C2 Killing Someone on the Street

After swiftly taking down two adversaries in quick succession, Qin Buyi experienced no discomfort. His two-year tenure as an assassin had exposed him to far more gruesome scenes. He quickly grasped the capabilities of the Probing Eye after scanning its description.

Activating the Probing Eye, he aimed it at a fallen body on the ground.

Name: Black Tornado

Cultivation: First Rank (0.6/10)

Strength: 0.7

Speed: 0.4

Physical Strength: 0.5

Attack: 0.8

Defense: 0.6

Fortune: 0.1

Armed with the Probing Eye, Qin Buyi could now achieve a level of understanding that would render even the most cunning disguises useless. Moreover, the Probing Eye's scope extended beyond people, capable of revealing the true nature of exotic treasures.

"This ability is outrageously powerful!" Qin Buyi marveled.

He retrieved a perfectly square box from his Equipment Pane, eyeing it with curiosity.

"Is this the Growth Weapon? Just a box?"

A seal at the box's opening secured it shut.

"Am I supposed to open it?"

Peeling off the seal, the box's lid sprang open on its own. A pillar of light emerged, displaying an array of weapons: sabers, swords, spears, Meteor Hammers, tridents...

Without a second thought, Qin Buyi reached for a long saber.

His hand entered the light, gripping the long saber and pulling it from the beam.

Killing Saber - First Rank (1.5/10)

Attack: 1.5

Description: A blade forged for slaughter... The Killing Saber, once the source of countless beings' terror. To unlock all its secrets, you'll need greater strength.

Ding! The system has automatically bound the Killing Saber to you.

Ding! This binding is irreversible!

Ding! The Killing Saber's attribute points are now shared with your cultivation level.

"Automatically bound? Irreversible? What's that about?"

"Perhaps it's typical for growth weapons."

Unable to make sense of it, Qin Buyi shrugged off the confusion.

"The Killing Saber's attributes sharing with my cultivation level makes sense. As I enhance my cultivation, the Killing Saber's power will grow accordingly."

"Clang!"

The Killing Saber was drawn from its sheath, gleaming with a cold light. Uniquely, it lacked a guard where the blade met the hilt.

Touching the edge, a sharp sting shot through his fingertips.

"With such a fine blade earlier, even without increased strength, I could have slain those two."

The Killing Saber in Qin Buyi's grasp began to quiver and fight, trying to escape his grip.

He tightened his hold, and at the height of its struggle, a blood-red sword light from the system's brand near his heart struck the Killing Saber, calming it instantly.

"What's happening? Is it trying to consume its master?"

Qin Buyi mopped his brow, realizing that without the system's intervention, he might have lost control of the weapon.

He planted the Killing Saber into the earth and watched it intently; it remained still.

"Killing Saber, you are mine from this day forward. Defy me again, and you'll end up molten slag in the furnace."

Seeing no response from the blade, Qin Buyi retrieved the Killing Saber and set off toward Azure Sun City.

Half a day passed.

Azure Sun City housed a population of ten million.

Confronted with the sprawling, ancient city, Qin Buyi was overwhelmed.

The land was blanketed with dark red soil, the city bricks weathered and speckled from years of exposure.

Upon closer inspection, the city walls bore the scars of countless weapon strikes.

He dug three feet into the ground, uncovering soil that darkened from red to blackish-red the deeper he went.

"How many lives lost, how much blood spilled to stain the earth so deeply?"

The sights outside the city walls suggested danger lurked within, belying any sense of safety.

Beep! Main mission completed.

The mission reward has been distributed.

As he stepped through the city gates, a system alert chimed in.

Qin Buyi opened his personal information panel and allocated the 1.5 attribute points to his cultivation.

Name: Qin Buyi

Cultivation: First Rank (3/10)

Strength: 3

Speed: 3

Physical Strength: 3

Attack: 3

Defense: 3

Fortune: 3

...

Killing Saber - First Rank (3/10)

Attack: 3

His stats had improved twofold. While Qin Buyi was acclimating to his body's transformation, two voices reached his ears.

"Hall Master, this is the kid who took out Black Tornado and the rest."

"Hey, you there, come here!"

Recognizing the mention of Black Tornado and the familiar opening line, Qin Buyi immediately grasped the situation.

He was no longer the defenseless newcomer who had emerged from the Falling Star Mountain Range.

He halted and turned toward the voices.

Two figures stood before him, the leader sporting a hooked nose and deep-set eyes.

"Was it you who killed members of my Nine-dragon Gang?"

The speaker was a young man next to the one with the hooked nose, who was subservient to him but took on a condescending tone with Qin Buyi.

Beep! Main Mission 2: Annihilate the Nine-dragon Gang.

Mission Reward: Second Rank Killing Saber Technique, 5 attribute points. Failure results in the loss of one attribute point!

Beep! Side Mission: Eliminate all Hall Masters of the Nine-dragon Gang (0/7)

Mission Reward: Each Hall Master killed earns one attribute point. An additional 3 attribute points for a complete takedown. Failure results in the loss of one attribute point!

Beep! Temporary Mission: Take down the two individuals before you.

Mission Reward: First Rank Killing Saber Technique, one attribute point. Failure results in the loss of one attribute point!

Three missions in total, each with the risk of losing an attribute point upon failure.

Qin Buyi was determined not to let any mission fail; he was well aware of the consequences.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you listening? Kneel down, admit your wrongdoing, then bind your legs and hands and follow us obediently."

Seeing Qin Buyi ignore him, the young man's pride was wounded. He advanced with a dagger in hand, lunging for Qin Buyi's eyes.

"Watch out!" bellowed the man with the hooked nose.

"Are you done talking? If not, you can continue in hell." A sinister smile crept across Qin Buyi's lips.

"Clang!"

The Killing Saber was drawn.

"Chi!" "Hiss!"

Before the young man could react, the Killing Saber swept across his chest, the razor-sharp blade cleaving him in two.

"Ah!"

A scream of agony escaped the young man.

"You're asking for death!"

The man with the hooked nose drew his soft sword, which struck like a viper at Qin Buyi.

Qin Buyi sidestepped the soft sword's thrust and landed a kick in the man's gut, sending him flying over two meters.

"Cough! Cough! With your Foundation Stage Early Period skills, you dare to kill members of my Nine-dragon Gang?" The man with the hooked nose got up from the ground, gasping.

Qin Buyi didn't hesitate, gripping the Killing Saber and charging at the young man with the hooked nose.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

The Killing Saber and the soft sword collided repeatedly mid-air, the young man struggling to parry.

"Crack!" The soft sword developed a fissure.

"Impossible, this is a Foundation Stage weapon, how could it crack?" The young man with the hooked nose cried out in disbelief.

"Crack!" "Clang!" "Bang!"

The soft sword shattered under the force of the Killing Saber.

"Chi!"

With no soft sword to defend him, the sharp blade plunged straight into the hooked nose man's heart, his wrist shaking to pulverize the organ.

Qin Buyi spared no further glance at the lifeless bodies on the ground and continued on towards the city.

Beep! Temporary mission complete.

The mission reward has been distributed.

Beep! Side mission to kill all the Hall Masters, 1/7 complete.

Mission reward has been distributed.

After Qin Buyi departed, the two corpses were swiftly removed. The city's residents, long inured to the daily spectacles of life-and-death struggles, dispersed to attend to their own affairs after the excitement had passed.

Reflecting on the hook-nosed man's final words about the Foundation Stage, Qin Buyi queried the system internally.

"System, is 'Foundation Stage' the term used for First Rank in this world?"

Yes.

Ding! To facilitate your future comparisons of power systems across various worlds, the cultivation level annotation feature has been enabled. Please open your personal information panel to view.

Qin Buyi accessed his personal information panel and allocated the two attribute points from his mission reward to his cultivation level.

Name: Qin Buyi

Cultivation: First Rank - Foundation Stage Middle Period (5/10)

Strength: 5

Speed: 5

Physical Strength: 5

Attack Power: 5

Defense: 5

Fortune: 5

...

Killing Saber - First Rank (5/10)

Attack Power: 5