Qian Ye traversed the forest, suddenly halting as his gaze slowly swept over his surroundings.
The night had fallen, casting an impenetrable darkness over the dense woods. The moonlight could not pierce through the thick canopy, leaving only sporadic silver beams on the forest floor. An eerie chill and silence enveloped everything, so much so that even the usual sounds of beasts and insects were absent, creating an ominous stillness.
Qian Ye sensed a lurking danger, but he could not pinpoint its source. Was it a powerful dark race, or was it the Zhao family summoning their allies? In this region, both were equally possible.
The Zhao guard who had been following him all along behaved strangely. Several times, Qian Ye attempted to turn and confront him, but each time, the guard would unexpectedly avoid combat, maintaining a wide distance before calmly resuming the pursuit when Qian Ye continued forward. This strange behavior only heightened Qian Ye’s vigilance.
Qian Ye stowed away the Eagle Strike and drew out the Twin Bloom in its place. In the dense forest, the Twin Bloom was better suited for close combat. With two clicks, he loaded military-grade short blades into the Twin Bloom, then crouched and sprinted towards the edge of the Zhao territory.
As Qian Ye burst out of the forest and ran towards a nearby rocky area, a sense of imminent danger struck him like a sharp blade slicing through his skin. He disregarded any further attempts at observation or deception, running with all his might at the fastest speed he could muster.
Just as he covered a hundred meters, a faint glimmer caught his eye. It was the flash of an origin bullet, coming from six to seven hundred meters away—optimal sniping range!
A loud boom echoed in Qian Ye’s ears, drowning out all other sounds, as the world reverberated with a low, peculiar whine. All the blood essence in his heart surged out, even the golden and purple ones, breaking free from the ability runes and flowing wildly.
Stimulated by the touch of the hand of death, Qian Ye’s vampire vision reached its peak. Time seemed to slow down, and as he turned his head, his pupils filled with a crimson hue, making the night world bright and clear. The incoming origin bullet appeared vividly real.
As the first origin bullet was mid-flight, another flash appeared from a different direction—more than one sniper!
Qian Ye did not focus solely on the slowly approaching bullets; instead, he scanned his surroundings. In this slowed-down state, he noticed several anomalies: figures rising from their hiding spots!
Having calculated the trajectories of the two sniper bullets, Qian Ye felt a sudden wave of fatigue and weakness, snapping him out of the time-slow state.
He took a quick sidestep, then abruptly leaned to one side. The two high-powered origin sniper bullets whizzed past him! One stray origin energy grazed his left arm, leaving a charred mark on his martial suit, but it failed to penetrate the inner defensive mesh.
Yemu Lan, who fired one of the shots, stared in disbelief. How could someone dodge an origin bullet from such a distance, let alone two? Such an ability should only belong to a war general!
She stood there, stunned, for a full second before accepting this incredible reality. In that brief moment, Qian Ye had already drawn the Eagle Strike, firing without aiming, and used the recoil to propel himself backward, turning to run.
Yemu Lan felt a shiver as she saw the origin bullet crossing hundreds of meters, aiming precisely at her forehead.
Qian Ye hadn’t aimed, just fired on instinct. Using a handgun-like technique with the nearly two-meter-long Eagle Strike, yet hitting with deadly accuracy!
Before Yemu Lan could react, a soft crackling sound emerged as a thin layer of frost erupted around her. She threw her frost-coated sniper rifle at the incoming bullet.
With a resounding explosion, Yemu Lan’s level-five sniper rifle shattered, scattering frost particles, and the impact deflected Qian Ye’s bullet off its course.
“Chase him!” Yemu Lan gritted her teeth and ordered.
The Song guards, who had risen from their hiding spots, immediately pursued Qian Ye. Yemu Lan seized a sniper rifle from one of the guards and took a different path, intercepting Qian Ye’s route ahead.
Qian Ye accelerated, weaving through the terrain with unpredictable maneuvers, dodging origin bullets that whizzed by. Another hundred meters, and he would reach the rugged, rocky area, which would provide more cover.
As Qian Ye sped up, three figures suddenly rose at the edge of the rocky area—guards from the Kong family!
His heart sank, but in the face of danger, his courage surged, and his blood essence boiled. The dawn origin power surged, like waves crashing against the shore, building up in layers, awaiting a decisive eruption.
A clear, resonant cry pierced the night, and Qian Ye’s speed suddenly increased, almost becoming a blur in the moonlight. He charged directly at the blocking figures, with no hesitation, using sheer force to break through.
With a dull thud, a level-six Kong guard, ready for combat, was flung into the air, soaring ten meters before starting to fall, spewing blood and with his bones shattering.
Qian Ye forcibly broke through the strongest part of the encirclement and continued to run. A Kong guard nearby reacted quickly, firing a shot. A burst of origin light flashed on Qian Ye’s back, and his armor shattered into pieces, fragments flying everywhere.
Using the force of the impact, Qian Ye accelerated, quickly escaping the Kong guards’ firing range. However, his face paled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
After vomiting blood, Qian Ye felt a strange ease. After the surge of blood essence during that critical moment, it now moved in harmony with the dawn origin power. His latent bloodline abilities activated, and the blood he vomited lacked the scent of fresh blood essence.
As he ran, the armor at his waist split, revealing a long, deep cut—a wound from the clash with the Kong guard. But Qian Ye also held a backpack, ripped off from the guard in the collision.
Qian Ye crossed the rocky area and plunged into a dense broadleaf forest. With limited options, he headed deeper into the Tianxuan Mountains.
Temporarily out of immediate danger, Qian Ye’s mood grew heavier, as he could envision what lay ahead. If two major clans were hunting him, others would join. Whether it was the Zhao clan’s allies or those seeking to weaken the Yin family’s hunting team, they would coordinate, tracking and driving him until he was cornered.
Qian Ye faced an unprecedentedly perilous situation. Long-range snipers, once confined, lost their mobility and became ordinary warriors. Each guard from the major clans was stronger than him.
At this moment, Qian Ye was extremely calm. Once he escaped the most dangerous area, he maintained a steady pace, surveying the terrain to choose his battlefield. The thought of rescue didn’t cross his mind; his sole resolve was to take as many enemies with him if he perished.
Qian Ye quickly chose a location where peaks and valleys intertwined, dotted with rocky caves and tangled shrubs. Moreover, packs of horn wolves, averaging level-six, roamed here, instilling fear in anyone.
Behind and around him, over twenty pursuers closed in, joined by lone mercenaries and fighters.
One of the guards, dashing through the forest, suddenly found a thin, dark thread descending from a tree, coiling around his neck and lifting his large body.
Eyes bulging, the guard kicked futilely, gagging but unable to scream. The thread cut deeply into his neck, pulling him up into the treetop. There, a slender, black-clad, handsome man with blood-red eyes, grinned at him!
Terrified, the guard never expected to encounter a higher vampire. But the blood noble lunged, sinking his fangs into the guard’s throat.
Moments later, the blood noble donned the guard’s clothes, checking his equipment. “These human clans are so resource-rich. Even a mere guard has such good gear, almost rivaling our Holy Blood Clan!”
In the depths of the treetop, the guard had been reduced to a desiccated corpse. The blood noble leaped down, leisurely pursuing Qian Ye. After days of observation and gathered intelligence, he understood the Spring Hunt’s dynamics. Following the hunted human would likely lead him to his target.
Qian Ye now sat in the dense foliage of a tall tree, steadying his breath, crudely bandaging the wound on his waist. He reloaded the Twin Bloom and the Eagle Strike, then rummaged through the Kong guard’s backpack for food.
Leaning against the tree, he closed his eyes, but Yemu Lan’s face lingered in his mind. In the instant of his counter-attack, his night vision revealed the sniper’s face, and the initial pursuers wore Song clan attire.
Qian Ye’s heart clenched, feeling a sharp pain.
Exhaling softly, he coolly assessed the strengths of his pursuers and planned his next moves. Yet, the greatest threat came from Song Zining.
Qian Ye vividly recalled Song Zining’s record and tactics from the Yellow Springs training camp. The most dangerous foe was his former classmate, who knew his fighting style well. However, his instincts had failed to locate Song Zining this time.
The silent, unnoticed threats were the most dangerous. Perhaps the blade of death would emerge from the darkness any moment.
With the Song clan’s hunting team present, where was Song Zining?
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