The day passed in a blur of smaller skirmishes and calculated kills. Lin Shu moved through the forest like a predator, his Owl's Gaze constantly sweeping for threats, for opportunities, for anyone with enough points to make the effort worthwhile. He found plenty of fighters—desperate, exhausted, trying to hide or flee—but none of them gave him any real trouble. They fell to his Scorch Piercers before they could even mount a defense, their tokens crushed and their points absorbed into his ever-growing total.
But as night fell and the hunt continued without pause, a familiar frustration began to build.
"I'm already on the fourth day," he calculated, his mind running through the numbers even as his body maintained its relentless pace. "I've reached 24,350 points, but that's through multiple killings—dozens of them. If I could find someone like Xie Lang or Han Yi, I could jump to over 30,000 with ease. Maybe even 40,000. But I only have today and tomorrow before the hunt ends."
He pushed harder, forcing his team to match his pace despite their fatigue. Aoyan ran beside him, her breath coming in controlled bursts, but her eyes kept drifting to his profile. She could tell how much this hunt meant to him—the way his gaze never stopped searching, the way his jaw tightened with each empty scan.
"So where to next?" Kai asked, his voice slightly winded.
Shang descended from above, his wings folding as he landed beside them. "I can't see anyone around here. The area's dead."
Lin Shu's mind raced through options, through possible hunting grounds, through the ever-shrinking map of opportunities. Before he could speak, the familiar amplified voice boomed through the forest.
"HELLO AGAIN, DEAR FIGHTERS! TODAY I BRING YOU ANOTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! THE THIRD STAGE SHALL COMMENCE WITH JUST ONE RULE—TO GUARANTEE MORE ENCOUNTERS FOR EACH OF YOU, THE RADIUS OF THE HUNT'S MAP WILL BE REDUCED BY HALF!"
Around them, green lights began to flicker on trees and rocks, their glow pulsing with an almost organic rhythm. Lin Shu watched as the lights spread, marking the boundaries of the new, smaller arena.
"I guess we're outside the new zone," Kai observed, looking at the lights around them.
Lin Shu's heart rate actually increased—a rare phenomenon. "Another halving of the map. This is perfect. I won't waste time searching. And I won't have to rely on Shang flying ahead and taking the best kills before I can reach them."
He surged forward without another word, his speed increasing as he plunged deeper into the newly defined hunting grounds. Aoyan and Kai followed, struggling to match his pace. Shang launched himself into the sky, his wings catching the wind as he scanned from above, his own hunger for points driving him just as relentlessly.
---
In another part of the forest, Xie Lang sat with his back against a massive tree trunk, his expression one of barely contained frustration. Beside him, Xu Jin chewed loudly on something that might have been meat, might have been roots—it was impossible to tell.
"Can you tone it down with that?" Xie Lang growled. "I've heard pigs eat with more manners than you."
Xu Jin took a long drink of water, unbothered. "Well, I've seen dogs that look better than you. Just look at yourself, you barbarian. Your clothes are torn, you've got dirt all over your face." He gestured with his half-eaten food. "Also, you eat exactly the same way I do, so let me be."
Yun Qiu sat nearby, his head in his hands as he tried to block out their bickering. Zeng Shiyang scanned the perimeter, his expression thoughtful.
"Yeah, I think most participants have started hiding rather than fighting at this point," Zeng observed. "We won't find any easy prey anymore. From now on, we'll most likely face someone like Li more frequently. Probably stumble across them sooner or later."
Xie Lang rested his chin on his fist. "We'll also meet some of those sect disciples. I'm pretty sure Master said General Tianxue's grandson will be here as well." His fist clenched, cracking the ground beneath him. "Damn it, why can't I find any of them?"
Yun Qiu spoke up hesitantly. "We did meet Han Lei and Li and that light-based technique guy. And Shang Yufeng. We just didn't get any points from them. It's not like we were unlucky—we just messed it up."
A vein bulged on Xie Lang's forehead. "You shut up. We let Han Lei and his sister go because of you. I don't want to hear your analysis or criticism, lovebird. Zip it."
Yun Qiu fell silent, knowing better than to push. Xie Lang had fully intended to continue fighting the Han siblings, and had only stopped because of him.
"Hey, ease up on him," Xu Jin said, his tone more reasonable. "We were all tired. That Li guy took on both you and Lei, plus the rest of us occasionally, and still almost won. We weren't in peak condition. Couldn't risk other teams ambushing us while weakened."
Xie Lang's anger shifted targets. "Yeah, it's because of that guy Li. Damn it. I guess he didn't win by luck last time. His armor is really hard to damage—it took multiple peak-tier techniques just to crack it."
Zeng Shiyang paused mid-bite, a thought striking him. "Yeah, now that you mention it, his armor is way too powerful. I doubt that's a peak-tier technique. Might be Quasi-Rank 2."
Xu Jin nodded, adding his own observations. "Its abilities were impressive too. He could create weapons, shields. It's versatile and strong. Can't be anything lower than Quasi-Rank 2."
His thoughts lingered on the memory of Lin Shu's fighting style, and something clicked. "Hey, I just remembered something."
Everyone looked at him.
"Didn't we have a guy at the institute who had a similar technique? What was his name again?"
Xie Lang thought about it, his brow furrowing. "I think Lin Shun, or something like that. I remember his technique used bones to make shields."
Yun Qiu's eyes widened with recollection. "Hey, isn't he the guy who ran with Ren Hao and Yan Qing after stealing a lot of azure crystals from the mine?"
Zeng Shiyang nodded slowly. "Yeah, I heard they fought Han Yi while running away. But I also heard they died after jumping into that ravine not too far from the mine."
Xu Jin leaned forward. "Hey, were they working for Lu Heng? I heard they were placed with the Yan twins as demonic cultivators."
Zeng shook his head. "No, I think they were just thieves. I'm pretty sure the Empire put a lot of people on that list during those days just to catch them. They didn't really have anything to do with Lu Heng, like most students. They weren't the only ones who robbed the place and deserted when the Jiang Clan Patriarch attacked and the demonic beast appeared." He paused, thinking. "I'm pretty sure a lot of people had their bounties changed from 'demonic cultivator' to just 'rogue.' One of my clan members was one of them."
Yun Qiu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if I remember correctly, me too. Someone I know stole some crystals and ran away. He was found later but wasn't killed—just forced into repaying them. They worked him to death, though. He even lost an arm."
They all nodded, the memory of that chaotic time settling over them. The Jiang Clan attack, the demonic beast's appearance, the mass desertions—it had been pure chaos.
Zeng Shiyang's eyes narrowed. "Wait, didn't that guy's armor turn white while they were running away? I'm pretty sure I saw that." He frowned. "But Li doesn't look like him. I'm pretty sure that Lin Shu had multiple scars all over his body, and his skin color was darker."
"Well, he was covered in dirt and blood back then," Xu Jin pointed out. "Can't really tell if he was darker. And scars? There are a thousand ways to heal them."
Xie Lang's eyes sharpened. "Yeah, isn't 'Li' also short for 'Lin'?"
Xu Jin looked at him. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that guy would be smarter than to just shorten his name, Lang. If he was on the run, he wouldn't just remove one stroke from his name—he'd change it entirely. He's not dumb enough to do that."
Xie Lang nodded, acknowledging the logic. It would be moronic for a fugitive to keep his name so recognizable.
"He could be from the Tang Clan," Yun Qiu suggested. "They've got some steel body techniques there, don't they? Maybe he's a bastard son who made a new form of their technique. He wouldn't be the first."
The conversation drifted, the connection filed away but not forgotten. In the back of their minds, a seed of suspicion had been planted—one that would grow with time and circumstance.