The Bloodshade Hunting Grounds sprawled before Victor like an open wound in the world.
Even at the outskirts, the air carried a faint metallic tang, as though blood had soaked so deeply into the land that it could never truly be washed away. The ground was a cracked mosaic of crimson-brown stone and blackened soil, threaded with veins of dull red crystal that throbbed faintly.
Victor slowed only slightly as he crossed the boundary marker.
Immediately, the noise hit him.
Shouting cultivators.
Clashing steel.
Bestial roars echoing from deeper within.
Groups were everywhere.
Some were clearly players with names floating above their heads, calling out system prompts and loot distributions mid-fight. Others were native cultivators with hard eyes.
Victor walked alone.
His aura was fully concealed, folded inward so tightly that it barely leaked beyond his skin. To outside senses, he appeared no stronger than a mid Core Formation cultivator which was quite unremarkable.
