The Hunter’s Offer

The Thousand Veil Sect trembled before he even arrived.

Disciples staggered, unable to breathe.

The sky cracked. Wind stopped. The air turned white with frost.

Then—he appeared.

One step forward, and reality bent.

The First Hunter.

He wore black robes dusted in snow, trimmed with gold thorns. His eyes were not mortal—they were rings of silver and gray, layered like tree bark. His aura didn't burn. It consumed.

Xu Shen stepped out to meet him alone.

His saber was sheathed.

The First Hunter tilted his head.

"Devourer."

Xu nodded. "Hunter."

Silence passed between them.

The last time they met—in Life #2,001—Xu had tried to sever the First Hunter's soul.

He had failed.

Badly.

"I'm not here to kill you," the Hunter said at last.

Xu blinked. "No?"

"Not yet."

The Hunter walked slowly across the courtyard, examining the air like he was tasting memory.

"I saw what you did in the Mirror Trial," he said. "And in the Dao Bridge."

Xu said nothing.

"You're different this time. You're not just consuming… you're integrating."

He turned to face Xu.

"That means we have a problem."

"I'm listening," Xu said.

The Hunter clasped his hands behind his back.

"There are hundreds of reborn cultivators scattered across the realms. Some hidden. Some sleeping. Some broken. All dangerous."

Xu already knew.

Some had even hunted him.

"Eventually," the Hunter continued, "the Divine Sky Court will send its purifiers."

"They'll erase every single one of us."

Xu narrowed his eyes. "Including you?"

The Hunter grinned. "Especially me."

He stepped closer.

"That's why I came with an offer."

"Join me. We kill them first."

"All of them."

"Even the half-awake, the harmless, the ones who don't remember who they are."

"Erase the cycle before the cycle erases us."

Xu's silence deepened.

"And then what?" he asked.

"Then you get your peace," the Hunter said. "No more hunting. No more trials. Just freedom."

But Xu Shen wasn't stupid.

He remembered the Hunter's first life—Jian Ye, a prince who had conquered five realms, only to die betraying the woman he loved.

And in every life since, Jian Ye had betrayed someone.

"What do you gain?" Xu asked.

The Hunter's smile thinned.

"I want what I've always wanted."

"To be the last one left."

Xu stared at him.

And smiled coldly.

"Then let's save each other some time."

"No."

The Hunter exhaled softly.

Then the world cracked.

One punch. Not a full blow. Not even a killing move.

But enough to split the ground.

Xu blocked it with his arm. Chi flared. He slid ten meters backward.

Pain lanced through his bones.

The Hunter didn't follow up.

Instead, he raised two fingers and drew a seal of frost and flame into the air.

"This mark is now on your name," he said.

"The next time we meet, there will be no offers."

Then he vanished.

🌌 In the Divine Sky Court…

Elders read the movement of fate.

The Seal of Conflict had been drawn.

"They've split," one whispered.

"Good," said another. "Then the Devourer will burn without our help."