The Hitman Guild’s HQ.
The meeting room.
A screen of light was turned on, displaying the image of an evil creature.
Long red hair, a single horn on his head, a slightly humanoid face, and terrifying fangs.
He was wearing a black cloak with a sword silently hovering by his side.
“Intermediate-level Hitman, codename Ye Fei Li, his species is Fear Fiend, his Profession is Miasma Stealther. His expertise is long-ranged weapon control, suspected to also have excellent mental sensory capabilities, never once failed a job”
“Three days ago, the Seaside world where a lot of our crucial information and treasures were being stored was struck by a parallel world Fate Corrosion and was completely destroyed”
“At the time, all other Hitmen were killed in action, this Fear Fiend accepted an emergency request to help our temporary manager with buying time and aiding her in escaping, successfully avoiding great losses to the Guild”
“And now, this Fear Fiend had also arrived safely at Void City”
“Please discuss, what kind of reward should we grant him?”
The bigshots of the Hitman Guild listened and fell into thought.
「 Never once failed a job? Do we have any recording of his previous battles? 」 one person asked.
“Yes”
“Show it on screen”
The screen changed.
The footage showed how Gu Qing Shan released his flying sword to continuously kill the bounty targets he had taken on.
“Tch, that level of strength is definitely not the standard for Intermediate-level Hitmen, why was he only granted an Intermediate-level medal?” someone asked.
The host of the meeting replied: “He had only just entered the Guild, and not much time had passed, so it was simply that he hadn’t worked long enough to be promoted yet”
This drew everyone’s attention.
『 Did we investigate the reason why he joined the Guild? 』 someone asked.
“About that, we once used the stone horse to test him. As expected, he was an evil creature who desired wealth, every time he had worked so far had been for the sake of earning money”
Everyone then chuckled and slightly relaxed themselves.
——-this was how evil creatures generally were, their entire lives dedicated to wealth, authority, and violence, while also using these things to weave traps and lure living beings in.
In truth, as the evil creatures used these things to tempt others, they themselves were also susceptible to such temptations.
“I suggest we grant him a large amount of wealth as a reward, after all, this seems to be the easiest way to lure him”
Another person suggested: 「 Other than wealth, he would most likely be interested in promoting his own rank. After all, his level of strength suggests that he should be at least an Advanced-level Hitman——– and this is Void City, the very fact that he made it here means he’s quite individually capable 」
Everyone’s expressions changed slightly.
“Ah, you mean ‘that’ kind of status huh?” one person asked.
「 Naturally 」that person replied, 「 If he is truly as strong as he seems, that status would be a suitable offer, it would also allow him to better serve the Guild——- as long as he has the courage to attempt it 」
The others nodded.
Seeing how no one had any objections, the host concluded: “Then it shall be done as such”
“Now, let us continue with the next issue”
“It’s related to that headache-inducing matter, do we or do we not…”
After Gu Qing Shan confirmed his identity at the lobby of the Hitman Guild, he was invited to a secret room behind the main lobby.
A girl was waiting for him in the room.
——it was the receptionist who became the temporary manager during the Guild branch evacuation.
“Glad to meet you once again. I sincerely thank you with my utmost gratitude, my name is Qin” the girl smiled.
Gu Qing Shan replied: “I’m sorry, but we fiends do not like to state our true names, my codename is Ye Fei Li”
“Furthermore, since that was an emergency quest issued by the Guild, I was simply doing my job”
Qin nodded in understanding, invited him to sit down, then reached her hand out.
“Your Intermediate-level Hitman medal please”
“Ah”
Gu Qing Shan put the silver medal onto her hand.
Qin took the medal, then casually waved her hand over the void of space.
Two trays then suddenly appeared on the table.
One tray contained a golden medal and a big puffy bag.
The other tray contained a single black envelope.
“What’s this?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
The girl explained: “The golden medal represents your identity as an Advanced-level Hitman, and the bag contains your rewards”
“As for the envelope, is it our promotion recommendation letter”
“You can choose either one of these as your reward for completing the previous emergency quest”
Gu Qing Shan paused a bit, then asked: “What do you mean by promotion recommendation letter? I recall you saying that Advanced-level Hitman was already the highest rank”
Qin patiently explained: “In the 900 million World Layers, an Advanced-level Hitman can certainly complete the majority of jobs, but outside of the 900 million World Layers is the Boundless Void. There are countless extremely powerful void species, numerous Samsara fragment worlds, as well as inexplicable ruins, and innumerable organizations of the void. An Advanced-level Hitman simply isn’t sufficient to take on jobs at such a place”
She then pointed to the black envelope and said: “The upper brass of the Guild had decided to give you a chance to obtain a status of exceeds that of an Advanced-level Hitman”
“Naturally, you can also choose the option of the Advanced-level medal and the bag of money, these rewards should be more than enough for you to live lavishly in the 900 million World Layers for the next few decades”
Gu Qing Shan smiled.
Before he even spoke up, the girl had already told him: “I suggest that you choose the promotion recommendation letter, because there aren’t many opportunities like this. If you successfully become promoted, you will come into contact with the world of the space vortex as a whole, your life will be completely different from before”
“And what if I fail?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
Qin silently used telepathy to inform him in his head: “Even if you fail your promotion, there’s a high chance that the Guild will grant you a portion of the money as reimbursement”
“Thank you for the advice. I chose the promotion recommendation letter” Gu Qing Shan replied.
——-An Advanced-level Hitman simply cannot live in Void City, so if I choose this option, I’d most likely be brought back to the 900 million World Layers very soon.
There’s not even a need for consideration, the black envelope is the only choice.
This letter represents an identity within Void City.
As well as infinite opportunities.
Qin smiled and brushed her hand.
The tray that contained the golden medal and the big bag of money disappeared.
“Please”
She gestured for Gu Qing Shan to take the black envelope.
Gu Qing Shan picked the envelope up and opened it.
There were no supernatural phenomena, only a few lines of text written in common human language:
[In consideration of your excellent contributions, you are permitted to learn of the following information:]
[To accept the jobs within the Boundless Void, you will need one of the four following identities:]
[(Note: the four identities are arranged according to level of strength, ranging from lowest to highest, which goes as follow)]
[‘Sealing Hitman’, ‘Unsolvable Hitman’, ‘Unlivable Hitman’, and ‘Unique Title Hitman’]
Reading this, Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but chuckle.
The first three ranks were exactly the ranks of Apocalypses.
So this is suggesting that Hitmen are people capable of assassinating even Apocalypses?
As for the final ‘Unique Title Hitman’, it was also quite easy to understand, as Hitmen of this level should be so powerful that they were recognized by the infinite worlds and their living beings, thus earning their own Title within the Boundless Void.
At this point, a Title was the reinforcement of power from the Laws themselves.
“Why are you laughing?” Qin curiously asked.
“It’s nothing”
Gu Qing Shan replied and continued reading:
[Through the Guild’s unanimous decision, you have obtained this opportunity]
[To become a ‘Sealing Hitman’, you will first need to fight against a ‘Sealing Hitman’ and remain undefeated in order to qualify]
[Once you’ve made your preparations, please take this recommendation letter and issue an official promotion request to the Guild]
[We shall arrange a battle for you as soon as possible]
[Please keep in mind, this is only a test, your opponent will also be your future comrade, they would not fight to kill, and neither should you]
Gu Qing Shan put the recommendation letter back into the envelope and placed it on the table.
“Please make the preparations, I would like to issue an official promotion request right away” he said.
Qin smiled: “I know, please wait a moment, I will make the preparations right away”
She nodded to Gu Qing Shan, took the envelope in her hand, and left the secret room.
Gu Qing Shan silently waited for a while.
He decided to take out the bottle of liquor that Zhang Ying Hao gave him and took a sip.
The 900 million World Layers was secretly restrained by the Divine race at the time of its conception, so its overall strength was always suppressed.
It wouldn’t be until I release [Worlds Apocalypse Online – Human Regiment] that this situation can slowly change.
But the space vortex wasn’t the same.
Each of the void entities that exist here are Combatants who had survived the harshest process of natural selection through time and combat.
The species, organizations, and worlds of the void are significantly stronger compared to the 900 million World Layers that the Divine race created!
If I can use the identity of a void Hitman to come into contact with the people of the Wraith realm, they would surely be caught off-guard.
That would certainly be great if that could happen…
Gu Qing Shan silently thought.
Very quickly, the door to the secret room opened, after which two rows of people appeared.
Qin was at the center of them all, who then told Gu Qing Shan: “The preparations have been made, your opponent this time is a Wind Elemental Fairy”
“Please follow me”
“Got it”
Gu Qing Shan followed her into the depths of the Hitman Guild.
They entered a large sparring ring.
At this point, quite a few people were already seated around the ring to watch the match.
They all exuded considerable strong presence.
“These are all the upper brass of the Guild. It would be best that you exert yourself as much as possible to display your value and give everyone a good impression, that would be beneficial later on” Qin silently told him through telepathy.
“Thank you” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“You’re welcome. After all, you saved my life. And also, Wind Elemental Fairies are known for their speed, you need to watch out for that” Qin told him again.
Gu Qing Shan looked at the sparring ring.
A beautiful woman was standing ready on it, wearing dark-shaded leather armor and a dagger in each of her hands.
She was watching Gu Qing Shan with quite a bit of interest and muttered:
“A Fear Fiend, how rare for such an evil creature to join us as Hitmen”
The daggers were dancing around her hand.
Her aura changed, exuding layers of emerald wind.
“Regretfully, I don’t like evil creatures, so don’t count on me letting you pass”
Gu Qing Shan leapt onto the ring as if he didn’t hear what she said.
A referee walked in between them. After seeking permission from the bigshots on the observational stand, he loudly declared:
“During this unique promotional challenge, the Intermediate-level Hitman codename ‘Ye Fei Li’ will challenge the ‘Sealing Hitman’ Fog Song”
“Begin!”
As soon as the declaration was made.
The beautiful woman immediately vanished without a trace.
All over the sparring ring, aside from Gu Qing Shan who stood completely still, everyone could only feel the intense howling wind.
——so I need to leave a good impression huh?
Gu Qing Shan silently thought.
I have a lot of means, so there’s nothing bad about exposing one of them as a signature move.
With that in mind, Gu Qing Shan casually asked: “Hey, beautiful lady, I have a question, is Fog Song your codename, or your name?”
The Wind Elemental Fairy was moving so fast that her voice resounded from every direction:
“Hmph! I’m not like you bunch of evil creatures that don’t even have the courage to expose your names, Fog Song is naturally my name”
“However, knowing that doesn’t matter for you at all!”
She suddenly appeared behind Gu Qing Shan.
A cold gleam flashed!
Kih!
A sword appeared just in time to block her daggers, stopping Fog Song’s ambush.
Fog Song disappeared again.
Her voice sounded from the wind: “So I’ve been underestimating you, but that was only 50% of my speed, next up, I’ll be going at it with 100%”
Gu Qing Shan chuckled, then asked: “Then Fog Song… Miss Fog Song, I’m calling your name, you dare answer me?”
A second later, several dozen illusions of Fog Song appeared at once, surrounding Gu Qing Shan in the middle.
They all thrust their daggers forward and replied: “What is there to not answer!”
“Ah… I’m really happy to be fighting you…”
Gu Qing Shan curtly said, then casually wielded the Chao Yin sword.
He brandished it.