Chapter 122: Assassin Training Class

In the principal's office, He Jingfeng sat in the chair reserved for guests, with three silent men in black standing behind him.

Tang Miaoxing sat in the principal's seat, hands crossed on the desk, with three people standing on his left and right.

The man on the left was a silent old man with a white beard; introduced by Tang Miaoxing, he was his junior brother, Tang Tang Qiushan.

The two on the right were one old and one middle-aged; the old one had an unfriendly expression and looked difficult to deal with—this was Zhang Wang, the Tang Sect's artificer, who mastered the sect's artificing and mechanism arts.

As for the final middle-aged man, he was the face of the Tang Sect's middle generation, namely the master of Tang Wenlong, who represented the Tang Sect at the Luotian Da Jiao—Tang Ming Le!

These three, plus Sect Leader Tang Miaoxing, were the four senior figures currently managing the Tang Sect.

The fact that all four hosted He Jingfeng together showed the high regard Tang Miaoxing held for him.

"Can you speak now?"

Tang Miaoxing stared at He Jingfeng and said, "Lord of the Pavilion, what exactly is the purpose of your visit?"

"Naturally, it is good news!"

He Jingfeng smiled and said, "As the Sect Leader of the Tang Sect, you must have heard rumors, to some extent, about the predecessor of the Nether Pavilion?"

Tang Miaoxing spoke in a deep voice, "You refer to the underground assassin organization that once spanned Europe and America, the Spear of God?"

He Jingfeng nodded and said, "Correct. Now the Spear of God has been absorbed by Bai Bai Yujing; though it has transformed into a transnational extraordinary power, it still retains part of its previous business."

"From this perspective, we and your sect are essentially in the same trade~"

Tang Miaoxing's gaze sharpened; he exchanged a glance with the two junior brothers beside him and shook his head, saying, "The Tang Sect has long ceased such dealings. If you have something to say, speak plainly!"

"Yes, the current situation in the Eastern lands indeed does not permit you to continue such matters."

He Jingfeng glanced at him and said, "But... the Tang Sect's millennium-old skills were forged precisely in such matters; without the trials of life and death, one cannot grasp their essence."

"Sect Leader, you have noticed it too, have you not? The overall quality of the Tang Sect has been declining in recent years."

"The newly recruited disciples are worse with each generation; where is the glory of the Battle of Mian Mountain back then!"

"Even the supreme art you take pride in, the Dan Shi, now has few who can inherit it, does it not?"

Hearing the earlier remarks, Tang Miaoxing and the others merely had expressions that were somewhat unpleasant.

But upon hearing the final sentence concerning the current state of the Dan Shi, the expressions of Tang Miaoxing and the others all darkened.

Zhang Wang frowned tightly and could not help but speak with a gloomy face, "Lord He, have you not crossed the line?"

"Do not speak out of turn!"

Before he could finish, Tang Miaoxing raised his hand, blocking him, and said calmly, "Let Lord He finish speaking."

He Jingfeng smiled and said softly, "My request today is simple. The Spear of God is, after all, a Western power; after being absorbed by Bai Bai Yujing as the Nether Pavilion, the high ranks of the Pavilion still consist mostly of Westerners."

"I do not like this situation, so I wish to introduce some forces into the East."

"You may understand this as my personal preference, or consider it the so-called art of balance."

"In any case, among the many extraordinary powers in the East, the first one that caught my eye is the Tang Sect, also famous for assassination!"

At this point, He Jingfeng's meaning was already very clear.

He looked at Tang Miaoxing with a calm expression and said, "Sect Leader Tang, cooperate with me!"

"You provide the talent, and I provide opportunities for assassination trials; moreover, I can guarantee that all missions entrusted to the Tang Sect will align with Eastern values, and there will never be indiscriminate killing for money!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Tang Qiushan and Zhang Wang immediately exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat complex.

Only Tang Miaoxing remained expressionless, seemingly unmoved.

"Lord He's kindness is appreciated by this old man, but the Tang Sect has enjoyed peace for too long; the younger generation is of mixed quality. To send them to the Nether Pavilion for trials would be a minor loss of life, but ruining Lord He's business would be a major matter!"

He Jingfeng laughed and said, "Does the Sect Leader look down on me?"

Tang Miaoxing shook his head and said, "How dare I, how dare I! It is merely that our paths differ, and thus we cannot plan together."

"What a fine 'paths differ, and thus we cannot plan together'!"

He Jingfeng praised, "The Nether Pavilion is precisely lacking a figure like the Sect Leader!"

Seeing that He Jingfeng still would not give up, Tang Miaoxing could not help but frown.

"Lord He, this old man respects you as a great figure and does not wish to speak too bluntly..."

"I naturally understand that!"

He Jingfeng smiled and said, "Sect Leader, do not misunderstand. The Nether Pavilion is not the kind of power you imagine; the assassination business is only a part of our vast enterprise."

"Unless something unexpected occurs, we will gradually reduce this aspect of our business until we have completely transformed."

"To achieve this goal, we have even closed the training base of the Spear of God, relocated the orphans previously taken in, and given them lives other than that of assassins."

"Based on this reason, manpower will certainly be short in the future, which is why I wish to cooperate with your sect."

"This cooperation is only temporary; as long as you are willing, you may terminate it at any time."

"Of course, if the cooperation proceeds smoothly, the Tang Sect could also join other businesses of the Nether Pavilion; even becoming partners is not impossible!"

At this point, Tang Miaoxing and the others had fallen silent.

He Jingfeng smiled slightly and continued, "As for the issue of stance, Sect Leader need not worry; our cooperation with the Company is far deeper than any outside speculation."

"Believe it or not, with a single phone call, I can have the Company lobby your sect on my behalf!"

Is that true or false?

Tang Tang Qiushan and Zhang Wang looked suspicious.

Tang Miaoxing then said softly, "I do not doubt Lord He's power, but this matter is indeed beyond my authority to decide; a high-level meeting must be convened to discuss it carefully."

"Then I shall give your sect some time to discuss it properly!"

Seeing Tang Miaoxing's attitude soften, He Jingfeng nodded and then said with a smile, "Regardless of the outcome, the doors of the Nether Pavilion will always remain open to your sect, and one of the seven Shadow seats in the Pavilion will always be reserved for the Sect Leader."

"..."

Tang Miaoxing's expression was complex; he let out a long sigh and said, "Lord He is so generous that it makes this old man seem pretentious!"

He Jingfeng shook his head and said, "Sect Leader misunderstands. Offering these conditions is not due to any generosity, but stems from my personal respect for those Tang Sect martyrs of the past..."

Having finished speaking, he rose from his chair and turned to walk toward the door of the principal's office.

The three taciturn men in black robes turned and followed He Jing's footsteps.

Tang Tang Miaoxing and the others stared blankly at He Jing's back, momentarily unable to tell whether this was mere verbal manipulation or his true thoughts...

Just then, He Jing, who had just opened the door, suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, turned around, and said:

"Oh, by the way, the Nether Pavilion also has quite a bit of business on the island nation to the east..."

At these words, Tang Tang Miaoxing and the others all showed a flicker of expression.

He Jing smiled slightly, then left the headmaster's office.

After he departed, the four people in the room exchanged glances and fell silent.

Moments later, Tang Tang Miaoxing broke the silence first: "Speak your opinions."

Zhang Wang and Tang Tang Qiushan exchanged a glance; the latter hesitated and said, "I think... either way is fine..."

What difference is there between saying that and saying nothing?

Tang Tang Miaoxing and Zhang Wang looked at him wordlessly.

There was no help for it; this old fellow was by nature indecisive. Asking him to make a decision was truly difficult.

Tang Tang Miaoxing shook his head and turned to look at Zhang Wang.

Zhang Wang pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "If they can guarantee the safety of my Tang Sect disciples, I believe we can cooperate."

"Do you want to hear what you're saying?"

Tang Tang Miaoxing said calmly, "Guaranteeing safety—how then can they undergo the tempering of life and death?"

Zhang Wang frowned and said, "Do you really intend to use this opportunity to temper the disciples?"

"Otherwise what?" Tang Tang Miaoxing glanced at him and said, "Otherwise, what's the point? The Nether Pavilion's vast wealth and great enterprise, to earn some money?"

Zhang Wang, ashamed and angry, said, "That's not what I meant!"

Tang Tang Miaoxing shook his head and said, "I know that's not what you meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

Zhang Wang snorted coldly, "Thinking only of tempering the disciples, not caring about their safety?"

Tang Tang Miaoxing frowned and fell silent.

Zhang Wang said coldly, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You also want to cooperate with the Nether Pavilion, but your purpose isn't merely to let the disciples gain experience; you also want to use this opportunity to cultivate a few candidates for Dan Shi!"

"You—"

"You what!"

Zhang Wang said coldly, "Whether it's you or anyone else, though there is a distinction between the inner and outer sects, we are all brothers who grew up playing together. How the two elder brothers Ting Feng and Guan Hai met their end, there's no need for me to say more, is there?"

Tang Tang Miaoxing's face darkened.

Tang Tang Qiushan, standing nearby, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, stop talking; Xiao Ming is still here!"

Zhang Wang glanced at the embarrassed Tang Ming, snorted, then turned his head away, refusing to look at Tang Tang Miaoxing.

Seeing this, Tang Tang Qiushan sighed and said helplessly, "I've figured it out; you two both want to cooperate, you just disagree on the treatment of the disciples."

"In that case, why not ask the children below?"

Saying this, he turned around and looked at Tang Ming, asking, "Xiao Ming, what do you think?"

"Me?"

Tang Ming, who had been unable to speak, scratched his head, pondered for a moment, then said quietly, "I haven't thought much about it; I just feel that going abroad for tempering is indeed a good choice."

"You see, even domestic military doctors must study abroad to accumulate experience with gunshot wounds."

"Isn't it the same principle for our Tang Sect disciples going abroad for advanced training?"

"How can that be the same?" Zhang Wang said irritably, "Military doctors only treat wounds; we are the ones who kill!"

Tang Ming asked in surprise, "You've always complained that we lack tempering; why, at this critical moment, are you more worried than we are!"

Zhang Wang was momentarily speechless, then, in a fit of anger and shame, slapped Tang Ming on the back.

Tang Ming took the slap squarely, smiling as he said, "Actually, back when I chose to join the Tang Sect, I already had a similar resolve. As for others, I'm not sure, but they should be much like me."

"Regarding those who should be killed, I have no objection."

"If it's the island nation, that's even better!"

(End of this chapter)