They had been running for two days straight but not aimlessly. Mei knew these mountains, she had traveled them during her run from the Jade Phoenix Palace. She led them through narrow passes, across streams that would mask their scent, the walked paths that avoided main roads and sect territories.
But the Ladder notification never disappeared, just updated relentlessly.
```
Blood Cultivator Rank #8,234 (Lian Xue)
Distance: 35 li
Distance: 28 li
Distance: 19 li
```
(1 li = 1 miles in Chinese terms)
She was gaining on them slowly, a Core Formation Stage Two blood cultivator with 73 kills chasing a newly advanced Stage Four who was still learning to walk without stumbling under the weight of his new power.
But Longwei knew she was toying With them, she could have caught them by now if she really wanted to.
"She's enjoying the hunt."
They took a break in a hidden cave, hidden deep enough to avoid casual detection. Mei was treating her shoulder wound, it had reopened twice during the run leaving a trail any competent tracker could follow.
"We can't keep running," she said, while in pain. "I'm slowing us down and she knows it."
"You're not slowing anything."
"Don't lie to protect my feelings." She tied off the bandage. "I'm injured. Core Formation Three against her Core Formation Two should be even but she has experience and I'm wounded. The math is against us."
Longwei checked the Ladder notification again: 12 miles. Less than an hour at cultivator speeds.
"What if we ambush her?" he suggested. "Pick the ground, prepare formations and hit her before she expects it."
"Blood Cultivators don't ambush easily. She'll sense us the moment we stop moving with intent to fight." Mei pulled her robe closed. "The Ladder will probably warn her we're preparing. It wants combat, not strategy."
"How do you know that?"
"Because it's called a *Ladder*. Systems like that are designed to force confrontation, otherwise everyone would hide and the rankings would stagnate." She managed a smile. "Whoever created this thing understood human nature... Make power visible, track it and rank it, and suddenly everyone's competing whether they want to or not."
WUJI, Longwei thought. Probably The Immortal who created the Primordial Scripture, and also built this system to force blood cultivators to fight each other. To climb over corpses toward ascension.
But why? What's at the top that's worth thousands of deaths?
The cave entrance darkened.
Not with shadows, something like a presence that pressed against reality like a thumb, warping the space around it.
Mei's ice flared instantly and Longwei's Yang energy ignited.
A woman stepped into the cave.
Lian Xue was beautiful in a way a knife was beautiful, all clean lines and sharp edges with the implicit sense of violence.
She looked perhaps twenty eight, though cultivation made age meaningless. She had long red hair that fell past her waist and her robes were a bright red and white, cut in a style that suggested Crimson Moon Hall influence but now rogue and more predatory.
Her eyes were the worst part because the were not like anything you had seen. The had unusual brown colors and looking at them made you feel like a prey about to be slaughtered.
"Shen Longwei." Her voice was smoke and honey. "Rank #9,342. Five kills. One week active on the Ladder." She walked deeper into the cave, unhurried. Each step was perfectly balanced, a fighter's grace. "You've made quite the impression, new blood."
Longwei didn't lower his guard. "Lian Xue. The Blood Lotus. Why have you been following us, Lady?"
"Following?" She laughed. "Darling, I've been hunting you, there's a difference."
"We don't want trouble."
"Everyone says that, right before they cause trouble." She circled them slowly, never taking her eyes off Longwei, barely acknowledging Mei's existence. "You jumped 2,000 ranks in one day. Killed a Core Formation Stage Five elder. That's impressive for a baby blood cultivator."
"She attacked me first."
"Oh, I'm sure. They always do." Lian Xue's smile never reached her eyes. "That's the beauty of our path, isn't it? We only kill in 'self-defense.' We just make sure we're in situations where self defense becomes necessary."
Mei stepped forward, ice crystals forming around her fists. "State your purpose or leave."
Lian Xue's eyes finally shifted to her. "The ice phoenix, Mei Xuefeng. Bonded partner." She tilted her head. "How does it feel knowing your lover murders people and drinks their souls to grow stronger?"
"He defends us, that's different."
"Is it?" Lian Xue's gaze returned to Longwei. "Tell me... When did you think about defense? Huh? Was it when you crushed that elder's core or when you felt her cultivation flooding into you?"
Longwei felt Mei's eyes sharpen, she was also waiting for his answer.
"Both?" he said honestly. "I don't know."
Lian Xue's smile widened In genuine delighted. "See? That's refreshing, because most new bloods lie to themselves for months. You're already admitting the truth."
"What do you want?" Longwei demanded.
"Want?" She stopped circling, standing before him just outside striking distance. "I want to make you an offer."
"We're not interested in..."
"Partner with me."
The words hung in the air.
Longwei stared at her. "What?"
"Partner. With. Me." Lian Xue spoke slowly, as if she was talking to a child. "Two blood cultivators working together. We hunt the hunters, kill sect cultivators who are coming for us anyway and share power."
"Share power?" Mei's voice was ice. "You mean both of you absorb from the same corpse?"
"Exactly. The Ladder allows it, power splits between partners present at the kill. We both advance, just slower but together?" She gestured expressively. "Two Core Formation blood cultivators coordinating could take down Nascent Soul opponents and the advancement rate would be astronomical."
Longwei's mind was racing, It made perfect sense, Two blood cultivators were exponentially more dangerous than one. They could challenge stronger enemies, and survive situations that would kill a lone cultivator.
But the cost...
"How do you hunt?" he asked carefully. "What are your rules?"
Lian Xue's expression changed from amusement to something colder. "Rules?"
"Who do you kill? How do you choose targets?"
"I kill anyone who threatens me, anyone who has power I need and anyone who gets in my way." She said it matter-of-factly, like discussing the weather. "Sect cultivators, rogue cultivators, demonic cultivators are all the same really. Merely resources walking around waiting to be harvested."
"Innocents?"
"Define innocent." She stepped closer. "That merchant whose caravan I raided last month was he innocent when his goods were bought with taxes extracted from starving peasants? The 'righteous' elder I killed last week was she innocent when she executed disciples for minor infractions? Everyone's guilty of something, new blood. Everyone has blood on their hands."
Mei's voice cut through: "That's sophistry, you kill whoever you want and justify it afterward."
"And you don't?" Lian Xue's gaze snapped back to her. "Your partner has killed what, five people in a week? How many more before you stop counting or before the line you've drawn in the sand starts to blur?"
"We have rules," Longwei said firmly. "I only kill in defense, only with enemies who attack first, only..."
"Only people who give you an excuse." Lian Xue laughed. "You think you're different from me? Better than me?" She moved suddenly, fast enough that even with his Core Formation Four cultivation Longwei was barely tracking it.
Suddenly she was beside Mei now with one finger extended toward the ice phoenix's throat. Not fully touching but hovering there radiating threat.
"I could kill her right now, you know." Lian Xue said. "She'd barely have time to scream and you'd absorb her essence and your bonded partner's power would flow into you through the bond you share. You'd jump to Core Formation Six in an instant."
Longwei's Yang exploded. He was moving before thinking, with his hand already reaching for Lian Xue's throat...
But she was already gone, back where she'd started as if she'd never moved.
"But you wouldn't let me, would you?" She smiled. "Because she's yours. Your partner. Your possession. Not because killing her would be wrong but because she belongs to you."
"She doesn't belong to anyone," Longwei growled. "She's a person, not some property."
"Then why did you react like I was threatening your treasure?" Lian Xue's eyes glittered. "Why that rage? That immediate unconsidered violence?"
He could feel Mei's emotions. Fear at how close Lian Xue had come, gratitude for his protection and. Concern, because Lian Xue's words had struck close to home.
He had reacted like someone who was defending his property Instinctively in Violently.
Is that what she's become to me? A possession? Power I've claimed?
No, she's my partner. By choice and she chose me.
But did she choose freely? Or was it because she needed my power to survive?
The thoughts spiraled. Lian Xue watched him processing, clearly enjoying his internal struggle.
"You're thinking too much," she said finally. "That's your problem, new blood. You want to be good, want to believe you're different from the monsters but you've killed people while growing stronger."
"You are the monster, you just haven't accepted it yet."
"I'm not you," Longwei said quietly.
"Not yet." Lian Xue's smile was almost in pity. "But give it time... fifty kills, a hundred and see if your precious rules survive that long." She turned like she was about to leave then paused at the cave entrance. "My offer stands. Partner with me and climb the Ladder together or stay weak and eventually someone stronger will kill you both."
"Probably me."
"How do I know you I can even trust you?" Longwei asked. "Why would you share power instead of just taking it?"
"Because I'm ranked #8,234." She glanced back. "You know what that means? There are about 8,000 blood cultivators stronger than me, eight fucking thousand people who could kill me if they wanted, so I need allies to climb higher and you..." She studied him with a smile. "You have potential and raw power, decent combat instincts and just enough conscience left to be controllable."
"Controllable?"
"Everyone's controllable by something. You? You're controlled by that girl." She nodded toward Mei. "As long as I don't threaten her, you'll do what I need. It's simple."
"The answer is no," Longwei said. "I won't hunt innocents or kill for convenience."
Lian Xue sighed in disappointment. "Such waste, but okay I guess. Remember I gave you a chance." She drew her sword. "Then we do this the other way."
The Ladder notification blazed in Longwei's mind:
```
FORMAL CHALLENGE ISSUED
Blood Cultivator Rank #8,234 (Lian Xue) challenges Rank #7,392 (Shen Longwei)
Terms: Single Combat, Death or Submission
Stakes: Victor absorbs loser's accumulated cultivation + 50% rank advancement
Challenge accepted automatically (Proximity Mandatory Combat Rules)
Combat begins: NOW
Arena: Current location, 1 li radius
Duration: Until conclusion
Spectators: 847 blood cultivators (Ranks #1-1000) observing
```
"Wait," Longwei said. "I didn't accept..."
"The Ladder has rules, new blood." Lian Xue's sword rose to guard position. "Once I issue a formal challenge and we're within proximity range, combat is inevitable. You can surrender and lose everything or you can fight."
Red light lit around them like a barrier, visible only to those with blood cultivation, sealing them inside a one mile combat zone. Mei was still inside the barrier with them, because apparently the Ladder considered bonded partners part of the same unit.
"You ambushed us," Longwei said as he realised what was happening "Talked to buy time while the Ladder set up the arena."
"I prefer to think of it as being thorough." Lian Xue rolled her shoulders, loosening up. "Don't feel bad, you would have figured it out eventually. You're clever but inexperienced."
The notification updated:
```
Combat Rules Active:
- No escape until victor determined
- Death or submission ends combat
- Outside interference prohibited
- Cultivation absorption automatic upon death
- Ladder rank transfer immediate
FIGHT
```
Mei moved to stand beside Longwei with ice forming defensive walls. "We fight her together."
"No." Lian Xue's sword flicked out, and a line of blood red Qi slashed across the cave floor between them. "Partner bonds are allowed, but the primary combatants must engage directly. Your ice phoenix can provide support or defensive techniques, healing but if she attacks me directly, the Ladder considers it interference and penalizes you both."
"That's insane," Mei protested.
"That's the rules, darling." Lian Xue's attention fixed back on Longwei. "The Ladder wants one on one combat between blood cultivators. It tolerates support from bonded partners, but the fight is between him and me."
Longwei checked the Ladder display and she was right, the rules were clearly stated:
The system is designed to force individual growth. To make blood cultivators fight their own battles.
Wuji, what the hell were you thinking when you created this?
"Fine," Longwei said, stepping forward. "You wanted this fight? Now let's see if you can back up all that talk."
Lian Xue chuckled. "Finally. The real you comes out to play."
"LET'S KILL EACH OTHER!!"