Chapter 88: Assassination

"Huh?" The hotel owner blurted out, but the burglar charged forward to strike, a knife in his hand. Evidently the burglar was a rogue cultivator…then again, everyone on Xing Hao Island was a cultivator. The hotel owner was weaker, though, having devoted his efforts to getting rich and managing his hotel instead of getting stronger.

Note that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to want to get richer instead of stronger. Strength was certainly a massive advantage, but it wasn't everything. It helped you amass wealth in specific scenarios, but obviously it wasn't as lucrative as owning a hotel chain or founding your own company. There was a reason why dojo masters and soldiers weren't ranked among the richest in the world. They spent more time fighting than making money.

But that was why the hotel owner hired security guards, precisely to protect him and his assets from burglars and robbers.

Using Jin, I advanced forward and slammed into the burglar before he could stab the hotel owner. Using Soul Crushing Strike, I shattered the burglar's ribcage. As he doubled over, throwing up blood, I grabbed the black mask and ripped it off his face before slapping him so hard he went down.

"You…!" The hotel owner gaped at me for a second before his eyes darted to my uniform. "You're one of those temporary hires! A guard!"

"Yeah." I stood over the downed burglar before glancing at the hotel owner. "Please remember the birthday of your employee, and don't let your guard down again."

Then I hauled the barely conscious burglar up and dragged him toward the stairs, to bring him toward the main bosses of the security organization hired to provide protection to the hotel today. The people in charge sent him to the police station or prison complex. I didn't know where exactly, but I honestly didn't care.

I went back to work, rejoining my friends of the Black Faction.

"Whoa, boss…it's not even the first hour and you've already apprehended a criminal." Zhang Ping was staring at me in admiration.

"As expected of the boss!" Liu Yu Feng was nodding in amazement.

"Can you guys stop calling me that?" I muttered.

"Of course not…boss," Si Nan replied in a deadpan manner, which drew a snicker from Mu Zi Xing. I buried my face in my palm.

"All right, enough joking around. Let's get back to work. Have you guys seen anyone suspicious? Other than the burglar I just caught, I mean."

"We didn't even see the burglar," Mu Zi Xing admitted sheepishly. "At least I didn't."

"That's fine." I was beginning to feel a headache. Then again, we were here to look for troublemakers and suppress whatever harassment they wanted to do. I doubted we needed to actually look for professional assassins.

Speaking of which, if there were professional assassins who intended to strike at the big clans, there was nothing my group of amateur guards could do. Our cultivation realms were too low and we lacked the experience to fight against trained killers.

I wondered if these assassins graduated from Dark Shadow Academy. Or perhaps they might even be from Dark Shadow University, which explained why none of its students had shown up for this mission. But if the Dark Shadow University staff got caught approving their students' mission of assassinating the bigwigs from the major clans, it didn't matter if they were among the top six. They would be destroyed and have most of their resources stripped away. Hell, they might simply cease to exist.

Of course, the underworld probably had ways of circumventing those rules, but I didn't know how they would do it. And I didn't want to know. That sort of knowledge was best left to intelligence agencies. I preferred simple jobs where I could just beat up the enemy in front of me.

"All right, everyone. To your stations!"

We were gathered in the square outside the hotel, forming a circle with the students from the other academies. We stood around, watching the vicinity for any sign of trouble. We rotated our members in two-hour shifts, swapping them out whenever necessary.

During my shift, I saw a row of limousines pull up in the driveway. They looked pretty familiar, and my sense of recognition proved to be correct when I saw the passengers alight from the car. Na Lan Jie, Na Lan Su and even Na Lan Yan Ran. I didn't see Na Lan Yan Rou, though, but that didn't matter. I guess she was too young to attend this.

But Na Lan Yan Ran? Well, that explained why she wasn't part of the Imperial Valley University delegation. I didn't recognize any of them there, and I didn't care either. As long as they kept their distance and didn't provoke me, I wasn't going to pick a fight with them.

Similarly, I kept my distance from the Na Lan clan. I watched them move toward the hotel, crossing the square. While they strolled across the expensively paved path, the row of limousines that ferried them here drove away. They were replaced by a new row of limousines, from which another set of dignitaries or clan members alighted from. Needless to say, I didn't recognize any of them. I never paid much attention to cultivator press or current affairs, except those that directly affected me.

And right now, my present mission was the thing that I had to pay most attention to right now.

While the big shots and major clan members made their way across the square, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. That was easier said than done. I had no idea what form or shape trouble would take. Rioters? Gangsters? Delinquents? Assassins?

When assassins came to mind, I wondered if they would employ snipers. That sounded ridiculous, given that cultivators didn't use guns. Yet I couldn't shake off the foreboding sense that there were cases where guns were effective against cultivators.

A sniper rifle would certainly have the power to pierce through a cultivator's protective qi aura and obliterate his head.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and reached out with my sixth sense. There wasn't much range to my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths and most of the time, I could only extend it to my immediate vicinity. Even so, I thought I should try.

And when I did, I sensed killing intent.

"What the?!"

My eyes flew open and I stared in the direction where I detected the murderous aura. For a moment, I thought I saw a sparkle but it turned out to be my imagination. However, the killing intent was not my imagination.

"Sniper!" I barked to my friends. "Alert the higher-ups!"

"Where are you going?" Si Nan asked, noticing that I was running toward the square.

"To deflect the attack! Hurry! Just tell the security organization!"

I sprinted across the square, much to the surprise of the people crossing there. I waved at them, yelling for them to duck and get down, but they froze, more stunned by my appearance and what they perceived was rowdy behavior than my warning that there was an assailant.

Then I sensed the attack coming. This time, it was my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths that helped me. The bullet was streaking toward Na Lan Jie. Taking a deep breath, I spun around and jumped in front of him to intercept the sniper's bullet.

Damn it. I could sense the qi suffusing the sniper's bullet. This was no ordinary sniper rifle or sniper round. It was designed for use by cultivators to kill cultivators.

But being cultivators, we still had ways of fighting back against such weapons. After all, cultivators could still catch spirit weapons with their bare hands or withstand blows from swords, sabers and axes with their tempered bodies.

I didn't have a body tempered to the extent where it could withstand a sniper bullet designed to kill cultivators (and that included body cultivators, so hold that thought before you insult me as stupid for not learning body tempering techniques – not that I was going to conveniently and randomly come across a body tempering technique from out of nowhere, especially since I only learned from a resistance fighter from the future for a week, and now my current master is from the Divine Dragon Sect, which was known more for their summoning techniques).

But what I did have was Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths.

The yin-yang symbol appeared behind me, materializing majestically as I moved my hands in a circular motion. I didn't have much time. A second later, I caught the sniper round in the gradually expanding vortex of qi that was building up between my hands. Gritting my teeth because I could feel the sheer destructive force of the qi infused into the sniper round, I did my best to keep it at bay while my arms grew painful from the effort.

Unable to hold it for much longer, I somehow managed to deflect the sniper round from its intended target and into the ground next to me. The qi was unleashed in an explosive fury that washed over me, scorching my skin and knocking me over.

"Get the Na Lan family into cover!" Someone was shouting. "Someone, protect Master Na Lan Jie!"

"Catch the sniper! Did you see where the round came from?!"

"Send people to the Chen Building! The sniper is probably on the rooftop! Seal all exits and don't let anyone out!"

"Get the Na Lan clan in! The Xia clan too! Make sure they are out of sight from any line of vision from any potential sniper!"

I rose to my feet, dazed from the blow. The yin-yang symbol behind me had cracked and shattered, and my arms ached. Even so, I was a guard and I needed to do my duty. I glanced at the people behind me and caught sight of concerned expressions from the Na Lan family members when they looked at me. Na Lan Jie, Na Lan Su and Na Lan Yan Ran clearly recognized me, and I thought I saw them trying to ask if I was all right.

However, they disappeared from sight shortly after guards hustled them into the protective wing of the hotel.

"Don't forget about the Xia clan! Make sure you bring Master Xia Hong Yi into the hotel safely! The sniper has yet to be caught!"

At that reminder, I scrambled across the square, heading for the next batch of major clan bigshots and whatnot. Particularly because I sensed a spike in qi – the same killing intent I felt earlier, but further magnified.

The sniper was furious that his first attempt had been thwarted and his first target lived. He was determined to ensure that his next target would fall.

However, that intensification of killing intent and barely controlled rage made his attack easier to telegraph and predict. By the time he reloaded and readjusted his scope, he had his sights on his next target – the middle-aged man from the second clan that emerged from the row of limousines that arrived right after the Na Lan clan's vehicles.

I caught sight of two familiar faces – Xia Xing Yue and her sister, Xia Xing Ling – as well as a young man between them. They were following the middle-aged man who was the current target of the sniper, and I could only assume he was their father or something.

Not that it mattered. I had to save his life. That was my duty.

Conjuring qi into my hands again, I intercepted the second sniper round. The yin-yang symbol that materialized behind me again instantly shattered this time and I was unable to divert the sniper round away fully. My arms were still sore and I was hurt from the earlier attempt. Furthermore, because of the sniper's rage, this second round was far more powerful, infused with a lot more qi.

"Ugh?!"

Despite doing my best to deflect the sniper round toward the ground as I did before, the damn thing passed through my side and nearly obliterated part of my midriff. Blood spurted from the wound on my body as I toppled over.

"Shu Cong!"

"Shu Cong!"

I heard a bunch of people yelling as they ran toward me, but my consciousness was fading. I could see Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing approaching, but my vision blurred to the point that no amount of degrees in my lenses could correct it. Pain stabbed throughout my body and my sight was replaced by a red haze.

Then everything went dark.