The five doors vanished, the Multiplication Technique disappeared, the Dragon Transformation state vanished, and the Flame Demon bloodline disappeared. Li Xi returned to his normal human appearance.
The man in black walked up to Li Xi, placing one hand on his head. In the last moment of Li Xi's life, he felt a force invade his mind, flipping through his memories like an open book, seeing everything clearly.
His body grew colder and colder. The simple act of opening his eyes, something he did every day, now felt like an insurmountable burden, a crushing weight of powerlessness.
"So, an otherworlder. What a pity."
This was the second sentence Li Xi heard from the man in black. Then, his consciousness completely vanished. Even the two Tailed Beasts sealed within the spatial dimension fell silent.
Just as Li Xi closed his eyes completely, two E-rank mercenaries outside the city, who were desperately completing a mission, suddenly dissolved into white smoke and disappeared.
Looking at the three corpses, the man in black took Li Xi's spatial ring, retrieved a small bottle from it, and then, as if discarding trash, threw the spatial ring back near Li Xi's body.
With a wave of his hand, the surrounding dark space dispersed, revealing Li Xi's original pink bedroom.
"He's an otherworlder, and no one can learn this so-called ninjutsu system. Therefore, I don't need to eliminate anyone else. Our agreement is fulfilled." The man in black seemed to be speaking to someone, but other than himself, there was no other living being in the place.
The man in black left, vanishing as if he had never existed in this world, leaving not a single trace in the room.
Time slowly ticked by. Of the three corpses lying in pools of blood, one pair of eyelids seemed to crack open a sliver. The eye beneath subtly shifted, and finding no one around, it immediately opened, revealing a three-tomoe Sharingan.
Li Xi opened his eyes, but as soon as his left eye opened, it closed again. Only his right eye could still see. This was the price of using Izanagi: the permanent loss of sight in one eye.
Looking at Ais and Avril beside him, who still wore smiles even in death, Li Xi trembled silently. Honor, levels, money, status – all had crumbled in an instant the moment the man in black appeared. Everything he had protected had dissolved into thin air.
Everything was an illusion. Only strength was real. Even as a legendary mercenary sung by thousands, he was as easily crushed as an ant by someone stronger.
Li Xi had never hated so much, nor had he ever felt so powerless. His uncontrollably trembling shoulders bore the weight of the most solemn vows.
"I swear by my life, I will avenge you!"
"I swear by my life, I will make him regret today's actions."
"I swear by my life, my beloved, I will bring you back to life, even if I have to defy the entire world!"
The three-tomoe Sharingan in his right eye spun wildly as Li Xi swore with his life, then connected, expanded, and lengthened.
Li Xi picked up the spatial ring that the man in black had discarded. He probed it with his spiritual power. Except for the Divine Power Crystal, which Princess Fimer had awarded him as a quest reward, and had disappeared, everything else was intact.
"I thank you for your disdain."
Li Xi took out a magic scroll, unrolled it on the ground, and with a simple activation, Ais and Avril's corpses vanished, absorbed into the scroll.
This type of magic scroll could freeze space. Regardless of their state when stored, or how long they were kept, as long as it was within the scroll's effective period, stored items would be frozen at the moment they were put in. Sudan Novels Network.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Three shadow clones appeared and immediately used transformation techniques, lying on the ground. Three blood-soaked corpses appeared.
Li Xi took out a cat-faced mask and put it on. "Li Xi is dead. I am the avenger, Richard."
He dared not linger in his own room. He couldn't even eat the meal Avril had just prepared. Li Xi vanished from his home.
His home was no longer safe, nor was Kado City. He could no longer control the Konoha Merchant Group. His old friends, and all traces of his past life, had to be cleaned up. From this day forward, there was no such person as Li Xi in the world.
The enemy's strength was beyond Li Xi's imagination. They were beyond the level of an eight-star existence. Perhaps level nine, or… a divine saintly form.
But no matter which it was, it was not something Li Xi could contend with now. The only thing he could do was secretly accumulate strength. With the system… vengeance.
Although the deaths of Ais and Avril pained Li Xi deeply, it was not impossible to revive them. In this world of gods, the God of Death ruled the underworld. All souls returned to the underworld after death. As long as Li Xi's strength was sufficient, even the God of Death would have to obediently return Ais and Avril's souls.
Shortly after Li Xi left, a small black bat, in a frenzy, flew into the room. Upon seeing Avril's corpse lying on the ground, it froze, its gaze fixed as if it would turn into a fossil in millions of years. It didn't even notice the other two corpses. This was Avril's contracted magical beast, the black dragon Armandara.
Had her divine descendant master, whom she had only recognized for a few months, actually died? Was this a joke?
The black dragon Armandara truly couldn't imagine it. She had been peacefully sleeping just now. Although she had left the underground world and her volcano, the gentle breeze and inexhaustible delicacies on the surface had made Armandara linger. But the sudden severing of the master-servant contract threw Armandara into a panic.
A master-servant contract could only be broken by the master actively dissolving it, or if one of the parties died. There was no third possibility.
Armandara had just begun to live a decadent life, how could she have lost it all?
On Konoha Street, merchant groups and mercenaries bustled back and forth. The clanging of hammers from the dwarves and their apprentices sounded like a exquisite musical performance. The normally chaotic noise became beautiful.
The shops of the Konoha Merchant Group were filled with the sounds of haggling. Weapons personally crafted by dwarves, as soon as they were displayed, were invariably bought up at the fastest speed.
Li Xi, wearing a mask, watched as a child dwarf named Iron Hammer Stone, stole a drink of mead behind his parents' backs. He was hung up by his mother and beaten with a wooden stick. But after a long time, the dwarf, not even ten years old, got drunk and fell asleep in mid-air. His mother, enraged, drank several large mugs of mead to calm her nerves.
"Esteemed guest, I see you've been standing here for quite some time. May I know what you wish to purchase? I am Sinis, from the Konoha Merchant Group's security team. I can introduce you to our goods."
Sinis sized up the man wearing a cat-faced mask. In broad daylight, he wore a loose-fitting garment that concealed his physique and a peculiar mask. Standing motionless at the street corner, he looked like he wasn't a good person.
Sinis, who had rushed over immediately after being notified by his subordinates, spoke of introducing goods, but his hand never left the hilt of his sword.
Sinis was only level four. Among Li Xi's opponents and friends of long standing, he was considered to be at the lowest strength level. However, Sinis had provided Li Xi with immense help when he first became a mercenary, teaching him many valuable lessons.
Seeing Sinis, who was now regarding him with hostility, Li Xi, or rather Richard…
"I apologize. I'll leave once I'm done."
Li Xi left Konoha Street and Kado City. He was now the source of disaster. Only by distancing himself from everyone could they avoid being implicated by him.
But would they truly be safe?
The Konoha Merchant Group, under Avril's management, had generated astonishing wealth in a short period, to the point where even Kado City's guard force could be said to have been bought off as the Konoha Merchant Group's private army. Now that Li Xi and the others were dead, this enormous void of wealth would inevitably lead to countless disputes.
"I'm sorry, my friends. I hope you are safe."
Although Li Xi had left, a transformed shadow clone remained before he departed. Information from within Kado City continued to pour in.
The day after the three died, Bishop Magus Dik of the Magic Temple visited. In broad daylight, he discovered the three corpses. Dik did not hide this news from outsiders, so within moments, the entire Kado City knew of the deaths of Li Xi and the others.
Simultaneously, countless intelligence reports, transmitted via magic, spread in all directions across the continent, all stating that the future mercenary star had been assassinated in his home.
...
"Crash!"
A delicate, gold-inlaid ceramic teacup was dropped and shattered. Princess Philin, incredulous, took the message from Grand Princess Fimmer.
"You're lying to me, aren't you?"
"You don't agree to me and Brother Xi being together, so you're using fake news to deceive me?"
Philin's voice trembled, and her pleading gaze filled Fimmer with guilt. If she hadn't consistently obstructed them, her sister would not be this despairing.
"I'm not lying to you. The news is absolutely true. If you don't believe me, you can go to Kado City. His body is right there."
"I'm going. I'm going now." Philin, with her stubborn refusal to accept anything she hadn't seen with her own eyes, turned and rushed out the door.
Fimmer sighed and said to Philin's hurried footsteps, "Alas, come back. I'll have Kellichia accompany you. That way, I can be at ease."
An old woman, whose entire body seemed to burn like flames, emerged from behind Fimmer. Her face was etched with a hint of sorrow. She had thought highly of Li Xi, and now that he had just left, such a thing had happened. "Princess Philin, I will accompany you."
"Sister…"
"Go. You don't need to worry about me."
"Thank you, Sister."
"Return quickly."
Just as Kellichia was about to leave with Philin, a spatial rift appeared in the study. Alder, who had left only a few days ago, emerged from the spatial rift.
"You dare come back? Are you not afraid of death?" Kellichia was already seething with anger due to the news of Li Xi's death. This bothersome Alder daring to appear at this time was like running into a loaded gun. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to give Alder a thorough beating.
"Wait, wait, wait with the beating. Can't you control your fiery temper? Let me finish. I've come on official business this time." Alder bowed respectfully to Fimmer and Philin, then produced a spatial ring. "Greetings to the two Princesses. My lord has entrusted me with delivering this spatial ring to Princess Philin."
Philin took the ring. "What's inside?"
"My lord has also received the news of Li Xi's death and knows that Princess Philin will definitely go. Therefore, he has provided two hundred combat puppets for Princess Philin's self-defense and has sent me to protect Princess Philin personally."
"Who needs your protection? With me here, you have no place!" Kellichia exploded, seeing that Alder dared to usurp her role.
Philin looked at the spatial ring in her hand, then at her sister. Could this brother, who was always at odds with them, have such good intentions?
Fimmer's eyes drooped as if recalling something. She said to Philin, "It's fine, accept it."
She then said to Alder, "Then I'll trouble you."
"It is my honor." Receiving Fimmer's approval, Alder, despite his advanced age, was as happy as an elementary school student receiving a reward from their teacher.
"Grand Princess?" Kellichia was worried. How could she let Philin be protected by Alder? Wasn't that like sending a lamb into a tiger's den?
"It's fine. Since you don't need to go, tear open the space. I'll send three thousand Royal Guards to accompany Philin. What kind of protection is it for a princess to have only a few puppets?"
...
In Kado City, in front of Li Xi's house.
Sinis, leading Taichi and the other merchant group guards, firmly held the gate. Over a hundred adult dwarves, wielding heavy hammers, confronted the opposing party.
"Hurry and move aside! We're all here to check on Mr. Li Xi's injuries. Can you afford to delay Mr. Li Xi's treatment if something happens?"
A fat merchant dressed in expensive silk robes stood beside eight-year-old Garrodo Morton. Behind him stood over a thousand guards from various merchant teams and Kado City's guard force. Beros was loudly berating Sinis and the dwarves guarding the gate. If he didn't know his background, he would truly believe his anxious demeanor was that of a good friend of Li Xi's.
This merchant was none other than Beros, the wealthiest merchant in Kado City before the establishment of the Konoha Merchant Group.
When Li Xi first transmigrated, he had even undertaken a quest at Beros's castle. At that time, Li Xi could barely get an audience with one of Beros's stewards, let alone see Beros himself.
But since the establishment of the Konoha Merchant Group, Beros's old-fashioned business, reliant on political connections, was crushed by the Konoha Merchant Group with no ability to resist. In businesses that overlapped with the Konoha Merchant Group, he had long since closed down, leaving only some old ventures to barely survive.
Originally, due to Li Xi's rising fame, Beros had considered relocating his business to another city, realizing that competing with a merchant group possessing such explosive power as the Konoha Merchant Group would lead to his swift demise.
Beros's face showed more urgency than anyone else's, but in his heart, he was ecstatic. Upon receiving the news of the deaths of Li Xi, Avril, and Ais, he had almost suspected that the goddess of fate herself had descended upon his home and embraced him. Otherwise, how could such good fortune befall him?
Although he didn't know who had killed Li Xi and the other two, Beros would be grateful to them for the rest of his life in his heart. They were his benefactors!