catching his breath, he suddenly remembered the other ring.

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence. The other ring cannot possibly contain my Cultivation Technique. Yes, perhaps it’s just another Cultivation Technique that can help one reach Divinity Transformation, with no hidden meaning.”

The God-Transformation cultivator found that he couldn’t open the other ring.

Despite several attempts, he discovered that the ring had a specific prohibition. He didn’t know the incantations; forcing it open would only damage the Storage Ring.

The matter of the Cultivation Technique was a thorn in his side. He would not be at peace until he resolved it.

The assassin was left with no choice but to approach the Master of the Death Knell Tower.

The Master of the Death Knell Tower was a Body Integration Realm cultivator.

“Such an odd turn of events?” Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, the Master became interested; he’d never heard of such a thing before.

“Hm, there’s no seal, it was easy to unlock.” The storage ring that the assassin failed to open was effortlessly opened by the host.

Another storage ring also contained a cultivation technique.

The host flipped through a few pages, his face changing, murderous intent pouring out: “You… didn’t see what’s inside, did you?”

This was his cultivation technique.

The assassin felt a chill, quickly stating that he really couldn’t open this ring.

The host also believed the assassin wasn’t that foolish, if he could have opened it, why would he need him?

In reality, the host was even more afraid than the assassin, as his cultivation technique was known only to him.

“This is a threat.” The host mused for a while, finally reaching a conclusion.

Towards the mysterious client, the host didn’t dare harbor bad intentions. All he had was deep-seated fear.

I know your cultivation technique, so whether you accept or don’t accept this job, you must take it.

“Let me see the ring in your hand.” The host found that the ring the assassin could open, he couldn’t.

Only then did the host realize that actually, both rings had a seal that only a person who practiced a specific cultivation technique could unlock.

In other words, these two rings were prepared for them.

“What a brilliant application of the Way of Space.”

The Way of Space in the Ancient World was almost lost, even those in the Body Integration Realm are not proficient in it.

“It seems that this senior is benevolent.” The host laughed, thinking of the mysterious client as a hidden expert, whose status was no less than a Heavenly Monarch.

What’s the point of being nervous and scared when dealing with an expert of this level? Could you resist them anyway?

“What do you mean by that?” The assassin was puzzled.

The host smirked with a mocking smile: “Why don’t you guess? If you opened this ring and saw my cultivation technique, do you think I would let you walk out alive?”

The assassin was mortified and at the same time, he felt grateful towards the mysterious client.

“Since the senior is unable or unwilling to take action, then it’s time for me to lend a hand.”

“Who are we going to kill?” The assassin remembered that he only knew they had to kill a God-transformation stage cultivator but he didn’t know who the target was, as the mysterious client never mentioned it.

“Ma Pingfan.”

This was written in bold on the last page of the host’s cultivation technique.

Kill Ma Pingfan.

Ma Pingfan woke up from meditation and stretched out, finding the Mysterious Kingdom to be an excellent place.

A great place to use his Devouring Technique.

“If I could use the Devouring Technique, I should be able to break through to the middle stage of Divinity Transformation.” Ma Pingfan felt that his cultivation had hit a bottleneck and needed external help.

“I doubt you’ll live long enough to reach the middle stage of Divinity Transformation.” A chilling voice was heard next to Ma Pingfan’s ear.

“Who?” Ma Pingfan became alerted. Anyone who could get past his awareness must also be a God-transformation stage cultivator.

He turned around sharply only to see an elderly man crossing his legs and leisurely having tea, with the God-transformation stage assassin serving him like a servant.

Ma Pingfan staggered back a couple steps, leaning against a wall.

He hurriedly made a courteous salutation with a forced smile: “So the Tower Master has honoured us with his presence, Ma Pingfan failed to greet you. May I ask, Tower Master…”

“That’s enough, don’t try and impress me with your polite behavior, I’m not interested in such formalities.” The Tower Master impatiently waved his hand, “Make it quick, how would you prefer to die?”

“Tower Master, does Teacher Blood River know about this?” To survive, Ma Pingfan directly called Blood River Ancestor “teacher”, seeking to establish a connection.

The Tower Master sneered: “If I want to kill you, do I have to get permission from that old ghost Blood River?”

Ma Pingfan was terrified; the Tower Master didn’t even care about saving face for Blood River Ancestor. His killing intent was clear.

He screamed in panic, “You can’t do this, the old man of Blood River…”

“Stop your nagging, since you can’t choose how you want to die, I will choose for you.”

The Tower Master finished his tea, casually throwing the cup away.

The tea cup turned into countless blades, stripping Ma Pingfan to the bone.

“Let’s go, I hope the senior will be satisfied.”

The Tower Master got up to leave, the God-transformation stage assassin closely following behind.

From today onward, he was known to be one of the host’s trusted subordinates.