4: The most tragic assassin in history—he was killed before he even arrived!

Atop the roof, there was a deathly silence.

Ling Qingzhu, Liu Ruyan, and the Shadow Guard Commander stood in a triangular standoff, none of them speaking first.

In the air, the coldness and Devilish Qi silently collided and annihilated each other, while that pure darkness served as the end of everything, swallowing both flows of energy entirely.

The first to break this eerie balance was Liu Ruyan.

She let out a giggle, her charming laughter sounding particularly abrupt in the silent night. She threw a flirtatious wink toward Ling Qingzhu, her red lips parting slightly as she spoke with undisguised provocation.

"Oh, isn't this the icy Fairy from the Jade Lake? What's the matter? Instead of Cultivating on your Saintess Peak, you've come to my fiancé's rooftop in the middle of the night to catch the breeze?"

She specifically emphasized the words "my fiancé."

The temperature around Ling Qingzhu dropped a few more degrees. She didn't even bother to glance at Liu Ruyan, her cold words carrying not a hint of emotion.

"Witch of the Demonic Path, Su Chen is the rightful future Dao Companion of my Jade Lake. I will naturally protect his safety; there is no need for a wicked outsider like you to interfere."

"Oh my, how terrifying." Liu Ruyan patted her full chest in an exaggerated manner, her figure swaying gracefully beneath her black dress. "But I just love to interfere. The Little Man said in his diary that you're just a silly, white, sweet girl. If you fail to protect him and end up getting yourself involved instead, wouldn't that make him laugh at you?"

"You!"

The fire of anger in Ling Qingzhu's heart was ignited once more. The contents of the diary were her greatest sore spot; having them exposed to her face by Liu Ruyan was like rubbing salt into a wound.

Just as the two women were at each other's throats and the atmosphere was on the verge of exploding...

An almost imperceptible sound of something breaking through the air came from afar.

Almost instantly, the standoff between the three stopped. Three strands of perception, containing extreme killing intent, simultaneously locked onto the uninvited guest.

The newcomer was dressed in black, blending into the night. His movement technique was incredibly bizarre, each step landing on a weak node in space as he silently bypassed the many formations on the Su Family's perimeter.

He was the gold-ranked assassin sent by the Black Fiend Tower this time, a powerhouse of the second layer of the Saint Realm, code-named 'Ghost Shadow'.

Ghost Shadow felt completely relaxed.

The Everlasting Su Family sounded intimidating, but their internal defenses were nothing special. He had infiltrated dragon's dens and tiger's lairs ten times more secure than this.

This mission would be as easy as taking something from a pocket.

For a playboy Divine Son who was obsessed with pleasure and had low cultivation, the employer had actually offered the price of a Saint's head. It was truly a windfall from the heavens.

He had already planned it out: go in, decapitate him with one strike, then use a secret technique to disguise it as a case of Qi Deviation. Work finished, collect the money, and then head to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion to listen to some music.

Perfect.

He soon arrived outside Su Chen's courtyard on Divine Son Peak.

Hmm?

Ghost Shadow suddenly paused, keenly sensing that something was wrong.

On the roof of the courtyard, there seemed to be several obscure and unclear auras.

He focused his senses but only felt that the auras were mixed and chaotic: one was cold, one was eerie, and one was simply a void.

"Su Family guards? Hiding their heads and showing their tails, just putting on a show."

Ghost Shadow sneered inwardly.

They were probably the protectors usually stationed near the Su Family Divine Son. Unfortunately, even the strongest was only at the early stage of the Saint Realm, and they belonged to different factions with conflicting auras, making them utterly vulnerable.

It seemed the internal state of the Su Family wasn't peaceful either.

He no longer hesitated. His figure flickered, turning into a faint shadow that was almost impossible to capture with Divine Sense, as he leaped over the courtyard wall and drifted toward Su Chen's darkened bedroom.

The moment one of his feet stepped into the courtyard's range...

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

On the roof, the three people moved.

"Seeking death!" Liu Ruyan was the first to strike. She gave a flirtatious laugh, but bloodthirsty excitement flashed in her eyes as she made a grasping motion through the air.

A black ghostly claw condensed from pure Devilish Qi appeared out of thin air, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound as it went straight for Ghost Shadow's crown!

She wanted to crush this reckless fly into powder, along with his Divine Soul!

"Demonic Path sorcery, get lost!"

Ling Qingzhu gave a cold shout, refusing to be outdone. She couldn't stand Liu Ruyan striking first, and even less could she stand this demoness using such filthy techniques to kill someone in Su Chen's courtyard.

With a wave of her delicate hand, a crescent-shaped ice blade compressed from extreme cold flew out. Its speed was at the limit, arriving later but striking first, aimed directly at Ghost Shadow's waist!

She wanted to slice this person in half, using the most sharp and decisive method to declare her sovereignty!

And just a second before the ghostly claw and ice blade were about to touch Ghost Shadow's body...

The previously motionless Xuan Ya finally moved.

She made no sound and didn't even perform any redundant movements; she simply gave an almost imperceptible flick of her finger.

A black needle as thin as a cow's hair, composed entirely of the Law of darkness, ignored space and distance, ignored the interference of Devilish Qi and coldness, and instantly appeared before Ghost Shadow's brow.

This was the Empress's order.

Kill without mercy!

At this moment, Ghost Shadow was in the most bewildered state of his life.

One second he was feeling smug about his smooth infiltration, and the next, his entire worldview collapsed.

First, he felt an eerie Devilish Qi that made his Divine Soul tremble descend from above; that power made it impossible for him to even think of resisting!

Which Demonic Lord is this?

Immediately after, a terrifying chill capable of freezing all things struck from the side. Before it even reached him, half of his body had already lost sensation!

And which Holy Land Old Ancestor is this?

Before he could figure it out, a crisis of the purest and most extreme death exploded at his brow!

What is that?!

In Ghost Shadow's final thoughts, only endless terror and a massive question mark remained.

Who am I?

Where am I?

Didn't I come to kill a playboy waste?

Why are there three great experts, far beyond my understanding, lying in ambush for me?!

BOOM!!!

Three distinctly different and terrifying powers struck Ghost Shadow's body precisely at the same time.

There was no scream, no struggle.

This gold-ranked Saint Realm assassin, notoriously famous in the Northern Region, didn't even have time to say a single word. His entire body, along with his Divine Soul, instantly evaporated in the intertwining annihilation of the three forces, turning into primordial particles without leaving even a single drop of blood.

He was completely and utterly erased from this world.

The most pitiful assassin in history—he died before he even arrived.

Atop the roof, a deathly silence returned.

The flirtatious smile on Liu Ruyan's face froze. She looked toward Ling Qingzhu and Xuan Ya, gritting her teeth.

"You two just have to compete with this Saintess?"

Ling Qingzhu ignored her, her cold gaze merely sweeping toward Xuan Ya with a hint of gravity.

Who was this person in black? Her strength was unfathomable, and that assassination technique had even made her feel alarmed.

Xuan Ya slowly withdrew her finger and turned around mechanically, her emotionless eyes scanning Liu Ruyan and Ling Qingzhu.

"By order of the Empress, clearing away miscellaneous personnel."

Her words were brief and stiff, yet they revealed an ultimate dominance.

The Empress!

Ji Hongxue?!

Liu Ruyan and Ling Qingzhu's hearts both shook simultaneously.

Even the Great Xia Empress had sent someone?

The three parties were in a standoff once more, the atmosphere even more tense than before. The assassin was dead, but the three of them represented Su Chen's three marriage contracts.

Who was the rightful one?

Liu Ruyan looked at the empty night sky again and curled her lip. "You acted so fast that not even a speck is left. How dull."

Ling Qingzhu looked coldly at the other two.

"The person has been dealt with. You two can leave my fiancé's roof now."