Dawn broke across the Azure Cloud Forest, thin rays of sunlight piercing through the canopy.The air smelled of damp earth, and the cries of distant beasts echoed like a warning.
Lin Tian opened his eyes slowly, feeling a strange clarity. His body was sore, his wooden sword cracked, but his mind was sharper than ever.
[System Notice: Battle insights absorbed.]
[Attribute Gains – Strength +1, Agility +1.]
[Skill Progress: Precision Strike Lv.1 → Lv.2.]
A faint smile tugged at his lips. He wasn't the same as yesterday.
Xiao Yue stirred beside the dwindling fire, blinking sleepily. Her hair was messy, her robes stained from yesterday's fight, but her gaze held warmth."You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
Lin Tian shook his head. "Couldn't. The wolves' movements… their timing, their instincts I kept replaying them. And now, I understand them."
Her eyes widened slightly. "You… learned from them?"
"Yes," he said simply, standing and tightening his grip on the battered sword. "If I stay passive, Ye Feng will crush me. If I only run, we'll never make it out alive. So from today we hunt."
They moved cautiously through the forest. Lin Tian's new skill, Predator's Awareness, prickled at the back of his mind like an invisible thread tugging him toward danger. Unlike before, he wasn't startled—he was ready.
Soon, they spotted their target: a lone Crimson-Tailed Hare, its ears twitching as it nibbled grass. Though deceptively small, it was a Tier 1 beast, its kicks strong enough to break bone.
Xiao Yue's grip on her wooden sword tightened nervously. "It looks harmless…"
"Never underestimate a spirit beast," Lin Tian warned, eyes sharp. "Stay behind me, and watch."
The hare's ears twitched too late. Lin Tian was already moving. His steps were silent, his body flowing naturally into the rhythm of the hunt. The beast sprang back, its crimson tail glowing faintly as it lashed out with its powerful hind legs.
But Lin Tian sidestepped with uncanny precision. His sword slashed down, striking across its leg joint. The hare shrieked, collapsing into the dirt. One swift follow-up strike ended it.
Blood pooled at his feet.
[Beast slain: Crimson-Tailed Hare.]
[XP +50.]
[Drop Acquired: Beast Core (Low-Grade).]
Lin Tian picked up the glowing red core, its energy faint but pure. He held it out to Xiao Yue.
"Take it. Absorb the energy it'll strengthen your body."
She hesitated, staring at him. "But… don't you need it more?"
"I'll get plenty more," he said simply. "You need to survive too, Xiao Yue. If I'm not there, you must be able to protect yourself."
Her lips trembled, her eyes stinging. She clutched the core to her chest, nodding firmly. "Then I'll grow stronger with you."
The rest of the day, they hunted cautiously—weak beasts, strays, the kind most disciples ignored. Yet for Lin Tian, every strike was training, every beast another lesson. His movements became sharper, his instincts keener.
By dusk, their small cave was filled with a modest pile of beast cores. Xiao Yue had absorbed two, her complexion glowing faintly with new vitality. Lin Tian's system chimed repeatedly, each battle pushing him closer to the edge of transformation.
But as the fire crackled, a distant howl shook the air low , deep, and chilling. Unlike the wolves before, this was something larger. Stronger.
Xiao Yue's face paled. "Lin Tian… what was that?"
Lin Tian's hand tightened on his sword, his eyes narrowing."A new predator. And it's getting closer."
---
The Azure Cloud Forest was alive with screams. All around, disciples fought, bled, and died. For most, this was a trial of survival.
But for Ye Feng it was a stage.
Perched atop a moss-covered boulder, he stood with hands clasped behind his back, eyes gleaming in the dim light. Around him, a small group of trusted followers dragged the corpses of fallen disciples into the undergrowth, hiding their trail.
"Pathetic," Ye Feng muttered, watching another disciple scream as a beast tore into him in the distance. "So many crumble at the first taste of fear. Not even worth dirtying my blade."
One of his men, a wiry youth with a scar across his cheek, bowed."Senior Brother, the outer ring has thinned. Only a handful remain here. Should we move deeper?"
Ye Feng smirked. "Not yet. There is one more mouse I wish to play with first."
At the mention, the scarred youth's face darkened."You mean… Lin Tian?"
"Of course." Ye Feng's voice was soft, almost casual, but his eyes were sharp as blades. "The trash dares show fangs.
Wolves? He defeated them. That much I've heard."
The youth spat in disdain. "Surely just luck."
"Luck can be broken," Ye Feng replied coolly, kneeling to trace a symbol in the dirt. His fingers danced like a calligrapher's brush, forming a strange sigil pulsing faintly with energy. "But courage born from victory… that must be crushed utterly."
The sigil glowed red, the air trembling as a deep howl echoed through the forest. The ground itself seemed to quake under the weight of something approaching.
Ye Feng's disciples shivered, exchanging uneasy glances. "Senior Brother… is that…?"
Ye Feng's smile widened, wolfish."The Ironhide Direwolf. Mid-tier predator of the outer forest. Its hide is harder than steel, its jaws can shatter boulders. Alone, it would be dangerous. But guided…" He pressed his hand into the glowing sigil, and the forest roared in response. "…it will become my executioner."
The scarred youth licked his lips nervously. "You'll sic it on Lin Tian?"
Ye Feng stood, brushing dirt from his robes. His tone was silk, but laced with venom.
"No. I'll let it sniff him out, chase him, corner him. I want Lin Tian to taste despair as he realizes there's no escape. And when he's broken, when Xiao Yue is stripped from his side, when his courage rots into fear… then, and only then, will I step in."
The trees swayed as the Direwolf's howl shook the night again, closer this time.
Ye Feng tilted his head toward the sound, his smile cruel."Run, little mouse. Run until your legs break. I'll be waiting."
Screams tore through the night as the Azure Cloud Forest revealed its cruelty.
Two disciples ran frantically through the undergrowth, robes torn, blood soaking into the dirt. Behind them, a pack of shadow-wolves howled, closing in with relentless hunger.
"Keep running!" one shouted, his voice cracking with fear. "If we stop, we're dead!"
But his companion stumbled, a branch slashing across his leg.The wolves pounced instantly. The forest swallowed his screams before the other disciple even looked back.
From the treetops, Ye Feng's followers watched in silence. One smirked, shaking his head."Another pair gone. Senior Brother really doesn't need to lift a finger."
"Shh," another hissed, pointing to the ground below. "Look there."
Beneath the shadows of a giant oak, faint glowing symbols flickered traps inscribed into the earth. The fleeing disciple stepped directly into one.
Crack!
The sigil blazed red, binding his legs in chains of light. A beast hidden in the brush an obsidian-furred panther sprang forward, its jaws crushing his throat in an instant.
Blood sprayed the earth. The disciple's eyes dimmed as the forest fell quiet again.
The trap vanished, leaving no trace but the corpse.
Ye Feng's men exchanged grim looks. One finally muttered, voice trembling,"Senior Brother's methods… they're terrifying. No wonder the Elders favor him."
Farther north, another scene unfolded.
Three disciples huddled together in a clearing, nursing wounds. They thought themselves safe.
Until a low growl rumbled from the darkness.
The ground shook as a massive beast emerged its hide black as iron, eyes glowing red. The Ironhide Direwolf.
Their faces drained of color."That… that's a mid-tier predator! What's it doing this far out?!"
The beast lunged. One disciple was torn in half instantly, his scream cut short. Another tried to flee, but the Direwolf's jaws closed around his body like snapping twigs.
The last one fell to his knees, sobbing as the beast's shadow loomed over him."No… no, please, I don't want to die—!"
His cry ended in silence.
The Direwolf raised its blood-soaked snout, howling to the night sky. Its crimson gaze flickered briefly, unnaturally as if guided by an unseen hand. Then it turned. Its massive form melted into the forest, heading straight toward its next prey.
In the distance, Ye Feng stood on a cliff edge, watching calmly.
"Perfect," he murmured, eyes glinting like stars in a dark sky. "The beast grows restless. Its nose is sharp. Soon, it will find him."
The forest answered with silence—broken only by the heavy, echoing steps of the predator he had set loose.
Lin Tian's hunt had just become a nightmare.