The Killer Star

by Murong Mei 慕容美

Renowned and well-regarded members of the martial world are being killed off one after another. The culprit: The Killer Star, Shen Wuhai, now hated by the entire martial world. But efforts to stop him have been futile, so the Sword King Palace has put up a reward for 10,000 taels of gold to anyone who captures the Killer Star alive.

Now the scourge of the martial world has also become a nice piece of fatty meat, a gold mine for anyone who can get to him.

Easier said than done…

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The Killer Star《天殺星》was published in Wuxia World magazine《武俠世界》in weekly installments from June 10, 1971 (#616) to sometime in 1973 (#730). It was later reprinted multiple times in book form. I’m not sure if it was first published in small booklet form or in Wuxia World. It’s possible they were published concurrently.

At this time, Murong Mei’s writing style was undergoing a change, influenced by the rise in popularity of Gu Long, who when The Killer Star was published had already published several books in the Chu Liuxiang series, Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword, and The Eleventh Son. He was the man in the wuxia fiction world then, and would remain so. Naturally his popularity influenced other writers, Murong Mei among them (also Huang Ying, Long Chengfeng, and even Sima Ling later on). You can see the ifluence in The Killer Star, though it still retains Murong Mei’s own voice.

The Killer Star was adapted to film in 1977 as Killer From Above starring Lo Lieh.

This fan translation is based on a combination of the Wuxia World installments and the later reprints. The chapter titles and divisions are taken from the reprint paperback, though Chapter 1’s title still follows Wuxia World, as I think it fits the content better. There are 99 chapters in all. The reprint paperback was published in three volumes, so this is pretty much a standard-size wuxia novel.

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Killer Star Descends to Earth, Calamity Strikes the Martial World
Chapter 2: Merciless Gold Sword
Chapter 3: The Twin Treasures of Yunmeng
Chapter 4: A Transaction of Gold
Chapter 5: The Rouge and Powder Trap
Chapter 6: The Killer Star is Caught
Chapter 7: A Striking Femme Fatale
Chapter 8: A Sudden Thunderclap, But No Rain Yet
Chapter 9: Swordsmen Gather
Chapter 10: At the Sword King Palace
Chapter 11: Underwater Message