96: Chapter 96 The Blasphemer and the Courtesan's Deadly Scheme

The armor beneath his feet was already riddled with holes, and blood gurgled out along the broken plates, soaking the expensive beast-hide carpet.

Landy Kass was not dead.

As a Level 40 Elite BOSS, his health pool was far thicker than an ordinary person's. At this moment, this once-arrogant Vice Legion Commander was being stepped on by Qin Ji like a dead dog, his chest heaving violently, every breath accompanied by bloody froth spraying from the gaps in his visor.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Cass twisted his neck with difficulty. Though his bloodshot, bull-like eyes were filled with terror, there was even more of a blustering, inward malice. He stared deathly at the looming Qin Ji, his voice as hoarse as a broken bellows:

"Kid... you're strong... but you've probably forgotten where this is."

He tried to push himself up with his hands, but Qin Ji applied a slight bit of pressure with his toe, slamming him back to the ground with a sharp "crack"—the sound of breaking ribs.

"Even if you kill me... the Grand Marshal and His Majesty the King... will never let you go..." Cass sneered while coughing up blood. "Killing an Imperial General in the Star Capital... you'll be wanted until your account is deleted... even if you are an Outlander..."

Hearing this, the corner of Qin Ji's mouth curled into a playful arc.

He didn't speak, but slowly raised his right hand.

In his palm, no destructive magical elements condensed; instead, a crystal-clear, ice-blue sigil silently emerged. This was a projection of a Divinity Fragment he had "borrowed" from that god's remnant Soul when clearing the [Fan Hall] dungeon.

Although it dealt no actual combat damage, in terms of status suppression, it was of the True God rank.

"Hum——!!"

The air suddenly solidified.

A terrifying pressure that felt as if it would freeze the Soul descended upon the Nine Phoenix Pavilion without warning. The originally warm and ambiguous scent of incense was instantly dispelled, replaced by a piercing, bone-chilling extreme cold.

Behind Qin Ji, a three-meter-tall phantom slowly emerged.

It was a female silhouette whose face could not be seen clearly, surrounded by swirling snow and auroras. Simply by floating there quietly, she seemed to be the only truth in this world, making it impossible for anyone to even think of resisting.

Goddess of Ice and Snow · God-Bestowed Phantom.

"This... this aura..."

Landy Kass, who had been blustering just a moment ago, saw his pupils instantly shrink to the size of pinpricks. As a general of the kingdom, he was more familiar with this aura than anyone—it was the totem of the entire Star Kingdom's faith, the supreme Dominator of ice and snow!

It wasn't just Cass.

At this moment, it was as if the pause button had been pressed on the entire Drunken Moon Tower.

The noisy hall downstairs fell into an instant silence. Then, whether it was the brightly dressed princes and nobles or the heavily made-up maids and brothel servants, the moment everyone felt this Divine Might, their knees instinctively buckled, and they all knelt down toward the third floor in unison.

"Greetings, my Goddess! May my Goddess be in eternal peace!!"

"Greetings, my Goddess!!"

Fanatical and trembling prayers erupted like ocean waves.

Under this absolute suppression of faith, Landy Kass's original malice instantly turned into extreme panic. Ignoring his broken ribs, he scrambled to turn over and kowtowed frantically toward Qin Ji... or more accurately, toward the phantom behind Qin Ji, like a lowly maggot.

"I did not know the Divine Envoy had arrived in person... this lowly subordinate... this lowly subordinate deserves ten thousand deaths!!"

Cass's forehead slammed heavily against the floor, his face smeared with a mixture of blood and wood chips, yet he didn't dare stop. In the Star Kingdom, offending the King might lead to exile overseas, but offending a Divine Envoy meant the Soul would fall eternally into the Ice Hell, without even the chance to delete one's account and start over!

Qin Ji watched this comical scene before him, a flash of mockery in his eyes.

Kneeling already?

So-called faith, in the face of absolute power, is nothing more than an excuse for the weak to seek protection.

"Now."

Qin Ji withdrew his foot from Cass's body and unhurriedly brushed off non-existent dust from his pant leg, his voice as calm as water: "Do you still want me to get lost?"

"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!!"

Cass trembled all over, not even daring to steal a glance at Qin Ji, his voice carrying a sob: "This lowly subordinate will get lost right now! Right now!!"

"Then get lost." Qin Ji waved his hand casually, as if shooing away an annoying fly. "Close the door on your way out... oh wait, the door was already kicked broken by you."

"Yes, yes, yes! This lowly subordinate will disappear immediately!!"

Landy Kass felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty and scrambled out of the room. In that pathetic state, he no longer possessed even a shred of an Imperial General's majesty.

As that eyesore of a meatball disappeared, Qin Ji's gaze swept over the group of shivering maids and the madam at the door.

"You guys leave too."

"Yes... yes! Lord Divine Envoy!"

The madam was so scared that the powder on her face cracked. She hurriedly led the group away, thoughtfully propping up the two broken door panels to block the entrance for Qin Ji.

Quiet finally returned to the room.

Qin Ji casually dispersed the phantom behind him, toying with the parchment scroll he had retrieved from the vase between his fingers.

[Star Hunter Job Change Book (Divine-Grade)]

[Requirement: Agility 500, Strength 300]

[Description: A Legacy left in the mortal realm by the ancient God of Hunting, possessing the great power to shoot down the stars.]

The item was in hand, and the acting was sufficient.

Just as Qin Ji was about to crush a Town Portal Scroll to leave this place of trouble, a cold, fragrant breeze abruptly entered his nose.

This scent was very special. Unlike the cloyingly sweet rouge scent of the Drunken Moon Tower, it carried a hint of the chilling fragrance of winter plums, yet it also faintly reeked of a heart-palpitating smell of blood.

"Since you've come, why be in such a hurry to leave?"

A lazy and dangerous voice rang out from behind the screen.

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow, his fingers unobtrusively gripping an instant-cast rune as he slowly turned around.

From behind the nine screens painted with dancing phoenixes, a woman dressed in a water-blue flowing cloud gauze dress walked out.

She was extremely beautiful.

This beauty was not the kind of refinement found on the surface, but a perfect Fusion of charm and killing intent that seeped from her bones. Her bare feet stepped on the debris-strewn floor, yet she seemed to walk on clouds, untouched by a speck of dust.

The Drunken Moon Tower's oiran, Water Like Smoke.

But at this moment, where did she have even a hint of a courtesan's appearance?

In those eyes like autumn water, an undisguised killing intent was currently surging, locking onto Qin Ji. Most importantly, under that pressure from the Goddess of Ice and Snow just now, she was one of only two people in the entire Drunken Moon Tower who had not knelt.

The other was Qin Ji.

"To see a god's projection and not kneel, it seems you aren't some ordinary NPC either." Qin Ji's gaze swept over Water Like Smoke, finally resting on her fair, slender neck—where a black curse seal was faintly emerging.

"Kneel?"

Water Like Smoke gave a light laugh, her laughter crisp yet carrying a chill. "That bitch's phantom is worthy of making me kneel?"

She moved with lotus steps. With every step, the air beneath her feet rippled with visible circles, as if space itself was slightly distorting under her aura.

"I originally thought I'd only encounter some vulgar things tonight, but I didn't expect to run into a 'Divine Envoy' who has gained that bitch's approval."

Water Like Smoke stopped five paces away from Qin Ji. At some point, a crimson dagger as thin as a cicada's wing had appeared in her hand. Her fingertip lightly brushed over the blade, her eyes becoming bloodthirsty and excited:

"Killing you, even if only once... should be enough to make that bitch sleeping in the Far North feel a twinge of heartache, right?"

Before her voice had even faded.

Water Like Smoke's figure suddenly vanished!

It wasn't an afterimage produced by high-speed movement, but a true disappearance into thin air, as if she had never existed.

[Stealth]?

No, it was space folding!

Qin Ji's pupils contracted sharply, and an alarm almost instinctively blared in his mind.

Without any hesitation, he didn't choose to retreat, but instead took a sudden step forward. The parchment scroll in his hand was instantly put into his backpack, replaced by that not-yet-fully-unsealed [Demonic Sword · Apophis] (disguised form).

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew in all directions.

The crimson dagger appeared out of thin air at the position where Qin Ji's throat had originally been, but it was precisely parried by the raised, broad sword blade. The terrifying impact caused the floor beneath Qin Ji's feet to instantly shatter, and he slid back several meters, only coming to a halt when he hit the windowsill.

So fast!

This was absolutely not the strength an oiran should have!

"Good reactions."

A slightly surprised praise came from the void from Water Like Smoke. "Unfortunately, in here, I am invincible."

In the next second, countless crimson streaks of light crisscrossed the room, like a death net being woven, shrouding toward Qin Ji.

Every streak of light was a lethal move.

Qin Ji took a deep breath, the data stream in his purple-gold eyes refreshing frantically.

If he didn't use his trump cards, this body's current attributes would indeed make it very difficult to go head-to-head with this kind of story BOSS.

But... who said I was going to go head-to-head with you?

"Invincible?"

A mocking sneer curled on Qin Ji's lips. His left hand suddenly grabbed at the void. "That's because you haven't seen a real cheater."

[Golden Finger activated: Attribute Plunder check in progress...]

[High-intensity attack frequency detected, passive triggered: Thorns Mail (Conceptual Version)]

Although he didn't have Thorns Mail in his equipment slots right now, during the previous massacre in the Newbie Village, he had killed a full three thousand porcupines with "Spiked Carapace," plundering and fusing that passive affix called [Thorn's Embrace].

Qin Ji advanced instead of retreating, allowing those dense crimson streaks of light to slash onto his body.

"Puff puff puff puff!"

The sounds of blades entering flesh rang out densely, and Qin Ji's health bar dropped by a chunk instantly. But at the same time, Water Like Smoke in the void let out a muffled groan.

That was damage reflection!

And it was true damage reflection calculated based on Qin Ji's insane defense!

"Caught you."

Qin Ji ignored the wounds on his body. Relying on that moment of stagger, the demonic sword in his hand instantly switched to a pitch-black metal glove, and he gripped hard at a certain ripple in the void.

[Death Grip]!

This was originally a Necromancer skill, but in Qin Ji's hands, it became pure power suppression.

"Boom!"

A disheveled figure was forcibly dragged out of the void.

Water Like Smoke's face was full of shock; she clearly hadn't expected this seemingly Level 40 Outlander to possess such a bizarre method. She wanted to forcibly trigger a space jump to escape, but found that the surrounding space seemed to be locked by some higher-dimensional power.

That was the [Death Curtain] Qin Ji had just set up in an instant.

A faint grey light curtain enveloped a ten-meter radius, completely turning this luxurious Nine Phoenix Pavilion into an isolated arena.

"Now, it's my turn."

Qin Ji took a step forward, his figure like lightning. The pitch-black heavy sword in his right hand carried the sound of whistling wind as it smashed down toward this peerless beauty's head without the slightest hint of pity.

The sunset completely sank below the horizon, and darkness swallowed the entire capital.

In front of the shattered window lattice of the Nine Phoenix Pavilion, Qin Ji held the heavy sword in one hand, its edge pressed against Water Like Smoke's fair carotid artery. Behind him, the nine screens painted with phoenixes had long since turned to dust in the fierce battle. Amidst the flying wood chips and tattered gauze, those purple-gold eyes coldly watched the oiran he had forcibly pinned into the ruins, like a Vicious Beast that had just captured its prey, exuding a suffocating pressure in this boundless night.