Immortal Martial Combat Hall, Wang Xuan hesitated at Leng Feng's suggestion. He knew this guy was always trying to pull him into this domain, believing he had the talent for it.
"Join the Assassin Alliance? Wouldn't that make me wanted by the Federation? Even if it's just my alias on the wanted list." Wang Xuan shook his head, becoming a sniper hunting in the wild was already dangerous enough, becoming an assassin was even riskier.
Leng Feng quickly explained, "The Assassin Alliance isn't entirely a dark organization. Some people take on tasks that aren't illegal, rather they maintain order. The few people you encountered probably take on any kind of job for money.
Moreover, you should know, the Assassin Alliance has many things that outsiders can't access. You can even exchange for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Celestial Treasures and Celestial Weapons, or Cultivation and Martial Skills at prices far lower than outside.
Once you join, you'll receive a newcomer gift that helps train you into a qualified assassin, including makeup and disguise techniques, as well as stealth and assassination skills."
Listening to Leng Feng's chatter, Wang Xuan didn't pay much attention. He only wanted to solve the problem of those killers quickly, or else even if the Meiling incident was resolved, more killers would continuously come.
"Tell me how to join," Wang Xuan said.
In no time, Wang Xuan logged onto a website, jumping through a series of specific links, and after five or six times, found the Dark Web of the Assassin Alliance, entering with the verification method provided by Leng Feng, and subsequently registered.
The registration didn't require much personal information. Perhaps the Assassin Alliance didn't care who you were. Wang Xuan gave himself the alias "Great Demon", which sounded better than something like Demon.
The newcomer package Leng Feng mentioned really arrived, with videos and texts that couldn't be downloaded to a personal terminal. But after watching a few times, Wang Xuan got a general understanding.
Joining the Assassin Alliance wasn't that difficult, but it wasn't simple either. Within a month of registering, Wang Xuan had to complete a task, or he would lose eligibility.
But by that time, he could already apply to have the high bounty placed on him by the Assassin Alliance lifted, although he could only do this once and had to pay a 5% commission to the Assassin Alliance.
This money is originally the commission the bounty issuer has to pay after a task is successfully completed by the Assassin Alliance. Otherwise, if everyone just registered, wouldn't it be chaos?
Browsing the marketplace, Wang Xuan took interest, as many things here could be bought or traded with others, either hosted by the Assassin Alliance or listed by individual killers on the platform.
Bear in mind, outside, there is almost no one who would sell Cultivation Skills. You can only learn them if they are passed down by your own power, or are family heritage, otherwise, they are often very common.
Wang Xuan looked through some Martial Arts; the variety was quite complete. Many low-level ones, but for anything above Body Refining, authority was required, and missions had to be executed.
"Whether or not to take on assassin missions doesn't matter much. As long as there are resources I need, joining the Assassin Alliance is no problem; I should try to acquire the resources I need."
Joining the Assassin Alliance was mainly to cancel the bounty mission. As for performing assassination missions, Wang Xuan didn't care since he wasn't an assassin.
On the marketplace, Wang Xuan searched for Celestial Treasure fragments. Soon, many pages of results appeared, all items listed for sale. The descriptions boasted greatly, claiming them to be fragments of Earth Artifacts, Celestial Artifacts, or even True Artifacts.
Prices ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions, some even reaching tens of millions. Wang Xuan didn't know if they were real, but he had his own experience.
Because he had seen a real Celestial Treasure, which had natural and intricate lines, extremely beautiful, making it visually pleasing. Ordinary people couldn't replicate such beauty.
Wang Xuan didn't even glance at metal fragments, as even fragments of Celestial Treasures, if made of metal, are extremely hard, thus valuable.
In contrast, Celestial Treasures like the ring, when broken, their value plummets because the carrier of the strange energy loses its function, thereby losing its original value.
He selected two jade and one wooden supposedly Celestial Treasure fragments, the lines resembling ones he had seen before, spending a million Star Yuan to buy them. The seller would send the items to a platform designated by the Assassin Alliance, subsequently transferring them to Wang Xuan to avoid leaking personal information.
No assassin wants to stand in the sunlight, such people die quickly, and exposing one's identity is a taboo for assassins.
As for a newbie task, Wang Xuan first narrowed the scope to Yuzhang City, then determined the level below Bone Marrow Refining, and found several tasks.
In an assassin organization, the majority of tasks naturally involve killing. Wang Xuan saw several tasks that had been posted for months without anyone taking them, yet they hadn't been canceled.
Soon, Wang Xuan found two tasks suitable for him. One was to find and kill a fugitive, the other was to retaliate against gang members, neither very difficult.
"Shi Tie, height 1.73 meters, medium build, six fingers on the left hand, specializes in daggers, committed robbery followed by rape, killed the victim and disposed of the body, sentenced to 78 years in prison, escaped during a prison riot."
"Yang Yong, height 1.80 meters, relatively robust, fringe member of the Invincible Iron Fist Gang, specializes in Fist Technique. After failing to repay debts, sneaked in at night and seriously injured the creditor, leading to death from severe injuries."
It seems the people who posted these tasks want them dead, whether Shi Tie who was sentenced, or Yang Yong who remains at large. The bounty could have been posted by the victims' relatives or the perpetrator's enemies.
These two criminals are in this city. After taking note, Wang Xuan set them aside.
He then began learning some assassin techniques, especially makeup and disguise, which included Bone Shrinking Skill and Puffing Technique; secondly, stealth and concealment techniques, and a Lightweight Technique called Wind-Chasing Step, which seemed quite good.
He reckoned the Assassin Alliance gave each registered person these, anyway, the same stuff circulates, with fixed video and text materials that don't incur real costs.
Burying himself in studying, time flew by for Wang Xuan, spending several hours until he understood Bone Shrinking Skill and Puffing Technique.
Name: Wang Xuan
Age: 24
Height: 1.81 meters
Weight: 98 kilograms
...
Cultivation Skills: Overlord Saber Perfection (can accelerate), Mixed Element Stance Perfection (can accelerate), Fierce Bull Fist Great Success (can accelerate), Life Generating Technique third level (can accelerate), Perfect Bow Pulling Skill (can accelerate), Golden Bell Shield Small Success (can accelerate)…
Source Point: 1045
Wang Xuan activated the accelerator, only to find Bone Shrinking Skill and Puffing Technique weren't displayed, which made him frown. Without display, there's no way to accelerate, which is a problem.
Following the exercise practices shown in the video materials, Wang Xuan began practicing Bone Shrinking Skill. The joints are a key point in Bone Shrinking Skill, which is why practitioners can achieve bone shrinking.
Every ten minutes of practice, Wang Xuan would check the personal panel until after half an hour, there appeared a prompt "Bone Shrinking Skill Beginner (can accelerate)".
Fifteen Source Points to Small Success, thirty-five to Great Success, seventy to Perfection; this was a bit less than his initial use of the accelerator. As his Realm improved, practicing some Martial Arts didn't take him long to enhance.
If he used a Violent Dragon Potion, the value would probably need around eighty points, and he could directly advance to Perfect Realm.
Drinking a large cup of Violent Dragon Potion in one gulp, Wang Xuan started tapping the accelerator, consuming unit by unit. As his bones squirmed, he felt his body's flexibility greatly enhanced.
Bone Shrinking Skill reached Small Success, Great Success, and Perfection; it took eighty-two Source Points to directly advance Bone Shrinking Skill to Perfect Realm.
"Let's see how effective Bone Shrinking Skill at the Perfect level is."
Using Bone Shrinking Skill techniques, Wang Xuan compressed the gaps between his bones, making all bones orderly and compact, and also controlled and compressed his muscles.
With a breath, Wang Xuan's whole body shrank by five inches, and his muscles and chest also reduced significantly. It was as if he had aged from youth to old age immediately, his back curved, his waist bent, and his body emaciated, appearing to weigh no more than 130 pounds.
The change in body shape was so dramatic that those who knew him wouldn't recognize him unless they saw his face. The effect was astounding.
Although Bone Shrinking Skill doesn't have a significant impact in combat, it's very practical, especially during missions when an assassin missed the attack and had to flee a thousand miles, Bone Shrinking Skill is useful for disguise before an attack or after an escape.
"Bone Shrinking Skill and Puffing Technique should be similar Martial Arts, so accelerating Puffing Technique shouldn't require many Source Points, right?" Wang Xuan thought.
He began to handle Puffing Technique, and after practicing for ten-plus minutes, Puffing Technique did indeed appear on his personal panel.
"Puffing Technique Beginner (can accelerate)".
Wang Xuan checked and found it required eight Source Points from Beginner to Small Success, and it needed sixty-three Source Points to hasty to Perfection, and with Violent Dragon Potion, it would only require about forty Source Point units, making the cost half that of Bone Shrinking Skill.
With the effects of Violent Dragon Potion, accelerating to Small Success probably only needed five or six Source Point units, not much at all.
Seeing such a low Source Point consumption, Wang Xuan had an idea.
"I've always used small amounts of Source Point for gradual acceleration; what if I don't consume Violent Dragon Potion and accelerate directly to the Small Success Realm? Would it cause Qi and blood deficiency, or some other result?"
Wang Xuan made up his mind. He needed to figure it out. Practicing Bone Shrinking Skill for eight days didn't require the same refining of Essence Qi into Inner Strength as Life Generating Technique, nor was it high-intensity exercise, so he could endure the Qi and blood consumption, especially for who he is now.
"Well then, let's give it a try."
"Puffing Technique Beginner (can accelerate)". Wang Xuan clicked on the Realm, the display showed an eight-point Source Power cost, without hesitation, he directly clicked "Accelerate to Small Success Realm".
The accelerator activated, and a warm current instantly flowed through his body from his brain…