The man in black nodded. "You remember correctly. Blood Cry does enjoy torturing and killing geniuses, and he often exterminates their entire clans."
Ghost Skull is more level-headed. He only goes after the target and doesn’t stir up unnecessary trouble.
Blood Cry is different.
That guy’s a madman, addicted to slaughter. The moment he sees a genius, he wants to stomp them to death, savoring the thrill of crushing them.
The more you resist, the more excited he gets.
And if you manage to anger him, he’ll wipe out your entire clan. Kill every last one of them.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
The old man clicked his tongue. "That Su Mo fellow is truly unlucky. I almost feel sorry for him."
A rising genius, right at the peak of his vigor, only to be trampled underfoot, tortured, and killed prematurely.
There’s nothing more unlucky in the world.
And to top it off, his family might be dragged into it.
"You feel sorry for Su Mo?"
The man in black retorted, "Cut the phony act. Everyone knows how ruthless you are. You once wiped out three families in a single night, slaughtering nearly a thousand people. You didn’t even spare the babies in their swaddling clothes."
The old man said faintly, "That was bloodshed from my youth. I’ve turned over a new leaf now. I don’t kill wantonly anymore."
"Turned over a new leaf? Heh, only a ghost would believe that crap."
The man in black gave a cold smile.
The old man waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, let’s not talk about my younger days. Tell me, how many experts did you bring this time?"
The man in black said, "Including me, eight Martial Monarchs."
"That many?"
The old man’s face was filled with surprise.
The man in black grumbled, "It’s all because of the trouble that Su Mo caused. The main hall is afraid of suffering another loss like the one in the Desolate Empire, so they sent us to keep things under control, just in case."
"A wise precaution."
The old man nodded.
Although Su Mo was dead, another genius might rise, or some other expert could appear.
For example, there was the Ink Flood Dragon who had deserted the Beast Taming Sect, and the Heaven-Suppressing King from the Desolate Empire.
Both of them were Martial Monarchs and posed a great threat.
「At that moment...」
A voice suddenly drifted in from outside the door. "Excuse me, is this the Celestial Slaughter Hall?"
Hm?
The old man and the man in black were startled. They spun around in unison to find two young men standing at the entrance, who had appeared there at some unknown time.
Instantly, both of them grew wary.
The thatched hut above was just a front. The real Celestial Slaughter Hall branch was in this secret chamber, a hundred meters underground—the very place they were in now.
They couldn’t believe these two young men had actually found their way here.
They hadn’t sensed a thing.
If the visitors hadn’t spoken up, they would still be completely in the dark, not even knowing when they had arrived.
"Can we help you, sir?"
the old man asked warily.
Su Mo walked over, sat down opposite the old man, and nodded. "I’ve come to discuss a business deal. I wonder if you’re interested?"
The old man asked, "We don’t do ordinary business, only the business of killing. Are you sure you want to talk with us?"
"The business of killing is exactly what I came to discuss,"
Su Mo said earnestly.
Hearing this, the old man couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
’For these two youths to arrive here so silently, their strength must be extraordinary.’
’If they had launched a sneak attack, the consequences would be unthinkable.’
’Fortunately, they’re just here to hire assassins, not to cause trouble.’
The old man asked, somewhat puzzled, "With your level of strength, sir, you should have no rivals in the Eighteen Kingdoms. Why would you need to hire someone from our Celestial Slaughter Hall?"
"It’s inconvenient for me to kill the person I want dead personally,"
Su Mo replied.
The old man nodded.
The Eighteen Kingdoms seemed fragmented, but there were undercurrents everywhere. There were indeed times when it was inconvenient to act personally.
The old man inquired, "May I ask, what is the cultivation Realm of the person you want to kill?"
"Martial Monarch Perfection!"
Su Mo replied.
When he entered, he had already seen through the old man and the middle-aged man’s cultivation. Both of them were at the Martial Monarch Perfection Realm.
In addition, seven other masters at the Late Stage Martial Monarch Realm were hidden in the shadows.
’It’s a good thing I came here myself.’
’If it had been Daoist Xuanqing and the others, they would have run into a brick wall and suffered heavy losses.’
"What? Martial Monarch Perfection?"
The old man asked, his face a mask of astonishment, "There’s an expert of that caliber in the Eighteen Kingdoms? How come I’ve never heard of it? Do you know anything?"
"I just got here, I don’t know."
The man in black shook his head.
The old man turned to look at Su Mo. Su Mo stated with certainty, "There is. More than one."
"How many?"
the old man asked curiously.
Su Mo said, "There are two at the Martial Monarch Perfection Realm and seven at the Late Stage Martial Monarch Realm. I want all nine of them dead."
"Hiss..."
The old man’s expression changed drastically, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
’This is a massive deal.’
The man in black, however, frowned. He had a strange feeling.
’Those numbers...’
The old man said excitedly, "Alright, we’ll take this job! But since the stakes are so high, you must tell us your identity so we can find you to collect our payment after the mission is complete."
"My identity?"
Su Mo nodded. "Very well, I’ll tell you. My name is Su Mo, from the Xiao Family of Qingyang City."
"Hm?"
The old man’s expression froze.
’The Xiao Family of Qingyang City?’
’Su Mo?’
’Didn’t Blood Cry and Ghost Skull already kill him? How could he be here?’
’Could it be... they were killed instead?’
’Or is this just a coincidence?’
The old man stared intently at Su Mo and asked, "May I ask, sir, who is it exactly that you want to kill?"
In truth, he had already guessed who Su Mo wanted to kill.
But he needed to be certain.
Su Mo pointed at the old man’s nose and said, "The person I want to kill is you."
"Me?"
The old man’s face turned livid.
’Just as I thought.’
Su Mo said coolly, "Is that not allowed? I’ve heard that as long as the price is right, the Celestial Slaughter Hall will take any job. Can’t I hire the Celestial Slaughter Hall to kill its own people?"
"Fuck, are you here to cause trouble?"
The man in black slammed the table and shot to his feet.
Su Mo turned to face the man in black. "If you hadn’t slammed the table, I almost would have forgotten. The people I want to kill aren’t just this old geezer, but also you, the seven Martial Monarchs hidden in the shadows, and every single person here."
Hm?
The man in black was utterly astonished.
’The seven Martial Monarchs I brought were all hidden. Even the old man didn’t notice them just now. How did Su Mo know?’
"Still not coming out?"
Su Mo said, his gaze sweeping the room.
Seven figures slowly materialized from the darkness. They were the seven Late Stage Martial Monarch assassins Su Mo had sensed.
In addition, more than a dozen Grand Martial Artists rushed in from outside.
"Good, everyone’s here."
Su Mo nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he raised his hand, intending to wipe out all the assassins in one fell swoop, the man in black stopped him. "Wait. Before we begin, let me ask—how did you detect the people we had hidden in the shadows?"
Su Mo shook his head. "Sorry, I didn’t detect them."