King of Creation
Chapter 279 - 276: The Most Frustrated Assassin in History

Chapter 279: Chapter 276: The Most Frustrated Assassin in History

There was no dwelling in Divine Capital for Ye Zhen and the others, so they headed back to the inn they were staying at in the Inner City. It was already nearing midnight.

Upon returning to his own room, after much thought, Ye Zhen could not contain his excitement—he decided that he would take the Spirit Storage Pill now and break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm in one fell swoop.

"Little Cub, go, stand guard for me well!"

With a soft meow, the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub, shrunken to the size of a palm, blended into a corner of Ye Zhen’s room like a black little ghost.

After making all the preparations, Ye Zhen did not rush to consume the Spirit Storage Pill. Instead, he performed his cultivation technique twice, returning his condition to its peak state.

"That should about do it...."

Ye Zhen took out the pigeon egg-sized Spirit Storage Pill, placed it in his mouth, wrapped it with Spiritual Power, and pressed it under his tongue.

The method to consume a Spirit Storage Pill was very particular, not just a matter of swallowing it and expecting to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. The Spirit Storage Pill only contains a trace of Innate Bloodline Spiritual Energy, and its main function is to replenish the Innate Bloodline Spiritual Energy within a martial artist’s Innate Bloodline.

Its potential was to be taken only in the critical moment when a Spiritual Power Seed is about to form. If taken too soon or too late, the effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

Ye Zhen began to operate the Five Transition Nourishing Essence Technique, gathering a Spiritual Power Seed, and the Spiritual Power within Ye Zhen’s Dantian started to swell up.

The swelling frequency got faster and faster until, amidst the rhythmic pulsing, the Spiritual Power in Ye Zhen’s Dantian began to coalesce into a vortex.

A flat Spiritual Power Whirlpool gradually formed within Ye Zhen’s Dantian, resembling a seed. However, this was not yet the Spiritual Power Seed.

If forming a Spiritual Power Seed were so simple, then why would the Spirit Transformation Realm be such a difficult hurdle for countless martial artists?

As Divine Sense converged, Ye Zhen’s Divine Soul Power also began to pulsate at a unique frequency, seemingly resonating within him.

Omm!

Four humming sounds emerged simultaneously, though one was particularly loud. The loudest humming resonated from the first vein of Ye Zhen’s forged Sword Vein Innate Bloodline.

At the same time, three other Innate Bloodlines also emerged within Ye Zhen’s body. Little spots of blood-colored Spirit Light appeared on the surface of the Innate Bloodlines, moving within them.

Ye Zhen understood that those little spots of blood-colored Spirit Light were the crucial Innate Bloodline Spiritual Power required to form a Spiritual Power Seed.

Under normal circumstances, each martial artist’s Innate Bloodline contains about the same amount of Innate Bloodline Spiritual Energy, and if there are any differences, they fluctuate around a total average.

This creates the first significant disparity between the martial artists’ Innate Bloodlines.

Those with more Innate Bloodlines possess more Innate Bloodline Spiritual Energy, making it more likely for them to form a Spiritual Power Seed successfully in one try. Conversely, martial artists with fewer Innate Bloodlines have less Innate Bloodline Spiritual Energy, reducing their chances of success.

Furthermore, this type of Innate Spirit Vein Energy is reduced every time it’s used, making it extremely difficult to replenish.

Normally, Ye Zhen’s chances of successfully forming a Spiritual Power Seed on the first try, with his Four Vein Talent Bloodline, would be close to fifty percent. However, this fifty percent isn’t the same as the odds of winning a gamble.

With gambling, betting three or four times, or even five times, you’re bound to guess right eventually.

But with only five parts strength to tackle a task requiring ten, what could the success rate be?

What is crucial, however, is that after the first failure, the success rate for forming a Spritual Power Seed thereafter would decrease further since the Innate Bloodline Spiritual Power would be depleted.

And the Spirit Storage Pill is specifically meant to replenish that Innate Bloodline Spiritual Power.

In the instant when the four Innate Bloodlines surfaced within his body, Ye Zhen’s Divine Sense spurred on, and the four Innate Bloodlines surged toward the Dantian, sinking down like four pillars directly into the flat Spiritual Power Whirlpool within the Dantian.

As the four Innate Bloodlines submerged into the flat vortex, the spots of Innate Bloodline Spiritual Power burst forth from within the veins, spreading throughout the Spiritual Power Whirlpool like taking root.

Almost at the same moment, Ye Zhen’s expression stiffened, the crucial time to form the Spiritual Power Seed had arrived.

But at that very moment, Ye Zhen’s eyebrows lightly furrowed as the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub’s gem-like eyes caught a black silhouette silently infiltrating Ye Zhen’s courtyard.

"An assassin?"

Ye Zhen’s expression suddenly turned to shock. At this point, the process of forming the Spiritual Power Seed had begun, and any interruption meant failure, depleting part of his Innate Bloodline Spiritual Power. Even with the Spirit Storage Pill for replenishment, his success rate would dramatically decrease on subsequent attempts.

"It’s all up to the Little Cub now!"

Ye Zhen focused his mind, pouring all his attention into the Spiritual Power Seed forming in his Dantian, no longer mindful of the disturbance outside.

With the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub on guard, unless it was a powerful being of the Soul Sea Realm, no ordinary Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist could hope to infiltrate without a sound. Any noise would surely alert his neighbors, Han Tai and Luluo.

As Ye Zhen made his choice, the dark figure in the courtyard silently moved closer to the window of the room where he was located.

After a brief examination, the shadow understood the structure of the window.

Being an exceptionally experienced assassin, Little Ghost Shadow’s expertise was bizarrely extensive. With just a glance at any door, window, or piece of furniture he could open it almost soundlessly, infiltrating without detection, and then swiftly dispatching his target before they could react!

As one of the Five Great Assassins of the Divine Capital, known for their notorious reputations, Little Ghost Shadow had accepted today’s job more hastily than usual. He hadn’t even personally observed the target’s Cultivation; instead, he relied on the client’s description.

The urgency of the client’s request was the main reason, demanding action tonight, as any later would be too late. However, considering the extraordinary price of one hundred thousand Low Grade Spirit Crystals offered, he still took on the assignment.

Of course, the most important factor was that the target’s Cultivation was merely at the Peak of the Spirit Summoning Realm. In front of an assassin from the Fourth Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm, a stealth attack could potentially take down not just an individual at the Peak of the Spirit Summoning Realm, but even a powerhouse at the Fifth Stage of Spirit Transformation.

As for the target’s two companions, one at the First Stage and another at the Third Stage of Spirit Transformation, Little Ghost Shadow had absolute confidence that his actions would not alarm them in the slightest.

Approaching the window, a pitch-black dagger appeared in Little Ghost Shadow’s hand, showcasing his cunning expertise.

Martial Artists have incredibly sensitive Six Senses, and ordinary daggers reflect light, which can easily alert the target. However, his black dagger eliminated any chance of reflection.

Soundlessly, he smeared a special grease onto the blade, thin as a cicada’s wing, and slid the black dagger into the gap in the window. The next instant, the firmly closed window began to slide open, fraction by fraction.

Any fluctuation of Spiritual Power could alarm the target, so Little Ghost Shadow used only the purest form of strength. Perhaps only when the blade passed over the target’s neck would he dare to use a tiny bit of Spiritual Power.

Furthermore, Little Ghost Shadow took pride in allowing his targets to die silently in their sleep; it was one of an assassin’s highest honors.

Little Ghost Shadow always believed there was a fundamental difference between assassins and murderers.

Assassination is a craft, while murder... that’s just brute force.

It took Little Ghost Shadow a full half a quarter-hour to silently open the window halfway. Though only partially open, it was enough space for him to enter.

Light as a monkey, Little Ghost Shadow climbed up to the windowsill, ready to drop into the room. That’s when his expression changed; he felt a gaze from above.

The moment he looked up, Little Ghost Shadow saw a pair of gemstone-like eyes fixated on him.

It was a small black cat.

Little Ghost Shadow, whose heart had just leapt, let out a sigh of relief as he slowly shifted his gaze downward. Dealing with pets was something he had his own set of skills for.

For instance, if you’re eyed up by a cat at night, move slowly and gently, avoid eye contact, show no hostility, and the little cat won’t make a sound.

Little Ghost Shadow believed this little black cat was no different, although its eyes seemed too bright and too large.

Shifting his gaze downward, his body moved as slowly as a snail.

It was then that the small black cat perched above the window suddenly moved.

With a flash of black, the cat pounced on Little Ghost Shadow like lightning.

Feeling the cat pounce from behind, Little Ghost Shadow’s first reaction was to wonder why his method for dealing with pets didn’t work.

"No good, the target might have been alarmed, I must act faster..."

Bang!

Just as this thought began to emerge in Little Ghost Shadow’s mind, the cat pounced on his nape with lightning speed.

The cat was too fast, giving Little Ghost Shadow no chance to react.

Most importantly, up to this point, Little Ghost Shadow hadn’t dared to employ even a hint of Spiritual Power.

"You little beast!"

All of a sudden, as he reached out to catch the small black cat, a look of utter horror filled Little Ghost Shadow’s eyes. His body suddenly sank as if weighed down by tons, and he fell face-first into the room, producing a resounding thud.

The Cloud Winged Tiger Cub’s body instantly reverted to its normal size in the blink of an eye, and its enormous weight, like a small mountain, pressed down on Little Ghost Shadow.

If Little Ghost Shadow had activated his Spiritual Power, he could have withstood the crushing weight, but assassins dare not use any Spiritual Power before striking, fearing it might alert the target.

He also had no idea that the small black cat he saw was, in fact, a Middle-Grade Earth Level Demon Beast, the Cloud Winged Tiger!

The moment the Cloud Winged Tiger revealed its true form and pounced on Little Ghost Shadow, its front paw swiped over Little Ghost Shadow’s neck like a flash of lightning.

Crack!

It was as if a dry twig had been snapped; Little Ghost Shadow’s neck was severed cleanly in two by the Cloud Winged Tiger’s claw, with hot blood gushing out. To the astonishment of all, Little Ghost Shadow didn’t even have a chance to scream before the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub ended his life.

In a straightforward fight, the Cloud Winged Tiger Cub may have struggled to kill a Fourth Stage Spirit Transformation Realm Martial Artist, but against someone who hadn’t used any Spiritual Power and relied solely on a half-developed Acquired Spiritual Body, and who was ambushed at that, the task was as easy as slicing through vegetables.

To his dying breath, Little Ghost Shadow never understood how he met his end.

Little Ghost Shadow, one of the Five Great Assassins from the Divine Capital of the Phantom Divine Empire, disappeared without ever knowing why.

Meanwhile, in a corner outside the inn where Ye Zhen was staying, two people were anxiously awaiting the outcome. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit qidian.com to cast your vote for recommendation, monthly vote; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com).