Seacoast Province, Lethe City, Riverside Pavilion.
Riverside Pavilion is the most upscale restaurant in Lethe City. Everyone who can afford to dine here is either a high-ranking official or a sect disciple.
On the second floor, by the window, a man in green robes in his early thirties sat drinking alone.
He had a pair of peach blossom eyes, a handsome but pale face, thin lips, and a faintly wicked smile always at the corner of his mouth.
This man was Ethan Ye. His cultivation was only at early Grandmaster, but his mastery of poison was terrifying. Even more dangerous, his attacks were hard to guard against. Over the years, he hadn’t killed many, but every victim was a renowned expert.
His Poison Emperor title was sealed when he poisoned a Supreme Elder of the Dragon King Sect—a top Grandmaster-level martial artist.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in brocade robes appeared on the second floor.
He glanced around, then walked straight to the window.
"Who's the target?" Ethan Ye drank his wine, not even glancing at the brocade-robed man.
The brocade-robed man wasn’t offended by Ethan’s rudeness. He lowered his voice: "Leon Huang, Inner Sect disciple of Pristine Way Sect."
Ethan Ye raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Are you out of your mind? You want the Poison Emperor to assassinate a mere Qi-Refining junior?"
"Don’t you want to hear the price first?" The brocade-robed man smiled.
"Oh?" Ethan Ye’s interest perked up. He pointed at a chair. "Sit down and talk."
The brocade-robed man smiled and shook his head. "I’d rather stand."
Ethan Ye shot him a disdainful look. "Afraid I’ll poison you? Even if you stand, if I want to use poison, you won’t escape."
The brocade-robed man ignored the threat and said, "The price is thirty million taels of silver—half up front, half after it’s done."
At the mention of thirty million taels, Ethan Ye’s eyes lit up. He loved luxury—fine wine and beautiful women—and spent money as fast as he earned it. Some rare poisons also cost a fortune to acquire, so despite his deadly reputation, he wasn’t actually rich.
This brocade-robed middleman had worked with him for years, always handling the jobs—and always taking a ten percent cut after each one.
"This junior must have some serious background, huh?" Ethan Ye took another sip of wine and asked.
The brocade-robed man explained, "His name is Leon Huang, about twenty years old. He’s the only son of Yellow Mountain, the lord of New Dawn City. His mother, Lydia Liu, is the sole daughter of the current Liu clan head. More importantly, his martial talent is extraordinary—he’s already comprehended sword intent at a young age, and even created a soul-attacking secret art!"
"That impressive?" Ethan Ye’s interest grew.
The brocade-robed man continued, "He really is. If he keeps growing, he’ll definitely reach top Grandmaster—maybe even Martial Saint!"
"Alright, I’ll take the job. Killing a future top Grandmaster is worthy of my reputation!"
"Remember, you don’t have much time. You only have tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll arrange a demonic flying beast to take you to Sea Emperor City."
After giving his instructions, the brocade-robed man turned and left.
Ethan Ye didn’t mind. He silently repeated Leon Huang’s name twice, then stood, tossed a silver ingot onto the table, and headed downstairs.
……
Breezewind Pavilion.
One of the top restaurants in Sea Emperor City.
On the third floor, in the most luxurious private room, more than ten young men and women were drinking and laughing together.
These young men and women were Inner Sect disciples from the Divine Elephant Sect, Heavenly Fragrance Valley Sect, Sword and Blade Sect, and Lion King Sect.
As the conversation went on, the topic suddenly shifted to the soon-to-arrive Leon Huang.
"Senior brothers and sisters, do you think Brother Meng can convince Senior Brother Huang to come?"
The speaker was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl in a white dress. When she mentioned "Senior Brother Huang," her eyes shone with admiration.
Her name was Winnie Shentu, the only daughter of Sword Pavilion Elder Felix Shentu.
Sword and Blade Sect was a major power, ruling three provinces.
Earlier that morning, Winnie Shentu and her father Felix Shentu had watched the duel between Song Yan and the Sea Emperor Sect. Even her father, a Sword Pavilion elder, greatly admired Song Yan.
So, in her heart, "Senior Brother Huang" had already become her idol.
"He should come. After all, so many of us are waiting for him."
A senior sister from Heavenly Fragrance Valley Sect said.
"That’s wonderful!" Winnie Shentu couldn’t help but cheer.
Seeing Winnie Shentu so happy about Leon Huang’s arrival, Warren Wu—the fellow Sword Pavilion disciple who secretly admired her—couldn’t help but look a bit sour.
The Sword and Blade Sect was structured differently from other sects.
It was divided mainly into the Blade Pavilion and the Sword Pavilion, without distinctions like Outer, Inner, or Elite disciples.
"By the way, does anyone know about Senior Brother Huang’s past?" a Divine Elephant Sect senior brother suddenly asked.
"I know a bit about it!"
The senior sister from Heavenly Fragrance Valley Sect spoke up. All disciples from her sect were women, and they excelled at gathering information.
"According to our intelligence, Senior Brother Huang was originally the son of the City Lord of New Dawn City. He had a terrible reputation—bullying the weak, abducting women, the classic spoiled rich kid. He was also extremely overweight, more than three hundred jin!"
"No way! How could Senior Brother Huang be three hundred jin?" Winnie Shentu said, full of doubt.
"Don’t worry, Junior Sister Shentu. Just let me finish," the Heavenly Fragrance Valley Sect senior sister smiled and continued. "About half a year ago, Senior Brother Huang was out strolling with two servants when he bumped into a young woman.
That woman had reached Qi-Refining tier five. Senior Brother Huang’s servants were no match, so he ended up getting beaten up.
"Huh? Senior Brother Huang is so strong—how could he get beaten by a Qi-Refining tier five?" Winnie Shentu asked again, unconvinced.
"Junior Sister Shentu, you’re so impatient. Just listen and you’ll see what happened!"
The senior sister continued, "That woman was Lana Gao, the younger sister of the general in New Dawn City. So even though Senior Brother Huang was the City Lord’s son, he couldn’t do anything to her. Maybe that incident spurred him on—he’d never liked martial arts, but suddenly he started training.
To be honest, Senior Brother Huang is an absolute genius. In just over two months, he went from a complete novice to a Qi-Refining tier one martial artist."
"Just over two months to reach Qi-Refining tier one? That’s unbelievably fast!"
Everyone was amazed.
Winnie Shentu couldn’t help but praise, "Senior Brother Huang really is incredible!"
After a brief pause, the senior sister went on, "Not only did Senior Brother Huang reach Qi-Refining tier one, he also lost all that weight and became a refined young man!
After that, he went to Pristine Way Sect to take the entrance exam and became an Outer Sect disciple.
Soon after, the Outer Sect Tournament arrived. Senior Brother Huang fought his way through and won first place. The very next day, his cultivation broke through to Qi-Refining tier six, and he passed the Inner Sect exam to become an Inner Sect disciple.
Then he entered the Inner Sect Tournament and, with his Qi-Refining tier six cultivation, took first place!"
Everyone gasped. Winning first place at Qi-Refining tier six was unheard of—there were plenty of Inner Sect disciples at tier nine.
As for Winnie Shentu, who already idolized Leon Huang, her eyes sparkled even more, full of admiration and anticipation.