The day of the third stage finally arrived.
Hovering high above the arena, Cang Song looked down at all the contestants and began explaining the rules.
"After so many days of rest, I trust everyone is prepared? Just like the second stage, the third stage will also take place inside the Illusory Realm. This time, the theme is—Hunting."
His voice echoed through the air.
"Various types of magical beasts have appeared within the realm. Defeating beasts of different ranks will grant different amounts of points. The first twenty contestants to reach one thousand points will advance to the final round."
A large scoreboard appeared, listing the point values:
D-rank beasts – 10 points
Goblins, Fang Boars, Blood-fur Rabbits
C-rank beasts – 30 points
Claw Apes, Ragehorn Bulls, Flame Hawks
B-rank beasts – 250 points
Black Wolves (pack creatures), Stone-armored Minigolems, Shadow Foxes
B+-rank beasts – 1000 points
Brown Demon Bears (only ten exist in the realm)
Upon hearing this, Tianlan instinctively frowned, his fist clenching slightly.
"Oh, and one more thing," Cang Song added casually,
"If you 'die' inside the Illusory Realm, you will not actually die—but you will be eliminated immediately. Alright then—ten seconds until you're transported in. Good luck to all."
"10, 9—5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"
A flash of light, and all contestants vanished.
Tianlan's Hunt Begins
The scenery within the realm was completely different from the second stage. Beasts roared in the distance, echoing from all directions.
As soon as Tianlan entered, he swiftly climbed up a tall tree—much faster and quieter than before. He moved like a shadow melting naturally into the forest.
Not long after, he confirmed that this forest was entirely different from the one in the previous trial. He scanned the surroundings for a target, and soon spotted a goblin.
"Alright. I'll start with you," Tianlan whispered to himself.
Keeping low, he approached silently—
and then drew a dagger from his waist.
Above, watching from afar, Cang Song and Zhenyue exchanged a knowing look—
as if something finally made sense.
A Few Days Earlier — The Borrowed Money
Back then, Tianlan had asked shyly:
"Uncle Zhenyue… can I borrow some money? I'll repay you after the competition."
Zhenyue scratched his head.
"Uh… I'm broke too. Try asking that old man—he's loaded."
And so Tianlan awkwardly approached Cang Song next.
"Um… could I borrow some money? I want to buy something tomorrow."
Cang Song paused—and then, understanding what Tianlan meant, smiled gently.
"I see. You've been in this city for so long and never really had a chance to shop properly. Here, take it. No rush to pay me back."
Tianlan thanked him over and over.
The truth was—
he used the money to buy this dagger.
The First Kill—Silent, Clean, Precise
Now, Tianlan glided behind the goblin like a ghost.
His left hand covered the goblin's mouth.
His right hand plunged the dagger into its neck—
A precise kill.
The goblin collapsed without even making a sound.
The clan heads watching were visibly surprised—including Cang Song and Zhenyue.
Zhenyue blurted out,
"This kid… can kill so decisively? He looked like he didn't even know how to fight before!"
Yao Feng narrowed his eyes.
"He must've had way more experience surviving in the wild than we thought."
Hongjin frowned.
"Even his equipment is different… including that wrist guard. What has he been doing these past days?"
Cang Song and Zhenyue stroked their beards in perfect synchronization, acting as though they knew nothing.
Yao Feng glanced sideways at them.
"…Your acting is surprisingly convincing."
The Disguised Wrist Guard
A few days ago, Cang Song had warned:
"If you wear this wrist guard as it is, people will be suspicious—and its original owner would recognize it instantly. I'll alter its appearance with a spell."
Under the illusion magic, the wrist guard's outer appearance changed completely.
From afar, even someone familiar with it wouldn't notice.
In the shadows, Youying murmured quietly:
"As expected… he's a natural at assassination. Even if it's just a goblin, he handled it impressively well."
Successive Hunts — And His First Failure
Tianlan continued hunting, silently eliminating several C-rank beasts with similar methods.
But when he tried to assassinate a Claw Ape the same way—
he failed.
The moment the dagger descended, the ape suddenly jerked its neck forward, dodging the fatal blow, and swung its claws at Tianlan.
Though he failed to kill it instantly, the dagger still left a deep gash across its neck.
Tianlan quickly switched the dagger to his left hand and charged.
The Claw Ape roared and unleashed a flurry of claw strikes, but Tianlan deflected them smoothly.
Closing in, Tianlan delivered
three rapid punches to its abdomen, followed by an uppercut.
The ape staggered violently—
Opening!
The dagger sliced across its throat.
Blood sprayed, and the beast fell.
The clan heads were stunned.
"Oi oi, is this really the same person?" Tingqiang exclaimed.
"His aura is completely different from two weeks ago!"
Cang Song and Zhenyue watched Tianlan with amused smiles—
The only thing that surprised them was that
Tianlan showed zero hesitation when fighting beasts,
a stark contrast to his hesitation when facing humans.
Tianlan Watches: Tingyi vs. the Stone-armored Minigolem
As Tianlan continued hunting, he crossed paths with Tingyi—the direct descendant of the Spear God family.
Tingyi was fighting a Stone-armored Minigolem, and Tianlan paused to watch.
Tingyi's spear struck like lightning, but the golem's stone armor kept repairing itself, rendering his attacks ineffective.
"Tch… annoying thing," Tingyi muttered, frustrated.
Coating his spear with magic, he leapt into the air.
The golem swung its massive arm, but Tingyi countered with a sweeping strike—the impact sending dust flying everywhere.
He jumped again, aiming at the golem's chest.
At the moment the spear struck, Tingyi twisted his wrist, unleashing an explosive surge of magic—
The spear roared like a dragon and pierced clean through the golem's chest.
Its stone armor shattered, and the minigolem collapsed into rubble.
Seeing enough, Tianlan silently withdrew and continued his hunt.
The Brown Demon Bear — A Temptation
Some time later, Tianlan encountered a Brown Demon Bear—a B+-rank field boss.
He froze, brows knitted, fists tightening unconsciously.
"Brown Demon Bear… If I kill it, this would all be over…"
High above, both Cang Song and Zhenyue thought the same thing at the same time:
"Don't be reckless! Go kill something else!"
Tianlan struggled internally for a long moment—
Then turned around and left.
He resumed hunting lesser beasts.
A Familiar Surge of Magic
Suddenly—
a familiar wave of magic surged nearby.
Tianlan's eyes widened.
"That's… Kuangyan!"
(To be continued)