The Crimson Plains reeked of blood. Corpses of beasts littered the jagged ground, some still twitching as cultivators carved their cores with practiced hands.
Lin Feng stood among the dead, the Scarlet Fang Wolf at his feet. His torn sleeve clung to the half-healed wound on his arm, and the faint glow of his newly awakened trait still lingered in his blood.
[Status Update:]
Name: Lin Feng
Genetic Crest: Null-Origin
Traits: Venom Resistance (Lv.1)
Assimilation Points: 0
Lin Feng's lips curved. His first step had been taken—but he also understood the truth.
Every kill would force him to risk his life. Unlike others, he had no cultivation method, no sect elders, no safety net. He had only himself.
A distant shout broke his thoughts.
"Quick! Surround it!"
Lin Feng turned. Not far away, a squad of Azure Sky Sect disciples battled a monstrous boar with skin like iron. Their blades clashed against its hide, sparks flying, while one disciple hurled flame talismans.
The beast roared, sending two disciples crashing into the rocks.
Lin Feng's stomach clenched—not with fear, but hunger. He had seen the nobles extract beast cores already. They were priceless treasures, used for cultivation, healing, or forging weapons. But for him, they were something greater: food for evolution.
If he could land the killing blow…
He took a step forward—then froze.
The Azure Sky disciples weren't weaklings. Even wounded, they carried themselves with arrogance, their crests glowing like halos. Lin Feng remembered their robes well.
Years ago, he had begged to join them. They had laughed.
"Born broken," they had said. "Even pigs are worth more."
Now fate had thrown them back into his path.
The boar slammed one disciple aside, leaving the beast staggering on its last legs. Lin Feng's grip tightened on the dagger. If he acted now, if he struck when they were distracted…
The system's cold chime rang in his head:
[Opportunity detected.]
[Side Quest: Predator's Instinct.]
Condition: Steal the kill from a cultivator squad.
Reward: +1 Assimilation Point.**
Lin Feng's pulse thundered. One chance. If he missed, the sect would brand him a thief. If they discovered his secret, they would kill him without hesitation.
The disciples roared as they charged again. "Finish it off!"
Lin Feng dashed.
Like a shadow, he slipped past the chaos. The boar lifted its head just as his dagger plunged into its eye, driving deep into its brain. The beast collapsed with a thunderous crash.
[Beast slain.]
[Assimilation complete.]
[Trait acquired: Iron Hide (Lv.1).]
[Side Quest complete. Assimilation Points: 1.]
A faint metallic sheen spread across Lin Feng's skin before fading. His body suddenly felt sturdier, his bones heavier, his skin tougher.
The Azure Sky disciples froze, their triumphant shouts replaced with stunned silence.
The weakest beggar in Azurefall City had stolen their kill.
"You… cripple," one of them spat, his face red with rage. "You dare take what belongs to us?!"
Their eyes burned with killing intent.
Lin Feng stood over the boar's corpse, breathing hard, his dagger dripping with black blood. He should have felt fear. Instead, a strange calm washed over him.
For seventeen years, he had cowered. But here, in this place where only predators thrived, fear was nothing but shackles.
"Yours?" Lin Feng asked softly, raising his head. His dark eyes gleamed with a ferocity that made even cultivators falter. "Did the heavens carve your name on its core?"
The disciples stiffened.
Somewhere in the blood-red plains, more beasts roared. But for the first time, Lin Feng realized—humans could be deadlier than monsters.
And if he was to survive, he would have to hunt them too.