Only by becoming a religion could Warrior Hall make all ordinary warriors into fanatic believers. That way, they could control the ordinary warriors easier and better help bloodline warriors to defeat demons.
Qian Jin had become the biggest roadblock for Warrior Hall on its path to becoming a religion. Since Warrior Hall couldn"t recruit Qian Jin, this force was going to destroy him. The future of Warrior Hall was more important than anything else.
Betu clenched his fists and told himself that he wasn"t doing anything wrong. Sacrificing Qian Jin was worth it, and he was nothing compared to Warrior Hall.
Vinoka and Salafer looked at each other and didn"t know what to say. Warrior Hall could only rise and become more powerful if it became a religion for ordinary warriors. A super talented ordinary warrior like Qian Jin was an outlier, and he had to be killed.
"However, since Qian Jin was able to kill Linguan Skylan, it means that his strength is terrifying amongst the ordinary warriors. If we can"t instantly a.s.sa.s.sinate him, then… we probably will die instead," Vinoka sighed and thought. "If that is the case, Warrior Hall would have triggered someone too powerful to contain. If we fail the mission, Warrior Hall will have to try to bear Qian Jin"s fury."
Although Qian Jin"s strength was less than that of Warrior Hall"s combined power, he could use his influence and forces to restrict Warrior Hall and its future growth.
"The best way is to…" Salafer sighed, and his eyes suddenly became murderous and sharp; this was something that young people couldn"t have since they lacked experience. "We need to kill Qian Jin successfully."
"If… I"m saying if… If we fail, what will happen next?" Vinoka asked as he looked at Salafer.
After a moment of silence, Salafer said, "Let"s ask Lv Chang to come with us. If we fail, Lv Chang is the last straw that could save Warrior Hall."
Vinoka thought for a while and sighed powerlessly. "I"m afraid that Lv Chang wouldn"t come. He believes that ordinary warriors and bloodline warriors should help each other and be on equal terms. Asking him to kill Qian Jin…"
"We aren"t asking him to kill…"
"I know. But he has to stand by and watch. Do you think he will let us attack the ordinary young warrior who he appreciates the most?"
"Even if he doesn"t want to, he has to come. This is all for Warrior Hall. He also wants Warrior Hall to become a religion, but his goal is that the ordinary warriors of Warrior Hall no longer need to feel inferior when facing bloodline warriors. At the end of the day, we are all trying to improve Warrior Hall."
"Alright, then… how much chance of success do you think we have?"
"Probably about 99 percent. If nothing goes wrong, Qian Jin will die. After all, the nine of us will move together. Without being careful, even a saint warrior might be killed by us."
"That is true. If all of us attack together, there is no way that Qian Jin won"t die. Let"s go and find Lv Chang. At the same time, ask the people of Warrior Hall to pay attention to Qian Jin"s movements. It might be hard for bloodline warriors to trace him, but he isn"t so secretive toward ordinary warriors.
…
There were just too many ordinary warriors.
Zence Matten shook his head and looked at the giant crowd of people outside the city gate. The group was heading south to Qian State with Qian Jin, and they tried their best to hide their traces. However, the cities that they were pa.s.sing would always get the news before they got there, and many ordinary warriors would come out to greet them.
Except for the fact that Qian Jin was insanely famous, there were many ordinary warriors everywhere, and it was hard to keep everything from them.
"This time, it is better. They only learned that we are here when we are about to leave. Before, we were discovered when we were about to enter the city." Duren Burg turned his head around on his force and waved his hand in satisfaction.
"We are about to get to Qian State." While riding on the horse, Qian Jin said, "I"m going to visit my father, and we will head to the Ancient Desert Sea."
Zence Matten casually rode on his horse and looked ahead, trying to spot the Ancient Desert Sea that they couldn"t see here. Regardless of if they could find the treasure or not, they needed to go into the desert.
The New Generation Compet.i.tion was less than four months away, and all the future partic.i.p.ants were busy training in places that were suitable for them.
The Ancient Desert Sea was an excellent place for people to train. Everyone in the team including Duren Burg and Fanta Kunge all agreed with this.
"Too bad… we hadn"t met Qi Joen yet." Duren Burg lazily lied on the back of the horse and looked at the sky. "I remember writing a letter to him, asking him to meet us at the Punitive Expedition Academy. Why isn"t he here yet?"
"Qi Joen?" Qian Jin thought to himself, "When I first met Duren Burg, I heard this name already. I still haven"t met him after such a long time."
According to what Duren Burg said, that man was also a monster. His direct relatives were married to other families several generations ago, but Qi Joen suddenly awakened his bloodline power.
"Perhaps we will meet him during the New Generation Compet.i.tion." While Zence Matten said that casually, his expression suddenly changed.
At this moment, a ma.s.s of shocking aura shot out under dry yellow gra.s.s and dry soil. A black shadow suddenly flashed by, and a thin sword struck forward inline with the slender eyes. This attack was powerful enough to take down a star.
With the sudden appearance of this sword, it felt like the sky was going to be pierced. This strike was simple, direct, and experienced, and the murderous spirit instantly locked onto Qian Jin when it was emitted.
At the same time, an old man who was staggering by in ragged clothes suddenly unleashed his vicious warrior soul before pulling it back into his body, and his clothes shattered under the explosive warrior power. This old man instantly looked high-spirited, and the ground below him exploded as he turned his wrist and punched at Qian Jin"s heart like a mature leopard.
Meanwhile, seven other shocking auras appeared out of nowhere, and they had targeted Qian Jin with vicious and direct murderous spirit.
These nine oldest warriors who had the conservative mindset were all more than 100 years old. With their ages added together, it was even more than 1,000 years. To help Warrior Hall successfully transform into a religion, they unleashed the most powerful strikes in their lives.
The young people in the team were still in the atmosphere of being seen off. Some of the people who were waving goodbye to them could still be seen. This was the moment when people were the least guarded, and all nine old warriors chose to strike at this time. The swords and sabers emitted brilliance light, and punches and kicks created streaks of murderous spirit currents.
In that instant, the people who were joyous and waving at Qian Jin couldn"t react in time. Before they could feel shocked, all the attacks were already beside Qian Jin"s body.
"This is the sneak-attack coming from Warrior Hall?" Qian Jin was extremely calm at this moment, and he sensed the auras of these nine a.s.sa.s.sins. These nine people"s coordination was on another level. Eight of them attacked at the same time, and the person who initiated everything with a cold sword strike was only a split-second faster compared to others to draw Qian Jin"s attention and distract him from other a.s.sa.s.sins.
Vinoka"s narrow eyes were just like the sword in his hand; anyone who saw his eyes wanted to retreat and dodge.
Many patterns were engraved on the thin longsword, and a mystical light flashed. When others saw it, they felt like they would be injured by its sharpness even if they were simply breathing.
Becoming one with the sword! While his warrior soul ignited, Vinoka thrust outward. The longsword was silent as if it weren"t traveling in this dimension, and it only shook once when it was about to pierce into Qian Jin"s body. Thunderous tiger-lion-like roars sounded from the sword, and it instantly targeted Qian Jin"s heart.
With Vinoka"s strike, it seemed like the air in the area was all distorted. As if sad music for mourning the dead sounded, others couldn"t concentrate and fight back. This sword strike reached the pinnacle of his life, and it was the strongest strike he ever used. Because of his peak state, the damage of this strike entered the Half-Saint Realm.
The nine master warriors moved together, and their auras connected. Vinoka"s sword strike seemed to have drawn out a river of history, and 1,000 years of memories flowed. It was enough to make people sigh and become lost in it.
This was the pinnacle strike of all nine masters; it had the life seals condensed from these nine masters.
Facing this strike, people would feel like they were tiny and insignificant, and they couldn"t do anything but lower their heads before the river of time.
Qian Jin had been through many deadly battles, but he never encountered such a strike. Thousands of years of experience was merged into the sword strike. Before injuring others, the opponents would feel like they died in these 1,000 years and become slow.
Qian Jin"s spirit was finally moved at this moment. Seeing the threat, his warrior souls roared, and his zhanmadao somehow already appeared in his hands. A surging symphony sounded from the thick blade; it was familiar since someone"s sword also created such music.
It was Uncle Fabreidis" Tune of Souls" Repose which was the highlight of his life.
After learning the technique scroll that Gomez Jane gave him and practicing for many days, the Tune of Souls" Repose"s warrior seal which Qian Jin inherited from Fabreidis was incredibly radiant.
At this moment, Tune of Souls" Repose rushed out of Qian Jin"s zhanmadao, and it shot into the sky and shattered the sword cry of the unparalleled sword strike that possessed almost 1,000 years of history.
Qian Jin"s deep eyes stared at Vinoka"s eyes.
When their eyes met, Vinoka"s body suddenly shook; he saw an endless universe in Qian Jin"s eyes.
"In this endless universe, 1,000 years is like a flash. No, it is even shorter than a flash. The endless universe occupies s.p.a.ce and devours time. At the same time, it creates time and expands s.p.a.ce. An endless cycle… 1,000 years of history and events are nothing in front of the universe. What pair of eyes is this? What kind of spirituality is this?" Vinoka thought to himself. Then, his spiritual world that had nothing else but swords suddenly collapsed.
With his right hand on the saber, Qian Jin suddenly raised his left hand and pointed at the sharp tip of the sword as if he were a child who was picking up seash.e.l.ls at a beach.
Bam!
A radiant light beam shot out of Qian Jin"s finger. It was a mimic of the finger strike that Qian Zhanxuan used that day, but it didn"t have Qian Zhanxuan"s dominating presence.
The powerful gravitational force instantly bent Vinoka"s sword into the shape of a crescent moon.
It was only a single finger strike, but warrior powers intertwined and fought each other. The sleeves of Vinoka"s warrior suit shattered and turned into many black cloth strips as if it were cut up by many blades.
Vinoka was surprised that Qian Jin handled the strike which contained the 1,000 years of experience of the nine of them with a simple finger strike. Then, he turned his wrist and pulled a thinner longsword from the longsword that he was holding.
Sword inside a sword!
The slim longsword was like a snake and as fast as lightning, and it went for Qian Jin"s throat. Only Vinoka knew that this was his killing move. If the first strike couldn"t kill Qian Jin, Qian Jin"s spirit energy would be significantly consumed during the escape from the river of time created by the attack. Then, he couldn"t dodge the second fast strike.
"People only have one opportunity." Like a proclamation of a G.o.d from ancient times, Qian Jin"s voice sounded, and the sword before his finger shattered into pieces. Those shattered pieces shot back toward Vinoka"s face like raindrops in a storm.
After numerous forging experiences, Qian Jin"s understanding of weapons reached a level that ordinary people couldn"t imagine. Even though he was facing such a fast sword, he still saw its weakness and knew what this weapon was.
Others might be surprised by the sword inside a sword, but Qian Jin would only sigh and think that this sword inside a sword wasn"t properly made and was too crude.
"Huh?" Surprise appeared in Vinoka"s narrow eyes, and he thought, "The sword is shattered? He moved later, but his attack is going to land first? Before my longsword can pierce Qian Jin, my head will be shattered."
Vinoka"s vision was filled with shattered sword pieces, yet he continued to dash forward and shot out the longsword. He was using his death to buy a split-second of time for his peers; he was determined to kill a monster like Qian Jin, who was standing in Warrior Hall"s way of becoming a religion.
As soon as the longsword left Vinoka"s hand, it became faster and sharper. Like a flash of lightning, it aimed at Qian Jin"s throat.
"Huh?" Confusion appeared in Qian Jin"s eyes as he looked at the body of the sword, and he reached out his index finger and middle finger, clenching onto the sword.
Puff! Vinoka"s head was instantly penetrated by all those shattered sword pieces, but his body continued to rush forward. Although he was dead, the momentum and his will remained. He still wanted to kill Qian Jin, so he was going to interrupt Qian Jin"s flow as much as possible.
This was the iron-will of an experienced 130 years old soul-power warrior. Many other soul-power warriors couldn"t reach his level of perfection.
While Qian Jin clenched onto the sword, the other eight experienced warriors already got to him.
At this moment, Qian Jin"s zhanmadao s.h.i.+ned.
While Qian Jin stood in the middle of all attackers, the zhanmadao radiated, and many shocking auras collided and intertwined like a blooming furious lotus.
However, it seemed like a giant mantis was standing in the center of the lotus, and it waved its blade, striking the bees and b.u.t.terflies who wanted to nectar from the center.
Three beams of blood shot up for the neck of three senior warriors and were about three meters tall, and their heads also rose into the air under pressure.
"Wind and Cloud Golden Body! Initiate!" Qian Jin roared as other senior warriors" strikes landed on his body.
"We did it!" The five remaining senior warriors felt their strikes landing on Qian Jin. While they were thrilled, they exploded their warrior seals as if they were free, attacking Qian Jin as much as they could.
At this moment, the five senior warriors wanted to relax a little since their mission was about to be accomplished. They were only about to finish the mission after four peers died, showing that this young man was insanely powerful.
"Sneak-attack?"
"You"re courting death!"
Duren Burg and Fanta Kunge"s roars sounded, and they pressed their hands on a senior warrior each.
Fanta Kunge"s hands engulfed in Gold Essence Warrior Power instantly crushed a senior warrior"s head, and Duren Burg"s devour ability sucked another senior warrior into a dry corpse.
Only three senior warriors landed their explosive strikes onto Qian Jin.
These nine senior warriors who were all about 130 years old were the most valuable people in Warrior Hall, and they couldn"t be measured in terms of money. They only landed strikes onto Qian Jin at the price of six lives.
Right now, the last three remaining seniors weren"t happy or sad. They only wanted to accomplish the mission. They had lived for too long, and they saw through life and death. If Warrior Hall could finish the transformation, everything was worth it.
These people ignited their warrior souls and exploded their warrior seals, temporarily reaching the combat strength of half-saint warriors to kill Qian Jin.
Bam! Qian Jin"s body shattered before the three.
"Success!" Just as the three senior warriors were about to be overjoyed, gooseb.u.mps appeared on their scalps. They hit…
"This is called [Thousand Warriors]." Qian Jin"s cold voice sounded behind the three, "You should feel fortunate since I just mastered this fighting technique."
Qian Jin could only use his warrior power to form his physical appearance, and he wasn"t too smooth yet, but that was enough for this occasion.
The shattered warrior body turned back into warrior power before rus.h.i.+ng into Qian Jin"s body, and Qian Jin"s zhanmadao penetrated a senior warrior, sending him into the air.
However, Qian Jin didn"t continue slas.h.i.+ng; there was no need.
The last two remaining warriors ignited their warrior souls and exploded their warrior seals; they couldn"t live long.
Qian Jin looked at the ground further away and said, "You should come out now. Ten of you came, but only nine attacked."
"Fantastic; truly fantastic. Is this the strength of the legendary Qian Jin?"
Another old man dashed out of the ground. His hair was grey and white, not much different from the other nine senior warriors. However, he had no murderous spirit on him. He was calm from the beginning until the end, and only sadness could be seen in his eyes.
Although they had different beliefs, they were peers and friends.
After living for so many years, he didn"t have many friends left. Now that nine of them died, Lv Chang couldn"t feel happy.
"Will Warrior Hall still attack me?"
Lv Chang smiled bitterly and thought, "Warrior Hall does have many peak soul-power warriors, but their wills are much weaker than these nine senior warriors who were killed. Betu probably can"t find another team to try to a.s.sa.s.sinate you."