Chapter 67: A New Metamorphosis

Assassin Village, Dust Zone.

Lin Hao stood amidst the churning dust and loose earth, sinking so deep that the sand reached his knees.

Surrounding Lin Hao were ten elite black-clad apprentice assassins, holding lethal swords and firmly trapping him in the center.

They were the finest apprentice assassins, dwelling in the darkness to the extent that even if they stood right before you, their presence remained entirely imperceptible.

An arresting chill emanated from them, and their eyes were devoid of all emotion, cold as wild beasts.

Outside the dust zone, the First Elder, Second Elder, and Lao Mu stood watching.

"两位堂主，真的要开启特技训练吗？弄不好要出人命的。"
"Lord Hall Masters, are we truly initiating special-grade training? Someone might lose their life if this goes wrong."

Lao Mu's voice was heavy with apprehension.

"老大，我们是不是玩的有些狠了？"
"Boss, aren't we playing a bit too rough?"

The Second Elder looked toward the First Elder, his heart drumming with unease.

"现在不是心软的时候。"
"This is no time for soft-heartedness."

The First Elder's face wore a rare, solemn expression. "Do not forget how arduous his path ahead is, nor how formidable his enemies are. While we may pity him, his enemies will show no mercy."

"Special-grade training is a trial of life and death. If he can endure it, his overall physical endurance, reflexes, and perception of danger will be elevated to a terrifying degree."

"Only when his own capabilities are sufficiently hardened will he have the power to protect himself upon the Dragon Gate battlefield. Two months from now, the road to the imperial capital will be paved with white bones; surely you do not wish to see his bones buried among them."

The First Elder spoke in a heavy tone, as though having forged an unbreakable resolve.

The Second Elder gritted his teeth, then shouted toward the dust zone, "Special-grade training, begin!"

Swish!

At the Second Elder's command, one of the black-clad assassins made the first move.

Moving with blinding speed and absolute silence, like a ghost pacing through the dark, the instant his blade shifted, a wave of sword energy was already upon Lin Hao.

Lin Hao was startled. Sensing the oppressive killing intent rushing toward him, he instantly stopped, pulled his feet from the shifting sands, deployed the Divine Movement Art, and shifted his body sideways by over a yard.

A chilling breeze grazed his spine. Raising his shattered sword, he parried with a backhand block, the sheer force knocking him back two yards.

"Damn it, they're playing for real."

Lin Hao cursed under his breath, finally grasping the true meaning of special-grade training.

Those two strikes just now had been vicious, entirely aimed at taking his life.

When assassins strike, there is only life and death.

Every single one of these apprentice assassins possessed the cultivation realm of the Qi-Transformation Realm. Combined with top-tier assassination arts, ten against one—let alone someone like him in the Qi-Sea Realm—even a powerhouse at the third tier of the Qi-Transformation Realm would be buried right here in this dust zone.

Swish, swish...

Giving Lin Hao no time to recover, ten streams of sword light struck simultaneously from different directions like roaring thunder.

Centered around Lin Hao, dense and interwoven sword energy wove an impenetrable web.

Every sword strike was swift to the extreme, every sword aura was cold as frost, and every blade was aimed straight at a fatal spot.

Lin Hao drew a deep breath, daring not to slacken for even a fraction of a second.

This round had to be treated as a true battle of life and death.

The Supreme Blood within his body began to churn. This was the greatest challenge Lin Hao had faced since embarking on his cultivation journey.

The threat posed by these ten apprentice assassins was far greater than the eight youthful prodigies upon the Hundred Sects Tournament stage.

Those people feared death; these people did not.

Arcs of lightning flickered within Lin Hao's eyes, and slender wisps of electrical current surged from his hands, enveloping the shattered sword.

Free of distractions, he immersed himself entirely in this lethal clash of life and death.

He pushed the Divine Movement Art to its absolute limit, brandishing his shattered sword with miraculous footwork, transforming his body into a streak of galloping light.

For a time, afterimages of Lin Hao filled the dust zone. He moved like a wandering dragon, impossible to track.

"What movement technique is this?"

Outside the dust zone, Lao Mu stared in shock. "The First Hall has no such movement technique."

"That is because we are unworthy to practice it."

The First Elder said.

Lao Mu was stunned. Unworthy? We?

Even the Hall Masters were unworthy to practice it?

Within the dust zone, sand and stones flew wildly. The dust kicked up by the sword energy obscured everything, leaving no clear view of opponents; everything had to rely entirely on one's own intuition.

After a single wave of attacks, several gashes marked Lin Hao's body, each deep enough to reveal the bone. Blood streamed from the wounds, quickly soaking his clothes.

"The Young Lord is injured."

Lao Mu appeared somewhat anxious.

"Silence! Do not interfere with the training."

The First Elder rebuked sharply.

Lao Mu broke out in a cold sweat.

These two Hall Masters were far too ruthless. Initiating special-grade training for the Young Lord—was this not courting death?

In the dust zone, sword energy surged. The wounds on Lin Hao's body multiplied, yet each time, he relied on the exquisite execution of the Divine Movement Art to narrowly dodge fatal blows.

Through this high-intensity training of life and death, Lin Hao's comprehension of the Divine Movement Art deepened further, making him realize more and more how peerless the technique truly was.

"The assassins of the First Hall are formidable indeed. Even when fighting them head-on and pushing the Divine Movement Art to its limit, I am still left in such a wretched state. If they were to lurk in the shadows and treat me as an assassination target for a fatal strike, I doubt I could evade it at all."

Lin Hao sighed inwardly.

Swish!

Another sword came from behind. Yet this time, his sensory perception had heightened beyond measure; the instant the apprentice assassin drew his blade, Lin Hao had already perceived it and made the most precise evasion.

Half an hour later, Lin Hao moved like a phantom, weaving and shifting through the dust amid the ten streams of sword energy with effortless ease. Those blade auras could no longer touch even a fraction of him.

"This..."

Lao Mu was dumbfounded. "A ten-zhang Dragon Gate talent... truly terrifying."

Inside the dust zone, the ten apprentice assassins accelerated further, their sword strikes growing sharper. Their eyes were like daggers, and every blade thrust out like a viper striking.

Boom...

A crimson flame suddenly erupted from within Lin Hao's body, piercing the darkness and incinerating the floating dust around him in an instant.

"Now, it is my turn."

Lin Hao's dark hair streamed loose, his eyes burning like golden lanterns. The shattered sword in his hand seemed to sense his will, emitting a low hum.

"Heart-Slaying Slash."

Lin Hao uttered a low cry, combining it with the marvelous footwork of the Divine Movement Art. Locking onto an apprentice assassin, he unleashed a fierce slash.

Swish...

A chilling light flashed, and the void itself seemed to freeze.

That sword strike was swift to the absolute extreme.

Indeed, absolute extreme.

Swift as lightning, swift as thunder, ghostly and phantom-like.

So fast that the concept of time dissolved.

The formidable sword momentum was on the verge of manifesting tangible sword intent.

Rip!

The blade pierced the apprentice assassin's chest. The overwhelming sword energy threatened to tear his soul apart, forcing even a fearless assassin to emit a shrill cry of agony.

Rip!

Lin Hao withdrew his sword, and the apprentice assassin collapsed to the ground.

"You are already dead."

Lin Hao looked down at him, his gaze icy.

"Thank you, Young Lord, for sparing my life."

The apprentice assassin spoke.

The remaining nine apprentice assassins also ceased their movements, standing frozen in place.

They had seen it clearly. Lin Hao's sword could easily have pierced the apprentice assassin's heart and shattered his soul.

Yet it had deviated by a fraction, sparing his life.

They knew well that had this been a real enemy, that apprentice assassin would already be dead—and so would they.

Hum, hum...

Meanwhile, having survived such prolonged, high-intensity life-and-death combat, Lin Hao grasped the essence of the Assassin God Dao and achieved an even deeper understanding of the Divine Movement Art.

Coupled with the rapid enhancement of his bodily coordination and his heightened sensory perception during mortal combat, he had essentially undergone a complete metamorphosis.

The potential of his Supreme Physique was stimulated once more.

He was about to breakthrough to the eighth tier of the Qi-Sea Realm.