Qin Ya glanced in the direction the assassins had fled, his eyes turning cold. He then went into the woods, found their bodies, and took their Storage Rings. Afterward, he incinerated them with his Ice Flame, leaving not a single trace behind.

Arriving at Lianyu Pavilion, the grandest entertainment establishment in Lieyang City, Qin Ya requested a private room. He sat listening to a light tune and watching the charming Dancing Girls perform, all while fiddling with several Tokens in his hand.

The Tokens were palm-sized and forged from silver. Each was engraved with a ferocious and terrifying skull. In the center were three large, bloody words... Blood Nether Association!

Clearly, the people who had tried to assassinate Qin Ya were all from the same organization. But as for this organization’s strength, its numbers, the rank of the assassins sent to kill him, or the location of their base... Qin Ya knew nothing at all.

’I killed one last time, and now ten more have come. It seems this Blood Nether Association won’t rest until its objective is met. Heh, this is getting interesting.’

’The Blood Nether Association, the Shangguan Family... oh, right, and the Three Clans Summit!’

Qin Ya smiled faintly, a cold glint swirling in his eyes. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. Just then, a young man passing by suddenly cried out in alarm.

"Blood Nether Association!!"

Hearing this, Qin Ya turned his head. He saw a young Martial Artist staring in utter shock at the five Silver Orders in his hand. Qin Ya smiled and said to the young man, "Friend, if you don’t mind, please have a seat."

The young man glanced at Qin Ya, and his pupils contracted sharply. How could he not recognize Qin Ya, the young man whose fame had already spread throughout Lieyang City? Not daring to refuse, he nodded and sat down somewhat stiffly across from Qin Ya.

After all, he was merely a Celestial Essence Warrior, while Qin Ya was an Extraordinary!

"Friend, may I ask your name?"

"Zhangg Fei," he said, taking a deep breath. "Greetings, Brother Qin."

"So it is Brother Zhangg. A pleasure," Qin Ya said with a smile. "I saw that you recognized these five Silver Orders. Could you tell me a bit about them?"

Zhangg Fei nodded. "Of course."

"What I know of the Blood Nether Association comes from old texts. The organization has existed for over a thousand years and specializes in assassination. It’s the largest assassin organization in the Azure Sky Realm."

"Their numbers are unknown, their leader is a mystery, and they have operatives everywhere. They are incredibly secretive. The organization is immensely powerful; it’s said that as long as you can pay the price, they can even kill a King. And they do indeed have a record of successfully assassinating Kings—more than once or twice, in fact."

"The assassins in the Blood Nether Association are divided into four ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and the legendary Blood Evil. The Silver Blood Nether Orders in your hand, Brother Qin, belong to their second rank: the Silver Level assassins."

After speaking, Zhangg Fei glanced at the Silver Orders in Qin Ya’s hand and asked, "If I may ask, Brother Qin, where did you get these five Silver Blood Nether Orders?"

Qin Ya smiled nonchalantly. "I just killed a few troublemakers."

HISS...

Zhangg Fei sucked in a cold breath. "Brother Qin... you’ve been targeted by the Blood Nether Association!"

Seeing Qin Ya nod in confirmation, Zhangg Fei asked, "How many times has this happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how many times has the Blood Nether Association tried to assassinate you, Brother Qin?"

"This is the second time."

Hearing this, Zhangg Fei said to Qin Ya, "Brother Qin, you truly are as the rumors say—a peerless genius. To think you could withstand two assassination attempts from the Blood Nether Association."

"However, you must be extremely careful from now on."

"Oh?" Qin Ya smiled faintly.

Zhangg Fei continued, "Once the Blood Nether Association accepts a contract, they will make three attempts, each one stronger than the last. If they fail to kill the target on the second attempt, they raise the target’s assassination priority by one level. In other words, since the first two attempts on you were made by Silver Level assassins, the final attempt will be from a Golden Level assassin."

Hearing this, Qin Ya’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’This Blood Nether Association is stronger than I thought. If the Silver Level assassins are already at Sky-Controlling Perfection, then the Golden Level assassins must be at the Celestial Human realm!’

Still, he wasn’t particularly worried. He was confident that as long as a King didn’t come for him personally, he was certain he could escape safely.

"Thank you for clearing that up for me, Brother Zhangg." Qin Ya took a bottle of Seventh-Grade Elixirs from his Storage Ring. "I see your Cultivation is approaching a bottleneck, Brother Zhangg. This bottle of Seventh-Grade Realm-Breaking Pills is just a small token of my gratitude. Please, accept it."

Zhangg Fei was startled. Seventh-Grade Realm-Breaking Pills!!

Just for answering a question, he was getting Seventh-Grade Realm-Breaking Pills. It made Zhangg Fei feel like he was dreaming. He bit his tongue, and the sharp pain that shot to his brain confirmed that this was all real.

’Good heavens, isn’t this a bit too generous?!’

"This... This is too valuable."

Zhangg Fei forced himself to resist the temptation and pushed it back.

Seeing this, Qin Ya was momentarily taken aback. He pushed the Elixirs back toward Zhangg Fei and said, "There’s no need to be so formal, Brother Zhangg. The information you provided is very important to me. This bottle of Elixirs isn’t that valuable to me anyway. Please, accept it."

"In that case... thank you, Brother Qin."

Qin Ya was right; he was indeed at a bottleneck. With this bottle of Seventh-Grade Elixirs, he could take another step forward—it might even be possible for him to break through to the Extraordinary realm. Once he became an Extraordinary, his status in his family would rise dramatically. ’I can’t believe I’d encounter such an opportunity just by coming out today.’

Perhaps because he had accepted Qin Ya’s gift, Zhangg Fei decided to stay and chat with him over drinks. He eloquently spoke of everything from the local customs of Lieyang City to the various legends and secrets of the Azure Sky Realm, leaving Qin Ya to marvel in amazement.

As Qin Ya wasn’t very familiar with the changes in the Azure Sky Realm over the past ten thousand years, he learned a great deal from Zhangg Fei, filling a large gap in his own knowledge. The two chatted cheerfully while enjoying the singing and dancing, having a wonderful time.

"Brother Zhangg, your knowledge is profound. I’m truly impressed," Qin Ya said with a laugh.

"Heh, I’ve just read a few more books, that’s all," Zhangg Fei said. "What surprises me, though, is how knowledgeable you are about matters from ten thousand years ago, Brother Qin. Texts recording events from that era are exceedingly rare."

"Heh, just something I happened to learn by chance," Qin Ya laughed.

Suddenly, several young men in lavish clothes walked up. Qin Ya looked over, his eyes narrowing slightly, because he recognized one of them: it was none other than the Third Young Master Shangguan!

Qin Ya muttered, "What a coincidence, running into him here."

Hearing this, Zhangg Fei followed his gaze and immediately understood what he meant.

"Brother Qin, the Shangguan Family is very powerful in Lieyang City," Zhangg Fei advised after a moment’s hesitation. "You absolutely must not clash with them head-on."

"Don’t worry, Brother Zhangg. I know what I’m doing."

After Shangguan Lie came upstairs, his gaze swept across the room and landed right on Qin Ya. He froze for a second, but then his lips immediately curled into a smile.

He said a few words to the young men beside him and then walked over to Qin Ya’s table. "What a coincidence, Brother Qin. I didn’t expect to see you here."