One Step, One Kill

The Great Spirit Empire, Southern County, Lingluo Mountain, the square of the Holy Spirit Temple. Tens of thousands of residents from all over the South County stared in disbelief at a kneeling boy in the festival square, their eyes filled with terror and disbelief. The boy was a slave of the lowest status, and a sacrifice, but he was not killed by the priest. Instead, the priest's neck was cut open, and blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying all over the boy. The boy's face remained expressionless, but his eyes were cold and revealed a resolute and sharp killing intent. Then, he jumped up from the ground and lunged at another priest who hadn't yet reacted, slashing forward with his seemingly empty right hand. A thin line of blood suddenly appeared on the neck of the priest. Like his companions before him, blood gushed from his neck like a fountain, and he staggered back two steps before falling backward. Even on his deathbed, the priest could not believe what had happened. Tens of thousands of spectators present did not believe it. No one believed that the lowest of slaves, a sacrifice meant to be offered to the gods, would dare to rebel during the festival and kill two people. This is something that has never happened in the two hundred years since the founding of the Great Spirit Empire, the three hundred years since the birth of the Holy Spirit Cult, or even in the thousands of years of the entire Eastern Spirit Continent. Therefore, for a moment, everyone from the princess of Nanjun and the divine messenger of the temple to the devout commoners and the slaves who were sacrificed along with the boy were in disbelief, and no one could come to their senses for a long time. Today is the Beginning of Spring, the day of the Great Spirit Empire's annual Spring Festival Ceremony, and also the day for the Holy Spirit Cult to worship the gods. Two hundred years ago, Emperor Xiao Ruoyuan, the founding emperor of the Great Ling Empire, ordered the Spring Festival Ceremony to be combined with the Holy Spirit Cult's sacrificial ceremony. After the ceremony was held simultaneously, the sacrifices became the exclusive duty of the Holy Spirit Cult's messengers, and no one else could take over. The Spring Festival Ceremony thus became the most important sacrificial event in the Great Ling Empire, valued by everyone from the emperor to the common people. The emperor hoped that the gods would protect the empire's destiny and ensure its eternal existence; the people, on the other hand, hoped that the gods would bless them with favorable weather and a bountiful harvest this year. Almost everyone was devout and reverent, but for the fifty people kneeling closest to the colossal statue of the god, there was only despair. These fifty people were mostly slaves, with a few death row inmates and prisoners of war, but they all shared a common identity: they were sacrifices for this festival. Human sacrifice! Although the Great Spirit Empire proclaims itself a civilized nation, it has never abolished this ancient ritual of human sacrifice. On the contrary, since the Holy Spirit Cult grew in the Great Spirit Empire, the number of human sacrifices required for its annual festivals has been increasing. In places like Nanjun, the number of live sacrifices required for the annual festival was originally twenty, but this year it suddenly increased by one and a half times, to a full fifty. The temple's messenger gave the reason that this year marks the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Spirit Church! For this reason, the number of live sacrifices at festivals throughout the Great Spirit Empire has increased by one and a half times. It is said that in the main temple of the imperial capital, the number of live sacrifices is an unprecedented three hundred and sixty people. Lin Yisheng was unfortunately among these fifty human sacrifices. Lin Yisheng was a slave, only seventeen years old this year. He didn't know who his parents were. He had been wandering since he could remember. Then he was captured by the slave-catching team and became the lowest of slaves, living a life worse than death. Not every slave's life is a living hell; it all depends on the kind of master they have. Unfortunately, Lin Yisheng's master, Wu Xuli, never treated slaves as human beings, often punishing or even killing them arbitrarily for the smallest things. In Wu Xuli's eyes, slaves were even lower than livestock. Lin Yisheng's misfortune was also a stroke of luck, for he met an old slave named Qi Mo. This old slave had been a slave for thirty years, and it was said that he had grown up with Wu Xuli. He was eloquent, clever, and reliable, and was highly trusted by Wu Xuli, thus holding a relatively high position. Although he was still a slave, he was practically a steward in effect. For some reason, Qi Mo took good care of Lin Yisheng. Not only did he make excuses for Lin Yisheng when he made mistakes, but he also secretly taught him to read and write and taught him to practice "Mountain Opening Fist". Although "Mountain-Splitting Fist" is the most basic martial art in the Great Spirit Empire, and almost every martial artist knows it, its combat effectiveness is not strong. However, it has excellent effects on tempering the body and building a strong physique. Therefore, over the years, Lin Yisheng's body has become extremely strong, and he has never been sick. Lin Yisheng is very grateful for this and regards the old slave Qi Mo as his own family. Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. Half a month ago, when Wu Xuli was entertaining distinguished guests who had come from the capital, he gave the old slave Qi Mo a task that would surely lead to his death. This distinguished guest from the capital was the heir of the powerful Marquis of Zhenguo, a military noble family in the Great Ling Empire. Born into a military family, he was a man who loved martial arts more than life itself... or rather, he loved killing more than life itself. It was said that this heir loved fighting and would seek out challengers wherever he went, ostensibly to hone his martial arts skills and improve his strength. There's nothing wrong with challenging others to improve one's strength; almost all martial arts practitioners on the continent have this habit. However, this prince is inherently bloodthirsty, and every time he wins a challenge, he kills his opponent, saying that losers don't deserve to live. Of course, this prince wasn't an i***t; he knew that some people couldn't be killed or challenged casually. Therefore, he mainly challenged slaves or people of lower status than him, people he could kill without causing trouble. As time went on, the nobles of the capital all knew about the prince's hobby, so whenever the prince came to visit, they would arrange for a fairly strong slave to fight alongside him. In the Great Ling Empire, slaves were even lower in status than livestock. A nobleman could kill a slave without consequence, at most only having to pay a small amount of money. Therefore, for the nobles of the capital, sacrificing a slave to please the heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo was entirely worthwhile. Wu Xuli planned to expand the Wu family business to the capital and needed a powerful backer. He chose the Marquis of Zhenguo, which is why he was willing to sacrifice Qi Mo, the old slave who had grown up with him, to curry favor with the Marquis of Zhenguo's heir. The Marquis of Zhenguo's heir's martial arts skills are quite high. At only eighteen years old, he is said to have already reached the ninth level of Body Tempering. Among Wu Xu Li's slaves, only the old slave Qi Mo has the cultivation of the ninth level of Body Tempering. In order to let the heir fight to his heart's content, Qi Mo is the most suitable candidate. Of course, Qi Mo absolutely cannot defeat the Crown Prince, which means Qi Mo must die. Wu Xuli's request was that Qi Mo should first fight the Crown Prince to a standstill, let the Crown Prince have a good fight, and then deliberately feign a weakness and lose, so that the Crown Prince could kill him. Zimmer couldn't refuse! On the first night after the Crown Prince arrived, Lin Yisheng met Qi Mo. The two did not exchange any words, but before Lin Yisheng left, Qi Mo gave him something and said to him earnestly, "Yisheng, if one day the head of the family also wants you to die, don't follow my example. Run away. It's important to survive!" The next day, the prince arrived and, after a fierce battle with Qi Mo for over a hundred rounds, beheaded Qi Mo with a single sword stroke. Without Qi Mo's secret care, Lin Yisheng's life began to become difficult. However, Lin Yisheng did not lose heart. He kept in mind the words Qi Mo had said to him before his death, and secretly kept looking for opportunities to practice his boxing. He practiced "Mountain-Opening Fist" to temper his body, and also practiced "Seven Kills of Shadowless". "Shadowless Seven Kills" was something Qi Mo gave him before he died. It was originally just a short blade called "Shadowless Blade". This short blade is unique; it is not only exceptionally sharp but also transparent and invisible to the naked eye. This short blade is a first-grade spiritual weapon, a family heirloom of Qi Mo. Qi Mo's ancestor was said to be a highly skilled assassin who, weary of his life of killing, chose to retire, passing down this deadly weapon as his ancestral heirloom. Qi Mo has worn the "Shadowless Blade" closely since childhood; because it is invisible, it has remained undetected by the Wu family for thirty years. Otherwise, Qi Mo would never have been able to preserve such a spiritual weapon. Qi Mo gave the "Shadowless Blade" to Lin Yisheng. Because Lin Yisheng was not used to something invisible, he accidentally cut his finger on the sharp blade. The blood flowed onto the blade, activating the short blade's restriction. Then, Lin Yisheng received a video memory in his mind. This is the "Seven Kills of Shadowless Blade," a killing martial art practiced by Qi Mo's assassin ancestor. Combined with the "Shadowless Blade," once a murderous intent is unleashed, even ghosts and gods cannot defend against it. The "Seven Kills of Shadowless" is purely a killing technique, unlike the "Mountain-Splitting Fist" which can temper bones and body and increase strength, but its destructive power is far greater than that of the "Mountain-Splitting Fist". Of course, the higher the quality of a martial art, the harder it is to master. "Seven Kills of Shadowless Shadow" is much harder to master than "Mountain-Splitting Fist". Lin Yisheng only barely learned the first killing move of the Seven Killings of Shadowless - One Step One Kill - when he was abandoned by the Wu family and chosen as a living sacrifice for the Spring Festival! Don't be fooled by the simple name; it's not easy to learn. Even though Lin Yisheng had the image memory directly imprinted in his mind, it still took him half a month to barely learn the move. He'll need more time to master it. Within a single step, a soul-snatching kill! This means that once you master this killing technique, combined with the "Shadowless Blade," any enemy within a step will die the moment you strike.