The canyon's rumbling slowly faded as the team staggered forward. Fire still licked the stone walls, the air thick with dust and grit. Xu Zhu walked at the rear, sharp eyes tracing every flicker of the wind.
The rabbit warren deep in the misty peach grove was far more dangerous than expected. Packs of red-eyed hares didn't just attack head-on—they lay in wait, using boulders and slopes for lethal charges.
"Left tunnel—watch out!"
Xu Zhu warned, swinging his stick to knock aside a lunging rabbit. The shieldbearer instantly raised his shield, saving the formation from collapse.
The rogue shuddered. "How the hell did you know ahead of time?"
Xu Zhu replied flatly: "The wind shifted."
The whole team froze.
To them, this was just an ordinary stone cave. But to Xu Zhu, every breath of air, every grain of sand rolling—was a sign.
On the razor's edge of death, he heard what others could not: the whisper of the Residual Edge.
…
Meanwhile, the outside forums had gone insane.
[He's mad! Reading monster attacks by wind?]
[This isn't newbie play—who the hell is he?]
[Residual Blood Maniac? No, he's a hidden god!]
[1 HP = ultimate cheat!]
Clips of him dodging boulders were slowed down tenfold. The stick's angles were so precise it made viewers' scalps prickle.
Fans were both feverish and uneasy.
"A guy like this—either invincible, or dead the very next second."
—
The dungeon battle raged on.
Just as Xu Zhu's team barely held the line, screams erupted from across the canyon.
Another party!
It was a twenty-man squad—newbie guild elites, double Xu Zhu's numbers. At the front, a woman in a scarlet cloak swung her sword with fierce resolve. Her blade shone sharp.
She—was the future heroine.
But disaster struck.
A boulder thundered down mid-formation!
Their ranks shattered instantly. Hunters crushed to gray light, shields flung aside. Only the swordswoman held out, surrounded by red-eyed hares.
"Captain, we can't hold!"
"Retreat! Pull back!"
Screams filled the canyon.
The swordswoman gritted her teeth, cleaving two rabbits with desperate force—but her stamina was gone. Then, a larger hare leapt, fangs gleaming, aimed straight at her throat.
"Damn—"
Time froze.
At that instant, a wooden stick sliced the air.
"Fall back!"
The swordswoman blinked—her shoulder shoved aside by a sudden force. A black-haired figure stepped forward, stick thrusting upward into the hare's jaw at the exact moment it dove.
Pop—
Blue-white gel exploded. The beast flipped midair and crashed to the ground.
The swordswoman looked up, seeing the pale but steady face.
It was him—the "Residual Blood Maniac" the entire server was just talking about!
"You… you only have one drop of blood!" she gasped.
"Then I just won't let it touch me," Xu Zhu said coldly, sweeping his stick again, blasting a second hare away.
In that instant, the live-stream chat detonated.
[AAAAAHHH Residual Blood saves the beauty!]
[This scene is fire!]
[He's insane—knowing one hit kills him, yet he blocks front-line?!]
[Not mad—godlike!]
…
The swordswoman's team collapsed completely. Except for her, all were wiped out.
She herself would've died too, had Xu Zhu not intercepted the fatal strike.
"Why save me?" Her eyes trembled, breath ragged.
Xu Zhu wiped sweat from his brow. "Passing by."
One phrase—"passing by"—and the spectators exploded.
They didn't know it was instinct—his instinct to stand on the edge of death.
But to them, it was the cold back of a hidden master.
The name "Residual Blood Maniac" was sealed in that moment.
…
The battle ended. The warren was strewn with gel corpses and shattered stone. Few survived, yet Xu Zhu stood unharmed, stick dripping blue liquid.
The swordswoman approached, voice low: "You… shouldn't have just one drop of blood. You're stronger than anyone."
Xu Zhu gave no answer. He turned away, back lonely in the canyon's firelight.
He knew he wasn't strong—only forced to live in the sliver of death.
But no one would believe that truth.
…
At the top of the forums, a new title swept the boards:
[Residual Blood Never Dies!]
That night, the entire server remembered the name.