Lin Shu's feet stopped the moment the announcement finished. His fists clenched at his sides. "Just when I got first place, they pull something like this." He let out a short breath. "Whatever. If they can't even beat me, they're not killing a Rank 2 beast."
Shang, Zaisheng, Yu, and Kai caught up to him moments later.
"Hey, you traitor!" Shang jabbed a finger at Lin Shu. "You left us and ran away!"
Kai sighed.
"You should be grateful," Shang continued, "that as the older brother, I am benevolent enough to forgive the shortcomings of my little brother. But I do demand an apology."
Kai told Shang to shut up. Yu walked forward as the argument continued.
"You heard what the announcer said," Yu said. "Do you plan on going back?"
Lin Shu shook his head. "I already have first place. There's only four hours left at most. I don't think any of them can kill a Rank 2 beast."
"You can never be sure, though."
"Then what do you suggest?" Lin Shu's voice was tight. "Risk going there so they can all jump me?"
Zaisheng stepped forward. "A Rank 2 beast can be killed with enough Quasi-Rank 2 techniques. The people we just fought have quite a few. It's not impossible."
Yu smiled to himself as zaisheng was doing what they agreed to while running away. "Good thing he listened we need to get Li to go back there that way i can the beasts while everyone is busy with targeting him."
Lin Shu stood in perfect condition, but he didn't want to go back. Still, their logic gnawed at him. "They're right. But what should I do? Go now and try to take the tokens on the pillars? I could get one or two, but I'd be spotted immediately and targeted by cultivators at their peak. Wait until later? I might be too late."
Beside him, Shang was still arguing with Kai. "Kai, you shut up! I want my apology now! He betrayed my trust!"
Shang had his finger raised like a judge delivering a verdict.
A thought struck Lin Shu. He moved closer to Shang. "Sorry about that, Shang. I just needed to get Aoyan to safety. That was my order from Yanqi. But I knew my brothers would be safe with you watching over them."
Kai's mouth fell open. He stared at Lin Shu in disbelief. "Did this guy just apologize? He tried to beat Shang up when the hunt began. I've even caught him looking at my token and Aoyan's."
Yu couldn't hold back his laughter.
Shang swelled with triumph. "Of course I accept my brother's apology. And I understand—that weakling Aoyan is the reason you had to retreat in shame, leaving your brothers behind." He put on a pained expression.
Aoyan frowned. Lin Shu raised a hand to quiet her.
"But you need to pay me back with a favor later," Shang continued. "I'm sure you're going to ask for one now."
Kai watched Lin Shu closely. "Yeah. He wants something from Yufeng. Otherwise, why would he even entertain this?"
Lin Shu smiled. "Sure. Why not? It's a brother's duty to help his brother."
Shang laughed. "I knew something was up with you acknowledging our brotherhood! Hahahahaha! But worry not—I won't turn you down. That would betray the very meaning of our brotherhood." He raised a clenched fist.
Lin Shu laughed along. "True, true. Now listen, Shang. You heard about the tokens on top of the pillars, right?"
Shang nodded.
"I have a way for us to get them without getting too close to the beasts or any cultivators. All you have to do is fly me over there. I'll destroy all four tokens, and we'll split the eighty thousand points. What do you think?"
Shang considered it, then nodded. "Fine by me."
Yu quickly involved himself. "What about me? Don't I get some points?" Seeing how his plan wouldn't work if Lin Shu just attacked from above and didn't involve himself directly in the fight."
"No. You'd only slow us down."
"Then why doesn't Yufeng just go alone?" Yu countered. "He can fly faster by himself and take the tokens. Why does he need you?"
Lin Shu answered patiently. "Because I can break the tokens from a distance without getting close to the beasts or any cultivator. I already explained that."
"So can I. Why should you be the one to go?"
Lin Shu stepped forward, heat radiating from his body. Yu began to glow brighter in response.
Shang threw his arms around both their shoulders, pulling them close. "Brothers, brothers! We shouldn't fight among ourselves." He grinned. "We can just go there and take the tokens. One for me, one for Yu, one for Li, and the last one for Kai."
Yu frowned. "Why does he get one? He can't help with this."
Shang looked genuinely offended. "He's our brother. Whether he helps or not is irrelevant. Such idiotic thinking is not welcome in our family."
"When did we even become a family?" Yu muttered.
"If refuse this deal it would be obvious that i am trying to get Li to go back there, I should just agree with this and follow them and wait for my chance."
Shang ignored him. "Alright, let's go."
Lin Shu couldn't help but remember the flight technique he had seen at an auction once.
Zaisheng walked forward. "What do I get?"
Shang turned to him. "Oh, right. Why are we keeping him around, Li?"
Lin Shu shrugged. "I made a deal with him that i will him until the hunt ends. Nothing about splitting points with him though."he turned to zaisheng"If you want something, get it yourself."
Zaisheng frowned. "I'm part of your team, aren't I? Shouldn't I be included?"
Shang shook his head. "Yeah, Purple Head, you're part of our team, not our family. We only give to family. Look at Aoyan—she's not family, so I won't give her anything. Hahahahaha!"
Aoyan held herself back from cursing at Shang. "If Li didn't need him for the points, I would have burned his chicken wings by now."
Lin Shu turned to her. "Aoyan, head to the edge of the current area and stay there. You can't stay around here. These three will probably keep hunting."
She nodded.
Yu spoke up. "I'll go to the center and watch how things unfold. You want to come, Kai?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Yu looked at Zaisheng. "What about you?"
Zaisheng nodded. "I'll probably need to kill one of the Rank 2 beasts to outrank him. I should go."
Shang grabbed Lin Shu's arm, and they launched into the sky.
The three followed behind them on foot.
Shang hovered for a moment. "Alright, let's go." Then he stopped. "Wait, which direction is it?"
Lin Shu pointed. "Follow the green arrows. I'm sure those are the markers."
Aoyan watched until they disappeared. Li had told her to stay hidden and not trust anyone, to make sure no one knew where she was. She waited until kai and the other two left as well, then took off toward the farthest edge of the hunt, away from the center.
---
Xie Lang crouched in the bushes with his team. Beside them, Tie Zheng and Han Lei's team did the same. They stared at the clearing ahead.
Two beasts stood in the open. One was about four meters high. The other was twice that size. Both had skull-like heads with thin flesh stretched over the bone. Their bodies were grotesque—multiple limbs, some ending in sharp claws like a bat's wing, others in heavy, crushing feet. They stayed close to a large cage, scratching and shaking it, trying to break it open. Inside, smaller creatures scrambled and screeched.
Ouyi stared. "What are those things?"
Yun Qiu answered. "Skullbats. Rank 2 beasts. They have the body of a bat mixed with something else—a wolf, maybe another a four-limbed predator."
Zeng Shiyang added, "They're very hostile to anyone in their territory. But it's strange to see them here. They usually stay inside large ravines or deep caves."
Han Lei studied the scene. "Those are their offspring in the cage. That's probably how they were lured here and kept here for almost five days."
The beasts shook the cage, trying to break the bars.
Xie Lang frowned. "How did no one see them before? Did nobody actually go to the center?"
Tie Zheng shook his head. "One of the reasons I was sure about my information on the last day was because I came here myself. But I didn't see them. The entire area was covered in a dark blue formation—I couldn't see anything inside. I tried to break it, but I couldn't even scratch it."
"So what are we going to do first?" Han Lei asked. "If we go for the tokens, they'll target us immediately. Rank 2 beasts—it's not wise to just charge in."
Tie Zheng gestured at the tree line. "We're not alone. The place is full of hunters. They just need a little motivation, and they'll attack."
"What stops them from just waiting and hiding until we and the beasts are worn out?"
Tie Zheng's expression was grim. "Do we have a choice? Either we start it, or we waste time waiting for someone else. If the hunt ends before anyone kills a beast, Li wins. None of us will take first place."
Xu Jin looked at Tie Zheng with curiosity. "You don't look like you'd have a problem with him winning."
Tie Zheng raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"It looks like you want to win," Xu Jin said, "but if he does win, you don't seem like you'd detest him for it. That's what I find strange. Most people of your standing would."
Tie Zheng smiled. "Is that so? Well, I won't deny that most disciples of masters as powerful as my grandfather would react that way. A nobody winning something they thought was theirs? Yes, they'd be angry. And I admit, I'd feel a bit jealous. A bit annoyed that I lost to a nobody. But I wouldn't take it to heart. He's a nobody to me—and I'm a nobody to someone else. It's foolish to dwell on such things."
Xie Lang laughed, but surprisingly, he didn't mock Tie Zheng's words.
Han Lei thought for a moment. "What if we send word to every team around here? Propose a joint attack on the beasts together. That way, most of the powerful hunters will be fighting beside us. We won't be any weaker than them when the beasts die. It reduces the chance of our tokens being taken and the risk of dying against the beasts."
Tie Zheng nodded immediately. "That's the best idea we've got." He stood up. "Alright. Xie Lang and I will go to each team. Han Lei, you stay here and watch in case something happens."
Xie Lang didn't object. They moved out.
They went from one group to another—small sects, mid-sized sects, lone wolves. The Tang brothers were among the first they approached.
"So you're saying you want all of us to attack the beasts at once?" one of the brothers said. "How are we supposed to believe you won't just backstab us and hang back while the beasts tear us apart?"
Tie Zheng met his gaze. "Is the word of an officer of the Empire not enough for you Ironblood disciples?"
The Tang brothers knew Tie Zheng. He was honest. But Xie Lang—Xie Lang was known to cheat whenever given the chance, calling it strategy.
"Okay," the other brother said slowly. "But how are we sure the barbarian won't backstab us?"
Xie Lang ignored them.
"Don't worry," Tie Zheng assured them. "He won't backstab any of you i can promise you that or would you rather everyone takes part in the hunt and you'd lose your chance on getting anything? Be wise and remember that we only have very few hours before the hunt ends."
The brothers looked at each other as they nodded"alright we'll trust him just this once."
Another team joined their growing assembly, and the first question they asked was whether they could trust Xie Lang. Tie Zheng tried his hardest to convince them all.
Xie Lang looked around. "Who else is there? According to the rankings, there's Haoyu in the top ten, and Lan Xin. The others are almost all on Li's team these are all the people i can think of."
Tie Zheng shook his head. "Haoyu is a good choice. He's probably around. Lan Xin? Absolutely not. If she comes anywhere near here, it's better to drive her off or knock her out. We cannot have a poison user in the middle of this."
Xie Lang grinned. "What are you so afraid of? Don't you have any poison-nullifying techniques?"
"It's not me. It's the others. They'll pull out of our deal the moment they see Lan Xin. They can't risk being around a poison user with no way to counter her."
Xie Lang nodded. Most of the cultivators here didn't even have proper defensive techniques, let alone specific ones for poisons. And if Lan Xin poisoned the beasts, she might land the final blow without anyone noticing. She could take the points and run. She could set traps to slow them down. She didn't even need to hurt them—just delay them until time ran out and she was declared the winner.
"Yeah," Xie Lang said. "It's a bit too complicated with her around."
They continued their rounds, inviting everyone, convincing them, assuring them that they would be on the front lines.
"Alright. That's most of them. The others will follow suit. Now let's get ready."
Tie Zheng noticed someone approaching and immediately raised his guard. Red lines cut the ground at the person's feet.
"I'm going to tell you this once, Lan Xin. You're not allowed here. Get out of our sight."
Lan Xin raised her hands. "Calm down. You're as paranoid as ever. I heard about what you're trying to do, and I want to join. I'll help weaken the beasts. We can split the points."
"I was hoping she'd never hear about this," Tie Zheng thought. "But in the span of minutes, the information has spread across the whole area." He transmitted a message to Xie Lang. "What do you think?"
Xie Lang spoke out loud. "Let's make a deal with her. There's no harm in having someone help us."
Tie Zheng looked at him, confused for a moment—then his expression shifted into understanding.
Lan Xin stepped forward with a relieved smile. "Good. I made the right choice coming here. I was going to just hide, but when the announcer mentioned the beasts and their point value, I had to try my luck. Honestly, I expected them to chase me away, but I suppose they need cultivators, so they'll allow me to stay."
Xie Lang turned his back. Tie Zheng and Lan Xin made small talk.
"You got second place, Tie Zheng? How did you do it?"
"Fought here and there. Pretty straightforward. What about you?"
"Ambushes," she admitted. "I knocked cultivators out and took their tokens. I didn't fight much."
Tie Zheng had expected something like that.
"So what are the two beasts we're going to fight? Did you see them?"
Xie Lang spun around. "Well, it's called—you're crazy if you think we'll let you anywhere near them."
Lan Xin's eyes widened. Xie Lang's fist drove into her stomach. Her artifact tried to protect her—a ribcage of violet light formed—but multiple red lines cut through it. Another punch landed. Lan Xin was pushed back.
"Damn it. I shouldn't have lowered my guard."
She sent a large cloud of toxic gas toward them. Xie Lang clapped his hands, and a shockwave dispersed the gas. Lan Xin fled.
"I'll get them back for that."
Xie Lang smiled at Tie Zheng. "Good job. We chased her away."
They walked back with satisfaction. Xie Lang had transmitted a message to Tie Zheng earlier—"Lower her guard, then attack." The plan had worked perfectly.
"Alright. Now we go and attack the beasts."
But suddenly they heard loud shouts and screams in the distance.
"Don't tell me—"
Xie Lang and Tie Zheng ran back to the center.
---
Earlier, Lin Shu and Shang soared through the sky, getting closer to the center.
"I think I can see an empty space ahead," Lin Shu said. "Two large figures. Those should be the beasts."
Shang nodded.
Lin Shu looked closer and noticed several individuals gathered below. "They're already circling them." A slow smile spread across his face. "My Scorch Piercers won't draw the beasts out—they already know people are surrounding them. Unless I make the beasts feel threatened, they won't move."
Shang pointed ahead. "Hey, Li. There's a large cage. I think there's something inside."
Lin Shu squinted. "Young. Those must be their young. That explains why the beasts are staying put. I wanted to try this later, but I'll do it now. If it works, it's the best way to destroy the tokens. I just don't know if the beasts can attack us from down there. I need to keep them distracted."
He began to form a sphere from his ivory, making it weak enough to break on impact. He channeled Infernal Force into it and severed it from his hand.
"It shouldn't dissolve for at least a few minutes. My ivory is stronger now after all."
He handed the sphere to Shang. "What is this?"
"A surprise."
He formed another.
---
Below, Han Yi sat beside her brother, sizing up the beasts. Her hands trembled slightly. So did everyone else's.
Han Lei noticed his sister's expression. He ruffled her hair gently. She laughed, pushed his hand away, and fixed her hair. Then she looked up at the sky.
"What's that?"
Han Lei looked. "A winged beast? Were there three Rank 2 beasts?"
Then objects began to fall—some toward the pillars, some toward the trees.
Han Lei activated a technique to enhance his vision. He saw them clearly now. A man with wings holding another man covered head to toe in armor.
"Li."
"We need to move."
Too late.
Multiple explosions rang out. The four pillars shattered. Cultivators screamed as they burned.
The beasts turned toward the commotion. The male lunged forward. The female stayed behind, guarding the young.
In the sky, Lin Shu smiled. "I've got a hundred thirty thousand points now if i don't count what I'll have to split with those three. Though I'll have to give sixty thousand to the other three. But I'll just break Kai's token. Yu's will be trickier. Shang's too and get my rightful one hundred and ninety thousand points."
Shang laughed as he threw another sphere. "This is fun! Hahahaha! What do you call these?"
Lin Shu watched his crude creations work. "I haven't thought of a name yet."
"They're like blister bombs, but they're made of bones. How about Ivory Bombs?"
Lin Shu smiled—then looked at Shang in surprise. "How did you know they're made of ivory?"
Shang laughed. "Oh, I have very keen eyes. I saw where your armor grows from. I saw its color change. So I knew you were masking it. I have to say, I thought it was steel, but it turns out that was just a coating." He shrugged. "When I saved you with Kai and that annoying girl, I took a piece of ivory that was still attached to you. I wondered what it was made from—it didn't look like metal. So I tasted it."
Lin Shu stared at him. "You tasted a piece of my ivory? That was covered in burned blood and flesh?"
"Of course I cleaned it first!" Shang said, offended. "I just gave it a little taste. My tasting sense is superior and cannot be mistaken. It's a technique I picked up at the Stormbreak Sect—alchemists use it to identify materials."
"Why would alchemists need to taste things? Can't they just look and decide? Or at least experiment?"
"The guy who created the technique was a Venomheart elder. He was blind."
"Wait." Lin Shu frowned. "So sects really do trade techniques?"
Shang nodded as he continued dropping the Ivory Bombs. "They do. Especially the Venomheart Sect—with their medicines and poisons, they make a ton of wealth. They're probably the richest of the four mid-sized sects."
Lin Shu looked down at the chaos. "I think I recognize those beasts, they're Skullbats. They're going to go on a frenzy and attack everyone around. Too bad their young don't have any points. Otherwise, I'd kill them from up here."
Shang nodded in disappointment.
---
Below, cultivators defended themselves against the falling spheres. The two Skullbats screeched and charged toward the commotion. The beasts no longer saw the cultivators as weak prey after they unleashed their Qi. Now they were threats.
Han Lei ducked as the male beast opened its mouth and released a screech that burst the eardrums of everyone hit directly.
Xie Lang and Tie Zheng arrived at the center just as the fighting began. They rushed forward to face the beast. Han Lei followed.
"What just happened?" Tie Zheng demanded.
"I saw Li with Shang Yufeng flying overhead," Han Yi said. "They dropped what looked like blister bombs. We all had to use defensive techniques. The beasts took