Lin Xiao burst from the corridor into the pouring rain, torchlight and shouts exploding behind him, while the clan mobilized faster than he expected. Dogs howled in the distance, arrows whistled past his head and thudded into the courtyard wall, one grazing his calf so health dropped to 5% and five more Defiance Points poured in. The dark thrill hit him like lightning. He smiled through the pain and kept running, the forest swallowing him whole as trees whipped past, roots tried to trip him, and mud sucked at his boots. His breath came in ragged gasps, the system chimed again with the main quest complete and 500 additional points awarded, for a total of 1565, then issued the new main quest to reach the outer sect recruitment grounds alive and survive three days of pursuit or face soul erasure.
He had barely covered fifty yards when a side prison door exploded open behind him, chains rattled, and a young woman staggered out. Qin Susu, seventeen years old and an outer disciple, falsely accused of immoral affairs with elders by jealous rivals, her robes hung torn and soaked with fresh bruises marking her face. She had been locked away for public shaming before execution, yet the fighting in the hall had shattered her cell lock, so she spotted him, sprinted after him without hesitation, snatched a fallen dagger from a dead guard, and joined the chase at his side with no questions, just raw survival.
Arrows rained down again, one buried in Lin Xiao's shoulder so health flashed to 3%l, the addiction flared hot, and he laughed once, cold and hungry. He yanked the arrow free and kept moving while Susu took a cut across her arm but stayed on his flank, gasping between strides, "Who are you really? The young master I knew could barely hold a sword. You fought like something possessed back there, and your eyes look different, colder."
He did not answer. The Corrosion from the first 500 points had already locked in, emotions felt distant, she was useful, and that was enough, so he deliberately let another low branch rake his face. Blood trickled, one more point flowed in, and the rush steadied him while the hounds bayed louder, torchlight flickered through the trees, and five clan guards burst into view thirty yards back carrying qi-infused spears.
"There, the traitor and the whore. Take them alive if possible. Elder Zhen wants the boy for questioning," their leader shouted. Lin Xiao skidded to a stop, Susu grabbed his arm and urged him to run, but he shook her off, charged straight at them, twisted just enough for the first spear to slice deep across his ribs, and pain exploded so health dropped to 2 percent. The system chimed with ten more points, the dark thrill nearly blinded him, he tore the spear free, drove it through the guard's skull, and Susu fought beside him, slitting one man's throat with precise fury.
Lin Xiao took a sword cut across his back on purpose, health fell to 1 percent, more points flooded in, and more rush surged through him. The Corrosion made every thought ice cold, so these men were nothing but fuel. He crushed the last guard's windpipe and kept running while the forest thickened, rain lashed the leaves, and the hounds sounded right behind them. Six more pursuers appeared ahead carrying crossbows and heavier armor, elite hunters setting a trap.
"Ambush," Susu hissed, but Lin Xiao did not slow. He sprinted straight into the bolts, one slammed into his chest so health dropped to the brink, the system rewarded him with a flood, he roared and blurred through them, fists and stolen blades turning the clearing into a slaughter. Susu covered his left side, took a bolt to the shoulder but kept fighting with no panic in her eyes, only grim focus, and they broke through as bodies littered the mud behind them.
Lin Xiao's wounds burned, the addiction screamed for more, he deliberately let a low branch rake his face again, so blood trickled and one point steadied his steps. They ran for miles while the system chimed with daily quest, progress at forty minutes elapsed and a bonus of 300 points, if he hit under 5 percent again before the hour ended. The hounds closed in, torchlight grew brighter, more voices joined the chase, and the entire Lin Clan hunt tightened around them like a noose.
Susu gasped beside him, "They are gaining. We need a plan," but Lin Xiao said flatly, "No plan. We fight until the points stop coming." The Corrosion had stripped his voice bare. He felt the first shakes of withdrawal in his fingers with six hours left before it grew worse, yet he welcomed the edge because it made him sharper, and they burst into a narrow ravine where steep walls rose on both sides as a perfect kill zone.
Twenty guards waited at the far end with spears leveled, and Elder Lin Zhen's lieutenant, a Core Formation mid-stage monster, stood at their head sneering, "End of the line. The matriarch's little secret dies tonight." Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed because they knew about the key, Matriarch Lin Xue would pay for slipping it to him, yet the thought brought no sorrow, only cold calculation. He stepped forward, Susu stayed at his shoulder, the lieutenant raised a hand, crossbows snapped, bolts filled the air, and Lin Xiao charged straight into them.
He took three hits, shoulder, gut, and leg, so health plunged under 1 percent, the rush nearly knocked him off his feet, points poured in, he activated Defiant Overdrive at the last second, stats multiplied by 10, the world slowed, and he smashed through the line like a hurricane while guards died in sprays of blood. Susu fought like a demon behind him, dropped two men before a spear caught her side, cried out but stayed upright, and the lieutenant lunged at Lin Xiao with a qi-infused blade so their clash shook the ravine walls and rocks tumbled.
Lin Xiao's Overdrive timer ticked down with 42 seconds left. He took another deliberate hit, health fell to 0.2 percent, the addiction peaked, he laughed through bloody teeth and drove his fist into the lieutenant's jaw so bone shattered. The remaining guards panicked and fled, Lin Xiao pursued, the timer hit zero, backlash slammed him, pain doubled, he staggered, and Susu caught his arm urging, "We have to keep moving."
They staggered out of the ravine into a wider valley where rain pounded harder and lightning flashed in the distance. The hounds sounded right behind them now, Lin Xiao bought a healing pill mid-stride so health climbed to 18 percent but it was not enough. Withdrawal shakes grew stronger, his vision blurred at the edges, and the system chimed a warning of withdrawal symptoms in four hours if no new defiance was achieved. He smiled into the dark because the pain would give him more points, they ran on with miles blurring and the clan hunt tightening like a noose while Susu stayed silent beside him in a pact of survival with no questions.
Then the ground gave way beneath a hidden pit trap, spikes glinted at the bottom, Lin Xiao grabbed Susu and twisted mid-fall to take the impact so spikes tore through his back and leg. Health crashed to 0.1 percent, the system exploded with points, the rush blinded him, and he hauled them both out using the last of his strength. They collapsed at the edge with blood pooling beneath him, the hounds crested the ridge twenty yards away, twenty elite guards followed, the lieutenant had regrouped, and Elder Lin Zhen himself rode at the rear on a qi beast as killing intent rolled down like a wave.
Lin Xiao pushed to his knees with Overdrive on cooldown, wounds pouring, and withdrawal tremors starting in his hands while the addiction screamed for one more fight. Susu gripped her dagger and warned, "They are too many," but Lin Xiao's cold smile widened because it was perfect. The first wave charged, he rose to meet them, and the system chimed one final time with a new main quest update to survive the night ambush or face immediate soul deletion at health of 0.1 percent.
The hounds howled, Elder Lin Zhen raised his hand, the full force of Core Formation peak qi crashed down, and Lin Xiao laughed once, cold, dark, and unstoppable, as the world exploded into blood and lightning.