A metallic clang echoed.
What was this thing?!
Xin Hao Kong stared at the inconspicuous little trinket before him, his face a mask of astonishment and profound shock.
However, he quickly regained his composure and became alert.
He then let out a cold snort.
The formidable true essence of a Saint Emperor erupted, shattering the bullet fired by Xin Ci's sniper rifle into dust.
Xin Ci, hidden in the shadows, smiled faintly, as if he had anticipated Xin Hao Kong's reaction.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three consecutive sniper bullets were fired towards Xin Hao Kong.
Xin Hao Kong sensed the direction from which the bullets were coming, but he dismissed them with disdain.
Though these unfamiliar little trinkets were strange, his earlier encounter had led him to believe their power was not particularly great.
At most, they could deal with cultivators below the Heavenly Venerate realm.
Moreover, as a one-star Saint Emperor, these trinkets were incapable of harming him.
Thus, Xin Hao Kong sneered and raised his hand, intending to scatter all the incoming bullets.
To his surprise, Xin Fu Yuan, standing behind him, suddenly attacked.
Caught off guard, Xin Hao Kong's expression changed drastically. He immediately used his true essence to restrain Xin Fu Yuan's body, immobilizing him.
At the same time, he blocked the three incoming bullets with his true essence shield and roared at Xin Fu Yuan, "You brat, what are you doing?!"
However, Xin Fu Yuan remained like a puppet, his face blank and his eyes vacant, completely oblivious to Xin Hao Kong's furious outburst.
Xin Hao Kong soon realized that the young man had been controlled by something.
But before he could ponder further, Xin Ci's bullets arrived again.
Xin Hao Kong completely ignored these seemingly inconsequential attacks.
After all, these bullets could not penetrate his true essence shield.
Yet, what happened next astonished him to the core!
Xin Fu Yuan suddenly broke free from his control and, catching him off guard, rushed out of the true essence shield's range.
In an instant, the whistling bullets pierced directly through Xin Fu Yuan's head.
With a crack!
Xin Fu Yuan's head exploded like a watermelon, sending crimson blood splattering everywhere.
The sudden death of the young man before him left Xin Hao Kong's mind in a state of bewilderment.
"Damn you, scoundrel! Who is it?! Come out, for this seat!"
Xin Hao Kong, regaining his senses, was instantly enraged. He roared in the direction from which the bullets had been fired.
Although Xin Fu Yuan was a decadent good-for-nothing, he was still a direct descendant of the Xin family.
Furthermore, the Xin family had ordered him to protect the boy. The fact that Xin Fu Yuan was killed right before his eyes made Xin Hao Kong furious.
In his rage, Xin Hao Kong's true essence surged outward, reducing the entire temple and surrounding trees to nothingness, leaving behind only a vast, deep crater.
Xin Hao Kong's demeanor was that of a bloodthirsty demon, his blood-red eyes scanning his surroundings, desperately searching for the enemy who had assassinated Xin Fu Yuan.
Sensing a faint spatial fluctuation in a certain area, Xin Hao Kong
immediately fixed his gaze on that direction.
A young woman in a white dress was already confronting him in that void.
Her Star Wheel pupils shone like a galaxy of stars, and the Xuan Yang Sword was held in her hand, her stance indicating readiness to discard her weapon.
Xin Hao Kong's eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty ferocity, his intention to tear the woman to shreds.
Unexpectedly, Mu Qing Qing suddenly released the Xuan Yang Sword from her grasp.
This bizarre action momentarily stunned Xin Hao Kong.
But in the next instant, the white-clad maiden before him had vanished.
A sharp pain suddenly struck his neck.
Xin Hao Kong's eyes widened, and he turned his head with a tremor, his face etched with disbelief!
Mu Qing Qing had appeared behind him at some unknown time and executed a fluid sword-sheathing movement.
The technique was the 'Discard Sword Art: Instantaneous Sword Shadow'!
As the Xuan Yang Sword returned to its scabbard, blood gushed from Xin Hao Kong's neck like a fountain.
"You...!"
Before he could utter his last words of unwillingness, the formidable one-star Saint Emperor fell to the ground, meeting his demise!
As soon as Xin Hao Kong's true essence erupted, Xin Ci had switched to his second personality, Mu Qing Qing, to control his body.
This allowed her to execute the Discard Sword Art and eliminate Xin Hao Kong.
Now, the souls of both Xin Hao Kong and Xin Fu Yuan had been absorbed by Mu Qing Qing's Star Wheel pupils.
The soul power of a one-star Saint Emperor combined with that of an ordinary King Realm cultivator was utterly insignificant compared to the vast soul power required for Mu Qing Qing to break through to the Great Emperor realm.
It seemed she still needed more accumulation to reach the Great Emperor realm.
Having completed the final two assassination missions,
Mu Qing Qing stretched lazily, relaxing her body, and said with a smile, "Now that all assassination missions are complete, it's time to return to the Killing Heart Sacred Court's mission hall to submit them."
Xin Ci, within the consciousness space, also smiled with relief.
In fact, from the very beginning, their assassination targets were not limited to Xin Fu Yuan.
Xin Hao Kong, the one-star Saint Emperor, was also among their targets.
Xin Fu Yuan's arrogance in the Carefree Temple and Tong Huang Town was supported by Xin Hao Kong's backing as a one-star Saint Emperor.
The elder of the Carefree Temple harbored a deep grudge and thus included Xin Hao Kong in the assassination target list.
By commissioning the assassins of the Killing Heart Sacred Court, this elder had no fear of repercussions from the Xin family.
After all, the Killing Heart Sacred Court was one of the five ancient sacred lands, maintaining the confidentiality of their clients' information and never revealing it to the outside. Even the Xin family could not shake the Killing Heart Sacred Court.
Killing Heart Sacred Court, Blood Sword Peak, Mission Hall.
Two months had passed since Xin Ci accepted the assassination mission. The presiding elder of the mission hall was still behind the counter, leisurely lounging in a rocking chair, occasionally flipping through a scroll in his hands.
At that moment, a graceful figure suddenly appeared before the counter.
"Elder Li, I'm here to submit my mission."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Elder Li said casually. When he looked up and saw the visitor's appearance, his expression was startled.
Wasn't this the little girl from the Asura Hall who had accepted ten Nether-grade and five Jackal-grade missions two months ago?
Why was she at the mission hall again?
Seeing Elder Li still in a daze, Mu Qing Qing added, "Elder Li, can I submit my mission now?"
"You little girl, you actually completed a Jackal-grade mission?!"
Elder Li still found it hard to believe. A disciple newly joined to the Killing Heart Sacred Court, with a cultivation realm of only two-star Heavenly Venerate, could complete a Jackal-grade mission!
Mu Qing Qing didn't elaborate further. She directly took out a bloody bag from her Sumeru ring and tossed it to Elder Li.
Elder Li quickly caught the bag and opened it. It was indeed the head of the assassination target.
After confirming, Elder Li was utterly stunned.
He had never expected this two-star Heavenly Venerate realm little girl to actually complete a Jackal-grade mission!
Moreover, in just two months since becoming a disciple of the Killing Heart Sacred Court, she had broken the record for the fastest completion of a Jackal-grade mission by a new disciple in the history of the Killing Heart Sacred Court!