Starting Reward – A Three Thousand Assassin Network - Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – Heavenly Scourge, Earth Scourge

That night, at the Ye Residence.

Yang Tianyu once again handed the collected intelligence from the Shadow Guards to Ye Dingtian.

Looking at the information in his hand, Ye Dingtian clenched it tightly.

“Good, very good indeed!”

“What a magnificent Great Xia Imperial Family, what a magnificent Xia Emperor! Twenty years ago, they set up such a huge trap for me! I’m afraid the Rakshasa Hall is a sharp blade specifically prepared for me!”

At this moment, even Ye Dingtian, who had cultivated himself for over twenty years, couldn’t suppress the anger within him.

The Ye family had served the Great Xia for three hundred years, countless ancestors dying on the battlefield. In the end, this was the result they faced.

“Two top-tier assassins at the Transcendent Realm, 108 killers, actually hiding right under my nose, and I didn’t even notice. Truly cunning!”

After speaking, Ye Dingtian slammed his hand on the nearby tea table.

Crash!

The entire table instantly shattered, tea splashing everywhere.

“Crackle, crackle,” his fists clenched, emitting a crisp sound.

Hearing the commotion, Yang Tianyu hurriedly pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the mess, he remained silent. He was startled when he had organized this intelligence.

“Old Yang, you must be aware; the current situation facing the Ye family is extremely severe. Any carelessness will lead us into an abyss. Big brother, as long as we unite and work together, we can overcome this difficulty! Over the years, have we not faced hardships and overcome them?” Yang Tianyu earnestly stated.

“But this time is different. The enemies we face will be ten times, even dozens of times stronger than before!” Ye Dingtian furrowed his brows.

“Moreover, we don’t know how many enemies are hiding in the shadows. Currently, there’s just the Rakshasa Hall, hiding for over twenty years without our notice. You can imagine the depth of their concealment! Even in Luo City, I’m not sure if there are hidden enemies. Right now, I’m clueless!” This statement startled Yang Tianyu. Luo City was the Ye family’s stronghold. If enemies infiltrated, the consequences were unimaginable.

“So, what should we do now?” Yang Tianyu asked.

Ye Dingtian closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, “We can’t sit back and wait for death. Have all the Shadow Guards mobilize, closely monitor the entire Liangzhou region, report any movements immediately!”

“No problems must arise within Liangzhou. If an accident occurs, it’ll be like a knife plunged into our bodies. From now on, Luo City enters a state of alertness! Question every person entering and leaving the city, uncover their backgrounds.”

“I’ll handle this immediately!” Yang Tianyu bowed and took his leave.

Watching Yang Tianyu’s departing figure, Ye Dingtian squinted and muttered to himself, “Chen’er, it seems the Ye family really needs you to protect it! Alas, the grand Ye family, a martial family with a three-hundred-year heritage, actually needing a twelve-year-old boy to protect it. It’s truly laughable!”

Publicly, the Ye family feared no enemies, but they couldn’t guard against hidden poison arrows.

Meanwhile, at the border of Liangzhou, on the Juetian Cliff.

Juetian Cliff stood by the Songhua River bank, a mountainous cliff hundreds of zhang high. The cliffs on both sides of the river were extremely smooth, resembling a heavenly blade slicing the mountain from top to bottom.

The river flowed swiftly, the shores tens of zhang apart. The only way for an ordinary person to enter Juetian Cliff was by boat.

But as long as one’s martial cultivation reached the Celestial Realm, they could briefly control the air and effortlessly cross the river.

However, as the headquarters of the Rakshasa Hall, it naturally had guards stationed.

Once they detected unauthorized intruders, regardless of who it was, they would shoot them immediately. Even a skilled expert at the ordinary Celestial Realm would find it challenging to resist the hidden arrows in the air as they had no support.

Tonight’s moonlight was exceptionally bright. Several shadows lurked in the woods, and the continuous chirping of crickets echoed. At this moment, a dark cloud slowly drifted in from high above, soon obscuring the moonlight.

“Now is the time!” a voice whispered softly.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Several shadows, taking advantage of the cover of the dark cloud, silently crossed the river and arrived at Juetian Cliff. Glancing at the cloud in the sky, the speaker smiled, “It seems even the heavens are aiding us!”

Transcendent Realm experts had extremely keen perceptions; any slight movement would alert them.

To avoid alerting anyone, this group of seven, led by the speaker, proceeded cautiously.

At this moment, within a pavilion atop Juetian Cliff, two middle-aged men with strikingly similar appearances were quietly discussing something.

They were the two Hall Masters of the Rakshasa Hall: Heavenly Scourge and Earth Scourge.

“Big brother, now that the Heaven-Net and Earth-Net have appeared again, should we make a move?” Earth Scourge appeared somewhat worried.

At this, Heavenly Scourge furrowed his brow and said, “It’s not about whether we want to make a move, but we haven’t received further instructions from above.”

“But …” Earth Scourge wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Heavenly Scourge.

“No buts. The reason why the Rakshasa Hall still exists is that we still hold value in their eyes! Remember at all times, our lives are not our own!” Heavenly Scourge coldly stated.

“We, the two of us brothers, were adopted by the master since childhood. He not only fed and clothed us but also taught us martial arts! Without him, perhaps we would have starved on the streets long ago!”

“I understand all that, but I don’t want to willingly be a pawn. Both of us brothers are top-notch figures in the martial world. There’s nowhere in this world we can’t set foot!” Earth Scourge insisted.

Smack! Heavenly Scourge fiercely slapped Earth Scourge.

“You’d better let those words rot in your heart and never say them again, or even I won’t be able to save you! You should understand the methods of our master!” Heavenly Scourge shivered at the thought of their master.

“Some people are destined to be pawns from birth. If someone is treated as a pawn, it means they still have value alive. But if they lose that qualification, there’s only one path left: death!”

“Do you understand?” Earth Scourge nodded, but deep inside, he was extremely unwilling!

In the martial world, whether it was those transcendent forces or other royal families, a Transcendent Realm expert was revered.

Only they were treated as pawns, as mere weapons.

When not needed, they were sheathed. When required, they were drawn out.

Were they truly weapons?

They were human beings, with emotions and desires, each with their own aspirations, not willing to be restrained by others.

How could Heavenly Scourge not understand his brother’s thoughts?

He also wished to break free from the control of those behind the scenes, but he couldn’t do it and didn’t even dare to try. Even showing such courage would lead to their imminent demise.

However, once such thoughts arose, the two brothers were truly on the brink of death.

As assassins, they didn’t fear death, but there were things in this world far more terrifying than death.

For Heavenly Scourge and Earth Scourge, their master was more terrifying than death.

Once, to perfect his martial art realm, their master slaughtered dozens of villages, sucking the blood of thousands. It was more horrifying than a devil.

This left a tremendous psychological shadow on the brothers. They didn’t want to become such nourishment.

Their master’s name was Elder Tianjue, the one who established the Rakshasa Hall.

Juetian Cliff was also named because of him!

The name of Elder Tianjue had never appeared in the martial world, and nobody knew his true identity, not even his disciples, Heavenly Scourge and Earth Scourge. They only knew him as Elder Tianjue.