Lin Shu watched Zaisheng approaching, and a small frown pulled at his lips. He glanced at Aoyan and Su, who were finally facing each other. The first had a resolved look in her eyes, the second a sadistic smile that promised cruelty. "She should be fine for now," he thought, "but I'll have to keep an eye on her." Then his attention shifted to Zaisheng. "Now what does he want, coming here like this?"
Zaisheng ran forward, clutching his arm, and stopped when he was face to face with Lin Shu.
"If you come any closer, I'll break my token," Zaisheng said, his voice tight. "No one gets the points. So stay right there and listen to what I have to say."
Lin Shu kept his senses alert but nodded, curious despite himself.
"I'll give you half my points if you let me join your team," Zaisheng continued. "And you promise that neither you nor anyone with you will attack me."
Lin Shu's mind raced through the calculation. "Forty thousand points just for saying yes. That would probably put me in first place. But should I try to kill him after I take half? Make sure he doesn't outrank me?" He dismissed the thought almost immediately. "No, that's too dangerous. I still don't know who he answers to. He might be under someone like Yanqi, and that kind of patron would only shield me from Aoyan's siblings and their backers. Anyone more troublesome, and Yanqi would throw me away. Better to just take the deal."
"You've got yourself a deal, Zaisheng," Lin Shu said. "But I won't be making any binding oath."
Zaisheng nodded. "You should stay true to your word, if you're smart enough." He pulled out his token and another one from his ring, transferring half his points to the empty one. "Alright. This has half the points, just as we agreed."
Lin Shu smiled beneath his helm and started to reach for the token.
A long, black-furred arm came down from a tree above, wreathed in blue flames. Lin Shu raised his arms to defend as Zaisheng tried to throw himself out of the way. The flames scorched everything around them, and Lin Shu was forced to back away quickly.
"Damn it! Just when I had the token in reach. Do these bastards take joy in ruining my deals?"
He looked up and saw Zaisheng standing nearby, his clothes half-burned, the token still clutched in his hand. "Oh good, he still has it. Wait—he lost his, though." He saw that Zaisheng's own token, the one he had worn on his chest, had been burned by the flames. "I should take the offered token before he notices."
He ran toward Zaisheng, but the same blue-flame arm came down again, this time aimed at his skull. He ducked quickly, then drove a fist wreathed in both lightning and white flame into the creature's side. It howled and scrambled back, and Lin Shu took a moment to study it.
"Never saw a bloodbeast like this before."
The creature was short—about Lin Shu's height—but its arms were disproportionately long, hanging down past its knees. Its legs were human-sized, and its body was layered in blue and black fur, except for its arms, which were bare and corded with muscle. Its face was a nightmare: no flesh covering the skull, just exposed bone and teeth that could crack through armor. Its eyes were deep blue, burning with rage even as it felt the pain of the wound he had inflicted.
"That's not a peak stage beast. It should have died from that hit if it were. Is it a Rank 2 beast?" Sweat dripped down his forehead. "No, it can't be. It would be more powerful. I damaged it pretty badly, and it didn't hurt me as much as Yanqi said a Rank 2 technique would. But still—where did this come from? Is there a cultivator using beasts around here, other than the Chi clan?"
He moved forward, and the beast lunged at him. He backed away quickly, drawing its attention, then sent two Scorch Piercers toward it. The beast jumped from tree to tree, dodging each shot with a speed that seemed impossible for its build.
"A bit too fast for my aim."
He kept shooting, not trying to hit the beast directly but leading it in a specific direction. It jumped from one branch to another, using just enough strength to avoid breaking them. When it leaped for the next branch, Lin Shu didn't aim at the beast—he aimed at the branch itself. The wood snapped, and the beast's hands found nothing to grip. Lin Shu moved, white flame exploding from his feet to propel him forward. The beast rolled and jumped back toward a tree, but Lin Shu caught its tail, smashed it into the ground, and raised his fist to finish it.
A fist came toward him—not at him, but at the beast. Zaisheng stood beside him, silent, his offered token still in his hand.
"The points i was going to give you are all gone now," Zaisheng said but Lin shu quickly answered. "Well it's nothing to worry about, you can just halve those points for me one more time, my friend."
Zaisheng bit his lip. "Damn it. If it weren't for the Empire, I would have used my actual techniques to kill all these arrogant brats." He pulled an empty token from his ring, transferred the points to it, and handed it to Lin Shu.
Lin Shu smiled as he took the token and checked his own inside his armor. "Sixty-five thousand points. Hahahahaha. I was around forty thousand before this. I'm sure I'm in first place now. I should just leave. I'll try to take Yu and Shang's tokens later, just to be safe. But for now, I should hide."
---
Back in the arena, Yanqi smiled joyfully as he watched the turn of events. Zaisheng had fallen all the way to seventh place, while Lin Shu had risen to first. Tie Zheng was second, Xie Lang third, Lan Xin fourth, Yu fifth, Han Lei sixth, then Zaisheng, Haoyu, Shang Yufeng, and somehow Kai had clawed his way into tenth place.
"He actually got to first place," Yanqi thought. "Did Zaisheng surrender? Or did he make a deal with Li? I suppose I overestimated Zaisheng. I thought he would be a problem for Li, but from the look of Xie Lang beating him, he wasn't much."
Kuang Baotu smiled as he watched the vision cube. Multiple teams and rogue cultivators had joined the fray, killing each other, targeting everyone. Xie Lang thrashed anyone who came near him without looking. Lin Shu and Zaisheng did the same.
"Now this is a hunt," Kuang Baotu said. Then his expression soured slightly. "Though where are the other Quasi-Rank 2 beasts? I'm sure I sent at least ten, but only one came to that location."
A subordinate appeared at his side and showed him a new image from a different part of the hunt. A young man with a hawk on his shoulder stood with ice and flames beneath both feet, scorching the grass on one side and freezing it on the other. He was fighting two Quasi-Rank 2 beasts at once. Another image showed Lan Xin fighting two more beasts, having failed to escape because she had to keep taking detours to avoid teams with strong members. A third image showed Chi Kun and Chi Mang fighting three Quasi-Rank 2 beasts together.
"That leaves two beasts out of ten that are heading toward where most of the top-ranked fighters are," the subordinate reported.
Kuang Baotu waved a hand. "Alright. Maybe I should have gotten more beasts for this. Instead, do this: give the amount of points and locations of each individual, and tell them about the beast rewards if they kill them."
Yanqi kept his expression neutral, but internally he cursed. "He might lose first place. He should just run away for as long as he can until the hunt ends. He'll win. But there's still one problem—how do I get him to give me the resonance?" He thought for a moment. "Now I wish I hadn't told him how important it was. I could have just taken it and given it to Aoyan."
He watched Lin Shu and Aoyan on the cube, noticing how much closer they had become. "Maybe he'll give it to her if I ask. Actually, no. That little greedy shit would never do something like that. I should try to buy it from him, but he'll demand a fortune. Is there no way for me to get it for Aoyan?"
Then he saw Lin Shu stop another Quasi-Rank 2 beast that was charging toward Aoyan. Yanqi sighed. "Why am I trying to take advantage of my child's most likely dearest friend? I should just try to buy it fairly."
---
Back in the hunt, Lin Shu and Zaisheng were now being targeted. Xie Lang, who had been picking tokens off the bodies of those he had just beaten or killed, looked their way and started running directly toward Zaisheng.
A loud voice stopped everyone's movement.
"DEAR HUNTERS! WE BRING YOU NOW AN UPDATED LIST OF THE CURRENT TOP HUNTERS!"
Everyone froze, listening. If they were bothering to announce it, the rankings had changed significantly.
"THE CURRENT TENTH PLACE HOLDER IS KAI WITH FIFTEEN THOUSAND POINTS! THE NINTH PLACE HOLDER IS HAOYU WITH NINETEEN THOUSAND POINTS! THE EIGHTH PLACE HOLDER IS SHANG YUFENG WITH TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND POINTS! THE SEVENTH PLACE HOLDER IS ZAISHENG WITH TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND POINTS! THE SIXTH PLACE HOLDER IS YU WITH THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND POINTS! THE FIFTH PLACE HOLDER IS HAN LEI WITH THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND POINTS! THE FOURTH PLACE HOLDER IS LAN XIN WITH THIRTY-NINE THOUSAND POINTS! THE THIRD PLACE HOLDER IS XIE LANG WITH FORTY-SEVEN THOUSAND POINTS! THE SECOND PLACE HOLDER IS TIE ZHENG WITH FORTY-NINE THOUSAND POINTS! AND THE FIRST PLACE HOLDER IS LI WITH SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND POINTS!"
The entire forest fell silent. Dozens of cultivators stopped fighting, stopped running, stopped breathing. Lin Shu's veins nearly popped.
"Damn it! Why did they have to be so fast about this? There's still like six hours before the hunt ends!"
He looked at the sun rising in the sky. "We've been on the run for most of this fifth day. We've spent almost an hour fighting here and there, and there's still six hours ahead. I might lose my points. I should stop fighting and get out of here."
Lin Shu glanced at Zaisheng. "Remember our deal. We're helping each other out of this situation. So don't get any funny ideas until then."
Zaisheng nodded. Zaisheng wasn't in good condition either—others would target him now, since with his points, Xie Lang and Tie Zheng could actually exceed Lin Shu.
---
Ahead of them, Aoyan was locked in combat with Chi Su. Chi Ran lay unconscious on the ground nearby—Lin Shu had tried to kill her, but she had twisted just enough that the blow only knocked her out. He hadn't tried to finish the job because Zaisheng was too close, and he couldn't afford to ignore him.
"You don't have that guy to save you now, do you?" Su said, her voice dripping with contempt.
Aoyan answered with a kick wreathed in flames, pushing Su back. Su pulled out her brush and fought with a blade in one hand and the brush in the other. With the brush, she drew the shape of knives and sent them flying toward Aoyan. A wall of mud rose to stop them, but Su jumped over it and tried to slash down from above. Aoyan dodged with a burst of flame from her feet and delivered a kick to Su's side—only for a shield of ink to stop the blow, and for Su to counter with a knee to Aoyan's arm. Aoyan cried out, pain shooting through her.
"Did you think that just because you raised your hands a little, you could actually fight me?" Su's voice was mocking. "You got lucky all throughout the hunt. If it weren't for that damned armored beetle, you would have been dead—either by my hands or someone else's."
Aoyan didn't respond. She clapped her hands together, and a sphere of flame appeared between her palms. She shot it toward Su, who dodged it easily. Aoyan moved forward, throwing a series of strikes, but Su dodged every single one and backed away. Aoyan shot an arrow of flame, then quickly moved her hands backward as if summoning something back.
Su dodged the arrow, then felt scorching heat closing in from behind. She took a quick glance and saw the sphere Aoyan had sent earlier—the arrow had hit it just next to her, and it was about to explode. A half-conjured shield of ink protected her from the worst of it, but the shockwave left her unbalanced. Aoyan appeared beside her and drove a fist into her stomach.
Su spat blood, gritted her teeth, and headbutted Aoyan. Both of them fell to the ground.
They scrambled to stand—and saw a Quasi-Rank 2 beast rushing toward them on all fours, its massive body armored like a living fortress. Aoyan knew she couldn't get up in time. So did Su. Both tried to raise defensive techniques, but they were too slow.
A line of white flame passed in front of them and hit the beast in one eye.
The beast howled and turned its head toward the attacker—only to be hit by a beam of lightning and another Scorch Piercer in its other eye. It fell, blind and thrashing.
Aoyan saw Lin Shu moving toward them. She stood up. Chi Su also stood, walking forward as if to face him. She drew her blade and tried to attack, but Lin Shu caught it, kneed her in the stomach, and put one hand on her face, his clawed gauntlets ready to tear her head off.
A spray of flame shot toward his eyes. He raised his empty arm to defend. Su spat a needle from her mouth, aiming for his eye—but it stopped against a layer of dark ivory that had grown over his face.
Lin Shu's hand closed around her throat. He was about to kill her when Aoyan grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?"
She met his gaze. "She's my foe, Li. I want to be the one to defeat her. Can you please forget what Master told you and let her go? For me? I want to be the one to end her. I need that."
Lin Shu sighed inwardly, but he was in a hurry. He cut it short. "No can do, Aoyan. It's a direct order from Yanqi. Maybe you can disobey, but I can't. I have a contract with him." Aoyan tried to protest but got no response.
His fingers dug into Su's neck. He was about to rip her head off when a punch of steel hit him in the side. He staggered but quickly regained his balance.
"I really can't do anything without everyone interfering."said Lin shu with a sigh.
Xie Lang stood before him. Su fell, and Ran quickly picked her up and fled.
"Congrats on getting first place, Li." Xie Lang's grin was wide. "Unfortunately, you've held on to it long enough. Hand over that token before I break her ribs."
Lin Shu smiled beneath his mask. "Pretty amusing how you're acting all mighty when you couldn't even beat me with Yu and Han Lei and all your lackeys. Is that why you changed tactics? I must say, Xie Lang, I didn't expect you to be this kind of guy. I always thought you were a battle-hungry fool."
Xie Lang's grin didn't waver. "Hey now, I'm just an opportunist right now. I can be battle-hungry at the right time. If you want a fair fight, we can have that after the hunt, of course."
"True, true." Lin Shu nodded. "I'm a bit of an unfair player myself."
Xie Lang felt a strike coming toward his back. "Zaisheng!" He turned and defended against Zaisheng's hit. Lin Shu took the chance to hit Xie Lang with an Ivory Detonation—but Xie Lang struck the ground, a radiant light flaring up around him.
"Did you really think I'd fall for that?" Xie Lang shouted. "QUASI-RANK 2 TECHNIQUE: SHIELD OF GLORY!"
The shield protected him from the hits. "You're not getting away now, Zaisheng." He grabbed Zaisheng by the arm, the shield dissipated, and he drove an elbow into Zaisheng's face. Zaisheng saw stars. Another strike was coming, but Lin Shu slid between them, kicked Xie Lang, and helped Zaisheng regain his balance.
---
A little earlier, Yu had been clashing with Han Lei while Han Yi recovered.
"What is your problem?" Han Lei demanded, lightning crackling around his blade. "You poisoned her after taking her points. You not only poisoned her like a cheap bastard, you tried to cripple her as well."
Yu struck him with a kick wreathed in light, then followed with a Deafening Roar. "Well, I do have a bit of an issue with both you and her, if you don't mind. But if you do, I'll just leave you alone."
Han Lei didn't understand the mockery. "QUASI-RANK 2 TECHNIQUE: LIGHTNING BARRAGE!"
Yu smiled. "QUASI-RANK 2 TECHNIQUE: FLICKERING LIGHTS!"
Han Lei destroyed everything in his path with tremendous speed, while Yu flickered from spot to spot in blinding light, evading every attack.
"Is that all you've got, Lei?" Yu called out. "I thought you'd try harder to avenge your sister. Maybe I should go after someone more precious to get a reaction. Mother? Father?" He paused. "Oh, wait, your father is dead. Sorry, how inconsiderate of me. But do tell—I heard your father was a deadbeat. Is that true? If so, I'm starting to feel sorry for you. Such fathers have no place in this world. It's such a cruel place, don't you think?"
Han Lei's veins bulged. He bit his lip until it bled, and without a word, he twisted his sword, sending wide arcs of lightning in every direction. Yu jumped, took a deep breath, and released another Deafening Roar.
Instead of running away or defending against the sound attack, Han Lei took a stance and pulled his blade back. "QUASI-RANK 2 TECHNIQUE: FATAL LINE."
He disappeared, leaving a straight line of lightning behind him.
Yu frowned for the first time. He released another Deafening Roar and multiple light spheres to both blind and deafen Han Lei as he flickered around the battlefield. But Han Lei didn't stop. He kept coming, getting closer. Yu coughed blood—the strain of using so many techniques was starting to wear on him. His legs grew weaker. But he could see that Han Lei was suffering too. The other man had used multiple peak-tier techniques and now two Quasi-Rank 2 ones. He was bound to run out of Qi soon.
"Fool. He'll lose all his Qi at this rate."
Yu expected Han Lei to stop at any moment. Instead, the opposite happened. Yu raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I shouldn't have riled him up that much."
He quickly changed his trajectory and headed toward Kai, who had been beating back anyone who tried to approach the main battlefield. Kai had been gaining points steadily in the process.
"Finally!" Kai thought, a grin on his face. "I can get points in peace. I even got tenth place because of this. But I'm starting to reach critical levels of Qi. Unfortunately I can't head back and rest while everyone is still fighting. Though I'm not seeing Shang anywhere. Did that chicken not finish his fight already? I am pretty sure he went that way"
He noticed light coming toward him from the corner of his eye. "Yu?" Then he saw Han Lei following close behind. "Damn it! Why are they heading my way? Didn't—"
He moved back, muttering, "If you need help, piss off toward Li. I'm already too busy with these damned scavengers."
Yu shouted, "KAI! SHOOT YOUR GAS TOWARD ME!"
Kai turned and, with no other choice, did as he was told. A cloud of black gas blasted from his arm toward Yu and Han Lei. Yu jumped, and the gas engulfed Han Lei, who couldn't see it because Yu had been blinding him every time he tried to open his eyes.
"I'm going to kill that scum," Han Lei thought.
"BLOW HIM UP!" Yu shouted.
Kai sent a whirlwind of flames toward the gas. Han Lei saw it as Yu stopped blinding him due to Qi reserves reaching critical levels and jumped—only to find Yu above him, about to kick him back down with a smile on his face.
"Say hi to the deadbeat for me, will you?"
Yu's eyes bulged as the strike was about to land. An arrow hit him in the chest, throwing him off balance. Yu managed to get away, and the blast only pushed both of them apart. He tried to stabilize his fall and saw a streak of lightning heading toward him. Han Yi, recovered from the poison, was now beneath him, shooting arrows to keep him in the air. Lightning formed a circle around her as an arrow larger than her entire body took shape.
---
In the arena, Tianhun leaned forward in anticipation. "Isn't that your Tempest, Zhenhai? Did you make a lower version of it?"
Lu Zhenhai nodded, looking at Han Yi with pride. "I did. But I got a bit of help from my disciple, so I can't take all the credit." He smiled. "I call it Yi's Tempest."
---
"QUASI-RANK 2 TECHNIQUE: MY TEMPEST!" Han Yi shouted.
The arrow launched. It hit Yu directly as he tried to defend. Kai cursed and shot multiple explosions at Han Yi, giving Yu the opening to fall. He groaned, his body injured, his shirt torn apart.
"That crippled little shit!" His voice was loud, then lowered just as quickly. "I'm going to kill her."
He stood up slowly and looked and looked at Han Yi, who had tried to finish him off but had been stopped by Kai. Kai had attacked Han Lei, forcing Han Yi to choose between attacking Yu or saving her brother. She chose the latter.
Kai helped Yu up. "Let's head toward Shang. It looks like Li and Aoyan are already too busy. We should find Shang and see if he's done yet."
Yu glanced at Han Lei and Han Yi, then nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."
Han Lei watched them go, his muscles burning. "I'm going to kill that scum."
Han Yi's expression was just as hard. "You're a coward, Yu! You needed poison and dirty tactics just to survive against my brother!"
Yu smiled and ignored them, heading toward where Shang was at.