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The Strongest Curse Master: Start by refining the Seven Arrows Book
Novel Status: Completed
Novel Summary
[No female lead]
It is better to stab people in the back than to show off in front of others.
Fang Che traveled through the world of endless wars and became a nobody in the Emperor's plane. In order to survive better, he chose the profession of curse master, who was best at harming people. Based on the information he learned before traveling through time, he refined various curse items.
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Chapter 1: Seven Arrows
"The sentient beings of this Plane do not respect the King's rule, their conduct is vile, they are fickle, and they are like pigs and dogs. The Emperor has issued this year's Slaughter Order No. 3: Keep the land, but leave no seed."
The man standing on the mountaintop lowered his head, no longer paying attention to the Emperor Slaughter Order in the sky. Instead, he pulled an amplifier from his embrace and walked to a dry well not far away.
He peered in and saw a grotto about ten meters down inside the dry well.
The disheveled Plane warriors huddled together, shivering.
The man raised the amplifier and announced expressionlessly, "My name is Fang Che. I've come today to slaughter you. You can curse me all you want."
The sound entered the grotto, and the warriors looked up in terror.
These Plane warriors were fundamentally similar to humans, except for two black whiskers growing on their foreheads.
Seeing everyone look up, Fang Che immediately put down the amplifier, exposed his face to the crowd, then took out a porcelain bottle and poured out scorching aluminum liquid.
As soon as the aluminum liquid left the porcelain bottle, it rapidly expanded, like a waterfall, crashing towards the bottom of the grotto.
"Boom~" The aluminum liquid struck the ground with a loud bang, drowning out a series of screams.
Immediately after, many sculptures with contorted expressions were washed away by the aluminum liquid; these were all people who had just been touched by the aluminum liquid!
Seeing this, the surrounding warriors were terrified, instinctively backing away from the aluminum liquid, and quickly ran to the edge of the grotto.
More and more warriors crowded at the edge of the grotto, soon breaking some fragile stone walls and revealing an unknown passage.
The Plane warriors didn't care about much, pushing the people in front of them and running underground.
However, many warriors lost their footing and were quickly pushed down by those behind them. Before they could get up, the aluminum liquid caught up to them.
"Ah!"
These people were instantly scalded by the hot aluminum liquid, their skin rapidly turning red and steaming.
Their screams didn't last long before they were completely covered by the aluminum liquid.
Immediately after, the aluminum liquid rapidly cooled, directly turning them into grotesque and twisted statues.
"Damn you, Fang Che! You'll suffer divine retribution!"
"Fang Che, I curse you to have no descendants!"
"Fang Che…"
Those more severely injured warriors, seeing that the aluminum liquid was about to catch up to them, their expressions twisted in terror, cursed loudly.
As everyone cursed, Fang Che felt a terrifying power, from the depths of the unknown, being added to him.
Fang Che quickly closed his eyes, his consciousness entering his Niwan Palace.
Inside Fang Che's Niwan Palace at this moment, there was a black altar that was constantly vibrating.
When the warriors who cursed Fang Che were sealed by the aluminum liquid, their painful and distorted effigies instantly condensed on the altar.
When nine hundred and ninety-nine statues condensed on the altar, all the statues exploded, transforming into wisps of black mist that gathered above the altar, forming a completely black gem.
Inside the gem, there were three strange red symbols, the meaning of which was: Curse Master.
Careful Observe of the three characters could reveal even more information—the advancement method for a Curse Master!
The moment the Curse Master Professional Gem condensed, winds howled, and a large expanse of black clouds gathered above Fang Che's head, with bolts of lightning forming within the dark clouds.
This was the Plane Will's punishment for an invading individual condensing a Professional Gem.
With Fang Che's current power, he couldn't resist the Plane Will's punishment.
However, Fang Che wasn't afraid.
Fang Che came from the Emperor Plane and was a newcomer who had just become a Professional.
Before Fang Che obtained his Professional development direction and Professional skills, the Emperor Plane Will would protect Fang Che and block harm from Other Planes Will.
"Crack~"
In the dark clouds, a lightning bolt struck towards Fang Che, but a thick black mist suddenly emanated from Fang Che, engulfing the lightning bolt.
A moment later, the black mist dispersed, and Fang Che was nowhere to be seen… On a wooden bed in a single dormitory at Slaughter Saber Academy in the Emperor Plane, a mass of black mist suddenly appeared.
When the black mist dissipated, Fang Che's figure appeared on the wooden bed.
Immediately after, a vast and ethereal aura enveloped Fang Che's body.
Fang Che's eyes were tightly closed at this time, his consciousness gathered in his Niwan Palace, staring at the altar.
Suddenly, a giant eye appeared above the altar, emotionlessly gazing at the curse master gem.
This eye was precisely the eye of the plane condensed by the Emperor Plane Will!
The eye of the plane gently rotated, and three light clusters condensed around the curse master gem.
These three light clusters represented the three development directions of the Curse Master profession: [Flesh Curse], [Spirit Curse], and [Curse Tool].
Fang Che had learned about these three options a long time ago.
[Flesh Curse] required collecting the target's flesh, hair, or items imbued with the enemy's life essence.
Without these items, Flesh Curse couldn't be cast, but as long as these items were obtained, one could easily curse and kill the enemy.
Professionals who practiced Flesh Curse were mostly dispatched to Other Planes to participate in Plane wars.
[Spirit Curse] was to use one's spirit to influence the enemy's subconscious.
For example, if a curse of being struck by lightning was cast on an enemy, the enemy would subconsciously approach areas with lightning.
If a lightning strike curse was cast in one's own Plane, one could even directly communicate with the Plane Will to instantly summon lightning to eliminate the enemy.
Those who practiced Spirit Curse mostly stayed in their own Plane to resist enemies from Other Planes.
And [Curse Tool] was to use various tools to launch curses against enemies.
Although Curse Tools were difficult to refine, once successfully refined, they could be bound to the soul and could not be stolen by outsiders.
Fang Che had already made his choice, directly manipulating the curse master gem to touch the [Curse Tool] light cluster.
The curse master gem instantly absorbed the [Curse Tool] light cluster, and many characters condensed on it; this was the most suitable advancement method for the [Curse Tool] cultivation direction.
At the same time, the other two light clusters slowly transformed into two basic skills for the [Curse Tool] cultivation direction.
They were: Dexterous Hands and Flash of Inspiration.
The [Dexterous Hands] skill allowed a Curse Master to 100% successfully refine existing Curse Tools, but the tool's power was only equivalent to the original version of the Curse Tool and could not be improved or strengthened.
The [Flash of Inspiration] skill allowed a Curse Master to refine unprecedented Curse Tools. The success rate of refinement was relatively low, but the Curse Tool could be infinitely improved and strengthened.
Fang Che had already decided on his development direction, so he unhesitatingly manipulated the curse master gem to absorb the [Flash of Inspiration] skill, and the Curse Gem instantly flickered with a faint light.
At the same time, the [Dexterous Hands] light cluster also disappeared.
At this moment, Fang Che officially became a First-Order Curse Master.
Immediately after, Fang Che focused his attention on the eye of the plane, feeling a bit of anticipation in his heart.
According to Fang Che's understanding, Plane beings could receive rewards from the Plane Will after performing an unprecedented special action.
Therefore, when Fang Che awakened his Curse Master profession, he didn't use a fixed ritual. Instead, based on the information he learned before his transmigration, he devised a special awakening ritual.
Before his transmigration, Fang Che saw someone pour a pot of aluminum liquid into an ant's nest to examine its internal structure.
After the aluminum liquid solidified, it was excavated, revealing the structure of the ant's nest and the ants encased in the aluminum liquid.
Fang Che's inspiration came from this.
Just then, a white light flew out from the eye of the plane, transforming into a jade stone. Subsequently, the eye of the plane disappeared, and the vast and ethereal Plane Will detached from Fang Che's body.
The Plane's reward had been issued!
Fang Che quickly opened his eyes and gently waved his hand, and the jade stone fell into his left hand.
Holding the jade stone, Fang Che instantly understood its purpose.
This was a treasure that guaranteed 100% successful refinement of a Curse Tool!
Fang Che excitedly ran to a corner and opened a wooden box.
Inside the wooden box lay a pile of strange and curious items.
Fang Che rummaged for a moment and took out a bamboo slip.
On the bamboo slip, five seal characters not belonging to this Plane were carved: Nailhead Seven Arrows Book!
Opening the bamboo slip, several lines of information were recorded in seal characters:
"[Tie a straw effigy and write the enemy's name. Then, use curse power to gather the characters in the bamboo slip tool, condensing them into seven long nails. Pierce the nails into the straw effigy's head. Bow and kowtow to the straw effigy and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book three times a day, while recalling the target's appearance;"
"Twenty-one days later, shoot an arrow at the straw effigy. If it hits the enemy's true body, both the straw effigy and the enemy will spray blood and die on the spot."
This was the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book that Fang Che had specially created based on the information of the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, combined with the Curse Master abilities of this Plane and various rules.
Originally, Fang Che had planned to find some excellent materials to meticulously refine this Curse Tool, but now with the jade stone, it wouldn't be so troublesome.
Fang Che directly placed the jade stone on the bamboo slip and released the Flash of Inspiration skill, integrating the jade stone into the bamboo slip.
In an instant, the ordinary bamboo slip turned black, all the seal characters became blood-red, and it emitted an ominous aura that made one's scalp tingle.
At this moment, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book was refined!
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Chapter 2 Improvement Methods and Loan Contracts
Fang Che put the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book into his Niwan Palace and touched the curse master gem.
As soon as the two touched, a tiny Nailhead Seven Arrows Book pattern appeared on the surface of the curse master gem.
At this point, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book was bound to Fang Che, becoming a Curse Tool that belonged only to him, difficult for outsiders to seize.
Immediately after, the vast and ethereal Plane Will once again focused on Fang Che, and the eye of the plane condensed again in his Niwan Palace.
The eye of the plane gently rotated, locking onto the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
The next second, a white light flew out from the eye of the plane, transforming into a copy of the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method.
After leaving this reward, the eye of the plane disappeared, and the vast and ethereal Plane Will also moved away from Fang Che's body.
Fang Che examined the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method and discovered that it was precisely the most powerful cultivation method of the legendary Mo Yuan World.
According to Fang Che's understanding, the Mo Yuan World once developed with Curse Masters as its core. Six hundred years ago, the Mo Yuan World invaded the Emperor Plane, was ultimately defeated, and was devoured by the Emperor Plane.
The Emperor Plane used the Mo Yuan World as nourishment to condense the Curse Master class and preserved all of the Mo Yuan World's cultivation methods.
However, this Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method was not circulated on the market; it was only bestowed upon a small number of promising Curse Masters.
Fang Che's potential was also recognized by the Plane Will.
Of course, even without the Plane Will's acknowledgment, Fang Che was confident in becoming stronger, relying on the pair of Illusory Eyes he suddenly possessed after his transmigration!
Fang Che closed his eyes and silently chanted in his heart: Observe!
The next second, Fang Che's eyes appeared in an illusory state in his Niwan Palace, staring intently at the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
Under the observation of his eyes, some of the text in the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method blurred, then transformed into other characters, gradually improving towards a better direction.
After the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method was improved, it read more smoothly and was easier to understand.
On the other side, many improvement details also condensed on the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
In the past, Fang Che had also used his eyes to deduce the Creation method of the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, increasing its Creation success rate to one hundred percent.
Now that the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book was successfully created, the next step was naturally to improve it.
Fang Che noted down the materials required to improve the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, then Observed the curse master gem, searching for an improved method to advance to a second-order Curse Master.
However, Fang Che kept looking until he was mentally exhausted, but still found no improvement information.
There were two possibilities for not seeing improvement information: either the advancement method had already reached its optimal state, or Fang Che's current strength was insufficient to Observe the improvement information.
Unable to see the improvement information, Fang Che stopped Observing and began cultivating the improved version of the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method.
After a brief period of cultivation, the curse master gem in his Niwan Palace, along with the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, quickly ascended.
Immediately after, the curse energy in the air entered the Niwan Palace, shaping an illusory altar in the blank area between the altar and the curse master gem.
This illusory altar was much smaller than the previous one.
According to the cultivation method's reminder, once this illusory altar takes shape, one can complete the advancement based on the information recorded on the curse master gem.
Fang Che cultivated silently for a moment, when a woman's voice suddenly sounded from the room's intercom:
"All students have completed their assessment, please gather in your respective classes immediately."
Upon hearing this, Fang Che stopped cultivating, left his dormitory, and walked towards his classroom.
From the dormitories next to Fang Che's, other students also emerged, each radiating a special aura belonging to a Professional.
Leaving the dormitory and returning to the classroom, Fang Che Observed his surroundings to understand his classmates' awakening situations.
At this time, half of the people in the class were gone, and most of these missing individuals were those who cultivated defensive classes.
Their absence clearly indicated they had died during the awakening process.
Defensive classes needed to endure a sufficient amount of attacks to awaken.
Many could not withstand the harm from others and were beaten to death before awakening.
Because of this, defensive classes were extremely rare in the Emperor Plane.
And rare classes meant good employment prospects, so more people rushed to cultivate defensive classes.
And then... they were beaten to death!
After Observing for a moment, Fang Che suddenly focused his gaze on a very beautiful woman, feeling extremely shocked.
This woman, Ling Jie, had awakened the Flesh Bodhisattva class.
To awaken the Flesh Bodhisattva class, one first needed to possess outstanding beauty, then strip naked and seek out ninety-nine opposite sex creatures from hostile forces.
By using their body to resolve the anger in the hearts of hostile opposite sex, one could awaken the Flesh Bodhisattva class and gain powerful healing abilities.
In the past fifty years, every cultivator who attempted to awaken the Flesh Bodhisattva class was brutally massacred by the opposite sex from hostile forces!
It was truly rare that Ling Jie could survive.
At this moment, everyone else in the classroom was also staring at Ling Jie, their faces filled with shock.
Ling Jie, however, sat there very calmly, radiating a sacred aura, ignoring everyone's gazes.
Fang Che quickly shifted his gaze.
Just then, a man walked up to Fang Che, arrogantly placing a contract down and reminding him:
"Fang Che, you borrowed money to buy aluminum water, and then had our Fierce Tiger Group capture warriors and send them into the cave. Your debt is quite high, I hope you repay it soon."
Fang Che glanced at the contract and instantly realized that it was different from the loan contract he had signed.
More accurately, the contract had always been this way; it was just that Fang Che hadn't noticed the hidden parts of the contract when he borrowed the money.
Previously, to avoid being deceived, Fang Che had even paid to have the most reputable instructor, Lü Jing, examine it.
But now it seemed that Lü Jing and this Wang Yuan were both members of the Fierce Tiger Group.
Fang Che darkly glared at Wang Yuan, then quickly calmed down.
Who cares about creditors or contracts; just kill all of them, and there's nothing to worry about.
It would be a good opportunity to test the power of the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
Thinking this, Fang Che feigned anger, gritting his teeth as he replied: "I will repay the money as soon as possible."
Wang Yuan looked at Fang Che, who was clearly angry but helpless, laughed heartily, reached out and patted Fang Che's shoulder, and said smugly:
"Our Fierce Tiger Group has lent out too much money, but many people died during the awakening process, so we can only earn it back from you who are still alive. Don't mind it!"
After saying this, Wang Yuan walked towards the other students who had borrowed money.
Fang Che watched Wang Yuan's retreating back and sneered inwardly.
Those with greater awakening difficulty would use various items as collateral before borrowing money; the Fierce Tiger Group would never suffer a loss no matter what.
What Wang Yuan said was truly laughable.
"Bang!"
At this moment, another student who had been deceived by Wang Yuan slammed his hand on the table, shattering it, and roared:
"You Fierce Tiger Group took advantage of our weakness and created false contracts, you are truly bullying us too much!"
The other people who had borrowed money heard about the false contracts and all looked at Wang Yuan, their faces filled with rage.
But Wang Yuan was not intimidated by the crowd; he arrogantly held his head high and taunted: "So what if we bullied you? What can you do?"
The students instantly surrounded him.
Just as a fight was about to break out, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Quiet!"
The voice contained strange energy, and the students' angry emotions instantly calmed down.
Immediately after, the tall instructor Professional, Lü Jing, walked into the classroom.
As Lü Jing stood on the podium, the students' emotions instantly returned to a state of absolute rationality, and they all returned to their seats, forgetting their previous anger.
Lü Jing smiled at everyone and softly said: "Everyone, please don't be noisy. I am here to congratulate you all on awakening your classes."
Lü Jing's voice was not loud, nor particularly pleasant, but after she spoke these words, Fang Che remembered every single one of them, unable to forget a single character.
This wasn't because Fang Che had a good memory, but because Lü Jing's instructor class had a [Forced Memory] skill that allowed students to fully record all knowledge.
Lü Jing on the podium continued: "Tomorrow, everyone can graduate and leave school. You can join some war groups, or accept missions to improve yourselves;
Before leaving, you must leave your reproductive genes. If you are unwilling to leave your reproductive genes, the academy will arrange blind dates for you."
Upon hearing the words "blind dates," all the students felt fear.
This fear came from the soul, bestowed upon everyone by the Plane Will.
The reason for this was closely related to the Emperor Plane's core class, the Soul Master.
One hundred thirty thousand years ago, the Emperor Plane was invaded by Other Planes. At a critical juncture, the Plane comprehended its first class: Soul Master.
To awaken the Soul Master class, one needed to kill their birth parents and condense a class gem from their parents' souls.
After the Emperor Plane survived with the help of the Soul Master class, it elevated the Soul Master class's authority. By now, the Soul Master class had become the core class of the Emperor Plane.
The ruler of the Emperor Plane, Emperor, was an awakened Soul Master.
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Chapter 3 Cursing Wang Yuan
As the core of the Emperor Plane, the Soul Master profession received the most preferential treatment.
The Plane Will would even weaken the parents' strength when ordinary people chose to awaken the Soul Master profession, making it easier for ordinary people to kill their parents and awaken!
Because of this, cultivators completely gave up the idea of forming families, and even if they had children, they chose to abandon them, not allowing the children to find them.
The original family relationships disintegrated, various conflicts emerged endlessly, and internal struggles were fierce.
To resolve the conflicts, the Plane Will condensed the Life Witch profession.
As long as Professionals left their reproductive genes, Life Witches could cultivate new lives and send them to various academies for upbringing and education.
As for parental information, it would be hidden by the Plane Will.
Fang Che and the other students around him were all cultivated by Life Witches using reproductive genes and sent to Slaughter Saber Academy.
Now, Fang Che and the others also had to leave their reproductive genes to contribute to the continuation of the race and the development of the Plane.
On the podium, Lü Jing continued to explain:
"After leaving your reproductive genes, Slaughter Saber Academy will abandon the contract previously signed with you. In the future, if the academy encounters trouble, it will not issue a mobilization order to you.
Of course, you can also keep the contract and exchange your reproductive genes for other resources.
The choice is yours. Alright, I'm done speaking. Wang Yuan, do you have anything to say?"
Wang Yuan immediately stood up, scanned the students who had signed loan contracts, and reminded them:
"The later you repay the money, the higher the interest. I suggest everyone exchange their reproductive genes for money and repay it as soon as possible."
After saying this, Wang Yuan ignored the angry gazes of the loan students, turned, and left the classroom.
After Wang Yuan left, Lü Jing called out 'class dismissed' and also left.
"Bang, bang, damn it..."
As soon as Lü Jing left, the loan students lost their minds, smashing tables and cursing loudly.
Fang Che left the classroom expressionlessly, quietly following behind Wang Yuan.
After Wang Yuan left the school gate, Fang Che quickly returned to the dormitory.
At this time, at the entrance of each dormitory, there was a beauty magazine and a glass bottle.
Fang Che took both items, entered his room, and closed the door.
After some time, Fang Che, carrying the reproductive genes in the glass bottle, arrived at the Slaughter Saber Academy welfare office and handed the reproductive genes to the Manager.
The Manager's eyes glowed as he examined the reproductive genes, then stared at Fang Che for a while before putting away the reproductive genes and speaking:
"The reproductive genes are not fake. What do you want to exchange them for? An academy contract, or cultivation resources?"
Fang Che quickly pulled out a letter from his Arms and placed it in front of the Manager, respectfully replying:
"I want to exchange for the items recorded on this letter."
Recorded on this letter were various materials for improving the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, which was what Fang Che needed most at this stage.
The Manager examined the letter and shook his head, saying, "The things you want are all very expensive, exceeding the value of your reproductive genes. I can give you at most one portion."
Fang Che was slightly disappointed but then replied, "I want the Purple Gold Epiphyllum."
The Manager nodded gently and opened the adjacent drawer.
The drawer was like a bottomless abyss, only showing a deep blackness with nothing else visible.
The Manager extended his entire arm into it and quickly retrieved a purple-gold flower bud in a glass bottle, placing it in front of Fang Che.
"Thank you." Fang Che put away the glass bottle and quickly returned to the dormitory.
After closing the door, Fang Che flipped his palm, and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book appeared in his hand.
Fang Che opened the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and placed it on the table, then opened the glass bottle.
The next second, the surrounding energy quickly poured into the glass bottle, absorbed by the purple-gold flower bud inside.
Immediately after, the flower bud slowly began to bloom.
Fang Che took out the flower bud, and when it was fully bloomed, Fang Che directly placed the beautiful flower on the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and activated the Flash of Inspiration skill.
In an instant, the flower withered, and the faint temporal energy within the flower merged into the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book. Immediately after, the seal script recorded on the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book changed.
The original information, 'Worship three times a day, worship for twenty-one days,' became: Worship sixty-three times consecutively!
At this point, the first improvement of the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book was complete!
Fang Che smiled slightly, pulled out some straw from a wooden box, and wove it into a straw effigy.
Immediately after, Fang Che wrote the name Wang Yuan and affixed it to the straw effigy.
Then, Fang Che mobilized Curse Master energy and injected it into the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
The characters within the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book instantly detached from the bamboo slips and converged into seven parts, transforming into seven long nails that pierced into the top of the straw effigy's head.
After doing all these things, Fang Che placed the blank Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and the straw effigy together, bowed, and recalled Wang Yuan's appearance in his mind.
After the first bow was completed, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book vibrated slightly, and the seven long nails piercing the top of the straw effigy's head seemed to be pressed down by an invisible force, sinking deeper.
After completing sixty-three consecutive bows, the seven long nails had completely disappeared into the straw effigy.
Fang Che smiled slightly, picked up a branch and a string, and made a simple wooden bow.
Then, Fang Che took out a sharpened wooden stick, placed it on the wooden bow, aimed at the straw effigy, drew the bow, and shot the arrow.
The sharpened wooden stick instantly pierced through the straw effigy, and a large amount of fresh blood suddenly gushed out from the straw effigy, staining the tabletop red.
...
At this moment, outside the school, Wang Yuan, who had just finished buying cultivation resources, was walking on the road when he suddenly felt his chest pierced by a sharp object, and the intense pain distorted his expression.
Wang Yuan lowered his head and saw a hole in his chest, with blood gushing out like a spring.
But strangely, there was no sign of any weapon in his chest.
Wang Yuan opened his mouth in disbelief, then fell to the ground, his body trembling slightly, and his consciousness quickly dissipated.
Only blood flowed out from the hole, staining the ground red.
Passersby quickly noticed the situation and rapidly moved away.
Only a man with a tiger printed on his clothes walked up to Wang Yuan.
The man glanced at the hole in Wang Yuan's chest, then looked around, his expression becoming increasingly puzzled.
"Strange, where did the murder weapon go?"
The man couldn't figure it out, so he took out a token and quickly crushed it.
Not long after, a group of men with tiger patterns on their clothes arrived.
A Bearded Man spoke, "Old Zhang, who died?"
Old Zhang, who had first discovered the body, walked up to the group and reported to the Bearded Man, "Captain, the deceased is Wang Yuan. He joined the Fierce Tiger Group a few years ago and was in charge of loan contract matters."
The Captain immediately said, "Then there's no need to think too much. It's the borrower who did it. Find an opportunity to gather the borrowers and ask them."
Old Zhang frowned and said, "I don't think it was done by a newcomer. I arrived here immediately but found no traces of a weapon or an enemy.
Aside from a Second-Order Assassin, I don't recall anyone who could kill Wang Yuan silently."
The Captain frowned slightly, walked to Wang Yuan's body, observed it carefully, and said,
"From a rough Observe, his wound shows no aura of any special profession. It's very likely an assassin did it."
Old Zhang looked at Wang Yuan's body and said somewhat curiously, "This kid just awakened as a First-Order Professional and was attacked by a Second-Order Assassin. I wonder who he offended."
"Hmph." The Captain suddenly snorted coldly and said, "What is he? Someone must be targeting our Fierce Tiger Group. Killing him is just a warning to us."
The faces of the other Fierce Tiger Group members around them instantly turned ugly.
The Captain squatted down, fumbled around Wang Yuan's body for a moment, and pulled out a pile of loan contracts stained with blood.
The Captain checked the contracts, then reminded them, "Don't go out alone for a while. As for things like debts, don't go collect them.
Wait until the Group Leader and the others return after destroying the Plane, then we'll look for traces of this Second-Order Assassin, understand?"
Everyone replied in unison, "Understood."
The Captain stuffed the contracts into his pocket and ordered, "Carry the body. We're going to Slaughter Saber Academy to claim Wang Yuan's belongings. We can't let Slaughter Saber Academy take advantage."
Everyone responded in unison, "Yes, sir."
Then, everyone lifted Wang Yuan's body and walked towards Slaughter Saber Academy.
...
At this moment, in the academy dormitory, Fang Che saw the arrow-pierced straw effigy fall to the ground, and the seven long nails transformed into characters, returning to the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
Fang Che understood that Wang Yuan had been cursed to death by him.
Fang Che put away the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, cleaned up the bloodstains on the table, then packed his luggage and left Slaughter Saber Academy.
Halfway there, Fang Che saw a group of people with tiger patterns on their clothes arguing with Lü Jing and other academy instructors.
Wang Yuan's body was placed beside them.
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Chapter 4 Curse Master's Mission Hall
After seeing Wang Yuan's corpse, Fang Che didn't panic. Instead, he walked into the crowd watching the commotion to understand the situation.
A moment later, Fang Che learned that Wang Yuan had been killed by an assassin shortly before. The Fierce Tiger Group believed that Slaughter Saber Academy had failed to protect their member, so they came to the academy to demand compensation and retrieve Wang Yuan's belongings.
The mentors in the academy, however, thought that the Fierce Tiger Group was extorting them.
Neither side mentioned a Curse Master.
The reason for this was that Curse Masters leave traces after killing someone.
A Blood Curse Master's victim will emit a curse aura after death.
A Spirit Curse Master, while not leaving a curse aura, causes the victim to perform unusual actions before death.
For example, someone cursed to die from a fall would actively jump from a high place.
Someone cursed to die from lightning would stand in a high place during a thunderstorm or hold conductive objects.
The Curse Tools refined by a Tool Curse Master incorporate the killing methods of both Spirit Curse Masters and Blood Curse Masters, and the traces left after a killing also possess the characteristics of both.
However, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book refined by Fang Che had a killing method completely different from previous Curse Masters, resembling more of an Assassin Professional.
This was also why Fang Che dared to kill someone directly within Slaughter Saber Academy.
Fang Che hid in the crowd, memorizing the appearances of these Fierce Tiger Group creditors and listening to their conversations.
At this time, more and more people were watching the commotion, so the mentors directly took the Fierce Tiger Group members away to reduce the impact.
Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the students shook their heads regretfully and left one after another.
Fang Che was also a little disappointed.
Fang Che had originally wanted to hear the names of these people and then find an opportunity to curse them to death.
Unfortunately, they didn't reveal any name information, leaving Fang Che at a loss.
Fang Che still needed to continue improving the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book to be able to ignore real names and directly activate curses.
Afterward, Fang Che left the academy with his luggage, found a restaurant opened by Slaughter Saber Academy, and, as a student, checked into a room on credit, putting down all his luggage.
Immediately after, Fang Che bought a cloak and a mask, walked onto the street, and carefully sensed the surrounding curse energy.
Not long after, Fang Che discovered that all the curse energy was converging in one direction.
Fang Che moved towards the convergence point of the curse energy and soon arrived at a small alley filled with miscellaneous items. The top of the alley was covered in grapevines, blocking the sunlight and making it very dim.
Continuing further inside, Fang Che found many Professionals, each emitting the unique aura of a Curse Master.
Fang Che knew that he had successfully found the Curse Master's exclusive Mission Hall!
The Mission Hall is a building present in every city, where all Professionals enter to receive missions and obtain rewards.
There are also some Profession-exclusive Mission Halls that only post missions for their specific Profession. These missions are generally more difficult but offer generous rewards.
These exclusive Mission Halls are hidden in inconspicuous corners, and only people of that Profession can enter; other Professions are completely excluded.
Fang Che walked all the way to the end of the alley and saw a small house. Many Professionals were entering and exiting, and occasionally there were some people like Fang Che who were trying to conceal themselves.
The space inside the house was not large, and these Professionals disappeared as soon as they entered the house.
The moment Fang Che stepped into the house, the curse master gem vibrated slightly.
Immediately after, the small house in front of him transformed into a spacious hall, where hundreds of people were gathered.
On a prominent wall, various rules for Curse Masters to receive missions were recorded.
After reviewing all the rules, Fang Che began to look for missions.
On the other walls, many plaques were hung, recording various types of missions and their rewards.
Most of the missions here were to defend the Emperor Plane and curse Intruders, and most Curse Masters were gathered in front of these missions.
A small number of missions involved cursing enemies to death, and those gathered around these missions were mostly people wearing masks and concealing themselves.
Fang Che walked near the missions to curse enemies to death and observed carefully, finding that all the missions here were designed to cooperate with Assassin Professionals to complete curses.
On each mission token, there was a unique crystal frame.
This crystal frame was where the curse duration was recorded.
The curse duration was arranged by the Assassin Professional. As long as the Curse Master completed the curse within the fixed time, half of the mission was considered complete.
After the target died, the reward could be claimed.
If the target did not die, there would be no reward, and the Curse Master might even be hunted down and killed.
Because of this, all the surrounding Curse Masters covered their bodies to avoid being recognized.
As Fang Che was observing the missions, the frame on one of the tokens suddenly flashed with light and solidified a specific time.
The surrounding Curse Masters all reached out in unison, but one person still managed to press down on the token first.
As soon as this person touched the token, the other people around sighed and withdrew their hands.
Then, the person who touched the token left happily.
Fang Che did not scramble for missions like them. He directly accepted a mission to assassinate a member of the Fierce Tiger Group and went to the mission reception area to register.
The registering Manager saw that the token did not display a time. After a slight Stunned, he asked with some confusion:
"Professional, your mission hasn't been claimed by an Assassin yet. Did you take the wrong one?"
Fang Che shook his head and said, "I didn't take the wrong one. I want to accept this mission."
The Manager pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood and reminded him:
"You must be new, right? You don't know that after a Curse Master casts a curse, the curse takes effect very slowly and can easily be detected by the target.
And most of our assassination targets are important figures. They all have special means to detect and clear curses.
In most cases, a Curse Master is just a combat support Professional. I suggest you wait a bit longer."
Fang Che had seen everything the Manager said on that prominent wall.
The reason he chose the mission was, first, because Fang Che had confidence in the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, and second, to receive the full reward.
The rules stated that if a Curse Master accepts an assassination mission, the Assassin will abandon the mission, and when the mission is completed, the Curse Master will receive the full reward.
Fang Che said, "I have an Assassin friend who doesn't want to show his face and entrusted me to accept the mission. Please help me register it."
Upon hearing this, the Manager said somewhat awkwardly, "So that's it. I thought you were new. My apologies, I'll register it for you right away."
The Manager quickly recorded the mission, then handed the token to Fang Che and took out a notebook, reminding him:
"The notebook contains the mission target's information. You need to complete the mission within one day. If you cannot complete it, please return the token as soon as possible, as we need to arrange for others to complete the mission."
"Understood." Fang Che took the token, checked the contents of the notebook, and then turned and left.
After leaving the Curse Master Mission Hall, Fang Che pulled some grass from the roadside and returned to the inn.
After closing the door, Fang Che wove the grass into a straw effigy, wrote the name Mu Hai, and attached it to the effigy.
Next, Fang Che took out the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book from his Niwan Palace and activated it with the Curse Master's energy.
The characters in the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book instantly transformed into seven long nails, piercing into the effigy's head.
Then, Fang Che placed the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and the effigy together and began to prostrate.
...
In the Fierce Tiger Group's Main Camp, a group of people happily carried Wang Yuan's corpse back.
At this moment, a man stopped the group and said, "Captain Li, why are you carrying a corpse back?"
Captain Li saw this person, and a hint of disgust appeared in his eyes.
However, Captain Li quickly adjusted his emotions and smiled, "Young Master Mu Hai, this person is Wang Yuan. He joined our Fierce Tiger Group before, and just now..."
Mu Hai frowned and said, "He's just a temporary member who just awakened not long ago. He probably hasn't become a full member yet.
If he died outside, then he died outside. Bringing him back is an eyesore, and it will cost money to bury him."
Captain Li quickly explained, "It won't cost money. We took the corpse to Slaughter Saber Academy and extorted a sum of money."
Mu Hai's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He extended his hand and said, "Give me the money. I'll register it and give you your rewards later."
Captain Li hesitated for a moment, then still pulled out a money bag and handed it to Mu Hai.
Mu Hai took the money bag and turned to leave.
After Mu Hai walked away, Old Zhang said, "If it falls into his hands, we definitely won't get our share."
Captain Li frowned and said, "Who told him he's the group leader's apprentice? We..."
Before he could finish speaking, Captain Li saw a hole suddenly appear on Mu Hai's body, and blood began to flow out.
+++
Chapter 5 Second Improvement of the Seven Arrows Book
Seeing Mu Hai injured, Captain Li ignored his complaints and shouted, "Mu Hai is injured! Activate the defensive barrier! Don't let the murderer escape!"
After shouting, Captain Li rushed to Mu Hai's side, quickly pulled out a medicine bottle, poured out healing potion, and sprinkled it on the wound.
However, the blood from the wound quickly washed away the healing potion, and Mu Hai soon died.
The moment Mu Hai died, a translucent barrier appeared out of thin air, like an inverted porcelain bowl, covering the entire Fierce Tiger Group.
At this time, the others also came to Mu Hai's side. Old Zhang pointed at Mu Hai's wound and shouted in a panic:
"Wang Yuan also died like this! It was that Second-Order Assassin who did it!"
Captain Li looked at Mu Hai, who had died with his eyes open, reached out and closed Mu Hai's eyes, and commanded:
"The defensive barrier has been activated, the Assassin can't escape. Everyone put down what they are doing and go look for the Assassin;
Also, tell those wastes who are staking out the Assassin Mission Hall that the next time they discover one of our people being assassinated, they must report it immediately!"
At this moment, a man next to him spoke, "Captain Li, I just received information that a Curse Master accepted a mission. I was about to report it, but then Young Master Mu Hai…"
"What?" Captain Li stared at the reporting man in disbelief, questioning:
"You mean, a Curse Master accepted a mission, and an Assassin immediately took action, without even a preparation process?"
"Yes." The messenger nodded, replying thoughtfully:
"Young Master Mu Hai has been cultivating in his room recently, but he suddenly went out for a stroll today, and this happened. I suspect there's an inside man!"
Captain Li's face was grim. After a moment of silence, he said, "This is just a guess for now. Immediately send someone to the Curse Master Mission Hall. The others continue to search for the Assassin. I believe he can't escape."
Everyone replied in unison, "Understood."
Afterward, everyone carried Mu Hai's body and quickly left.
As for Wang Yuan's body, it was casually thrown in a corner, unattended.
...
At this moment, in the inn room, Fang Che saw the straw man fall, and the seven long nails turned back into characters, returning to the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
Fang Che put away the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, quickly cleaned up the blood flowing out of the straw man, then put on his cloak and mask, and went to the Curse Master Mission Hall.
Fang Che walked up to the Manager registering missions, took out his mission token, and said, "The mission is complete."
The Manager glanced at the mission on the token and said in surprise, "So fast? Please wait, I'll check."
Then, the Manager took out a basin, poured in clear water, placed Mu Hai's portrait into the basin, and recited a few incantations.
The next second, the portrait dissolved and disappeared, and a character for 'Death' condensed on the water's surface.
"Amazing!" The Manager exclaimed, then opened the drawer next to him.
This drawer, like the ones in Slaughter Saber Academy, was bottomlessly dark.
The Manager took out a wooden box and a money bag from inside, placed them in front of Fang Che, and said, "This is the entire mission reward. Please keep it."
Fang Che only took the wooden box, pushing the money bag towards the Manager, and said, "I need a Secret Chamber with a strong Curse energy for cultivation. The Secret Chamber must have a secret passage to leave the Mission Hall."
The Manager took the money bag, took out a token, placed it in front of Fang Che, and explained:
"This token is a key. As long as you place it on any wall, you can enter a Secret Chamber;
However, the token is single-use. After opening the Secret Chamber, the token will disappear;
After the token disappears, it will provide Curse energy to the Secret Chamber. The Curse energy is limited and cannot be used indefinitely. Do not use it to refine Curse Tools, lest you fail the refinement."
"Thank you for the reminder." Fang Che took the token and walked to the vicinity of the missions that involved cooperating with Assassins, looking for new missions.
Not long after, Fang Che found another mission to assassinate a member of the Fierce Tiger Group. The mission reward was a pill containing Curse energy.
Although the pill was not as good as the materials for the improved Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, Fang Che already had no good feelings for those in the Fierce Tiger Group who modified contracts, so he would kill them even if there were no good rewards.
Therefore, Fang Che directly took down the mission token and headed to the registration area.
At the same time, a masked man instantly fixated on Fang Che, his gaze following Fang Che's movements.
A moment later, Fang Che completed the registration.
The Manager who registered the mission told Fang Che the target's information, then quietly reminded him, "Someone is watching you. You need to be careful."
"Thank you for the reminder." Fang Che nodded slightly, not caring much about it.
Since he was killing people, others would definitely track and retaliate. This was unavoidable.
As long as Fang Che protected his privacy and quietly left this place, he wouldn't have to worry about others retaliating outside.
As for retaliating against Fang Che within the Professional Mission Hall, such a thing would simply not happen.
The Mission Hall was a place established by the Emperor to enhance the combat strength of Professionals, and it was under the Plane Will's attention. No one dared to act wildly here.
Afterward, Fang Che came before a wall and placed the token on the wall.
The next second, a crack appeared in front of the wall, directly absorbing Fang Che, and then the crack disappeared.
The masked man watching Fang Che from not far away did not inquire about Fang Che's background from the Manager after Fang Che left; he simply departed.
On the other side, after Fang Che was absorbed by the crack, he entered an ordinary room.
This room only contained a meditation cushion and a closed wooden door with the words 'Exit' written on it.
After a simple Observe of the room, the token in Fang Che's hand disappeared, and instead, the Curse energy in the room suddenly became much denser.
Fang Che sat cross-legged, took out the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, unfolded it in front of him, and then opened the wooden box he had just obtained.
Inside the wooden box was a piece of mud.
Fang Che placed the mud on the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and activated the Flash of Inspiration skill.
The next second, the mud turned into energy and merged into the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
After the fusion was complete, the characters on it slowly changed.
Now, in addition to cursing using straw men, one could also use mud to sculpt mud figures and curse through them.
This mud was ubiquitous and easier to obtain than straw, greatly reducing the difficulty of cursing.
Afterward, Fang Che put away the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and adjusted his breathing according to the information recorded in the Ink Abyss Curse Cultivation Method, meditating and cultivating.
The surrounding Curse energy instantly surged into his Niwan Palace, making the illusory second-layer altar become more real.
After a period of time, Fang Che drained the Curse energy from the room and opened the wooden door to the exit.
Behind the wooden door was a stone wall, with no exit whatsoever.
However, when Fang Che reached out to touch the stone wall, his palm passed right through it.
This stone wall seemed to be just a disguise to deceive the eyes.
Fang Che stepped into the stone wall, and the next second, he appeared in an empty alley.
Fang Che took off his black cloak, turned the gray inner lining outwards, put it back on, then changed his mask, and only then left the place.
Not long after, Fang Che returned to his inn room, made a mud figure out of mud, and wrote the name of his new target, Li Yuan, on a piece of paper.
Fang Che pasted the name onto the mud figure, took out the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, condensed seven long nails, and pierced them into the mud figure's head.
Then, Fang Che began to prostrate before the mud figure and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
The first prostration was completed quickly, but the seven long nails only trembled continuously and could not penetrate further into the mud figure.
Just as Fang Che was puzzled, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book suddenly began to absorb the Curse energy within Fang Che's body and condensed seven illusory fingers, pressing down on the long nails.
Fang Che instantly understood that there was a powerful protective force around the current target, and only by breaking through this protective force could he curse Li Yuan to death.
Fang Che closed his eyes and injected the Curse energy from his body into the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
With the support of the Curse power, the seven fingers of the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book pressed down harder on the long nails.
A moment later, the long nails were inserted to a fixed depth, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book stopped absorbing the Curse energy from Fang Che's body, and all seven fingers retracted.
Fang Che performed the second prostration again, and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book began to absorb the Curse energy from Fang Che's body again, condensing seven fingers to press down on the long nails.
For the following period, Fang Che simultaneously recovered his Curse energy and provided Curse energy to the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, slowly completing the prostrations.
At this moment, in a Secret Chamber of the Fierce Tiger Group, Captain Li was staring at a dignified man holding a scroll.
The man suddenly closed his book and sighed, "Captain Li, you keep staring at me, I can't even focus on reading."
Captain Li looked at the man and said with a serious expression, "Young Master Li Yuan, there's a message from outside saying someone wants to assassinate you. I must protect you at all times."