Chapter Seventy: The Pursuit

The boy's name was Zhao Fan, an utterly ordinary name, befitting his simple family and unremarkable childhood. He had thought his whole life would remain so: in the end, he would marry a girl from the neighborhood, tend to a few acres of thin farmland, live and die in the same place as his father had.

Until...

He would never forget the moment, at age ten, when a figure flew overhead and spoke words that would echo in his heart for a lifetime.

"Well! You mountain lad, your bones are quite promising! Would you be willing to enter the Yunshan Marquis's estate as a servant?"

So, at ten, he entered the Yunshan Marquis's residence as a young attendant.

At twelve, he first touched the path of martial arts. He began to spend his meager wages to improve himself, squeezing in training after long hours of labor.

At fifteen, he achieved perfection in the acquired realm and finally saw the Yunshan Marquis again, leaving the ranks of servants to become his registered disciple.

He had thought that becoming a registered disciple would change his status dramatically, but he hadn't realized that there were dozens of others like him, some from noble families, some with deep scholarly roots.

Nevertheless, he could now train all day, without having to endure more than ten hours of exhausting chores.

So, only a year later, at sixteen, he broke through to the innate realm!

That year, he became the Yunshan Marquis's official disciple.

That year, the Yunshan Marquis told him:

"You cannot change your birth, but you can change the birth of your children."

For this, Zhao Fan was deeply grateful.

At seventeen, he was alarmed to discover that his talent could no longer propel him forward as swiftly as before. He realized that his senior brother, his second sister...

They could treat precious elixirs like candy, while he was only allowed one pill per month.

That year, his progress slowed, stalled at the early stage of the innate realm.

Until the Yunshan Marquis noticed him again, summoned him to his chamber, and handed him a whole box of precious pills, saying:

"Xiao Fan, work hard. I will provide you with the resources you need."

Thus, at eighteen, his hands were already stained with blood. That year, he killed more than a hundred people, his footsteps traversing the entire Yunhai province.

He did not know whether those he killed deserved death; he only knew that among all the disciples, he was the most diligent in taking on missions, and he was rewarded by the Yunshan Marquis more than anyone else.

At nineteen, Zhao Fan—mid-stage innate realm—became the third direct disciple of the Yunshan Marquis!

He had never disappointed the Marquis.

And he would not this time, either!

As for those two prey... Apologies. This is your fate...

Just as it is mine. I am a hunter.

Ahead, the distant howls of the green hound reached his ears. Zhao Fan swiftly gathered his thoughts, made no effort to hide his footsteps, and rushed forward, each stride leaving a muddy pit behind.

As an innate martial artist, he had nothing to fear from the schemes of two acquired martial artists.

...

At that moment, Chen Qi and his companion were in dire straits.

They had been trudging through the marshland when the barking of a dog grew closer from behind.

Suppressing the rising suspicion in his mind, Chen Qi's thoughts raced.

As if struck by inspiration, Chen Qi hastened his pace, bent down, grabbed a handful of mud, and smeared it over himself, letting a foul stench waft from his body.

Seeing Sun Ruohai beside him still dazed, Chen Qi scooped up another handful and splashed it onto Sun Ruohai.

Sun Ruohai was about to curse, but a glance at Chen Qi's grim expression silenced him.

Chen Qi reactivated the acceleration flag, grabbed Sun Ruohai, shifted their direction slightly, and continued running.

Thanks to the thick fog, the flag's durability was quickly restored. Now it had fifteen points, meaning they could keep running for fifteen more minutes.

Dozens of meters behind them, the green hound suddenly stopped in confusion.

It sniffed desperately, spun in place twice, digging frantically at the marsh as if trying to pinpoint their location.

Suddenly, as if a realization struck, the hound calmed.

Between its mismatched eyes, a faint radiance blossomed, forming the image of a phantom dog's eye.

With a sweeping glance, the hound howled three times in excitement, locked onto a direction, and dashed forward, leaving a shallow trench through the marsh.

Finally, the hound's odd-colored pupils caught sight of two human figures, their hands linked, weapons drawn.

Unable to restrain its excitement, the hound snorted loudly, a deep growl escaping its throat.

The abrupt growl startled Chen Qi and Sun Ruohai ahead. They immediately split, weapons held horizontally, adopting defensive stances facing the hound close behind.

The hound, seeing the humans cowed by its presence, grew even more excited. It let out a long howl to summon its master, then shook itself rapidly, flinging off the mud from its coat.

Seeing the hound occupied with shaking off its mud, Chen Qi's eyes brightened; he seized the moment to strike.

His blade sliced through flying mud, aiming straight for the hound's massive head.

Chen Qi's heart stirred. The blood energy he'd readied enveloped the blade, speeding up the strike by three degrees.

It was a clever idea: such sudden acceleration might not fool a seasoned martial artist, but against this hound, it would surely be effective.

Indeed, as the hound finished shaking off its coat, it saw the blade speeding toward it and was struck with terror.

In that critical moment, the hound performed its most familiar maneuver—a rolling dodge, slipping under the blade.

Though its green coat was muddied once again, it remained unscathed.

Having accidentally swallowed some mud, the hound, enraged, spat a mouthful toward Chen Qi's face.

Chen Qi, in the midst of withdrawing his blade, was not angered but delighted!

He'd been fretting about the hound's unpredictable movements in the mud, making it hard to target, and hadn't expected such a gesture.

So Chen Qi did not dodge; he simply closed his eyes, thrusting his blade along the trajectory of the incoming mud.

At the same moment, he willed his blood energy to surge, striking in anticipation of the hound's possible evasion.

The mud struck Chen Qi's face first, splattering into a sticky mass; though it lacked force, it carried a burning sensation.

Clearly, the mud was poisonous, and Chen Qi's skin had not been toughened enough to resist it.

But he had wisely closed his eyes, protecting one of humanity's vital organs.

Thus, Chen Qi only stiffened slightly, his blade unhesitatingly slashing out.

The hound, twisting desperately to avoid the blow, was struck by the surging blood energy, which forced it back into the path of the blade as if it had willingly leaped into harm's way.

Faced with such a perfect opportunity, Chen Qi showed no mercy; his blade instantly sliced deep into the hound's flank.

The hound let out a terrible howl but, restraining itself, did not roll. A deep wound split its green fur at the waist, blood and flesh tumbling forth, its internal organs faintly visible.

Having succeeded, Chen Qi wasted no time; his blood energy exploded again. With the weapon's bloodstained effect triggered, he controlled the blade for another strike.

Sun Ruohai, momentarily stunned, finally reacted. His sword swept out in coordination, sealing off all avenues of escape for the hound.

On the blade, crimson energy dyed the sword into a translucent red jade—clearly he was also using Scarlet Cloud Slash.

The hound cowered in terror, its fluffy tail drooping as if awaiting death.

"Stop! How dare you!"

Suddenly, a furious shout rang out from the mist, and the silhouette of a youth gradually grew clearer.

Two pale yellow streams of true energy shot forth from the youth's arms, preceding his voice, flying straight for the vital points of Chen Qi and Sun Ruohai.

This move was intended to save allies by attacking the enemy—an artful rescue.