"Rat! Come out here!!"
A man's coarse, icy voice abruptly shattered the Silence of the night.
He stood in the middle of the alley. Unnatural blood-red patterns shifted faintly beneath his skin, and his mouth stretched into a savage, bloodthirsty grin. His gaze stayed fixed on the layers of shadow along both sides of the alley.
The alley was quiet. Only the faint rustle of the night wind against the brick walls could be heard.
When nothing stirred in the darkness, the vicious glint in his eyes flared. A low, cold laugh scraped from his throat. "You won't come out on your own? Hahaha! In that case—watch closely!!"
Before his words faded, the air suddenly trembled.
Hum—
A concentrated streak of platinum light tore through the darkness!
It was an arrow formed from pure spiritual power and divine Soul Power, so fast that the naked eye could barely catch its fleeting afterimage.
Alarm jolted through the man. He instinctively turned sideways to dodge.
But the arrow was far faster than he had anticipated.
Pfft!
The sharp, piercing sound of flesh being punctured burst through the alley.
The platinum arrow punched straight through one shoulder. Scalding Soul Power surged through the wound and burrowed into his meridians, burning and destroying the power he had nourished by devouring flesh and blood.
The man staggered back two steps. Agony spread from his shoulder through his entire body, and he snapped his head up toward the source of the arrow.
A slender figure stepped slowly out of the shadows at the alley's entrance.
A simple mask of dark silver and cold iron covered Huo Yuhao's face, revealing only his clean-cut jaw and thin lips. His eyes were as still as water beneath the dim night sky, yet a bone-chilling cold seethed deep within them.