Lin Shu stepped into the tree line and said, "We'll just hide around here, then attack again when we need to."
Shang nodded, then his eyes changed. "Hey, Li. I think someone's coming toward us."
Lin Shu looked up and saw a man with a hawk on his shoulder, already facing them. Next to him stood a girl wearing the robes of the Venomheart Sect. She glanced at the man beside her and thought, "Finally found someone to team up with. Everyone either backstabs me or attacks me outright. But he'll probably do the same soon, so I should watch out for him."
That was Lan Xin.
The man walked forward and said, "You two must be Li and Shang."
Lin Shu looked at Lan Xin, then at the man next to her. "And you are?"
"Haoyu."
Lin Shu exchanged a look with Kai, then moved toward Haoyu. "Isn't this the same guy that tested me before I joined the Vermillion Titans? I'm pretty sure they had the same name, and he also has a hawk on his shoulder is he insane wouldn't anyone recognize him? The vermillion titans don't have the best reputation even in this almost lawless place."
Meanwhile, Shang went the other way. "I guess I'm against the poison user. Well, I'll just slice her throat. Shouldn't be that difficult."
Lan Xin said, "You sure you don't want to go after those beasts over there?"
Haoyu laughed. "Why would I go after them when I already have one in front of me? One that's worth a hundred and ninety thousand points, at that. I really appreciate the announcer's work—he keeps us all updated on who we should target."
Lan Xin didn't argue, but she couldn't help complaining in her head. "Well, here we are, up against Shang Yufeng and Li. But it doesn't look like I'm facing Li. I wonder if that's to my advantage or disadvantage."
Her answer came in the form of a blade of feathers flying for her throat as Shang charged toward her, his wings half‑stretched.
Haoyu pulled out two blades—one engulfed in flames, the other in ice. Lin Shu sent Scorch Piercers at him, but Haoyu deflected them and closed the distance, his ice‑blade cutting into Lin Shu's side. Lin Shu thought, "I really should work on my movement techniques. And I need to start learning some actual fighting techniques. Relying heavily on dirty tactics and taking ten hits just to land two isn't a good option. Last time I fought Han Lei and Xie Lang, I was getting one hit on them per five or six they landed on me."
His thoughts proved true. Haoyu had already landed several hits while Lin Shu managed only a punch to Haoyu's shoulder after luring him in by exposing a weak side.
Haoyu took notice of Lin Shu's fighting style. "Hey, why are you exposing yourself like that? And what's with those punches? They're that of a street fighter. Isn't it foolish to hold back when anyone could arrive later and join? Wouldn't it be easier to just go all out to get away from here, since that looks like your plan?"
Lin Shu ignored him and jumped.
Haoyu dodged the punch, then kicked Lin Shu's heel. Ice started spreading, freezing his foot. Lin Shu couldn't exert enough strength to break the ice—his stance was unbalanced. Haoyu made a cut at his chest but only managed a small crack. "I can see why you got first place. A fight with you would tire someone out quickly and drain their qi. But what type of material is that armor? It looks quite strange."
He hit Lin Shu with the blade to the face, then flared his qi and made the flames burst, trying to burn Lin Shu through the holes to his eyes. Lin Shu covered his eyes with ivory, but with no vision his punches didn't land. Haoyu stepped back. "Peak tier rank‑1 technique: Ice Chains."
Ice quickly covered the ground around them. Both of Lin Shu's feet were covered, immobilizing him. Lin Shu dissolved the ivory over his eyes. Haoyu was already a meter away. "Peak rank‑1 technique: Focused Blast." The flames around his sword all moved, forming a small sphere.
Lin Shu's body heated up. White flames exploded from his feet, breaking the ice and shifting his balance as the sword went over his shoulder. White flames started flowing from his gauntlet, and he hit Haoyu with a direct blow to the stomach.
Haoyu rolled backward, then quickly got up—only to find Lin Shu's finger pointing at his skull, a Scorch Piercer about to go through it. Haoyu's hair stood up. His skin started changing, slowly, but then stopped as Lin Shu's hand was suddenly hit by an arrow. The Piercer missed. Haoyu thought, "Almost had to use it here. Would've had to get out of this place immediately if I did. But it's better than dying." He looked at Lin Shu as he moved. "He really was gonna kill me."
He glanced at who had shot the arrow and saw a young girl with bluish hair running down like a waterfall. She moved toward him, facing Lin Shu.
Lin Shu thought, "There isn't a single day I don't regret failing to kill this girl. She's been a thorn in my side ever since."
"I suppose you want an alliance," said Haoyu.
Han Yi nodded. "I do. But I don't want to fight him with you. We won't be able to bring down his armor that way, and that's the only way to beat him. That's why I want Lanxin to help me with her poison. She can corner him or even harm him from within without needing to go through his armor."
Haoyu said, "I'm going to have to refuse that deal. I can't let such an opportunity to get his points go to you only."
Han Yi said, "I'll split the points."
Haoyu refused flatly. "No can do. The one who kills him gets the points. You can try coming after me when I get them, but until then, I'm not throwing my position to Lan Xin."
He looked toward Lanxin and saw her trying her hardest to reach Shang, who leaped from one place to another, sometimes taking flight after destroying the trees around him. He had nothing to stop him. He would then shoot tens of sharp feathers at her, crumbling her defenses.
Shang smiled, then suddenly changed trajectory and stormed down at Lanxin like a falcon. Lanxin quickly made multiple poison spires and released a poisonous gas from containers she broke. Shang flipped himself and soared back to the sky. Lanxin bit her lip. "At this rate, he'll just keep wasting my resources and qi if he keeps baiting me into attacking for nothing. Why do I keep meeting my counters over and over again? First it's that light‑path user, then that monolith that for some reason can just attack me from afar even though he charges blindly at everyone but of course not at me, then I got chased away by those two bastards Xie Lang and Tiezheng, and now a flight‑path master is making my day worse."
Back where Xie Lang was, he and every cultivator around were attacking the male Skullbat while Xiyao and Ouyi were driving the female beast into defending her young. Whenever she tried to help the male, they left her with a painful choice, and she went back to her young.
"We just need a little more, and then we'll be able to kill him, then her," said Zhao Tiezheng. "We just need to keep away from each other so we don't get overwhelmed."
Han Lei nodded and attacked with a lightning barrage. The beast screeched—the sound so powerful that the lower cultivators close to it all crumbled to the ground, blood seeping from their ears. Xie Lang felt as if someone was hammering his skull. Han Lei was almost decapitated by the beast's claw. "How is it so powerful? The males are supposed to be weaker than their female counterparts. She's almost twice his size. If it weren't for the young and her needing to save them, she would've killed us."
Han Lei started thinking about his options. "If I manage to kill this one, it won't be enough. Li has at least a hundred and ninety thousand points, so I'd still be far. The only way to make sure I win is to kill both." But this was the thought of everyone around—from the strong to the weak, all hoped for just one shot, their strongest shot, to put down the beast.
On the sidelines, three figures were hiding behind some trees along with many others. "I guess all those still around here have the same idea as us," said Kai.
Yu said, "Well, they're all too weak to actually risk their lives there, so it's better to just ambush the tired winners or steal the kill of the beast and get away. I can be positive most have long‑range attacks."
Zaisheng said, "So should we let them stay around?"
"Of course not," Yu said. "But we can't expose ourselves and just go around killing everyone. Not that we could, since most long‑range attackers have good ways of running away. And you two aren't really that fast. I can't kill all of them, or even a good number, because that would waste my qi, and then neither of us will be able to steal the kill. So I have a better plan. Let's drive the beasts crazy enough that everyone has to fight for their lives. We need to make a life‑and‑death situation, not this hunt where they have a strategy. Look—they're keeping the female away while isolating the male and taking turns attacking. If we don't stop that, they'll take the kill."
Zaisheng asked, "And how do we do that?"
Yu smiled. "We get rid of whatever is holding the female back." He stood. "I want the two of you to use your most precise attack and kill their young. I'll use my technique to blind the beast for a good second so it doesn't stop you."
Zaisheng nodded. Kai thought for a moment. "Should I agree? Well, I do need the points. If I kill the beast, I'll take second place without doubt." He slowly persuaded himself and stood up.
The three stormed into the battlefield. Everyone around noticed them immediately as the announcer's voice rang down: "LOOK WHO HAS JOINED THE HUNT! IT'S NONE OTHER THAN THE HOLDER OF NINTH PLACE, KAI; THE FIFTH PLACE, YU; AND THE SIXTH PLACE, ZAISHENG!" Everyone looked at them, wary—after all, who knew if they were here to hunt the beasts or their own kind?
Xie Lang, Han Lei, and Tiezheng looked at each other, everyone having the same thought: someone should go intercept them in case they're trying to pull something. But none moved. Their intentions were clear—none would go and let a weakening beast slip from their score.
Yu was now closest to the cage, closing in on the female Skullbat. "Is he trying to attack the strongest one?" That was everyone's thought.
Yu quickly flared his qi and shot a burst of light, blinding the beast that was about to attack him. Kai and Zaisheng moved and used their techniques to attack the young. The young died before they could make a sound. The three immediately got away and hid themselves as the beast attacked wildly. When its vision started to return, it glanced toward the cage and saw the sliced and burned corpses of its young. It called out, but no response came. It screamed at the top of its lungs—the scream forced every cultivator into pain.
"That crazy bastard," said Tiezheng, then screamed, "EVERYONE ATTACK!"
Everyone stood still. Some tried to back away slowly.
Xie Lang cursed as the male beast tried to bite him. He sidestepped and punched the beast's face. Han Lei took the chance to stab its eye before being flung away.
Xie Lang then slowly thought as he looked at Han Lei "Han Lei i think your sister is fighting Li"he pointed.
Han lei looked as he saw two people fighting Li a bit ahead one of them was his sister"damnit Yi why are you fighting that guy."he stormed forward with lightning surrounding him.
Unfortunately for him up ahead is where Yu was currently charging his technique."is this guy targeting me?"both thought as they were face to face with each other.
"Damnit just when i was about to shoot the beast down guess I'll have to get close to it now."
Han lei didn't waste time as he attacked Yu the latter with no choice screamed "Quasi-Rank 2 Technique Solar Saber Rampart" Han Lei couldn't clash as he raised his sword his artifact coming to life as it tried to protect him.
His sword was flung from his hand as he was sent back crashing into the ground his entire upper attire gone with a large burn on his chest.
He got himself up as he quickly felt a dreading feeling down his spine he immediately rolled as the female skullbat crushed the spot he was at, turns out Yu while didn't hit him with the full technique he slightly twisted to purposefully send towards the rank 2 beast.
Han Lei ran as he rolled towards his sword.
As he defended with all his might against the beast.
Xie Lang smiled a sly smile "moron now there's one less thief to worry about."thought xie lang as he punched the beast to the eye and then turned around to everyone who was trying to back down.
"See? We're already taking this down with ease. That one won't be any different. Look—it's already damaged. It has one eye, and its ears are damaged. So if we take its last eye, it won't hear or see our attacks. Killing it would be much easier than the male, regardless of its size—unless you want to let go of the chance of getting a resonance, you have to attack it."
The cultivators around found no fault in his logic, and they couldn't just back away after being reminded of what was on the line. Each gritted their teeth as the beast raged and thrashed at the loss of its young. The male called out for its maddened mate, and she immediately stormed toward him.
Yu smiled at the success of his plan. "Alright, now let's proceed with the second part." He looked at Kai. "I'm going to use a technique that will take a while to charge up. While I do that, you protect me from anyone."
Kai said, "And what do I get? You're going to kill the beast. What are you going to give me in return?"
Yu said, "I'll give you each twenty thousand points. That's only fair, since I'm delivering the final blow and only I can do it. Neither of you has a powerful enough technique to safely steal the kill."
Kai and Zaisheng looked at each other and nodded. "Alright. What do I do?"
Yu said, "Join in holding the female off. I need to kill the male before she saves him."
Zaisheng moved immediately, following the dozens of cultivators trying to attack the rank‑2 beast.
In the bushes, a young man with glasses was watching the fight. "Yeah, I'm not going down there," he thought. "I'll just stay here and break whoever gets the token."
Not too far away from him was a young man with black hair with very few strands of violet. "I don't think we have a chance at going there," he said to a girl next to him.
Yuyan stared at the boy. "You have a plan, Liechen?"
Liechen looked around. "I don't have one that can make two high‑tier cultivators get a chance with those monsters. So I think it's safer if we just stay hidden for now."
The girl nodded. Liechen looked around and saw someone behind them further away, fighting. While his opponent was landing most strikes on him, it looked as if they had no effect. "I guess that guy is the one under Yanqi," he thought.
Yuyan stared at him. "I feel like I've seen that armor before."
Liechen said, "Well, we did see those Tang clansmen fight before. Maybe he's an outer disciple of that clan? Or a bastard son, who knows or cares. We should stay away from him. He's at first place for a reason."
Yuyan kept staring from behind the bushes. Her eyes simply didn't leave him. Something told her she had seen that armor before, but she couldn't remember. "Maybe something is off—the color or the shape? Maybe I'm just paranoid of any armor user after that day," she thought, biting her lip. "I didn't even get to have my revenge. He just disappeared, that bastard who took my brother."
Liechen looked at her and thought, "Damn it, why can't she just get over it? We have much more things to deal with. We can't break through anymore—we're stuck at the high stage because of our clan, and now both of us didn't get past one thousand points." He looked at those around him, at those with more power, and could only hate his ever miserable life.
Lin Shu took a blade slash to his neck, forming more ivory to make sure there was no chance of the armor breaking there—not that it could break with one peak‑tier technique. Haoyu thought, "It seems I chose the wrong opponent."
A fist almost crashed into his face as Han Yi saved him by taking Lin Shu's balance. "You ready to switch?" Haoyu smiled and moved back toward Shang.
"You—you're Lanxin, right?" Han Yi shouted. "I need you to help. This guy is more dangerous than Shang Yufeng."
Shang shouted, "That's not true! I'll have you know that I am the older brother, so by default I am always stronger."
Lanxin immediately slipped away with multiple cuts around her body. "Finally, I'm away from that lunatic."
Han Yi stood next to Lanxin as a Scorch Piercer was shot at her. Han Yi dodged quickly, and another came her way—she shot it down with a lightning arrow, then shot a flurry of arrows at Lin Shu. "You go pick up that thing he shot at us and see what it's made of," she transmitted to Lanxin.
Lanxin caught on to Han Yi's motive and went toward the Piercer. She picked up a shard that still hadn't dissolved—Lin Shu's bones were much stronger, and without him using his own qi to dissolve them, they would take longer by themselves. She tried using some substances that melt all kinds of metals, but to no avail.
Lin Shu noticed what she was doing. "Is she trying to find out what my armor is made of? Damn it, I can't let that happen. If she gets anything that can melt bones, I'm done for. And even if she doesn't, if Han Yi finds out my armor is made from bones, there's a good chance it would come to her mind."
Lin Shu shot toward Lanxin, launching Scorch Piercers. Han Yi shot at him, keeping him unbalanced—especially since he was propelling himself with Infernal Force. Lin Shu decided to stop that and ran normally. This time the arrows only slightly made his head turn or slug him for half a second before he continued.
Han Yi frowned, then sent a message to Lanxin: "If you have anything that can melt bones, use it on it."
Lanxin was confused—the dark color didn't look like bone—but she still did it as Lin Shu got closer to her. She dropped a few drops from a vial in her storage ring. The surface of the Piercer started to dissolve slowly. Lanxin looked at Han Yi and nodded.
Han Yi looked at Lin Shu and thought, "I've got you." She smiled in her mind. "Now there's nothing that can refute me. Him using bone‑control abilities aligns with Lin Shu's, so that should serve as enough suspicion. Hopefully, unless Yanqi involves himself directly, i can even get an inquisitor from the empire through the generals present for the event and if that happens and Lin shu is proven as a demonic Cultivator then he's as good as dead. So I need to inform master before Yanqi can get close to Lin Shu. And I shouldn't alarm him that I know—actually, I should make something up, since it would be unnatural if I don't recognize it."
Han Yi asked Lanxin, "What is it made from?"
Lanxin was confused—as if Han Yi hadn't just given her the answer herself. "It's ivory."
Lin Shu cursed. "Damn it, I need to kill both of them."
Han Yi looked at him. "Could you be…" Lin Shu was ready for her to drop his name, but then she said, "Did you inherit the arts of the Dark Ivory Master?"
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow. Lanxin did the same. "Is there something like that?" she asked.
Han Yi said, "Of course there is. Don't you read any history books? He was a mighty cultivator who used dark ivory as a weapon."
Lin Shu was flabbergasted. "Wait, she didn't recognize me?" He suddenly laughed in his mind. "Hahahaha. Maybe it's because I've become stronger that I forgot I was nothing when I fought her three years ago. It's obvious she'd forget about me. And she doesn't look like she saw my ivory turn white last time. But I'll kill her just in case."
Lin Shu sent multiple Piercers at Han Yi as Lanxin got back. "I only have one small vial. It won't be enough to eat his entire armor, especially if he just takes out the part hit by the bone‑dissolving liquid. So you need to injure him deeply as soon as the liquid melts some of his armor," Lanxin said, giving the vial to Han Yi.
Lanxin quickly formed multiple venom spires to try to make Lin Shu back away. "Damned poison user," he thought, stepping back as he tried to circle them. "I can't risk getting hit by her poisons I'll get shang to kill her while I I take Han Yi and Haoyu." He looked at Shang, who was fighting Haoyu—the latter stood no chance against him. "HEY, SHANG, LET'S SWITCH!"
Shang looked behind him as Haoyu's blade almost cut his neck. Shang leaned backward, the blade passing by his face as his wing almost cut Haoyu in half—Haoyu put his other blade between them just a second away. Shang smiled as the feathers started to move and shoot out. Haoyu blasted from his feet in a burst of flames and rolled backward. "Haha, almost got you, didn't I?" said Shang.
Haoyu smiled as he stood up. "Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to that girl's idea. But who knew this guy would be my perfect counter? Actually, both of them—Li and Shang—are my counters. One is a monolith I can't cut, and the other is too agile and punishes anyone who tries to fight up close."
Han Yi tried shooting at Lin Shu, but he didn't budge as the arrows hit him. She couldn't find a moment to use the vial as she tried following Lin Shu—only for him and Shang to switch, and Shang faced her and Lanxin with his wings spread open.
The male Skullbat was on its last breaths as dozens of cultivators surrounded it. Xie Lang stood next to Tiezheng as they stared at the beast.
"It's dying," said someone.
Xie Lang looked around. Everyone was wary of each other. "Hey, Tiezheng, you take this side and I'll…" But before he finished, he quickly raised his fist and hit Tie Zheng. Tiezheng raised his guard, directed the fist away, and then with his foot tried flipping Xie Lang to the ground. "Cheap bastard, backstabbing me with no shame."
Xie Lang used his hand to catch Tiezheng by the collar stopping himself from being flipped to the ground and tried headbutting him. Tiezheng punched in the face while simultaneously, with his other hand, he undid the buttons holding his uniform. The uniform came loose, Tiezheng lost his grip, and Xie Lang hit him with a palm to the chest. Then he quickly jumped at the beast and started shooting red lines at it. Han Lei was on the other side, stuck evading the female Skullbat. "Those two bastards used me to take the beast's attention away from them so they could kill the male that bastard Xie Lang told me Han Yi was close to the beast but when i got there I found nothing."
The male beast screamed as its flesh was cut. Tiezheng smiled, close to victory—only to be suddenly blinded by a burst of light. Right beneath him, Yu emerged, blinding everyone around. He put his hand on the beast's head, and just as he was about to kill it, Xie Lang's fist appeared next to him. Yu immediately used a deafening roar. Xie Lang, ears in pain, put his hand on Yu's mouth, picked him up, and with a fist to the stomach sent him away. Xie Lang then immediately put his hands on the beast's skull and tried crushing it.
"DON'T LET HIM!" someone shouted. Others immediately jumped at Xie Lang as he tried to get them off. The cultivators started stabbing the beast in all directions, trying to get the kill. Kai and Zaisheng joined, trying to get a chance. Kai punched left and right but was pushed. He hit Xie Lang, who headbutted him back. Kai lost his balance but quickly grabbed onto the beast's ear. He then, fighting the pain, put both his hands inside. Xu Jin tried to push him away, and so did Yun Qiu, but he clutched on tightly.
Every single one of them was tired, either out of qi or almost out, as they slashed and stabbed. Xie Lang continued crushing the skull with all his might as his qi started to run out. But then, from where Kai had put his hands, smoke started to rise. "Is he going to…" thought Tiezheng as he tried to reach the beast's heart. Yu noticed what Kai was doing and stepped back immediately.
"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Kai as flames exploded. Everyone covered their faces while others used people as human shields. Smoke rose. Everyone stood up, unsure who got the kill. Xie Lang, with burns, stood up in pain. In fact, everyone was the same—anyone close to Kai was in the same shape, with weaker cultivators already passed out.
Then a loud voice rang out: "THE FIRST SKULLBAT HAS BEEN SLAUGHTERED, AND THE ONE TO DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW IS…" But before he finished, everyone looked as someone ran with all their might.
"I got it! I got it!" thought a boy with a half‑burnt face.
"THE PERSON WHO DELIVERED THE FINAL BLOW IS CHI KAI!"
Yu and Zaisheng looked at each other and followed. "I should just take his points before that bastard Shang comes here."
"HEY, KAI, WAIT UP! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE TOGETHER. WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER!" screamed Yu as he tried his best to reach him, but due to using a lot of techniques, his speed was now not even half his peak—it burned his qi with insane speed.
"Yeah, we need to regroup, Kai," said Zaisheng, but his eyes gave a different goal.
Tiezheng, Xie Lang, along with eight others from Yun Qiu and Xu Jin, also couldn't reach him—none could use movement techniques because their qi reserves were so low.
Kai ran with all his might. "I shouldn't trust those two—especially Yu. That's what Li told me and Aoyan. I should head toward him, but I should watch out for chicken wings. No telling when he'd toss me under the bridge. Actually, wait—it's more likely that Li will steal my points than Shang. In fact, I think it's even more dangerous to go to that guy than to stay with Yu. But I don't have much of a choice now gotta try my luck maybe since he's got the first place already he won't try anything."
Han Lei was now slowly getting overwhelmed by the beast as he tried his hardest to guide it toward where most people were so he could get away. But then the loud explosion happened, and the beast looked at its location. The dust slowly moved away as it saw its mate's corpse. The beast screamed in agony, having lost its young and mate. Han Lei immediately went that way. Now he was running along with the other cultivators after Kai while the beast followed.
A bit further away, Lin Shu was now beating Haoyu, while Han Yi and Lan Xin struggled to get close to Shang Yufeng—his feathers cutting everything around. Lin Shu delivered a knee to Haoyu, while Haoyu had struck multiple times to no effect. "Haha, don't you think it's quite unfair? You should already be dead if not for that armor."
Lin Shu paid him no mind.
"You're a terrible martial artist," Haoyu went on. "Your movements are pure instinct—you're basically a street brawler. But you never need to pay for lack of training with armor like that. It's something worthy of envy, hahaha." He almost hit Lin Shu with every attack he used, but peak‑tier techniques and high‑tier ones, even used multiple times on the same spot, could only crack the armor before it restored itself.
Lin Shu was about to attack when he heard an explosion—a really loud one—followed by the announcement of who had killed the beast.
"Kai did it?" Lin Shu hadn't expected that. "Great. Now all I have to do is get his token, and I'm clear. Shang and Yu can go rot somewhere else, because I won't be giving a single point to them since it's come to this."
He looked ahead and saw almost a hundred cultivators—if not more—running after one person, sending all kinds of projectiles at him.
"LIIIIIIIII!" Kai ran with all his might, calling out.
Shang noticed him. "HAHAHA, WELL DONE, KAI! I NEVER BELIEVED IN YOU, BUT YOU ACTUALLY PROVED ME WRONG. WELL DONE!" He gave him a thumbs up.
Han Yi noticed Kai and immediately headed toward him."if i can't get to Lin Shu, then I'll force into facing me."
"That pest," thought Lin Shu as he ran toward her. Shang did the same. Lan xin saw an army of cultivators heading their way, and to top it all, she now saw a giant beast running after them as well. "Yeah, I'm not sticking around. This hunt has been nothing but bad luck for me." She ran away. "I wish I could've gotten more points, but I just can't get anyone to fight me up close. They all run or counter with speed or long‑range attacks. But I'll just get this over with." Then greed got the best of her."if i can get that resonance i can maybe rid myself of that damned sect"she slowly convinced herself."Well, actually, I'll just stay around the corners in case I can steal some points."
Lin Shu ran after Han Yi, and Shang did the same—the latter faster. Kai ran and ran as he saw arrows coming toward him. "Damn it, not this girl again."
Shang launched multiple feathers while Lin Shu shot Piercers at Han Yi, but now, without being injured or poisoned, she could dodge each of them while shooting arrows at Kai. Lin Shu couldn't just let his points be taken. He pulled his hand back. "I've restored all my lightning, and while I wanted to use it for an Ivory Detonation, I'll just have to use it here."
Lin Shu shot a beam of lightning. Han Yi, unable to dodge, created a shield of lightning. Kai took that chance to move past her. Shang quickly took his hand and flew him up. Lin Shu ran back as Shang flew toward him. But just as Lin Shu was about to catch his Shang's other arm, Han Lei threw his blade toward them while Tiezheng tried to force Shang to drop Kai. Shang maneuvered away but left Lin Shu on the ground.
Xie Lang jumped at Lin Shu and punched him in the face. Lin Shu looked at him unfazed. "Did he run out of qi?" He kicked him away and ran.
Shang lowered himself again, but Han Yi kept shooting arrows at him, stopping him from reaching Lin Shu. Lin Shu cursed and quickly headed toward the taller trees, hoping to climb one and then jump to Shang. Han Lei picked up his blade and ran, the beast right after them. Shang saw the beast stomping cultivators as it got close to the front and cursed.
Lin Shu, in panic, immediately climbed the closest tree and jumped from branch to branch. Multiple cultivators did the same. Han Yi, her eyes locked on Lin Shu, followed without fail.
"Hey, Kai, blow them up or something."
Kai said, "I can't. I'm all out of qi."
The beast's speed started to outmatch Lin Shu and everyone at the front, as most cultivators had now gotten away or jumped into the bushes before the beast crushed them. But the beast didn't go after them—it continued after the ones in front.
Yun Qiu asked, "Why is it still after us?"
Xie Lang said, "Well, we're the ones covered most in her mate's blood and flesh, so she'll be going after us."
"What do we do?"
The answer came quickly. "We can kill it if we force Li into attacking it," said Han Yi. "He'll be harder for it to kill. Then we can take that chance to kill it."
Xie Lang looked at her. "Not even I thought of doing that. You sure hate his guts. Is it because he beat you and your brother last time?"
Han Yi ignored him. Han Lei said, "Just attack him and guide the beast toward him, since it's following you guys."
Han Yi flashed with lightning as her speed increased. Han Lei followed. The others nodded—this was their last chance. There were only a little over fifteen minutes before the hunt ended.
Lin Shu tried to jump to Shang from time to time but failed as Han Yi or Han Lei stopped him immediately. "I really, really regret the day I failed to kill this girl."
Suddenly, Lin Shu was behind Han Lei and Han Yi. With their speed increased, he could see they were at their limit—but so was Lin Shu. While he still had his Infernal Force, his qi was almost all gone. What remained was used with the Chameleon Technique.
"What are they doing?"
He saw Tiezheng trying to cut him with those red lines. He was hit but not hurt. Zeng Shiyang threw his axe at him. Lin Shu dodged—something that heavy wouldn't break his armor, but it would trip him, and then he'd be crushed by either the cultivators or the beast behind them.
Han Lei took that chance and struck Lin Shu with a kick. Lin Shu jumped, then rolled to the ground.