Chapter 445: Assassination - 445
The man seemed to sit up slightly as he spoke. "At your level, the only thing that can be reasonably done is assassination. This makes the question, have you ever killed someone?"
"No." Zhu Yi responded.
"Are you willing to kill someone?"
Zhu Yi did not speak immediately but thought.
"All cultivators kill. Even if you try to be a saint, it is almost impossible. You need to choose how you'll live right now. Are you willing to kill, or not willing at all?" Zhou Fan spoke.
Over his many years of life, he had observed much more than anyone could comprehend. He had seen countless people, no lack of which had tried to cultivate without harming anyone else.
These people usually ended up dead or killing someone. Very few could happily live their lives without ever killing someone. Out of all the gods and true gods that Zhou Fan knew, none had never killed. A few had tried, but none had succeeded, especially with the destruction race present.
Zhu Yi continued to think, and the man across from him waited patiently.
After a while, the man spoke. "In case you're curious, there will be no distinction between good and evil people. You may get a mission to kill a murder, or a mission to kill a saint. Regardless, it is expected that you carry it out."
Zhu Yi nodded. "If it's someone who truly lives selflessly, I don't believe that I'd be willing to kill him."
"You don't need to worry too much. We don't accept missions to simply kill anyone. The people we kill need to go through a checklist. For example, if someone hired us to kill a very talented cultivator, like another Chen Jie, who would be able to help all of humanity, we would not do it. We do not kill mortals. We do not kill people who live honestly unless the pay is very high. If you ever get a mission to kill a saint, you can be assured that they have a dark side to them."
Zhu Yi continued thinking.
"I believe I'd be willing for the most part." Zhu Yi finally said.
The man nodded. "In that case, we naturally need proof. Here is your first mission. It will pay triple what such a mission would normally pay due to it being your first time."
The man slid a piece of paper to Zhu Yi. "Good luck, and welcome to the assassination guild."
Before long, Zhu Yi was once again walking the streets of the White Palace City. Looking at the paper, his target was someone around the age of 20. He was a 3rd level Qi gathering realm cultivator. The information about him was not very large, but it said that when returning from a mission, he would stay in the city for two days before leaving once again.
It also gave his home address. As the sky dimmed, Zhu Yi wandered to the house and looked inside from the street. Inside, the man was sitting at a dinner table with what appeared to be his family. A wife, a daughter, and a son.
Zhu Yi stared for a while before leaving. As he walked towards his inn, he spoke to Zhou Fan.
"Master. Is it wrong to kill those with a family?"
"Only if you believe it to be wrong. I don't have an opinion, disciple. Long ago, I helped an evil person gain talent and strength. He brought harm to many, and I knew that he would when I did it, yet I still did it. Perhaps I too am evil."
Zhu Yi did not know how to respond.
Zhou Fan had indirectly killed a lot of people, and he had done so without caring.
He had known that Yao Mun was evil, and it was why he had given him power and talent. He had known that the destruction race would destroy and kill, and that was why he had created them.
"I am above good and evil. I am supreme."
Perhaps, if the theorized karma truly existed in an undetectable form, someone would eventually kill Zhou Fan.
"What?" Zhu Yi asked.
"Nothing." Zhou Fan shook his head.
Zhu Yi rubbed his ears and returned to the inn. The next morning, he did not go to the rogue cultivator guild, but sat in a tea shop, drinking. Across from the tea shop was the house of his target.
Zhu Yi sat in the tea shop for three hours before his target left the house. Zhu Yi paid for his overpriced tea and followed the man from afar. The man entered the rogue cultivator guild, and Zhu Yi waited outside. When the man came out, Zhu Yi followed him.
The man soon left the city, and the assassination was a go.
Zhu Yi stayed hidden behind trees and gripped his sword. When the man eventually entered a heavily forested area, Zhu Yi ran parallel to the path hidden behind many plants.
He eventually got ahead of the man, and on top of a tree branch, he waited.
"Isn't there an easier way to do this?" Zhou Fan said.
Zhu Yi was confused. "What way would that be?"
"Alright. Listen up…"
A few minutes later, Zhu Yi entered the man's line of sight. The man looked at him. Zhu Yi was sitting on the ground, one of his arms covered in blood as he held it.
After a moment, the man realized that Zhu Yi was just a child, though mature looking for his age, and ran up to him.
"Hey kid. Do you need medical assistance?"
Zhu Yi looked up at the man. His eyes seemed so kind. Why did such a good person need to die? A man with a family?
"You seem like a truly good man. I'm sorry." The man looked at Zhu Yi confused, before a sword pierced his throat.
As the man understood his situation, the way he looked at Zhu Yi changed. His face crumpled up and he roared in anger.
Killing intent could be felt from him, and it was not light either.
"Perhaps he's not as good as you thought." Zhou Fan said as Zhu Yi backed away from the man.
The man fell, but even as he bled out, his killing intent was focused on Zhu Yi.
Chapter 446: Reward - 446
Zhu Yi blankly looked at the man's corpse. He knew what he had to do, but he did not know if he had the will to do it.
"You've come this far. What remains is simply finishing the job." Zhou Fan said.
Zhu Yi nodded and walked up to the corpse. He pulled his sword out of the dead man's throat and slashed at his neck in a quick motion.
A head fell and Zhu Yi wrapped a brown bag around it. He put the head in the larger backpack he wore and returned to the city.
"If you ignore the moral issues, then this short trip is the most profitable mission yet." Zhou Fan said as they walked back.
Zhu Yi nodded but did not speak, he was in deep thought.
It did not take long to return to the assassination guild. Upon knocking on the door, he was let in and led to the same person as before.
Standing across from the man, Zhu Yi opened his bag and took out the smaller bag. He placed it on the table. The man looked at it and nodded.
"So, how did it feel?"
Zhu Yi looked to the side. "I did it. What was up with this man?"
The man behind the desk sighed. "He was a demonic cultivator hidden among ordinary people. His goal was to find talents and either recruit or kill them. Although we are a part of the dark side, we are not evil or against humanity. In fact, what we do is for humanity."
Zhu Yi nodded.
"Since you've completed your first mission, and it is worth three, you're finally getting your reward. I calculated, and 3 low level missions like this is worth 1 captured Foundation establishment realm beast, not weakened or enslaved."
The man stood up and held out his hand. "I, the guild master of the white palace city assassination guild branch, welcome you. I hope we work together more in the future. Bernard outside will take you to the beast."
Zhu Yi stood up and shook the guild master's hand before being led to a lower level by the man called Bernard.
He walked in a small hallway with many metal doors, before Bernard stopped at one of them.
Bernard put in a key and the door was opened. After flicking up a light switch, they entered.
Inside was a concrete room, no doubt made of special materials, and in the center of the room was a tiger-like beast inside of a cage.
"How does the assassination guild get these beasts in here?" Zhu Yi asked.
"Secret tunnel systems. Don't ask too much." Bernard said before turning around. "I'll wait outside. Do as you please."
When the door shut, Zhu Yi turned his attention to the beast.
"How much more will this help compared to a thousand Qi gathering realm beasts?" Zhu Yi asked curiously.
"It should be around the same level of usefulness as 5,000 Qi gathering realm beasts. For beasts in the Qi gathering realm, their cores have so little Qi that it is usually not usable. Only special beasts or supreme beasts will have a reasonable amount of Qi. Luckily, I was able to cleanse the Beast cores before the Qi dissipated. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble."
Zhu Yi was astonished. "So you're saying that there is 5,000 times more Qi in foundation establishment realm beasts than Qi gathering realm beasts?"
"Of course not. That's a foolish thought. There is a qualitative difference in the Qi as well. Don't ask me to explain it, you wouldn't understand." Zhou Fan said.
Zhu Yi nodded.
He walked up to the beast and looked at it. It had remained silent all this time, only staring at Zhu Yi with a faint killing intent.
The beast seemed like a tiger without its stripes, and although there was likely a technical name for it, neither Zhu Yi nor Zhou Fan knew it.
Zhu Yi lacked knowledge, while Zhou Fan couldn't care less. Zhu Yi took out his sword and got ready.
"Is there anything I should know about foundation establishment realm beasts?" Zhu Yi asked.
"Not really. Just hope it can't use Qi to attack."
"Huh?"
"If it can use Qi to attack, then it will likely kill you even if it can't break out of the cage." Zhou Fan explained.
Zhu Yi was stunned and stood still. "Isn't that a piece of information you should have mentioned earlier?"
"I was considering making you learn from your mistakes. You are the one who said it didn't have to be weakened."
Zhu Yi stood still while thinking.
"Don't worry too much. If it could attack with Qi, you would already be dead after standing still for so long. Plus, those types of beasts are far more valuable than 3 low-level missions. I just wanted to scare you so that you learned your lesson." Zhou Fan said.
"Oh. Alright." Zhu Yi moved towards the beasts once again.
He held his arms straight out and extended his sword. He ran forward, using it as a spear. The beast jumped back, but the cage was barely large enough to hold the beast. Zhu Yi's sword stabbed into it, but stopped after an inch.
"Your sword may be too weak. In addition, you are too weak." Zhou Fan said.
"Too late to go back now." Zhu Yi backed up and rammed forward again.
A pitiful scene ensued of Zhu Yi ramming towards the beast, drawing blood, and repeating.
After an hour, the beast was so injured and bloody it was basically dead.
Knock Knock.
A knock was heard on the door and a voice outside it. "Are you good in there?"
"Yes. Sorry, it is taking longer than expected. I'm nearly done."
Zhu Yi picked up the pace and continued. After 5 more minutes, Zhou Fan spoke.
"It's dead. Hurry."
Zhu Yi, prepared for this, ran up to the cage and quickly unlocked it. He stabbed his sword near the center of the beast.
In preparation for this moment, Zhu Yi had tried to stab the beast in the center of its body the entire time. Otherwise, it would be too strong for him to easily cut it open.
His work paid off and his sword slid in smoothly.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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