A month later, on the streets of a city deep in the night where no one was present, the biting cold wind forced Hao Tan, dressed in luxurious garments, standing in the center of the street, to squint his eyes. His entire attention was fixed on a man in front of him, wearing a silver mask.
The silver-masked man was about 1.75 meters tall, standing with his hands tied on the street. The silver mask only left his mouth, nose, and eyes exposed.
"Hao Tan, prepare yourself. I'm about to make my move," the silver-masked man's voice was icy cold and indifferent.
"Oh, since when did Heavenly Net's Silver-level Killers become so bold and upfront?" sneered Hao Tan. "A Silver-level Killer is someone who only earns the right to wear the silver mask after killing a Postnatal Extreme Master. Unfortunately... assassins operate from the shadows, striking with stealth. If you had ambushed me, you might have succeeded, but you chose to confront me in the street..."
Hao Tan was confident in his heart. His strength had reached the Postnatal Limit, and Silver-level Killers were generally Postnatal Extreme Masters as well, making them equals. He couldn't fathom what had emboldened this assassin to confront him so openly, and that gave Hao Tan confidence.
"Things are not looking good. Who could possibly have a grudge against me to issue a contract on my life through Heavenly Net? If that's really the case, then it's bad news," Hao Tan could not help but be sweat profusely from his forehead.
Heavenly Net, the absolute number one killer organization. With a history of over a thousand years, its power spread throughout the entire Hidden Dragon Continent. Its roots were so deep that even the Three Great Dynasties couldn't match it, nor could they truly figure out who the leader of 'Heavenly Net' was. No one had ever doubted the strength of Heavenly Net.
Heavenly Net was divided into 'Inner Network' and 'Outer Network'.
The 'Inner Network' consisted of assassins personally cultivated by Heavenly Net, utterly loyal to the organization. The 'Outer Network', on the other hand, was comprised of other experts looking to make money, who didn't wish to pledge allegiance and join Heavenly Net, thus becoming members of the 'Outer Network'.
The membership of the Outer Network was incredibly complex; any master could be among its ranks. But no matter who, the identities of the Outer Network members were unknown to all. Even Heavenly Net never sought to probe into the true identities of Outer Network members.
Assassins were classified into Bronze Medal, Silver Medal, and Gold Medal Killers. Bronze Medal Killers could assassinate Postnatal Middle Stage Experts, Silver Medal Killers could kill those at the Postnatal Limit, and Gold Medal ones could take down Innate Experts.
The dual system of Heavenly Net's 'Inner Network' and 'Outer Network' made them an extremely terrifying presence. The greatest Chu Dynasty of the Hidden Dragon Continent barely had nearly a hundred Innate Experts, while the 'Outer Network' of Heavenly Net alone had over twenty Gold Medal Killers. As for how many Gold Medal Killers were in the 'Inner Network', no one knew. But no one doubted the horror of the experts within the 'Inner Network'.
This was Heavenly Net, an underground super killer organization with a legacy of over a thousand years, a power that spanned across the Three Great Dynasties of the Hidden Dragon Continent.
Hao Tan began to worry only when he found his name on the mission list of Heavenly Net.
"Are you ready?" said the man with the silver mask indifferently. Hao Tan immediately focused all his attention on the Silver-level Killer in front of him, his Inner Strength started to circulate rapidly within him, ready to launch his most powerful attack at any moment.
The corner of the silver-masked man's mouth suddenly lifted in a slight smirk, one that denoted laughter.
Afterimage!
The entire figure of the silver-masked man unexpectedly produced two afterimages, one in front and one behind, one to the left and one to the right. In an instant, a burst of Qi Force reached right in front of Hao Tan, blowing his hair off his forehead, and Hao Tan involuntarily squinted his eyes.
"What astounding speed!" Hao Tan was shocked in his heart. He could only barely discern a shape when he focused his power on his eyes, and, without any hesitation, he launched a frantic attack towards the silhouette in front of him, his legs creating numerous shadows in the air, striking towards the silver-masked man's entire body.
"Ah!" Hao Tan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right leg, and couldn't help but cry out in agony, as the sound of bones "cracking" rang out. Simultaneously, he was flung aside, crashing violently against the wall beside the street.
The indifferent voice of the silver-masked man sounded again, "The speed is quite good, but the Explosive Power is too weak!"
In just a fleeting moment, the silver-masked man had already dislocated the ankle joint of Hao Tan's right leg.
"Hmph." Hao Tan supported himself up with one hand against the wall and looked resentfully at the silver-masked man before him, "Your Finger Force is indeed strong, and your speed is fast. Unfortunately, if you want to kill me, this is still not enough." Hao Tan could feel the potency of the other party's Finger Force, which had easily broken through his True Qi defense.
"Really?" the man in the silver mask curled up the corners of his mouth again as his figure flickered, once more leaving an afterimage.
Hao Tan's eyes bulged out, his Qi Force completely flaring up as he gathered all his focus on the man in the silver mask, "Even at the cost of significantly reducing my lifespan, I must use that move." Hao Tan's eyes contained a trace of ruthlessness, and his face began to turn green.
The man in the silver mask seemed to notice the change in Hao Tan, but he continued his attack.
"Soul Extinguishing Claw!"
With a sudden roar, Hao Tan's face twisted ferociously as his claws struck out at the man in the silver mask with terrifying speed, creating a web of black True Qi connecting his claws.
Both were skilled with their claw techniques, but it seemed that Hao Tan's Soul Extinguishing Claw was more sinister. In terms of speed, he was no match for the man in the silver mask and couldn't even touch his hand; however...
"You're hit!" A surge of black Qi Force unexpectedly bound the man in the silver mask's hands in front of Hao Tan's chest. Hao Tan was thrilled to the extreme, "Ha ha, let's see how fast you are. Are you faster than my Soul Extinguishing Silk? With your hands bound, just wait to die. Ha ha, huh? Why don't you resist with your inner strength?"
Hao Tan looked puzzledly at the man in the silver mask.
"You're celebrating too early."
A streak of black light flashed by.
"How... possible?" Hao Tan's eyes widened, and then he collapsed powerlessly.
"This claw technique is truly marvelous; it creates Qi Force similar to the threads of a silkworm." The man in the silver mask removed his mask to reveal an unfamiliar face. His body suddenly crackled and popped, growing taller and his facial features slowly changing.
After a moment, the Silver-level Killer, who was about one meter seventy-five, had transformed into Qin Yu, who stood at one meter eighty tall.
If anyone had seen this scene, they would have been astonished. Qin Yu had utilized the "Shape-shifting" technique, which could be seen as the pinnacle of the Disguise Technique. "Shape-shifting" involves controlling muscles and bones to change facial features and height.
Normally, only an Innate Expert can barely use Innate True Qi to alter their appearance, which means, to outsiders, "Shape-shifting" can only be used by Innate Experts.
But Qin Yu had been training to control all his muscles and bones since childhood, cultivating for eight years and often absorbing inner strength into muscles and bones, achieving astonishing toughness in them. With just his muscles and bones, Qin Yu could perform Shape-shifting.
"Evildoers will eventually destroy themselves!" Qin Yu took Hao Tan's head, then soared into the sky. Nearby, as if on cue, was 'Little Black,' with a small box on its back. Qin Yu placed the head into the box and then sat on Little Black's back.
"Let's go, Little Black," Qin Yu patted Little Black's neck affectionately.
With a joyful screech, Little Black soared into the sky.
Sitting on Little Black Hawk's back, Qin Yu looked down at the endless land below, then lifted his head to feel the night's brisk wind.
Ever since that day of the great battle, Qin Yu had decided to fight and cultivate outside his home, mostly targeting evildoers. Afterward, he joined Heavenly Net's 'Outer Network' and became known as 'Meteor', a killer. The targets Qin Yu chose were those who provoked the wrath of the heavens and the ire of the people.
In doing so, on one hand, he could eliminate some scum, and on the other, he could hone his art of close-quarters combat.
"Little Black, after we hand in the task, we'll head straight back to Cloud Mist Villa. Let's go!" Qin Yu said with a smile, and Black Hawk let out a shriek, its speed surging as it turned into a streak of light heading eastward.