The Alliance of Kill and Kill (4K)

Bai Cangshu completely closed his eyes, allowing wave after wave of powerful attacks to strike him. He sensed boundless qi spreading through this virtual Cultivation Institute.

It was not merely the qi of several Martial Artists. Erupting volcanoes, towering waves, the qi contained within all things—everything appeared within Bai Cangshu’s perception.

Amid that endless sensation of qi, he found a tranquility that transcended fighting spirit.

With such a state of mind, he opened his eyes again. This time, there was no trace of any energy erupting. In an instant, Bai Cangshu seemed to shed all his violence and power, becoming as ordinary as any normal person.

Even the overwhelming presence that could make people shudder all over just by standing still began to fade.

Although the Martial Artists fighting Bai Cangshu were merely individuals fabricated by the Infinite Dimensional Space using information and possessed no emotions, they all sensed the change at that moment.

Garou was the first to notice something was wrong. His attacks received no feedback at all, and he could no longer even sense his opponent’s movements.

Bang! Bang!

Every punch he threw made the air burst with explosive cracks, yet Bai Cangshu was like a fallen leaf spinning through the air. Any shift in qi caused his body to react naturally.

Bai Cangshu even spread his arms and walked toward them.

Garou’s hands moved so quickly at his side that they seemed to vanish, but it was as though the two of them were no longer in the same world. Every one of his attacks struck only air, unable to touch flesh, and naturally received no feedback.

Bai Cangshu held his head high, genuine delight filling his heart.

Even someone like him could not naturally comprehend such an ultimate realm of martial arts in a short time.

Only special individuals like Reincarnators could, with the Space’s assistance and information as a medium, be forcibly granted such enlightenment.

He even took a moment to glance at his status panel. His Martial Arts Mastery was still Lv10 and had not reached true Lv10+, but through Musō Tensei, he had already understood what realm lay beyond.

Bai Cangshu took one step past Yujiro Hanma’s back, where the muscles had completely spread open like a Ghost Face. Yujiro Hanma instinctively slashed sideways with a hand chop, but struck nothing.

Smiling, Bai Cangshu kept his arms spread and simply walked past as though no one else were there.

Whoosh!

Mercenary Tao was incredibly fast. Chosen at great cost specifically because the pressure had been insufficient, he was also the only one present who had previously forced Bai Cangshu to deliberately evade.

Bai Cangshu felt his neck tighten as a braid wrapped around it.

Immersed in the powerful realm granted by Musō Tensei, Bai Cangshu did not resist at all. He could feel that, reinforced by qi, Mercenary Tao’s braid was far sharper than an ordinary steel blade.

Yet as the braid coiled around him, the muscles in his neck smoothly "flowed," completely neutralizing the cutting force.

Mercenary Tao’s gaze darkened. After restraining his opponent with the braid, he flipped upside down, his fingers held together like a crane’s beak as he stabbed out repeatedly in an instant.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

After three piercing whistles, three holes appeared in the ground.

Mercenary Tao’s eyes froze slightly as he looked at the target still restrained by him. There was not a single wound on Bai Cangshu’s body.

He had clearly restrained him. He had obviously caught him, yet his attacks still could not hit…

Bai Cangshu’s delight reached its peak. This was Musō Tensei, one of martial arts’ ultimate secret techniques—an ability that could practically be called invincible.

With a thought, his half-black, half-white long hair swept upward, wrapping around Mercenary Tao’s neck in turn. Their qi ground violently against each other.

The next moment, Bai Cangshu raised his hand, fingers together like a crane’s beak, and vanished in an instant.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Mercenary Tao was sent flying backward, three triangular penetrating wounds already appearing on his chest.

Bai Cangshu, however, frowned. After wiping his neck, he saw fine scales appearing over the surface of the rapidly healing wound.

That meant Flame Dragon Scales had been triggered. In other words, at the instant Mercenary Tao had been grievously injured and sent flying by him, his braid had indeed struck Bai Cangshu as well!

Musō Tensei (S) Lv1—Upon activation, enter the Realm of Nothingness

Bai Cangshu raised his eyes and looked at Mercenary Tao, whose injuries were rapidly recovering under the Space’s power. At last, he confirmed that the Musō Tensei granted by this scroll had not allowed him to ascend in a single step and attain the complete Realm of Nothingness.

At least not at Lv1. He merely entered the Realm of Nothingness while it was active.

According to the original setting of Fist of the North Star, the Realm of Nothingness was not merely an ultimate martial arts secret technique. It was also a philosophical realm.

It was a supreme state that required its user to comprehend the sorrowful power of a heart that refused to kill.

From that perspective, Musō Tensei was ultimately not a power on the same level as Ultra Instinct. It still carried certain limitations.

At the instant Bai Cangshu had attacked, the killing intent rising within him had caused his Realm of Nothingness to vanish, which was why he had been struck.

Having understood this, Bai Cangshu spread his arms once more and allowed the attacks to engulf him.

Heavenly Feast continuously tapped at the keyboard, pulling up footage from every corner of Paradise. Through Paradise’s influence and his own technical capabilities, he had even gained control over several satellites.

As he compared the identities of more and more Reincarnators within Paradise one by one, hoping to identify and mark some of the more dangerous ones, icy killing intent came from behind him.

Along with that thread of killing intent came a pungent Demonic Qi.

Heavenly Feast froze, his hands stopping.

A woman’s high heels stepped upon the floor, yet made no sound at all.

Heavenly Feast smiled bitterly. Though he considered himself a Reincarnator of the Technology Faction, his combat ability after modification was not weak.

He had even installed a Marvel Mimic Master module, so he was not entirely incapable of resisting Reincarnators from the swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat paths.

Yet in the eyes of the former Moon Demon, now Eclipse Li Qingzi, killing him seemed to be as effortless as something she could do in passing.

"Heavenly Feast, are you prepared?"

The Nano Combat Blade in Li Qingzi’s hand extended beyond a meter. Her eyes were cold as she finally confirmed that this highly useful Technology Faction Reincarnator was the "mole" East Xia had placed within Paradise.

It was through this man that East Xia had confirmed Bai Cangshu’s previously unknown whereabouts and formulated its subsequent plans.

Heavenly Feast fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

He turned around and saw that Li Qingzi’s hair had become silver-white. Demonic Power flowed through her, and even her pupils had changed shape.

Instead, he smiled happily.

"At least I wasn’t looked down on."

He calmly spread his arms and offered no explanation for his actions. He had his own pursuits and ideas. A stable order would always be accompanied by sacrifices.

He believed that everything he had done was for the sake of making the world more stable, so there was no moral flaw in it.

Likewise, if Li Qingzi killed him now, she would not be wrong either.

"I won’t resist, Miss Li Qingzi. You can control the force of your sword a little. Try not to destroy the equipment in this room. That way, if you find a few Reincarnators who understand some technology, you can still keep making Paradise more controllable."

Even Li Qingzi, with her demonization activated, was taken aback by his words. But she had long ceased to be someone whose state of mind could be disturbed and thrown into confusion by a few words. She nodded, then lightly raised her combat blade. Sword light flashed.

Puff!

The sword light vanished as it plunged into a fair hand before Heavenly Feast. Li Qingzi’s entire body jolted, while Heavenly Feast’s pupils contracted.

Using the multiple high-speed processors beneath his skull, he swiftly connected to Paradise’s equipment. Neither the alarms he had preset nor any other devices had indicated that anyone had approached the tower.

Much less that someone had entered this supposedly secret underground area directly.

Li Qingzi, meanwhile, felt that although she had already controlled her strength, with the sharpness of her level 9 Swordsmanship Mastery, not just anyone could catch her blade barehanded, much less…

She looked at Bai Cangshu, his hair now half-black and half-white, dressed in a loose knitted sweater. He had appeared from nowhere like a ghost. The way he caught her blade was neither by pinching it nor by using some twisted force field to control it from afar.

It was as though he had simply opened his hand and allowed her sword to strike it. More terrifyingly, her slash had struck nothing, yet the blade had still been stopped.

A martial arts realm beyond the limit?!

She immediately realized that the Mercenary Tao before her had crossed the limit. Through Martial Arts Mastery alone, he had become powerful enough to be a terrifying expert in most Derivative Worlds.

"Wouldn’t it be a pity to kill someone with that kind of resolve?"

Bai Cangshu lowered Li Qingzi’s sword and casually brushed over the matter of Heavenly Feast providing information to East Xia.

Whether it was the influence of Mad King’s heart, or the bearing born from Bai Cangshu’s immense power and even greater control after attaining the Realm of Nothingness—

Both had made him lose all feeling toward this level of so-called betrayal. Yes, he would not even feel anger.

Heavenly Feast’s resolve even made him think the man qualified as a decent Reincarnator.

The Infinite Dimensional Space absorbed new Reincarnators every day, but its selection criteria remained the same. The Space preferred to choose people possessed of powerful survival instincts and desires.

When thrown into highly stressful deployments, such people would struggle and kill without regard for anything else. Such actions would create considerable ripples and changes across the various mission worlds.

Those altered worldlines would generate new information, allowing the Infinite Dimensional Space to obtain the "fruit" it desired most.

But such selection could not guarantee what talents or aptitude those entering the Space would possess. This was why Bai Cangshu agreed with Mad King’s choices to a certain extent.

Before Heavenly Feast could react, alarms suddenly began blaring throughout the room.

Warning: A suspected Calamity-level target is approaching!

Heavenly Feast immediately activated the cameras. He saw a silver-gray-haired girl standing calmly outside the Black Tower, her long hair hanging down her back. When she saw the camera turn toward her, she did not react at all.

With a wave of Bai Cangshu’s hand, qi and force opened the Black Tower’s doors.

He led Heavenly Feast and Li Qingzi outside.

"Welcome to my… Paradise, Your Excellency."

Bai Cangshu smiled, but the blond man following behind Life of Silence frowned. He felt that there was indeed something wicked about Mercenary Tao. Those words did not carry the domineering air of welcoming someone onto his territory; instead, they sounded more like a child showing off a toy.

And the one he was showing it off to… was his own liege!

Life of Silence nodded calmly, expressing her appreciation.

"Yes, very interesting."

Golden Crow Dong Xuri was the strongest Reincarnator at Life of Silence’s side. Though he was not technically her follower, he regarded himself as one.

There was no other reason. He simply believed that Life of Silence was strong—extremely strong. Even among Supreme Experts, she belonged to the very strongest tier.

She was the strongest Reincarnator he had ever seen, and he was only willing to follow the strong.

And now, this was probably the first time in the past half-year that he had seen his liege give someone such a "positive" evaluation.

Li Qingzi recognized Dong Xuri’s identity at a glance, and Heavenly Feast also pulled up the relevant information.

A top-tier Reincarnator and a Supreme Expert had arrived together. Had something major happened?

"Li Qingzi, entertain Her Excellency. I’ll go collect my payment first."

Then, beneath the gazes of Dong Xuri and Life of Silence, Bai Cangshu entered one floor of the Black Tower. Dong Xuri’s perception was extremely sharp. Though Mercenary Tao’s Paradise had barriers that restricted sensory abilities, to his surprise, this tower did not.

He guessed it was because this tower was Mercenary Tao’s own residence.

He clearly sensed that after Mercenary Tao entered that floor, there was a Yin spirit within, as well as a Reincarnator with his eyes closed and both legs severed.

As Mercenary Tao approached, scarlet light appeared on the closed-eyed Reincarnator’s right hand.

"It’s the Scarlet Great Sin!"

He immediately realized that this was a Special Reincarnator, and the rumors were confirmed. Mercenary Tao truly was a Special Reincarnator of the Scarlet Great Sin.

Puff!

An intense stench of blood began to spread as Mercenary Tao pierced the head of the Great Sin Reincarnator, who was trapped in slumber, with a finger.

Soon, the other person transformed into a Scarlet Drop Card, which condensed before Mercenary Tao. The Scarlet Great Sin sheen on the person’s arm was also devoured by the denser scarlet light on Mercenary Tao’s right hand.

Use Scarlet Great Sin: Omen of the Evil God (Third Tier) as the main body to devour Scarlet Great Sin: Kill to Feed Kill (Second Tier)?

"Yes."

The scarlet radiance surged brilliantly.

When Bai Cangshu returned holding the Scarlet Drop Card, he found that none of them had left. He casually shook the Drop Card, his smile unchanged.

"This is the ransom The Heaven should have paid me long ago."

Life of Silence nodded. She did not care about such slaughter in the slightest, and instead said,

"How wonderful, the Scarlet Great Sin~"

A hint of longing actually appeared in her eyes. This silver-gray-haired girl had always seemed to Bai Cangshu like a doll lacking vitality.

She rarely revealed any expression or desire.

Now, her lips parted slightly, and her gaze became somewhat livelier than usual. Terrifying killing intent flowed from her unconsciously.

Li Qingzi felt a chill rise section by section from the base of her spine. That killing intent was far more terrifying than when she usually felt Mercenary Tao release Satsui no Hado.

Bai Cangshu crouched down and met Life of Silence’s gaze. Within those eyes lay what seemed like mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

He revealed an identical smile and extended his hand.

"I have a feeling we’ll make good partners, Your Excellency."

This silver-gray-haired girl was an anomaly too!