He was originally of martial lineage, a blood relative of the Guryong Family, once famed in Jiangsu Province.
Though the Guryong Family couldn't compare to the Five Great Clans of the Righteous Faction or the Four Great Clans of the Evil Faction, within their region they had an established reputation.
Among them, the head of the Guryong Family was legendary for being an expert that even elders of great sects wouldn't dare cross.
Gu Janghu of Killing Valley was the only son of that very head.
Blessed with his father's martial talent, Gu Janghu grew up surrounded by expectations.
Had things gone normally, he would likely have become the next head of the Guryong Family.
But fate was cruel.
One night, the Guryong Family was annihilated in a raid by mysterious experts.
Gu Janghu survived as the sole remaining member.
Worse yet, he was discovered by the assassins of Killing Valley.
—The last living bloodline of Jiangsu's guardian, the Guryong Family... What an unusual gem we've found.
After being abducted to Killing Valley, Gu Janghu underwent brutal assassin training.
Barely sleeping two or three hours a day, he was made to ceaselessly train in Killing Valley's assassination arts.
Fortunately, due to the martial talent inherited from his father, Gu Janghu improved at a prodigious rate year after year.
Eventually, he even earned the "Black Lotus Mark," an honor granted only to one recognized by Killing Valley's master as a true talent.
The mark, granted only once to a single member of each generation, was his.
—Once he's put into real missions, he'll become a top-class assassin within half a year.
—Wouldn't that make him the youngest in history?
—The youngest top-class assassin... How remarkable.
But even hearing such praise, Gu Janghu felt no joy.
After stumbling across the truth of his past one day, all he thought of was escaping Killing Valley.
'I am the heir of the Guryong Family—the rulers of Jiangsu... I can't waste my life amongst this scum...!'
That resolve became unshakeable after his first mission.
Assigned to assassinate the chief merchant of a small merchant guild, he infiltrated with senior assassins.
There, a seven-year-old child stood before him.
—Janghu! Why are you spacing out? Hurry up and kill the kid!
If the child cried out, the merchant guild's warriors would wake up, so the senior assassins urged Gu Janghu to act.
But Gu Janghu just couldn't swing his sword.
In the frightened child, he saw his old self.
Because of that, the assassination failed miserably that day.
He was then disciplined by being tied up for half a month in the main training yard, where he began planning his escape.
His escape plan would start at the Dark Path Duel Banquet.
If he placed in the Dark Path Duel Banquet, he'd catch the attention of Evil Path Association experts and could be accepted into one of their sects.
And if he gained Evil Path Association's protection, Killing Valley could not easily issue a kill order against him.
The Evil Path Association, Killing Valley's long-time client and one of the major forces of the Central Plains, is too big for even Killing Valley to oppose.
That's why Gu Janghu had to place at the Dark Path Duel Banquet.
Only then could he avoid Killing Valley's kill order and one day resurrect his wiped-out Guryong Family's prestige.
'... If I lose in the Dark Path Duel Banquet and fail to enter the Evil Path Association, the Killing Valley kill order will come for me... I'll spend my life running from Killing Valley seniors until I die.'
Thus, Gu Janghu risked his life and challenged Kang Ryong again.
And sadly, he met with utter defeat.
But then, an unimaginable event occurred.
A boy with an unknown number defeated Kang Ryong.
As a result, Gu Janghu now knelt before that boy.
"... I beg you. Just return my number tag."
"You want your number tag back... Do I have any reason to do so?"
The boy with the unknown number asked coldly, his face blank.
Despite his young age, there was an oppressive air about him, like a leader from the Dark Path.
No—it was more than that.
A chilling intensity radiated from his entire being, like a beast watching its prey.
Feeling the intimidation, Gu Janghu's heart thudded in his chest.