Lightning-type E-rank? My Space-time-type S-rank can't be hidden anymore!

The moment the street disappeared, Lin Yuan heard the sound of the wind.

The shops on both sides, the roadside stalls, and the sunlight overhead all faded, distorted, and disappeared in the fog.

Instead, there was only a gray, empty void.

The bluestone slabs underfoot were still there, but a dark red light was seeping out from the cracks in them.

Lin Yuan stood still, his right hand gripping the spear, the butt of the spear touching the ground.

The silver ring on my left index finger felt slightly warm, and that warmth spread along my finger to my wrist.

He didn't move.

Seven people dressed in gray-black cloaks emerged from the mist, their footsteps silent.

Their positioning was very strategic: three people blocked his front, two were on the left, and two were on the right, completely blocking his escape route.

Seven against one.

The middle-aged man at the head of the group pulled down his hood, revealing an ordinary-looking face.

She was in her forties, with rough skin and fine wrinkles around her eyes; you would definitely not give her a second glance in a crowd.

But Lin Yuan wasn't looking at his face, he was looking at his left eye.

Deep within the pupil, a dark red, inverted eye pattern is slowly rotating.

It has the same pattern as the runestone.

"Lin Yuan." The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse and dry.

"Yesterday outside the arena, you erased my runes."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Lin Yuan did not answer.

His gaze swept over the seven people one by one, the system operating silently within him, sensing the energy fluctuations of each individual.

The middle-aged man's ability fluctuations were the most obvious, around the second-tier level 5, and his energy density was at least an order of magnitude higher than the middle-aged man's.

The fluctuations of the other six people were much weaker, probably between the sixth and seventh level of the first rank, similar to his.

If it's just these six people, he can fight them.

But with that Tier 2 Level 5 runemaster in the mix, a head-on confrontation would be suicide.

"Not going to say anything?" The middle-aged man chuckled.

"It's okay. I didn't come here to chat anyway."

He raised his right hand.

Lin Yuan gripped the gun barrel tightly.

However, the six men did not rush forward.

They simply stood there, their eyes beneath their cloaks coldly fixed on him.

The middle-aged man was in no hurry to take action.

"Sixteen years old, first rank, sixth level, nine-cycle bone tempering." His voice echoed in the mist.

"Ten days ago you were an F-rank trash, but ten days later you defeated the S-rank Ice Phoenix head-on. The four major universities are vying for you."

He paused, and the blood-red pattern in his left eye spun even faster.

"Kid, do you know what? I've been undercover in Donghai City for three years and have seen countless so-called 'geniuses.' But not a single one like you."

Lin Yuan still did not respond.

The middle-aged man tilted his head and continued.

"The Blood Eye Sect needs talents like you. Although you are an F-rank lightning type, you have undergone nine rounds of bone tempering and have top-notch practical combat talent."

"If you nod now, I can arrange for you to take a position as a 'Blood Servant' in the Blood Eye Sect. The elixirs, cultivation techniques, and resources will be no less than what the four great academies would offer you. And..."

He stuck out his tongue and licked his chapped lips.

"The Blood Eye Sect doesn't concern itself with your secrets, nor with that 'other thing' about you. There are plenty of people with secrets in the sect; one more won't make a difference."

Lin Yuan's brow twitched slightly.

It wasn't because of the conditions he mentioned—blood servants, resources, and not being asked about secrets. These things might be tempting to others, but they were worthless to him.

It was because he mentioned "that other thing".

The rune master also sensed his spacetime ability.

Although the other party clearly did not know what it was, they only vaguely sensed the "abnormality".

The fact that they can sense it is enough to explain the problem; the Blood Eye Cult members are far more sensitive to energy than ordinary ability users.

"How was it?" The middle-aged man extended his hand. "Nod, and you're one of us. Shake your head..."

He didn't finish speaking, but all six of them took a step forward at the same time.

The dark gray fog churned even more violently, and faint dark red runes appeared within it.

Lin Yuan looked at the outstretched hand.

These hands have drawn countless harmful runes.

"I have a question," Lin Yuan finally spoke.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.

"Your target is Su Qingyue," Lin Yuan said.

"The S-rank Ice Phoenix is ​​worth the risk of infiltrating Donghai City, worth the runes you set up around the arena, and worth the personal leadership of a Tier 2 Level 5 rune master."

His voice was calm, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

"But there's one thing I don't understand."

"What is it?"

Lin Yuan raised his head and stared directly at the inverted eye pattern in the middle-aged man's left eye.

"Su Qingyue is recuperating at the Su residence today. There is a third-level ability user in charge of the Su residence, so you can't get in."

She won't leave the Su residence for three days, and I've erased your runes, so you can't pinpoint her location. Even if you kill me here today...

He paused.

"How will this help you capture Su Qingyue?"

The middle-aged man remained silent for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't the stiff, inappropriate laugh from before, but a genuinely funny laugh.

"Smart, fucking smart."

He withdrew his hand, put his hands behind his back, and paced a couple of steps in front of Lin Yuan, where the mist began to swirl at his feet.

"You're right, killing you here won't help us capture Su Qingyue. But you don't understand one thing..."

He stopped, turned his head, and stared intently at Lin Yuan through the blood-red pattern in his left eye.

"I didn't come to find you because of Su Qingyue."

Lin Yuan frowned.

"Su Qingyue is a mission from the sect, someone we were ordered to capture. But you..." The middle-aged man extended a finger and pointed it at Lin Yuan's chest from a distance.

"I chose you myself."

"I have been undercover in Donghai City for three years and have seen countless awakened individuals."

"How long does it take to temper bones through nine cycles? An ordinary person can't reach that in a lifetime. Even geniuses nurtured by resources can reach the seventh cycle in three to five years, and the eighth cycle is the ceiling. You took ten days."

His voice grew softer and slower, as if he were talking to himself.

"Ten days, from trash to genius. You won't find another like him in the entire Dragon Kingdom. Do you think the Blood Eye Church will let you off the hook?"

Lin Yuan understood.

Su Qingyue was the mission, and he was just an afterthought.

But after discovering his anomaly, the runemaster turned "incidentally" into "necessary".

It's not about killing him, it's about winning him over.

If you can't win him over, destroy him.