One Step, One Kill

Chapter Two: The Shocking Change at the Ritual

Ever since being chosen by the Wu family as a living sacrifice for the Spring Festival, Lin Yisheng has decided to rebel.

He wanted to live, not only to live, but also to escape and shed his slave status. One day, he would go to the capital, kill the heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, and avenge Qi Mo.

Therefore, Lin Yisheng took advantage of the transparent and invisible nature of the Shadowless Blade to secretly hide it on his person and bring it to the ceremony.

The Shadowless Blade was only twenty centimeters long. Lin Yisheng hid it on the inside of his right forearm. When he was escorted to the square by the black-armored soldiers of the Holy Spirit Temple and made to kneel down, Lin Yisheng secretly used the Shadowless Blade to cut the ropes binding his arm.

In the temple, a divine messenger was still reciting the invocation, and everyone in the temple square knelt, heads bowed, listening devoutly. The priests, carrying sharp long knives, had already come before them. As soon as the divine messenger finished reciting the invocation, they would cut off their heads as a sacrifice to the gods.

Lin Yisheng had carefully observed these ritual practitioners and found that most of them had the strength of the sixth to seventh level of Body Tempering, which was a step higher than his strength of only the fifth level of Body Tempering.

However, Lin Yisheng was not worried. He had the Shadowless Blade and had also learned the "One Step, One Kill" technique.

With the Shadowless Blade and the One Step One Kill technique, Lin Yisheng was confident that as long as the opponent was not a super strong person who had reached the tenth level of Body Tempering or even surpassed the Body Tempering Realm and reached the Divine Transformation Realm, he would have a great chance to kill them if they were caught off guard.

The important thing is that Lin Yisheng's primary goal was to escape, not to kill.

After waiting for a long time, the divine messenger finally finished reading the eulogy.

At a command, the priests raised their long swords.

At that moment, Lin Yisheng took action.

With a flick of his arm, he freed himself from the rope that had been secretly cut, and then swung his right hand upwards.

No flash of a blade was seen, but a faint whooshing sound could be heard. A thin red line appeared on the neck of the priest who had just raised his long sword above his head. His face had just frozen when the red line suddenly turned into a fountain, and blood gushed out.

After killing two people, Lin Yisheng took advantage of the fact that everyone present was still in shock and hadn't reacted yet, and darted towards the divine messenger on the steps like a rabbit.

Since the Holy Spirit Cult became the state religion of the Great Spirit Empire, there had never been a case of a sacrificial offering suddenly turning on the priest and killing the officiant. Therefore, not only was the divine messenger giving the sacrificial address before the temple caught off guard, but even the temple guards below were stunned. As a result, Lin Yisheng miraculously rushed up to the temple, subdued the divine messenger, and held the Shadowless Blade to his neck.

When the second priest's neck had gushed out all the blood and the body fell to the ground with a thud, people finally reacted and began to scream in terror and disbelief.

"ah……"

"He killed the priest?"

"How...how dare he do this..."

"Has this slave gone mad... gone mad? How dare he attack the Divine Envoy?"

"God..."

Lin Yisheng's back was soaked with cold sweat; he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

I had long heard that the Divine Messenger was the spokesperson for the Holy Spirit Cult, and that not only did he have the talent to communicate with "gods," but he was also a spiritual practitioner of a high rank.

The so-called spiritual cultivators are the most famous and mysterious practitioners among the martial artists of the Eastern Spirit Continent. It is said that they can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and store it in themselves, and can cultivate incredible supernatural powers, such as flying and escaping into the earth, being omnipotent, and even being able to live forever and become gods in their physical bodies.

Because of their amazing supernatural abilities, spiritual cultivators hold a more prestigious status than martial artists in the Eastern Spirit Continent. Capable spiritual cultivators can not only be directly granted the title of nobles and welcomed by families and forces in various regions, but they can also reside in the imperial palace as retainers, with the royal family directly funding their upkeep.

In the Great Spirit Empire, over 70% of spiritual practitioners have joined the Holy Spirit Cult. The cult's leader, high priests, preaching masters, and messengers of the Holy Spirit Temples throughout the country are all said to be spiritual practitioners.

Remembering what Qi Mo had told him about the power and terror of spiritual cultivators, Lin Yisheng felt very nervous about attacking the divine messenger. But he had no choice, because the escape route he had chosen was behind the temple, the back mountain of Lingluo Mountain.

That place is said to be a forbidden land that makes everyone in the entire Eastern Spirit Continent turn pale at the mere mention of it—the Misty Forest.

Lin Yisheng knew that with his mere fifth level of Body Tempering, even with the Shadowless Blade and "One Step, One Kill," he might not be able to escape the Holy Spirit Sect's wanted list.

Once he makes a move, not only the Holy Spirit Cult, but the entire Southern Prefecture will likely issue a warrant for his arrest. Even if he escapes Lingluo Mountain, he won't be able to hide for long. Therefore, his only way out is the forbidden area behind Lingluo Mountain, the legendary Misty Forest, a place where one can never leave.

To get to the back of Lingluo Mountain, one must go around the Holy Spirit Temple, and the Divine Messenger is the only person standing in front of the Holy Spirit Temple.

Lin Yisheng had guessed that this divine messenger might be a Holy Spirit Master, and he had prepared for a fierce battle, but he hadn't expected the outcome to be so easy. This divine messenger seemed to be just an ordinary person; he was subdued before Lin Yisheng could even react.

Although the success was unexpectedly easy, Lin Yisheng had not forgotten the plan he had rehearsed in his mind hundreds of times. He immediately led the divine messenger back into the Holy Spirit Temple.

Those present finally came to their senses. The first to rush forward were the priests, who abandoned their impending beheading sacrifices and charged at Lin Yisheng with their swords drawn. The black-armored soldiers guarding the perimeter also reacted, but the fastest were the four bronze warriors who served as guardians of the gods below the temple.

The four bronze warriors, who had been kneeling before the giant statue alongside the nobles while the divine messenger recited the eulogy, were stunned when Lin Yisheng killed the priest and took the divine messenger hostage. Once they came to their senses, they darted up the steps like startled rabbits, surrounding Lin Yisheng and the divine messenger.

Seeing the astonishing speed of these four bronze warriors, Lin Yisheng immediately knew he was no match for them. He tightened his grip on the Shadowless Blade and slashed a red line across the envoy's neck.

"Back off, or I'll kill him right now!"

The messenger turned pale with fright when he felt his neck being slashed by a sharp blade.

"You...you slave, how dare you! Do you know who I am? I am a messenger of the gods! How dare you treat me like this? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution..."

"Shut up and make them back off, or I'll slit your throat and send you to hell to ask the gods to punish me!"

Lin Yisheng's right hand moved again, and the incision on the envoy's neck widened, causing blood to flow out.

With a hiss, Lin Yisheng smelled an unpleasant stench.

However, this divine messenger was so frightened that he wet himself.

"You...you guys back off! Don't let him hurt me...back off now..."

The four bronze warriors looked at each other in bewilderment, and had no choice but to retreat.

Their duty is to protect the divine messengers; if a divine messenger is killed in front of them, they themselves will certainly not survive.

Unable to see the Shadowless Blade in Lin Yisheng's hand, the four bronze warriors had no idea what Lin Yisheng's methods were. Hesitant to act for fear of harming the enemy, they could not allow a slave to hold the divine envoy hostage. The four bronze warriors could only keep a certain distance and carefully follow the two.