Chapter 22 When Prey Becomes Predator

Chapter 22 When Prey Becomes Predator
Then the leader made his decision. “We leave,” he said.
One of his subordinates hesitated. “But…”
“That’s an order.”
The group withdrew with controlled urgency, disappearing into the forest as quickly as they had arrived and within moments they were gone.
The clearing fell silent once more.
Even after the Black Serpent Sect members had vanished into the depths of the trees, the air still carried the lingering tension of battle.
No one spoke at first because every one of them understood, in their own way, that what had just occurred was only the beginning.
Chen Ran who had been holding back a strike exhaled sharply. “That’s it?” he muttered. “They just… ran?”
Han Yue slowly lowered her sword. “They understood the situation.”
Liang Jie scoffed. “Cowards.”
“No,” Luo Qingshan said quietly. “They’ll come back.”
That truth settled over them. Because enemies who retreated were often more dangerous than those who fell.
Feng Xiang returned moments later, dragging the captured cultivator with him. The man’s face was pale, his eyes filled with restrained fear.
Lu Tian stood before the captured cultivator, his gaze steady, unreadable, as though he were not looking at a person, but at something far less significant.
The man struggled against Feng Xiang’s grip, though not with much force, as the blade resting lightly against his throat made the consequences of resistance painfully clear.
“You should kill me quickly,” the man said, his voice tight despite his attempt to sound resolute. “If you think I’ll talk—”
His words stopped instantly because Lu Tian had stepped closer.
There was no visible movement beyond that single step, no surge of overwhelming power, no threatening display, and yet the cultivator’s body stiffened involuntarily, his instincts screaming in warning at something he could not understand.
Lu Tian crouched slightly, bringing himself level with the man’s gaze.
“Who sent you?” he asked.
The cultivator clenched his jaw. “I said…”
Lu Tian reached out. His fingers brushed lightly against the man’s arm and in that instant the cultivator felt the world changed.
The cultivator’s pupils shrank violently as a cold, suffocating sensation flooded his meridians, as though something unseen had slipped inside him and begun to consume everything it touched. His spiritual energy, his strength, even the faint stability of his dantian all of it trembled.
“What…what is this…?!” he gasped, his voice breaking as panic replaced defiance.
Lu Tian did not increase the pressure or he did not need to. The mere presence of that devouring force was enough.
“You have one chance,” Lu Tian said quietly.
The man’s resistance shattered.
“Wait…WAIT!” he shouted, his composure collapsing completely as fear took hold. “I’ll speak!”
Lu Tian withdrew his hand and the pressure vanished instantly.
The cultivator collapsed forward, coughing violently as he clutched his chest, his entire body trembling as though he had just escaped death itself.
No one interrupted. Not even Liang Jie, who would normally have scoffed at such a display, said anything this time, his expression was far more serious than ever.
Because they had all seen and felt it. That power was not something they could simply ignore.
“It was Wei Gu!” the man blurted out, his voice desperate, as though afraid his silence would bring that terrifying sensation back. “He contacted our sect…said there was a disciple carrying a top-grade artifact…said he would be alone, easy to kill!”
A heavy stillness settled over the group.
Chen Ran’s expression darkened. “That bastard…” he muttered under his breath.
Han Yue’s grip on her sword tightened slightly, though her face remained calm.
“He intended to eliminate Senior Brother,” Xiang Feng said quietly, his tone cold. “And erase any trace of his actions.”
Luo Qingshan exhaled slowly. “It explains the preparation,” he said. “They weren’t just hunting… they were certain of their target.”
Lu Tian remained silent and his gaze never left the kneeling man. “What else?” he asked.
The cultivator swallowed hard. “He…he said if we brought back the artifact, our sect would reward us,” he continued quickly. “And if we killed you… there would be additional compensation.”
“Compensation,” Liang Jie repeated, his voice sharp with disdain. “So, we’re worth a price now?”
Mei Ru’s soft voice drifted in quietly. “Not ‘we’,” she said. “Him.”
Her gaze flickered toward Lu Tian. “And now… all of us.”
That truth settled heavily over the group. Because from this moment forward, they were no longer simply disciples training in the forest. They had become targets.
Zhao Lian crossed her arms slightly, her expression thoughtful but tense. “If Wei Gu has already spread this information,” she said, “then it’s possible other groups will come as well.”
“Not possible,” Tang Bo corrected quietly. “Likely.”
Wu Zhen cracked his knuckles, his earlier frustration now sharpening into something more focused. “Good,” he said. “Let them come.”
“Don’t be reckless,” Zhao Lian snapped lightly, though there was no real anger in her voice. “This isn’t a simple fight anymore.”
“No,” Luo Qingshan agreed. “It’s a hunt.”
And for a brief moment no one spoke.
Lu Tian finally straightened. His gaze shifted slightly, no longer focused solely on the prisoner, but on the group as a whole.
“They will come,” he said calmly. “They will come believing they are hunting us.”
A faint pause. “They are wrong.”
Something in his tone changed and the disciples felt that quiet, unwavering confidence that did not need to be proven.
Chen Ran let out a slow breath. “…So, what do we do?” he asked.
Lu Tian’s gaze turned back to the kneeling cultivator and the man flinched instinctively.
“Please…I’ve told you everything… I swear I won’t…”
“Of course, you won’t,” Lu Tian said.
The cultivator froze. Something about those words and the way they were spoken made his blood run cold.
Lu Tian stepped forward and his hand closed around the man’s shoulder. The devouring force surged again and the cultivator’s scream tore through the forest, raw and filled with absolute terror as his spiritual energy was consumed completely, his resistance nonexistent against the overwhelming pull of the Void. It did not last long before silence returned and the body fell.
Even Wu Zhen, who had faced beasts far more violent than this, remained quiet, his expression was slightly tense because this was not simply killing, it was erasure.
Lu Tian withdrew his hand slowly. His aura remained calm as though nothing significant had just occurred.
“We move deeper,” he said.
No one questioned or hesitated. Because in that moment they all understood something clearly.
The forest had changed, the hunt had changed and the one leading them was no longer something that could be measured by normal standards.
As they began to move again, the path ahead far more uncertain than before. But none of them turned back.