Li Chunfeng's expression was calm. Seven years of life in the Wasteland had fundamentally altered his temperament. He had locked away his former benevolence; that carefree, warm-hearted youth could never return. He needed to be like a demon beast, possessing a numb and hardened heart.
"Such an exquisite scimitar, yet used as an instrument for unseen Dark Assassination. What a waste of its Ling Yun," Li Chunfeng muttered to himself.
He did not spare another glance at the deceased grandfather and granddaughter, instead taking an interest in their weapon. He pocketed the purple scimitar and walked away without looking back, heading in the opposite direction of the Wasteland.
Dark Assassination, also known as Moon Shadow, was a branch of 【Shadow】, the most famous assassin organization on the Mutian Continent. Its other branch was Open Assassination, also known as Sun Shadow.
As the name suggested, Dark Assassination operated in the shadows. The killers hid among the crowds, playing all sorts of roles; they could be anyone by your side. They struck in secret, leaving no trace, mostly resorting to despicable methods.
Open Assassination involved sending a formal challenge letter and signing one's name to the target. To put it bluntly, it was blatant provocation: I am an assassin, and I can kill you; running is useless. Generally speaking, those who practiced Open Assassination possessed higher cultivation levels, for without genuine skill, they would never dare expose themselves to the public.
Qiwei and her grandfather were members of this Dark Assassination branch, also known as Moon Shadow Guards. Seven years ago, because Li Chunfeng's cultivation had been crippled, the task level was low, so the grandfather and granddaughter were assigned to take it on.
At that time, Li Chunfeng had already been wandering alone for a year, but after all, he belonged to the Li family of the Nine Cities on the Mutian Continent, and cultivators secretly guarded him from the shadows.
Qiwei had used Li Chunfeng's kindness to lure him to an isolated place, where her grandfather, wielding the strength of the Sixth Realm at the time, struck down with a single palm to take his life.
Yet they had still underestimated Li Chunfeng. Although his sternum had been shattered, relying entirely on his array of magical treasures, he had managed to force his way into the Wasteland.
The grandfather and granddaughter had not dared to enter the Wasteland, but they had promised the Shadow emissaries to keep watch over the Wasteland for seven years. Now the seven-year term had expired. They had assumed Li Chunfeng was long dead, never expecting that the day Li Chunfeng emerged from the Wasteland would be their own doomsday.
Li Chunfeng did not check their spiritual sense, because the spiritual sense of Shadow Guards shattered the instant they were on the verge of death. Naturally, those who sought out the 【Shadow】 would never leave behind any information about themselves.
Li Chunfeng had understood all this since he was a child, and he had no need to worry about his whereabouts being exposed by the grandfather and granddaughter's spiritual sense.
There were numerous cultivators on the Mutian Continent with intricate and complex factions. Those of formidable strength, profound heritage, and long histories were none other than the Nine Cities and the One Hundred and Eighty Lands.
The Nine Cities referred to the Nine Great Clans, while the One Hundred and Eighty Lands covered a much broader expanse. Among them were Holy Lands, profound sects, and various schools... Some guarded a single city alone, while others established sects in the mountains; all of them were major factions that could not be provoked.
Li Chunfeng was a member of the Li family of Tianchu City, one of the Nine Cities. Furthermore, his mother belonged to the Mu family of Shanhai City, another of the Nine Cities.
One could only imagine that Li Chunfeng's past life had been perched at the absolute peak—a starting point that others could only look up to with awe and dream of attaining.
Consequently, the life-saving magical treasures he carried on his person were beyond anything the grandfather and granddaughter could have ever imagined.
Moreover, although Li Chunfeng had been driven out of Tianchu City, experts still secretly protected him. This was because the Li family permitted him to die at the hands of natural disasters, but would never allow him to perish by human hands.
Such was the law of the Nine Great Clans: even if a scion of the clans were lowered into the dust, outsiders had no say in determining their life or death.