25: First murder

The gaze from a Cultivator above the Qi Refining Fifth Layer brought significant pressure to Zhou Luo.

Fortunately, Lin Zhishou stood up and blocked him.

"The Lu Family isn't planning to go back on their word, are they?" he said coldly.

"Hmph, a mere Magical Artifact, my Lu Family can afford to lose it." Lu Chen snorted coldly and threw the precious sword over.

Lin Zhishou caught it and placed it aside with a chuckle.

"This isn't over." Lu Chen said sharply, then flicked his sleeves and left.

The Lu Family disciples followed him and left.

"A stray dog," Lin Zhishou said contemptuously.

The literary examination concluded, and the first day of the Spirit Pill Gathering was drawing to a close. The Alchemists who were just there to make up the numbers left helplessly.

Li Shuntian kept the people from the Immortal Family behind, intending to host a banquet for them.

Except for the Lu Family, everyone else came to the Li Family's Core Area.

On the way, Lin Zhishou looked at Zhou Luo with great gratification: "You did very well. When we go back, I will definitely have the Family reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, Uncle Shou," Zhou Luo said gratefully.

In truth, he inwardly coveted that Magical Artifact.

But clearly, something of that level was not yet his to use.

At the banquet, the other Immortal Families first expressed their congratulations on Lin Zhishou's Breakthrough, and later praised the Lin Family for recruiting an excellent Matrilocal Son-in-law.

Presumably, after today, the other Immortal Families would also start preparing to recruit Matrilocal Son-in-laws in earnest.

This banquet lasted until late at night.

Only then did Lin Zhishou lead Lin Nian and Zhou Luo back to the Tianxia Tavern.

Entering the room, Zhou Luo was about to drink some water. Just as he picked up the cup, he suddenly frowned.

He stared at the rim of the cup with a grave expression.

This water is poisoned!

As a top-tier First-Order poison maker, he could tell at a glance that the water had been poisoned.

And it was a Medium Grade First-Order poison, the Soul-Confusing Powder.

This poison dissolves upon contact with water, is colorless and odorless, and can easily cause a Qi Training cultivator to fall into a coma.

If he hadn't keenly noticed a trace left on the rim of the cup, he probably would have fallen for it.

Who snuck into the room to poison it?

Zhou Luo sat on a chair, lost in thought.

Soon, he locked his target onto Lu Chen.

The entire tenth floor was where the Immortal Families stayed; only the Lu Family, who didn't attend the banquet, had the capability to do this.

The other party did not use a lethal poison, but only used Soul-Confusing Powder.

It seems they want to snatch back that Magical Artifact.

Perhaps they even intend to kill him in the process.

After all, his actions today angered them. To suppress their nemesis, the Lu Family was truly capable of doing such a thing.

Since his room had been tampered with, Lin Zhishou's room was likely the same.

Zhou Luo stood up abruptly, intending to go and stop them.

But on second thought, once he spoke out to stop them, he wouldn't be able to explain how he discovered someone had poisoned the water.

Zhou Luo fell into a dilemma.

He looked at the closed door, his mind spinning rapidly.

Since the Lu Family used Soul-Confusing Powder, they definitely didn't want to alert the other Immortal Families, so they likely wouldn't act personally, and the person sent would definitely not have a high cultivation base.

Then he might have a chance to kill the intruder.

Thinking of this, Zhou Luo couldn't help but look at the Spirit Explosion Pill in his inventory.

Given the current situation, he had to take action himself.

With this thought, he walked out of the room and knocked on Lin Zhishou's door.

But no one opened the door.

It seems Lin Zhishou had already been drugged.

Fortunately, for the sake of easy communication and instruction, Lin Zhishou had given him a key plate.

Opening the door, Zhou Luo walked in and found Lin Zhishou slumped over the table.

He stepped forward, helped him to the bed, and then sat at the table, waiting quietly.

He had already made up his mind.

He would kill the assassin sent by the Lu Family right there in Lin Zhishou's room.

This way, the Lu Family would think it was Lin Zhishou who acted and wouldn't suspect him.

Afterwards, he would quietly slip away.

Presumably, although Lin Zhishou might notice something was wrong, since he lost nothing, he wouldn't say much.

Thinking that this would be the first battle since coming to this world, Zhou Luo's body trembled slightly.

That was not fear, but excitement.

He had imagined this scene countless times while sleeping, and now it was finally going to come true.

...

The night grew deeper. In the silent, dark room, Zhou Luo became increasingly alert.

Click—

Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly; he seemed to hear the sound of a door opening.

"They went to my room."

Zhou Luo's body jolted. Almost in an instant, a crimson Medicinal Pill appeared in his right hand.

Then he pretended to be unconscious and slumped over the table, the pill in his right hand perfectly positioned by his mouth, ready to be consumed at any moment.

Time passed slowly. Outside the room, a black shadow suddenly appeared.

The next second, the door was gently pushed open, and a figure flashed inside.

Zhou Luo silently placed the Spirit Explosion Pill into his mouth.

The Spirit Pill dissolved upon entering his mouth.

In the blink of an eye, he felt infinite power surging within his body.

His calm Qi Sea and Dantian were even more restless.

Soon, he felt endless Spiritual Qi surging out, and an extremely powerful force spread throughout his entire body.

Perhaps seeing that everyone in the room was unconscious.

The black shadow had a sharp dagger in hand, and moved quietly towards Zhou Luo.

Arriving nearby and confirming the target, the black shadow raised his right hand, aiming at Zhou Luo's neck, and thrust downward fiercely.

Just at this moment, Zhou Luo suddenly turned around, and a scorching aura emerged from the palm of his right hand.

The black shadow's body froze, and before he could react, he saw a fireball burst forth, smashing fiercely into his face.

Bang—

With a loud noise, the black shadow was instantly knocked flying by the fireball, falling heavily to the ground, his clothes ignited by the flames.

Zhou Luo's eyes were like torches. He rushed out abruptly, clenching his right hand into a fist, which glowed with crimson Spiritual Qi. He rushed to the black shadow and punched him again.

The poor assassin had just regained his senses when he was smashed hard in the face by this punch.

Fresh blood flew everywhere, even splashing onto Zhou Luo's face.

Zhou Luo did not stop. Under the reinforcement of Spiritual power, he threw punch after punch until the black shadow's face was a bloody mess and he had completely ceased breathing. Only then did his body relax, and he sat down on the floor.

"Solved."

He glanced at the corpse beside him, his expression high-strung.

However, in the next second, a sense of psychological discomfort arose in his heart, and a feeling of nausea surged up.

Ugh—

He couldn't help but retch a few times before gradually calming down.

Having lived for two lifetimes, this was his first time killing, and in such a bloody manner.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, he still wasn't quite adapted to it.

After a long time, he climbed up from the ground and used an Illumination Talisman.

Taking advantage of the light, he quickly cleaned up the scene.

As for the corpse, he left it there for the time being.

While the effect of the medicine was still active, he had to do another thing.

He left the room silently and headed straight for the ninth floor.

The ninth floor of the Tianxia Tavern was not open to the public because this was where the tavern's staff lived.

This time, the Lu Family was able to sneakily poison the water in their room; it definitely couldn't have happened without the tavern's help.

And to ensure everything went perfectly.

The person who helped them definitely hadn't gone to sleep yet...

Since that's the case, let's settle it all together!