Hehe, I'm Definitely Going to Survive!

He fled! Ji Jue was stunned, even forgetting to crack his melon seeds. Truly a sight to behold. If nothing else, that knack for saving his own skin was genuinely peerless in the world today! What had that just been? The Ascension lineage's substitute form and corpse rebirth? Or perhaps the Vortex lineage's plum-for-a-peach diversion? Or the Heart Pivot's scapegoat? It had happened too fast—far too fast for anyone to tell. A colossal hand manifested in the sky above, slamming down in fury and churning up stormy waves. In the howling gale, it instantly crushed countless shadows to dust. Yet from within the wreckage, even more shadows rapidly split apart, wisp after wisp scurrying for survival like living creatures. In that frantic rush, it was impossible to distinguish the real from the fake. Perhaps all of them were real, or perhaps every single one was nothing more than an eye-catching decoy. None of it mattered. The Dragon Tongue Hunter scoffed and drew his bow once more. He closed his eyes. Looking no further, he abandoned all observation and cast aside every distraction, entrusting everything instead to a hunter's instinctive sense for the wolf. The Sun-Reflecting Arrow shot forth once again, tracing a massive arc through midair before veering off in the opposite direction... *Crack!* At the southern harbor of Tacheng, beneath the jagged reefs, a mass of shadow about to plunge into the sea suddenly burst apart into fragments. Shehri was flung outward like a ragged doll, his body shriveled like a mummified corpse. The bandages wrapping his frame were nearly gone, leaving him virtually naked in utter dishevelment. Watching the Sun-Reflecting Arrow bear down on him, he gritted his teeth and sacrificed another skin avatar, throwing himself toward the surging ocean waves. Yet at that very moment, the green waters suddenly parted to both sides, revealing two identical, copy-pasted faces. In unison, they grinned and smiled at Shehri. Then, they raised the axe and sledgehammer in their hands. At point-blank range, a brazen ambush! Even the Dragon Tongue Hunter froze. Helpless fury. Only then did voices drift on the wind. "So sorry, Uncle Python!" "This kill has been claimed by the Flying Light branch!" In that hairbreadth instant, before Shehri could even recall their god-awfully long names, he saw two identical cries— *Hunting! Finger! Flying! Light!* Hammer and great axe crossed paths. One crushed his skull, the other chopped his torso to pieces, instantly turning Shehri into a mangled pulp of flesh. Yet from within the mangled remains, the phantom of a two-headed wolf manifested yet again. Shehri revived out of thin air. In another flash, he was already dozens of kilometers away in a completely different direction, scrambling on all fours to dodge the double fatality of Sun-Reflecting and Flying Light. Even the two An brothers, who had staked out the spot for who knew how long, stared blankly. The head they'd had in their grasp had slipped away?! That was completely unacceptable! Otherwise, hadn't their overnight teleportation here been entirely in vain?! The moment the Dragon Tongue Hunter drew his bow in fury, An De and An Neng both took a deep breath in unison, opened their lungs, and yelled toward the heavens: "DAD!!!" Instantly, brilliant flashes of light ignited across the sky. An endless barrage of refrigerators, washing machines, color TVs, tricycles, pots, pans, bowls, and basins cascaded down like a waterfall. A swarm of meteors roared past, instantly blanketing Shehri. Shehri shrieked and wailed, dodging frantically, but he was ultimately overwhelmed by the inexhaustible meteor shower. His corpse hit the ground, only to regenerate once more—this time, the phantom wolf behind him had only a single head left. His shriveled body rapidly dimmed, fading into a wisp of an illusion... He was still running! He was still running! He was practically a legend! And so, in that very moment, Ji Jue gave a soft sigh and pulled the trigger on that legend. His mechanized flesh and mind suppressed all bloodlust and emotional ripples, rigidly executing the command of his soul. Assisted by a drone, calculating trajectory, pre-aiming the impact point—estimates complete. —*Boom!!!!* In his grip, the handgun—fortified countless times by Earth Bears and Sea Embraces—exploded violently. Flying shrapnel shredded one of Ji Jue's hands into a bloody mess. Before the shards could even hit the ground, they melted entirely in the intense heat, turning into scalding molten iron that hissed against the pavement. From the completely shattered chamber, an impossibly thin strand of lightning shot through the night sky like a wire of iron! In the snap of a finger, draining the Thunder Pool. After days spent absorbing countless bolts of lightning and flames, the residual slag had been gathered and packed into quicksilver bullets, then thoroughly excited and catalyzed outside his body. All the byproducts left behind during the metamorphosis of Zhanlu's spirit essence had been collected and transmuted into purest destruction, ripping through the air! It hadn't locked onto Shehri, but had pre-aimed along his trajectory—dead ahead! At most, it was merely a stumbling block. It couldn't hit him at all; all he needed was to pause for the briefest fraction of a second, and he could easily slip around it... But right now, did he dare stop? Under the lock-on of three White Stag Hunters, did he dare hesitate for even a single breath? Choose, Shehri. Choose! The Sun-Reflecting and Flying Light clinging to your tail, or the blazing thunder right in your face? Faced with that choice, Shehri made the most correct decision. Accelerate, and tank it with his face! Ignoring the destruction directly ahead, he opened his maw wide, swallowing the descending thunderbolt whole into his belly. The worst that could happen was some damage he could slowly digest later— Survival lay straight ahead. Just a little more, just a tiny bit... just— He cackled wildly, accelerating. In an instant, he swallowed the thunder whole. But then, right behind the detonating thunder, his pupils were illuminated by a faint, elusive glimmer of dim light. Flying Light?! Flying Light *again*?! Where on earth had *this* Flying Light come from?! The answer lay behind Ji Jue. At the very moment Ji Jue had pulled the trigger, the hunter who had been waiting and watching in the shadows all along finally flicked the hairpin she had been fiddling with half the night. A shimmering hairline of light, hidden flawlessly within the flashing burst of thunder, drilled directly into Shehri's ecstatically twisted face. It plunged deep into his eye socket, tore through the cranium, and sank into his brain. A light, crisp detonation. A hysterical shriek echoed across the ocean—a wail so filled with grief, indignation, and malice that anyone hearing it would be moved to tears by the heartbreaking sorrow. Tragic. He truly was too tragic! Shehri's skull ruptured, leaving a hollow hole straight through it; one could see the scenery behind him right through the front of his head. The phantom behind him—a wolf that had only one head remaining—now turned completely into a headless beast. Even the wolf pelt was stripped clean from his shriveled form, leaving behind only a mangled hunk of flesh. Upon his chest, the Calamity Seed: Rotting Scale—tailor-made for him by the Sower and thoroughly fused into his being—silently cracked, nearly splitting in two. Yet he was still crawling forward. Disregarding the rapidly spreading trauma and precarious injuries, he scrambled on all fours, faster and faster, bursting forth once more! He didn't even cast a single glance behind him. A stray cur fleeing for his life! He had to run! Run at any cost! At the very peak of Tacheng, the bow-bearing Dragon Tongue Hunter let out a sharp whistle. Instantly, a giant eagle swooped down from midair, seizing his arm. His weightless body floated effortlessly as he soared away with the raptor. Before departing, however, he looked back and glared toward Ji Jue's location—or more precisely, behind Ji Jue... at the colleague who had intruded on his hunting ground! Meanwhile, the colleague smiled with an innocent look, batting her eyes as though completely unaware of what had happened. She merely pointed toward the direction where Shehri had slipped away. *If you don't hurry after him, my two uncles will claim the prize...* "Tsk..." The Dragon Tongue Hunter retracted his gaze. *I'll remember this grudge!* Pursue! Don't let that Shehri get away! *Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Across the sky, the thunderous roars of fighter jets echoed endlessly as supersonic aircraft swept past... Ji Jue lowered his head and looked at his mangled right hand. The flesh transformed instantly into machinery. The twisted parts were restored once more under the correction of alchemy, and then reformed into a body of flesh and blood, completely unharmed. Finally, he looked toward the direction where Shehri had vanished. "Pity. At this distance, I doubt they'll catch him." The person beside him propped an elbow onto his shoulder, leaning against him lazily, and sighed with feeling. "First time I've ever met a wolf that takes this much killing. Tougher to deal with than even those legendary old wolves." Couldn't catch him? Couldn't catch him was just fine. Ji Jue didn't care either way: a dead Shehri was worthless. Only a living Shehri could reveal clues about the Sower to him... Otherwise, wouldn't the mark he had just placed in the bullet using Chunjun be completely useless? On the other hand, this person here... Ji Jue cut his eyes sideways toward the White Stag Hunter beside him, who seemed nonchalant on the surface while secretly standing on tiptoe. Above the girl's head, the Jade Horn Shadow flickered for an instant as the essence of the White Stag descended, visibly boosting her aura by a significant margin. Second Brother truly was something; the speed of his reward payout was swift, and tremendously generous to boot. Seizing the opportunity when Ji Jue launched his surprise attack, that strand of Flying Light—utterly negligible compared to the Dragon Tongue's Sun-Reflecting—had achieved a miraculous feat, directly dealing a devastating blow to the Calamity Seed that was even more crucial than a soul. She'd won the MVP! What a pity Shehri hadn't died; otherwise, she probably would have broken through into Exaltation on the spot. "Brother Ji Jue, I gave up such an important wolf just for you, you know!" An Ning blinked her eyes. "Shouldn't you say thank you to me?" "I don't have the habit of thanking crafting materials," Ji Jue replied impassively. "Someone who barges into an artisan's workshop without even a greeting acting like an old friend... people like that, we usually refer to them as 'fine raw material.'" "Mmh? Isn't it 'honey darling'?" An Ning looked feignedly bashful, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Actually, I don't mind at all. Brother Ji Jue can do whatever he wants to me!" "Is that so?" The corner of Ji Jue's mouth curled as he reached for his phone—*Starting right now, I'm going to make you study set theory, functions, sequences, derivatives, differentials, mechanics of materials, structural mechanics, mechanical engineering, and mechanical design...* The phone was pinned down. Clutched tight. She wouldn't let him pull it out! Seeing her trick hadn't worked, An Ning immediately blinked and acted cute again. "Ehehe, did you miss me? The moment I heard you were in Tacheng, I rushed straight over!" "No!" Ji Jue answered decisively without a second thought. "Hmph, liar!" An Ning's smile grew even more delighted. Leaning closer, she took a delicate sniff of his neck, like a beast savoring the sweetness of its prey. "Hmm? You seem to have the scent of a wolf on you... Were you sneaking bites behind my back?" "Do I?" Ji Jue was puzzled, then seemed to realize something. "Then thanks for the heads-up. To think someone like that managed to slip near me—I'll definitely look into it properly later." An Ning immediately puffed out her chest, thumping it in guarantee. "Don't be scared, Brother Ji Jue! I'll protect you!" "..." Ji Jue fell silent, hesitating before speaking. "Is there any chance... that I don't need your protection?" "No, you do! You definitely do!" An Ning skipped along beside him, refusing to leave his side for a single step. "Even if you don't need it, I can create a need for you..." "Too close. Move back a little." "Mmh, I moved back... Is one centimeter okay?" "My hair! When did you braid it again?!" "Ehehe~"