“No, no, Senior Brother, I truly appreciate your intentions!” Li Youran seemed to shake his head in agony. “Eldest Senior Brother, do you know? Every night now, as soon as I close my eyes, I see the four of you standing before me, dripping with blood, covered in wounds… I… I, Li Youran, truly feel I have failed them!”

“Regarding this crossbow affair, the Second Prince will undoubtedly deploy his utmost strength to escort it to the capital. Openly and covertly, there will be countless experts! If something… untoward… were to happen to you Senior Brothers again, I might as well die right now!”

A wave of touched sighs swept through the group above; beneath the floor, Jun Moxie couldn't help but curse internally: What a performance! What an act! This Li Youran is such a master of pretense! He has definitely reached the level of a grandmaster, almost surpassing Bei Mu in his skill…

If he didn't intend for them to intervene, why would he specifically mention the matter in front of them? Bringing it up now highlights its seriousness and the threat it poses to him, yet he immediately retracts the offer… Even if he forcefully forbids them a hundred times, even if he vehemently refuses their help with his words, these moved Senior Brothers will certainly sneak out to assist. This level of manipulation is truly astonishing; I utterly underestimated this fellow before! He clearly wants these men to serve as his cannon fodder, yet he insists on moving them to the point where they offer themselves, making it seem as if they owe him, and forcing them to feel that you are making a great sacrifice for them… Damn it! This isn't how you feign reluctance!

Indeed!

“How can we allow that!” Three voices called out simultaneously. “How could we stand by and watch our Junior Brother’s entire family fall into such peril? What kind of people would we be? What does Junior Brother think of us? Besides, if the Li family gets their hands on those crossbows, we can rest a little easier too. This matter is settled, no need to discuss it further! We three will certainly take action then! We must seize those Xuan Beast crossbows for Junior Brother Li and deliver them to you whole and unharmed! If Junior Brother is still worried, just send more subordinates to assist us!”

“Eldest Senior Brother… Second Senior Brother… Third Senior Sister…” Li Youran seemed speechless with emotion, yet his stance appeared increasingly resolute. “But how can I possibly agree to this in good conscience!… I truly feel undeserving… I am utterly restless in my heart…”

“A true man shouldn't be so wishy-washy! Where has your usual resolute decisiveness gone?” This was a woman’s voice, presumably the Third Senior Sister. “Junior Brother Li! If you refuse to let us go, are you prepared to watch the entire Li family slowly slide into danger?”

“The debt owed to the sect is immense. I would rather face peril myself than ask my Senior Brothers and Sister to face such a great danger again!” It was clear from Li Youran’s tone that he was grinding his teeth as he spoke, his words sharp and decisive!

“Nonsense!” The other three became instantly furious, slamming their palms down and rising in indignation.

It was Tear Sword Hong who spoke first. “Junior Brother Li, if you continue to speak this way, it means you look down on us, that you refuse to acknowledge us as your sect siblings! In that case, I’ll just pack up and leave right now, never to see you again, Li Youran!”

Such words, uttered with such heroic fervor and genuine brotherhood!

Jun Moxie, eavesdropping below, nearly burst out laughing. What kind of situation was this? It turned out that all of Tear Wubei’s disciples were of this caliber; the old man himself probably wasn’t much better. “If that is the case… Eldest Senior Brother, you must… be extremely careful!” Li Youran was choked with emotion, his speech growing slurred. “Please, everyone, remember this carefully: I would rather not have these crossbows than see my Senior Brothers and Sister return safely! I will mobilize the maximum force to assist you. Please, do not spare manpower; even if you all sacrifice yourselves, it’s acceptable, as long as you can all return safely. No loss is too great to bear!”

“Rest assured, it’s all on us! Junior Brother, wait for our good news!” The three slapped their chests with loud thuds, full of high spirits and the heroic spirit of ‘a scholar dies for one who truly understands him!’

Jun Moxie below finally stopped laughing and instead sighed deeply in his heart: Another group of idiots who will help Li Youran count the money after he sells them out! It seems these three have been thoroughly brainwashed by Li Youran! This son of Tear Wubei, along with these two disciples—they have truly reached a new level! No wonder their combined effort of five people against Ye Guhan earlier yielded such meager results.

People truly are pitiful when they lack wisdom!

“Thank you, Senior Brothers and Sister! According to my intelligence, those crossbows should arrive at the Southern Outpost of the capital in thirteen days. We will commence operations according to plan then!” Presumably, Li Youran above was bowing deeply, and then the three began discussing the specific operational details.

Jun Moxie listened for a while and understood everything. He then lost interest in watching Li Youran play the fool, because at that moment, a new plan suddenly formed in his mind…

Of course, that was a plan for later.

Right now, it was time to kill! The Great Killer Jun never forgot his original purpose for coming here! Even hearing vital information would not hinder Jun Moxie’s resolve to kill!

Silently ascending from beneath the ground, he looked around and realized he was currently in a wide, empty courtyard. Jun Moxie looked up and finally understood why he couldn't find them in the Li Residence: this place was actually outside the Li Residence! It was a courtyard situated right next to the Li Residence. No wonder!

After looking around again, he heard sounds of painful groans emanating from a side room enveloped by lush green bamboo. Jun Moxie’s lips curved into a cruel arc. With a flash of his body, he slipped inside.

The room was thick with the smell of medicine. The three sect brothers lay quietly on separate couches, occasionally twitching, their faces all ashen.

“Alas! How pitiful. Seeing you suffer so much, let your brother put you out of your misery,” Jun Moxie sighed with feigned compassion, but he had already retrieved a long saber hanging on the wall—it seemed to be a personal weapon belonging to one of the three. In the void, he suddenly raised it, swift as lightning, without hesitation or blinking, bringing it down repeatedly as if mincing dumpling filling…

Thwack, thwack, thwack. All three were already critically wounded enough to be near death; merely clinging to a last breath was quite an achievement! They couldn't offer any resistance, and before they could even draw another breath, they met their doom! Blood flew, and gore splattered…

The last one was the Sixth Senior Brother, whose lightness skill was exceptional. He watched with his own eyes as the steel saber suddenly floated up eerily. Just as he was wondering if his eyes were deceiving him, he saw the saber flash down like lightning. Beside him, the head of one Senior Brother and one Junior Brother separated cleanly from their bodies with a thud, rolling away like watermelons detached from the vine…

He was paralyzed with terror and was about to cry out when something invisible covered his mouth in the void, preventing him from making a sound—like a hand, still warm, but why couldn't he see it?

Why can’t I see it? Is there really a ghost in this world? This was his last thought before he saw the unmanned blade sweep down toward his neck with a swish…

The Great Killer stopped. He coldly picked up a strip of cloth, dipped it into the pool of blood, sneered, and scrawled a few crooked characters on the wall: “Killed four the other day, damn it wasn’t satisfying enough; coming back today to chop three more, but they’re all half-dead, how can that be satisfying! I’ll come back in a few days to kill the last three. If I’m still not satisfied, it’ll be your turn, my dear Cold-Blooded Supreme, Sister Wubei…”

After thinking it over, seeming unsatisfied, he added a few more characters on another section of the wall before contentedly vanishing.

The side room was separated from the main quarters where Li Youran and the others were by about ten zhang. With the Great Killer Jun’s skill, his movements were both swift and rapid. Despite using great force, hacking at completely defenseless bodies produced very little sound—just a few faint thwack, thwack, thwack noises, and it was over. This was basic training for an excellent assassin, nothing particularly remarkable.

Besides… that saber was truly sharp enough…

He was certain that even if someone happened to hear it, they would likely only mistake it for someone letting out a few uncontrolled farts. Therefore, until the deed was done, no one noticed that these men had been permanently relieved from the suffering of the mortal world, far removed from pain, and sent toward the ultimate bliss…

Just as the Great Killer Jun was emerging from the courtyard, he saw a figure slowly drifting toward the area from the distance, hands clasped behind his back, carrying an ethereal air, his movements graceful, unhurried, his brow slightly furrowed as if pondering some unsolved problem…

It was none other than the world-renowned Cold-Blooded Supreme, Mei Wubei!

The old bastard, you’re one step too late! Jun Moxie grinned wickedly and deliberately brushed past him. As Jun Moxie passed by Tear Wubei, Tear Wubei suddenly seemed to sense something. Although his posture remained unchanged, his internal aura instantly peaked. A terrifying, surging pressure erupted from all directions, and Jun Moxie felt a mountain-like weight press down upon him. He inwardly gasped, stuck out his tongue, and instantly retreated into the Hongjun Pagoda.

Damn it, if I can’t provoke you, I can at least hide from you! Now I’m in here, come and get me if you dare!

However, Jun Moxie couldn't figure out why Tear Wubei had reacted this time, since no one had noticed him before. Squatting in the main hall of the Hongjun Pagoda, Jun Moxie pondered bitterly. Did his marvelous method of evasion have some flaw? Or perhaps experts who had reached this Supreme level could now detect or sense his anomaly? Or maybe… I get it, Jun Moxie suddenly recalled that he had just killed someone and was still carrying a lingering, sharp killing intent!

It must have been this killing aura that made Tear Wubei sense danger! Coupled with Jun Moxie’s inherent hostility toward Tear Wubei, it wasn't surprising that he could feel it.

This meant that when he carried no hostility or killing intent, he could move invisibly, but once emotions were involved, he couldn't. This realization indirectly dashed Jun Moxie’s fanciful notions of using this invisibility technique to assassinate any Supremes.