Extreme Peril

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

At a barbecue restaurant not far from Qishan Wutong Archery Hall, Ji Xinghuo and Lu Yunhai clinked their glasses and drained the beer in one gulp.

"I'm really so happy."

"Xinghuo, winning this championship really brings me glory!"

Lu Yunhai had an arm around Ji Xinghuo's shoulder. His face was already red from drinking, but his mind was still clear. Only, his voice had unconsciously grown louder.

"On the way back from Zhongnan Mountain just now, the other coaches at the Archery Hall looked at me differently."

"Sister Fang even asked me about you."

At the mention of Fang Yinping, Lu Yunhai suddenly chuckled and continued, "Being able to teach a student like you is the best proof of my coaching ability. Though I didn't teach you for many days, and it was all your own talent and practice, they don't know that, hahaha..."

"I won't tell anyone," Ji Xinghuo teased.

"It's fine even if you do." Lu Yunhai shook his head with a smug look. "Anyway, everyone at the hall saw me teaching you archery these past few weeks."

Ji Xinghuo smiled and glanced at the trophy on the table.

The trophy itself was worthless.

But the championship it represented carried considerable weight. As soon as the competition ended, the 200,000 Asia Yuan champion's prize had been transferred into his account.

After taxes, it was more than 180,000!

This was the first time he had ever earned so much money. It had multiplied his savings several times over in one stroke. The sense of accomplishment was deeply satisfying, and his heart was filled with joy.

"Another round." Ji Xinghuo filled his glass.

"Alright!"

Lu Yunhai emptied his glass in one gulp and asked, "Xinghuo, what are you planning to do next?"

"Nothing for now." Ji Xinghuo shook his head. He was only an Elementary Esper, and his strength was still weak. His top priority was improving his strength.

After three weeks of cultivation, his Stellar Force had reached 56, and the progress of Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands had risen to 10/47.

Being able to see every step of his progress made every day of cultivation full of motivation.

As long as he proceeded step by step, his strength would keep improving.

Ji Xinghuo felt like his fifth younger brother, Wang Zizhen, addicted to a virtual game called "reality." All he wanted to do every day was grind experience. He wished there were forty-eight hours in a day, with only one goal: level up!

But Lu Yunhai looked disappointed. "Don't you want to enter more archery competitions and win more championship prizes?"

"There's another amateur-level competition next week. The champion's prize isn't as high as the Shoot Leaf Cup, but it's still around 100,000. If you go, you'll definitely win."

"And then in the middle of next month..."

He casually listed several competitions of varying levels, with prizes ranging from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand.

Ji Xinghuo looked thoughtful.

He had originally considered making money through archery competitions.

But what happened today gave him pause. Although the Shoot Leaf Cup was only a semi-professional competition and not particularly large, its organizers had considerable influence. Several of those Archery Hall Masters were Super Espers, especially Yang Tianqing.

Ji Xinghuo had noticed that Yang Tianqing was paying close attention to him. It was not the attention one gave a champion, but an observation carrying some other emotion or purpose! He had been a little too high-profile.

If he continued entering other competitions and repeatedly won championship after championship, Yang Tianqing would not be the only one drawn to him.

"I won't enter any competitions for the time being," Ji Xinghuo decided.

"Why?"

Lu Yunhai looked stunned and completely unable to understand.

To him, those championship prizes were already Ji Xinghuo's for the taking. They were legitimate earnings, and competing would not take much time. Why refuse money that was practically being handed to him? "I don't need money right now." After thinking for a moment, Ji Xinghuo revealed some of the truth. "My biological father gave me some money. Ten million."

"Ten million!"

Lu Yunhai's eyes widened, and he nearly cried out. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

After confirming that Ji Xinghuo was telling the truth, Lu Yunhai's face was full of envy. He could not help complaining, "I'm not a Public Child, and I used to think I was pretty lucky. But now, why does it feel like you have it way better than me? My dad can't even come up with one million. He plays games all day and doesn't work."

Ji Xinghuo knew something about his family situation.

A thought struck him, and he asked, "How much have you saved up now?"

"850,000."

"That much?" Ji Xinghuo was somewhat surprised.

An Archery Hall coach earned a little over ten thousand a month. Lu Yunhai had been working part-time since university, so Ji Xinghuo had assumed he had at most two or three hundred thousand.

"Hehe..." Lu Yunhai looked proud. "I'm a senior coach. My performance has always ranked among the best at the Archery Hall, and I have some side income too. I can save twenty or thirty thousand every month."

Ji Xinghuo could not help looking at him in a new light.

"Why are you asking about my savings? Don't tell me you want to lend me money?" Lu Yunhai's eyes lit up.

"That's right." Ji Xinghuo smiled. "You can start preparing for your second Ability Seed fusion. In a few days, I'll transfer 700,000 to you."

Lu Yunhai had always wanted to become a Tracker. The core ability of that Class Template was Eagle Eye, which cost around 1.5 million Asia Yuan on the market.

He had tried once while he was in university, but unfortunately, he had failed.

A second Ability Seed fusion required more preparation, was more difficult, and had only half the success rate of the first attempt.

Yet Lu Yunhai hesitated.

"If I fail again, I might not be able to pay you back for years." Thinking of the consequences of failure made him uneasy.

Although failing an Ability Seed fusion would not endanger one's life, physical recovery took several months to a year.

The more failures one suffered, the longer the recovery period.

If Lu Yunhai failed a second time, he would be unable to work for at least a year and might even lose his coaching position at the Archery Hall because of it.

"You'll definitely succeed!"

Ji Xinghuo encouraged him. "Don't worry about paying me back. At worst, I can earn it back by entering a few archery competitions."

"Alright!"

Lu Yunhai took a deep breath. "I won't say much more in thanks. This glass is for you!"

He picked up his full glass and drained it in one gulp.

Ji Xinghuo finished his glass as well. The two chatted a little more about Ability Seed fusion, then ate and drank their fill. Thoroughly satisfied, they parted ways and headed home.

Wearing Power Shoes, Ji Xinghuo sped along the walkway. The rushing wind in his face sobered him up a little after all that drinking.

Beep, beep...

His phone suddenly vibrated.

He did not check it, but a few seconds later, it sounded again.

Ji Xinghuo took out his phone while gliding and glanced at it. It was a security alert.

"Citizens receiving this message, please take note: a Class A Wanted Criminal is on the run in your area. Seek nearby shelter immediately. If you are at home, do not leave. If you spot any suspicious traces or encounter danger, flee and call the police at once!" A photograph of a face was attached to the message.

Several identical messages refreshed across the screen in succession, making Ji Xinghuo's heart tighten.

A Class A Wanted Criminal! Within the Asia-Pacific Community, there were generally only two circumstances in which the Department of Public Security designated someone a Class A Wanted Criminal.

The first was committing horrifying felonies, with blood on their hands and a savage, vicious nature.

The second was possessing extremely formidable strength, at least that of an Advanced Esper, perhaps even greater.

Or both.

The alert had likely been sent to an area within roughly five kilometers.

It was the first time Ji Xinghuo had received one. He was startled, then instinctively looked around.

It was rather late, so there were not many people nearby. Everyone had received the alert, and they hurried home or ducked into nearby shops along the street.

Ji Xinghuo also increased the speed of his Power Shoes to the maximum.

He raced onward vigilantly and soon reached the street across from his apartment building. Looking up, he could already see the floor where his apartment was located.

Ji Xinghuo relaxed slightly.

He crossed the street, went around to the building's main entrance, and walked inside.

As he entered, he kept watch and swept his gaze around.

His eyes suddenly paused.

To the side of the building's main entrance, more than a hundred meters away, beneath the pillar of a Superconducting Highway, there seemed to be someone standing motionlessly in a patch of shadow untouched by the streetlights, like a statue.

The pupil of Ji Xinghuo's right eye flickered with a faint ring of light, and he immediately saw clearly.

It really was a person!

A blond, black-eyed man in his thirties with fairly sharp features, likely of mixed Asian and Western descent. He was the Class A Wanted Criminal from the alert! He wore a suit, but it was torn in several places and stained with blood.

His entire body blended into the shadows, and pedestrians passing nearby noticed nothing.

"Shadow Blade!"

"A high-level Shadow Stealth, but I can see through it!"

Ji Xinghuo recognized the man's Class Template and ability. Then, the man looked over as well.

Their gazes met for an instant.

This is bad.

Ji Xinghuo's heart lurched. His drunkenness vanished completely, but his steps did not stop. He entered the main doors, disappearing from the wanted criminal's field of vision. He had seen the man's surprise turn at once into naked, intense killing intent.

He wants to kill me!

An overwhelming sense of danger exploded in his mind, stabbing him with needle-like pain. His spirit suffocated as though drowning, and his life stood on the brink of death!

The pupil of Ji Xinghuo's right eye glowed faintly, and the ring of light became exceptionally clear.

The Myriad Stellar Eye seemed to have been fully awakened.

Phantom streams of light appeared in his vision, complex yet clear, unfolding before his eyes in an incomprehensible manner.

"This is..."

In an instant, Ji Xinghuo's brain received a massive flood of information.

He understood everything at once.

This was the future!

Ji Xinghuo saw what would happen in the next few seconds. The Shadow Blade would emerge from the shadows and charge straight at him, gripping a sharp, dim gleam in his hand. Wherever it passed, even the air would be sliced apart.

I can't run.

There's only one way out: kill him!

At the critical moment, Ji Xinghuo instead became calm to the extreme. His thoughts were as still and resolute as ice, without a trace of any other emotion.

He did not consider the consequences of failing to kill his opponent. He acted immediately.

He took off the bow case on his back and opened it.

His left hand pulled out the Compound Hunting Bow and gripped it, while his right hand seized three arrows. He nocked one by its tail and held the other two in his palm.

Under the strange state of the Myriad Stellar Eye, Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands became even faster. Ji Xinghuo completed these preparations in less than a second.

He nocked an arrow, hooked the string, drew the bow to its full length, and without hesitation stepped toward the outside of the entrance.

At once, the Shadow Blade appeared in his sight again.

The other man saw Ji Xinghuo too.