The courtyard's moonlight dimmed behind drifting clouds.
Cold air slid across the stone like the breath of a predator.
The three masked assassins had stopped holding back.
Their killing intent concentrated into a pressure so heavy that even the pine tree's needles trembled.
Zhou Shan trembled like a wet chick.
"Bro… BRO… this is it, right? This is the part where we die? I swear I can already see my ancestors waving at me—"
Lian Hong didn't blink.
He stepped forward.
The assassins stepped forward with him.
All four silhouettes overlapped with shifting moonlight—
until the assassins whispered:
"Final sequence."
They raised their blades.
And the world tilted.
The Last Formation – Shadowed Reaper Triad
Their movements synchronized instantly.
Breaths matched.Footsteps matched.Killing lines intersected perfectly.
This wasn't three individuals.
This was—
one killing machine with three bodies.
The system chimed in panic.
[High-grade lethal formation detected][Survival probability: 29%][Recommendation: Evade formation arc]
But Lian Hong stayed still.
His bloodline pulsed through his veins with burning clarity.
[Bloodline Instinct Resonance: 51% → 54%]
Every sense sharpened.Every movement predicted itself before happening.
The assassins vanished.
Three Blades, One Life
The first assassin appeared at Lian Hong's left shoulder.
Blade angled to pierce the carotid.
The second assassin emerged behind him.
Blade raised for a downward spine sever.
The third assassin swept low.
Blade aimed at the femoral artery.
Three fatal strikes.
Three perfect timings.
Three angles engineered to trap all escape.
Any normal disciple—
even a talented one—
would already be dead.
Zhou Shan shrieked:
"BROOO YOU CAN'T DODGE THIS THERE'S NO SPACE TO DODGE—!!!"
And he was right.
There was no space.
Unless—
Lian Hong created one.
Bloodline Awakening: Stage 2 Surge
A jolt shot through Lian Hong's body.
Crimson lightning flickered beneath his skin.
Not full awakening.
But enough.
[Stage 2 Bloodline Activation – Unstable Burst][Reflexes +40%][Muscle Response +33%][Short-term Predictive State: ENABLED]
The world slowed.
The killers' movements unfolded like threads of silk twisting in the wind.
Predictable.Clear.Breakable.
Lian Hong's eyes reflected three arcs of death.
Then he moved.
Breaking the First Blade
He tilted his head two centimeters.
Just two.
The first assassin's blade sliced open a line of air beside his cheek—missing by a hair.
Lian Hong's counterattack was simple.
A palm strike.
But not a normal one.
A bloodline-enhanced strike.
THUD—!!
The assassin flew backward like a rag doll—crashed into the courtyard wall—and didn't stand up.
Silence.
One down.
Redirecting the Second Blade
The second assassin didn't falter.
He shifted instantly, adjusting the downward strike aimed at Lian Hong's spine.
But Lian Hong had already moved.
He stepped sideways, grabbed the assassin's wrist, and twisted.
CRACK—!!
The blade slipped out of the assassin's grip.
In the same motion—
Lian Hong pivoted and elbowed the assassin's jaw.
THMP—!!
The second assassin collapsed.
Two down.
Facing the Third Blade Head-On
The third assassin was the strongest.
The one who had not spoken.Not moved needlessly.Not rushed.
The one who watched.
His blade came like a shadow.
Silent.Emotionless.Precise.
He aimed for Lian Hong's heart.
He expected Lian Hong to dodge.
He wanted him to dodge.
It was a bait.
But Lian Hong didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
Zhou Shan screamed at a frequency only dogs could hear:
"BRO NOOO—DON'T STEP TOWARD THE KNIFE—!!"
But Lian Hong saw it.
The flaw.
The assassin hid his stance pivot—
and exposed his lower ribs for 0.03 seconds.
A normal brain can't process that window.
A bloodline awakening can.
Lian Hong struck with a rising palm.
BOOOOM—!!
The impact echoed like thunder.
The assassin was lifted off the ground—slammed into the stone tiles—and lay motionless.
Three assassins.
All defeated.
Silence Falls
The courtyard froze.
Leaves drifted down.
Zhou Shan peeked from behind a rock.
"D… did we live…?"
Lian Hong exhaled slowly.
He released the last remnants of bloodline energy, feeling the unstable pulse ebb away.
But he remained alert.
Because these were Gu Xiang's trained killers.
And killers didn't die easily.
The first assassin groaned—and reached for a hidden blade attached to his ankle.
The second assassin tried to push himself up.
The third assassin, barely conscious, whispered:
"…mission… not finished…"
Lian Hong stepped forward—
but another voice cut across the courtyard.
A cold voice.
A familiar voice.
"That's enough."
The assassins froze.
All three.
Their bodies went rigid—not from fear—but from obedience.
Lian Hong turned.
A figure stepped out from the shadows beyond the courtyard.
Hands clasped behind his back.
Cold eyes watching the scene with calculating amusement.
Gu Xiang.
He surveyed the destroyed courtyard.The cracked tiles.The collapsed assassins.
He nodded once.
"As expected."
He raised his gaze to Lian Hong.
"You survived my test."
Zhou Shan nearly died from shock.
"TEST!? YOU CALL THIS A TEST!? DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE NORMAL TESTS OR IS EVERY TEST A MURDER ATTEMPT—?!"
Gu Xiang ignored him.
His eyes never left Lian Hong.
"Impressive.But tell me…"
He clasped his hands tighter.
His voice dropped into a chilling tone.
"…can you survive the next one?"
Lian Hong's eyes narrowed.
"What next one?"
Gu Xiang smiled thinly.
The kind that held no warmth.
"The masked killer."
Wind howled through the courtyard.
Gu Xiang continued:
"He has accepted the commission."
"And he will come for you."
He turned and walked away.
The assassins vanished behind him like ghosts, leaving only blood and cracked stone.
Before leaving the courtyard entirely, Gu Xiang spoke one final sentence:
"Four days.Prepare your grave."
Silence returned.
Only Lian Hong's steady breathing remained.
And the cold night.