Only I am Venerable

In that case, if they wanted to kill him to silence him, it would be best to find a Pill Nascent Soul Transformation Realm expert. That way, the target wouldn’t even have a chance to resist before being killed.

Wen Bin and the bald young man who had impersonated Master Jin sat together, both of them looking furious. The bald young man was indeed from the Hai Family and represented certain interests, but this incident was not something ordered by the family’s upper echelons.

Impersonating others was a practice that could severely damage a family’s reputation. Thus, no matter how arrogant the Hai Family was, they would never stoop to something like this.

The bald young man was terrified of the Hai Family finding out. ’I just need to get rid of Qin Li as quickly as possible,’ he thought. ’Afterward, I’ll have to find a way to shut Peng Shuai’s mouth. I can’t keep the Top-Grade Spirit Stones I scammed from him. I’ll have to return them, then use the influence of the Hai Family and the Li Family to pressure him into silence.’

Wen Bin, however, wasn’t too worried about Peng Shuai. He had known Peng Shuai for many years and understood his personality. Peng Shuai wasn’t the ostentatious type who liked to stir up trouble. According to Wen Bin, they wouldn’t even need to return the Spirit Stones; Peng Shuai would be willing to suffer the loss in silence.

The only problem was the person who had exposed their scam. As long as they could eliminate him, they would have nothing left to worry about.

Having reached a consensus, the two began to consider who they could get to do the job. Although this was a world where the strong were revered, killing people wantonly would ultimately tarnish one’s reputation.

The best solution was to hire a complete stranger, pay them a large sum, and have them kill Qin Li. This person had to meet two criteria: first, they had to be greedy, and second, they had to be powerful!

Wen Bin and the bald young man exchanged a look and smiled. They had both thought of the same person.

Cao Hong!

A notorious assassin in the Land of the Far West. Some busybody had created an assassin ranking based on the number of successful kills and the strength of the victims.

Cao Hong was ranked seventh!

His skills were said to be divine, but rumor had it that Cao Hong was only at the peak of the Shattered Void Realm. Despite this, he had successfully assassinated two Martial Artists at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation Realm!

In the seventy-odd years since he began his career, he had never once failed an assassination. Moreover, Cao Hong had three rules about who he would not kill.

First, he would not kill disciples of Noble Families or major Sects. Second, he would not kill Martial Artists weaker than the Shattered Void Realm. Third, he would not kill women!

The first rule was a mark of Cao Hong’s intelligence. The Land of the Far West was filled with Noble Families. While Tongtian City, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, and the Hai Family appeared to be the strongest on the surface...

...in reality, everyone knew that the heritage of the Land of the Far West was passed down from the Primordial Era!

The families and Sects that had been passed down from that time had histories stretching back at least a hundred thousand years. How could any of them be considered truly weak?

An inconspicuous little Noble Family might have a Thunder Tribulation Realm ancestor hidden away. Such things were not without precedent.

Some might ask, if that was the case, who was there left for Cao Hong to kill?

In truth, not all powers in the Land of the Far West traced their lineage back to the Primordial Era. There were always newcomers, as well as some families and Sects that had formed during the Ancient Era.

The great war of the Primordial Era had, in fact, nearly destroyed the entire Ancient Civilization. Otherwise, why were there no Martial Artists who used Fighting Qi today? Why were there no Great Mages?

They were all lost in that world-shaking war of the Primordial Era!

Therefore, even the families and Sects with lineages stretching back to the Primordial Era were likely nothing more than third-rate powers back then. They were just the lucky few who survived the calamity and passed their heritage down to the present day.

Of course, after hundreds of thousands, or even several hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation, even the weakest families of the past now possessed an extremely profound foundation. This was why Cao Hong’s first rule was not to kill the disciples of these ancient Noble Sects.

His second rule was not to kill Martial Artists weaker than the Shattered Void Realm. The reason was simple: killing the weak did nothing to demonstrate his true worth!

If he was to kill, he would kill the experts that others feared! Only by doing so could he ensure his reputation would never decline!

His third rule was not to kill women!

Rumor had it that Cao Hong was devastatingly handsome, with refined features. He loved to spend his days surrounded by women, and the women all adored him.

It was said that someone once offered five hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones for him to kill a woman from the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. Instead, Cao Hong killed the client with a single strike.

From that day forward, Cao Hong, who originally had two rules, now had three.

But what truly made Cao Hong famous were his two assassinations of Martial Artists at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation Realm. One target was a well-known Sect Leader. His Sect was relatively new, less than a thousand years old, but it had expanded rapidly and made many enemies. Someone put a high price on the Sect Leader’s head, with a deadline of three months!

Cao Hong accepted the contract, which caused a huge stir at the time. The Sect Leader knew Cao Hong was coming for him, so he was constantly on guard. He surrounded himself with experts and became a recluse, giving almost no opportunity for an assassination.

As the deadline approached, Cao Hong had yet to make a move. Many people began to speculate. Had Cao Hong lost his nerve? Was he afraid to assassinate the man?

But on the very last night of the contract, the Sect Leader, a master of the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, was found dead in his own bed. Countless guards were posted right outside, yet no one knew how Cao Hong had managed to slip past them.

Later, someone—it’s not known who—revealed the secret. It turned out the Sect Leader had a weakness for women and was a frequent patron of the local brothels. After learning Cao Hong was after him, he stopped going out and instead had his men bring the most popular courtesan to his home.

Cao Hong had first used a Disguise, entered a mid-to-high-end brothel in Tongtian City, and became acquainted with a top courtesan. Cao Hong was generous with his money, and even in Disguise, he was handsome and dashing. He quickly won the courtesan’s heart, and the two became inseparable, spending all their time together indoors.

Then, to make the woman more famous, Cao Hong gave her many ideas. The woman was already a top courtesan, celebrated for her beauty and talent, but after following Cao Hong’s suggestions, her fame grew even greater.

She reached a point where she sold only her talents, not her body, and countless influential people lined up just for a chance to invite her.

The Sect Leader, of course, also heard about her and extended an invitation. The first and second time, he was very polite, simply asking her over to sing a few songs or perform a dance. But on the second visit, the Sect Leader proposed that they sleep together. The woman, whose heart belonged completely to Cao Hong, naturally refused. The Sect Leader then promised her a fortune, and followed up with threats, saying he would have her killed if she didn’t comply!

Although the woman had some power of her own, she was no match for a Sect Leader. Forced to agree, she returned to Cao Hong and told him everything through her tears. Cao Hong, of course, was enraged. He comforted her, telling her not to worry and that he would handle it when the time came.

By this point, Cao Hong and the woman had been living together for nearly three months. He knew her habits, her mannerisms, and even the tone of her voice like the back of his hand. So, when the Sect Leader’s next invitation arrived, Cao Hong had the woman disguise him as her. He then went to the Sect in her place.

The men who came to escort her couldn’t tell that the "woman" was a man in disguise. And so, the Sect Leader met his tragic end.

Cao Hong’s movements were secretive, and few could ever pin down his whereabouts. He mostly frequented brothels and casinos and was a master of the Disguise Skill. Finding him was an all-but-impossible task for the average person.

However, the bald young man had a way, for he was a member of the Hai Family! Even if he was only from a side branch, finding an assassin wouldn’t be difficult for him.

And so, that very night, they found Cao Hong in a casino. He had his arms around two young women, was half-drunk, and was loudly shouting about a bet.

The bald young man and Wen Bin stood before Cao Hong. Cao Hong’s hands roamed over the bodies of two scantily clad, beautiful women, as if he hadn’t noticed their arrival at all.

Wen Bin frowned and sent a voice transmission to the bald young man. ’This is Cao Hong? The seventh-ranked assassin, Cao Hong? He... he looks like this. Can he really kill anyone?’

The two were speaking via voice transmission. Before the bald young man could reply, Cao Hong suddenly turned and glanced at Wen Bin. His eyes were placid, betraying no emotion, but the look made Wen Bin’s body tremble. He felt as if the Death God himself had fixed its gaze upon him, and an overwhelming sense of unease made him involuntarily take a few steps back.

The bald young man shot Wen Bin a reproachful look. ’Do you really think people can’t sense your voice transmissions?’ he thought. ’In front of someone with formidable Spiritual Power, they aren’t completely undetectable! Not to mention your suspicious stare and the fluctuations of your spirit.’

"What do you want?" Cao Hong asked coolly after following them outside.

The bald young man replied respectfully, "We’d like to hire you to kill someone."

"Do you know my rules?" Cao Hong’s gaze was calm, showing no disdain or arrogance. His face was a complete blank.

"Yes, yes, we know," Wen Bin said with a smile. "The man we want you to kill is an outsider. He has no connections here..."

"What’s his strength?" Cao Hong asked, looking at the bald young man and ignoring Wen Bin completely.

Wen Bin’s expression turned sour, but since he was the one asking for a favor, he could only endure it.

The bald young man pondered for a moment before saying, "At least the peak of the Shattered Void Realm!"

"Alright. Five hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones. Payment upfront," Cao Hong said nonchalantly. Seeing that Wen Bin was about to say something, he added, "Don’t worry. Unless I die, if I fail to kill the target, you’ll get your money back."

Wen Bin gave an awkward smile and said nothing more. The bald young man produced the Spirit Stones and paid Cao Hong. As the two of them left, Cao Hong turned and walked right back into the casino.

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