Who is the Hunter?

Qin Jue slowly withdrew his technique, feeling the surging blood and qi within him, like a great river, and his bones, hard as gold and jade.

This breakthrough was immense—not only had he stepped into the Jade Bone Realm, but his foundation was far stronger than before.

Thinking of the opportunity deep within Silver Moon Bay, he lingered no longer. After lightly clearing the traces of his presence here, he leaped like an agile ape, silently dropping from a crack in the cliff dozens of zhang high, landing steadily on the ground.

Yet the moment his feet touched the earth, a sensation of being watched surged into his mind.

Qin Jue's gaze sharpened. The Void Clarity Sword Heart activated on its own, and in an instant, every rustle of wind and blade of grass around him was imprinted in his mind. He spun around abruptly, fixing his eyes on a massive cyan boulder, over a man's height, not far away.

"Come out," he said flatly, though his left hand had already rested on his sword hilt without a trace.

"Clap, clap, clap."

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

The newcomer was a young man around twenty, with a round face and curved eyes. A blade of some unknown grass dangled from his lips, and he wore a set of bright, form-fitting short martial robes.

"Tsk, tsk, impressive, truly impressive," the young man said, clapping as his restless eyes swept back and forth between the corpse and Qin Jue.

He walked over to the body, nudging it with his toe.

"This guy doesn't look weak—Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, mid-stage Jade Bone cultivation. Tsk, brother, how'd you cross paths with him? Did he strike first, or..."

He lifted his head, grinning as he looked at Qin Jue, his words laden with implication: "Brother, you wouldn't happen to have something on you that makes others' eyes turn red, would you?"

After a pause, he clapped his hands and stood up, flashing a wide smile: "Oh, forgot to introduce myself. This Humble One is Tang Xiaoman, a lowly wanderer of the Hunter King Hall."

But Qin Jue's gaze didn't linger on him. Instead, it passed over him to the shadow behind.

There stood another person.

That man was motionless, a vicious scar running across his face, carrying a sheathed black longsword on his back. Without the Void Clarity Sword Heart's perception, Qin Jue might have overlooked his existence entirely.

This man had not spoken a word from start to finish, yet Qin Jue sensed an extremely dangerous aura from him—the kind of unique presence forged only by wanderers who constantly tread the line between life and death.

"Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer, peak Jade Bone..." Qin Jue mused inwardly. "And the kind of ruthless killer who's taken countless lives."

One probed, the other waited for an opening. Their cooperation was seamless, clearly not their first joint hunt.

Thoughts churned in Qin Jue's mind, but his face remained impassive. He slowly withdrew his gaze from the scarred giant and turned back to the grinning Tang Xiaoman, his tone indifferent: "What do you two intend? If you're just passing through, you can leave now."

"Hey, brother, that's not quite right," Tang Xiaoman said, waving a hand, his smile widening. "Meeting is fate, after all. Besides, you made such a ruckus—we brothers followed the scent here. Now you want us to leave empty-handed? That doesn't sit well with reason. How about this: split half the gains you just got with us, and we'll be on our way, no further trouble. Deal?"

The silent scar-faced Pei Qingyan furrowed his brow slightly at that. His instincts screamed a frantic warning—the youth before him seemed ordinary in cultivation, his blood and qi even tightly restrained, yet that only made him more unsettling. It was the illusion of being stalked by an apex predator, as if the slightest move would invite a thunderous, fatal strike.

Danger! Extreme danger!!!

"Old Pei?" Tang Xiaoman glanced at his companion in surprise. He knew Pei Qingyan too well—the man was usually arrogant, and aside from a few academy prodigies, he'd never shown such a wary expression toward anyone.

Just as the standoff hung in a delicate balance—

"Found him! Over there!"

"Quick! Don't let him escape!"

A chaotic clatter of footsteps and shouts suddenly erupted from the distant Chaos Stone Forest, shattering the fragile stalemate.

Qin Jue raised an eyebrow, turning his head.

Twenty or thirty people were charging toward them with murderous intent. At the lead, a man in lavish robes, his face twisted with smugness and malice, was none other than Shen Yutang, who had tried to cling to the Ning Family in the Withered Wood Forest. Beside him, a sullen and arrogant youth was unmistakably Ning Wuque's lackey, Liu Yun.

The group moved fast, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, fanning out to encircle Qin Jue and the other two.

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

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

"You despicable wretch! That day in the Martial Arena, you used underhanded tricks to ambush Young Master Zhiyuan, gravely wounding him! And you insulted my younger sister, Zhi Qiu, with vile words! With such heinous acts, how could my Shen Family not seek revenge? Today, I, Shen Yutang, will send you to your death on behalf of Young Master Ning!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if Qin Jue had committed some unforgivable crime, completely omitting that Ning Zhiyuan had issued the challenge first, instead painting Qin Jue as a sneak attacker.

Qin Jue listened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Turning black into white, twisting the truth. The Shen Family, in their bid to curry favor with the Ning Family, would sling any mud at him.

Fine. Since they'd come to him, he'd settle it all at once.

Liu Yun's face twisted with malice as he pointed at Qin Jue and barked: "You little beast! I've searched high and low, and now you fall right into my lap! Today, see if you can escape!"

Days earlier, Qin Jue had repelled him with a single sword strike on the road, a humiliation Liu Yun had nursed as a deep shame. Now, seeing the one who'd made him lose face, his eyes brimmed with cruelty. His gaze then fell on Tang Xiaoman and Pei Qingyan, and his brow instantly furrowed.

He himself was at Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, mid-stage Jade Bone, so his eyesight was sharp. At a glance, the round-faced youth's aura was messy and impure, like some lowlife thug. The scar-faced man was even stranger—his aura was suppressed to the extreme, like a stagnant pool, with no blood or qi fluctuations detectable.

"Hmph, putting on airs," Liu Yun sneered inwardly. He'd seen plenty of so-called experts; true masters all blazed with blood and qi like dragons, their edges sharp. Those who deliberately hid their auras were usually weaklings trying to bluff.

Disdain filled his eyes.

"What's with these two scumbags?"

Liu Yun waved a hand in disgust, cursing impatiently: "What stray dogs dare block this young master's path? Get lost now, or I'll butcher you both!"

Hearing this, Tang Xiaoman, who had been ready to watch the show, froze for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Pfft!"

He pointed at Liu Yun, turning to Pei Qingyan, laughing so hard he doubled over, tears nearly streaming: "Old Pei, did you hear that? This idiot tells us to scram? And he'll butcher us? Oh, that kills me. These days, does any stray cat or dog think it can play the big shot?"

Pei Qingyan's expression was blank, but the thumb pressing against the sword guard pushed forward another fraction.

Clang—

A faint, almost imperceptible blade hum.

"What did you say?!"

Liu Yun's face instantly turned ashen. As a member of a first-rate family's collateral branch in Skywind Martial City, when had he ever been humiliated like this?

"Fine! Very well!!!"

Liu Yun laughed in fury, killing intent practically spilling from his eyes as he roared, "I was going to spare your dog lives, but since you're begging for death, don't blame this young master for being ruthless! Brother Shen! Let's move together! Not one of these three gets to live! Cut them all down!"

"Good!" Shen Yutang's face twisted into a cruel grin. He waved his hand sharply and barked at the two steady, middle-aged guards behind him, "Take your men and cripple those meddling bastards first!"

"Liu San! You too!" Liu Yun ordered his own guard captain, "Coordinate with the Shen family men! Clear the field!"

"Yes!"

The moment the words fell—

"Boom—"

Three muffled bone-thunderclaps erupted almost simultaneously!

The blood energy of several guard captains surged, their bones crackling like thunder as formidable auras shot skyward, pressing down on the surrounding air until it stagnated!

Clearly, all were at Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, masters who had cultivated Bone Penetrating Force!

"Kill!"

At the command, over twenty guards charged ferociously, blades and swords drawn!

Yet—

Faced with this overwhelming tide of killing intent, the three surrounded in the center remained utterly calm.

Tang Xiaoman even had the leisure to tilt his head and look at Qin Jue, grinning with ill intent. "Hey, brother."

"Let's make a deal." His words came fast. "These idiots might be dumb, but they're loaded. Let's team up and butcher these fat sheep. Spoils split sixty-forty—you get forty, I get sixty. Deal?"

At that moment, thoughts raced through Qin Jue's mind: The Hunter King Hall's people truly act without restraint. In this situation, I can use their hands to solve the trouble and also... temper my martial skills. With that thought, the corner of his mouth lifted.

"Fifty-fifty."

Simple, blunt, non-negotiable.

Tang Xiaoman froze for a second, then burst into loud laughter and slapped his thigh. "Refreshing! For that straightforwardness, this young master calls you a friend! Fifty-fifty it is! Deal!"

This exchange between them happened in the blink of an eye!

And this haggling nearly made Shen Yutang vomit blood.

These three about to die—what were they talking about? Dividing spoils? Treating his group as fat sheep?!?!

"Arrogant! You've lost your minds!"

Shen Yutang trembled with rage, his long blade vibrating as he roared with a twisted face, "Still running your mouths at death's door! Kill them!!!"