A slim and young figure emerged from the darkness.

It was clearly a little girl. Her fair chin glowed with a lustrous sheen under the dim starlight.

Could the opponent be a little girl?

Black Widow was in disbelief.

Shua!

Her vision suddenly blurred and a pain shot through the back of her neck. She felt as if a pair of iron clamps had gripped her neck and she lost all the strength in her body. Then, she was lifted up.

She couldn’t react at all!

A wave of terror surged in her heart. She possessed a cultivation base of the seventh layer True Martial Stage and was a well-known assassin in Donglin City. She had rich combat experience but it was the first time that she was so easily defeated. Moreover, her opponent was just a little girl!

How is that possible?

Black Widow was full of dread.

Soon, Xia Zhi returned home carrying Black Widow. She casually tossed Black Widow to the ground and cast her gaze to the courtyard’s center.

There, Lin Xun was fighting with Du Xiao. The battle was incredibly fierce; the air was constantly buzzing and dust whirled in the air.

Lin Xun swung the Skybreaker Blade vertically and horizontally. The gorgeous azure blade glowed a fierce light as it performed the Six Word Blade to its peak. It was ruthless, swift, and direct.

But his opponent Du Xiao clearly wasn’t an ordinary person. He was much fiercer and more ruthless than Lin Xun like he was unafraid of death.

Wielding a thin awl, Du Xiao used moves that were fast and sly, which were extremely difficult to deal with. Lin Xun was forced to constantly dodge and take a defensive stance.

Xia Zhi stood at the courtyard’s side and watched quietly, showing no intention of helping.

Black Widow stood next to her and had completely given up on the thought of running away. Her expression changed indefinitely as she watched the battle.

“Who do you think will win?” A voice rang in Black Widow’s ears, which terrified her. She glanced at Xia Zhi, and even if she couldn’t see her face clearly, she somehow felt the little girl was like a mountain suppressing her to the point of suffocation and made her dare not to move a finger.

Black Widow drew a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said, “Du Xiao is at the seventh layer True Martial Stage, and he has reached the precision realm of martial arts with the combat technique Cirrus Cloud Thorn. The kid is only at the fifth layer True Martial Stage. Although he has a deep mastery of the blade, he clearly lacks experience. If everything goes as expected…”

Black Widow didn’t dare to say anything else.

In her opinion, even if Du Xiao won the battle, he wouldn’t be able to escape death because there was the mysterious but powerful little girl standing next to her!

Black Widow couldn’t help but feel despair. Not only would Du Xiao die, but she also wouldn’t be able to stay alive.

She unwittingly glanced at the corpse in front of a collapsed wall in the corner of the courtyard.

It was her other comrade, “Frowning Oldy”.

This made Black Widow’s heart tumble again. Frowning Oldy was at the eighth layer True Martial Stage and possessed tyrannical strength. He wasn’t an ordinary person and had even successfully assassinated a cultivator at the ninth layer True Martial Stage, which made him rise to fame. Everyone’s faces usually paled at the mention of this veteran assassin in Donglin City.

But now...Frowning Oldy, who had made countless people feel uneasy, had turned into a corpse!

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

How could this little girl possess such terrifying strength?

Uncontrollable confusion filled Black Widow’s heart.

“If everything goes as expected, your comrade will lose this battle.”

Xia Zhi stated calmly as she fixed her eyes on the battlefield. “Can’t you see that Lin Xun has gradually adapted to the battle, and he is about to break through?”

Breakthrough?

Black Widow’s heart trembled violently. She shifted her gaze to the battlefield and found that, although Lin Xun was suppressed, his blade skills were becoming increasingly concise as the battle continued. Furthermore, his bearing was more and more imposing.

In particular, the qi around his body rushed into the sky like smoke signals and then tumbled down like torrents. A clap of thunder reverberated every time he exerted strength.

Wisps of white mist spiraled around his body, a sign that his blood and qi were about to ignite and he would soon break through to Blood Igniting, the sixth layer of the True Martial Stage!

“He is actually making a breakthrough in battle. This can only be achieved when a person has developed an extremely deep cultivation foundation!” exclaimed Black Widow.

She had only noticed Xia Zhi’s terrifying strength and didn’t pay much attention to Lin Xun. She only now realized that she had underestimated Lin Xun when she saw such a scene.

He was only at the fifth layer True Martial Stage yet he was able to survive against Du Xiao until now. This fact alone was already incredible. Other ordinary fifth layer True Martial Stage cultivators would have been killed already.

From the fighting spirit he had demonstrated, it seemed that he was about to breakthrough in battle. Almost all those who had done the same were regarded as unparalleled geniuses in the world!

Black Widow had heard that Wu Lingcong, who came second in the imperial national examination three years ago, also broke through to the Spirit Dipper Stage in battle. Even the current emperor of the empire had praised Wu Lingcong. He said, “The second best in the examination is destined to occupy a place in the martial arts world.”

In that year, the champion of the national examination was Little Sword Lord Xie Yutang and the third was Song Xinglie. Both were well-known in the world but only Wu Lingcong received such praise from the emperor!

Although Lin Xun possessed only a cultivation base of the fifth layer True Martial Stage and he couldn’t be compared to a pride of heavens such as Wu Lingcong, the fact that he showed signs of breakthrough in battle was already enough to shock the world.

Black Widow's heart rose and fell in waves. The boy and girl are both terrifying. She couldn’t help but feel defeated when she compared herself to them.

I really can’t compare to them!

“Your comrade is about to lose.”

Xia Zhi suddenly spoke and made Black Widow snap to her senses. When she looked at the battlefield, she saw that Du Xiao’s attacks were still extremely fierce but he was gradually failing to suppress Lin Xun.

Du Xiao constantly roared in fury. His sunken cheeks reddened with shock and anger, as though he couldn’t believe that his opponent was that tenacious and difficult to deal with.

Boom!

Du Xiao made a long cry into the air as he thrust the awl forward in his hand like he was making a final desperate struggle.

Lin Xun’s entire body suddenly glowed a dazzling red like a blazing furnace had suddenly erupted in his body.

Instantly, the aura around him rose dramatically, as if he was being reborn and turned into another person.

He broke through!

Black Widow gasped in her heart, and her soul almost left her body. The youngster actually achieved it…

“Impossible! You…you…”

As though terrified by the scene, Du Xiao’s fierce face contorted with endless bitterness.

Bang!

At the same time, Lin Xun’s blade flashed like lightning in his hand as it struck the awl in his opponent’s hand. Du Xiao’s wrist cracked and snapped from the tremendous power. Then, he let out a tragic scream as he was sent flying across the air.

Pu!

Lin Xun stepped forward and directly pierced Du Xiao’s throat. Bright red blood sputtered everywhere in the dark night. It was both beautiful and terrifyingly sad.

Hu—

Lun Xun’s breathing was labored and rapid. He looked at Xia Zhi and sat down cross-legged on the ground.

The battle had not only gone on for a long time, but it was also full of danger. It had simply been a battle of life and death.

Even Lian Xun had to admit that Du Xiao was the strongest opponent he had faced since he started his cultivation journey. Not only was Du Xiao’s strength two levels above his, but he also had rich combat experience. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t compare to him.

Near the end of the battle, Lin Xun had almost exhausted his aeth power and he fell into an extremely dangerous situation.

Fortunately, he grasped the opportunity to make a breakthrough at the critical juncture and turned his situation around.

Now, Du Xiao was dead and he had made a breakthrough in battle, but his blood was blazing and bubbling like a stove in his body and his aeth power was soaring and rampaging around his body like a wild horse that refused to be bridled. If he didn’t soon regain control, he would be at risk of losing himself.

Under the night sky, Lin Xun’s expression was serious and calm. He was completely absorbed into the cultivation world.

Black Widow ignored him and just stared dazedly at Du Xiao’s corpse. Her beautiful face looked particularly dispirited and helpless in the darkness.

Frowning Oldy and Du Xiao are both dead…

If I had known about this, I wouldn't have accepted this assassination request!

Black Widow thought bitterly. It’s my turn next, isn’t it?

“If you tell us who sent you here, I will let you go immediately.” Xia Zhi said softly, her voice as ethereal as before.

But Black Widow felt a chill run through her body when it fell in her ears. She knew death was approaching.

“I’m just an assassin who helps the employer to assassinate the target. We don’t know about our employer’s identity. Kill me if you want.” Black Widow’s face was deathly pale and her voice was low.

She indeed knew nothing about the employer’s identity. She had nothing to say if Lin Xun and Xia Zhi didn’t believe her. From the moment she became an assassin, she was ready to accept death after the failure of a mission.

This was the test that every qualified assassin must face.

Xia Zhi pondered for a moment and said, “You can go.”

For a moment, Black Widow almost thought that she had heard it wrong. She stared at her blankly and finally cried out, “You want to let me go?”

“There’s no point in killing you,” said Xia Zhi indifferently.

Black Widow thought that Xia Zhi was softhearted but when she heard the reason, she came to realize the bitter truth that Xia Zhi attached no importance to her.

What do you mean no point?

In other words, even if you die, it’s worthless to others!

“Thank you.”

Black Widow was silent for a long moment before she got up and bowed to Xia Zhi. Then, she pointed to the corpses of Du Xiao and Frowning Oldy, asking, “They’re already dead, can I bring their bones back and bury them?”

Xia Zhi cast a surprised glance at her and then nodded. “That would be good.”

Black Widow bowed deeply at Xia Zhi again and swiftly disappeared into the darkness with the two corpses.

“The Wu Clan? Or could it be Lian Fei?”

Xia Zhi quietly guarded Lin Xun. She stood there silently in the darkness, her jet-black eyes were filled with coldness and indifference.

In the past ten days, she and Lin Xun had been waiting for an opportunity to kill Lian Fei, but unfortunately, according to the intelligence brought back by the spies sent by Fatty Diao, Lian Fei had never left Donglin Academy.

However, unexpectedly, before she and Lin Xun had acted, the enemies couldn't hold back and sent assassins for them.

“Whoever it is must pay the price of death!”

As the little girl raised her head, a few strands of jet-black hair under the hat’s brim escaped into the cold wind and fluttered over her forehead. Her tranquil and beautiful fair face flashed murderous intent in the darkness.