Bruno must not die yet.

Tarnison wanted to crush Bruno's bones one by one, slowly, painfully.

"Bring the Celestial Beast meat and Celestial Beast blood. We're leaving now," Tarnison ordered.

Executioner hesitated and said:

"Boss, do we really have to give that killer such a big reward? Why don't we just kill him instead, then—"

Tarnison replied calmly:

"He didn't give the exact location. He'll only hand Bruno over after he sees all the payment."

"Don't worry. We're only handing the items to him temporarily. Once we find Bruno… the killer dies too."

His gold coins were not that easy to take.

Soon, Tarnison left the Heavenly Gang's Mountain Division headquarters with Executioner and several other Warlock-Warriors.

Even without that assassin, Bruno was doomed.

Later tonight, the Heavenly Gang would strike against the Gaston Martial Hall.

The already-injured Nell Gaston would probably be forced to watch helplessly as his territory was swallowed by the Heavenly Gang.

At 11:30 PM, Tarnison arrived at the outskirts of District Eight.

He pulled out his communicator and contacted the assassin.

But the other party acted as if assessing the risk, first asking Tarnison to show the payment, then making him and Executioner wander around the outskirts in circles.

Tarnison understood this type well—

assassins who lived in the shadows were always cautious and paranoid.

Finally, close to midnight, the killer sent the real location.

Tarnison couldn't help feeling excited.

Soon, he would be able to torture that damn Bruno and avenge his son.

"Where is Bruno?"

Tarnison frowned as he looked at the figure in the trench coat standing in the distance.

The man didn't answer.

He simply stood there, staring toward District Eight as if waiting for something.

Tarnison slowly lost patience.

He nodded at Executioner, who immediately placed a box on the ground and opened it.

Inside were three jars of Celestial Beast blood and several chunks of Celestial Beast meat.

Bruno's eyes couldn't help glancing toward them.

He coughed a few times, lowered his voice, and said:

"Bruno is very close by. Don't worry. I swear on my honor—you'll see him soon."

Tarnison nodded and moved step by step toward Bruno.

Bruno glanced toward District Eight again and said:

"Wait. Not yet."

Tarnison stared at him, confused.

"Wait for what?"

Bruno didn't answer.

He was waiting for the Heavenly Gang to attack the Gaston Martial Hall—Tursos had specifically reminded him and Britney about this.

If possible, he wanted the battle in District Eight to start before killing Tarnison.

"I feel like… your voice sounds familiar," Tarnison muttered, frowning as he tried to see the face under the trench coat.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he had heard this killer's voice somewhere before.

Right then, flames lit up the sky in the direction of District Eight, followed by scattered explosions.

Bruno reached up and slowly removed the trench coat, smiling as he said:

"So? Does my voice sound nice?"

In an instant, bloodshot veins filled Tarnison's eyes.

His fists clenched tight, his muscles tensed, and he glared daggers at Bruno.

"It's you! You dared to trick me!"

Bruno nodded with a smile.

"Thanks for the two thousand gold coins. They helped me a lot.

If your son could come back to life, I'd make sure he died even faster."

Those words were like fire poured onto dry grass—Tarnison's rage ignited completely.

Without thinking, he unleashed all his strength and charged straight toward Bruno.

"Boom!"

A streak of fire cut through the night—only for an instant—followed by the deafening blast of a rifle shot.

Half of Tarnison's body was blown apart.

His right hand and right arm were simply… gone, as if ripped off by some monstrous beast.

He lost balance and collapsed onto the ground.

"There's an ambush!" Executioner shouted.

He rushed toward Tarnison without hesitation, desperately trying to lift him up.

Fear flashed through Tarnison's eyes—real fear.

But when he saw Bruno slowly walking toward them, the fear… shifted into pure hatred.

Tarnison grabbed Executioner's clothes, blood spilling from his mouth as he forced out the words:

"Kill… kill him…"

"Boss, we have to go! Let's go first!" Executioner tried to drag Tarnison away.

But at that moment, Bruno had already raised the Arcane Power alchemy longblade in his hand.

Executioner gritted his teeth, lifted his head, and shouted:

"Bruno! Nell Gaston is seriously injured! If you kill us, the Heavenly Gang will never forgive you!"

"Oh? Who said my master is injured?" Bruno smiled.

"He's been perfectly fine this whole time."

Executioner's face instantly went pale.

Only now did he realize—

This might all be a setup.

A trap.

The Heavenly Gang had fallen for it!

Tarnison, gravely wounded, raised his trembling hand.

Never—not even in his nightmares—had he imagined that a mere 3-stage Warlock-Warrior like Bruno had been playing him from the very beginning.

Damn it.

Tarnison gritted his teeth and pushed himself up with his left arm.

Just as he was about to move, a flash of blade light swept past him.

"Slice!"

Tarnison's remaining arm was cut off by Bruno.

Bruno gently flicked the blood from the blade and said slowly to Executioner:

"Run. I won't kill you."

"Really?"

Executioner's eyes lit up instantly.

He glanced at Tarnison—he knew very well that nothing could be changed now.

Someone had to escape alive and report everything to the gang master.

Executioner suddenly bolted up and sprinted toward the city with everything he had.

But he had barely run a few dozen meters when a flash of fire burst beneath his feet.

The explosion of the alchemy bomb swallowed him completely.

"Tsk, tsk… Tursos was right. Britney's attacks are terrifying," Bruno sighed.

Who would have thought that the tiny bean sprout, barely one meter tall, could be so deadly?

Tarnison glared at Bruno with anger and despair.

Blood from his wounds pooled over the ground, slowly soaking across his face.

"You… even in death, I won't forgive you!"

"Bruno, I'll wait for you in hell!"

Tarnison's expression twisted as he forced out the hateful curse.

At that moment, Britney walked over, carrying the massive seventh-generation Arcane Power sniper device on her shoulder.

"Hell? Are you stupid?" Britney scoffed.

"Did you forget what Meditation Technique our martial hall trains?"

The Gaston Martial Hall cultivated The Ten Thousand Hells!

"I know you… Britney, Arcane Power alchemy genius."

Tarnison spat more blood.

"That bastard Nell Gaston can drag souls into hell. But can you?"

Many people knew how terrifying Nell Gaston was.

If he weren't injured, the Heavenly Gang would never have dared to move.

Britney shook her head with a barely suppressed smirk.

"I can't do it. But my little Bruno can."

"Bruno, activate your God Realm and absorb his soul. It'll help your future cultivation."

In an instant, Tarnison's eyes widened.

He stuttered:

"G—God Realm?"

Bruno took a deep breath.

His spiritual power surged outward.

A blazing sun, seventy-two snowy mountains, and countless corpses and bones appeared, turning the area into a living hell.

Rotting arms and cold, pale bones slowly reached out and grabbed Tarnison's ruined body.

After reaching perfection in Meditation Technique, continuing cultivation carried great risks.

And the best way to reduce those risks…

was to use the God Realm to absorb the souls of Warlock-Warriors and share the burden.

Nell Gaston issued loans, and if someone failed to repay them, he could directly take their soul.

Bruno had never tried such a thing before, but when he let the God Realm descend and completely engulfed the dying Tarnison, a strange instinctive hunger rose inside him.

Corpses, bones, snowy mountains, and the blazing sun all erupted with an invisible pull—

a force that tore Tarnison's soul straight out of his body.

Tarnison's eyes were filled with disbelief.

He tried to scream, tried to struggle, but no matter how hard he tried, no sound came out.

He could only watch as endless corpses and bones swallowed him whole.

Bruno slowly withdrew the God Realm and took a deep breath.

He felt incredibly relaxed—his mind clear and comfortable.

"Britney… doing this won't cause trouble, right?" Bruno asked.

If someone went around using their God Realm to absorb souls and rapidly increase their strength, chaos would definitely follow.

Britney shook her head.

"No. Our martial hall is certified to sell Living Deadwood. People won't be able to investigate clearly."

"But you must be careful. Try to absorb the souls of Living Deadwood instead.

If you keep absorbing real people, the Federation will notice—

and when that happens, not even Master can save you."

"Come on, let's go back."

Britney quickly dismantled the seventh-generation Arcane Power sniper device.

Then she reached into the box Tarnison brought and took one jar of Celestial Beast blood.

"Bruno, I'm taking this one."

Bruno nodded.

The Arcane Power alchemy longblade he was using belonged to Britney, and without her help, he would never have defeated Tarnison so easily.

Taking only one jar of Celestial Beast blood probably didn't even cover her cost—

she had used quite a few alchemy bombs as well.

Just as Bruno finished collecting the spoils, a blinding sun suddenly rose over the distant District Eight, covering half the district in its light.

"Hurry! Master has made his move!" Britney shouted immediately.

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