# Chapter 1626: The Terrifying Assassin
Although Zhang Ruochen had retreated to the corner of the VIP room, appearing harmless and innocuous, the thin man showed no intention of letting him off.
"Slap."
The thin man's palm struck his belt.
Immediately, three silver iron balls flew out from the belt. Two of them flew toward Prince Luo Nan and Yin Peng respectively.
The third one flew straight toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Even a Half-Saint King like me isn't being spared."
Zhang Ruochen let out a light sigh, grabbed the Abyssal Ancient Sword, activated a burst of perfect power, and met the attack head-on.
"Whoosh."
Two three-foot-long sharp blades grew out of the silver iron ball, spinning rapidly in midair, stirring up whirlwind-like cyclones as sword qi slashed outward in all directions.
The silver iron ball moved with extreme speed, unpredictable and eerie.
"Bang bang."
Caught off guard, Prince Luo Nan was struck seven times in succession. Bright sparks flew from his ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifact-grade armor.
The powerful force contained in the blades sent Prince Luo Nan's body spinning like a top, flying backward and slamming heavily into the wall. He was left completely dazed and disoriented.
Yin Peng fared little better. The silver iron ball forced him into a flustered retreat, and he was slashed four or five times across his body. Only by relying on the powerful defense of his wings did he manage to withstand the blows.
At this moment, both Yin Peng and Prince Luo Nan were terrified. With their level of cultivation, they couldn't even defeat the two iron balls their opponent had released.
If the thin man himself were to strike, wouldn't he be able to kill them with ease?
Deep regret filled their hearts. They shouldn't have tried to play the hero. When the thin man made his move, they should have gone all out to attack the Wusheng Blood Prison. Perhaps they might have already escaped by now.
Unfortunately, regret came too late.
The silver iron ball attacked again, forcing them to continue responding with all their strength. How could they spare any energy to attack the Wusheng Blood Prison?
The thin man grabbed a twelve-foot-long spear, pitch-black and ancient-looking, with electric light intertwining along its shaft. With a clean, decisive thrust, he stabbed straight toward Dan Ling Wang.
The spear shaft was like a demon pillar, the spear tip like a divine spike.
Dan Ling Wang's cultivation was not ordinary. She responded calmly, channeling a large amount of crimson flames from the palms of both jade-like hands, condensing them into the shape of a peony flower, like a hellish red lotus blooming.
In an instant, the temperature in the VIP room skyrocketed. Aside from those still fighting, everything else was reduced to ashes.
Dan Ling Wang cultivated the first technique of the Peony Clan, the "Refining Hell Art." Although it couldn't compare to the eighty-one techniques on the "Supreme Divine Technique Ranking," cultivating it to its peak still offered a chance to become a god.
How could a technique that could lead directly to the divine realm be weak?
The Refining Hell Flame stored within Dan Ling Wang's body was virtually inexhaustible. She continuously spewed it out, making the peony flower crystalline and translucent, as if it had turned solid.
"Boom."
The thin man thrust his spear fiercely, colliding with the peony flower.
A deafening sound erupted in the VIP room, and violent sacred energy surged in all directions.
Prince Luo Nan, Yin Peng, and the two silver iron balls were all sent flying by the powerful sacred energy storm, crashing into the walls in a rather disheveled manner.
"The space here is too narrow. My speed advantage is completely useless." Yin Peng was quite frustrated.
A sharp gleam appeared in Prince Luo Nan's eyes. "It seems I have to use the Saint Power Talisman to end this battle quickly."
Before coming to the Truth Heaven Domain, a Great Saint-level powerhouse from his mother's clan had given Prince Luo Nan a Saint Power Talisman. It was said that activating the talisman's power would allow him to briefly unleash strength comparable to a Seven-Step Saint King.
However, the talisman paper could barely withstand the power of a Seven-Step Saint King. This precious Saint Power Talisman would shatter after a single use.
"Brother Yin Peng, hold them off for a moment. Once I activate the Saint Power Talisman's power, I'll destroy them with a single punch." Prince Luo Nan pressed his palms together, rapidly circulating the sacred energy within his body.
From a distance came the soft sound of "crack."
The crystalline peony flower was shattered by the spear, breaking into clusters of flame fragments that filled the VIP room.
Dan Ling Wang's face was as pale as paper. She stared at the thin man standing amidst the sea of flames as if looking at a death-dealing god of slaughter, intense fear evident in her eyes.
But the thin man didn't continue attacking her. Instead, he charged forward, his long spear thrusting fiercely toward Prince Luo Nan, who was in the midst of activating the Saint Power Talisman.
"First, get past me."
Yin Peng's hands transformed into golden claws as he mobilized sacred dao rules and unleashed a mid-rank sacred art.
"Roc Splits the Sea."
Not only sacred dao rules but also truth rules were integrated into his claws. Yin Peng's power surged to its peak. The force of this claw strike could likely severely wound a Three-Step Saint King-level powerhouse.
The thin man spat out two cold words: "Ignorant."
"Bang."
The spear was indestructible, piercing through Yin Peng's claws like breaking through two layers of paper, stabbing through his chest and striking Prince Luo Nan right between the eyebrows.
With a single spear thrust, both Saint King-level experts were severely wounded simultaneously.
Moreover, the Saint Power Talisman imprinted on Prince Luo Nan's brow was shattered, losing its intended effect.
Yin Peng and Prince Luo Nan collapsed to the ground. One had blood flowing from his chest and hands, while the other clutched his brow tightly, appearing extremely pained.
"Killer puppets, kill them."
The thin man withdrew his blood-drenched spear, issued an order to the two silver iron balls, and walked toward Dan Ling Wang.
The two silver iron balls emitted a "squeaking, grinding" sound. Half a breath later, they transformed into two one-meter-tall humanoid metal killers. They wielded twin blades, and the aura they emitted was as powerful as that of a Saint King.
Neither Yin Peng nor Prince Luo Nan were ordinary cultivators. They quickly suppressed their injuries, stood up as fast as possible, and activated various defensive measures.
"To be able to refine Saint King-level killer puppets and produce three at once... Who exactly are you?" Prince Luo Nan's expression turned extremely grim.
Killer puppets were forged from meteor star diamond, an extremely hard material.
Moreover, the more powerful the killer puppet, the longer it needed to be nurtured. Killer puppets like the three the thin man had released—each comparable to a Three-Step Saint King—would likely require over a thousand years of nurturing in a puppet blood pool, with constant infusion of sacred soul power, to be refined.
What kind of person could command three such killer puppets? Surely not an ordinary assassin king?
Life was precious.
Facing such a terrifying figure as the thin man, Dan Ling Wang, Prince Luo Nan, and Yin Peng all felt a chill running down their spines. The shadow of death loomed over them.
Just moments ago, Dan Ling Wang had struck with all her might against the VIP room's walls, but she couldn't even dent them. This made her heart sink to the bottom.
Suddenly, the thin man sensed something. He spun around sharply, fixing his gaze on the dragon clan man standing in the corner, his eyes narrowing into slits.
He distinctly remembered releasing three killer puppets, one of which was sent to attack that dragon clan man.
But now, only two killer puppets remained in the VIP room.
Where had the third one gone?
From the very beginning, the thin man's attention had been focused on Dan Ling Wang, Prince Luo Nan, and Yin Peng. He hadn't given a single thought to a Half-Saint King.
But now, with the instinct of an assassin, the thin man suddenly felt that the most troublesome person in the VIP room might very well be this Half-Saint King.
Dan Ling Wang, Prince Luo Nan, and Yin Peng also noticed this strange phenomenon, all showing expressions of surprise.
Earlier, when the silver iron ball flew toward Zhang Ruochen, he had raised the Abyssal Ancient Sword to meet it.
But the silver iron ball possessed immense strength and was extremely hard. Even the sharpness of the Abyssal Ancient Sword couldn't destroy it.
Of course, the silver iron ball had its weaknesses.
It was a lifeless object, controlled by strands of soul power. It lacked strong reasoning ability, only knowing how to execute the thin man's orders and kill.
The terrifying speed of the silver iron ball posed no real threat to Zhang Ruochen.
So, Zhang Ruochen used the Space Freeze technique, freezing the silver iron ball for an instant. In that instant, he stored it inside the Water Star Gourd.
It was worth noting that after breaking through to the Saint King realm, Zhang Ruochen could now use Space Freeze even in the Heavenly Court realm.
The thin man fixed his gaze on Zhang Ruochen and said coldly, "I didn't expect to misjudge someone. So you're not a Half-Saint King at all, but a Dragon King of the dragon clan. There are only so many Dragon Kings in the Truth Heaven Domain, and I have them all recorded. But you're not among them."
In the dragon clan, reaching the Saint King realm earned one the title of "Dragon King."
Zhang Ruochen remained silent, simply standing on guard against the thin man.
Dan Ling Wang's almond-shaped eyes stared at the Abyssal Ancient Sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.
"Even if you won't reveal your identity, it doesn't matter. Just return my killer puppet to me, stand aside, and don't interfere with my business. I might spare your life. After all, killing you brings me no benefit." The thin man said this.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't believe him.
From the very beginning, Zhang Ruochen had no intention of interfering. Yet the thin man still released a killer puppet to try to kill him. This showed that the man had an extremely heavy killing nature and was not the kind of assassin with principles.
Zhang Ruochen finally spoke: "A killer puppet comparable to a Three-Step Saint King is extremely precious. How could I possibly return it to you?"
"Since you choose death, I'll grant it to you."
The thin man's eyes turned cold. He took out a golden silk pouch, opened it, and hundreds of black poisonous insects flew out.
These insects split into three waves.
The largest wave flew toward Zhang Ruochen. The other two waves flew toward Prince Luo Nan and Yin Peng.
"Ah... it's... it's Three-Legged Corpse-Eating Insects..." Yin Peng's screams rang out.
The sacred energy Yin Peng released was devoured by the black poisonous insects. Even the hard golden scales on his body were gnawed through. Other defensive measures seemed completely useless against them.
"Crack, crack."
The black poisonous insects burrowed into Yin Peng's body, frantically devouring his flesh and blood.
In just a short time, Yin Peng's body became withered, reduced to only skin and bones. A few more breaths later, even the skin and bones on the ground were eaten clean.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen, Dan Ling Wang, and Prince Luo Nan felt an icy chill run through their entire bodies, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.