Chapter 63
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 63: Assassin Duel
Lin Jiang led away all the enemies in the Qi Refining Period, leaving Zhang Ruifang to face three opponents in the Building Foundation Period. Like her, all of them were in the early stages of Building Foundation.
In a three-against-one situation, Zhang Ruifang didn’t have the advantage. She was only defending herself and eager to enter the forest to demonstrate her assassin skills.
Seeing Lin Jiang forced into the forest, Zhang Ruifang became extremely worried and even more eager to enter.
However, the others didn’t give her a chance. Every time she approached the direction of the forest, they forced her to retreat.
“Go.”
Zhang Ruifang gritted her teeth and scattered the remaining dozen or so spiritual talismans on her body. Various attacks suddenly flew in all directions.
“Be careful, she’s going into the forest.”
As assassins themselves, the three knew exactly what Zhang Ruifang intended to do. Ignoring the attacks from the spiritual talismans, one of them wielded their sword and aimed at Zhang Ruifang, trying to prevent her from escaping.
“Missed, she got away.”
“She’s gone into the forest.”
“Should we chase her?”
The three of them immediately panicked. In the Dark Night, they were considered average in terms of strength. The powerful assassins had long since disappeared, having suffered losses in a battle at Sanjiang Estuary a few years ago and being hunted by the two major sects, which further weakened their forces.
The remaining assassins were ordinary. They had been undercover for years with no income, so they couldn’t afford to train new top-tier assassins. That was why only Cao Yang was sent to assassinate Wen Xing. If it were before, Dark Night would have sent at least two or three people for the mission.
“Go in and kill her. She must die.”
The leader of the late-stage Building Foundation assassins spoke up. Zhang Ruifang had to die. The organization had invested a lot in training these assassins. If she escaped without punishment, it would be difficult to maintain control of the team in the future.
“Let’s go.”
The three glanced at each other and flew toward the nearest part of the forest.
But at that moment, Zhang Ruifang appeared behind them. She held a dagger and stabbed one of them in the waist. She twisted the knife forcefully, pulled it out, and quickly retreated.
It turns out Zhang Ruifang hadn’t really run away. She used a spiritual talisman to interfere with the three men’s vision and employed a hiding technique to enter the ground.
“Ah!”
The person who was stabbed let out a scream. For a cultivator in the Building Foundation Period, this kind of injury wasn’t necessarily fatal, but it required advanced healing pills, starting from the third rank.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any.
At this moment, Zhang Ruifang completely disappeared into the forest. Once inside, her figure vanished entirely. The two remaining assassins cautiously tracked her into the forest, searching inch by inch with their senses but finding no trace.
“Stay together, don’t separate.”
The two had a strong understanding. They had no intention of splitting up and giving Zhang Ruifang a chance to attack them individually.
Zhang Ruifang was now about a hundred meters away from them. The sensory range of the Building Foundation Period cultivators could extend beyond a hundred meters, but the farther the distance, the weaker the senses became. For someone in the Building Foundation Period, a hundred meters was already beyond the detailed scanning range of their senses.
Seeing that the two wouldn’t separate, Zhang Ruifang acted immediately. She didn’t approach them directly but maintained a distance of about a hundred meters. She moved quickly, creating various noises.
The two naturally heard these sounds and began searching. But every time they reached a location, it turned out to be empty. This gave them the impression that Zhang Ruifang was like a ghost, existing everywhere.
“Ah!”
After a quarter of an hour, several miles away, the last Qi Refining Period opponent met a brutal death at Zhang Ruifang’s hands. The previous noises were just a distraction. Her goal was to assist Lin Jiang in eliminating his opponents.
“You should hurry and leave. That person outside is called Chen Jianhong. He’s an expert assassin, even better than Cao Yang, and one of the top fighters in the Dark Night.”
Zhang Ruifang said to Lin Jiang. Chen Jianhong was even more skilled than Cao Yang. He was extremely powerful, and Zhang Ruifang had no confidence in facing him.
“I can’t escape. Aurora Falcon is being targeted by him. In terms of speed, I can’t compete with him. I can only take them out.”
Lin Jiang replied. Besides, these people also needed to be silenced. Only by silencing them could his identity in Yunzhong City remain a secret. Otherwise, he’d be discovered sooner or later.
“We are not opponents.”
“Maybe not. By dealing with the remaining two Building Foundation members, the two of us, along with Aurora Falcon, have the strength of Building Foundation.”
“You…”
Zhang Ruifang was somewhat surprised. She knew Lin Jiang had used a secret technique. Could it be sustained, given the high cost of using such a technique to compete with Building Foundation cultivators for a short time?
“Trust me.”
Lin Jiang said softly, looking at the system. With over forty thousand years of life, he could easily indulge himself. The Explosive Element Technique could only last a hundred years at most, but he could afford it completely.
“Okay, come close and listen…”
Zhang Ruifang gritted her teeth and agreed. She whispered in Lin Jiang’s ear, and then they hid Cao Ying, who had been knocked unconscious by Lin Jiang’s spell, in a big tree.
·······
“There’s no movement.”
“Did they run away?”
“It’s possible.”
“What do we do? We can’t explain this.”
The two assassins couldn’t find Zhang Ruifang at the moment, and they couldn’t hear any sounds either. Both were getting panicked. If their target escaped, they would be severely punished by the organization.
In fact, once they entered the forest, they lost control. Whether it was an ambush or an escape, it was up to Zhang Ruifang to decide.
“Splash.”
However, at this moment, a noise came from a hundred meters away, making both of them feel uneasy. Even though they knew it could be a trap, they had to investigate.
A hundred meters away, there was a dense tangle of thorns that could easily hide a few people. The two silently approached.
After getting closer, they exchanged a glance, and one of them took out a special charm and threw it toward the thorns.
“Thud.”
This was a golden charm. After activating the special charm, dozens of golden lights disappeared into the thorny bushes. However, apart from the sound of hitting the ground, there was no other movement.
Both realized they had missed their target again and were about to retreat. But before they could turn around, they heard a rushing sound behind them.
Lin Jiang activated another special charm. He could only activate twenty charms at a time, which was the limit of his ability. He intentionally chose seven different charms to confuse and distract the enemy with various attacks.
“One Sword Flying Immortal.”
“Explosive Element Technique.”
After Lin Jiang activated the spiritual talisman, he used a secret technique again to deal with a powerful opponent in the Building Foundation Period. Neither the Qianque Crossbow nor the silver needles were effective, only the Explosive Elemental Technique, which consumed life force, could pose a threat to the opponent in the Building Foundation Period.
“I’ll block it.”
“Kill.”
The two cooperated seamlessly. One used a magical shield to block the attack and a flying sword to sweep away the attacks from the spiritual talisman. The other attacked from the side, aiming to kill the opponent.
“Boom.”
Lin Jiang’s Flying Sword Immortal first collided with the opponent’s shield. Then, Lin Jiang quickly advanced and continued his assault.
However, in mid-air, the person who intended to assassinate Lin Jiang was intercepted by Zhang Ruifang. Both abandoned their flying swords and used daggers, fiercely stabbing at each other, testing who was quicker and more resilient.
“Snap.”
After a short while, both landed, but Zhang Ruifang was standing while the other lay on the ground, clutching their neck with despair in their eyes.
Faced with this opponent, Lin Jiang was also not in a favorable position. Every punch from Lin Jiang was equally strong as his. He was tightly constrained until Zhang Ruifang appeared behind him and ended the battle with a single slash.
“You’re hurt.”
Lin Jiang approached and noticed a strong smell of blood coming from Zhang Ruifang. He saw at least three wounds.
“I’m fine.”
Zhang Ruifang replied, feeling frustrated. She had been too comfortable these past few years. If it were during her peak, she wouldn’t have been hit even once. But now, she’d been struck five times. Although she managed to avoid vital areas, it would definitely affect the upcoming battles.
“I have some medicine for injuries.”
“Keep it, I have some too.”
Zhang Ruifang shook her head. She took out a medicine and swallowed one first, then crushed another and applied it to her wound.
“Let’s go outside. Once we kill the last person, we can go home or somewhere else.”
Lin Jiang picked up their bag and divided it into two, handing one to Zhang Ruifang. He also put a few in his own pocket.
“Okay.”
Zhang Ruifang nodded and intentionally lagged behind Lin Jiang. Then, she put another medicine in her mouth.
Chen Jianhong was still struggling with Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao. They were no match for him, but they were fast and flew high. Chen Jianhong couldn’t handle them, except for a few times when he managed to lure them down but almost succeeded.
“It’s impressive to see an excellent assassin trained by the organization.”
Chen Jianhong saw Lin Jiang and Zhang Ruifang coming out and knew all his people were dead. However, he didn’t care. Those people were from the organization, not his subordinates. It didn’t matter to him if they died. As long as he killed Zhang Ruifang, he would complete his mission.
“Chen Jianhong, my late husband Cao Yang helped you several times back then. Why go to such extremes?”
“Cao Yang was really good and helped me before, but you know the rules of the organization. You shouldn’t have run away. Running away is a capital crime. If you don’t die, then I will have to die.”
Chen Jianhong said he truly admired Cao Yang. They fought side by side before, and Cao Yang even helped him. But that little favor wasn’t enough for him to die for Cao Yang’s wife and child.
“So, there’s nothing more to say. Are we really going to fight to the death?”
“Zhang Ruifang, do you really think you can beat me just by relying on these two animals?”
“How do you know if you don’t even give it a try?”
“Haha, if your husband Cao Yang were here, maybe I would be a little worried. As for you, tut tut…”
Chen Jianhong shook his head. Zhang Ruifang had a decent rank within their organization, above average, but compared to him, there was a huge difference. This kind of rank could mean the difference between life and death.
“Looks like I still don’t have any presence at all.”
Lin Jiang rubbed his nose, feeling embarrassed. Chen Jianhong was completely ignoring him, and he felt worse than Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao. This made Lin Jiang very angry, like he had no dignity at all.
