Hui followed after Jizhi Zhimei, riding on her attendant’s sword. He took a deep breath. Okay. So I’m with the worst Tier Master, the most dangerous one of all, whose beloved disciple I killed, who handles poisons and hidden weapons, whose mere existence can warp hearts and minds… but… but, on the upside, I’m considered to have the highest potential in years, surely due to my secretly high cultivation, so I’m unlikely to be mistreated or thrown in a dungeon. Okay. Could be worse. Could definitely be worse.

The teleportation array stood some distance from the Palace itself, nearly outside of its encircling peaks. Hui craned his neck as they flew, hoping to catch a glimpse of the resentment demons, but saw nothing. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, but I’ll definitely have to sneak out and check on them.

The attendant nodded at Hui. “Are you frightened?”

Hui nodded earnestly. Yes!

“Don’t be. It was never our intention to harm you or any of the disciples we meant to capture. We merely want to show you the enlightened ways of the Eight Tiers Palace.”

“Huh?” Hui asked.

“Compared to that tiny Southern Sect Conference, the Eastern Alliance is vast. We thought it was a pity that the Southern Sect Conference was quashing your incredible potential, and rescued you to the Eastern Alliance to allow your full strength to blossom. All that talk of ‘hostages’ was merely to convince the other cultivators. Please don’t pay too much mind to the other Tier Masters,” the attendant continued.

“Oh,” Hui said in a small voice, eyes big. Internally, he rolled his eyes. Oh sure, sure. Typical cultivator. Kidnap the disciples with potential, then forcibly raise them in your sect, ways, and techniques so they become your disciple in heart, body, and mind. Once you’ve ‘enlightened’ them, loose them back upon the ‘backwater’ sect they came from, and either prove to them that their sect is worthless and too small for their potential… or even use them to recruit other high-potential disciples to your larger sect. Yeah, yeah. I know this plot. You can’t use this technique on me!

…Of course, I’m secretly a fully-grown adult twice over. An impressionable child would likely fall for it, hook, line, and sinker.

But that’s exactly why I got kidnapped instead of my children! Yes, yes. This is the goal I was hoping for!

Er, though… I’d prefer the ending where I don’t end up caught in Eight Tier’s Palace’s most terrifying tier… But at least there’s still hope to escape!

They circled around the Eight Tiers Palace as they flew, dropping toward the bottom of the Fourth Tier. There, a grand entrance with large red doors awaited at the far side of a broad balcony, where cultivators in dark purples, blacks, and greens practiced strange techniques. Hui looked over them, watching from above. Let’s get a preview of what I’ll have to look out for!

One of the cultivators spun in place. A strange purplish fog hung around their hands, streaking after them as they moved. They darted forward, thrusting both hands out.

The purple fog flew forward and swallowed up a wood training dummy. A second later, the fog faded, revealing nothing left but a blackened stump where the dummy would be.

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Hui’s eyes widened. He tensed.

Beside the first cultivator, a second cultivator walked slowly toward a dummy. Abruptly, he flicked his wrist, making the tiniest of tiny gestures, so small Hui’s diminished-in-cultivation-level eyes barely caught it. Needles as fine as hairs shot from his hand and pierced through the dummy, flying out on the other side. The cultivator made the tiniest gesture again, and the hair-size needles spun around and flew back toward his hand.

Hui began to shiver. Oh no, oh dear. I don’t want any of this! I don’t want this at all! Poison that can eat wood? Needles too small for cultivators at my supposed realm to see that can pierce directly through dummies? No, no, no. I don’t want it!

Noticing it, the attendant glanced back. She patted Hui’s head. “Don’t be afraid. You can learn all the techniques you see here. Under our guidance, you can become the premier assassin in the Eastern Alliance!”

Premier assassin? I don’t want to! I want to live a quiet life and survive, Hui cried silently. Assassins all die horrible and untimely deaths alone! Or they find one woman that makes them feel alive, fall in love with her, and then she dies, and then they go on a quest of vengeance!

I’ve read enough assassin books to know that there’s exactly one assassin story! Or rather, two! You’re either a side character or villain who dies tragically and gets what they deserve in some horrifyingly gruesome death, or you lose your romantic interest and storm off on the path of vengeance. The only two assassin stories!

This small Hui doesn’t want either of those plots! I want the quiet life plot, where I live a happy and earnest life with my wives and children! I don’t want Bai Xue or Li Xiang to die, or Gui Yutong, for that matter—she’s hardly even my wife!

Ugh, I need a wife that can’t die if I’m going to become an assassin.

The image of Ming Hailien, the reaper, flashed through his head.

Hui put a hand on his chin. Hmm. If she’s my love interest… yes, yes, perhaps it isn’t so dangerous! I need to start earnestly pursuing the reaper if I’m going to become an assassin. That way, the only assassin plot I need to worry about is dying myself… and although I don’t like that plot very much, I’m at least uniquely suited to survive such a scenario!

Not that small cultivator would use that as an excuse to seek death. But if I must seek death and become an assassin, then at the very least, I’ll pursue that plotline where no one else’s life is in danger, and use my death-faking techniques to survive!

Hui nodded to himself. The solitary, lone assassin. That’s me!

Argh, but dammit, that’s exactly how the wife-killing plot starts, with the solitary lone assassin! Ugh… how do I avoid putting anyone else in danger? I need to plan now, so I won’t cause trouble later.

He shook his head. Hmm… I’ll have to think on it. After all, it takes some time to become the kind of lone assassin that has his wife die tragically. Maybe I can even… avoid becoming an assassin, and just learn assassination techniques!

The attendant looked down at the small child as he stopped trembling and nodded to himself. She smiled. Good. I’m glad to see he’s already adjusting. It would be a tragedy to waste that kind of potential worrying his life away!

The Tier Master flew off, while the attendant dropped to the balcony and stepped off her sword. Hui followed her, sticking close by her side. What’s happening? Where are we going?

All the other cultivators turned and stared at Hui.

Hui hunkered. Ahhh! So many assassins staring at me… the weight of their killing intent… I’m going to die!

The attendant clapped for attention, although she didn’t need to. She smiled. “Everyone, please greet our newest disciple. He’s the one who broke the crystal earlier… I’m sure you all felt that? He has unparalleled potential, beyond yours or mine, and has been taken as a direct disciple of the Tier Master! Please treat him well!”

The killing intent on Hui sharpened. He trembled mightily, fighting the urge, but couldn’t stop himself. He fell backwards, dead.

Why? Why did you paint a giant target on my back in the midst of all these assassins? I’m no one, nothing! I don’t want to dieeeee!