Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 31: The Assassin’s Agent

Land within the Third Ring Road of Shendu was incredibly expensive; even a storefront of just three to five square meters commanded a monthly rent of at least five figures. As for real estate prices, they had soared to six figures—a figure that left the salaried class sighing in despair. Prices for certain school-district properties would surge like a tidal wave every July and August. Inside a high-end internet café called “Xundao,” located in the bustling downtown area of the East Third Ring Road, the man who had just finished his call with Lu Renjia wore a look of relief. In his early forties and already slightly balding, his baggy white basketball tank top did nothing to conceal his beer belly—as big as a life preserver—paired with cropped pants and sandals. With a harmless smile often playing on his face, no one would ever believe that this seemingly ordinary internet café owner was actually a hitman broker. Inside the server room, a teenager with an unconventional hairstyle—his complexion pale from years of avoiding sunlight—moved his hands with lightning speed, typing command after command on the keyboard. The monitor displayed footage of Lu Renjia’s robberies. With a tap of the Enter key, each video clip—less than sixty seconds long—was slowed down a hundredfold. As the camera zoomed in and various data analyses were applied, the screen actually displayed Lu Renjia’s metrics for explosive power, speed, and endurance. “Fatso… this Lu Renjia is no ordinary guy. His endurance, speed, explosive power, and reflexes are all three times the average—that’s the realm of a Ming Jin martial artist… Of course, if he’s holding anything back, those numbers might be even higher… Are you sure you want to invite him here?” the pale-faced teenager chuckled. Little did they know that Lu Renjia had gone easy on them during the robbery. If Lu Renjia, a second-rate martial artist, had unleashed his full power, it was doubtful whether the pale-faced teenager and “Fat Guy” would have dared to target him. The middle-aged man known as “Fatso” was the one who had called Lu Renjia, the guy who claimed to be a hitman’s agent. Fatso shrugged, a good-natured smile spreading across his face. “What’s the big deal? He’s just a scapegoat anyway… Besides, isn’t moving around a regular occurrence for both of us? Xiao Bai… didn’t you check this out thoroughly? Are you sure this Lu Renjia doesn’t have any connections?” The teenager known as Xiao Bai was one of Asia’s top ten hackers. He and Fat Guy had a complicated relationship; ten years ago, Fat Guy had saved Xiao Bai’s life, and the two had become partners ever since. Xiao Bai glanced at Fei Lao, unscrewed the cap of a bottle of ice-cold Coke, took a huge gulp, belched, and said, “I’ve even traced his family tree back eight generations. This Lu Renjia isn’t a former special forces soldier, nor is he a disciple of any internal martial arts sect, and he’s certainly not part of the ‘Door God’s’ crew…This guy is nothing more than a third-rate vocational college graduate… As for why he has such fighting skills… maybe he got his hands on an internal martial arts manual and trained on his own…” The Fat Guy nodded, raised his beer, took a swig, exhaled a cloud of alcohol fumes, and sighed, “It took us a full seven years to propel the ‘Ghost Shadow’ name to the number three spot in Asia… But who would’ve thought that ‘Ghost Shadow,’ that idiot, would actually get into a street race with someone over some whore? Damn it… He’s off the hook now that he’s dead… but we’re left with a mountain of debt to clean up after him…” The “Ghost” Fatso was referring to was his top asset, the “Social Cleaner”—ranked third in Asia. Every time “Ghost” was called upon, the fee required was at least seven figures in US dollars. Xiao Bai, who’d been with Fatso for ten years, knew full well just how much effort Fatso had put into propelling “Ghost Shadow” to the number three spot in Asia. It could be said that over the past seven years, Fatso had poured his heart and soul into “Ghost Shadow.” “Ghost Shadow” was originally a disciple of an internal martial arts sect who excelled in the art of disguise. He was expelled from his sect for violating its rules, but his martial arts cultivation had already reached the late stage of “Hidden Force.” In the martial arts world today, the levels of Internal Martial Arts masters are divided into four tiers: Ming Jin, An Jin, Wei Jin, and Hua Jin, with each tier further subdivided into early, middle, and late stages. Every master of the “Hua Jing” level in internal martial arts is a figure whose name is etched in history—figures such as Huang Feihong and “Big Knife” Wang Wu from the early Republic of China era, or Huo Yuanjia, Chen Zhen, and Ip Man, who emerged from the turmoil of war that engulfed all of China. It can be said that with each breakthrough to a new realm, a practitioner’s physical capabilities double. A Ming Jin practitioner’s physical attributes reach three times those of an average person. Upon advancing to An Jin, attributes such as strength, speed, endurance, and reflexes increase once more, reaching six times the average level. Martial artists who advance to the Micro-Force realm see their physical capabilities reach twelve times those of an average person. As for “Transformed Force” masters, every one of them is a figure immortalized in history; it is said that their physical capabilities reach twenty-four times those of an average person. However, nowadays, Hua Jing masters of internal martial arts rarely take action, and every known Wei Jing master is either the head of a martial arts sect or a regional overlord. A master like “Ghost Shadow,” who is in the late stages of An Jing and just one step away from Wei Jing, is considered a formidable figure who roams the land with impunity. The “Door God” mentioned by Xiao Bai belongs to a mysterious organization under the Huaxia Security Bureau, reporting directly to the nation’s highest leader. It is said that even the outer-circle members of this organization possess Ming Jing cultivation, which speaks to the immense power of the “Door God.” For the past seven years, Fatso—a former mercenary—has served as their agent, using his extensive network to secure assignments and supply “Ghost Shadow” with weapons, while Xiao Bai, a top-tier hacker, has utilized his formidable hacking skills to provide all manner of intelligence on their targets. The three worked together seamlessly. Over the years, the elusive “Ghost Shadow” gradually earned a solid reputation with a 100% success rate. Three years ago, under Fatso’s meticulous planning, “Ghost Shadow” eliminated the “Social Cleaners”—who had previously held the third-place ranking in Asia—and successfully claimed that position for themselves. Overnight, the name “Ghost Shadow” became a household name. A month ago, Fatso, acting as their agent, took on a major job—a five-million-dollar commission from the Inagawa-gumi, Japan’s third-largest yakuza organization. The assignment required “Ghost Shadow,” Asia’s third-ranked “social cleaner,” to travel to Hong Kong on the 10th of next month to eliminate a target. Anyone worth five million US dollars to the Inagawa-gumi was obviously no ordinary figure. The target was Kazuo Yasumoto, acting chairman of Japan’s second-largest yakuza organization, the Sumiyoshi-kai—the group’s third-in-command. It is said that Kazuo Kanemoto will travel to Hong Kong next month to negotiate a business deal with the local triad, the Ho Sing Wo. If this deal goes through, the Inagawa-gumi will never be able to surpass its arch-rival, the Sumiyoshi-kai. That is why the Inagawa-gumi is spending five million US dollars to hire “Ghost,” Asia’s third-ranked “social cleaner,” to carry out the hit. According to the unwritten rules of the “social cleaner” trade, after obtaining “Ghost Shadow’s” consent, the agent “Fatso” secured this contract and collected a 30 percent commission. If “Ghost Shadow” fails to show up when the time comes, “Fatso” will undoubtedly face brutal retaliation from the Inagawa-gumi. Just as Fatso was working tirelessly to plan this mission for “Ghost,” the unpredictable “Ghost” actually got into a jealous spat with a wealthy young man over a house singer at a bar in Sanlitun—Shendu’s most famous district. In the end, the two agreed to settle the matter of who would win the singer’s affections through a high-speed car race. The haughty “Ghost” never imagined that after winning this one-sided race with his dazzling driving skills—just as he was wrapping his arm around the singer’s slender waist—the post-90s rich kid, who looked like a flower grown in a greenhouse, would suddenly lose his temper and floor the gas pedal. A Lamborghini accelerates from zero to 100 in just ten seconds—let alone a modified one. In such a short time, over a distance of less than forty meters, even “Ghost Shadow”—with his late-stage Hidden Force cultivation—couldn’t dodge it. When Fatso saw “Ghost’s” mangled corpse, he nearly fainted. He had already collected the deposit; if “Ghost” didn’t show up in Hong Kong by the deadline, Fatso, as his agent, would be the first to suffer the consequences. Fatso’s first instinct was to run, but the thought of the Inagawa-gumi’s influence across Asia sent a chill down his spine. Moreover, given the Japanese people’s obsessive-compulsive nature, if “Ghost” didn’t show up in Hong Kong on the 10th of next month, it would undoubtedly be seen as an insult to the Inagawa-gumi. The thought of being hunted down by the Inagawa-gumi—Japan’s third-largest yakuza syndicate—sent Fatso into a panic. In a moment of desperation, Fatso recalled another unwritten rule of the “social cleanup” trade: if a mission failed and the operative died, as “Ghost Shadow’s” manager, Fatso would only need to refund the deposit to walk away unscathed. Fortunately, “Ghost” was a master of disguise; aside from the dead, only Xiao Bai and Fatso knew his true face. So Fatso hatched a plan to find a scapegoat and return the deposit to the Inagawa-gumi—a case of “paying a small price to avoid a greater disaster.” With Fatso’s encouragement, Xiao Bai had spent the past half-month hacking into public surveillance systems across all of China, and had inadvertently discovered Lu Renjia. Just as Fatso was lost in memories of the past, Xiaobai spoke up: “Fatso… if it weren’t for this situation requiring a scapegoat to take the fall, I’m sure this Lu Renjia could have become a top performer in the ‘social cleanup crew’ business in just two or three years…” The Fat Guy took a sip of beer, glanced at Lu Renjia’s face—which couldn’t have been more ordinary—on the monitor, and nodded. “Yeah… An ordinary face saves him the money for plastic surgery, and all his stats are three times higher than average. It won’t take two or three years—just one… I’m confident I can mold him into what he needs to be… Sigh,at worst, I’ll just have to pay this unlucky guy a little extra…” Meanwhile, although he knew the person behind the anonymous call harbored ill intentions toward him, the mandatory mission issued by the “Evil God System” left Lu Renjia with no choice but to accept it. Moreover, with a sin level of only two stars, Lu Renjia simply couldn’t resist the temptation of traveling through thousands of small worlds in his physical form. At that moment, in the studio apartment where Lu Renjia lived, claw-like shadows darted about. A series of whistling sounds pierced the air, much like arrows leaving the bowstring. What Lu Renjia was performing was the “Eagle Claw Fist”—a martial art created by Yin Tianzheng, the White-Browed Eagle King and one of the Four Great Dharma Kings of the Ming Sect in the world of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Demon Cult Leader*. As a top-tier martial artist at the peak of his realm, Yin Tianzheng’s creation was an E-class martial art on par with the *Shaolin Dragon Claw Fist*. The Nine-Form Eagle Claw Technique contains ninety-one variations—the culmination of White-Eyebrow Eagle King Yin Tianzheng’s lifelong dedication. Each move is ruthlessly precise, targeting the enemy’s vital points. But back in the real world, although Lu Renjia had cultivated the *Nine Yang Divine Art* to the “Nine Yang Circulation” realm thanks to the effects of the “Marrow-Cleansing Pill,” he was, at the end of the day, nothing more than a second-rate martial artist at the early stage. Consequently, the *Eagle Claw Fist*—a martial art rated E-class by the “Evil God System”—could currently only be executed by Lu Renjia up to the fourth form: “Eagle Claw Piercing the Heart.” “A young eagle spreads its wings…” “The Eagle Seizes the Sparrow…” “The Eagle Transforms into a Dove…” “Eagle Claw Piercing the Heart…” These four consecutive forms contain thirty-six variations. “Huu…” Exhaling a breath of stale air, Lu Renjia looked at his ten jade-white fingernails—each about five centimeters long—and nodded to himself, thinking, “The *Bone-Melting Cotton Palm* is too simple with just one move. With my current cultivation, I haven’t yet reached Hai Dafu’s level of being able to injure people from a distance… As for the *Eight Desolations and Six Heavens Sword Technique*, it’s not like I can carry a huge sword with me at all times…Skills like the *Frosty Cotton Palm*, *Demon-Subduing Sword Technique*, *Mighty Vajra Fist*, *Shadow-Following Leg*, *One Hundred and Eight Moves of the Mad Demon Staff Technique*, *Mighty Vajra Palm*, *Mighty Vajra Finger*, and *Compassionate Sword Technique*—though they’re also E-rank—don’t pack as much punch as the *Eagle Claw Hand* when executed with my current early-second-tier inner strength…It seems the best approach for this mission is to focus on cultivating the *Eagle Claw Technique* first… I don’t know if the opponent has firearms, so it would be safer to use this time to advance the *Invincible Vajra Body Divine Art* to the second level, the “Iron Bones” realm…” As for the Innate-level martial arts in the *Nine Yin Manual*, Lu Renjia decided to set them aside for the time being. With that in mind, Lu Renjia resumed his cultivation of the *Vajra Invincible Body Divine Art*. As one of the Shaolin School’s Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques, the *Vajra Invincible Body Divine Art* may seem, at first glance, to be a passive defensive art—much like the run-of-the-mill techniques in the martial arts world, such as the *Golden Bell Shield* or the *Iron Cloth Robe*—but in reality, it is quite different. Having once fought fiercely against Ao Bai—a man who had mastered the *Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Refinement Golden Bell Shield* to its highest level—Lu Renjia knew all too well just how terrifying that impenetrable, tank-like defense could be. The fact that the *Divine Art of the Indestructible Diamond Body* was rated as an E-class martial art by the “Evil God System” naturally speaks to its unique merits. The entire *Divine Art of the Indestructible Diamond Body* is divided into five levels. The first level is “Copper Skin.” Second Level: Iron Bones. Third Level: Impervious to Swords and Spears. Fourth Level: Immunity to Fire and Water. Fifth Level: Invincible Diamond Body. With Lu Renjia’s current mid-second-tier internal energy, combined with the fifty-fold increase in cultivation speed granted by the “Marrow-Cleansing Pill,” he was absolutely confident he could cultivate the *Invincible Vajra Body Divine Art* to the second level—the “Iron Bones” realm.