07/08/2026
Chapter 90: The Beast Tamer
The footsteps never hurried.
Each one landed with measured confidence, as though the owner had crossed this forest so many times that even the darkness had learned to move aside for him.
The wolves remained motionless.
Not one growled.
Not one shifted its gaze toward Kael again.
Every pair of golden eyes remained fixed upon the approaching figure.
Another flash of lightning split the heavens.
For a single heartbeat, the forest became bright as daylight.
A man emerged from between the ancient trees.
He wore a long grey cloak stitched together from countless beast hides, each hide belonging to a different creature. Wolf fangs hung around his neck, while a curved bone flute rested against his waist. His long black hair reached almost to his shoulders, and a jagged scar crossed one side of his face from temple to jaw.
He looked no older than thirty.
Yet his eyes...
His eyes resembled those of an old predator.
Calm.
Patient.
Dangerously observant.
The man stopped nearly twenty paces away.
His gaze swept across the battlefield before settling upon Kael.
Then...
He smiled.
"So."
His voice carried easily through the rain.
"Another hunter."
Kael neither answered nor lowered his sword.
The stranger seemed amused.
"I've heard cultivators enjoy hunting beasts."
He slowly spread both hands.
"Tonight..."
"...let's see how it feels when the beasts hunt you."
A sharp whistle escaped his lips.
The wolves exploded into motion.
The forest erupted.
They attacked from every direction at once.
Not recklessly.
With frightening coordination.
Two leapt from the front.
Three circled behind.
Another four climbed fallen trees before launching themselves downward from above.
Kael moved.
His body vanished from where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
The first wolf's jaws snapped shut around empty air.
The second barely landed before Kael's fist struck its ribs.
A loud crack echoed.
The beast flew sideways, crashing through a young tree before disappearing into the darkness.
The remaining wolves never paused.
They adapted immediately.
The Beast Tamer watched silently.
Interesting...
Most people panicked when surrounded.
This young swordsman...
Didn't.
Kael stepped between two lunging wolves, allowing them to collide headfirst before driving his knee into another's chest. The beast rolled across the muddy ground, struggling to breathe.
He still hadn't drawn the Sword of Authority.
The Beast Tamer noticed.
His smile faded slightly.
Another whistle.
This one lower.
The wolves changed formation.
Instead of attacking together, they began rotating around Kael in widening circles, never allowing him a clear opening.
One attacked.
Then retreated.
Another struck from behind.
Then disappeared.
The attacks themselves caused little damage.
Their purpose...
Was exhaustion.
Kael understood almost immediately.
"They're buying time."
The Beast Tamer chuckled.
"You noticed."
His fingers slowly reached for the bone flute resting against his waist.
"I've always preferred letting my companions do the difficult work."
He lifted the instrument to his lips.
The melody that followed was unlike ordinary music.
It sounded closer to the cry of some ancient beast echoing through forgotten mountains.
Every wolf froze.
Their muscles swelled.
Golden eyes gradually darkened until crimson replaced them entirely.
A violent aura erupted from every beast simultaneously.
Even the rain seemed driven backward by the sudden surge of savage spiritual energy.
Kael's expression became more serious.
These weren't ordinary wolves anymore.
The nearest one lunged.
Faster.
Much faster.
Its claws carved deep trenches through solid earth as it crossed the distance between them almost instantly.
Kael finally moved his right hand.
The Sword of Authority left its sheath.
Black steel met crimson claws.
Clang!
The impact sent sparks exploding into the night.
The wolf was thrown backward.
Before it landed...
Kael was already moving.
One step.
Only one.
His sword flashed once.
The beast hit the ground in two separate pieces.
Silence.
Every remaining wolf stopped.
The Beast Tamer lowered his flute.
For the first time...
His smile disappeared completely.
"...One strike."
He quietly studied Kael.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Most Core Formation cultivators required several exchanges before killing one of his Blood Wolves.
This young man...
Had needed only one.
The Beast Tamer slowly drew something from beneath his cloak.
Not another flute.
A whip.
Its length exceeded three meters, braided from countless black tendons that still pulsed faintly with spiritual energy.
He wrapped it once around his arm.
"I was hoping to avoid this."
Kael calmly pointed the Sword of Authority toward him.
The rain continued falling.
The wolves slowly withdrew instead of advancing again.
They had fulfilled their purpose.
Now...
Their master would hunt.
The Beast Tamer smiled once more.
"I haven't introduced myself."
"I am Varek."
"A beast hunter."
His grip tightened around the whip.
"And tonight..."
"...I'll be collecting a very unusual specimen."
The whip cracked.
It never touched the ground.
Yet the explosion alone shattered nearby branches.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
This was no ordinary wanderer.
For the first time since leaving Blood Mist Valley...
He had encountered someone whose strength demanded his full attention.
Chapter 91: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
The crack of the whip had not merely shattered branches.
It shattered the silence.
Birds erupted from the treetops in panicked flocks while the wolves retreated another dozen steps, lowering themselves against the wet earth. They did not flee. They watched.
They had seen this before.
They knew what came next.
Rain continued falling in heavy sheets, washing blood from the ground until crimson streams disappeared into the forest floor.
Varek slowly rolled his shoulders.
"You've killed one."
His eyes rested briefly upon the dead Blood Wolf.
"They're difficult to replace."
His voice carried no anger.
Only calculation.
Kael answered calmly.
"Then call the others away."
Varek laughed.
"You misunderstand."
The whip lazily circled above his head.
"I wasn't asking you to stop."
"I was calculating how much you'll cost me."
Without warning—
The whip vanished.
Kael's instincts exploded into action.
He twisted sideways.
A black blur screamed past his face.
The cliff behind him erupted.
Solid stone burst apart as though struck by a giant hammer, leaving behind a crater nearly two meters across.
Kael's pupils contracted.
That single strike...
Had enough force to crush a Core Formation cultivator.
He didn't pause.
The whip reversed direction instantly, curving through the rain like a living serpent before snapping toward his legs.
Kael leapt.
The ground exploded beneath him.
Mud and shattered rock filled the air.
Before he landed, Varek was already waiting.
Fast.
Far faster than Kael had expected from someone who relied on beasts.
The Beast Tamer drove his fist toward Kael's chest.
Boom!
Kael crossed both forearms just before the impact landed.
The force hurled him backward across the soaked ground.
His boots carved two deep trenches before he finally stopped.
His arms tingled.
The man...
Was physically strong.
Varek flexed his fingers.
A smile slowly returned.
"Good."
"I hate fragile opponents."
Kael remained silent.
His breathing had not changed.
But his thoughts had.
This was no beast master hiding behind summoned creatures.
The wolves were merely one part of his fighting style.
The man himself was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Varek suddenly disappeared.
Not with a technique.
With speed alone.
Kael raised his sword.
Clang!
The whip wrapped around the blade.
A violent surge of spiritual energy travelled through the black tendons as Varek pulled with terrifying force.
The Sword of Authority trembled.
Kael's grip tightened.
Neither yielded.
For one brief moment they stood locked together.
Face to face.
Only three paces apart.
Varek smiled.
"I've changed my mind."
Kael said nothing.
"I don't want your co**se anymore."
His eyes gleamed.
"I want you alive."
The whip suddenly loosened.
Not by accident.
Varek released it himself.
The unexpected loss of resistance caused Kael's sword to move forward a fraction.
That tiny opening...
Was all Varek needed.
His knee drove upward like a battering ram.
Kael turned just enough to reduce the impact, yet the strike still caught his ribs.
Crack.
Pain shot through his side.
He slid backward again.
Varek pursued relentlessly.
One punch.
One elbow.
One kick.
Every attack flowed naturally into the next, leaving almost no room to breathe.
Kael blocked.
Countered.
Retreated.
Branches exploded around them as both men crashed through the forest with frightening speed.
The watching wolves never moved.
They merely followed.
Waiting.
Kael finally found half a heartbeat of space.
His sword flashed.
A clean horizontal slash.
Varek leaned backward until the black blade passed less than an inch from his throat.
Several strands of wet hair drifted to the ground.
His smile widened.
"Excellent."
The whip shot forward again.
This time Kael did not block.
He stepped inside its range.
The Sword of Authority rose from below in one fluid motion.
Varek's eyes narrowed.
Too close.
The whip could no longer generate its destructive force.
He abandoned it immediately.
His left hand caught Kael's sword wrist.
His right hand struck toward Kael's throat.
Kael responded almost instinctively.
Instead of resisting...
He let go of the Sword of Authority.
The blade slipped from his grasp.
Varek's attack hesitated.
Only for an instant.
Why would a swordsman abandon—
Kael's empty hand struck first.
His palm slammed into Varek's chest.
Not heavily.
Precisely.
The force disrupted the man's breathing for the briefest moment.
The Sword of Authority, still falling through the air, rotated once before Kael caught it again with his opposite hand.
The blade descended immediately.
Varek barely escaped.
The tip sliced across his shoulder.
Blood mixed with rain.
Both men separated.
Silence returned.
For the first time since the battle began...
Varek looked down at his own blood.
Then back at Kael.
His expression changed completely.
The amusement vanished.
"So..."
His voice had become colder.
"...that's how you fight."
Kael slowly lowered the Sword of Authority.
"I learned not to depend on it."
A strange excitement appeared within Varek's eyes.
"I've searched for worthy prey for seven years."
He tightened the bandage around his wounded shoulder without taking his eyes off Kael.
"Congratulations."
Kael remained expressionless.
"You've just become the first."
The surrounding wolves suddenly howled.
Not at Kael.
Toward the distant mountains.
Their cries rolled across the forest one after another until dozens more answered from places far beyond the battlefield.
Varek smiled faintly.
"You've attracted attention."
Kael sensed it at the same moment.
Several powerful spiritual auras...
Rapidly approaching.
Not one.
Not two.
Many.
Whatever was coming...
Neither of them had expected it.
Chapter 92: Hunters of the Crimson Guild
The howls rolled across the mountains one after another.
Every beast within the forest fell silent.
Even the rain seemed lighter.
Kael and Varek remained exactly where they stood, neither attempting another strike. Whatever was approaching possessed enough spiritual pressure that continuing their duel would only exhaust them before a far greater battle.
Branches swayed violently.
Several figures burst through the forest canopy.
One.
Three.
Five.
Eight.
Each landed upon different trees surrounding the clearing with practiced precision, instantly sealing every possible escape route.
Their robes were crimson.
On the back of every robe was embroidered the head of a roaring beast enclosed within a silver circle.
The Crimson Hunter Guild.
Kael's eyes quietly swept across them.
None were weak.
The weakest among them possessed cultivation comparable to the Blackstone elites he had fought months ago.
The strongest...
An elderly man standing calmly upon a massive branch.
His aura exceeded everyone else's by an alarming margin.
The old man's silver hair reached his waist, yet his posture remained perfectly straight. A long spear rested across one shoulder while his sharp eyes calmly surveyed the battlefield below.
They stopped first upon the merchants' bodies.
Then upon the slain Blood Wolf.
Finally...
Upon Varek.
The old man sighed.
"So."
"You've been busy again."
Varek laughed.
"I've been hungry."
Several guild members immediately drew their weapons.
The old man raised one hand.
They stopped.
His attention shifted toward Kael.
"A rogue cultivator?"
Kael gave a slight nod.
The old man's gaze lingered briefly on the Sword of Authority before returning to Kael's face.
"You killed the wolf?"
"I did."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
The old man became quiet.
A faint expression of surprise flickered through the eyes of several younger guild members.
Blood Wolves were not ordinary spirit beasts.
Killing one alone was already difficult.
Doing so while fighting Varek...
Was another matter entirely.
One young cultivator snorted.
"He's lying."
"No rogue could—"
The old man silenced him with a single glance.
He returned his attention to Varek.
"I've chased you for four months."
"You've crossed six cities."
"You've slaughtered forty-three caravans."
"You've cost the Guild millions."
Varek lazily rolled the whip around one arm.
"I counted forty-five."
The old man's expression remained unchanged.
"I did not."
Without another word, he lowered the spear from his shoulder.
The surrounding guild members immediately spread farther apart.
They weren't preparing to help.
They were creating space.
Varek noticed.
His smile widened.
"So..."
"You've finally decided to fight personally."
The old man nodded once.
"Enough people have died."
Lightning flashed across the heavens.
The two men disappeared simultaneously.
Boom!
The collision shook the entire clearing.
The spear and whip met with such force that the nearest trees shattered apart from the shockwave alone.
Kael instinctively stepped backward.
His eyes followed every movement.
Fast.
Too fast.
The two cultivators exchanged dozens of strikes in mere breaths, leaving behind only afterimages dancing through the rain.
The old man fought without wasting motion.
Every thrust of his spear travelled the shortest possible path.
No unnecessary flourish.
No grand techniques.
Only precision.
Varek answered with overwhelming unpredictability.
His whip curved around impossible angles, striking from blind spots before instantly changing direction.
Neither gained an advantage.
A younger guild member whispered beside another.
"Elder Ren..."
"...can't suppress him."
His companion swallowed nervously.
"Impossible."
"Elder Ren is at the Ninth Stage."
Another violent explosion interrupted them.
Varek landed lightly upon a broken boulder.
A shallow cut crossed his cheek.
Opposite him, Elder Ren's sleeve had been torn away, revealing a bleeding forearm.
Both men smiled.
The old man finally spoke.
"You've improved."
Varek shrugged.
"So have you."
For the first time...
Kael realized something.
Neither intended to hold back.
This wasn't an arrest.
This was an ex*****on.
The surrounding wolves sensed it as well.
Without receiving a command, they slowly began retreating deeper into the forest.
Their instincts screamed at them.
Leave.
Now.
Varek noticed.
He clicked his tongue.
"Faithless creatures."
Then...
He looked toward Kael.
A strange grin slowly spread across his face.
"I almost forgot."
Kael frowned slightly.
Varek pointed directly at him.
"When this is over..."
"...I'll finish our hunt."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Elder Ren moved.
His spear erupted with blinding silver light, piercing through the rain like a falling star.
Varek answered with a roar.
The black whip expanded violently, spiritual energy surging through every strand until it resembled a giant serpent coiling around the battlefield.
The two attacks collided.
The forest exploded.
Trees hundreds of years old were ripped from the earth.
Rainwater became steam.
Rocks flew through the air like arrows.
Kael crossed his arms before his face as the shockwave swept over him.
Then...
He felt it.
Not from the battle.
From the black ring resting upon his finger.
For the first time since leaving the mountain...
It became warm.
