The forest grew steeper as Li Tian and Mei moved north.
Rain no longer fell as heavily as before, but the wet earth still clung to their boots, and the cold wind moving through the trees carried the scent of blood, moss, and danger.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Li Tian walked in front, his steps measured, his breathing steady but guarded.
He was no longer stumbling.
No longer half-dragging himself through the dark.
But that did not mean he was safe.
Every movement still reminded him of the cuts across his side, the wound in his shoulder, and the deep exhaustion hidden beneath his new control.
Behind him, Mei watched quietly.
Not just his pace.
His posture.
His breathing.
The way his hand rested on the sword.
"You're forcing stability," she finally said.
Li Tian did not stop walking.
"I know."
"That kind of control breaks easily," Mei continued. "Especially if someone stronger pushes you."
Li Tian glanced back only slightly.
"Then I won't let them push first."
Mei's expression did not change, but her eyes sharpened.
That answer told her what she needed to know.
He was no longer moving like prey.
Not fully.
Ahead, the trees thinned.
The ground rose into a rocky slope broken by twisted roots and jagged stone. A narrow ridge cut through the forest like an old scar, and above it, half-hidden in darkness, stood a small elevated outpost made from wood and dark stone.
No fire.
No loud voices.
No careless movement.
Only silence.
Li Tian stopped behind a thick tree trunk and crouched slightly. Mei moved beside him without a sound.
"That's it," she whispered.
"The command scout post."
Li Tian's eyes remained fixed ahead.
"How many?"
"Usually three to five," Mei said. "One marker. The others protect the perimeter."
"Usually?"
Mei's jaw tightened a little.
"After what happened tonight? It could be more."
Li Tian nodded once.
That was enough.
He did not ask pointless questions.
He studied the ridge instead.
The path up was narrow and muddy. Two torch stands had been left unlit to avoid attention. There was a low stone wall near the front, and behind it a small raised platform where a lookout could see through the trees.
Not a fortress.
But not careless either.
The system flickered before his eyes.
[Objective in range: Mark Source]
[Suggested approach: Eliminate support first]
[Warning: direct confrontation risk elevated]
Li Tian's gaze darkened.
"Eliminate support first…" he murmured.
Mei looked at him. "What did it say?"
He did not answer directly.
Instead, he pointed toward the ridge.
"One at the top," he said quietly. "Two hidden near the lower sides. Maybe another near the rear."
Mei stared at him.
"You can tell?"
Li Tian narrowed his eyes.
Not clearly.
Not perfectly.
But his Dragon Instinct picked up small disturbances now—the way wet leaves shifted, the faint rhythm of breathing hidden behind stone, the pressure of attention from the dark.
"Enough to know they're waiting."
Mei exhaled slowly. "Then what's the plan?"
Li Tian looked at her fully now.
"You stay back."
Her expression cooled instantly. "No."
"This isn't your hunt," Li Tian said.
"You think I brought you here to watch you die stupidly?" Mei shot back.
For a brief moment, silence sharpened between them.
Then Li Tian said, "If they see two people, they'll react faster. If they only see me, they'll commit."
Mei crossed her arms. "So I'm bait's shadow?"
"You're the knife they don't expect."
That made her pause.
Only for a second.
Then she asked, "And if they kill you too quickly?"
Li Tian's lips curved faintly.
"Then you leave."
Mei gave him a flat look.
"That's a terrible plan."
"It's the one we have."
Before she could argue again, movement flickered near the ridge.
A man stepped onto the raised platform.
Tall.
Thin.
Dark robe.
A curved blade at his waist and a strange metal rod hanging from his back.
Even from a distance, Li Tian felt the reaction immediately.
The burning mark on his chest pulsed.
Hard.
Pain shot through him like a hot needle.
His fingers tightened against the bark of the tree.
"That one," he said quietly.
Mei's eyes shifted to the figure. "You felt it?"
Li Tian did not answer.
He already knew.
The man on the platform slowly raised one hand, and faint red lines flickered around his fingers before fading into the night.
Not a normal fighter.
A tracker.
A marker.
The one they came for.
The system flickered sharply.
[Mark Source confirmed]
[Kill target to sever trace]
Li Tian drew a slow breath.
"Now."
He moved before the word had fully faded.
Not charging wildly.
Not recklessly.
He stepped out from cover and ran directly toward the narrow ridge path.
The response was instant.
A blade flashed from the left.
Li Tian expected it.
He turned, blocked, and the impact rang through the night.
Clang!
A hidden guard emerged from behind a rock, attacking fast and low.
At the same moment, another figure rushed from the right.
Two at once.
Exactly as expected.
Li Tian gave ground deliberately, retreating two steps down the muddy slope instead of pressing forward. The left guard lunged harder, thinking he was being pushed back.
That was the mistake.
A shadow moved above him.
Mei dropped from the low branch she had silently climbed while Li Tian advanced.
Her dagger flashed once.
Clean.
Precise.
The guard's throat opened before he could even shout.
He collapsed into the mud.
The second guard's eyes widened in shock.
Li Tian stepped in immediately.
No pause.
No wasted motion.
He caught the man's wrist, activated Controlled Absorption for a brief instant, felt the strength drain from the guard's arm, then drove his sword under the ribs.
THUD.
The body jerked, then fell still.
No collapse.
No loss of control.
Li Tian exhaled once and looked up.
The marker on the platform was already moving.
Fast.
He had not panicked.
He had not fled.
He stepped backward instead, raising the metal rod from his back and slamming its end against the stone platform.
A red pulse spread outward.
Mei's face changed instantly.
"Move!"
Li Tian reacted on instinct.
He jumped aside just as thin crimson threads shot through the air where he had stood. They struck a tree trunk behind him and wrapped around it like living veins, crushing bark inward with a dry crack.
Not a scout.
Not just a scout.
A blood technique user.
The man finally spoke, his voice thin and cold.
"So you're the one who broke the line."
Li Tian stepped onto the lower ridge, sword ready.
"And you're the one hiding behind marks."
The man smiled faintly.
"No. I'm the one guiding the hunt."
With a flick of his fingers, the crimson threads recoiled and spun around him like snakes.
Mei moved to Li Tian's left, low and ready.
"There's another one in the rear," she whispered.
Li Tian heard it too now.
Boots shifting behind the outpost.
A reserve guard.
Good.
Better to know now.
The marker's gaze moved between them, then settled on Li Tian's chest as if he could see the glowing mark beneath cloth and skin.
"You've adapted quickly," he said. "No wonder Zhao Yun wants you alive."
Li Tian's eyes hardened.
So Zhao Yun was already directly tied to this hunt.
Not just behind it.
Actively commanding it.
Good.
That truth burned away the last bit of hesitation.
The marker lifted his hand again.
The crimson threads spread wider.
"This ends here," he said.
Li Tian stepped forward.
"No," he said coldly. "It starts here."
And in the same instant, from behind the outpost, the hidden reserve guard rushed out—while above them the crimson threads descended like a falling net.
🔥 The Dragon's Ancestral Legacy 🔥