Hunter and Prey

The sunlight was blinding.

The voices from outside the cave were even more grating.

Chen Chen's hand froze as he pushed the boulder.

People from the Wang Family?

And... Wang Lie?

That name was carved into his bones!

Wang Lie, the second son of Wang Zhan, the Wang Family patriarch, was also Qingyang City's infamous young tyrant.

He was also one of the main culprits who had personally led the slaughter of the Chen Family!

Chen Chen clearly remembered Wang Lie's young, twisted face in the firelight of the Chen Family estate, wearing a mocking, cruel smile as he kicked his five-year-old cousin flying, then slowly drove his sword through the throat of the servant who had come to protect him.

That scene was like a brand, seared deep into Chen Chen's soul.

What a case of wearing out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find it without any effort at all!

The killing intent in Chen Chen's eyes instantly boiled to its peak, nearly solidifying into substance!

But he did not act rashly.

He peered outside through the narrow gap.

He saw seven or eight people standing in a clearing among the trees not far away.

The leader was around seventeen or eighteen, dressed in an extravagant brocade robe with a gemstone-studded sword at his waist. His face was handsome, but an irrepressible arrogance and gloom lingered between his brows.

It was Wang Lie!

His cultivation was astonishingly at the Body Tempering Third Stage!

Four fierce-looking Wang Family guards stood beside Wang Lie, all of them at the Body Tempering Second Stage!

Besides them, there was a shifty-eyed middle-aged man bowing and scraping as he spoke to Wang Lie. He appeared to be their guide.

This lineup was nothing short of extravagant.

It was enough to sweep through every force on the outskirts of the Black Wind Mountain Range.

"Young Master Wang Lie, look, this is the cave! My useless brothers disappeared here. I suspect that Chen Family Remnant is hiding inside!" The middle-aged man pointed at the cave entrance. He was another leader of the Black Wind Mercenary Group.

Clearly, he had discovered his companions' disappearance but did not dare take the risk himself, so he had sold the information to the Wang Family.

Wang Lie glanced disdainfully at the cave entrance sealed by the boulder and snorted. "A bunch of trash. They couldn't even catch a heavily injured brat. They deserved to die."

After a pause, he ordered the guards beside him, "Move this rock for me!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Two Body Tempering Second Stage guards immediately stepped forward, circulating their blood and qi as they pushed the boulder together.

"Rumble..."

Under the combined strength of the two Body Tempering Second Stage warriors, the thousand-pound boulder was easily shoved aside.

The full interior of the cave, along with the three corpses that had long since rotted and begun to stink, was instantly exposed before everyone.

A foul stench rushed into their faces.

Everyone frowned and covered their noses.

"Hm? They're from the Black Wind Mercenary Group." Wang Lie recognized the corpses at a glance, and a trace of disdain flashed through his eyes.

His gaze swept through the cave, but he did not spot Chen Chen.

"Where is he? Did he run?" Wang Lie frowned.

"Young Master, look!" A sharp-eyed guard pointed toward a narrow crack deep within the cave.

The crack was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through. It seemed to lead into the mountain itself.

Understanding flashed through Wang Lie's eyes. "So he slipped away through there. Hmph, lucky he ran fast!"

He had clearly not imagined that the "prey" they sought was currently on the cliff above their heads, coldly watching them.

The instant Chen Chen heard their voices, he made the correct decision.

He did not continue moving the boulder. Instead, he used the gap to climb out through a crack on the other side of the mountain, then silently scaled the cliff above the cave.

From high ground, he controlled the entire situation.

At that moment, the positions of hunter and prey quietly switched.

"Young Master, should we chase after him?" a guard asked.

"No need." Wang Lie waved a hand, a cruel smile like a cat playing with a mouse appearing on his face. "The Black Wind Mountain Range is only so large. Where can a Body Tempering First Layer piece of trash possibly run?"

He took a small porcelain bottle from his robes and poured out a beetle that was crimson from head to toe.

"Go. Find his scent."

The blood-colored beetle beat its wings and buzzed into the air. It circled the cave entrance once as if identifying the scent, then flew straight in one direction.

"Follow it!"

Wang Lie wore a smug expression as he led the group after the blood-colored beetle, chasing in the wrong direction Chen Chen had deliberately left behind.

From the cliff, Chen Chen took in everything.

The corner of his lips curled into a cold arc.

The reason he had not attacked immediately was not merely because they outnumbered him. It was because he had come up with a bolder, crazier plan.

He would leave every last one of them here in one stroke!

What he wanted was not merely to kill Wang Lie.

What he wanted was a slaughter... one powerful enough to strike terror into the entire Wang Family!

Chen Chen moved nimbly through the mountains and forests like an ape, always maintaining a distance from Wang Lie's group that was neither too near nor too far.

Like a ghost, he followed behind the group.

Wang Lie and the others were focused entirely on the Tracking Beetle. They did not notice in the slightest that they had changed from hunters into prey.

As Chen Chen tracked them, he observed the surrounding terrain.

He needed a perfect trap.

A grave sufficient to bury one Body Tempering Third Stage warrior and four Body Tempering Second Stage warriors!

Soon, his eyes lit up.

A long, narrow canyon appeared ahead.

Steep cliffs rose on both sides of the canyon, with only a passage three or four meters wide between them. The terrain was treacherous, making it an ideal place for an ambush.

This was the place!

Killing intent flashed through Chen Chen's eyes. He accelerated and entered the canyon ahead of Wang Lie's group.

He did not set up traps immediately.

He knew that any hastily arranged trap would be difficult to conceal from a Body Tempering Third Stage warrior.

What he intended to use was the natural terrain here.

He climbed up one side of the canyon, drew a deep breath, and began frantically digging into the rocks and soil along the cliff edge with the steel blade in his hand.

He was going to create... a small landslide!

The strength of the Body Tempering Second Stage gave him digging ability far beyond that of an ordinary person. Massive amounts of stone and dirt were piled along the cliff edge, ready to collapse at any moment.

Once he was done, he arranged several simple tripwires and traps at the canyon exit using vines and dead branches.

Those things had little killing power, but they would be enough to obstruct their escape route at a critical moment.

Half an hour later.

Wang Lie's group finally entered the canyon.

"Hm? There's something strange about this place."

Wang Lie, walking at the front, suddenly stopped and warily surveyed his surroundings.

A warrior's instincts made him sense a trace of danger.

"Young Master, what is it?" a guard asked.

"Nothing." Wang Lie shook his head. Perhaps he was simply overthinking it.

The Tracking Beetle was still leading the way ahead, proving that Chen Chen had indeed passed through here.

Could a Body Tempering First Layer piece of trash really turn the world upside down?

He mocked himself inwardly and continued leading the others forward.

Step by step, they entered the death trap Chen Chen had carefully prepared for them.

When all seven people had entered the center of the canyon, its narrowest stretch.

On the cliff, terrifying killing intent burst from Chen Chen's eyes!

Using all his strength, he violently shoved down a boulder weighing several hundred pounds!

That boulder was the trigger that would ignite everything!

Boom!

The boulder fell with a shrieking gust of wind and slammed heavily into the canyon floor with a deafening crash.

"Not good! It's an ambush!"

Wang Lie's face changed dramatically. Without a second thought, he tried to retreat.

But it was already too late!

As the boulder fell, it seemed to set off a chain reaction.

The vast amounts of stone and dirt Chen Chen had piled along the cliff edge came pouring down like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam!

Rumble—!

The entire canyon shook violently!

Sand and stones flew through the air, dust filled the sky, and it was as if the end of the world had arrived!