"This—"
Mad Blade stared in horror at the hand buried in his chest, while excruciating pain scorched every nerve in his body.
A ghostly figure had appeared behind him at some point, clad in a black robe with fluttering sleeves, shrouded in dark mist. Only a pair of icy, sinister eyes were visible.
"Rip—"
The black-robed man's internal energy surged as he withdrew his arm, revealing a still-beating heart clutched in his bony fingers.
Mad Blade's face twitched twice. In his final moments, he struggled to see the face of his killer, but could only widen his eyes in vain... before his breath ceased forever.
"Even a Sky-Shattering Realm expert... isn’t this strong."
Clearly, this figure wreathed in dark energy was none other than the Little Demon God... Zhou Fan, who had come to complete a system mission.
In his past life, Zhou Fan had reached the Nine Revolutions Divine Realm, granting him countless techniques. Even with only half-step Sky-Shattering cultivation... assassinating a newly ascended Sky-Shattering martial artist wasn’t particularly difficult.
The moment Zhou Fan appeared, all eyes in the vicinity turned toward him.
Especially the white-robed scholar and the red-robed woman from the Joy Union Sect—their faces twisted in terror.
Another Sky-Shattering Realm expert?
Hadn’t the Mortal Realm’s spiritual energy already dried up? How could it possibly nurture two Sky-Shattering martial artists? And this one had silently killed Mad Blade!
Though it was an ambush, it still proved his strength—at the very least, he was no weaker than the two of them.
Originally, it had been three against one. Now, it was two against two... and in a one-on-one fight... that old monster Jiang Yunhuang would absolutely pummel them to death!
Jiang Yunhuang was also stunned, cradling the old Daoist nun in his arms as he wondered—who was this dark-mist-covered figure?
Another Sky-Shattering expert?
And from the looks of it... he seemed to be here to help?
But who could he be?
Instantly, the image of his grandson flashed in his mind.
Jiang Che!
That’s right—the kid had an unfathomably mysterious and supremely powerful master. Could this be Jiang Che’s teacher? No... probably not. Though the black-robed man was strong, Jiang Yunhuang could sense that his power definitely didn’t surpass his own.
But no matter what, this person was undoubtedly connected to his grandson!
Admittedly, Jiang Yunhuang’s intuition was sharp.
"Fellow Daoist, join me quickly! Let’s suppress these two together! They came from beyond the gate... be careful!"
Jiang Yunhuang steeled himself, his gaze locking onto the white-robed scholar as he rolled up his sleeves... He was furious now, and he needed a punching bag!
Meanwhile, Zhou Fan had already struck first. He pulled out a tattered black banner from his spatial ring, its surface shimmering with dark light. The surrounding temperature instantly plummeted to freezing as over a dozen vengeful spirits materialized from the banner, lunging at the red-robed woman.
Zhou Fan lowered his head, crushing Mad Blade’s heart in his palm before forming an incredibly intricate hand seal. Wisps of black mist immediately seeped from the pulverized organ.
The mist solidified in an instant, coalescing into a powerful wraith.
Mad Blade, who had just been assassinated, had already been refined into a malevolent spirit within the Ten Thousand Demon Banner.
Even Jiang Yunhuang was dumbfounded by this move. Just what kind of people was his grandson associating with? This guy was clearly no saint.
"Demonic cultivator! You’re not from the Mortal Realm either!" The red-robed woman could no longer maintain her composure, shrieking in alarm.
But the only response she received was the onslaught of vengeful spirits—including the freshly slain Mad Blade. Though the refined wraith wasn’t as strong as a Sky-Shattering expert, its power still rivaled that of a Grandmaster.
Enough ants could kill an elephant.
Realizing she was no match for Zhou Fan, the red-robed woman’s eyes flickered with calculation. A bewitching smile curled on her lips as she deliberately tugged at the thin gauze covering her shoulder, exposing her jade-white skin.
"Young master, you can’t be very old, can you? How about you spare me... I’ll be your loyal servant, ensuring your every comfort~~~"
Though ruthless in battle, the woman was undeniably beautiful—after all, the Joy Union Sect had no ugly disciples!
Ahem, in the literal sense. And every one of them was... quite 'skilled.'
If Jiang Che had been here, he might have shown her some mercy. Though he didn’t ride public buses, he still had a soft spot for beautiful women.
Unfortunately... Zhou Fan was the one present.
Though Zhou Fan’s face was youthful—similar in bone age to that foolish little brother Jiang Ruoxu, around fifteen or sixteen—compared to that bubble-headed idiot, Zhou Fan was a thousand-year-old fox!
And a demonic cultivator at that. How could he possibly be swayed by mere beauty?
His expression remained indifferent as his attacks grew even more ruthless.
"Young master... spare me!" the woman wailed in pain.
But it was too late.
A flash of light—
A beautiful head flew into the air, landing neatly in Zhou Fan’s palm before her soul was promptly harvested into the Ten Thousand Demon Banner for recycling.
The white-robed scholar, having witnessed both his companions slaughtered by this man, was on the verge of losing his soul from sheer terror.
Jiang Yunhuang was equally astonished. Just who had his grandson invited?
But Zhou Fan remained silent. His time was precious—after finishing this system mission, he still had to help an old lady cross the street.
Activating the Ten Thousand Demon Banner once more, he lunged at the white-robed scholar.
"Damn it!" The scholar was already entangled by Jiang Yunhuang, unable to escape.
With one last curse, his soul too was absorbed into the banner.
The trio had met the same fate in the end—reunited as wraiths in the Ten Thousand Demon Banner.
"Fellow Daoist..." Jiang Yunhuang began, only to freeze under a piercingly cold gaze.
Zhou Fan glanced sideways at him. Was this man also a target of the system mission?
Killing intent rose within him.
[Ding! Host’s mission completed. Reward: 30,000 Virtue Points.]
[Ding! Refrain from indiscriminate slaughter or actions that harm virtue, or large deductions will apply.]
The system’s voice rang out, causing Zhou Fan to pause momentarily, his eyes darkening before he vanished on the spot.
"This—"
Jiang Yunhuang was speechless. He hadn’t even gotten to fight properly... and the enemies were already dead.
Since ascending to the Sky-Shattering Realm, he hadn’t had a single satisfying battle. Finally encountering three worthy opponents, he’d been ready to stretch his limbs—only to be denied the chance.
......
[Ding! Fate’s Chosen ‘Zhou Fan’ has completed the host’s mission. Host reward: 300,000 points.]
Jiang Che, the ultimate schemer lurking in the shadows, was determined to squeeze every last drop of profit.
As a proper villain, was it really too much to charge a tenfold markup?