Bu Lianshi's Ability

After the three of them had walked for another half hour, they stopped. For one thing, they had gone far enough; for another, they were starting to run low on stamina. If they kept going, they would use up too much energy and be in no shape to fight once they entered the Hunting Ground.

Along the way, Lin Chuan had activated his Byakugan from time to time to check their surroundings. Of the four groups that had followed them earlier, three had given up one after another. But one group stubbornly continued to trail them.

Lin Chuan couldn't be bothered to shake them off anymore. He had given them countless chances, but since they had no sense and insisted on courting death, he wouldn't hold back again. If they showed any sign of attacking once they entered the Hunting Ground, he would kill them without hesitation.

Lin Chuan's thinking was simple: if others didn't offend him, he wouldn't offend them. If they did, he would cut the weeds and dig up the roots!!

"Mm, let's stop here," Qin Lang said, a little out of breath. "Once we enter the forest, we'll have to stay on our guard. I'm guessing the threats this time won't come only from the Spirit Beasts in the Hunting Ground. Other groups might pose a threat too."

Lin Chuan looked up at the time. It was almost noon. When it arrived, the protective formation around Hunting Ground No. 44 would be shut down, giving them fifteen minutes to enter. Anyone who failed to enter within that time would be considered to have forfeited and would be expelled from the Lin Clan.

"Uh... um... I have something to ask..." Bu Lianshi glanced shyly at Lin Chuan and Qin Lang, her eyes flickering as if she wasn't sure whether she should speak.

"If you have something to ask, just say it," Qin Lang said, puzzled.

Lin Chuan also turned to look at Bu Lianshi, curious about what the quiet, well-behaved girl who had barely spoken along the way wanted to say.

"I... I feel like there's someone nearby... And they've been following us all the way from the place where we first gathered... I don't know if I'm imagining it!" Bu Lianshi said softly.

Hearing that, Lin Chuan immediately looked at her in surprise. He had known someone was following the three of them, but he could only detect those people because of his Byakugan. Bu Lianshi couldn't possibly have the Byakugan, so it was strange that she had noticed them too.

"That shouldn't be possible. We've come a long way, and I haven't seen any sign that we're being followed!" Qin Lang said, cautiously glancing around.

Lin Chuan rolled his eyes in exasperation—his eyes turned completely white. If everyone were as oblivious as you, we'd have died God knows how many times by now. He turned to Bu Lianshi and asked, "How did you notice them? Can you pinpoint their location?"

"I don't know. It's just a feeling. As for where they are... probably over there!" Bu Lianshi pointed with her slender, pale finger. She indicated the very direction where Lin Chuan had spotted the pursuers with his Byakugan.

Lin Chuan's brows drew together slightly. He thought Bu Lianshi must have some kind of innate sensory talent, one she might not even know she possessed.

She probably has a talent for sensing the flow of spiritual energy. It's rather like Karin Uzumaki's ability to sense the flow of chakra. I'll see if I can help her develop it later. It could have unexpected results!

"Whether Bu Lianshi's feeling is right or not, we'll just be careful from now on," Qin Lang said after thinking it over. He knew he was rather oblivious, and he had sensed danger too, so he became more cautious.

Time passed. The three had only just recovered a little of their strength when the protective formation around Hunting Ground No. 44 shut down with a resounding boom. The entire area was exposed before them, and the damp air of a primeval forest swept toward them, accompanied by a dense surge of spiritual energy.

"Wow, the spiritual energy here is twice as rich as it is outside! If I could cultivate here all the time, my cultivation would improve so much faster!" Qin Lang said excitedly.

"If I were you, I wouldn't want to keep cultivating here. This place..." Lin Chuan had just begun to speak when Bu Lianshi interrupted him again.

"This place is dangerous. Something terrifying is here!" Bu Lianshi's face was stricken with fear. Her eyes darted around, and her whole body trembled slightly.

This little girl really isn't simple... Lin Chuan thought. He raised a hand and gently ruffled Bu Lianshi's hair, then said softly, "It's all right. We're here. You don't have to be afraid."

Whether Lin Chuan and Qin Lang's presence had truly made Bu Lianshi feel safe, or Lin Chuan's head pat had calmed her nerves, her rapid breathing gradually eased, and her trembling subsided.

Bu Lianshi felt a calming presence around Lin Chuan. Especially when she saw the gentle smile beneath his pale brows and white eyes, she felt safe for no reason she could explain. She hadn't felt this kind of safety in a long time. Even Qin Lang, a powerful cultivator at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, couldn't give her that feeling.

The next moment, Lin Chuan rapidly formed Hand Seals before his chest. As he completed them, the veins around his eyes bulged.

Byakugan!

In an instant, everything within a kilometer came into view, without a single blind spot. His 360-degree vision was like a three-dimensional scanner; nothing, no matter how small, could escape his eyes.

Then Lin Chuan began refining the chakra within his body and drew spiritual energy from his dantian, mixing it with the chakra he had refined. Slowly, he began to create Senjutsu Chakra.

Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi watched Lin Chuan with curiosity. They had seen him form Hand Seals more than once. To them, the seals looked complicated and strange, unlike anything they had ever seen. And each time he completed them, the veins around his eyes bulged, making him look bizarre and somewhat frightening.

So they really are asking for it? Lin Chuan sneered inwardly. The moment he activated his Byakugan, he had spotted three people lying in wait among a thicket ten meters away. When he saw the throwing knives they were readying in their hands, his expression turned even colder. They're planning to kill Bu Lianshi first? Then don't blame me for showing no mercy!

The next moment, Lin Chuan finished refining his Senjutsu Chakra. He spread his hands, and the Senjutsu Chakra surged out with a crackling hiss. Before anyone could react, his body flickered, and he appeared beside the thicket, moving at an unimaginable speed.

Sage Art: Gentle Fist!

Lin Chuan's hands shot out like lightning. As the pursuers stared in shock and disbelief, he struck all three of them and sent them flying. Then he shifted his steps and chased after their airborne bodies, attacking them relentlessly with the Gentle Fist.

Under Lin Chuan's Byakugan, the meridians inside the three men were clearly visible. He could precisely strike chakra into their bodies, inflicting severe damage on their meridian systems and internal organs. What he was using now wasn't ordinary chakra, but Senjutsu Chakra, which increased the power of Lin Chuan's Gentle Fist several times over.