Traces of the Mo Family, a Rift in the Void

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the overlapping leaves of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, casting shifting patches of light on the ground. With a pack on his back, Xiao Yan "stumbled" through the woods, stopping now and then to examine the weeds beside the path "carefully." His absorbed expression made him look exactly like a greenhorn venturing into the forest for the first time, unable even to tell medicinal herbs from poisonous plants.

"Qi-Gathering Grass... Dewdrop Flower..." he muttered, his voice just loud enough for the elusive watchers nearby to hear. "Dad said these two herbs could help stabilize my Dou Qi, but what do they even look like...?"

No sooner had he spoken than his foot caught on something. With a cry of "Ow!" he fell to the ground, spilling the contents of his pack—a few hard, dry wheat cakes, a water gourd, and that rust-covered iron sword.

He "hurriedly" scrambled up and gathered his belongings in a fluster, his face full of frustration, as though he could not even manage this simple task.

[System notification: Three surveillance auras detected in the current area: three zhang to the northeast (Three-Star Dou Practitioner), five zhang to the southwest (Two-Star Dou Practitioner), and in the treetop directly south (One-Star Dou Ling).]

Xiao Yan's hands paused as he gathered his things, and a flicker of coldness passed through his eyes.

The Mo Family certainly moved fast. I dealt with two in the valley just half an hour ago, and now three more have caught up. They even added a Dou Ling this time. Apparently, they thought dealing with someone at the "Dou Qi Third Stage" required a respectable leader to be safe.

He stuffed the scattered wheat cakes back into his pack, deliberately leaving one in the grass. Then he shouldered his pack and continued onward, his steps even more "panicked" than before, as though the fall had frightened him out of his wits. Seemingly unable to get his bearings, he headed straight into a more secluded stretch of dense forest.

Sure enough, the three auras behind him followed. This time, they concealed themselves even more thoroughly, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible, clearly unwilling to rustle the grass and startle the snake.

An almost imperceptible smile curved Xiao Yan's lips.

The fish were swimming toward the net, one step at a time.

He wandered "aimlessly" for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn before reaching a relatively open patch of woodland. Irregular rocks covered the ground, and several gnarled old trees grew at crooked angles. Their branches and leaves intertwined, blotting out the sky and lending the place a sinister air.

Most importantly, a faint spatial fluctuation lay within the rock strata beneath this woodland. He had discovered it while probing with his Emperor Realm Soul. Ordinary Dou Zhe, or even Dou Ling, could not have sensed it, but to a Dou Sheng who commanded the laws of space, it stood out like a lamp in the darkness.

This is the spot. Having settled on his plan, Xiao Yan stumbled and "just happened" to trip over a protruding rock. He hit the ground hard and lay there without getting up for a long while, groaning in pain. "Sss... I think I twisted my leg..."

He lay on his side with his back to his pursuers and shifted "with difficulty," seemingly trying to examine his injury. In truth, he used his soul power to scan his surroundings once more.

The three auras had already closed to within ten zhang.

"That useless brat fell!" came a hushed voice, tinged with excitement.

"Brother Zhang, should we make our move?" another man asked impatiently.

The man addressed as "Brother Zhang" was the Dou Ling expert. A note of caution lingered in his voice. "Not yet. This place is rather secluded. Check whether anyone else is around first. A useless brat at the "Dou Qi Third Stage" isn't going anywhere."

Their footsteps stopped five zhang away. Clearly, they were checking the surroundings.

Xiao Yan "struggled" to get up, only to collapse "weakly" again with a despairing sigh. "It's over... Now I can't even get home..."

That performance dispelled the three Mo Family men's reservations completely.

"Move!" Brother Zhang barked. Three figures darted out from behind the trees like wildcats, charging straight at Xiao Yan.

Brother Zhang was the fastest. His aura as a One-Star Dou Ling erupted without restraint, and he gripped a short axe shimmering with Dou Qi, clearly intending to cripple Xiao Yan with a single blow. The two Dou Zhe behind him also held weapons, wearing savage grins as they blocked off his possible escape routes.

Just as they came within two zhang of Xiao Yan, his fingers, seemingly curled in pain, quietly traced an almost imperceptible arc across the ground.

With his soul power, he gently "plucked" the spatial fluctuation hidden beneath the rock strata.

"Humm..."

An almost inaudible hum reverberated through the air.

Brother Zhang and his two companions felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly. Before they could react, the space before them suddenly warped in a strange way.

The distortion spread rapidly like ripples across water. Wherever it passed, the air seemed to be sucked away, revealing a pitch-black rift roughly one zhang wide. Tiny spatial fragments flickered along its edges, and it radiated a heart-stopping suction, like a monstrous maw waiting to devour its prey.

"What is that?!" Brother Zhang's expression changed drastically. An intense sense of danger surged through him, and he instinctively tried to retreat.

But it was already too late.

The Spatial Rift had appeared directly in front of the three men. Its powerful suction erupted in an instant, dragging them violently forward like an invisible hand before they could brace themselves.

"Aah—!"

The two weaker Dou Zhe could not resist the suction at all. Their bodies hurtled uncontrollably toward the rift, terror written across their faces. They tried to release their Dou Qi to fight back, but the moment it approached the rift, it was torn apart and devoured without raising so much as a ripple.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

With two soft sounds, the men vanished into the rift like pebbles tossed into an abyss. Even their screams were cut short halfway through.

Brother Zhang was, after all, a Dou Ling expert, and his reactions were exceptionally fast. The instant the suction caught him, he hurled his short axe at the ground, using the recoil to propel himself backward. At the same time, he unleashed all his Dou Qi, trying to break free.

"Break!" he roared, thrusting both fists forward. Dense Dou Qi condensed into fist projections that slammed viciously toward the Spatial Rift.

Yet he faced spatial power controlled by a Dou Sheng. Such a paltry Dou Ling-level attack was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

The fist projections were shredded the instant they touched the rift, and its suction did not diminish in the slightest. Brother Zhang felt an irresistible force seize him, pulling him toward the rift again like a kite with its string snapped.

"No—!" Terror and defiance filled his eyes. He struggled desperately, flailing his limbs and even trying to grab a nearby tree trunk.

But the moment that trunk touched the edge of the rift, it was sliced by what seemed like invisible blades and instantly reduced to dust.

Xiao Yan slowly sat up with his back to Brother Zhang, as though he had only just recovered from his "fright." Wearing a "bewildered," "puzzled" expression, he looked toward the sound. "Who... who's shouting?"

A rock "just happened" to block his line of sight, keeping him from seeing the Spatial Rift or Brother Zhang being swallowed by it.

The last thing Brother Zhang glimpsed from the corner of his eye was Xiao Yan's "innocent, uncomprehending" profile and the half-eaten wheat cake lying beside his hand. Boundless terror and humiliation surged through him. He wanted to scream, to curse, but could no longer make a sound. His body was swiftly swallowed by the pitch-black rift.

"Humm..."

After devouring the three men, the Spatial Rift contracted and disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. It left only a faint spatial fluctuation in the air, which was soon masked by the forest's aura.

All that remained were a few scattered rocks and the half-eaten wheat cake Xiao Yan had dropped "when he fell earlier."

It was as though everything that had just happened had been an illusion.

Xiao Yan "froze for a moment," then slowly stood and brushed the dirt from his clothes. A "puzzled" expression appeared on his face. "Strange. I thought I heard someone shouting just now. Why isn't anyone here?"

He glanced around "warily," his gaze sweeping over the direction from which Brother Zhang and his companions had appeared, his brows "knitted tightly." "Could it have been a magical beast?"

[System notification: All targets eliminated. Assessing nature of deaths...]

[Assessment result: The Spatial Rift eruption matches the characteristics of a natural phenomenon. No direct evidence implicates the host. Deaths classified as "accidental."]

[Hidden quest (chain): Eliminate the Mo Family's covert forces (progress: 3/?). Current reward: Minimal increase in soul power (negligible).]

Xiao Yan understood. The Mo Family had clearly sent more than these few men. It seemed the Mo Family in Wutan City was determined to make a move while he was "alone."

Just as well. I can use this chance to sever these hidden claws one by one.

He "composed himself," shook his head as though attributing the "strange noises" to a magical beast, and lowered his head to continue "searching" for herbs. His steps were no longer as panicked as before; instead, they had gained a measure of "steadiness." Of course, to an onlooker, that "steadiness" would have looked more like the numb resignation of someone smashing an already cracked pot.

He had only taken a few steps when his gaze "happened" to fall behind the tree where Brother Zhang and the others had hidden. The grass there showed faint signs of being trampled.

Xiao Yan "hesitated," but still walked over and crouched to examine it "carefully."

Deep in the grass, he "discovered" a bronze token engraved with the character "Mo." Its edges were somewhat worn. Clearly, Brother Zhang or one of his companions had dropped it in their haste.

"A Mo Family token?" Xiao Yan picked it up, his face showing "shock" and "anger." "Were those Mo Family men just now? What were they planning to do to me?"

He gripped the token tightly, his knuckles turning white. Humiliation and resentment were "written all over" his face, and his chest rose and fell slightly, as though he were doing his utmost to suppress his fury.

"Fine... Very fine, Mo Family!" he growled, like a volcano finally erupting. "Do you really think I, Xiao Yan, am so easy to bully?"

With that, he hurled the token to the ground and stomped on it several times. Only after it had been bent out of shape did he pick up his pack "indignantly" and head off in another direction.

This time, however, his steps were no longer aimless. He was subtly making his way toward the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's camp deeper in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Since the Mo Family's men are here, I might as well kill with a borrowed blade and let them get properly "acquainted" with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group—two forces that ride roughshod over everyone in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

He raised his head and looked into the depths of the forest. Sunlight fell through gaps in the foliage onto his face, leaving half illuminated and half hidden in shadow.

A cold smile curved his lips.

The game had only just begun.