The forest of Silverwood Abyss was never truly silent—its leaves whispered with ancient qi, its roots hummed with primordial rhythms—but tonight, an entirely different kind of silence ruled.
A silence born from something hunting.
Something hunting Jason Wu.
And the bastard wasn't even being subtle about it.
Jason ducked under a branch as a spear made of pure void energy shot past his head and punched a hole through three trees behind him.
He didn't slow down.
"Longwu," he muttered between breaths, "is this guy still behind us?"
Longwu Sword vibrated once—irritated.
["Boy, he's been behind us, above us, beside us, and up your backside in the last five minutes. Yes, he's still there."]
Jason grimaced. "I wasn't asking for a poetic description."
["I wasn't trying to be poetic. That's literally where he was."]
Jason nearly tripped."…I hate my life."
He dashed across a mossy ridge and leapt over a fallen tree. His footsteps barely made sound—old assassin training from the Pavilion days—but the enemy still tracked him like his soul was wearing a bell.
And in a sense… it was.
Because the hunter wasn't a beast.
He was a Riftbound Seeker.
An actual one this time.
Not like the puppets he fought before.Not like the sentinels.Not like the fakes masquerading as "Observers."
No—this one had presence.
A presence like a star collapsing.
Jason braced himself as the air behind him distorted—rippling like heat over desert sand.
He found the trail again.
Jason clicked his tongue. "Persistent bastard."
["Not persistent," Longwu corrected dryly. "Obsessed. Like those elders who kept trying to marry you off before you left the sect."]
Jason hissed, "Don't remind me—why do old men always try to sell me to their daughters?"
["Because you're pretty."]
"…I'm blocking you out."
He wasn't, but it made him feel better.
THE SEEKER ARRIVES
The forest around Jason dimmed for a heartbeat. Shadows sharpened. Reality bent inward, like a throat swallowing.
Then—
A figure stepped out.
Tall. Cloaked in cracked silver armor. Mask shaped like a beast skull. Limbs elongated by cosmic grafting. Eyes burning with cold violet rings.
A true Riftbound.
The Seeker tilted its head as if confused.
"Subject 17C: Jason Wu.""Status: Incomplete sample.""Correction required."
Jason threw up his hands. "Why does every cosmic creep I meet sound like a broken census officer?! I'm not a 'sample'—I'm a person!"
The Seeker blinked.
"Sample acknowledged."
Jason screamed internally.
Longwu hummed sympathetically—sort of.["I told you cosmic beings don't understand sarcasm. It's like talking to the stone tablet you broke when you were eight."]
Jason pointed accusingly at the Seeker. "You hear that? Even my sword thinks you're dense!"
The Seeker didn't care.
Or understand.
Or both.
It raised its hand.
A blade of void condensed—thin, curved, vibrating at a frequency that made Jason's skull buzz.
Longwu whispered sharply,["Boy. That thing is designed to cut through bloodlines."]
Jason froze. "…Meaning?"
["Meaning if it touches you, your lineage goes bye-bye. No descendants. No Clan Wu. Nothing."]
"RIGHT! OKAY!" Jason shouted. "No getting cut today!"
The Seeker lunged.
THE HUNT INTENSIFIES
Jason rolled aside as the bloodline-killer blade carved a trench into the earth, splitting stone as if it were tofu.
Jason retaliated—slashing with Longwu.
Sword-light like crackling thunder roared through the forest.
But the Seeker simply stepped aside—movement efficient, minimal, impossible.
Jason blinked. "Oh come on, that was my coolest attack tonight!"
The Seeker ignored him and teleported.
Jason's eyes widened. "SERIOUSLY?!"
He felt the killing intent behind him and ducked just in time. The void blade passed inches above his hair.
He could feel it—his bloodline responding, trying to recoil, like every ancestor he had was screaming "MOVE, YOU IDIOT!"
He moved.
Jason scrap-sprinted through the trees, weaving between roots and leaping over glowing fungi.
Longwu buzzed.["Boy, he's gaining."]
"I noticed!"
["Then why are you running like a drunk duck?"]
"BECAUSE I'M PANICKING!"
The Seeker teleported again.
A hand the size of a grown man's torso reached for Jason's spine.
Jason slammed his foot into the ground and twisted into a sliding dive—just barely escaping.
The Seeker's hand crushed through a boulder instead.
Boom.
Jason winced. "Okay… maybe I am a little drunk-duck right now."
Longwu's tone softened—just barely.["…Breathe, boy. You can't outpace him forever. Use your head."]
Jason inhaled sharply.
Right.
Running = death.
Thinking = survival.
JASON'S TRAP
Jason skidded to a halt.
The Seeker appeared before him instantly, void blade raised for the final strike.
Jason smirked.
"Finally caught up, huh?"He tapped the ground with Longwu's tip."You know what this place is?"
The Seeker paused.
Not because it understood.
But because Jason's qi flickered strangely.
Unpredictably.
Wild.
Jason activated a formation—one he carved earlier while running.A basic one.A stupid one.
A—
—"Confusion Zeta Loop."
The Seeker froze.
"Analyzing anomaly."
Jason grinned even wider.
"This formation is trash. Every second-rate formation student knows it. Totally useless."
Longwu coughed.["Boy, it is useless."]
Jason nodded."Yeah. But only against people with normal brains."
The Seeker tilted its head.
Jason whispered,"…and cosmic AI weirdos like him? Their logic patterns choke on paradox loops."
The formation flared.
Just a small flicker.
But enough.
The Seeker's movements stalled—microsecond glitches running through its limbs.
"PROCESSING ERROR."
Jason punched the air triumphantly."YES! Your cosmic Windows XP brain can't handle a BASIC LOOP!"
Longwu snorted.["Ironic. You failed that formation test twice."]
"Shh. Let me have this moment."
COUNTERATTACK
Jason didn't waste time.
He surged forward.Longwu gathered light—azure and gold, forming a sharp arc.
He slashed.
The Seeker blocked—but the glitch delayed it a fraction of a second.
The blade connected.
Sparks burst.The Seeker stumbled backward, armor cracked.
Jason blinked."Oh… that worked better than I expected."
Longwu vibrated proudly.["Because I am magnificent."]
The Seeker re-stabilized—armor knitting itself back together.
Jason's smile faded."…Okay, maybe too magnificent."
The Seeker pointed at him.
"Threat level: elevated.""Upgrading protocol to Tier-Mu."
Jason whispered, "Longwu, what is Tier-Mu?"
["…Boy. Remember the big scary golem you fought at the Xueyin Pavilion trial?"]
"Yes."
["Multiply that by ten."]
Jason's soul screamed."Oh, come o—"
The Seeker vanished.
Then—
WHAM.
Jason flew into a tree.The tree broke.Jason bounced off a second tree.That one broke too.
He lay on the ground wheezing. "I think… I saw my ancestors…"
Longwu groaned.["Get up, boy. He's coming again."]
Jason staggered upright.
"I know… but I need—something. Anything."
And then—
A memory flickered.
Chapter 8 — Wei Qing teaching him the 'Three-Step Redirect.'He failed it miserably back then.
But Jason grinned.
"Let's see if my body remembers what my brain forgot."
THE REDIRECT
The Seeker charged—faster than sound.
Jason centered his stance.
One breath.
Two.
Three—
He stepped aside.
Shifted weight.
Redirected force.
The Seeker's blade pierced empty air as Jason twisted with surprising grace, placing his palm on the Seeker's wrist and guiding its momentum past him.
For the first time—
The Seeker stumbled.
Jason stuck out his tongue.
"YES! Thank you, Wei Qing! I love you platonically—don't tell Lily!!"
Longwu wheezed.["Boy, FOCUS!"]
Right.
He charged—slashing at the Seeker's flank while it was off-balance.
Crack.
A piece of cosmic plating fell off.
The Seeker scanned it.
"Damage registered.""Target skill: unacceptable.""Escalating hunt."
Jason blinked. "…Escalating what?"
The forest darkened.
The Seeker's body expanded—muscles unraveling into shadow tendrils.Its mask split open, revealing a maw of swirling void.
Longwu whispered,["…Jason. He's entering 'Devouring Pursuit.'"]
"That sounds like a bad thing."
["It means he can't stop chasing you until one of you dies."]
Jason inhaled sharply.
"Cool. Great. Awesome. That's—just perfect."
THE HUNT RESUMES
The Seeker roared—a sound like ten thousand souls screaming underwater—and charged with predatory force.
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"No more running."
He planted his foot.Raised Longwu.
And met him head-on.
Energy collided, ripping the earth apart in a burst of blinding light.
Jason was flung back—bleeding, battered—but still standing.
Barely.
The Seeker lurched forward, void blade trembling—unstable from the earlier glitch.
Jason spat blood.
"Yeah? Guess what?"
He lifted Longwu, whose edge crackled with defiant azure flames.
"This hunt isn't ending today."
Longwu chuckled darkly.["Good. Now hit him again before he kills us both."]
Jason grinned, exhausted but unbroken.
"Round two then… you cosmic freak."
The forest trembled as both sides rushed toward each other—
And the hunt continued.