Having obtained the information she wanted, Yun Li went directly to the third floor. After all, to catch the bandits, first capture their leader.
She found that there were no guards in the corridor, only two people guarding the door of the pavilion master’s room.
Standing at the top of the stairs, Yun Li tossed a handful of Sleep-inducing Drug into the wind. Moments later, both guards collapsed.
She approached the door, pushed it open, and entered. As expected of the master of the Assassin's Pavilion, he noticed her the moment she stepped inside.
He turned over and woke up from the bed, casting a cold glance at her before immediately attacking.
Yun Li gave him no chance. She directly threw a handful of Poison at him. The pavilion master instantly felt his internal strength failing. She had clearly seen it—this androgynous figure had raised his hand, ready to strike her dead with a single palm.
Gritting his teeth, the pavilion master glared at Yun Li. "You poisoned me?"
"Tsk, still calling yourself ‘this seat’? You’re seriously delusional."
"Who are you? How dare you sneak into my Assassin's Pavilion?"
"I’m here to take your life!"
"What arrogance!"
"Of course! What can you do now? You can’t even lift a blade. Aren’t you at my mercy?"
After saying this, Yun Li carefully examined the pavilion master from head to toe. He truly looked neither male nor female, with an eerie and ambiguous appearance. His lips were pitch black—whether from poisoning or makeup, she couldn’t tell. A red mole adorned the center of his forehead, and he wore a bright red robe, looking as if he were possessed. The style was truly eye-searing…
Ignoring the pavilion master’s murderous glare, she pretended not to see it. The tip of a blade gleamed in the darkness, protruding from his sleeve. Without hesitation, she pulled out a Silencer Gun and shot him dead. She would never give him the chance to strike.
The pavilion master fell to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.
Yun Li ransacked his room, storing everything valuable into her space. One box was locked, but her intuition told her it likely contained something good. She took it first! She could open it and examine it later.
With the pavilion master dealt with, she headed straight to the Underground Vault. Anyone who tried to stop her met a swift and precise bullet to the head from her gun, leaving them no time to react. They died without even knowing what had happened.
The door to the Underground Vault was locked with a large padlock, but this posed no challenge for her. After fiddling with the skeleton key for a while, it clicked open.
Stepping inside, Yun Li was stunned. The room was filled with chests of gold, silver, jewels, and various porcelain and paintings. The night pearls were even larger than ostrich eggs.
Take it all! Take everything!
With a wave of her hand, the room was instantly emptied. It seemed the Assassin's Pavilion had committed no shortage of wicked deeds over the years.
After clearing out the Underground Vault, she went to the first-floor hall. Walking to the center of the room, she sat down on the chair positioned above everyone else. She scattered a handful of antidote over those who had been affected by the Mihuan Powder, and they gradually regained consciousness.
Yun Li swapped her gun for an ordinary pistol from her space, raised it, and fired a shot into the air.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her at the sound, and those outside rushed in as well.
"How dare you! You dare sit in the pavilion master’s seat! Get down now!" one of the assassins below shouted.
Yun Li curled her lips into a cold smile. Without a word, she slightly raised her hand and shot the assassin dead with a single bullet to the head. A bloody hole appeared in the center of his forehead, and he fell to the ground with wide eyes.
The surrounding assassins instantly panicked, and several women screamed in alarm.
"Silence!" Yun Li said coldly.
"Your pavilion master has already been killed by me! Now I give you two choices: First, those who don't want to die can leave now—I'll spare your lives! Second, disband the Assassin's Pavilion! Compete right here—those with superior martial arts will stay and follow me from now on. I don't keep useless people!"
Perhaps due to her pregnancy, she wanted to accumulate blessings for her two babies. According to her original plan, she would have eliminated all these assassins, but now she didn't want to unleash a massacre. Ah, well—there's no helping it. This lady just follows her whims!
As her words fell, the assassins below the stage looked at each other, growing visibly restless. Someone spoke up:
"Why should we believe you?"
"You can go to the third floor and see your pavilion master's corpse! And if you don't believe me, that's fine—but would you like to try this instead?"
Yun Li twirled the gun in her hand.
At this, several people rushed up to the third floor. When they returned, everyone asked:
"Is the pavilion master dead?"
"Yes, the pavilion master is truly dead!"
"Alright, don't waste time. Make your choice quickly!"
The crowd stirred. Those few women were the first to run out, followed by more than half of the assassins fleeing one after another. Roughly forty or fifty people remained.
Yun Li narrowed her eyes, surveying those left below the stage.
"Those of you who stayed, begin the competition! Show me your true skills!"
"What benefits do we get by following you?" one assassin mustered the courage to ask.
Yun Li curled her lips into a cold smile. "That's an excellent question! If you follow me, you'll certainly no longer engage in those unprincipled, money-driven acts of murder and arson you did before. The most important thing here is absolute loyalty! Second is following the rules!"
"We've all been living on the edge, surviving by the blade. Hiding out in these mountains—how are we any different from the bandits up here? What distinguishes us from the rats in the gutters?"
"And why follow me? Because I have the capability! I can lead you to new heights!"
After speaking, she twirled the gun in her hand again. The assassins stared at the small object in her hand as if their eyes were glowing, unable to comprehend how such a tiny thing could instantly pierce through a person. Its power was immense—with this, one could roam the world unchallenged! Instantly, they looked at Yun Li with admiration.
"Are you saying that if we follow you, we won't kill people anymore?"
Yun Li shook her head. "What would assassins do if not kill? Of course we'll kill! But we'll target corrupt officials! The tumors harming society and the evildoers who oppress the people! Not emotionless, merciless killers!"
Yun Li's words stirred the dozens of assassins, filling them with excitement. So they, too, could live openly in this world, no longer hiding and selling their lives, forced to commit evil deeds they sometimes had no choice in.
"Good! We are willing to follow you!" one assassin raised his broadsword and shouted!
The other assassins also voiced their agreement.
Yun Li waved her hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down. "As I said earlier, not everyone is qualified to stay! Begin your one-on-one matches now! The final victors will remain. Make it quick!"
As her words ended, the assassins below began their duels. The room filled with the swishing sounds of blades, swords flashing like tangled threads.
Before long, outcomes were decided one after another. Some assassins were killed by their opponents, while others were wounded. Only about twelve remained unscathed.
During the fight, Yun Li observed carefully. These twelve individuals indeed possessed formidable martial arts skills, each one a master! Without using poison, even if she were to recover to her current state, she estimated she would be exhausted just to fight them to a draw, after all, they had internal energy…
Concentration is the essence! Twelve people were just right!
Yun Li ordered them to dispose of the corpses on the ground and dismissed the injured assassins.
"You twelve are the ones who remain in the end. To prove your loyalty, each of you must take one of these pills!"