The Dowager Lady pondered for a moment, calculating the comparison of both sides' strength in her mind. Even if their opponents had set up ambushes, there wouldn't be too many people guarding one target. As for their side, each mission only accepted ten or so tasks at most. If they divided these out evenly, each operation would at least have five to six experts ranked above the Supreme level accompanying them - a force more than sufficient.

After verifying everything was infallible once again, she smiled benignly and said, "If that's the case, then you may choose any team you wish for your outing. But mind your safety - if you sprain yourself or get hurt in any way, I won't be pleased."

Jin Moxie nodded repeatedly, his eyes flashing with suppressed satisfaction. He hadn't expected to start collecting debts through being an extra assassin rather than his usual dream scenario.

The blood debt owed by the three sacred sites was finally about to be settled personally...

Three days later, Jin Moxie and Dongfang Wenqing led twenty or so shattered-soul experts alongside two family-level heaven-tier assassins from the Dongfang clan. They exited the estate gates heading northward together on this journey with five targets ahead.

This operation had accepted fifteen assassination missions in total. For some unknown reason, the Dowager Lady changed her mind again and divided them into three groups, each responsible for different directional tasks.

Dongfang Wenshan and Bili Luoyun formed one team, Dongfang Wendao with Leng Ao another group. Whether intentional or coincidental, Jin Moxie just happened to be paired up with his uncle Dongfang Wenqing - a fate that made the young master deeply (annoyed).

The Dowager Lady had been clear from the start: if he didn't want to go, he could stay back and keep her company. She was afraid of him getting hurt anyway.

How dare Jin Moxie refuse? He knew well enough the Dowager actually wanted him to remain within her sight. No matter how powerful Jin Moxie became, in her eyes he would always be the grandson needing protection - this sentiment unlikely to change even through decades or centuries passing by...

So despite his reluctance, Jin Moxie had no choice but to grudgingly agree and accompany Dongfang Uncle on their journey...

Hooves thundered northward. The first two targets along the way didn't require Jin Moxie or Dongfang Wenqing's personal involvement at all - just sending out two shattered-soul members with two family heaven-tier assassins sufficed for quick resolution.

The uncle-nephew duo lurked nearby monitoring developments, waiting impatiently for any remaining guards to appear. But they spent half a night shivering through the cold breeze without catching anything at all. It seemed those two targets had no elite cultivators dispatched by the three sacred sites guarding them after all.

Now, their group was en route toward the third target.

"Less than a hundred miles ahead lies our third destination," Dongfang Wenqing said grimly from horseback, pointing his whip in the distance. "This one is precisely the most challenging among these fifteen targets we've accepted."

"Oh?" Jin Moxie's eyes lit up with interest as he rode with one eye unnaturally large and the other small, his mouth slightly crooked while using a finger to pick at his nose before giving it an energetic flick producing a sharp 'swoosh' sound. A startled rabbit leapt from nearby grasses landing on its back with a plop.

The rest of the group looked straight ahead pretending not to see anything happening behind them.

Normally this would be a fine dinner, but... this was a rabbit killed by snot - quite disturbing for most people. Though it might not carry meat-disease, there remained psychological barriers...

"This isn't just difficult," Dongfang Wenqing scolded his nephew with exasperation as the horse galloped forward, "it's particularly problematic! Not some so-called reclusive experts, but even more troublesome!"

Dongfang Wenqing couldn't suppress a glare at this precious nephew of his. "Moxie, could you at least try to act civilized? After all, you're a noble family heir and scion of an esteemed lineage. Why must you disregard your own dignity like this? Even if you don't care about your own face, shouldn't you consider the reputation of Old Lord Jin's ancestors? And even if that doesn't matter anymore, what about your mother, your grandmother, or my own dignity as your uncle? The way you act makes it so hard to tell people I'm related to such a disgraceful nephew!"

"This appearance is entirely your doing," Jin Moxie replied lazily while cracking his neck joints with audible pops. "You dress me up like this and then expect me to be polite? Shouldn't you first examine your own skills as an artist? I mean, not that your technique was bad... just, just not quite suitable for grand occasions..."

The young master had always been rather stubborn. His nose nearly twitched from the anger as Dongfang Uncle intentionally made him look like a pitiful outcast - precisely the opposite of his normally excellent self-image. Now this uncle was going all-out to mock him shamelessly, yet he still couldn't respond or retaliate since it was family. So he simply adopted an indifferent attitude: go ahead and say whatever you want, I don't care at all.

But Dongfang Wenqing found himself even more frustrated. For the entire journey, his efforts to torment this nephew had been exhausted - every kind of mockery and scolding imaginable just trying to vent accumulated frustrations. Yet the young master simply remained as thick-skinned as a dead pig regardless of storms or sunshine.

After two days of relentless verbal assaults until his mouth went dry from shouting, Dongfang Uncle finally gave up out of sheer exhaustion.

Faced with this nephew who could ignore him completely, the only other form of revenge he could think of was: you think you look handsome like some pretty face? Then I'll make you an ugly monster! See if you can bear it anymore!

Little did he know that his nephew accepted this new appearance with perfect calmness. Not just acceptance - immediately adopting behaviors perfectly matching his new looks.

Before the transformation, Jin Moxie had been a graceful young noble with elegant bearing. But after being transformed into an ugly face, every gesture and expression now matched that of a common thug's foul demeanor...

This kind of adaptability left even Dongfang Wenqing, experienced in worldly affairs, feeling ashamed to admit it was better than his own capabilities. He began doubting whether this might not be the young man's true nature after all.

Picking nose, flicking snot - these were just minor incidents compared to what happened when they entered Dongfang Uncle's room at night. After removing shoes, he started picking his toes with great enthusiasm before proceeding to grab fruits from the serving tray, yet refused to eat them...

Finally, wiping his hands on the bedclothes and shuffling off in his dirty shoes toward sleep.

Just before leaving the room that evening, he would always cough dramatically - spitting out a thick phlegm droplet onto the floor. Then using one finger to block a nostril while forcefully expelling something dark yellow from the other nostril with an arrow-like trajectory landing on the ground with a crisp sound...

Thus, Dongfang Uncle had his tragic night of suffering.

Wanting water? The cups had been touched by those dirty hands picking toes. Wanting food? Even worse! Not eating or drinking at all might be better... But then again, those bedclothes had also been handled by this beast!

So furious was the old master that he nearly lost his mind from impotence - it was self-inflicted punishment indeed.

By nightfall, Dongfang Uncle would lock himself in early with iron resolve never to let this wretch enter his room again. But inevitably each morning revealed his nephew sitting on the bedside with a foul expression picking his toes while sporting that monstrous face.

"Uncle... you're awake now," he'd whine dramatically, "look at my feet - all peeling skin! Ah, it's just dead skin though. You know how fast human cells regenerate, especially for someone as young as me!"

With Jin Moxie's earth-penetration cultivation skills, what kind of door could possibly stop him?

When Dongfang Uncle awoke to witness this horrifying scene - a monster picking smelly toes so close he could feel the heat radiating from them - his stomach twisted violently with a desire to vomit immediately.

Even after only three days, the usually psychologically tough Dongfang Uncle finally begged for mercy...

This torment had finally come to an end!

"Up ahead is the super city of **City renowned across the continent," Dongfang Wenqing forced himself not to look at his nephew's disgraceful behavior while staring forward expressionlessly. "Our target here is precisely the top noble family - Chen Family!"

"**City?" Jin Moxie suddenly widened his eyes upon hearing those three words, exclaiming delightedly, "What a nice name!"

Nice name? What nice name indeed! **City was a true regional within its thousand-mile range!" Dongfang Wenqing huffed. "When flowers bloom in Miaohua City, they flourish; when **flowers open, the sea trembles. In the **Sea where Chen Family dwells, no one dares challenge their dominance!"

He sighed heavily. "**Chen... is truly a very difficult family to deal with."

Suddenly Jin Moxie burst into uncontrollable laughter, tears streaming down his face: "What wonderful poetry! Truly unparalleled verses written by some great poet for the Chen family? It's just dying me laughing..."