Chapter 419: Chapter 419: The Rain Pavilion.

...Because there was a faint golden badge glinted at the figure’s waist as that person stood silently beside a pillar.

Zhang Kuo’s expression turned even more serious after seeing that badge.

The Rain Pavilion.

They were a notorious underground organization.... a shadowy assassin guild that operated in the gray areas of the cultivation world.

Nobles, merchants, and even high-ranking officials hired them for all kinds of dirty work: assassinations, sabotage, intelligence gathering, and spreading chaos.

They had no loyalty to any kingdom or sect.... only to spirit stones and money.

Their existence was extremely mysterious as no one knew who their leader was or where their headquarters were located.

Only those with deep connections and access to the black market could even hope to hire them.

Sometimes, these assassins would only choose their own clients and reject requests no matter how much money was offered.

Their criteria for accepting jobs were known to be extremely picky and strange, which only added to their fearsome reputation.

And the Rain Pavilion ranked their assassins strictly.

The first one is a copper badge that represented standard assassins, they were mostly competent, but nothing particularly special.

A silver badge, however, signified elite assassins who had completed numerous high-difficulty missions.

They possessed exceptional skills in stealth, poison, assassination techniques, and coordinated group combat.

As for a gold badge... it represented a top-class assassin, a terrifying existence capable of assassinating even the Golden Core experts.

These were the true strategic assets of the Rain Pavilion.

Each gold-class assassin had their own infamous reputation and usually operated alone.

Hiring one was astronomically expensive, often costing enough spirit stones to buy an entire medium-sized sect’s treasury.

Only the truly wealthy, powerful, or desperate would ever commission a gold-class assassin.

There were even rumors of a legendary Platinum class above gold, but no one had ever confirmed their existence.

Seeing the golden badge on that figure, along with the silver badges worn by the rest of the group, General Zhang Kuo knew this wasn’t just a random attack.

’Dammit, which bastard is it?! I even came here to retire peacefully and they still want to involve me?!’

Zhang Kuo cursed angrily in his heart.

He realized that today’s events were a deliberate, well-planned assault from someone of great influence.

There weren’t many people rich and powerful enough to hire a group of Rain Pavilion elites like this, as the cost for hiring this many silver-class assassins and a single gold-class assassin would be astronomical.

’It seems the situation in the capital isn’t simple at all...’

Zhang Kuo’s expression grew darker.

The political struggles he had tried to escape by retiring to the border had somehow followed him here.

Seeing the look on Zhang Kuo’s face, the cloaked assassin laughed again, his voice dripping with mockery.

"General, you’re overthinking it. The Rain Pavilion doesn’t care about your grudges or your retirement. We were simply hired to do a job... and that job is to make sure this northern border falls today."

He then turned toward his men and gave a slight nod.

They had been deliberately wasting time and provoking the old man so the poison would spread faster.

Because even for skilled assassins like them, dealing with a Golden Core expert was no simple matter.

A single mistake could easily lead to death.

’If it weren’t for the high pay, I wouldn’t even want to take this job...’ the cloaked figure who had been provoking Zhang Kuo thought inwardly.

He glanced slightly at the gold-class assassin standing silently at the back.

Even silver-class assassins like him knew the infamous reputation of gold-class assassins.

’It seems the client doesn’t fully trust us, huh?’

He knew full well that hiring a gold-class assassin to deal with a Golden Core expert was far more expensive than hiring an entire group of silver-class assassins.

Yet the client had still done so... not necessarily to kill the Great General themselves, but to act as insurance.

To make sure the job was finished and nothing unexpected interfered.

The gold-class assassin stood motionless, his presence like a silent abyss. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The golden badge at his waist gleamed faintly, a symbol of absolute lethality.

At the same time, Zhang Kuo could feel the poison spreading deeper into his meridians and his spiritual energy was growing increasingly sluggish.

He knew he couldn’t drag this out any longer.

"Enough talk!" he roared, raising his battle axe high. "If you want this old man’s life, come and take it!"

The cloaked assassins were about to move when one of them, who had been doing something at the back, suddenly shouted.

"This is bad! Someone has broken through the formation I set!"

All the cloaked assassins froze for a split second at those words.

At that exact moment, the gold-class assassin at the back abruptly turned toward one side of the hall, the eyes beneath the hood narrowing slightly.

Then-

BOOOOM!!

The side wall of the grand hall exploded violently as a streak of brilliant silvery light burst through the debris and smoke.

Everyone present, including Great General Zhang Kuo and the Rain Pavilion assassins turned their heads toward the sudden intruder at the same time, and saw a man calmly walking in.

Li Feng slowly walked in from the newly created hole in the wall, his white envoy robe fluttering elegantly in the wind.

Seeing the group of suspicious cloaked figures surrounding the heavily injured General, Li Feng’s lips curved into a faint, cold smile.

"It seems I have come at an interesting time."

But then Li Feng stopped mid-step as he suddenly remembered his current identity and status.

He coughed lightly to clear his throat, then straightened his posture, and shouted in a righteous, authoritative voice befitting an official envoy.

Li Feng waved his hand angrily, his eyes seem to be burning with righteous fury.

"I am Li Feng, Envoy of the great Azure Moon Sect, here by the will of the Sect Leader to investigate the plague outbreak in the Fen Dynasty! Who dares to cause chaos and slaughter in this border fortress?!"