Chapter 518: Rainy Service Area

Chen Ling arrived at the museum just a few tens of seconds later.

He witnessed Xiao Chunping and Nie Yu's domain battle. During this clash, it wasn't that he was unwilling to help Xiao Chunping, but rather that he couldn't intervene. After all, he hadn't yet mastered a domain. Forcibly intervening in their battle would only add to Xiao Chunping's burden. The moment their domains vanished, he immediately entered the battlefield and caught the weakened Xiao Chunping as she fell from the sky.

"Are you going to pursue him?" Xiao Chunping coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and immediately shook her head. "It's too dangerous... Even in a battle between opponents of the same rank, the chances of the 'Path of the Theatrical God' defeating the 'Path of the Martial God' are slim. Moreover, even if I sealed his rank, he is still a Fourth Rank, capable of mobilizing a portion of his domain... Let him go."

"If I let him go, he'll eventually come back to kill us," Chen Ling slowly stood up, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he looked in the direction Nie Yu had fled. "He already knows this location and your abilities, Senior Xiao... No matter what, he cannot be allowed to leave alive."

*Boom!*

A low rumble of thunder echoed through the clouds. The continuous night rain seemed to be turning into a thunderstorm.

After settling Xiao Chunping and the other three, Chen Ling quickly ascended into the air. A faint apricot-red glow spread around his eyes as he gazed from beneath the thunderclouds towards the direction of Nie Yu's escape. The bloody footprints on the ground were clearly reflected in his pupils. His figure blurred, and he pursued at full speed beneath the dark thunderclouds.

"Cough, cough, cough... Ugh..."

A trail of bloody footprints stretched along the road. Nie Yu suddenly bent over, gushing large mouthfuls of black blood onto the ground. After a long moment, he slowly straightened up. A hunting knife was plunged into his chest, blood continuously dripping along the hilt... Even so, Nie Yu did not pull it out. Instead, with the knife still embedded, he staggered forward. This wasn't to stop the bleeding, but because only with the blade inside him could he continue to precisely control his 'blade threads' to clear the 'Demon-Suppressing Blood Map' from his body.

"How can such an ability exist..." Nie Yu had never imagined his assassination attempt would turn out so disastrously. In Shennongjia, he had thought it would be a simple elimination mission. Yet, first Chen Ling inexplicably appeared and made a fool of him, then a terrifyingly powerful old woman emerged. If he hadn't been so ruthless with himself, he would likely be dead in that museum by now.

However, he had already memorized the scent of Su Zhiwei and the others. Once his injuries healed, he could quickly resume his pursuit... As for the old woman, she must have expended considerable energy this time, and given her age, it probably wouldn't be easy for her to fully recover.

Nie Yu gasped heavily as the cold thunderstorm intensified, washing blood from his body to stream down the sides of the road... "No... I can't keep going like this."

Nie Yu suddenly seemed to remember something, abruptly turning his head. He saw a blood-stained path stretching all the way to his feet – blood he had shed on his way here. Su Zhiwei and the other man were unconscious, and the old woman was heavily exhausted, certainly unable to pursue... But Nie Yu distinctly remembered seeing Chen Ling arrive at the museum when he activated his 'Field of Vision Hunt'.

If Chen Ling wanted to kill him, now was definitely the best time; he might even have already become Chen Ling's "prey"... But even knowing this, Nie Yu was helpless. He was too gravely injured to escape at full speed, and with every capillary in his body bleeding, it was impossible for him not to leave a trail.

As Nie Yu stumbled forward, his mind raced. His gaze swept around, as if searching for something. "I can't keep moving blindly like this... If he really comes after me, I'll definitely have no advantage in speed. Rather than being hunted down and exhausted to death in the open, it's better to find a suitable place for a desperate counterattack..."

Nie Yu was a "hunter" himself; no one knew better how to kill a severely wounded prey. For a gravely injured, dying wolf, the best hunting method was to shoot from a distance with a hunting rifle, forcing it to constantly struggle forward while continuously wearing it down. Especially in open wilderness with a wide field of view, if the hunter was patient enough, they could completely exhaust the prey to death without engaging in a desperate fight. Nie Yu naturally wouldn't allow himself to become a "prey" to be toyed with. He would grasp his fate in his own hands... He needed to find a place with plenty of cover to engage in a life-or-death struggle with his pursuer!

Finally, Nie Yu's gaze pierced through the rain curtain, landing on a seemingly defunct highway service area not far away. It was the only place around that road with ample cover and a complex layout. Being abandoned, no lights shone from within, making it look like a ghost town in the night rain from a distance.

Without hesitation, Nie Yu dragged his blood-soaked body, inching towards the service area.

One minute later, a figure appeared, moving through the air beneath the clouds.

"Has he hidden in the service area... Has he realized I'm tracking him?" Chen Ling's apricot-red eyes gazed at the blood trail on the ground, which led into the service area. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Audience Expectation Value: 2Current Expectation Value: 54

As the blood on the ground intertwined into two lines of characters, Chen Ling became more certain of his hypothesis. He stared thoughtfully at the abandoned service area shrouded in darkness. The service area covered a large expanse. From an aerial view, besides the gas station and the main service building, there was even a commercial street, a food street, dozens of shops of various sizes, and complete infrastructure... Nie Yu's blood trail completely disappeared after entering the commercial street.

While he was observing the service area from above, Nie Yu was undoubtedly in some corner within it, watching him. At this moment, there was no longer a distinction between hunter and prey; both he and Nie Yu were hunters... or rather, each was the other's prey.

"Another fierce battle..." Chen Ling sighed inwardly, then a glimmer of light flickered in his eyes as if he had realized something.

Fierce battle... Hunter and prey... Cross-rank battle... Desperate struggle... Could it be...

Complete a thrilling killing performance witnessed by at least 2,000 people.

Chen Ling suddenly remembered the performance he had yet to complete. For him, this was a risky cross-rank battle, a Third Rank against a Fourth Rank. For Nie Yu, it was a life-or-death, desperate counterattack... Both sides had been entangled until now, and today, only one was destined to leave here alive. In a sense, this was likely the most difficult battle Chen Ling had faced to date.

From this perspective, it should meet the "thrilling" condition... But what about the 2,000 witnesses?

Chen Ling frowned in thought amidst the rain. He didn't want to miss this excellent performance opportunity; after all, such life-or-death struggles weren't encountered every day, and he couldn't even guarantee he would win... Yet, currently, there wasn't even a single extra person nearby, let alone 2,000, making it impossible to meet the performance requirements.

No... Wait!

As if something clicked, Chen Ling pulled out his flip phone from his pocket. His gaze swept over the service area, where abandoned surveillance cameras were installed everywhere. His eyes gradually lit up. He had almost forgotten that in this era, the audience... didn't necessarily have to be physically present.

Novel-related.Just in your most collectible 114 Chinese.