What?!
The lurking figure in the tree felt a jolt of fear.
He never expected that someone would suddenly appear under the big tree where he was hiding and reveal his whereabouts.
But he didn't realize it beforehand at all.
The infiltrators dared not move at all.
He wasn't sure if Lu Qing had genuinely discovered his whereabouts or was bluffing.
He was extremely confident in his stealth skills, so he still harbored a sliver of hope.
However, the next moment, he realized that he was wrong.
Seeing that the person in the tree still did not show up after he called out, Lu Qing knew that the newcomer must be hostile.
He looked up and saw that the tree was covered with lush, verdant branches and leaves, like a pavilion canopy, and he could not see the lurking figure at all.
However, possessing the power of the divine soul and having condensed a trace of the divine soul rune framework, his sensing ability far surpasses that of ordinary martial arts masters.
Even without Xiao Li's guidance, one could clearly sense where that aura was hiding.
Without the slightest hesitation, he produced a fist-sized rock that he had picked up along the way and, using a concealed weapon technique, hurled it upwards.
With Lu Qing's current strength, when his blood and qi erupt, even ordinary stones can contain powerful energy.
boom!
Accelerated to its maximum speed, the rock, imbued with immense impact, instantly pierced through the tree canopy and blasted it open.
Amidst the swirling leaves and broken branches, a figure tumbled down from a tree, rolled over, and landed on the ground with trembling arms hanging limply, staring at Lu Qing in shock.
He was both shocked that Lu Qing could actually see through his actions and surprised by Lu Qing's decisiveness in taking action.
Wasn't it rumored that this person was a chivalrous and righteous young hero?
Why did they kill him before even verifying his identity?
Recalling what had just happened, the infiltrator was still shaken.
Lu Qing's attack was too sudden and extremely precise, finding his location perfectly.
This left him no time to dodge and forced him to take the hit head-on.
His arms are now injured by the shock, and they are sore and numb. It will take at least 15 minutes for them to recover.
"Luckily I put on soft armor beforehand, otherwise my hands would probably be ruined from that blow."
The infiltrators were relieved and no longer dared to underestimate Lu Qing in the slightest.
Even a simple stone thrown out possesses an attack power no less than that of a martial arts grandmaster.
The young man before me is definitely not an ordinary Inner Strength Realm martial artist!
Not to mention, he still can't figure out how Lu Qing discovered his whereabouts.
"So you've finally decided to come down? I thought you'd rather die than stay in that tree," Lu Qing said casually.
The infiltrator in front of me was dressed in old cloth clothes and had an ordinary appearance, like any other country youth you could find anywhere.
If he were walking in the village, probably no one would think there was anything wrong with him.
However, Lu Qing didn't care about his appearance.
The top assassins of the Seven Kill Tower all possess the art of changing tendons and bones, allowing them to easily alter their appearance.
If this person was sent by the Seven Killings Tower, his current appearance may not be his true appearance.
Therefore, he activated his superpower immediately.
Soon, a rich red light of supernatural power appeared on the young man's body.
【Lin An: One of the Twelve Heavenly General Assassins of the Seven Kill Tower, codenamed'Shadow'.】
【Cultivation Level: Acquired Inner Strength Realm, Lesser Completion; Possesses various assassination techniques, especially skilled in stealth.】
【Because the Seven Killings Tower issued the Seven Killings Order, seeking sect rewards, they intend to assassinate you and seize a position among the Twelve Heavenly Generals.】
As expected of an assassin from the Seven Kill Tower, Lu Qing's eyes turned cold.
Sensing the chill emanating from Lu Qing, the Seven Kill Tower assassin "Shadow" was startled.
His face showed anger: "What do you mean by this? I was just resting in the tree. How could I have offended you so much that you would suddenly try to kill me? If I didn't have some martial arts skills, I would probably have been killed by you for no reason."
Faced with "Shadow's" feigned anger in questioning, Lu Qing's expression remained unchanged.
He stared at the other man silently: "Is this all the assassins from the Seven Kill Tower are capable of? Since you dared to assassinate me, are you prepared to die?"
"Shadow" was startled.
The sect issued the Seven Killings Order, and within just a few days, Lu Qing, who was in a remote place, already knew about it!
Where did he get the message from?
However, he still looked puzzled: "What Seven Kill Tower? Are you mistaken? I was just passing by and had no ill intentions."
However, seeing that he was still pretending to be stupid, Lu Qing no longer wanted to say anything to him.
With a stomp of his foot, the earth flew up, and he was already in front of "Shadow". He clenched his right fist, bursting the air with a tiger's roar, and unleashed a powerful tiger's heart strike, aiming straight for the opponent's chest.
Feeling the power of the punch, "Shadow" was greatly alarmed.
Although it's unclear why Lu Qing was so certain that he was an assassin from the Seven Kill Tower.
But he knew that now was not the time to dwell on this issue.
Lu Qing's punches were too terrifying. If he showed any weakness, he would probably be beaten to death on the spot.
No longer caring about disguise, "Shadow" instantly erupted with energy, and a short sword suddenly appeared in his hand, thrusting straight at Lu Qing's fist.
Lu Qing's punches were indeed terrifying, leaving him with almost no way to avoid them, but "Shadow" was not without a way to deal with them.
That is, whether the other party was too arrogant or forgot to bring a weapon, he actually fought him empty-handed.
His short sword was coated with a deadly poison; if it could pierce even a little bit of a fist, Lu Qing would surely die.
Faced with "Shadow's" counterattack, Lu Qing remained calm. Just as the short sword was about to pierce his fist, he suddenly lowered his shoulder, and his fist dodged the sword's edge.
He then flicked his finger, and the finger struck the blade squarely.
The seemingly casual flick landed on the "Shadow" sword with astonishing force, causing his already injured arm to tremble violently. The numbness and soreness made it almost impossible for him to hold the short sword.
Taking advantage of this opening, Lu Qing changed his fist into a palm and struck the man's chest.
With the powerful palm strike, a loud cracking sound of bones rang out, and "Shadow" was sent flying backward until he crashed into a large tree more than ten meters behind him, shaking down countless leaves before finally coming to a stop.
He lay prone on the ground, his fate unknown.
Defeating the enemy in one move!
A dignified Heavenly Gang-level assassin from the Seven Kill Tower, a powerful martial artist at the Lesser Completion of the Inner Strength Realm, was defeated by Lu Qing in a single move.
Lu Qing, however, showed no sign of smugness.
Looking at the assassin lying motionless on the ground, he flipped his hand, and another stone appeared in his hand.
A loud whooshing sound rang out, and Lu Qing threw the stone without hesitation, aiming it directly at "Shadow's" head.
Sure enough, just as the rock was about to smash his head, "Shadow," who had originally planned to take advantage of Lu Qing's relaxed state of mind to launch a sneak attack, suddenly moved, instantly dodging the rock, and then darted into the woods to escape.
However, before he could escape more than a few meters, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out again.
boom!
This time, "Shadow" could no longer dodge, and the stone thrown by Lu Qing hit him squarely in the back.
Under the powerful impact, even though she was wearing soft armor, "Shadow" could no longer withstand it and spat out a mouthful of blood, which seemed to contain some fragments of internal organs.
Thud!
Such a severe injury would be difficult for even a powerful expert in the Inner Strength Realm to withstand. "Shadow's" body fell to the ground like a tattered sack, rolled several times, and then lay still.
"Stop playing dead. You're wearing armor. My attack will at most incapacitate you, but it won't kill you."
Looking at the motionless "Shadow," Lu Qing slowly stepped forward, but stopped seven steps away and said calmly.
"Shadow" did not move.
Lu Qing remained unperturbed, simply flipping his hand to grasp another stone.
"Do you think your head will be able to avoid my rock this time?"
"Ahem! You are indeed very cautious, even at this point."
Faced with Lu Qing's death threat, "Shadow" knew that continuing to pretend would be futile.
He gave a bitter smile, struggled to his feet, and half-sat, half-leaned against a large tree, looking at Lu Qing with a pale expression.
"Although I don't like the Seven Kill Tower, I have to admit that you shady cowards do have some tricks up your sleeve. If you're careless, you can easily be caught off guard and get ambushed by you."
Lu Qing looked at the heavily injured "Shadow" but still did not approach him.
"You are truly remarkable. At such a young age, you possess such strength. No wonder the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion ranked you twenty-ninth on the latest Hidden Dragon Ranking."
The way "Shadow" looked at Lu Qing was as if she were looking at some kind of monster.
When he first saw the rankings on the Hidden Dragon List, he, like everyone else, thought that Lu Qing had made it onto the list because of his unprecedented martial arts talent.
But now he knows that Lu Qing's martial arts talent is indeed terrifying.
But what's even more terrifying is his fighting talent.
That punch was truly astonishing; even a martial arts master skilled in fist and foot techniques could probably not match it.
A mere beginner in the Internal Organ Realm, yet his fist techniques rivaled those of a grandmaster.
Such an unbelievable thing actually exists.
"Shadow" felt that his martial arts beliefs were about to be destroyed.
More importantly, not only is Lu Qing's martial arts talent terrifying, but his mind is also incredibly meticulous.
He tried to entice him several times, but failed to elicit even the slightest flaw. He was even more difficult to deal with than a seasoned veteran.
Is he really just a teenager?
Such a thought flashed through "Shadow's" mind.
"Alright, enough nonsense. Do you know why I'm not killing you now?"
Despite the praise from "Shadow," Lu Qing's expression remained unchanged.
"Then I must possess something that you desire."
"Shadow" gave a bitter smile.
“Not bad.” Lu Qing nodded. It was so convenient to communicate with smart people. “I don’t want to know much. As long as you tell me the location of your Seven Kill Tower, I might be able to leave you with a whole corpse and let you die without pain.”
"You want to know the location of our Seven Kill Tower?"
"Shadow's" eyes widened for a moment, then, as if realizing something, an expression of disbelief appeared on its face.
"You wouldn't be thinking of taking over our Seven Kill Tower's stronghold so you can go and take revenge, would you?"
Lu Qing did not answer, but the calmness on his face gave "Shadow" the answer.
He suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahaha... As expected, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, ignorance is bliss, young people are so arrogant, they actually dare to have designs on our Seven Kill Tower!"
"So, are you going to give me the address of this outpost or not?"
"Yes, of course I'll give it to you!"
"Shadow" revealed a mocking smile: "Of course you want to die, do you think I can stop you? Kid, I just don't know if you have the guts to actually go and challenge our Seven Kill Tower?"
"You don't need to provoke me. Whether I go or not is my business. Anyway, you won't see that moment," Lu Qing said calmly.
He made no attempt to conceal his determination to kill "Shadow".
"Shadow" naturally sensed Lu Qing's murderous intent towards him, but he no longer cared.
The rock that Lu Qing smashed into his back had already shattered his internal organs.
He is now critically injured and on the verge of death, barely clinging to life thanks to the powerful vitality of an Inner Strength Realm martial artist.
Unless you find those legendary healing elixirs.
Otherwise, even if Lu Qing let him leave, he wouldn't live for more than a few days.
"Good, that's bold!"
"Shadow" gave a thumbs up.
"It's always been us Seven Kill Tower assassins who do this. This is the first time I've ever seen someone actually try to provoke us. Lord Lu Qing, with this courage alone, your place on the Hidden Dragon List is truly well-deserved!"
Lu Qing:...
He realized that people all over the world seemed to really value the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
It's no wonder that the ranking list, so highly regarded and recognized by martial artists all over the world, has a slight function of gathering fortune.
Having agreed, "Shadow" readily rattled off a series of place names.
Lu Qing silently noted it down. Upon seeing this, "Shadow" finally believed that the young man in front of him was not bluffing, but actually wanted to take revenge on their Seven Kill Tower.
A surge of excitement welled up within him; he couldn't wait to see this little monster clash with the sect.
As a ruthless killer, "Shadow" has no sense of belonging to the Seven Kill Tower.
He was captured and imprisoned in the Seven Kill Tower from a young age, where he underwent brutal assassin training and suffered immense torture.
He felt nothing but hatred for such a cold-blooded organization; how could he possibly feel gratitude?
However, precisely because he grew up in the Seven Kill Tower, he understands how terrifying it is.
Therefore, no matter how much he loathed and hated it, he couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance.
Seeing that someone actually wanted to take revenge on that behemoth, he felt a surge of excitement, even though he knew the chances were slim.
Thinking of this, "Shadow" said again: "Lord Lu Qing, the Seven Kill Tower strongholds I mentioned earlier are actually just some small strongholds. Even if they are destroyed, it is insignificant to the Seven Kill Tower and they will not care at all."
However, there is one place where, if you can destroy it, the Seven Kill Tower will suffer heavy losses, go mad, and be heartbroken!
After saying that, "Shadow" mentioned another location.
At the same time, it also describes in great detail the arrangement of various mechanisms at that location.
