152: Chapter 152 Player Assassin? A Walking Library of Rare Term Entries!

The setting sun was like blood, staining the shattered mountain gate of the Sword Control Sect a deep crimson.

Qin Ji casually flicked away the drop of blood on his fingertip that didn't belong to him. His purple-gold pupils reflected the golden dust and blood mist drifting across the sky. The ruins beneath his feet trembled slightly, as if the thousand-year-old Sect was letting out a groan of pain.

"So this is the so-called leader of the Righteous Path?"

Qin Ji stepped forward, his leather boots making a tooth-aching "creak" on the cracked jade steps. With every step he took upward, the Inner Sect Disciples who had been standing ready in front of him retreated a step in perfect unison.

The arrogance of the past was long gone from their eyes, replaced by a hollow void and fear following the collapse of their faith.

Just moments ago, the Mountain Protection Array they took pride in and the Law Enforcement Elders they revered like gods were as fragile as paper before this man. Especially those Personal Disciples who specialized in the Ice Sword Dao; the way they looked at Qin Ji now was as if they were looking at a monster.

"Why... that was the Ice Soul Sword Intent left behind by the Ancestral Master..."

A Core Disciple's longsword fell to the ground with a "clang." He fell to his knees, clawing at his hair with a frenzied expression. "Why are you unharmed? Have the decades we spent practicing the sword all been a lie?!"

Qin Ji didn't even spare him a glance, walking straight past him.

[Detected hostile target's faith has collapsed. Obtained "Deterrence" passive fragment x1.]

"Faith is worthless if it can't be converted into defense."

Qin Ji silently complained in his heart, his gaze locking onto the mist-shrouded main peak halfway up the mountain. An extremely powerful Aura was Awakening there; it seemed that old geezer Sect Master of the Sword Control Sect could no longer sit still.

"I hope he drops more Agility attributes. My map-clearing speed has been a bit slow lately."

Qin Ji stretched, preparing to accelerate his sprint.

Suddenly.

A sudden, unannounced chilling Aura instantly bored into his spine. It felt as if a slimy venomous snake was tightly constricting his heart.

No attack actually landed on him, but red warning boxes popped up frantically on the System panel across his retina.

[Warning! You have been afflicted by the "Nether Curse"!]

[Attack Speed reduced by 50%!]

[Movement Speed reduced by 50%!]

[All Damage reduced by 50%!]

Qin Ji's forward step came to a sudden halt. His body felt as if it were suddenly burdened by a mountain, and his originally light movements became incredibly sluggish.

"Hmm?"

Qin Ji's eyebrows twitched slightly, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

He was equipped with the dual passives of the [purification jade pendant] and [All-Magic Immunity]. Ordinary negative statuses were like tickles to him, at most reducing his stats by a nominal 5%.

But this thing actually bypassed his resistance and forcibly halved his attributes?

This was definitely not a method that those sword-swinging NPCs of the Sword Control Sect could master.

This kind of disgusting skill mechanic, this underhanded style that disregarded all rules...

"Interesting."

Qin Ji stopped his steps, his gaze piercing through the layers of panicked crowds to lock precisely onto a shadow to the left.

There was nothing there, only the rustling of leaves blown by the wind.

But in Qin Ji's purple-gold pupils, which could see through data, a figure completely shrouded in a black robe stood there.

Most importantly, what was displayed above that person's head wasn't a red NPC health bar, but a white ID representing a "Chosen One"!

It was a player!

"Damn, even an old-fashioned School like the Sword Control Sect is starting to use outsourcing these days?"

A playful arc curled at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth.

If it were a powerhouse like the Sword Control Sect Master at the third or even fourth transition using Realm suppression to apply a debuff, he would have accepted it. But this guy in front of him hadn't even broken through the Rank 60 mark, yet he possessed a curse skill with such high priority?

This was beyond ridiculous.

In the memories of his past life, there was absolutely no such powerhouse at this stage.

"Could it be because I've broken the game, causing a butterfly effect?" Qin Ji rubbed his chin. "But that's fine. Being able to hit me with such a powerful debuff means the affixes on you... are very succulent."

Before his voice had even faded, Qin Ji's movements erupted without any warning.

A raised hand, a snap of the fingers.

Boom!!

A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a bucket appeared out of thin air, carrying an Aura of total destruction as it slammed into that shadow.

Since you've been discovered, then just die.

However, the scene that followed caused Qin Ji's habitually squinted eyes to widen slightly.

Facing this lightning which was enough to insta-kill a BOSS of the same level, that black-robed player didn't even dodge. Just as the lightning was about to touch his head, his body suddenly became blurred, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, rapidly bleeding and fading.

Zizzt—!

The violent lightning passed through his body without any hindrance, blasting a scorched deep pit into the ground behind him. The soil instantly turned to glass, emitting pungent green smoke.

But the black-robed player was unharmed.

"Physical immunity? No, Phase Etherealization?"

The interest in Qin Ji's eyes grew even stronger.

Whether it was that curse that ignored resistance or this nearly invincible etherealization skill, both were god-tier skills in the Late Stage. But how long had it been since the game launched? Where did this guy get these over-powered skills?

"It seems I'm not the only one using cheats in this game."

Qin Ji gave up on continuing the bombardment with long-range Spells; this ethereal state usually had a duration or an attack interval.

He turned around and seemingly casually threw a punch at a Sword Control Sect Deacon who was trying to sneak an attack.

Bang!

That Deacon didn't even have time to scream before he was crushed like a tomato in a hydraulic press, instantly exploding into a mist of blood.

[Killed LV.52 Deacon, Strength +52!]

Using the recoil from that punch, Qin Ji's figure shifted laterally like a ghost, instantly closing the distance between him and the black-robed player.

"Since you're here, don't be in a hurry to leave. Leave your skill books behind."

Qin Ji's voice drifted in the wind, yet he had already appeared behind and to the side of the black-robed player.

The black-robed player clearly hadn't expected Qin Ji to have such explosive power while under a 50% slow. His body under the hood stiffened slightly. But his reactions were extremely fast; almost the instant Qin Ji appeared, he turned into a cloud of ethereal mist again and drifted backward.

"Trying to run?"

Qin Ji sneered and was about to give chase.

Suddenly.

An extremely faint sound of breaking air rang out behind his head.

The sound was sharp and short, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, carrying a chill that made one's scalp tingle.

Almost by instinct, Qin Ji ducked his head sharply, his waist folding backward at an incredible angle.

Swish!

An ink-black flying dagger flew past the tip of his nose, its sharp Saber Qi even cutting a strand of hair from his forehead.

"Hmm?"

Qin Ji had just avoided the flying dagger, but the warning in his heart increased instead of decreasing.

The flying dagger traced a weird arc in the air, actually defying physical inertia to turn around and head straight for the back of his head!

"A boomerang?"

A cold light flashed in Qin Ji's eyes, and this time he didn't dodge again.

He spun around suddenly, his right hand shooting out like lightning, fingers forming a claw to accurately snatch the high-speed spinning flying dagger.

Clang!!

The sound of metal clashing exploded, sparks flying everywhere.

The flying dagger, capable of piercing through gold and stone, was caught in Qin Ji's palm just like that. The sharp blade cut frantically against his skin, which was covered in a faint golden light, producing a piercing grinding sound, yet it failed to leave even a white mark.

"Good strength, but a pity it didn't break my defense."

Qin Ji applied force with his five fingers.

Crack.

The high-quality flying dagger was directly crushed into a lump of scrap metal in his hand.

He casually tossed the scrap metal onto the ground and looked up at the black-robed player who had already retreated dozens of meters away, a cruel smile curling at his lips.

"If this is your trump card, then you can start writing your will."

At this point, the black-robed player finally stopped. He seemed to realize that in the face of this monster, simple flight was meaningless.

He slowly raised his head and removed his hood.

What was revealed was a slightly pale young face that exuded a sinister and ruthless vibe.

The moment he saw this face, Qin Ji's pupils constricted slightly.

"It's you?"

Although this face was much younger than in his memory, that cold temperament was exactly the same.

The famous lone wolf of his past life, the "Shadow Sovereign"—Night Owl!

This guy was a complete lunatic who specialized in taking on high-difficulty assassination missions, even daring to kill the leaders of major guilds. It was said he had awakened an extremely rare SSS-Rank talent [Void Walker], which allowed him to travel freely between shadow and reality, and doubled the effect of all negative statuses.

No wonder he could apply such a disgusting debuff.

"White Night..."

Night Owl stared intently at Qin Ji, his voice raspy like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together. "I didn't expect that you would be this strong now. Even my 'Nether Grip' can't fully suppress you."

There was no fear in his eyes, only a nearly pathological excitement and greed.

As a top-tier hunter, the stronger the prey, the more it could arouse his desire to kill.

"However, don't get too ahead of yourself."

Night Owl slowly raised both hands. Between his ten fingers, eight pitch-black flying daggers floated up. The surrounding space began to distort slightly with his movements, as if even the light was being swallowed by these daggers.

"My mission is to guard this gate. Unless I die, don't even think about passing."

"Mission?"

Qin Ji keenly caught this keyword.

It seemed this guy had taken a hidden mission from the Sword Control Sect or some higher-level power.

"Guarding the gate?"

Qin Ji laughed out loud as if he had heard some huge joke. As he laughed, he carelessly rolled his wrists, his joints making popping sounds like firecrackers.

"Do you know where the last person who dared to block my path is now?"

Qin Ji raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the pile of purple-robed Elder corpses at the foot of the mountain that were no longer recognizable as human.

"He's over there playing jigsaw puzzle."

Before his voice had even faded, the Aura on Qin Ji's body suddenly changed.

His originally lazy and casual posture instantly vanished, replaced by a terrifying sense of pressure like an ancient Vicious Beast Awakening. The [man-slayer imprint] he wore on his chest lit up with a crimson glow again, and a dense blood-red killing intent condensed into a blurred phantom of a Demon God behind him.

The air temperature around them dropped sharply, and the gravel on the ground began to float in defiance of gravity, before being pulverized into dust under the crushing force of the terrifying Aura.

"Since you're a player, let's play by the players' rules."

Qin Ji slowly lowered his center of gravity, those purple-gold pupils shining brightly in the dim twilight like two ghost fires waiting to devour someone. He locked onto Night Owl's figure like a Tyrannosaurus that had just finished a meal but was still unsatisfied, preparing to tear apart the reckless challenger before him.

"Killing you should be worth half a month of grinding wild mobs, right?"