A Turn of Events

Under a dazzling white light, Ye Chen was propelled by an invisible force all the way out of the space tunnel.

The multicolored stars vanished from sight in an instant, replaced by a gloomy gray sky.

Thud!

The boy dropped from midair and slammed into the ground. But his limbs immediately sank into something thick and soft, sparing him much pain.

He opened his eyes in surprise and found himself lying on a lush green lawn. Before him stretched a vast, unfamiliar grassland.

But Ye Chen paid no attention to that. He anxiously looked up at the sky.

No matter how he looked around, however, he couldn't find the brilliant white light that had brought him here.

As soon as it had delivered the boy, the exit of the space tunnel had disappeared.

"..."

Ye Chen's breath caught. As if all his strength had left him, he bent forward and slumped onto the grass.

The boy stared at the gloomy clouds for a long while. Then he clenched his fists and slammed them into the ground beneath him.

Bang!

His fists, charged with Auling Power, blasted a crater into the lawn, laying bare the grief and helplessness inside him.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The boy's hoarse howl rang across the empty grassland, utterly heartbroken and desolate.

In less than ten minutes, Ye Chen had lost the only two family members he had: Lyle and Heiqi.

He would never again see that man's back, never again touch that steed's neck. Even the home he remembered was gone.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had lost everything he cherished, everything he had.

Now he was utterly alone.

"If only I'd been a little stronger..."

Ye Chen dug his hands into the dirt among the grass and muttered wildly to himself. His tightly furrowed brows betrayed his regret and self-reproach.

If he'd been just a little better, if he'd been able to help just a little more, how could things have come to this?

But the boy hadn't been lost in grief and sorrow for long when—

Without warning, a black fissure appeared in the empty space before him, accompanied by a shrill sound.

Krrrraack—!

Ye Chen looked up. A pair of black hands tipped with fangs thrust out through the fissure. With brute force, they pried it wider, then slowly squeezed a viscous body through.

At the sight of the bizarre creature from another dimension, Ye Chen immediately recognized it as one of the Abyss Elites that had pursued him earlier!

Who could have imagined that even after the space tunnel's exit had vanished, those terrifying creatures would still be able to chase him all the way here?

Their obsession with their target was truly insane!

But this Abyss Elite, slowly crawling out of the fissure, was less than half its former size. Its limbs were misshapen and awkward, as if it were an incomplete being torn forcibly from its parent. That must have been how it had bypassed Heiqi's obstruction and continued chasing Ye Chen.

"Phew..."

Ye Chen stared at its unnerving face, which had eyes but no mouth, and took a quick, deep breath. He suppressed his emotions with reason and swiftly steadied himself, regaining the calm state of mind expected of a Hunter.

He didn't know how the monster had tracked him here, but its condition was clearly far worse than before. And with nothing else amiss around them, it seemed to be the only pursuer.

As he weighed things up, Ye Chen drew his long blade across his skin, letting bright red blood run along its edge.

It had been less than five minutes since he'd last made a Blood Bullet, so for now, all he could rely on was his bloodied blade.

While the creature was still squeezing its body out of the fissure, he charged straight at the Abyss Elite with his blade in hand.

Tap!

Though the Abyss Remnant's movements were sluggish and its defenses wide open, cautious Ye Chen didn't swing directly at its thick limbs. Instead, he tentatively slashed at a tiny fin protruding from its body.

Clang.

Ye Chen gripped the hilt in both hands and swung in a broad, diagonal arc, cutting off the fin. But the whole process proved unexpectedly difficult.

The stiff sensation through the hilt and the black sludge dancing gleefully along the blade made Ye Chen realize the cruel truth at once.

Its aura might have weakened and its condition might have deteriorated, but this incomplete monster was still one of the Abyss's elites.

Even cutting off a tiny fin was a struggle for Ye Chen, who was only at the First Nightmare Realm. And that was before he even tried to extract the Abyss Core from its thick flesh!

At that moment, the horrifying beast that had pursued him all the way here was still far beyond Ye Chen's ability to defeat!

"Tch!"

Ye Chen hesitated for an instant, then immediately turned and sprinted away, decisively switching to escape.

Emotionally, he wanted to throw caution to the wind and fight the creature to the death. Even if he died here, he wouldn't be afraid.

But rationally, he couldn't let Lyle and Heiqi's sacrifices go to waste. Everything they'd done had been to help him escape safely.

So, if only to honor their efforts, Ye Chen had to survive!

With Auling Power surging through him in continuous bursts, the boy raced across the vast grassland, trying to escape the Abyss Elite's sight.

But after dragging its twisted body all the way out of the spatial rift, the Abyss Elite immediately pursued Ye Chen at full speed.

"Accept us...!"

"Accept the Abyss...!"

"You'll never escape—!"

"Give it back—AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The Abyss Elite let out shrill, bizarre howls as it wildly lashed the tendrils and roots covering its body. It surged through the air just above the ground, chasing Ye Chen and steadily closing the gap.

The green grassland was wide and flat, with nowhere for Ye Chen to take cover or maneuver.

And the Jet-Black Beast was far faster than Ye Chen. In just a few minutes, the incomplete Abyss Elite had caught up behind him. If it got any closer, it could knock him to the ground.

"Phew!"

Ye Chen glanced back to confirm how close the creature was. His brows, drenched with sweat, drew tight, and he prepared to pull out his revolver and forcefully make a Blood Bullet to buy himself a chance to escape.

But at the very moment they were about to clash, a tremendous commotion rang out from the far end of the grassland.

Whoosh—!

The sudden noise caught both Ye Chen's and the Remnant Elite's attention. They looked in the same direction and saw a jade-green tide rising beyond the grassland, rushing toward the boy and the monster with incredible speed.

What was that!?

Stunned, Ye Chen hurriedly ran to the side, trying to dodge the strange green wave.

The Abyss Remnant Elite sensed danger too and bolted in the opposite direction from Ye Chen.

But the instant Ye Chen and the Remnant Elite split up, the jade-green tide swept up to them.

To Ye Chen's surprise, the green wave ignored him and very clearly targeted the Jet-Black Beast, swallowing it whole.

"Hm?"

Ye Chen ran on, watching the bizarre scene with a baffled expression.

Then he quickly realized that the green wave wasn't water at all. It was a carpet woven from millions of jade-green vines.

Whoosh—!

Just as Ye Chen realized this, the carpet of vines that had swallowed the Abyss Remnant Elite suddenly shone with dazzling green light, sending countless ripples through the air around it.

With the ripples came familiar waves of energy, washing over Ye Chen. They were unmistakably Auling Power.

At the same time, the Abyss Remnant Elite pinned beneath the carpet of vines let out an incredibly hoarse wail, as if this sea of plants brimming with Auling Power were hell itself.