Who Was the Hunter?

Qin Jue slowly finished his cultivation and felt the surging qi and blood within him, like a mighty river, and his bones, hard as jade and gold.

He had gained a great deal this time. Not only had he entered the Jade Bone Realm, but his foundation was far stronger than before.

Thinking of the opportunity waiting deep in Silver Moon Bay, he didn't linger. After briefly clearing away the traces he'd left behind, he sprang forward like a nimble ape, slipping silently down through a crack in the rocks dozens of zhang high. He landed steadily on the ground.

But the instant his feet touched down, he felt eyes on him.

Qin Jue's gaze sharpened. His Void Clarity Sword Heart began working on its own, and in an instant, every stirring of wind and grass around him entered his mind. He spun around and looked toward a massive blue-gray boulder not far away, taller than a man.

"Come out." His voice was calm, but his left hand had already settled discreetly on his sword hilt.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Crisp applause rang out as a figure slowly emerged from behind the boulder.

The newcomer was a young man of about twenty, with a round face and smiling, crescent-shaped eyes. An unknown blade of grass dangled from his mouth, and he wore a bright, colorful short combat outfit.

"Tsk, impressive. Truly impressive." As he clapped, the young man's restless eyes roved between the corpse and Qin Jue.

He walked over to the corpse and nudged it with the tip of his foot.

"This fellow doesn't look weak. Fifth layer of the Hundred Refinements Realm, mid-stage Jade Bone. Tsk. So, brother, how'd you end up at odds with him? Did he make the first move, or..."

He raised his head and smiled at Qin Jue, his words laden with implication. "You wouldn't happen to have something on you that would make people green with envy, would you?"

After a pause, he clapped his hands and stood up, grinning. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tang Xiaoman, a humble roaming hunter from Hunter King Hall."

Qin Jue didn't pay him much attention. Instead, he looked past him, toward the shadows behind him.

Someone else stood there.

The man stood perfectly still, a vicious scar crossing his face and an unsheathed black saber strapped to his back. If not for his Void Clarity Sword Heart, Qin Jue might not even have noticed him.

The man hadn't said a word from beginning to end, but Qin Jue could sense an intensely dangerous aura radiating from him—the unique presence honed only by roaming hunters who had spent years teetering on the edge of life and death.

"Sixth layer of the Hundred Refinements Realm, peak Jade Bone..." Qin Jue thought. "And a ruthless killer who's taken countless lives."

One was there to probe; the other, to strike when the moment came. The pair worked together seamlessly. This clearly wasn't their first hunt.

Thoughts raced through Qin Jue's mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He slowly withdrew his gaze from the scarred man and turned to Tang Xiaoman, who was still grinning. His voice was indifferent. "What do you two want? If you're just passing through, you can leave now."

"Now, that's not quite right, brother." Tang Xiaoman waved a hand, his grin growing wider. "Fate brought us together. Besides, you made quite a commotion, so we followed the scent right over. You can't expect us to leave empty-handed now. How about this? Split whatever you just found with us, half and half, and we'll be on our way. We won't bother you at all. How's that?"

The scar-faced Pei Qingyan, who had been silent until now, furrowed his brow slightly. His instincts were screaming warnings. The boy before him seemed to have an unremarkable cultivation base; even his qi and blood were so tightly concealed that they barely stirred. Yet the more he hid, the more uneasy Pei Qingyan felt. It was like being watched by an apex predator. At the slightest move, a thunderous, fatal blow would come crashing down.

Danger! Extreme danger!!!

"Old Pei?" Tang Xiaoman glanced at his companion in surprise. He knew Pei Qingyan well. The man was usually arrogant, and apart from a few prodigies from the academy, Tang Xiaoman had never seen him look so on guard around anyone.

Just as the two sides faced off and tension hung in the air—

"Found him! Over there!"

"Quick! Don't let him get away!"

A jumble of footsteps and curses suddenly rang out from the Chaos Stone Forest in the distance, breaking the delicate standoff at once.

Qin Jue raised an eyebrow and turned to look.

Two or three dozen people were charging toward them, bristling with aggression. At their head was Shen Yutang, dressed in fine silk and wearing a triumphant, vicious grin—the same man who'd tried to cling to the Ning Family's coattails in the Withered Wood Forest. Beside him was a gloomy, arrogant young man: Liu Yun, Ning Wuque's lackey.

They came in fast. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the group and spread out in a fan, surrounding Qin Jue and the other two.

"Ha ha ha! Qin Jue! Let's see where you run this time!!!"

Shen Yutang's face flushed with excitement, as if he'd just stumbled upon some priceless treasure.

"You despicable scoundrel! At the Martial Arena, you used underhanded tricks to ambush Young Master Zhiyuan and leave him grievously injured! Then you insulted my younger sister, Zhi Qiu! How could the Shen Family let such wickedness go unavenged? Today, I, Shen Yutang, will send you on your way in Young Master Ning's stead!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if Qin Jue had committed some heinous crime. He conveniently left out the fact that Ning Zhiyuan had challenged Qin Jue first, and instead painted him as a sneak attacker.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Jue's eyes.

Turning the truth upside down, smearing him with lies. The Shen Family would stoop to any dirty trick to curry favor with the Ning Family.

Fine. Since they'd come knocking, he'd settle things with all of them at once.

Liu Yun's face twisted with malice. He pointed at Qin Jue and shouted, "You little beast! I've worn out my iron shoes searching for you, and now you've fallen right into my lap! Let's see where you run today!"

A few days earlier, Qin Jue had forced him back with a single sword strike on the road, a humiliation he'd taken as a lasting disgrace. Now, seeing the man who'd made him lose face, he glared at him with murderous cruelty. Then his gaze shifted to Tang Xiaoman and Pei Qingyan, and his brow furrowed.

Liu Yun himself was at the fifth layer of the Hundred Refinements Realm and mid-stage Jade Bone, so his eyesight was naturally sharp. At a glance, he judged the round-faced young man's aura to be mixed and impure, like that of some third-rate thug. The scar-faced man was even stranger. His aura was concealed to the extreme, like a pool of still water, and Liu Yun couldn't sense the slightest trace of qi and blood.

"Hmph. Putting on a show."

Liu Yun sneered to himself. He'd met plenty of so-called experts, and true powerhouses were always brimming with qi and blood, their edge impossible to hide. Anyone who deliberately concealed his aura was probably weak but fond of bluffing.

His eyes filled with contempt.

"Why are there two more pieces of trash here?"

Liu Yun waved at them dismissively and cursed impatiently. "What stray dogs are you, to dare block Young Master's path? Get lost! Otherwise, I'll butcher you right along with him!"

Tang Xiaoman, who'd been ready to sit back and watch, froze for a moment at that. Then he couldn't help laughing.

"Pfft!"

He pointed at Liu Yun and turned to Pei Qingyan, laughing so hard he doubled over, tears nearly springing from his eyes. "Old Pei, did you hear that? This idiot told us to get lost? He even said he'd butcher us? Oh, I'm dying. These days, can any Tom, Dick, or stray dog call himself a lord?"

Pei Qingyan's face remained expressionless. His thumb, pressed against the saber guard, pushed forward another fraction.

Twang—

A faint, nearly inaudible saber hum rang out.

"What did you say?!"

Liu Yun's face turned deathly pale. As a scion of a branch family of one of Skywind Martial City's first-rate clans, when had anyone ever dared insult him like this?

"Good! Very good!!!"

Liu Yun laughed in anger, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. He roared, "I was going to spare you two dogs' lives, but since you're asking for death, don't blame me for showing no mercy! Brother Shen! Attack with me! Not one of these three leaves alive! Cut them all down!"

"Good!" A cruel smile spread across Shen Yutang's face. He waved sharply and barked at the two steady-aura middle-aged guards behind him, "Take your men and deal with those two busybodies first!"

"Liu San! You too!" Liu Yun ordered the chief of his own guards. "Help the Shen Family's men clear the field!"

"Yes!"

The instant the words left their mouths—

"Rumble—"

Three heavy booms of cracking bones erupted almost at once!

The guards' qi and blood surged, their bones rang like thunder, and their powerful auras shot into the sky, pressing down on the air until it seemed to seize up!

They were all clearly masters at the fifth layer of the Hundred Refinements Realm, with Bone Penetrating Force!

"Kill!"

At the command, more than twenty guards behind them charged forward viciously, swords and sabers flashing!

And yet—

Faced with this overwhelming killing intent, the three people surrounded in the middle remained calm.

Tang Xiaoman even had time to turn toward Qin Jue and grin mischievously. "Hey, brother."

"Let's make a deal." He spoke at lightning speed. "These guys may be idiots, but they've surely got plenty of fat on their bones. Let's butcher this herd of sheep together. We split the spoils four-six—you get four, I get six. How about it?"

Qin Jue's thoughts raced. "People from Hunter King Hall really have no qualms about anything. This situation's perfect. I can use them to get rid of the trouble, and while I'm at it... hone my martial skills." The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Half and half."

Simple, direct, and nonnegotiable.

Tang Xiaoman blinked, then burst out laughing and slapped his thigh. "That's more like it! For that straightforwardness alone, I'm making you my friend! Half and half it is! Deal!"

Their exchange had taken no more than the time it took a spark to fly!

And their haggling nearly made Shen Yutang spit blood.

What were these three men, moments from death, talking about? Splitting the spoils? They were treating his men like a herd of fat sheep?!?!

"Arrogant! You've completely lost your minds!"

Shen Yutang trembled with rage. He jolted the long saber in his hand and roared, his face contorted. "You're about to die, and you still dare run your mouths! Kill them!!!"