The ceiling of the great hall had been pierced with a hole about ten centimeters wide. Roof tiles fell and dust flew.
Two black-clad figures hiding on the roof beams, preparing to strike at an opportune moment, had only their exposed eyes flickering with shock.
Their other companion had attacked from directly above. It should have been a sure kill, but unexpectedly, the target suddenly looked up, raised the silvery object in his hand, and with a bang, shot out a beam of light.
The beam was very fast—the two couldn’t see clearly what it was.
Then… they saw their companion’s chest pierced through, the light blast continuing toward the ceiling!
“Thud!”
The black-clad man hit by the bullet fell to the ground, blood flowing. A song of sorrow was sent to him.
“Ding!”
“Eliminated assassin hiding in the shadows attempting to kill the host 1/3 [Elite Quest]”
Jun Changxiao turned his arm, aiming the gun barrel at another black-clad man on the roof beam, saying coldly: “Daring to come assassinate this Sect Master—your courage really isn’t small!”
With a gun in hand, he truly was safe and secure!
“Swish!”
The black-clad man being aimed at hurriedly dodged to the other side, his gaze filled with killing intent. As he moved, several concealed weapons appeared out of thin air in his hand!
Jun Changxiao simply swung the gun and pulled the trigger with his finger.
“Bang!”
The gun barrel once again spat out a bullet, penetrating the opponent’s forehead at extreme speed. The ceiling was pierced with another hole as the opponent also crashed heavily to the ground.
“Ding!”
“Eliminated assassin hiding in the shadows attempting to kill the host 2/3 [Elite Quest]”
“Swish!”
Jun Changxiao’s body turned, the gun barrel aimed at the third assassin, saying indifferently: “You think your speed can be faster than this Sect Master’s concealed weapon? Why don’t you try moving?”
The black-clad man who had planned to attack froze, the shock in his eyes growing even stronger.
The first companion rushing down was killed by the concealed weapon—that could be attributed to carelessness. But the second companion being directly killed while in motion made one’s scalp tingle!
“Swish! Swish!”
Lu Qianqian and Li Qingyang rushed from the Spiritual Energy Array into the great hall. They first saw two black-clad men lying in pools of blood, then following the Sect Master’s gun barrel, saw the third black-clad man on the roof beam.
These were—assassins!!
…
Assassins were like venomous snakes hiding in the shadows, always watching their targets. Once they caught an opportunity, they would suddenly strike without warning.
Appearing and disappearing mysteriously, like ghosts—this was ordinary people’s understanding of assassins.
However, the black-clad man standing on the roof beam had undoubtedly disgraced the mysterious profession of “assassin” at this moment, because in the great hall below, a group of disciples surrounded him discussing.
“So this is an assassin?”
“Wearing all black in broad daylight—isn’t he afraid of being conspicuous?”
“From the looks of it, he should have Wutu-level cultivation, right?”
Everyone discussed while looking at the assassin, rather like watching a monkey at the zoo.
The black-clad man’s blood boiled within—there was a possibility of it spraying from his throat. But he didn’t dare move, because the silvery concealed weapon kept him locked in its sights.
The Iron Bone Sect disciples were all here, blocking the entrance. Even without the gun pointed at him, trying to run was no longer possible.
Being an assassin to this extent would be a disgrace to the profession if word got out.
Jun Changxiao sat down, crossed his legs, and said: “Is it cool up there? Why don’t you jump down?”
The black-clad man could only jump down from the roof beam.
Jun Changxiao said: “Throw out the concealed weapons in your sleeves. Hold your head with both hands and squat on the ground.”
“Clang clang.”
Several pentagonal concealed weapons fell. The black-clad man obediently held his head and squatted.
“Swish!”
Li Qingyang strode forward, his Cold Edge Sword pressed against the man’s neck.
The assassin was already subdued. Sect Master Jun still held his arm raised in a gun-gripping posture—not because he was overly cautious, but because after firing two consecutive shots, his arm muscles had stiffened again!
The first time he fired the gun, the recoil blasted him three to five meters away. Now, after firing two shots consecutively, he could hold steady—tremendous progress.
Just kidding.
After being tempered in the Muscle Sculpting Machine for so long, it wasn’t for nothing.
“Ding!”
“Eliminated assassin hiding in the shadows attempting to kill the host 3/3 [Elite Quest]”
“Ding!”
“Congratulations to the host for completing side quest. Obtained 30 sect contribution points.”
“Ding!”
“Sect Contribution Points: 92/500.”
When Li Qingyang and Su Xiaomo used thick rope to bind the assassin inside and out like a rice dumpling, the side quest met completion conditions.
“Eliminate” could mean kill, severely wound, or capture.
Jun Changxiao smacked his lips, thinking: “Gave 30 points—not bad, not bad.”
“Sect Master, what should we do with this assassin?” Li Qingyang asked.
Jun Changxiao walked before the assassin, removed the black cloth, revealing a middle-aged man with a square face, and said: “Speak. Who sent you to kill this Sect Master?”
“An assassin’s first principle—never reveal the employer’s identity!” the assassin said through gritted teeth.
Jun Changxiao squatted down and said: “Actually, even without you saying it, this Sect Master knows who sent you to kill me. It must be Lingquan Sect.”
A trace of something unusual flashed through the assassin’s eyes, but he concealed it well.
Jun Changxiao caught it and got the answer he wanted. Standing up, he said: “Seal his qi meridians and imprison him.”
“Yes.”
Tian Qi and Su Xiaomo led the assassin away.
The disciples gradually withdrew, all discussing the thunderous sound from earlier along the way, all regretting not personally witnessing the gunfire!
…
Jun Changxiao sat in the thousand-year nanmu chair, thinking: “No wonder there’s been no movement all this time. So they spent money to hire assassins to kill me.”
After killing Wei Yile and the other at the City Lord’s Manor, he knew his relationship with Lingquan Sect was like fire and water. But he hadn’t expected them to pull this move.
“First bribing mountain bandits to kidnap my disciples, now hiring assassins to assassinate me—your underhanded tricks really come one after another,” Jun Changxiao’s gaze gradually filled with killing intent.
If it was just mockery, he could turn a deaf ear.
But repeatedly trying to kill him touched his principle—if others offend me, I will offend them in return.
“After the Sect Martial Competition ends, I must retaliate in kind, letting them know this lord is not to be trifled with.”
Jun Changxiao made his decision.
He opened the purchased items in the data panel and clicked on Exquisite Fire.
“Ding!”
“Host spent 50 contribution points. Obtained supreme grade fire seed, Exquisite Fire ×1. Transported to spatial ring.”
“Ding!”
“Sect Contribution Points: 42/500.”
…
“Swish!”
Within the spatial ring, Jun Changxiao pinched his fingers. Blazing flames emerged—this was Exquisite Fire. Because it was purchased from the shop, he easily succeeded in fusing with it.
With a fire seed, he could also be considered a fire-element martial artist. Empowering it with spiritual energy could form a flame momentum.
He had the flames, so naturally he had to refine pills!
Jun Changxiao gave two disciples a thousand taels in silver notes, ordering them to go to Qingyang City to purchase medicinal materials for four types of pills. He himself continued cultivating at the sect.
At dusk, the disciples who went shopping returned.
Though they brought back quite a few medicinal materials, they only managed to gather enough materials for five First-Grade Healing Pills and two First-Grade Body Sculpting Pills. The Qi Gathering Pills and Qi Spiral Pills were far from sufficient.
Jun Changxiao didn’t dwell on this. He opened the Alchemy Pavilion and began refining pills.
In the detailed pill description, medicinal materials auto-matched, Exquisite Fire auto-matched, and the refine button also showed bright color.
Click.
Refinement began.
“Ding! Ding! Ding!”
Thirty minutes later, five Healing Pills and two Body Sculpting Pills appeared in the spatial ring.
Jun Changxiao said: “Protagonists in novels who refine pills mostly need one or two chapters to describe how difficult it is. I didn’t expect it to succeed so easily in the system’s Alchemy Pavilion.”
The Healing Pills had no immediate use. He first stored them in a pill bottle, then picked up a Body Sculpting Pill and swallowed it.
The medicinal effects took hold. His meridians, blood vessels, and muscles immediately transformed!
“Bang!”
Jun Changxiao punched the strength testing machine, which displayed a value of 2,200 catties.
After opening his twelve meridians, his tested strength was 2,000 catties. After eating the Body Sculpting Pill, it directly increased by 200 catties!
“Creak.”
Right at this moment, Xiao Zuiji slid out from the Sculpting Room like a puddle of mud.
Jun Changxiao walked over, pried open his mouth, and tossed in the only remaining Body Sculpting Pill, murmuring: “This disciple of yours has really cost this Sect Master quite a lot of effort.”
…
Six days later.
Li Qingyang and the other four disciples ended their devil training, standing fully equipped on the Performance Martial Grounds ready to depart.
Jun Changxiao, dressed in white robes, walked out from the great hall and said in a clear voice: “For this trip to Liyang City to participate in the Sect Martial Competition, this Sect Master has only one requirement—monopolize the top five positions!”
“Yes!”
Li Qingyang, Su Xiaomo, and the other three shouted in unison.
Jun Changxiao snapped his fingers and led them out the gate under the watchful eyes of many disciples, taking the first step for the Iron Bone Unyielding Sect to make its name known across the Xingyun Continent!