Chapter 76 Qi Jia's Death

Just then, an abrupt, emotionless voice rang out from behind him like a ghost.

"I'm afraid you won't have that chance."

"Who?!" First Prince Qi Jia's hair stood on end, and he spun around abruptly.

He saw that, at some unknown point, two dark figures that seemed to have merged with the night had silently appeared before him, blocking all his paths of retreat.

First Prince Qi Jia was currently in a fit of rage. Seeing that someone actually dared to cross him in such a desolate wilderness, he immediately raised his head and shouted angrily, "Where did these wandering ghosts come from? How dare you block this Prince's path? Are you tired of living?!"

But when his gaze took in the attire of the two people before him, his overflowing rage was like a basin of ten-thousand-year-old ice water poured over his head; it was extinguished instantly, not even a wisp of smoke rising.

He felt as if struck by lightning, his body jolting violently as if he had fallen into a bottomless ice cavern, the expression on his face completely frozen.

The two figures before him were both wearing well-fitted black martial attire, the fabric of which seemed to absorb all light, making them appear even more eerie and inscrutable in the dark night.

And what terrified him most was that they were both wearing masks carved from an unknown wood.

The style of the masks was simple, with no superfluous patterns, leaving only two hollows for the eyes.

And from those hollows peered out eyes that were cold to the extreme, devoid of any human emotion. In the pitch-black night, those gazes were like unsheathed swords—sharp, cold, and born solely for slaughter.

This iconic attire, this symbol that made every cultivator in the Eastern Continent turn pale at the mere mention of it.

Asura Hall!

The people who had come were actually assassins from Asura Hall!

As the First Prince of the Great Yue Dynasty, how could First Prince Qi Jia not be well-informed?

He had naturally heard of this mysterious assassin organization that had risen with thunderous momentum in recent times.

Although Asura Hall was a newly risen organization, their methods were ruthless to the extreme.

It was said that for any assassination mission they accepted, whether the target was a sect elder or the head of a noble clan, they had never once failed!

Now, throughout the Eastern Continent, the three words "Asura Hall" had become synonymous with death.

Whenever it was mentioned, everyone would turn pale.

First Prince Qi Jia had never dreamed that he would be targeted by this legendary terrorist organization!

"Y-you..." His lips trembled, unable to even speak a complete sentence.

He could not understand when he had offended Asura Hall.

Who had placed the bounty? Was it Ye Haocheng?

Impossible! He had just escaped from Tianxuan City; how could Ye Haocheng have contacted Asura Hall so quickly?

Furthermore, Asura Hall's prices were notoriously exorbitant. As the remnant of a fallen royal estate, where would Ye Haocheng get that much money?

However, the moment he saw these two Asura Hall assassins coming for him, First Prince Qi Jia understood instantly that regardless of who the employer was, he likely wouldn't be able to escape today.

An unprecedented despair washed over him like a tidal wave, completely drowning him.

The two masked Asura Hall members clearly had no intention of wasting words with him.

While First Prince Qi Jia was still struggling with terror and confusion, one of them moved.

His figure flashed like a ghost. Before First Prince Qi Jia even had time to react, he felt an irresistible, terrifying force surge into his body, instantly destroying the dantian and energy sea he had cultivated for many years.

"Ah—!"

A shrill scream pierced the night sky.

First Prince Qi Jia felt all the strength in his body drained in an instant, collapsing to the ground and becoming a cripple with no power to truss a chicken.

The other Asura Hall member stepped forward, grabbed First Prince Qi Jia's collar with one hand as if dragging a dead dog, and then the two figures flickered, vanishing into thin air as if they had never appeared, leaving not a single trace behind.

The scene that had just unfolded here had been clearly seen by some cultivators in the distance who were following First Prince Qi Jia, harboring a desire to watch the commotion.

It was only after the two Asura Hall assassins had disappeared with First Prince Qi Jia for a dozen breaths that these cultivators finally recovered from their extreme shock, immediately erupting into an earth-shattering clamor.

"Good heavens! Did I see that right? That was... that was an assassin from Asura Hall?"

"There's absolutely no mistake! That iconic black attire and wooden mask—there's no other group like it except Asura Hall!"

"This... this is too incredible! First Prince Qi Jia of the Great Yue Dynasty, who had just escaped a calamity at the hands of Ye Haocheng, has actually been targeted by Asura Hall assassins in the blink of an eye!"

After the brief shock and discussion, these cultivators all realized the explosive nature of this news.

They immediately took out their communication artifacts, scrambling to spread the bombshell news that "First Prince Qi Jia of the Great Yue Dynasty has been captured by Asura Hall members," which was enough to detonate the entire Great Yue Dynasty.

...

Meanwhile, the captured First Prince Qi Jia only felt the world go black, with the wind whistling past his ears.

This sensation lasted only for a few breaths before he felt himself being thrown heavily onto the cold ground.

After a brief moment of pain, First Prince Qi Jia, ignoring the intense agony in his body, raised his head in terror and struggled to look around.

But when he saw the environment around him clearly, he was stunned, the expression on his face instantly freezing.

This... isn't this the great hall of the residence he was previously staying at in Tianxuan City?!

That familiar layout, those magnificent decorations, even the faint scent of wine from the banquet he had hosted still lingered in the air.

How could he have returned here?

The Asura Hall assassins had captured him; shouldn't they have taken him to some secret stronghold?

Why would they bring him back to this place?

Just as First Prince Qi Jia's heart was filled with boundless confusion and fear, a voice he was intimately familiar with drifted into his ears.

"First Prince Qi Jia, we meet again."

This voice!

First Prince Qi Jia's body jolted violently, as if struck by an electric current.

He stiffly turned his neck, looking towards the main seat in the center of the hall.

There, Ye Haocheng was sitting leisurely, one hand propping up his chin, the other lightly tapping the armrest, staring at him with great interest, his eyes filled with a playful gaze, like a cat toying with a mouse.

And what shocked him even more, leaving his mind blank, was that the two Asura Hall members who had just captured him were currently kneeling on one knee before Ye Haocheng, reporting in unison, "Master, the person has been captured and brought back!"

Master?!

People from Asura Hall actually addressed Ye Haocheng as Master?!

First Prince Qi Jia's entire brain fell into a state of shutdown.

How could this be? This was absolutely impossible!

Ye Haocheng... wasn't he just the remnant of a fallen royal estate?

How could he possibly have any connection to that notorious Asura Hall, which made the entire Eastern Continent tremble?

He was actually the Master of Asura Hall?!

Everything happening before his eyes had completely exceeded the scope of First Prince Qi Jia's understanding.

"You may withdraw." Ye Haocheng waved his hand casually at the two Asura Hall members.

"Yes!" The two responded respectfully, their figures flickering as they merged into the shadows like ghosts and vanished from sight.

Only then did First Prince Qi Jia jolt awake from his extreme shock. He stared fixedly at Ye Haocheng, his eyes filled with fear, unwillingness, and a trace of sudden realization.

At this very moment, he finally understood!

He finally understood why Ye Haocheng had let him go in front of everyone!

It turned out that from the very beginning, Ye Haocheng had never intended to spare his life!

The reason he did that had only one purpose: to perfectly frame his death on Asura Hall!

In this way, he could not only eliminate him but also make the Great Yue Dynasty pour all its fury onto that mysterious assassin organization.

And Ye Haocheng himself could perfectly distance himself from it, without being tainted by any karma.

What a ruthless method! What deep scheming!

After figuring all this out, the last shred of hope in First Prince Qi Jia's heart was completely shattered.

He knew that he was doomed today.

The instinct to survive made him cast aside all his dignity as a prince.

"Thud!" he struggled to kneel on the ground, kowtowing desperately to Ye Haocheng, pleading tearfully, "Ye... Young Master Ye! No! Palace Master Ye! It was I who lacked the vision to recognize a superior!

It was my dog-like audacity that offended you! I beg you, I beg you, sir, be magnanimous and just let me go like a fart!

I swear! I swear on the national destiny of the Great Yue Dynasty that I will never reveal a single word of today's events to anyone! I am willing to be your beast of burden, as long as you can spare my life..."

However, Ye Haocheng only sneered, slowly standing up from his seat, walking step by step to his front, and looking down at him from a position of superiority.

He could no longer be bothered to listen to his nonsense.

"In your next life, remember to keep your eyes open."

As the cold voice fell, Ye Haocheng slowly raised his right hand and pointed a finger. A sharp sword qi instantly pierced through First Prince Qi Jia's glabella.