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: The Hunt Begins – Blood in the Forest
The night in the Beast Wastes was always a strange kind of silence — not quiet, but filled with the breathing of hidden predators, the rustle of blades of grass bending under invisible weight, and the far-off cries of beasts tearing each other apart.
Under the looming shadow of a black-mooned sky, Lin Fan sat cross-legged upon a crumbling altar at the edge of a forgotten ruin, blood trickling down from his temple. His chest heaved, his skin still scorched from his last battle with the Flame Roc. The dragon scales on his arms flickered faintly, the once-vibrant crimson now dulled with overuse. Beside him, Yan Yue watched with a furrowed brow, holding her saber like a lifeline.
"Five of them," she whispered. "Coming from the east. They're not beasts."
Lin Fan didn't open his eyes. He didn't need to. The system had already warned him.
> "Heaven's Assassins detected. Divine Energy Level: Core Forming Realm."
"Survival Probability: 27%."
He exhaled slowly. That meant this wasn't a small scouting party anymore. The Divine Clans had started sending real killers.
"They must think I'm tired," he said, voice dry like sandpaper. "They're right."
Yan Yue moved closer. "Then we run."
"No," Lin Fan said, opening his eyes. Crimson light pulsed in their depths. "We kill them. We show them that stealing from the heavens doesn't mean kneeling to them."
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The First Strike
The assassins came fast — dressed in shadowweave robes, their faces hidden behind golden masks inscribed with celestial runes. Silent. Deadly. Precise.
The first assassin launched a spear of lightning from a distance, aiming for Lin Fan's heart. Without thinking, Lin Fan twisted his body mid-air and unleashed a roar — a Dragon Pulse Shockwave exploded from his chest, shattering the spear mid-flight.
BOOM!
The trees exploded outward, birds scattered into the sky. Yan Yue dashed forward, blade flashing with a crescent of frost energy. She clashed with two assassins at once,