Chapter 24: Accept the Assassination Mission

Diao Rongqi glanced at the young True God and entered the small pavilion alone.

Inside the pavilion, Diao Rongqi immediately saw Luo Feng and Mo Luo Sa seated, eating delicacies and drinking wine.

“Diao Rongqi pays homage to Your Reverence,” Diao Rongqi knelt low, her forehead touching the ground.

“Speak,” Luo Feng said calmly, pouring himself more wine.

“My father was killed; all ten thousand lives in our estate—including children—were slaughtered,” Diao Rongqi knelt, “I only wish to avenge my father and all the slain souls of our estate.”

“I begged the Marquis’s mansion to kill the murderer, but they did nothing.”

I raised the bounty in the Shadow Chamber of the Yanfeng Guild, hoping someone would take the job, but I waited all night and not a single strong expert stepped forward.

“I know Your Reverence fears no Blood Serpent Guild, so I come to beg you—please accept this bounty and kill the Blood Serpent Guild’s leader,” Diao Rongqi said, voice hoarse with pleading.

Luo Feng and Mo Luo Sa both looked at her.

“What do you offer me?” Luo Feng said. “This banquet you arranged?”

Diao Rongqi knelt low and whispered, “I have nothing. My wealth was almost entirely poured into the Yanfeng Guild’s Shadow Chamber bounty. Now I have only ten thousand Cosmic Sands. I am willing to offer them all to Your Reverence.”

“I know these Cosmic Sands are far too little to hire Your Reverence. But I have nothing left—only my life.”

“I offer myself as your slave, to serve you for life. I ask for nothing else—only vengeance,” Diao Rongqi said, tears in her eyes, her furry tail drooping limply beside her.

Luo Feng looked at her. “Sell yourself as a slave? Your father clearly made arrangements for you. You arrived here aboard a Mo Li clan airship—you could live freely for the rest of your life. Yet now you give up everything, sell yourself into slavery, just for vengeance?”

“Yes,” Diao Rongqi knelt, without the slightest hesitation.

“Even if I kill the Blood Serpent Guild’s leader, your father cannot be brought back. For a dead father, are you willing to forsake a lifetime of freedom?” Luo Feng studied her. The last time he saw this Diao family heiress, he had sensed her pride—but now, she was utterly transformed.

Diao Rongqi knelt. “He was my father! The one who loved me most, who protected and cherished me always. His final message to me was filled with care—planning my future. But… the one who loved me most is gone! All the kin I’ve known since birth are gone too!”

“For vengeance, I will do anything! At any cost! Even if I die and my soul is erased, I will not regret it!” Diao Rongqi looked at Luo Feng.

“Your father’s final message arranged your future? He surely wished you to live well,” Luo Feng said. “You don’t need to sell yourself as a slave. Keep your ten thousand Cosmic Sands. Cultivate well. Live as your father wished. As for your request—I already planned to take on a bounty.”

“The Blood Serpent Guild’s leader is my first bounty target,” Luo Feng said.

Diao Rongqi stared at Luo Feng, stunned.

No Cosmic Sands needed. No slavery required. He would help—just like that?

“I wish to serve Your Reverence,” Diao Rongqi said, overflowing with gratitude.

“Not needed,” Luo Feng shook his head gently. “Return to the Mo Li clan. Remember—keep this secret.”

Diao Rongqi nodded quickly.

She understood secrecy well.

“You will receive word before nightfall,” Luo Feng waved lightly. “You may go.”

“Thank you, Your Reverence,” Diao Rongqi bowed deeply, then rose and withdrew.

As Diao Rongqi stepped out of the pavilion, her emotions surged. She saw Mo Yu Qingyan standing guard at the entrance—and felt a strange pang of envy. She had offered to become a slave, yet Your Reverence had refused.

“Miss,” Suo Yun hurried over to greet her.

“Suo Yun, my father is dead. The Diao clan is finished,” Diao Rongqi said. “You no longer need to serve as my guard.” She patted his shoulder, and a jade vial appeared inside his robe.

Suo Yun stood frozen, barely believing it.

Diao Rongqi soon boarded the Mo Li clan airship and departed.

“The Diao clan is finished?” Suo Yun, having guarded the Huojie Eatery for so long, was poorly informed—he didn’t know what had happened last night. He sensed the jade vial’s power and his heart leapt. “Five hundred Chaos Crystals! Miss is truly generous.”

Even with his talent, as a guard in the Diao household, he earned only ten Chaos Crystals per eon. Now, for his departure, she gave him five hundred—enormous for a True God.

He understood: this was payment for his loyalty.

“With this, I can buy resources to refine my divine body and bloodline. Combined with my inherited techniques, my talent gives me a real chance to become a Void True God,” Suo Yun thought, his heart burning hot as he turned and left.

…

At this moment, the Huojie Eatery’s owner, “Black Butcher,” also noticed Suo Yun leaving.

“That guard, Suo Yun—he’s been stationed at my eatery for a while. He’s finally leaving?” Black Butcher thought. “And the Diao family heiress was strange too—she always traveled with her own guard squad. Why did she arrive on a Mo Li clan airship?”

Black Butcher sensed something was off. He had entered the Cycle and come to the Origin Continent, struggled in Hu Yang City for ages, yet remained stuck at Void True God—his information was limited. He didn’t know the Diao clan had been wiped out.

“Black Butcher!” A voice barked. A red-haired man, Duan Moyun, arrived with several subordinates at the Huojie Eatery. “Duan Chief,” the fat Black Butcher hurried to greet him warmly. As a Law-line cultivator who had trained on the Origin Continent for eons, Black Butcher was unquestionably among the top Void True Gods—capable of overpowering Duan Moyun. Yet he dared not show the slightest disrespect, for Duan Moyun was one of the Blood Serpent Guild’s chiefs.

“Duan Chief, what an honor to have you visit my humble eatery,” Black Butcher said warmly.

“Black Butcher,” Duan Moyun said, “I’ve come to deliver an order.”

Black Butcher frowned. “What order?”

“The Guildmaster ordered that all merchants in our territory pay a one-time tribute of one hundred eons’ worth,” Duan Moyun said.

“One hundred eons’ tribute?” Black Butcher gasped. “But we’ve always paid one eon at a time! I’ve never once failed to pay the Guild’s dues!”

“Rules have changed. Pay one hundred eons now. The next payment won’t be due for another hundred eons,” Duan Moyun smiled. “We won’t overcharge you.”

Black Butcher panicked. “But where am I supposed to get that much?”

“All merchants in our territory must pay the same,” Duan Moyun said. “You have three days. If you don’t pay… you know what happens to those who defy the Blood Serpent Guild.”

Black Butcher’s face darkened.

“The order is out. Prepare,” Duan Moyun said, then turned and left with his men.

!.

“Master, we have to gather one hundred eons’ tribute in three days?” one of his disciples worried.

Black Butcher shook his head gently. “Merchants with connections can ignore the Blood Serpent Guild. We don’t have that privilege. If we refuse now, we’ll vanish without a sound.”

Since the Blood Serpent Guild decided to demand a one-time payment of one hundred eons, they’ll make an example of someone. Those who refuse? They’ll be killed.

Black Butcher had survived in Hu Yang City this long—he knew exactly what to do and what not to do.

Yet even knowing this, he felt suffocated. “Sigh. Even running a small eatery in Hu Yang City is this hard.”

“The Blood Serpent Guild is demanding one hundred eons’ tribute?” A voice spoke.

Black Butcher turned and saw Luo Feng and Mo Luo Sa approaching.

“Your Reverence heard?” Black Butcher sighed. “The Blood Serpent Guild’s order—we small eateries have no choice but to obey.”

“The Blood Serpent Guild is truly insane,” Luo Feng nodded. “Good thing I’ve dealt with them before.”

Black Butcher muttered under his breath.

Dealt with them?

Who in Hu Yang City didn’t know that Luohe Shenjun had crushed the Blood Serpent Guild and forced them to pay twenty thousand Cosmic Sands in compensation?

“I’ll speak a word for you—your tribute should be waived,” Luo Feng said.

“That would be too much trouble for Shenjun,” Black Butcher hurried to say. In Hu Yang City, some merchants with influence never paid tribute. Only weak ones like him had no recourse. If Luohe Shenjun intervened, his eatery’s life would improve greatly.

“My influence should count for something,” Luo Feng said, then left with Mo Luo Sa and Mo Yu Qingyan.

Black Butcher watched Luo Feng depart, his heart swelling with joy. “The Blood Serpent Guild won’t fight Luohe Your Reverence over a small eatery. Oh! If Your Reverence likes my eatery, my days will be much easier.”

Having a patron meant escaping countless extortions.

…

“Master, are we going to the Blood Serpent Guild now?” High above the bustling city of Hu Yang, Mo Luo Sa’s eyes burned with eagerness. Beside him, Mo Yu Qingyan looked bewildered.

Go to the Blood Serpent Guild? Was it really necessary to act so urgently for a small eatery? Mo Yu Qingyan still didn’t know Luo Feng intended to kill the Blood Serpent Guild’s leader.

“Now,” Luo Feng nodded. “Let’s go.”

Whoosh!

Luo Feng, with his two servants, shot forward like a blurred streak of light toward the Blood Serpent Guild’s headquarters.

Soon, the vast, majestic, and awe-inspiring Blood Serpent Guild headquarters appeared in view. Many members were scattered throughout, and under the operation of arrays, their power was terrifying.

“You two wait outside,” Luo Feng said, glancing at Mo Luo Sa.

“Yes, Master,” Mo Luo Sa replied, grabbing Mo Yu Qingyan’s arm. Mo Yu Qingyan was confused—why wouldn’t the servants accompany their Master on a visit to the Blood Serpent Guild?

Mo Luo Sa sent a mental message: “Master, rest assured—even if the Blood Serpent Guild’s leader tries to flee, I’ll stop him.”

“Just watch. I’ll handle him,” Luo Feng replied mentally, then flew toward the main gate of the Blood Serpent Guild headquarters.

“Keep the Blood Serpent Guild’s leader’s corpse for me,” Mo Luo Sa sent mentally, salivating. The true body of the famed Blood Serpent Guild leader would surely be far superior to Hei Duomo’s.

Luo Feng had now reached the vicinity of the Blood Serpent Guild’s main gate and, using the Yanfeng Guild’s Shadow Chamber transmission token, instantly accepted the mission: “Assassinate Blood Serpent Guild Leader Mu Yang.”

(End of Chapter)