Chapter 68: Tian Sha Pavilion
[Task Announcement: After you have entered the Academy with the highest score, many beautiful women have sought your guidance in learning, resulting in private, intensive exchanges that have caused dissatisfaction among the male students. One of them has paid a hefty sum to hire an assassin from Tian Sha Pavilion to assassinate you. Your task is to evade the assassin.]
[This task cannot be given up.]
[Task reward: Unlock the special task “Looking for the Shards of the Ascend to Immortality Ladder”.]
This task was quite interesting. Except for the first novice task that could not be abandoned, it was the first time Jiang Li had encountered a task that could not be given up.
In other words, in the system’s cognition, this task, or more accurately the task reward, was of critical importance.
“Tian Sha Pavilion….”
Jiang Li had certainly heard of this organization; it was the top assassin organization in Jiuzhou, and a competitor to the Sky Mechanism Tower.
The Tian Sha Pavilion was responsible for eliminating high-level cultivators, while the Sky Mechanism Tower made a profit from the Spirit Stones of high-level cultivators. The conflict between the two organizations had been accumulating for a long time.
Jiang Li presumed that, in the system’s understanding, he had been at the Academy for over a month and had reached the intermediate level of the
Foundation Establishment stage. The lowest ranked assassins in Tian Sha Pavilion are of the Golden Core Stage. From the system’s perspective, this was a highly dangerous task.
As for Jiang Li, this task was not easy either.
Among the human dynasties, if one were to discuss the dynasty that most esteemed martial force, it would be the Tianyuan Emperor Dynasty. In the imperial city of the Tianyuan Emperor Dynasty was Tian Sha Pavilion. Erected with a clear and upright Tian Sha Pavilion sign, it was highly sought after by the people of Tianyuan and did very good business.
Unlike the orderly Sky Mechanism Tower, Tian Sha Pavilion was needed to exercise its greatest advantage where there was the most chaos. In the Tianyuan Emperor Dynasty, everyone harbored enmity towards someone else and wanted someone dead yet was incapable of doing it themselves. This is where Tian Sha Pavilion found its purpose.
If Tian Sha Pavilion was established in the Da Zhou Emperor Dynasty, it would have been banned as an illegal organization the next day.
Tian Sha Pavilion’s assassins were divided into “A”, “B”, “C” grades, responsible for killing God-transformation stage cultivators, Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, and Golden Core Stage cultivators. In addition, the Pavilion Master and the Deputy Pavilion Master, who were both in the late stage of body integration and the peak of integration, specialized in assassinating Body Integration Realm cultivators.
At this moment, the “A” grade assassins and the Pavilion Master and the Deputy Pavilion Master were all gathered together, discussing a particularly important issue for the Tian Sha Pavilion.
“Do the three grades ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, seem unsophisticated? I’m considering changing the rank names. Does anyone have any good ideas?” the Pavilion Master asked slowly, leading the assassins to start pondering.
Indeed, “A”, “B”, and “C” sounded weak and not imposing enough. It would be good to change to a pleasant and domineering grade name.
“What about Gold Medal Assassin, Silver Medal Assassin, and Bronze Medal Assassin?” the Deputy Pavilion Master suggested constructively.
“No good, no good. We are all cultivators. Gold, silver, and bronze are materials used by ordinary people. How can we base our ranks on the items of ordinary people?” a “A” grade assassin objected.
“Since gold, silver, and bronze are not suitable, then let’s use Spirit Stones,
Low-level Assassin, Mid-level Assassin, High-level Assassin. The Pavilion Master and the Deputy Pavilion Master can be known as Top-level Assassins.” Another “A” grade assassin followed suit with the train of thought.
The Pavilion Master made a “tsk” noise, “A Top-level Assassin sounds rather derisive, doesn’t it? And to call a Golden Core Stage assassin a ‘low-level’, wouldn’t they be dissatisfied? It’s not appropriate.”
“How about Heaven-level Assassin, Earth -level Assassin, and Human-level
Assassin? This is the Dao of the Three Powers and can make us look cultured.’ An erudite “A” grade assassin said. People only know about Heaven, Earth, and Man, but they rarely know that this is the Dao of the Three Powers.
An “A” grade assassin frowned, “We are only at the God-transformation stage. Where do we get the destiny to bear such a title as ‘Heaven’? If it weren’t for the first generation Pavilion Master becoming a disciple who controlled the Intercepting The Seven Killings Stele in the Immortal Realm, we would not dare to call ourselves Tian Sha Pavilion.”
“What about First Class Assassin, Second Class Assassin, and Third Class
Assassin?”
“It doesn’t sound as good as ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’.” All the assassins said in unison.
Just when the assassins were actively discussing, a “B” grade assassin pushed the door and entered.
“You just barge in when we’re having a meeting, don’t you know the rules!” The Pavilion Master scolded angrily.
Under the gaze of the Pavilion Master, the Deputy Pavilion Master and all “A” grade assassins, the “B” grade assassin’s legs trembled as he stammered, “Pavilion Master, you said to immediately let you know if there was any news about your sister. Your sister sent a card.”
The “B” grade assassin placed the big red festive card on the table nearest to the door, not daring to linger longer and hurriedly fled.
The atmosphere was so tense that it must have been a serious topic they were discussing earlier.
As soon as the subject of the Pavilion Master’s sister came up, everyone’s attention shifted to the card, and a sense of foreboding welled up in their hearts.
The sister of the Pavilion Master was also an “A” grade assassin and the only female among the “A” grade assassins. She was cold and beautiful, especially in her black, sexy outfit, which highlighted her stunning figure. Almost all “A” grade assassins had some feelings for her and affectionately called her “Junior Sister.”
Thirty years ago, Tian Sha Pavilion received a big order. Someone had paid a large sum of money to hire Tian Sha Pavilion to kill a Body Integration Realm cultivator. This should have been a task for the Pavilion Master and Deputy Pavilion Master. However, the Pavilion Master’s sister was ambitious and insisted on doing the task herself. The Pavilion Master had no choice but to agree.
As a god-transformation stage cultivator, the Pavilion Master’s sister was well aware of the vast gap between herself and a Body Integration Realm cultivator. Naturally, she didn’t plan to assassinate him directly. She crafted a detailed plan to first infiltrate the sect of that Body Integration Realm cultivator, then become his disciple. When he fully trusted her, she would carry out the assassination.
To prevent any leak of information, the Pavilion Master’s sister had not sent any news during the execution of the task. The assassins were worried but dared not contact her. If that Body Integration Realm cultivator noticed anything, the Pavilion Master’s sister would be in grave danger.
Just like this, thirty years passed in a blink of an eye. At last, news arrived. The assassins couldn’t wait to see what Junior Sister had said.
But why was it a festive card?
As soon as the Pavilion Master opened the card, a small memory-recording stone fell out. He injected spiritual energy into it, and soon an image of his sister appeared.
The once icy-cold sister was gone, replaced by a blushing, shy version of her.
The Pavilion Master had never seen such an expression on his sister’s face.
“Big brother, it’s been a long time,” The sister said sweetly, radiating joy, “I’m going to marry my mentor. You must come.”
The sister pulled her mentor into the image, a handsome man.
It was the target they were supposed to assassinate!
Cough—
Not only did the Pavilion Master spit out blood, all the “A” grade assassins also felt heartbroken.
The Pavilion Master, who was in the peak Body Integration Realm, grew pale, his spirit somewhat lost. He delegated the management of the Tian Sha Pavilion to the Deputy Pavilion Master and said that he would be semi-retired from today onwards.
Before he left, he left one sentence behind.
“We’re all just trying to make a living here, no need to involve ourselves too heavily.”
The Deputy Pavilion Master had no interest in the Pavilion Master’s sister; he coveted the position of Pavilion Master.
Of course, he would not mention that the task from thirty years ago was a coordinated effort between him and that Body Integration Realm cultivator. That cultivator was a renowned womanizer and had desired the Pavilion Master’s sister for a long time. The Deputy Pavilion Master, in turn, had coveted the position of Pavilion Master for a long time. Thus, they came to agreement which resulted in this plan.
There was the Deputy Pavilion Master’s involvement when the Pavilion Master’s sister decided to take on the task and came up with the mentorship plan.
Becoming a disciple, living alone with a male in a room, why worry about not falling in love with time?
But before the Deputy Pavilion Master could savor his victory for long, that “B” grade assassin, in a hurry, ran in again.
“You rush in all panic-stricken, where are your manners?” The Deputy Pavilion Master, wanting to show off his newfound prestige, pretended to be serious.
However, this time the “B” grade assassin didn’t have the luxury to feel afraid..
He shouted, “Someone has issued a task to kill Jiang, the Human Emperor!”