224. Chant of Killing Curse
The following day, Beno Alder waited in his house all day.
No one came.
The three men in black seemed as if they weren't members of the Red Party at all—their deaths didn't cause even the slightest ripple—and no one came to check on the situation.
Beno marveled again. He had no doubt that the Red Party, which possessed the life lamps of all members, would have discovered the deaths of these three men.
Upon reflection, there was probably an unwritten rule about "mutual killing among members"—as long as it didn't create a public spectacle that attracted widespread attention, no one would investigate.
After all, the Red Party operated in secrecy, their politics as unpredictable as they were unfathomable.
When someone died, perhaps it was to silence them, perhaps it was part of a conspiracy, or perhaps they knew something they shouldn't have—what if an investigation actually revealed uncomfortable truths?
Therefore, it was better not to investigate.
As expected of the Red Party.
With an amazed sigh, Beno set his mind at ease and began collecting the spoils of war.
First were the members' badges. Beno was shocked to find that the three men in black had a total of 400 contribution points in their badges—an amount that defied common sense.
So they were serial killers.
Beno frowned deeply as he searched through the remaining items. Among the miscellaneous objects, only a secret manual titled Energy Concealment Technique truly captured his interest.
In Beno's view, these three men in black possessed extraordinary skill at concealing their true energy. Had it not been for his recent breakthrough in cultivation—where both his essence level and senses experienced a qualitative leap—he might never have detected their infiltration. This demonstrated just how formidable the Energy Concealment Technique was—truly a trump card skill.
More importantly, this technique had no connection to the Red Party.
Techniques belonging to the Red Party would usually be recorded on members' badges, or like the case of Empyrean Verdict Blade as a cauldron. However, the Energy Concealment Technique existed as a physical manual, suggesting it was something the three men in black had acquired independently.
Therefore, he didn't need to worry about the Red Party having countermeasures against it.
Talk about getting exactly what I needed—good thing they died!
With this thought, Beno respectfully prepared the bodies of the three men, dug a grave, and buried them, giving them a proper burial.
Then a new thought struck him: This Energy Concealment Technique is so exquisite, and it's not from the Red Party. Where did they acquire it? Could there be an even greater opportunity behind this?
In an instant, Beno's mind raced with possibilities.
But he quickly reined in his greed, his eyes returning to their calm state: No rush, no rush. Perhaps I can make friends with these three in the next life.
There would always be opportunities!
After burying the three men, Beno took out his badge and began checking the materials needed for forging a sword core—information he had previously gleaned from Khmara Bohdana's memory.
To forge a sword core, one must gather three taels of gold essence, three taels of jade marrow, two taels of cinnabar, and two taels of sword energy—totaling ten taels.
Next, the materials undergo tempering with true fire and cooling with divine water to remove impurities. Finally, through the application of sword incantation techniques, the refined substance gradually merges with the forger's essence, energy, and spirit, creating a true sword core.
While recalling the sword core forging method, Beno browsed through the Party's catalog.
The more he looked, the grimmer his expression became. Gold essence, jade marrow, cinnabar, and sword energy—all priced uniformly at 100 contribution points per tael. Divine water cost 500 contribution points per liter, and true fire was 500 contribution points per flame.
Two thousand contribution points?!
Beno gritted his teeth. According to Khmara, disciples of the Horizon Dawn received sword cores from their masters immediately upon reaching the mid stage of First Realm.
But in the Red Party, it actually cost 2,000 contribution points! An ordinary member would have to slave away for the Party for twenty years without eating or drinking to even hope of gathering so many contribution points!
Damn greedy bastards!
This exorbitant price instantly extinguished Beno's satisfaction from his small fortune, making him realize once again that he was, in reality, a pauper.
In that case, 400 contribution points seems rather insignificant.
According to Beno's plan, after restarting in the next life, he would choose to bring his Realm level with him, meaning anything else he obtained in this life couldn't be taken along.
Therefore, any valuable items he might acquire with the 400 contribution points would ultimately be meaningless to him in the long run.
Regarding the Realm, even spending all 400 contribution points wouldn't be enough for him to break through to Wave Realm.
It seems the best use of these contribution points would be to exchange them for techniques.
After all, compared to treasures, techniques—being knowledge—could be carried over to the next life. With this in mind, Beno immediately left his house and headed for the Archives Pavilion.
"Well, if it isn't you again?" The old man at the entrance of the Archives Pavilion actually remembered Beno and gave him a surprised look. "You've come to exchange for techniques again? Looks like you've struck it rich."
"Thank you for the kind words, comrade." Beno cupped his hands in respect, then entered the building. This time, his intention was clear—he sought a powerful trick specifically for desperate battles.
Soon, Beno locked onto his target.
Chant of Killing Curse: 300 contribution points.
This technique was very special. It required the practitioner to nurture a breath of killing intent in their chest, refining it day and night with true energy, intertwining it with their life force.
When not in use, it allowed for normal speech, but when needed, one would open their mouth and utter "Kill!" The entire accumulation of killing intent would then instantly explode outward, carrying one's life force with it—capable of shocking souls and overwhelming everything in its path.
However, once this breath of killing intent was released, the practitioner would also die—truly a method of mutual destruction.
Perfect—it can kill others and myself, exactly what I need!
With the power of the Hundred Rebirths, Beno feared not death itself, but the inability to die. He recalled the Marmot Vampire's desperate pleas to end its life. The Hundred Rebirths couldn't be activated at will—only Beno's death would trigger it.
Therefore, he desperately needed a reliable method of suicide.
After exchanging for the technique at the Archives Pavilion, Beno immediately sat cross-legged and began comprehending the method.
"The Chant of Killing Curse stores energy in the chest—the most crucial element is this breath of killing intent. The higher the quality of the killing intent, the more powerful the chant becomes when unleashed."
"It is said that when heaven releases killing intent, stars move and constellations shift; when earth releases killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land; when humans release killing intent, heaven and earth are overturned. The world's killing intent is thus divided into three categories: heavenly killing, earthly killing, and human killing. Of these, heavenly and earthly killing are rarely encountered—perhaps once in a century—while human killing is ubiquitous, with the essence extracted from weapons being the most potent form."
While in the Archives Pavilion, Beno began refining killing intent.
Fortunately, I have the materials ready.
Human killing intent was primarily extracted from weapons wielded with murderous intent, and fortunately, Beno still possessed the weapons from the three men in black.
Beno extracted the killing intent directly from the weapons and gradually refined it into his body. Instantly, he felt as if thousands of knives were scraping his bones and slicing through his flesh—the pain in his chest was unbearable, yet he kept his lips and teeth tightly clenched, not daring to open his mouth.
This was the crucial moment of refinement—if he opened his mouth and the killing intent escaped, he would die instantly!
After a long while, Beno finally felt the killing intent in his chest stabilize, fully connecting with his essence. With a mere thought, it would explode outward.
I wonder just how powerful it is.
With this thought, a gleam of anticipation flickered across Beno's face. He resolved that before his death in this life, he would definitely unleash the Chant of Killing Curse at least once to witness its true power.
Upon returning to the entrance of the Archives Pavilion, Beno was surprised to find the old man at the door cursing loudly.
"Damn lucky bastard!" The old man was holding a newspaper, his wrinkled hands trembling uncontrollably, his face twisted with an emotion impossible to identify.
Beno approached curiously and asked, "Sir, what happened?"
"What happened?" Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes widened with anger. He violently threw the newspaper to the ground and sneered, "It's all over the news. See for yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man slumped back in his rocking chair, sulking.
Puzzled, Beno picked up the newspaper and glanced at the front-page headline, immediately understanding what had caused such a reaction.
"Merit Lottery Pond Grand Prize Finally Has a Winner!"
"The rainbow merit fish was drawn by newly admitted party member Petar Baumann. Party Secretary Shabi Xi publicly awarded the ten-billion prize. After receiving the award, Petar Baumann immediately entered seclusive training—his current whereabouts unknown!"