Blood and Shadows: The Hunters Close In

"Tch, what an ugly way to die... But you know what? I like it!"

A sultry voice, rich with amusement, echoed through the dimly lit chamber.

The woman who spoke was breathtaking—her figure accentuated by a tight-fitting leather bodysuit that clung to her every curve. But what made her truly mesmerizing, yet utterly terrifying, was her fiery red hair and the demonic red patterns flickering in her pupils.

Those eyes... they weren’t human. They were the eyes of a devil—impossible to look at directly, yet impossible to ignore.

She held a Memory Stone in her delicate fingers, replaying the scene of Bing Yi’s lifeless body over and over again, a sinister smile curling on her lips. She was Blood Shadow, one of the three supreme geniuses of the Nine Star lineage who had entered the Heavenly Domain Battlefield.

Behind her, a towering man with sharp features hesitated before speaking, his voice laced with caution.

"Blood Shadow, Bing Yi is dead. Do you want to personally visit the battlefield?"

At his words, the surrounding warriors of the Nine Star lineage stiffened. Though they stood at a respectful distance, none dared to meet Blood Shadow’s gaze—even her back alone commanded fear. Only this man, Yin Zhu, dared to approach her more closely, though even he was careful with his words.

Blood Shadow didn’t even spare the battlefield a glance. She let out a soft chuckle, flicking the Memory Stone between her fingers.

"I never cared about her when she was alive. Do you think her dead body is worth my time?"

With that, she turned, tossing the Memory Stone toward Yin Zhu.

"You’re my most capable subordinate. Tell me, what do you see?"

Yin Zhu caught it swiftly, scanning the contents with sharp eyes. Slowly, his expression turned grim.

"Judging by the scene... I suspect Bing Yi was killed by one of our own."

The room fell into silence. Then, a voice rang out, filled with disbelief.

"That means... it was Lu Ze?!"

Yin Zhu shook his head. "Impossible. Lu Ze is strong, but he couldn’t have killed Bing Yi."

He took a breath before explaining further.

"Among the three supreme talents of our Nine Star lineage in this war, Blood Shadow is the strongest, Lu Ze is second, and Bing Yi was the weakest. However, that’s only in terms of raw battle power. Bing Yi’s ‘Sky Pupil’ ability made her the hardest to kill.

"Her true ranking wasn’t based on strength, but on survivability. She was never meant to die here."

Blood Shadow’s lips curled in satisfaction at Yin Zhu’s analysis. She gave him an approving nod. "Continue."

Yin Zhu’s voice dropped into a lower, more serious tone.

"Bing Yi was killed by a precise strike to the forehead. But that doesn’t make sense. She had already condensed her Natal Rune.

"The moment she faced a fatal attack, her Natal Rune should have activated automatically to protect her. Normally, if someone managed to break through, her entire head would have been obliterated—not just a single hole.

"This means whoever killed her didn’t just overpower her—they made her Natal Rune fail. Or worse... they stole it."

A chilling silence filled the air.

"To disrupt or steal a Natal Rune... there are only a handful of methods. But to make it completely useless? The only power capable of that is Starforce."

Someone in the room audibly gasped.

"Wait... that means it wasn’t just anyone—it was a Nine Star warrior!"

Another voice spoke, uncertain. "But Lu Ze—"

"It wasn’t Lu Ze." Yin Zhu cut him off.

"Lu Ze and Bing Yi had clashed many times before. If they fought again, Bing Yi would have used her escape techniques the moment she fell into a disadvantage. No one, not even Blood Shadow, could stop her from escaping if she wanted to."

Blood Shadow laughed softly, shaking her head. "That girl had a filthy mouth... but I’ll admit, she was hard to catch."

Someone else spoke up hesitantly. "If it wasn’t Lu Ze... then who in our Nine Star lineage could have done it? Her own people turning against her?"

Yin Zhu’s gaze darkened.

No. Bing Yi wasn’t betrayed. She died after an intense battle. And if she used up all her power without running, it means there was only one reason—she believed she could win.

"And that overconfidence... got her killed."

Everyone held their breath as the realization settled in.

Someone finally voiced the terrifying thought.

"Then... that means... the one who killed Bing Yi... was Long Chen?!"

A stunned silence filled the air.

"Impossible! Long Chen is just a wandering Nine Star descendant! The lowest of the low, a mere Yellow-rank inheritor!"

"Exactly! The only reason he made a name for himself was because of the Kun Ding! That’s one of the Top Ten Chaos Artifacts! Of course, he could crush Tian Ping with it!"

But Yin Zhu’s eyes flashed coldly. "Fools. You’ve all been thinking about this backwards."

He took a slow breath before delivering the undeniable truth.

"The question isn’t whether Long Chen is strong because he has the Kun Ding.

"It’s this—if Long Chen wasn’t strong, then why is the Kun Ding in his hands?"

The room fell completely silent.

They had been wrong.

Long Chen hadn’t become powerful because of the Kun Ding.

He had obtained the Kun Ding because he was powerful.

Blood Shadow’s lips curled into a wicked smile as she stretched lazily, her dangerously seductive figure only adding to her eerie presence.

"If Bing Yi had even half your intelligence, Yin Zhu... she wouldn’t have died so pitifully."

Her crimson eyes gleamed ominously as she turned toward the horizon.

"As for Lu Ze? Hah. He’s probably already making a move. That idiot will rush straight into death."

Yin Zhu hesitated before speaking. "But Blood Shadow, even if Lu Ze is stronger than Bing Yi, Long Chen has the Kun Ding. If he can’t win, he can still escape."

Blood Shadow smirked. "Then let them fight. It doesn’t matter."

She ran a delicate hand through her crimson hair, her voice dripping with dark amusement.

"Let them struggle. Let them scheme. Let them chase their little dreams."

Her eyes flashed with a deep, bloody hunger.

"In the end, the only one who will claim the Kun Ding... is me."

Final Thoughts:

The battlefield grows ever more dangerous. With both Lu Ze and Blood Shadow’s forces moving, Long Chen is about to become the prey of two supreme monsters.

Yet, if there’s one thing history has proven time and again…

It’s that Long Chen is never just the hunted.

The true hunt... is only beginning.