The moment the street vanished, Lin Yuan heard the sound of the wind.
The shops on both sides, the roadside stalls, and the sunlight overhead all faded, twisted, and disappeared into the mist.
In their place was a gray, hazy void.
The bluestone slabs beneath his feet remained, but a dark red light was seeping out from the cracks between them.
Lin Yuan stood his ground, his right hand gripping his spear with the butt resting on the ground.
The silver ring on his left index finger grew slightly warm, the heat spreading from his finger to his wrist.
He did not move.
Seven figures wearing gray-black cloaks emerged from the mist, their footsteps silent.
Their positioning was deliberate: three blocked the path ahead, two were on the left, and two were on the right, completely cutting off his retreat.
Seven against one.
The middle-aged man leading them pulled back his hood, revealing an utterly unremarkable face.
He looked to be in his forties, with rough skin and fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes—the kind of face you would never look at twice in a crowd.
But Lin Yuan wasn't looking at his face; he was looking at his left eye.
Deep within the pupil, a dark red pattern of an inverted eye was slowly rotating.
It was identical to the markings on the rune stone.
“Lin Yuan,” the middle-aged man’s voice was raspy and dry.
“Yesterday, on the outskirts of the arena, you were the one who erased my rune.”
Lin Yuan did not answer.
His gaze swept across the seven people one by one as the system operated silently within him, sensing everyone’s energy fluctuations.
The middle-aged man’s energy fluctuation was the most prominent—around Tier 2, Level 5. His energy density was at least an order of magnitude higher than Lin Yuan’s.
The fluctuations of the other six were much weaker, roughly between Tier 1, Level 6 and Level 7, similar to his own.
If it were just those six, he could fight.
But with the addition of a Tier 2, Level 5 rune master, a direct confrontation would be suicide.
“Silent?” The middle-aged man smiled slightly.
“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t come here to chat anyway.”
He raised his right hand.
Lin Yuan tightened his grip on the spear shaft.
However, the six men did not pounce.
They simply stood their ground, their eyes beneath their hoods staring coldly at him.
The middle-aged man was in no hurry to act.
“Sixteen years old, Tier 1, Level 6, Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering,” his voice echoed in the mist.
“An F-rank waste ten days ago, and ten days later, you defeated the S-rank Ice Phoenix in a fair fight. All four major academies are scrambling for you.”
He paused, the blood-red pattern in his left eye spinning faster.
“Kid, do you know? I’ve been undercover in Donghai City for three years and have seen countless so-called ‘geniuses.’ But I’ve never seen one like you.”
Lin Yuan still didn't respond.
The middle-aged man tilted his head and continued.
“The Blood Eye Cult needs talent like yours. Though you are an F-rank lightning user, you have Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering and top-tier combat talent.
If you nod your head now, I can take the initiative to grant you the position of a ‘Blood Attendant’ in the Blood Eye Cult. Pills, techniques, resources—we can give you more than what the four major academies offer. And...”
He stuck out his tongue and licked his dry, cracked lips.
“The Blood Eye Cult won't ask about your secrets. That ‘other thing’ you have, we won't interfere with it. The cult is full of people with secrets; one more won't make a difference.”
Lin Yuan’s brow twitched slightly.
It wasn't because of the conditions mentioned—Blood Attendant status, resources, or the promise not to pry. Those things might be tempting to others, but they were worthless to him.
It was because the man had mentioned “that other thing.”
This rune master had also sensed his space-time system ability.
Although the man clearly didn't know what it was and only vaguely perceived an “anomaly,” the fact that he could sense it at all was telling. The people of the Blood Eye Cult were far more sensitive to energy than ordinary ability users.
“Well?” The middle-aged man reached out a hand. “Nod, and you’re one of us. Shake your head...”
He didn't finish, but the six men stepped forward simultaneously.
The gray-black mist churned more violently, and faint, dark red runes began to surface within the fog.
Lin Yuan looked at the outstretched hand.
He wondered how many harmful runes those hands had drawn.
“I have a question,” Lin Yuan finally spoke.
The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.
“Your target is Su Qingyue,” Lin Yuan said.
“An S-rank Ice Phoenix is worth the risk of infiltrating Donghai City, worth setting up runes around the arena, and worth deploying a Tier 2, Level 5 rune master to lead the team personally.”
His voice was calm, as if he were stating facts that had nothing to do with him.
“But there is one thing I don't understand.”
“What is it?”
Lin Yuan looked up, his gaze meeting the inverted eye pattern in the man’s left eye.
“Su Qingyue is recovering at the Su Manor today. There is a Tier 3 ability user stationed there, so you can’t get in.
She won't leave the Su Manor for at least three days, and since I erased your runes, you can't track her location. Even if you kill me here today...”
He paused.
“How does that help you capture Su Qingyue?”
The middle-aged man fell silent for two seconds.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't the stiff, ill-fitting smile from before, but a genuine laugh of amusement.
“Smart, you're damn smart.”
He withdrew his hand and placed his arms behind his back, pacing twice in front of Lin Yuan as the mist swirled at his feet.
“You’re right. Killing you here doesn't help with capturing Su Qingyue at all. But there’s one thing you don't understand...”
He stopped and turned his head, the blood-red pattern in his left eye staring straight at Lin Yuan.
“I didn't come looking for you for Su Qingyue’s sake in the first place.”
Lin Yuan’s brow furrowed.
“Su Qingyue is a mission for the cult, someone the higher-ups ordered to be captured. But you...” The middle-aged man extended a finger and pointed toward Lin Yuan’s chest from a distance.
“I took a personal interest in you.”
“I’ve been undercover in Donghai City for three years and have seen countless awakened users.”
“How long does Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering take? Ordinary people can’t reach it in a lifetime. Geniuses built on resources might reach seven rounds in three to five years; eight rounds is the ceiling. You did it in ten days.”
His voice grew lower and slower, as if he were talking to himself.
“Ten days, from waste to genius. There isn't a second person in the entire Dragon Nation with that kind of growth speed. Do you think the Blood Eye Cult would let you go?”
Lin Yuan understood.
Su Qingyue was the mission; he was an incidental discovery.
But after this rune master discovered his anomaly, he had turned that “incidental” into a “must.”
If he couldn't recruit him, he would destroy him.
Rate on N.U.
