After advancing the Three-Star Vine to a Five-Star Vine, Chu Qingyun, in one go, also upgraded his Shadow Martial Soul to Tier Two.
The Shadow Martial Soul's upgrade, however, was somewhat like the Devouring Martial Soul's. There were no visible changes; it remained a dark, murky mass of shadow.
But after trying out Stealth, Chu Qingyun discovered that its effect was much stronger than with the Tier One Shadow Martial Soul.
Enhancing the Three-star Vine Martial Soul and the Shadow Martial Soul used up a total of nine Tier One Martial Souls.
He now had over two hundred Tier One Martial Souls left.
Chu Qingyun devoured all these Martial Souls, using the absorbed power to enhance his Devouring Martial Soul.
However, to his utter astonishment, all two hundred-plus Tier One Martial Souls had only enhanced the Devouring Martial Soul to 1%!
By this calculation, to enhance the Devouring Martial Soul to Tier Three, Chu Qingyun would need... to kill at least twenty thousand Martial Artists with Tier One Martial Souls!
A chill ran down Chu Qingyun's spine as he thought of this terrifying number.
Although the authorities tended to turn a blind eye to conflicts between Martial Artists, if anyone dared to go on a maniacal rampage and slaughter twenty thousand Martial Artists, the Great Xia nation would probably issue a worldwide warrant for their arrest.
'Looks like getting Tier Two Martial Souls is the proper way to go.'
Chu Qingyun couldn't help but sigh, his anticipation for Qingshan City growing even stronger.
With all his Martial Souls upgraded to Tier Two, Chu Qingyun decided to set off.
The next morning, Chu Qingyun bid farewell to his parents, the village chief, and the others who had come to see him off at the village entrance. He mounted his horse and galloped toward Qingshan City.
Turning his head back to watch Chu Family Village slowly blur in the distance, Chu Qingyun thought to himself, 'Father, Mother, Village Chief, Hua, I will not let you down. The next time I return, I'll be a powerful Martial Artist!'
Although Qingshan City was the closest city to Chu Family Village, that was only a relative term.
Even on a fast horse, it took Chu Qingyun until noon to reach Qingshan City.
Riding was forbidden within the city walls, so Chu Qingyun led his horse and began to wander through Qingshan City.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Chu Qingyun was still stunned by the city's prosperity.
He hadn't expected there to be so many people in Qingshan City.
Along the way, everything Chu Qingyun saw filled him with amazement.
"Xin'an Street."
"Xuanhuang Tower."
"Treasure Pavilion."
"Dongliu Lane."
'Wait, Dongliu Lane... Dongliu Alley!'
Chu Qingyun was giving the surrounding pavilions and shops a cursory glance.
He suddenly recalled that Dongliu Lane seemed to be the address left on the skull token by that Shadow Martial Soul assassin.
'I'll go take a look.'
With nothing else to do, Chu Qingyun turned into the lane and walked deeper inside.
The alley was deep and winding. After nearly five minutes of walking, Chu Qingyun was completely turned around, and the lane was flanked on both sides by high walls.
When he finally reached the end, Chu Qingyun found a wall in front of him.
The lane was a dead end!
'How can this be!'
Chu Qingyun felt frustrated. He had wandered for ages only to end up in a cul-de-sac.
'No, that was a merciless assassin who killed without batting an eye. They wouldn't pull a childish prank like this.'
Chu Qingyun hesitated for a moment, then began to carefully examine the wall at the end of the lane.
Sure enough, he discovered something.
On the left side of the wall, there was a slight indentation that almost perfectly matched the skull token.
Chu Qingyun took out the token and gently pressed it into the indentation.
The red light in the skull's eye sockets suddenly flared. A series of clicks and whirs sounded from within the wall, which then began to slide slowly to the left, opening up.
The wall opened to reveal a dark passage inside.
After a brief hesitation, Chu Qingyun stepped inside.
He walked straight ahead and, before long, found himself in a large hall.
The hall was rather empty, illuminated only by the somewhat dim light of torches on the four walls.
At the far end was a reception desk-like area, where a woman with a fine figure sat boredly, flipping through a book.
What surprised Chu Qingyun the most was that the woman was wearing a mask—a fox mask with an eerie smile.
"Someone's here during the day?"
The woman looked up impatiently, but when she saw Chu Qingyun, a clear look of shock appeared in her eyes, visible through the two small holes in her mask.
"I don't think... I've seen you before, have I?"
Concealing her surprise, the woman sized up Chu Qingyun and asked doubtfully.
"Ahem, I found my way here using this."
Chu Qingyun coughed lightly and handed over the token.
Chu Qingyun felt a bit awkward now. If he had known someone was inside, he definitely wouldn't have barged in so rashly.
"I see. Do you know what this place is?" the woman asked, casually tossing the token into a waste pile behind her.
Chu Qingyun shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"This is the Assassin Alliance, and you... hmm?"
She was halfway through her sentence when the sound of footsteps and conversation suddenly came from the entrance passage.
"Put this on. Quickly."
The woman casually grabbed a mask, tossed it to Chu Qingyun, and told him to put it on in a hurry.
Just as Chu Qingyun put on the mask, two masked individuals walked in from the passage.
"You Yun, we're turning in a mission!"
"The assassination of Feng Dayuan from the Changliu Escort Agency."
After entering, the two paid Chu Qingyun no mind and walked directly to the front desk, speaking to the woman in the fox mask.
The woman took a skull token, registered it, and said, "Wait. Someone will be sent to confirm it soon. Come back in three days."
The two masked individuals were clearly veterans. They nodded and began flipping through a thick book on the counter.
"No suitable missions. Let's go."
After flipping through it for a moment, the two departed.
"Hey, kid. You see now? This is where assassins from the Assassin Alliance hand over their missions."
"And you, an outsider, dared to barge in."
"You now have two paths you can take. First, register and become an assassin of the Alliance."
"Second, you turn around and leave, and await the Alliance's endless assassinations."
The woman called You Yun spoke with a playful yet menacing tone.
In the end, Chu Qingyun chose the first path: register and become an assassin of the Assassin Alliance.
He made this choice because he discovered that the woman opposite him had casually released a mere hint of her Qi, yet it was enough to immobilize him completely!
If he had chosen the second path, he probably wouldn't have even made it out the door.
"Think of a codename, then drip a drop of blood on this."
You Yun took out a skull token and handed it to Chu Qingyun.
"Codename... let's go with Black Saber."
Chu Qingyun said after a moment of thought.
The only reason he was here was because of that assassin, and the only thing the assassin had left behind was that short black blade.
"Black Saber, low-level assassin. Done!"
"Congratulations, you are now an assassin of the Alliance."
"From now on, every mission you complete will be recorded on the token."
You Yun jotted something down in her book and said.
"That's it?"
Chu Qingyun was a little surprised.
"What else did you expect? A detailed registration of your name, age, and strength?"
"Don't be naive. This is the Assassin Alliance. The only things that matter here are money and lives."
"Oh, right, a piece of advice. Don't forget your mask next time you come in. Letting other assassins see your face is not a good thing."
You Yun said with a light chuckle.
"I see. Could you check for me if there are any missions to kill members of the Blood Wolf Gang? Preferably their high-ranking members."
Chu Qingyun's eyes flashed as he spoke.