Chapter 367 - 350: Life Chart

Chapter 367: Chapter 350: Life Chart

Peng Anmin was originally the son of an ordinary fisherman from Leba Village in Heitan County, Nanjiang County.

His parents passed away from illness one after another when he was just a boy, leaving him and his younger sister to fend for themselves on a dilapidated fishing boat.

Life was incredibly harsh.

Every day, the siblings would work a sculling oar taller than they were, struggling to make a living amidst the wind and waves.

On good days, they could catch a few nets of fish, take them to the market, and trade them for a few dozen copper coins—barely enough to survive.

Even from their meager income, a fishing tax was skimmed off by the Fishery Steward who controlled the market.

More often, they would toil all day under the scorching sun or in the biting wind only for their nets to come up empty. They had no choice but to endure long nights with hungry stomachs, huddled in the swaying canopy of their boat.

Going hungry one meal and full the next was the normal state of their lives.

And so, soaked by the river’s waters and tormented by hunger, Peng Anmin struggled his way to the age of fourteen.

That year, misfortune struck again.

Years of malnutrition and the damp chill of the river caused his sister to fall gravely ill, never to recover.

Peng Anmin carried his sister on his back to the clinic in the county seat, but the cost of the diagnosis and medicine was a sum he couldn’t have afforded even if he’d saved for ten years without eating or drinking.

Seeing the pain on his sister’s face, Peng Anmin steeled his resolve and decided to sell himself into servitude at the home of Liu Dahu, the county’s wealthiest landowner.

The process of selling himself went surprisingly smoothly.

The Liu Family’s Steward inspected his physique, asked for his name and place of origin, and then had him recite his birth date and time as per custom, so it could be written into the indenture contract.

However, when the indenture contract was presented to Liu Dahu himself, he let out a sudden sound of surprise and ordered for Peng Anmin to be brought to him.

He called Peng Anmin into a private room and, with an exceptionally serious expression, told him a series of cryptic and baffling things.

Liu Dahu said his Life Chart was exceptionally unique. He was born under the sign of the Seven Kills, and it was an especially heavy influence, appearing in both the year and month pillars of his birth. This formed a "Kill, Break, Wolf" alignment, a one-in-ten-thousand configuration that destined him for conflict and hardship, his body brimming with overwhelming Evil Qi.

He explained that the early deaths of Peng Anmin’s parents and the suffering he and his sister endured were all because his Life Chart was too "hard"—his closest relatives couldn’t withstand his Evil Qi.

He proclaimed that if this curse wasn’t broken, even if Peng Anmin married and had children, he would bring them harm, live out his days in solitude, and ultimately meet a bad end.

At the time, Peng Anmin listened in a daze; "Seven Kills," "alignment," "conflict"—he didn’t understand any of it.

But he understood Liu Dahu’s final words perfectly.

He had a way to break the curse, but it required Peng Anmin to promise to do one thing for him.

If he agreed, not only would he be spared from servitude, but Liu Dahu would also adopt his sister as a goddaughter, bring her into his mansion, give her fine clothes and delicacies, hire a famous doctor to treat her illness, and guarantee her a life without a single worry.

For the sake of his sister’s life, Peng Anmin agreed with a nod, barely hesitating at all.

From that day forward, the siblings’ destinies were turned upside down.

They were brought into the Liu Mansion, where they wore silk clothes they had never seen before and ate fine rice and meat.

His sister’s illness was quickly cured, and the color returned to her cheeks day by day.

As for Peng Anmin, he spent over a year in the Liu Mansion being well-fed and cared for, growing much stronger in the process.

One day, more than a year later, Liu Dahu summoned him, gave him an address and a Token, and told him to go to a certain place to learn a craft.

Only when he arrived did Peng Anmin realize it was a secret base for the Seven Kills Association, a mysterious organization in the Jianghu.

The Seven Kills Association was extremely harsh on its new recruits.

But drawing on the ruthless tenacity he had developed since childhood just to survive, he made rapid progress.

After he broke through to the Spirit Realm, the association arranged for him to become the Vice Gang Leader of the Xinyi Bang.

And it was not long after he became Vice Gang Leader that Liu Dahu, the man who had changed his destiny, found him once more.

This time, Liu Dahu revealed his other identity.

Dean of the Jiangzhou Riverway Office.

He informed Peng Anmin that his placement in the Seven Kills Association had been part of a larger plan. His true mission was to act as a secret agent for the Court, gathering intelligence from within the organization and awaiting orders.

Liu Dahu also arranged a handler for him, a single point of contact.

He promised that as long as Peng Anmin performed meritorious service, he could leave the Seven Kills Association, and the Government Office would arrange a legitimate Official Position for him.

Peng Anmin accepted the mission.

He thought he would be able to extract himself after a few successful missions, but who would have known he would remain undercover for six long years.

He accomplished much and faced countless dangers, but the promise of his extraction grew more and more distant.

Three years, and then another three years; he had almost forgotten who he truly was.

Chen Li listened quietly. He had little interest in Peng Anmin’s personal history. "Where is the Seven Kills Association’s main nest?" he asked directly. "Take us there."

"Senior, please understand, the Seven Kills Association is incredibly secretive. I don’t even know the locations of the larger bases, let alone the main headquarters."

Peng Anmin shook his head with a bitter smile. "The base where I trained in Martial Arts changed locations every six months. Each time we moved, it was in the dead of night, and we were blindfolded. I never knew where I was. My superiors have kept me dormant in the Xinyi Bang mainly in the hopes that I, as a lead, could eventually uncover the location of the Seven Kills Association’s main headquarters."

Chen Li’s brow furrowed slightly. The answer wasn’t unexpected, but it was disappointing all the same.

He pressed on, "Then how do you normally contact the Seven Kills Association?"

Peng Anmin explained, "If we need to report something or request support, we first go to one of several fixed contact points to leave a secret sign. Someone will then come to meet us. The person who makes contact is never the same."

"They arrange for a sealed carriage, and once you’re inside, it’s impossible to get your bearings. The meeting place is different every time—sometimes a temple, sometimes an inn, even a gambling den or a horse market. There’s no pattern to it."

Bai San, who was listening from the side, sucked in a sharp breath and clucked his tongue. "This Seven Kills Association is too damn careful, aren’t they? More secretive than a mouse in its burrow! Boss, if what he says is true, how are we supposed to find them? It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

Chen Li remained silent.

An organization so tightly structured and secretive was indeed a tricky problem.

No wonder the Court had spent so many years trying to eradicate them, yet had never been able to find their core.

’However, if the first plan won’t work, then it’s time to enact the second.’

He then said, "Find a way to notify the Seven Kills Association. Tell them that the three Gang Leaders, along with the Hall Master of the Association’s Play Kill Hall, have fallen into the hands of an unknown power. Say they are in imminent danger and that the Association must send people to rescue them immediately."

The Hall Master of the Play Kill Hall?

Hearing those words, Peng Anmin’s head shot up. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes before being replaced by sudden understanding. "Senior, are you talking about Mr. Hai? He’s the Hall Master of the Play Kill Hall?!"

Chen Li nodded, confirming his guess.

In truth, not even Chen Li himself had expected Mr. Hai to be the Hall Master of the Play Kill Hall.

He had only learned Mr. Hai’s true identity after using A Dream of Millet Porridge to interrogate the leader of the Xinyi Bang.

Unfortunately, the Hall Master had been too shrewd. The moment he saw Chen Li use a Divine Soul Combat Technique, he immediately took poison and committed suicide, making it impossible to question him further.

Bai San cut in. "Hey, Old Peng, haven’t you been mixed up with the Seven Kills Association for decades? How could you not know there was a Hall Master right under your nose? For an undercover agent, you’re not very well-informed."

The bitter smile on Peng Anmin’s face deepened. "My friend, you don’t understand. The Seven Kills Association primarily operates through single points of contact. The higher-ups mostly wear special masks and never show their true faces. I’ve been in the Seven Kills Association for thirteen years, but to this day, I have never seen the real face of any of its leaders."

After hearing that, Bai San muttered, "’They’re really hiding that deep...’"

He scratched his head, then a thought struck him. "Hey, wait a minute, Old Peng. You just said you’ve been in the Seven Kills Association for thirteen years? You’ve been Vice Gang Leader for six of those years, so how long did it take you to break through to the Spirit Realm?"

Peng Anmin froze for a second before answering instinctively, "Seven years. Why?"

"Seven years?!"

Bai San shot up as if he were a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice jumping an octave. "It only took you seven years to go from starting your Martial Arts training to breaking through to the Spirit Realm?"

Peng Anmin was baffled by his extreme reaction. "My aptitude is poor, so my progress was slow. Of the batch of recruits I trained with, the fastest broke through to the Spirit Realm in only four years. Compared to that, I was one of the slow ones."

"Four years?!"

Bai San was utterly dumbfounded.

He counted on his fingers, then glanced at the ever-silent Gossip beside him, his face twisting into an expression of near-grief and indignation.

It had taken him nineteen years to break through to the Spirit Realm.

And he only succeeded after pledging allegiance to Chen Li and gaining access to an Inner Qi Heart Method and high-tier Medicinal Cuisine. Otherwise, he might never have broken through in his entire life.

And here was Peng Anmin, casually claiming that taking seven years was slow.

How was he supposed to stomach that?

Even Chen Li, however, frowned slightly.

His thoughts ran deeper than Bai San’s.

Cultivation of the Martial Dao required methodical, gradual progress.

Unless someone possessed peerless talent or was supported by a limitless supply of High-tier Medicinal Cuisine, it was absolutely impossible to break through to the Spirit Realm in just a few short years.

He looked at Peng Anmin, his gaze now grave and scrutinizing as he fired off a series of questions. "Did you practice Inner Cultivation or External Cultivation? What kind of Medicinal Cuisine did you consume? How often?"

Peng Anmin didn’t understand why this mysterious senior was suddenly so interested in his Cultivation history, but he didn’t dare to hide anything. He answered truthfully, "To answer you, Senior, I walked the path of External Cultivation. As for Medicinal Cuisine..."

He paused before continuing, "Before Blood Refining, we were given a monthly dose of a tonic for Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Essence. After I reached Blood Refining Perfection, I never consumed any other specialized Medicinal Cuisine. The Martial Arts we practiced emphasized practical combat, killing, and tempering one’s disposition; there was no need for over-reliance on external aids."

"What?!"

At these words, not only did Bai San and Gossip cry out in shock again.

Even Chen Li’s gaze sharpened abruptly. "How did you break through to the Spirit Realm?"

Peng Anmin felt uneasy under the intensity of their gazes. "After reaching Qi Realm Perfection, the association taught us the Seven Kills Heart Scripture. Our instructor told us that to open the meridians, we had to perform the act of seven kills—to attain our Dao through slaughter."

He paused, his voice dropping slightly. "After that, I was sent out to kill seven people. With each person I killed, the Seven Kills Heart Scripture circulated more smoothly, and my Inner Qi grew more condensed. Once I had killed all seven... the breakthrough just happened naturally."

"You broke through just by killing seven people?"

Bai San was aghast, his mouth hanging open. "What kind of heretical Cultivation Technique is that?"

Gossip also shook his head repeatedly, finding the notion absurd.

’If you could break through just by killing people, why would anyone bother with painstaking Cultivation? They might as well all become assassins.’

Chen Li asked no more questions. He casually tossed the half-eaten roasted chicken he was holding into the fire.

His finger shot out like lightning, tapping Peng Anmin’s Chest Acupoint.

Peng Anmin had no time to react. He only felt a gentle yet powerful stream of Qi penetrate his body, instantly unblocking his sealed Acupoints and meridians. His long-dormant Inner Qi began to slowly circulate once more.

But before he could rejoice, he sensed that same stream of Qi beginning to grind away his own Inner Qi.

"Senior?!"

Peng Anmin was horrified, thinking Chen Li was about to cripple his Martial Arts.

Chen Li did not reply.

His investigation had already made it clear: Peng Anmin’s Inner Qi was not normal. It exuded a violent, malevolent, bloodthirsty aura, completely unlike the Inner Qi of an ordinary Martial Artist.

At the very instant this wisp of Inner Qi was ground away and dissipated,

an extremely faint, almost transparent speck of dark red light emerged from the dissipating energy. Like a candle flame sputtering in the wind, it flickered once, about to merge into Peng Anmin’s flesh and blood and disappear completely.

’It’s really there!’

A brilliant light flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.

This red sigil was remarkably similar to the black sigil he had previously discovered within the Inner Qi of the Linglong Celestial Fragrance Scripture.

The only difference was that Linglong’s black sigil had been solid and eerie, whereas this red one appeared thin and dim, as if it could disintegrate at any moment. It wasn’t even a tenth as substantial as the black sigil.

In a flash, a thought crossed Chen Li’s mind. His Primordial Qi tightly enveloped and trapped the crumbling red sigil, extracting it from Peng Anmin’s meridians for a closer inspection.

’Is the Cultivation Technique itself flawed? Or is the person who created it the problem?’

Chen Li examined the sigil, his brow deeply furrowed as he sank into thought.

The three men didn’t dare disturb him, so they just sat to the side, silently gnawing on roasted chicken.