Instant Kill

Instant Kill is a long fantasy web novel by Xiao Qian, written after his A Record of a Journey Beyond the Mundane, serialized on 17K.com from October 2010 to its completion in August 2013, totaling about 3.56 million characters. The story begins with the awakening of a soul: the protagonist, Guo Shi'er, is reborn with memories of a past life and grows up in an unfamiliar world where talismans are the foundation of everything. At the age of eight, he is found in a clan-shrine aptitude test to possess a rare "talisman aptitude," and from then on embarks on the path of cultivation. This world has no spirit-rich grotto-heavens or blessed lands; instead there is a civilization of talismans—hidden talismans, insect talismans, talisman elixirs, natal talisman registers, and talisman treasures, with talisman masters, incantation masters, talisman martial masters, and grand talisman masters advancing level by level. Countless secret realms connect to one another, countless talisman beasts inhabit the vast land, and even higher talisman worlds look down on everything from above. Guo Shi'er takes the grand talisman master Luo Jie as his teacher, gathers followers, and seeks survival and advancement among clans, sects, and secret realms. Like a pawn crossing the river, he instant-kills the enemies blocking his survival step by step while constantly seeking more powerful talismans. As his horizons expand, the altars, planes, and the truth of the world emerge one after another, and he finally stands at the summit of the talisman world, facing the question of whether he can keep going forward. The book is known for its elaborate setting—talisman storage pouches, the follower system, and the altar micro-world are ingenious conceptions—making it one of the representative works often cited in the talisman-cultivation genre; but its slow pace, high repetition in the middle and later sections, and rushed ending are also commonly noted by readers.