I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Sensing that the poison was not immediately lethal, but rather a slow-acting toxin, Long Tian let out a temporary sigh of relief. He feigned being affected, falling to the ground, waiting for the mastermind to reveal themselves.

Before long, the front door creaked open, and a figure clad in a long robe sauntered in, brandishing a knife.

He glanced at the fallen Long Tian and Liu Bo, sneering coldly: “In a place like this, there’s no way you’ll have a passing expert to help you like last time. And thanks to Old Gao and the others failing their mission, the bounty has doubled this time, which means I’ll make quite a profit, heh heh.”

Undoubtedly, the masked man referred to the last encounter, when Long Tian was ambushed by assassins in the woods near Chengying City. Originally, the organization had no idea that the three assassins were dead; it was only later that the client reported the target had returned alive to their sect, and that the servant he sent, who was at the sixth level of crystallization, had not returned. Thus, the assassin organization set out to investigate, tracing the signal from the sect’s token. They first found the token at a pawn shop, then tracked down the person who had pawned it.

According to that person’s description, the item had been found while rummaging through some woods. The organization immediately dispatched people to the scene, but the three assassin corpses had long since vanished, likely consumed by nearby beasts. Based on the signs of battle, it could be inferred that a fierce fight had taken place there.

Long Tian was quite adept at concealing his cultivation level; even Qiu Li, who was close to him, only believed he was at the sixth level of foundation establishment. Let alone the assassin organization, which gathered all its information from others; they were even less likely to suspect Long Tian, thinking instead that a crystallization-level cultivator had intervened to help him.

The masked man approached Long Tian, his gaze fierce, raising his knife to strike down, when suddenly, Long Tian made a move.

A glint of cold light flashed first, followed by a shovel that swept out like a dragon.

The masked man’s eyes widened; he never expected to be struck in the head by a shovel, nor could he fathom that Long Tian had not been poisoned, and that his counterattack was so deadly.

Wait, he was only at the first level of crystallization… Even with a sneak attack, it shouldn’t be possible for a cultivator at around the sixth level of foundation establishment to injure him. So the opponent’s cultivation must be at least at the peak of the tenth level of foundation establishment, or at the same realm as him—he had concealed his true level!

But it was too late to realize this now; the masked man’s consciousness quickly faded, and the room was soon stained red with his spurting blood.

Long Tian immediately scrambled to his feet, retrieving an antidote pill to feed Liu Bo. Before long, Liu Bo regained consciousness.

“Tian’er! What happened?” As soon as Liu Bo awoke, he was hit by the heavy scent of blood, and before he could even ask how he had fainted, he was startled by the headless corpse not far away.

“Perhaps it was someone jealous of my success in entering Tianluo Sect,” Long Tian could only offer such an excuse.

In truth, he had already guessed that the assailant was an assassin, from the same place as the one he had encountered in the small woods before.

The Black Mantis Sect, a notable assassin organization within the Great Zhou Dynasty, categorized its missions into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. The Yellow rank was for cultivators below crystallization, the Mysterious rank for Golden Core, the Earth rank for Nascent Soul, and the Heaven rank for early Transformation.

Don’t ask why the highest rank only accepts early Transformation; just know that the most powerful assassins of the Black Mantis Sect are only at mid-Transformation. It’s already impressive to be able to take on Transformation-level missions; other assassin sects only accept Golden Core and Nascent Soul tasks.

Long Tian had investigated this assassin organization; even if the employer abandoned the bounty, those who had killed their own would never let it go so easily.

“Uncle Liu, we should leave here first.” Long Tian regretted coming back; now Uncle Liu might also be targeted.

“Alright.” Uncle Liu had once wielded a blade and shed blood as a warrior. Though age had taken its toll, it didn’t mean he would freeze in fear at the sight of death. Yet, the moment he stepped out with Long Tian, an arrow sliced through the air, whistling toward Long Tian’s head.

Though Long Tian managed to deflect the arrow with his shovel, the force of the impact sent him staggering back several steps.

This power was at least that of a late-stage Crystal Layer or even a second-layer Crystal.

Long Tian was secretly astonished; he hadn’t expected there to be an assassin lying in wait outside, and one who used arrows at that.

“Tian’er, run! Don’t worry about me.” Uncle Liu picked up a piece of firewood from by the door, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Even though he couldn’t see anyone, he knew he couldn’t be a burden to Long Tian.

“They’re after me. You go first, Uncle Liu.” Long Tian knew where the enemy was and hurled a throwing dart inscribed with explosive runes toward the nearby woods.

With a resounding “boom,” a figure wielding a crossbow leaped from the flames of the explosion.

“Is there anyone else hiding nearby?” Long Tian asked the old Immortal. If it weren’t for wanting to protect Uncle Liu, he would have already charged in to engage the enemy.

After all, fighting a crossbow-wielding cultivator from a distance was undoubtedly disadvantageous; closing the gap was the only way to gain the upper hand.

“Yes. To the northeast, there’s another person hiding in the snow. Hiss, strange, it seems the nearby villagers are all unconscious.”

Long Tian couldn’t care less about the villagers. He sent a message to Uncle Liu with his spiritual power: “Head south. I can handle this, don’t worry.”

Uncle Liu heard this, glanced at the firewood in his hands, his eyes filled with reluctance, but he had no choice but to turn and leave.

“The person in the snow is moving.”

As the old Immortal’s words fell, Long Tian noticed an assassin with a dagger creeping toward Uncle Liu through the snow.

It was clear the enemy intended to take Uncle Liu hostage.

One against two, Long Tian was at a disadvantage, but at this moment, he could only brace himself and charge in.

He first threw several explosive darts to disrupt the crossbowman, then rushed toward the well-hidden assassin.

Dragon Tian wanted to strike down his opponent with a single blow, but the other was no fool. Not only did they not evade, but they also charged forward to meet him.

Sparks flew, and Dragon Tian immediately retreated. From their brief clash, he had gauged the opponent’s cultivation level—Crystal Layer Two.

“Ha…” The assassin seemed to have anticipated Dragon Tian’s approach, tossing out a ball of poison.

Dragon Tian swiftly dodged. Just as he intended to use a talisman to attack the assassin and return to protect Liu Bo, the old Immortal of the Fallen sighed suddenly. “I didn’t expect there would be one hiding in the villagers’ homes, disguised as an unconscious villager.”

It turned out that Liu Bo, worried about the villagers from his own village being implicated, had rushed to the nearest house to knock on the door. But when it opened, he found a group of people sprawled in the living room. He hurried over, too anxious to notice a stranger lying on the floor. In an instant, the stranger sprang up, a sharp sword pressed against Liu Bo’s back.

—

20. A Playful Turn

“Don’t move.” The voice was devoid of any emotion. Liu Bo knew he was dealing with a professional.

“What have you done to them?” Yet Liu Bo’s concern for the villagers remained.