Late at night, the piercing cold wind howled.

Inside the house, Lin Xun was cultivating in a cross-legged position. After ten days of painstaking training, coupled with the benefits from various aeth decoctions, he had reached the perfection of the fifth layer True Martial Stage. The aeth power within his body was not only as pure as clear liquid, but also contained incomparably terrifying power.

Although the four aeth power vortexes in the four heart acupuncture points could continuously improve the grade of his aeth power, it came with one problem—his aeth power would become sparser as it was tempered.

Therefore, if Lin Xun wanted to raise his cultivation base to perfection, he needed more aeth power and had to put in more effort than his peers.

Fortunately, the spoils delivered to him every day consisted of huge amounts of aeth herbs and decoctions that improved cultivation base; Lin Xun didn’t have to worry about that problem.

“I’m close to a breakthrough…”

Lin Xun ended his training and assessed the changes in his body of qi. He knew he was one step away from reaching the sixth layer True Martial Stage.

In addition to his diligent and painstaking training, there was another reason that contributed to him reaching the sixth layer True Martial Stage so quickly. His physical cultivation was growing stronger with each day!

The so-called ninth layer True Martial Stage was originally a process to temper a cultivator’s body and to accumulate aeth power. The tempering and improvement of a cultivator’s body weren’t independent but related with the inner body cultivation base.

Similarly, the improvement in a person’s inner body cultivation base had an effect on physical cultivation.

For example, at the fifth layer True Martial Stage, the improvement in a cultivator’s physical strength tempered a cultivator’s muscles and bones and unblocked a cultivator’s muscles and marrow. This was all to allow a cultivator’s inner body cultivation base to smoothly improve.

In the same way, the improvement in a cultivator’s inner body cultivation base would open up more potential in the body, thereby removing the obstacles in physical cultivation.

In short, body tempering was external and aeth power was internal. The two complemented each other and not a single one could be omitted.

The descendants of some large clans often practiced body tempering arts when cultivating aeth power. It could be said to kill two birds with one stone since it consolidated their foundations and benefited their cultivation.

Although Lin Xun had no body-tempering art, he obtained immeasurable body-tempering benefits from entering the rune battle realm every three days.

Naturally, all of that had an enormous positive effect on his aeth power cultivation.

Lin Xun suddenly awakened.

He saw Xia Zhi, who was lying on the bed, open her eyes as she whispered. “People are lurking in our courtyard.”

Lin Xun felt a chill in his heart. He quickly got up and hid.

It was already late at night, and the area around Courtyard No. 49 was completely still and silent except for a few wild dogs barking.

“How many?” Lin Xun asked quietly. At the same time, his perception spread out, but he found no traces of the enemy. Clearly, the opponents were either masters of stealth or that they weren’t that close to them yet.

“Three.” Xia Zhi got up and methodically got dressed. When she got out of the bed, she was already clasping a two-meter-long bone spear.

The bone spear was very special. It emitted a lustrous shine that resembled starlight in the dark. It looked particularly mysterious and chilling.

Lin Xun looked at it closer and was certain that it was an aeth tool. However, he couldn’t see any traces of a rune pattern on the spear.

According to Xia Zhi, the spear had been with her since she could remember and she also knew nothing about its origin.

This made it even more mysterious. Lin Xun couldn’t imagine what kind of aeth tool in the world would give off such a mysterious and rare effect.

“They’re approaching now. I'll go out and take a look.”

Before Lin Xun could stop Xia Zhi, she had already opened the door and silently disappeared into the darkness. Even her aura had completely vanished.

Lin Xun frowned and drew a deep breath. Like an agile leopard cat, he darted out of the room and concealed himself in the shadows of the courtyard.

……

Outside the courtyard.

“Guys, we are just dealing with a child at the fifth layer True Martial Stage. Do we need to be this careful?” A sloppy man with sunken cheeks smiled frivolously.

“Du Xiao, then why don’t you act alone?”

In the darkness of the alley stood a woman in a tight black leather dress. Her snow-white legs were long and shapely, and her slim waist highlighted her ample bosom. Her plump and bright red lips looked particularly dazzling in the dark.

Next to the woman stood an old man who was wearing a troubled look and had his hands clasped behind his back. He glanced at the sky from time to time. He didn’t look particularly astonishing.

The man called Du Xiao chuckled. “I'm not interested in children. I only like coquettish women like you.” He licked his lips and his eyes glinted with a crazed lust.

“Oh really, do you want to play now?” The woman smiled seductively and deliberately puffed out her chest but there was an icy chill in her eyes.

“Well, I don’t want to die. Who doesn’t know that you won’t see the sun tomorrow if you get into the Black Widow’s bed?”

Du Xiao shook his head and brazenly glanced at the woman’s ample bosom. He looked captivated as he said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you for a few days but your breasts seem much bigger than before. I see you have harmed many men again.”

Annoyed, Black Widow said disdainfully, “You don’t have the guts to go into the bed but you dare look, are you a man?”

“You think I don’t dare to?” Du Xiao's face darkened.

“Have you two argued enough?”

The frowning old man said aloud. His voice was hoarse, but there was an unquestionable authority. “If the target is so easy to deal with, there wouldn’t be a need to ask all three of us to handle the operation.”

The two felt a chill. The old man never spoke nonsense, so the operation had to be quite difficult if he said so.

“Let’s go!”

The old man’s figure flashed in mid-air like a bat. He glided across the air and silently stepped on the courtyard wall before vanishing.

He was extremely skilled in Qinggong and landed without the slightest noise. He evidently had mastered it for years.

Black Widow waved her hand and a whip swung out in mid-air. It wrapped around a corner of the eaves as she suddenly bounced up and into the courtyard.

Du Xiao seemed to be fooling around, but once he acted, he was extremely vigilant. He climbed up the wall like a gecko. Although he seemed slow, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The courtyard was pitch-dark, and the cold wind was howling. The old locust tree in the courtyard swayed and rattled, creating an even more chilling and still atmosphere.

It was unknown when the barking of wild dogs had disappeared. It was as though the wild dogs had sensed danger lurking and fled with their tails between their legs.

The three entered the courtyard and moved forward in a triangular formation. All three had rich combat experience and had carried out various assassination operations, but they felt a tinge of fear when they stepped into the dark courtyard.

It was as though someone was watching them in the dark.

“It doesn’t feel right. My spirit sensing power can detect things within a radius of five feet. I can confirm that the target isn’t in the room,” Black Widow suddenly said. Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s cry but it rang clearly in the other two’s ears. “In other words, I haven’t been able to locate the target’s position yet.”

Her face grew overcast. Assassins were supposed to kill opponents by surprise, but she failed to even locate the target. Their situation was a little serious.

“Could there be something wrong with the intelligence?” Du Xiao’s eyes flashed with a cold blade-like light.

“No, the source of the intelligence is trustworthy. The target hasn’t gone out in ten days.” The old man’s expression was dark and there was a hint of puzzlement in his eyes. “In my opinion, the target has discovered us and avoided our investigation.”

“Huh?” Du Xiao’s heart trembled. Black Widow abruptly halted.

Chi!

Amidst the cold wind, a sound pierced the air.

“Be careful!”

The old man’s complexion suddenly changed. He mobilized all his strength and reached out to grab the bronze shield in front of him.

The other two also weren’t too slow to react. They simultaneously drew their weapons and defended their bodies.

Bang!

A thunder-like impact reverberated and almost burst everyone’s eardrums. The bronze shield in the old man’s hand suddenly exploded into pieces as if it were only a piece of paper while he was propelled into the distance.

The old man’s fierceness was fully demonstrated in that moment. He suddenly leapt up and glided to one side like a frightened bat.

Black Widow and Du Xiao also realized that something was wrong. One of them swung a whip and wrapped it around a branch of the old locust tree and then somersaulted across the air. The other swiftly rolled across the ground.

Boom!

A spear blasted a huge hole into the place where the three were standing.

They were all struck with terror. How could a youngster at the fifth layer True Martial Stage possess such power?

A trap!

We’ve fallen into a trap!

The same thought flashed in all of three of their minds. The power from one strike had struck fear into their hearts. The opponent’s strength is too terrifying.

Evacuate!

The three had worked together for years and so they coordinated very well with each other. They decisively gave up on the operation and rushed out the courtyard.

The pitch-dark courtyard and the piercing cold wind had become terrifying in their eyes. A bone chilling coldness was spreading uncontrollably in their hearts.

The endless murderous intent lurking in the darkness turned out to be a trap!

Bang!

Suddenly, a miserable scream rang out. The old man’s body shot across the darkness as though he had been struck by a cannonball. The wall crumbled down and there was no more movement.

“Quickly run!”

Du Xiao felt as if his soul had left his body. It was then that an azure blade emerged in the darkness, dazzling his eyes.

“As I thought, it's an ambush and there is more than one enemy!” Du Xiao roared as he thrust forward the slim awl in his hand.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sounds of collision rang in the darkness and sparks sputtered in all directions of the courtyard.

Du Xiao was trapped!

Black Widow didn’t need to look back to know that Du Xiao’s situation was extremely bad. But she didn’t care. The old man was already dead and Du Xiao was about to die. She had to escape!

She believed that she could definitely carve a way out if she escaped from the terrifying courtyard.

Whoosh!

She swung her body and flew away, feeling slightly relieved.

This operation was definitely the most dangerous one they had taken in years. Even now, she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the opponent’s shadow. The trap filled her with terror.

“Your comrades have all stayed. Are you going to leave?”

Suddenly, a quiet voice sounded. It seemed particularly ethereal in the dark night.

Black Widow’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach.