He wakes from meditation as the sun rises, quickly gets ready, and finds his sister asleep, remembering he already told her about the hunt and choosing not to wake her.
He leaves the house, but does not head toward the northern gate where the governor ordered all participants to gather.
Instead, he goes first to his martial arts school.
Inside, his master greets him and, with a faint smile, presents him with a new bow for the hunt, superior to the one he currently carries.
Zian leaves his old bow behind and takes the gifted one.
Joined by five fellow disciples who will also participate, along with their master and Senior Sister Luixi, he heads toward the western gate.
Outside the northern gate, a crowd has already gathered, and a newly built platform stands prominently.
Behind it, the Black Mountain Range rises, its dense forest stretching across the horizon.
The hunt will not take place within the mountains themselves, but in the forests along their foothills.
An official steps onto the platform and announces that the hunt will last a full day.
The goal is to hunt a demon beast, and participants may return at any time after completing their task.
The governor will then evaluate the demon beasts brought in, and the hunter with the highest rating will win the hunt.
The prize is a master realm martial arts cultivation technique, three master realm martial arts skills, and 100 gold coins.
With the announcement complete, the official proclaims the start of the hunt, and the hunters race toward the forest, disappearing among the trees.
Lin Zian travels alongside his fellow disciples, all aware they have little chance of winning, so they stick together for survival.
Inside the forest, they encounter wolves, tigers, and other dangerous beasts, but as ordinary creatures, the six disciples easily handle them together.
Yet no beast shows any trace of demon energy.
Time passes, and as the sun sets, they set up camp for the night.
They do not sleep; instead, sitting around a bonfire, speak quietly, exchanging observations, and listening.
Through the darkness, distant roars of beasts and cries for help echo, but they remain still, knowing even a creature with a wisp of demon energy is too dangerous to hunt with their strength.
Their goal is simple: survive the night.
But the night does not go as planned.
At first, a low growl reaches their ears, and they rise alert, weapons drawn.
From the shadows of the canopy, a tiger emerges, its milky white skin streaked with blue stripes, eyes crackling with electrifying blue light.
Without warning, the tiger charges.
Senior Brother Wu Hai shouts, "We engage the tiger—Lin Zian, stay at a distance and attack with arrows."
Zian nods and steps back, drawing his bow, while the five senior brothers prepare to face the tiger head-on.
The tiger charges, and the five senior brothers engage it immediately, clashing fiercely as claws meet fists, both sides landing blows but none causing serious harm.
Lin Zian nocks his first arrow and releases it, striking the tiger in its side, and pain explodes from the creature as it lashes out in strength.
Senior Brother Li Jin is caught in its swipe at the chest with a cry, collapsing to the ground, life and death unknown.
The remaining four brothers, with Lin Zian providing support from a distance, continue the fight, each strike and dodge taking a toll as injuries accumulate on both sides.
Lin Zian releases his second arrow into the tiger's back thigh, and his third arrow into its shoulder, each striking true, but the tiger's painful outbursts are dodged with shocking speed.
The tiger then mobilises its demon energy, bursts forward, and its crackling tail strikes Senior Brother Liu Ming, snapping bones with a sickening crunch, and he falls.
Lin Zian fires a fourth arrow into the tiger's eye, wounding it further, but the beast's blinding pain only fuels its fury.
Wu Hai, taking a dangerous risk, seizes both of the tiger's front paws to hold it in place, and Lin Zian releases his fifth arrow into its side of the neck, piercing deep and killing the creature.
By the end of the battle, the other three disciples suffer varying degrees of injury, with Wu Hai bearing the heaviest toll.
The next event is unthinkable—Senior Brother Bu Lai and Senior Brother Ji Mo suddenly burst with strength, driving their sword and spear into the back of Wu Hai.
Fear and shock grip Lin Zian as he watches Wu Hai collapse to his knees, then onto the ground, his empty eyes staring at him.
Lin Zian sees the two senior brothers now turning their weapons toward him.
He looks at them, voice trembling, "Senior brothers, why?"
Bu Lai smirks, cold and cruel. "Junior brother Zian, we liked you, but now we cannot let you live. Don't worry, we will make it as painless as possible."
They charge.
Lin Zian stands frozen, heart pounding, and at the last moment, unsheathes his sword in defence.
He clumsily defends, every movement awkward, as for the first time, he fights for his life against those he once trusted.
Blows land; he feels pain lancing through his body, strength waning, and then his sister's face flashes in his mind.
A roar escapes his chest, "I cannot die!"
Bursting with desperate strength, he drives his sword into Ji Mo's chest, piercing the heart.
The outburst shocks Bu Lai, and he freezes for a heartbeat.
Zian, losing his mind, yanks his sword free and attacks Bu Lai in a frenzied onslaught.
Even though Bu Lai is a second-grade martial artist and Zian only a third-grade, his breakthrough to mid-level wizard apprentice boosts his strength, making it slightly superior.
Bu Lai's injuries from the tiger offer no advantage, and Lin Zian hacks him mercilessly, reducing him to pieces.
Even after Bu Lai falls dead, Zian continues striking, driven by fear and rage, until pain shoots through his arm and he collapses to the ground.
Tears stream down his face as he sits frozen, chest heaving, staring at the carnage around him, unable to move.
A distant roar shakes the forest, pulling him out of his daze.
He blinks, realising where he is, and quickly gets to his feet.
Fear replaces the numbness, and he runs toward the tiger's corpse, gripping his sword tight.
With trembling hands, he separates the tiger's head, the blade carving through flesh and bone with a dull crunch.
He turns to leave, clutching the head by its fur, when a faint groan stops him.
He freezes and looks toward the sound—Senior Brother Liu Ming lies half-buried in leaves, blood soaking his side.
His one hand grips the sword's handle, the other clutching the tiger head, and a voice whispers in his mind—kill him, and everything here will remain hidden.
Another voice answers, softer—remember how Liu Ming treated you, he never mocked or envied you, and he fell to the tiger, not by your hand.
He looks at Liu Ming's bloodied face and feels the weight of his choices pressing down.
If he had not killed Bu Lai and Ji Mo, they would have killed him—but this man was innocent.
Kindness wins over fear.
He exhales sharply, unsheathes his sword, and walks toward Liu Ming.
Kneeling, he lifts him carefully and shakes him awake.
Liu Ming's eyes flutter open, dazed, pain-wracked, but alive.
Supporting him by the shoulder, Lin Zian starts walking, step by step, away from the forest.
When they finally emerge outside the northern gate, the sun has already climbed high.
His master, Senior Sister Liuxi, and his sister rush toward him, their faces pale with worry.
They see the blood, the wounds, and the tiger's head hanging from his hand.
He lowers it silently as they reach him.
When asked, he explains that the other senior brothers were killed by the white tiger, and only he and Liu Ming survived.
Liu Ming, too weak to speak, collapses again, and the healers carry him away.
The officials record the tiger head under Lin Zian's name, marking it as his hunt.
The hunt ends, and the winner is announced, but Lin Zian barely listens.
He and his sister return home together.
That night, he sits in silence, staring at his hands, remembering every strike, every scream, every face.
The image of Bu Lai and Ji Mo dying beneath his sword replays endlessly.
His heart feels heavy, caught between guilt and the need to survive.
The next morning, before he can leave for the martial arts school, a hard knock echoes at his door.
He opens it, finding two guards standing in uniform, stern and cold.
One steps forward and says, "Lin Zian, you are under arrest for murder."
The words strike like thunder.
He stands frozen, disbelief and dread swirling in his chest, as the guards seize his arms and lead him away.
They drag him through the streets, the morning crowd parting in silence as whispers spread.
He keeps his head low, his heart pounding so hard it hurts to breathe.
Soon they reach the stone-walled prison behind the governor's hall.
The iron gate groans open, and the stench of damp air rushes out.
Without a word, they shove him into a narrow cell and lock the door with a heavy clang.
The cold seeps through his clothes as he grips the bars.
"Why did you arrest me?" he shouts, voice echoing down the corridor.
No one answers.
He calls again, louder, but only silence returns.
Exhaustion fills him, and he sinks to the floor, the dirt cold against his skin.
He leans back against the wall, staring blankly at the faint light slipping through the small window above.
Murder, the guard had said.
The word rings in his mind, twisting his stomach.
He thinks hard—he killed only Bu Lai and Ji Mo, but that was self-defence.
They turned their weapons on him first.
His breathing quickens as doubt creeps in.
No one else saw what happened except Liu Ming.
Could Liu Ming have regained consciousness when he struck them down?
He recalls the faint groan, the timing too perfect—just when he was leaving.
A chill runs through him.
If Liu Ming woke and saw only their bodies, what would he think?
He presses his hands to his head, forcing the thoughts to slow.
I have to explain it, he tells himself.
It wasn't murder—it was self-defence.
But in the dark, with no one listening, his words fade into silence.
And as the hours pass, only the echo of his breathing and the weight of uncertainty keep him company.