Chapter 99: Chased by a Martial Adept
The forest suddenly felt heavier, as if the very air had thickened. A cold wind stirred through the clearing, rustling the trees like the whispers of unseen ghosts.
Silence.
Su Tianhao's breath heaved in pale wisps, mixing with the faint scent of rotting bark and poisoned wood—the lingering aftermath of Blood Grin's toxic darts still clinging to the air like death's perfume.
The cheerful forest from earlier felt distant now. What remained was a tension so dense it hung like a shroud over everything.
Across from him, Blood Grin stood unmoving, that twisted smile stretching even wider beneath the muted morning light. His single good eye gleamed with anticipation.
"Quite impressive, dodging my darts…" he rasped, his voice slicing through the silence like broken glass. "…But you're still destined to die by my hands."
BOOM!
His aura erupted outward—violent and oppressive—sending shockwaves rippling through the air. Leaves swirled in chaotic spirals. Dust rose like smoke.
'5th level Martial Adept!'
Su Tianhao's eyes widened. The realization hit him like a physical blow. He could discern a cultivator's level from a single glance at their aura—and what he saw now made his blood run cold.
'He's a 5th level Martial Adept!' Cold sweat broke across his skin, his mind reeling. The gulf between them was staggering—insurmountable.
'With my current strength I can only fight 1st level Martial Adepts at most... and that victory would come at a heavy cost. But a 5th level Martial Adept...'
That was no different from courting death.
"Hehehehehe!"
Blood Grin laughed, reading the shift in Su Tianhao's expression with obvious relish. His face twisted with satisfaction. "You finally understand the difference between us? There's no way you're coming out of this alive!"
He threw his head back, laughter echoing across the clearing. Birds burst from their perches in frantic, panicked bursts.
"Why are you doing this?"
Su Tianhao's voice cut through the laughter—sharp and cold, like a blade drawn without warning.
Blood Grin's amusement faltered. One eyebrow rose. "Isn't it obvious? I'm completing my mission."
That permanent twisted smile curled further at the edges.
"That's not what I mean," Su Tianhao said quietly. His eyes narrowed. "You're not doing this just for the money. You enjoy it—killing people."
Blood Grin paused.
Then—
"Hahahaha!"
A deranged, heartfelt laugh burst from him, rolling through the trees.
"Of course I enjoy it! I love it!" he hissed, licking his dry lips with unsettling fervor. "There's nothing quite like watching the light fade from someone's eyes!"
"Why?" Su Tianhao pressed, grip tightening on his sword hilt, knuckles whitening. Golden eyes stayed locked on the assassin.
"Why?" Blood Grin echoed, amusement gleaming. "I'm just following the rules. The strong prey on the weak—isn't that the way of the world?"
"That doesn't mean you should kill for pleasure."
"Oh?" Blood Grin's expression darkened, cruelty flashing through. "And who are you to judge me? Didn't you just kill that Hollow Hound? Wasn't that for pleasure?"
"That was a spirit beast—not a person," Su Tianhao snapped.
He opened his mouth to say more, then stopped. His eyes moved over Blood Grin slowly—the tall, unhurried posture, the hideous scar, that grin carved into his face like something permanent, the colorless eye empty of anything living.
'This man can't be reasoned with,' Su Tianhao thought grimly, pulse quickening. 'He's a monster who kills for the pleasure of it.'
'No point wasting words. I can't win in a straight fight. I need to escape first.'
His stance shifted—barely perceptible. Muscles coiled. His gaze stayed fixed on Blood Grin, giving nothing away.
"Shadow-Splitting Flash—Flicker Edge!"
Shadowfang shot from its scabbard.
A cold gleam. A flash of steel.
The dark blade tore through the air like a lightning arc—swift, precise, killing intent pressing directly against Blood Grin's skin.
Blood Grin's eye widened. For a single heartbeat, he felt it—that suffocating pressure locked squarely on him.
'So fast!'
He threw himself backward in alarm, boots skidding on loose soil. The blade missed—but barely. He felt the cold kiss of steel graze his cheek.
Then it was gone. A blur of black light swallowed by the forest.
Before he could process it—
Rustle.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Footsteps—rapid and already distant.
Blood Grin whipped his head around.
Su Tianhao was gone. He'd used that single instant of shock to vanish into the undergrowth, Shadowfang cutting cleanly through vines, branches and bramble as he ran.
"Damnit."
Blood Grin's voice dropped low and venomous. That scar-stretched grin warped into something more grotesque.
"Run then, run…" he whispered, a giddy edge creeping into his voice. "It only makes this more fun."
He moved.
An explosive burst of speed tore the air as he shot forward into the forest, dark robes flaring behind him like an unbound shadow. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"Jejeje... I'm going to enjoy this!"
---
Su Tianhao ran, boots pounding against the earth, never allowing himself even a breath of stillness before surging forward again.
Branches whipped past his face, leaving stinging scratches. Leaves clawed at his robes. Roots snagged at his boots.
He didn't stop. He couldn't.
Each breath came sharp and cold, burning in his lungs. The forest blurred as he wove between trees—every movement precise, efficient, trained into his body. But even as instinct drove his legs, his mind was already working.
'A 5th level Martial Adept… that distraction should have bought me time, but I need distance.'
This wasn't cowardice. It was calculation.
He couldn't win—not here, not now. Not yet.
Su Tianhao clenched his teeth, frustration cutting deeper than any blade. Sweat stung his eyes.
This was survival.
'He's overconfident,' Su Tianhao thought, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch, footsteps light on soft moss. 'Laughing, gloating—he's enjoying this too much. If I can lose him in the terrain, buy enough time...'
Then he heard it.
Crunch.
Behind him. Closer than before.
"Jejeje… you're slowing down, boy…"
Blood Grin's voice slithered through the trees like smoke, laced with mockery. His laughter followed—twisted and sharp, like rusted blades dragged across bone.
Su Tianhao's heart thudded. Not with fear.
With resolve.
'I won't die here.'
Whssht! Whssht!
A volley of darts sliced through the air—razor-thin, poisoned, merciless. The sound cut through the forest like a death song.
Su Tianhao threw himself forward, twisting mid-air.
One dart grazed his shoulder—cutting clean through fabric and biting into flesh. Pain flared hot and immediate. Another embedded itself into a tree trunk inches from his head as he hit the ground in a shoulder roll, leaves and dirt exploding around him.
He didn't stop.
Stopping wasn't an option.
He pushed himself up through gritted teeth, lungs burning, legs screaming—and ran again.
Blood Grin wasn't hunting like a man pursuing prey. He hunted the way a child pulls wings from a trapped insect—savoring the torment, prolonging the kill. His footsteps behind Su Tianhao were steady, almost leisurely. Cruelly paced. Never rushed.
He was being toyed with.
Blood dripped from Su Tianhao's grazed shoulder, and he could already feel it—a cold, creeping numbness spreading slowly outward from the wound. Venom. Working its way in.
But his heavenly devouring dragon physique was already fighting back, pulling at the toxin, buying him precious time.
'He's holding back on purpose...' Su Tianhao cursed inwardly, veins bulging at his temples. 'If I don't find a way out of this soon, the poison will finish what he's too amused to.'
Then—
Crack!
His foot snagged on an exposed root.
Momentum betrayed him. He crashed hard into the earth, air exploding from his lungs in a painful burst. The impact jarred his bones. His vision swam.
But the moment his body hit the ground, he was already moving—dragging himself upright through sheer will, no hesitation.
He ran again. But differently now.
Smarter.
His eyes flickered ahead, reading the terrain as he moved. A hanging vine—he grabbed it mid-stride, swung across a rocky ledge, and found purchase on the far side, skipping the uneven ground that would have cost him momentum. Behind him, Blood Grin lost a beat.
Su Tianhao's hand caught a thick branch as he passed, snapped it clean, and sent it crashing into Blood Grin's path—a burst of leaves and bark tumbling behind him.
Anything to delay. Anything to survive.
"Jejeje… clever little rat…" Blood Grin muttered, slowing only slightly. His voice still reached Su Tianhao through the trees like a shadow that refused to fall behind. "But I'll catch you all the same…"
Su Tianhao's breaths came in ragged bursts now. Stamina wearing thin. The poison creeping further, his injured shoulder already turning a deep, spreading purple at the edges.
His legs burned. His lungs screamed.
But his eyes—
His eyes still blazed with that same golden light.
The will to live. To fight. To endure.
This wasn't a battle anymore.
It was survival.