The uproar from the exchange competition swept every corner of Azure Cloud Sect.
Chen Fan's name became the most talked-about topic overnight.
A lowly handyman defeated inner sect elite Zhao Long with a single flick of the finger.
No one dared to mock him as mortal trash anymore.
Outer disciples and handymen bowed to him respectfully, eyes full of awe.
Even arrogant inner sect disciples avoided his gaze, too ashamed of their past disdain.
Only Elder Lei's hatred burned like wildfire, devouring all his reason.
Two humiliations in a row—first his strike was dodged, then his most prized disciple was crushed—turned him into a rabid beast.
He swore to turn Chen Fan's bones to ash.
While the whole sect worshipped his hidden strength, Chen Fan returned to his quiet life.
He ignored all the fame and attention.
Dawn sweeps, Scripture Pavilion reading, dusk rest—his routine never changed.
Beating Zhao Long was just a trivial matter to him, not worth a second thought.
His Chaos Root absorbed spiritual energy day and night, quietly pushing him to mid-Foundation Establishment peak, standing on the edge of late-stage.
His Eternal Supreme Insight unlocked more supreme skills, making him stronger with every passing breath.
He remained unfazed by the outside chaos, as if nothing could disturb his peace.
The day after the competition, Elder Mu rushed to his bamboo hut with a grave, urgent face.
"Chen Fan, you must be extremely careful these days," Elder Mu warned, his voice trembling with worry.
"Elder Lei has lost all reason. He won't abide by sect rules anymore—he'll hire ruthless killers to end your life in secret."
Chen Fan looked up calmly, nodding slightly. "I know, Elder."
"Never go out alone after dark. I've arranged elite outer sect guards to watch your hut day and night," Elder Mu added, his brow furrowed tight.
Chen Fan thanked him for his kindness, but he felt no trace of fear.
Assassins were nothing but a minor nuisance to him.
Whoever dared to raise a hand against him would only face their own doom.
Meanwhile, in a dark, hidden valley outside Azure Cloud Sect, Elder Lei met a mysterious black-cloaked man.
This man was a top assassin from Blood Moon Tower, a notorious killer organization feared throughout the cultivation world.
Elder Lei spent half his lifelong savings to hire this killer, desperate for revenge.
"Can you kill that boy without leaving a single trace?" Elder Lei asked, his voice low and dripping with venom.
The assassin let out a cold, mocking laugh, exuding a sharp late-stage Foundation Establishment killing aura that made the air freeze.
"That boy is just a mid-Foundation Establishment handyman. Killing him is as easy as crushing an ant under my foot."
"I'll leave his body in the mountains, torn to pieces by wild beasts. No one will ever suspect you, Elder."
Elder Lei grinned in twisted satisfaction, his eyes glowing with malice.
"Kill him tonight. The rest of the payment will be yours the moment you confirm his death."
The assassin nodded coldly and vanished into the dense forest, moving like a ghost without a sound.
He was full of unshakable confidence—this mission was child's play for him.
Night fell quickly.
Dark thick clouds swallowed the moon and stars, plunging the entire outer sect into pitch-black silence.
Only a few patrolling disciples tramped wearily along the paths, half-asleep and unaware of the impending danger.
Chen Fan sat cross-legged in his hut, reading an ancient alchemy scroll by dim candlelight.
Suddenly, a bone-chilling, icy killing aura crept toward the hut, silent and deadly.
The assassin had arrived.
Chen Fan put down the scroll slowly, his eyes remaining calm and clear, not a single flicker of panic on his face.
He just sat quietly, waiting for the assassin to make his move.
A black shadow slipped through the window in an instant, moving faster than the wind.
The assassin held a poisoned dagger, its blade glinting with a faint, deadly green light.
One scratch from this dagger meant instant death, even for peak Foundation Establishment cultivators—there was no antidote.
He lunged at Chen Fan's chest without a sound, aiming for a quick, fatal stab to the heart.
"Die!" the assassin whispered coldly, his voice full of ruthless malice.
He thought Chen Fan would be caught off guard, dying without even seeing his face.
But Chen Fan moved faster.
In the blink of an eye, he activated Eternal Shadow Steps.
His body blurred like a wisp of smoke, dodging the deadly stab effortlessly, as if he'd predicted the attack long ago.
The assassin's dagger plunged straight into the wooden table behind Chen Fan, splitting it into two splintered pieces with a loud crack.
Before the assassin could react in shock, Chen Fan raised his hand casually.
A single, lazy flick of his finger.
Whoosh!
An invisible, sharp sword intent shot out, faster than lightning, cutting through the air without a sound.
Crack!
A crisp, bone-breaking sound echoed sharply in the small hut.
The assassin's wrist shattered instantly, the poisoned dagger clattering loudly to the wooden floor.
"Ah—!"
He let out a muffled, agonized scream, his face twisting in extreme pain, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
He stared at Chen Fan, his eyes filled with pure terror and utter disbelief.
How could a mere handyman dodge his perfect sneak attack and cripple him in just one move?
"You… you're not a mortal—you're a hidden monster!" the assassin stammered, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
He finally realized he'd walked straight into a death trap, not an easy mission.
He tried to turn and run for his life, but his legs went limp instantly.
Chen Fan's sword intent had already sealed all his meridians, leaving him completely powerless, unable to move an inch.
"Sent by Elder Lei," Chen Fan stated plainly, his voice cold and unwavering.
The assassin's face turned pale as paper, unable to deny the truth.
He desperately tried to threaten Chen Fan, hoping to scare him into letting him go. "The Blood Moon Tower will hunt you to the ends of the earth! You'll regret this—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Fan flicked his finger again.
A gentle but unyielding wisp of energy hit his neck, and the assassin collapsed to the ground instantly, unconscious and permanently disabled, never able to cultivate or hold a weapon again.
Chen Fan cleaned the small mess in the hut calmly and sat back down to continue reading, as if nothing had happened.
The assassination attempt was just a trivial disturbance, not worth his time or energy.
He didn't even bother to report it to the sect.
Moments later, the guards arranged by Elder Mu heard the faint scream and rushed to the hut immediately.
They were stunned to see the unconscious black-cloaked assassin lying on the ground, his wrist shattered, completely disabled.
They quickly ran to report the emergency to Elder Mu, their faces filled with shock.
Elder Mu arrived at the hut in an instant, his face filled with white-hot fury.
"Elder Lei dared to send an assassin into the sect! This is a flagrant violation of all cultivation sect rules!"
He checked Chen Fan's condition quickly and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw he was completely unharmed.
"You're really unharmed? You didn't even panic or call for help?" Elder Mu asked in utter amazement.
Most cultivators would have been terrified out of their wits by a sneak assassination, but Chen Fan looked as calm as if he'd just swatted a fly.
"He was no threat," Chen Fan replied simply, his tone indifferent.
Elder Mu looked at him with even more reverence and awe.
This boy was far more extraordinary than he could ever imagine, a true hidden prodigy.
"I'll interrogate the assassin at once and confront Elder Lei publicly tomorrow. He will pay for his crimes," Elder Mu said firmly, his eyes blazing with justice.
Chen Fan nodded slightly, not caring about Elder Lei's punishment.
He just wanted his quiet, peaceful life back.
But deep down, he knew this was far from over.
Elder Lei's madness would only grow worse with each failure.
Meanwhile, Elder Lei waited anxiously in his dark room, pacing back and forth, his eyes bloodshot with anticipation.
When his subordinate rushed in with a pale face, telling him the assassin had failed, been captured, and permanently disabled, Elder Lei exploded with unbridled rage.
He smashed all the vases, tables, and ornaments in his room, screaming wildly like a madman.
"Useless trash! A late-stage Foundation Establishment assassin can't even kill a lowly handyman! I've wasted my spirit stones on you!"
His hatred for Chen Fan reached a terrifying peak, consuming every ounce of his sanity.
He would not give up—never.
He immediately rummaged through his storage bag, taking out all his remaining spirit stones, precious herbs, and rare artifacts, his face twisted with a sinister, desperate grin.
He grabbed a blood-red jade slip, carving a message with shaking hands, pouring all his malice into it.
He was willing to give up everything he owned to hire the top assassin of Blood Moon Tower—a killer at the early Golden Core realm, a powerhouse who could crush Foundation Establishment cultivators like ants.
This time, there would be no mistakes.
High atop Azure Cloud Sect's sacred, forbidden peak, the Supreme Elder stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep and wise, staring at the outer sect below.
He had sensed the faint but sharp sword intent from Chen Fan's hut during the assassination, and a faint, approving smile appeared on his face.
"Perfect power control, hidden to the extreme, calm in the face of danger… this child is a once-in-a-millennium prodigy."
His eyes turned cold as he sensed the sinister aura from Elder Lei's blood-red jade slip.
"Golden Core assassin… Elder Lei has crossed the line."
He would not let anyone harm this extraordinary prodigy.
A faint, invisible aura spread from the sacred peak, secretly covering Chen Fan's bamboo hut, a silent shield against the coming danger.
Back in his ruined room, Elder Lei sent the blood-red jade slip soaring into the night sky, watching it vanish into the darkness with a cruel grin.
The deadliest, most terrifying crisis was closing in on Chen Fan fast.
A Golden Core powerhouse was coming for his head.
And Chen Fan, still sitting calmly in his bamboo hut, had yet to sense the looming storm that would soon shake the entire Azure Cloud Sect.