Chapter 162: The Life-Slaughter Demon Lord (2) |
Flames still raged around him, but Su Chen appeared panicked on the surface while remaining calm and steady inside.
The bronze-masked elder had only pointed out that he was feigning death and had not killed him immediately. That meant the old man held no killing intent toward him.
Otherwise, he would have attacked the moment he saw through the act. A killing saint of this level would never show the slightest mercy.
Su Chen looked up at the bronze-masked elder with feigned panic.
The elder's eyes seemed capable of piercing straight into a person's heart. He let out an eerie cackle and said, "So young, yet your heart is already this cold. You remain completely unmoved even after witnessing the deaths of your clansmen, relatives, and friends."
The elder's sharp fingernail brushed across Su Chen's cheek, drawing a trail of bright red blood. The panic on Su Chen's face gradually faded, replaced by complete calm. His expression turned utterly cold and emotionless. He gazed at the corpses as if they were complete strangers, showing not the slightest ripple of emotion.
What a cold and ruthless temperament.
"What an excellent seedling for a killer!"
Delight flashed in the elderly eyes visible beneath the bronze mask.
A hint of appreciation for talent had arisen in the old man's heart.
Su Chen bowed deeply. "Disciple Lu Chen greets Master. Please teach me the methods to grow stronger."
He could not contend with a Saint King for now. But he firmly remembered: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. If that was not enough, he could always borrow another three hundred years from the heavens.
Su Chen joined the Killing God Hall. He had heard of the Killing God Hall in his previous life. It was an infamous organization with terrifyingly deep foundations. They cultivated the Dao of Slaughter—killing gods, killing demons, and killing all living beings. Their Killing God Scripture struck fear into the hearts of the myriad races.
…
Su Chen followed the Life-Slaughter Saint King back to the Killing God Hall. There, he learned that eighty thousand years had already passed since Fang Bubai had proven his Dao.
After the Dark Turmoil, no new Quasi-Emperors had appeared among the myriad races of the universe.
That war had been far too devastating. Nearly all the Quasi-Emperor foundations of that great era had been wiped out. Several Emperor Weapons had been destroyed, and even the current Great Emperor, Fang Bubai, had vanished without a trace.
Those who managed to become Saints were extremely rare. Saint Kings had become the peak powerhouses of this starry sky. Even so, the three hall masters of the Killing God Hall were all Saint King-level experts, making the organization a true colossal power in the universe.
"From now on, you will no longer be called Lu Chen. You are the successor of the Life-Slaughter lineage, and your name shall be Sha Shengzi."
The Life-Slaughter Saint King spoke to Su Chen.
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Beside him, a boy around Su Chen's age widened his eyes and asked, "Master, if he is Sha Shengzi, then what am I?"
The Life-Slaughter Saint King replied indifferently, "You are already a dead man."
The boy's face remained frozen in disbelief until his death.
The Life-Slaughter Saint King continued speaking to Su Chen, "From today onward, you must forget everything from your past. Otherwise, his fate will become yours."
Su Chen nodded.
Truly worthy of the Killing God Hall's style—so ruthless.
Su Chen replaced the original Sha Shengzi and began training under the Life-Slaughter Saint King.
Five years passed in cultivation.
This year, Su Chen turned thirteen.
At thirteen years old, he had reached the Spirit Soul realm, breaking the ten-thousand-year record of the Killing God Hall.
In this Dharma-Ending Age, such progress was simply shocking.
Even so, this was the result of Su Chen deliberately slowing down his cultivation speed.
After he broke through to the Spirit Soul realm, his peaceful days came to an end. The Life-Slaughter Saint King directly sent him down to the lowest level of the Killing God Hall to take on missions and fend for himself.
Su Chen still remembered the Saint King's warning: "No matter who you encounter, never reveal your identity or expose your Origin Spirit Divine Body if you want to stay alive."
His identity meant nothing to Su Chen, and he did not care about it.
Still, he kept the Life-Slaughter Saint King's words firmly in mind. He felt that things were not so simple. Sending one of the three hall masters—a Saint King expert—to wipe out a small clan like the Lu Clan was far too heavy-handed.
It was quite intriguing.
Su Chen left the Life-Slaughter Hall.
The bronze-masked elder watched him depart with deep, profound eyes.
Eyes filled with wild ambition.
…
Inside the Killing God Hall, Su Chen accepted his first mission. His target was a young genius from the Eternal World.
Killing was nothing new to him. In fact, the number of lives he had taken in the past far exceeded the total number of people currently in the entire Killing God Hall.
Su Chen had his own methods when it came to killing.
"Sword Pavilion, Cheng Wu."
Su Chen looked at the mission details in his hand. Sword Pavilion was guarded by a Profound Connection realm expert, and Cheng Wu was a once-in-a-millennium genius of the pavilion.
None of that mattered.
Su Chen left the mission hall and set out to find Cheng Wu according to the provided clues.
One month later.
Cheng Wu departed from Sword Pavilion.
The sky was blue, the grass lush, and the scenery picturesque.
"Young Master, someone is blocking the road ahead," a maidservant reported respectfully to a bold and unrestrained young man.
The youth was none other than Cheng Wu, the genius of Sword Pavilion. He was heading to an auction.
"Who is so blind as to block my path?" Anger flashed in Cheng Wu's eyes. "Why haven't the accompanying elders killed him yet?"
The maidservant replied in a trembling voice, "The elders… are no match for him."
Cheng Wu looked surprised, but he still scoffed, "A bunch of useless trash. They can't even handle such a small matter and need me to do it myself. Where is he? I want to see who has the guts to do this."
The maidservant suddenly fell silent.
"Young Master… he has already… arrived."
The moment her words ended, a thin line of blood appeared on her neck. Her head separated from her body and fell powerlessly to the ground.
Cheng Wu's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Behind the maidservant stood a figure in blood-stained clothes wearing a bronze ghost-face mask. He was not tall or imposing—rather slim and small in stature—but the moment Cheng Wu's gaze landed on him, a chill ran down his spine, and his entire body turned cold.
Cheng Wu instantly became wary, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"I have no grudge against you. Why do you want to kill me?"
Su Chen replied calmly, "Someone paid to buy your life. That's all."
Cheng Wu quickly said, "Whoever wants my life, I will pay double the price."
Su Chen refused, "A tempting offer, but I am a killer with principles."
Cheng Wu stared cautiously at Su Chen. This bronze-masked man gave him an unfathomable feeling, like staring into an abyss. He was extremely dangerous. The man had slipped in without making any noise, which meant the elders outside had likely already met a tragic end.
Cheng Wu continued, "If five times isn't enough, then ten times. You know my identity. Sword Pavilion will spare no cost to redeem my life."
Su Chen still refused. "This is my first job. I cannot afford to fail."
If he failed on his very first mission, how could he continue in this line of work?
Countless strands of sword qi erupted from the ground.
"Interesting sword dao," Su Chen commented.
It seemed Cheng Wu could predict his next move.
Unfortunately, that was all he could do.
Su Chen pointed with a single finger. A wisp of blood-colored sword qi slashed out and annihilated every strand of sword qi.
"You… You are from the Killing God Hall!"