The sun was shining brightly in the sky, marking noon.
In the basement of the commercial guild, a man with white hair and an aged countenance was sitting near a table. His eyes carried a cold gaze as he meticulously counted his Spiritual Crystals. The entire night had passed without him being able to rest. Fatigue was evident on his face, but his determination drove him to continue, not allowing sleep to overpower him.
After returning from a tumultuous confrontation with the Albedo clan, he secluded himself in the Hall, where he kept his earnings, without leaving. His eyes gazed upon what remained of his savings, and his heart was tight as a knife. Such was his fury that new strands of white hair began to emerge.
Commerce represented only a negligible portion of his profits. The true sources of income were the assassination missions he received, where he found opportunities for substantial gains.
He received a new assassination request from the Albedo clan a few days ago. The payment was extremely high. The mission was to kill two weak cultivators from his own clan. The request came from a major clan, and the mission had to be flawless, with no room for error. So he dispatched his five most reliable assassins, led by his only son.
An unimaginable outcome occurred: the entire group was inexplicably killed. Training a skilled assassin required enormous effort, time, and money, making the loss even more devastating. To make matters worse, the Albedo clan collected all the belongings of the corpses, claiming it was a form of compensation for the group's failure.
The man, in his advanced age, suffered great losses this time, knowing that his son would take over the business in a few years. That was obviously not possible anymore.
Upon returning from his frustrating meeting with the Albedo clan, his first order was for all the vendors to extract as much money as possible from the customers. It was essential to replenish his losses somehow.
Suddenly, a message was received on his crystal communicator. "Sir, a counselor from the Albedo clan has come to the guild. He wants to have a private conversation."
"I will meet him in the conference room," he replied with an expression of anger.
Upon entering the room, the guest was alone, waiting for him. This counselor was not present in his last meeting with the clan, but he knew his name, Lemir Albedo.
"What is the reason for your visit to my humble guild, Mr. Lemir?" he asked politely.
"The clan sent me to seek your services. A new mission has come up," Lemir said in a heavy tone, clearly showing his seriousness about the matter. The old man then completely changed his expression and listened attentively.
"We were informed by a reliable member in the capital about valuable news. A young cultivator belonging to a small clan has found a treasure in the central forest and returned to the capital to seek allies. At this very moment, he is heading back to the forest."
"We have had some recent setbacks, however, we are willing to resolve this matter amicably. If we provide you with the information about the cultivator, you can handle the situation, and we will share the profits of the treasure." The man paused briefly, fixing his gaze on the Old Merchant's eyes, conveying a mixture of seriousness and determination.
"I can guarantee that the treasure will compensate for all your recent losses and still provide you with profit. However, before that, we want to ensure that you will not fail again," Lemir said, speaking quickly to emphasize the urgency.
The Old Merchant understood the haste and replied, "I will gather my best men immediately." He hurriedly left the room.
An hour later, the Old Merchant returned to the conference room with four mysterious shadows. Their faces were concealed, making it impossible to determine if they were men or women.
Although normal assassins didn't exude a distinctive aura, they clearly wanted to display their cultivation in the Bone Forging Realm to the contractor. (Check the auxiliary chapter for the cultivation realms.)
"I lost my other six top shadows before. These are my strongest remaining ones. There will be no problems in completing the mission with them," the Old Merchant stated confidently.
Lemir carefully examined the four shadows before him and nodded.
"Great, here is the information," he said, handing a crystal to the old man.
The old merchant took the crystal without showing any expression, but internally, he wanted to smile with joy. With a large sum of money, he could buy the desired miraculous medicinal pill in the capital.
He had researched it previously and knew that this pill could provide him with enough vital energy to attempt having another child. Although there was no guarantee of success, hope still lived within him.
While focusing his mind on the crystal, trying to read the information contained within, a rune suddenly glowed. A cold and merciless aura quickly spread throughout the room. The old merchant's eyes widened as everything happened. In the blink of an eye, he found himself unable to move any muscle in his body.
The four shadows that were close to him tried to react, channeling their Qi energy, but an oppressive force prevented them before they could even attempt. They had only enough time to turn towards their contractor before being completely immobilized.
The supposed advisor had disappeared, replaced by a young man in his teen who seemed to have begun his cultivation journey only a few years ago. His eyes gleamed with a black color, resembling a demon emerging from hell. The four individuals felt their bodies and souls freeze, now also trapped by the ice rune that surrounded them.
"It seems that Mr. Lemir didn't get involved with you in the past," That was obviously Lian.
"Before we proceed, I will ask just two questions. Which of you was involved in the attack on Lianna Albedo two years ago?" The young man stared fixedly at the four individuals, showing no expression, but his eyes emitted a terrifying aura.
A chilling sensation ran down their spines, unable to look away, as if their souls were being judged by a demon.
The four couldn't speak, but Lian didn't need a verbal answer. With his soul, he knew clearly that two of them were involved.
"Now, I want to know which of you was tasked with killing a man from the Albedo clan about fifteen years ago," he said, his words echoing with an intense aura.
Among the four shadows, only one energy fluctuation was felt. In the end, three of the assassins were involved in his family's calamities. The rest he had already eliminated during the previous event of Lian's awakening.
Lian felt the desire to eliminate all the remaining ones immediately, but he knew he would need some help to properly enhance his cultivation. Although he had no problems in advancing his realm, he aimed to become stronger than ever before. To achieve that goal, he understood the importance of valuing the quality of his cultivation.
In the future, he planned to go to the capital in search of resources and opportunities. For now, however, his focus was on completely dominating that merchant guild in order to absorb and secure the necessary resources for his future ambitions.
Additionally, Lian recognized the potential of a young Dwarf who needed an opportunity to grow. She showed enough talent to become useful at some point in the future. Moreover, her business acumen could be valuable in handling Lian's demands in his future endeavors.
"You, old merchant, and you, assassin," Lian said with a cold tone in his voice. "I will offer you two options: sign a slavery contract for the rest of your lives, or die here along with your friends," he concluded, advancing towards the remaining three shadows.
With a dagger, he pierced the chest of one. An inscription on the dagger lit up, followed by a black Qi spreading through the shadow's organs.
An excruciating pain as if every piece of his viscera was being burned was felt. His eyes turned purple, an infernal agony visible to the others. The shadow, unable to emit any sound, longed only for the release of death.
After savoring his pain, Lian struck the other two assassins. All of them were left in a deplorable state, as if they were experiencing torture directly from a demon.
"They won't die now; they will suffer and beg for death for a week. But they won't even be able to make a single sound," Lian spoke, looking at the old man and the other shadow.
"Now you've had time to decide. I will infuse my Qi into your souls to ensure the slavery contract. If you want to have fun with your friends, just refuse my Qi," Lian said with a devilish smile on his face.
One hour later, Meili arrived at the merchant guild, accompanied by a guild attendant. She was surprised to be called by the guild leader and was led directly to the meeting room.
Upon entering, she was confronted by the young man who had requested a peculiar inscription just a few hours ago. He was sitting in the leader's chair while an elderly-looking man stood submissively by his side.
Meili felt a wave of surprise, but as she looked into the eyes of the young man who seemed to be the leader, she had the sensation that her destiny would be completely transformed from that moment onward.
"I have a proposal for you, Meili Puippa," Lian initiated the conversation.