The night wind blew. Lin Mu's figure disappeared at the end of the street.
He didn't rush to act. Like a patient crocodile, he lurked in the shadows, quietly observing his prey's movements.
Know yourself and know your enemy to secure victory. Regarding Lin Wuxie, this variable full of uncertainty, any shred of contempt could lead to losing the entire board.
Time flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, the three-day countdown to the Grand Competition arrived.
These past few days, the atmosphere in Black Blood Stockade grew increasingly anxious. Several seed candidates closed their doors to guests, adjusting their states.
Only Lin Wuxie remained like a tireless ghost, drilling deep into Black Wind Ridge every single day without fail.
"Going again."
In the morning, watching that thin figure disappear at the stockade gate, Lin Mu put down his teacup, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He changed into a tight-fitting outfit convenient for movement, smeared scent-eliminating powder on his body, and followed silently.
This time, he didn't get too close.
Relying on the ultra-long visual range of the Eagle Eye Gu in his left eye, he constantly hung five hundred meters behind Lin Wuxie.
And deep in his aperture, the Blood Scent Gu firmly locked onto the unique blood qi on the other party, which carried a trace of rotting fishy stench.
Dual lock. Foolproof.
The two, one front and one back, drilled into the depths of Black Wind Ridge.
The trees here were taller. Sunlight struggled to pierce the dense canopy. A cold dampness permeated the forest.
After going about twenty miles deep, Lin Wuxie ahead suddenly stopped his steps.
Lin Mu keenly sensed the anomaly. His figure flickered, light as a civet cat, darting up a towering ancient tree.
Borrowing the cover of branches and leaves, he activated the extreme vision of the Eagle Eye Gu.
In the valley below, over a dozen pairs of oily green eyes flashed in the shadows.
Wind Wolf pack.
This was a pack of Rank 1 Middle Stage fierce beasts. Moving like wind, coordinating tacitly. Even a well-equipped clan squad would find them a headache.
The surrounded Lin Wuxie looked like a lamb straying into a wolf pack.
Awooo—! The alpha wolf let out a long howl.
Four or five Wind Wolves launched a pounce simultaneously. They opened their bloody maws, wind blades condensing between their fangs, sealing all of Lin Wuxie's retreat paths.
Facing this desperate situation, a normal Gu Master would choose to activate a defensive Gu or use a movement Gu to pull distance.
But Lin Wuxie didn't.
He stood in place. Neither dodging nor defending. He looked like a madman scared silly, allowing the fiercest Wind Wolf to bite ruthlessly into his shoulder.
Pfft! Sharp teeth entered flesh. Fresh blood splattered.
Atop the tree, Lin Mu frowned. "Is he seeking death?"
However, in the next second, a scene that made his pupils quake occurred.
The moment the Wind Wolf bit him, Lin Wuxie not only didn't scream, but let out a low, beast-like growl.
Hum! A bizarre black light suddenly lit up on his limbs.
Empowered by this black light, the ten fingers of his hands instantly turned pitch-black as ink. His nails skyrocketed three inches, becoming sharp as eagle claws forged from refined iron.
"Die!"
Lin Wuxie didn't retreat but advanced. He actually opened his arms, backhandedly locking the Wind Wolf that bit him in a dead embrace.
Pfft! The pitch-black sharp claws easily pierced into the Wind Wolf's soft waist and abdomen, sinking deep into its body.
Immediately after, he made a move that would cause physiological discomfort to any human—
He opened his mouth, revealing two rows of ghastly white teeth, and bit down ruthlessly onto the violently throbbing main artery of the Wind Wolf's neck!
"Woo—?!"
The Wind Wolf let out a whine of extreme terror. It struggled desperately, wanting to break free from this madman.
But Lin Wuxie's hands and feet locked it like iron pincers, and his teeth embedded deeply into its flesh and blood.
Gulp, gulp. The hair-raising sound of swallowing was clearly audible in the silent valley.
As Lin Wuxie devoured, that robustly built Wind Wolf actually shriveled at a visible rate, as if all the essence blood in its body was drained dry by that mouth.
Conversely, the bone-deep wound on Lin Wuxie's shoulder instantly stopped bleeding and scabbed over under the circulation of the black light. Even his aura surged significantly!
Trading injury for injury. Replenishing blood with blood!
"This is Food Path..." Lin Mu saw clearly from high up, a great chill rising in his heart.
"Overdrafting life, abandoning pain, even abandoning human dignity... turning himself into a wild beast that only knows how to eat."
But this wasn't over.
After sucking a Wind Wolf dry, the whites of Lin Wuxie's eyes completely disappeared, leaving only pitch-black ink. That was the sign of being completely dominated by bestiality and the desire to slaughter.
He casually tossed away the dried corpse. With a mouth full of fresh blood, he pounced on the next Wind Wolf.
"ROAR!"
This time, it was the wolf pack's turn to feel fear.
They were wild beasts, but they also feared this monster that was more beast-like, more insane than them.
When the third Wind Wolf had its throat torn open alive and its blood sucked dry by Lin Wuxie, these predators that rampaged through the periphery finally collapsed.
Tucking their tails and letting out terrified whimpers, they fled in all directions.
In the valley, only that blood-bathed youth remained. Standing in the pile of corpses, his chest heaved violently, emitting a bellows-like panting sound.
Atop the tree, Lin Mu slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and deactivated the Eagle Eye Gu.
One battle allowed him to see Lin Wuxie's trump cards clearly.
"The core Gu worm should be parasitic in the stomach, producing power by digesting flesh and blood, then outputting it through the limbs and teeth."
Lin Mu deduced rapidly in his mind. "Although I don't know the specific Gu name, the combat style is already very obvious—'trading injury for injury, growing stronger through battle'."
As long as he gets close enough to take a bite, or scratch a bit of skin, he can continuously plunder vitality from the enemy to repair himself.
He was a monster like a perpetual motion machine.
"However..."
Lin Mu touched his sleeve, a cold glint of confidence flashing in his eyes.
"This fighting style is fine for bullying wild beasts or Gu Masters ignorant of his background. But in front of me, it is full of flaws."
No defensive Gu. No ranged methods. Relying entirely on the physical body to hard-tank.
"As long as I don't let him get close. Use Red Mud to limit his speed, Dust Escape to pull distance, and Iron Leaf to kite... Or, the instant he pounces, activate 'Mud-Dust Blood Prison' and decapitate him directly."
Lin Mu simulated the combat process in his mind.
The conclusion: Three breaths.
Within three breaths, he had absolute certainty of taking Lin Wuxie's life. This was the confidence brought by strength, and the crushing suppression brought by intelligence.
"Killing him isn't hard. But if I kill him, that Food Path inheritance will be severed."
Lin Mu looked down at the youth below, who was gradually recovering from madness and clumsily beginning to pack the wolf corpses. His eyes grew deep and greedy.
For a transmigrator pursuing power, a rare and bizarre ancient inheritance was far more valuable than a competitor's head.
"I can't just kill him forcefully."
"I must think of a way to use this Grand Competition to squeeze him dry... not just his points, but the secrets in his head."
Lin Mu's figure flickered, retreating quietly before Lin Wuxie could discover him.
The hunter had locked onto his prey. But this time, he didn't just want the fur; he wanted the prey's bone marrow.