If one word were to describe Ling Yi's current state of mind, it would be—fury personified.

As an LV2 Walker, though she hadn't yet obtained a World Heart, her strength was hard-won.

The abilities granted by her Xin Dian combined with her inherent power had already pushed her to the pinnacle of the Mortal Rank while she was still LV1.

Now at LV2, she stood with one foot across the threshold of the Rules, just a single step from a true metamorphosis.

She had fully intended to seize a World Heart during this first phase of the war, cementing herself as one of the strong forged by the Rules.

Therefore, after the initial alliance was finalized, she set out alone to locate the host of a World Heart.

Her luck was exceptional; she found a host on only the second day.

What thrilled her even more was that the host turned out to be nothing more than a little girl, barely ten years old.

At that moment, Ling Yi felt that Heaven was favoring her excessively.

While World Heart hosts were never ordinary individuals, she reasoned, how powerful could a ten-year-old girl truly be? At most, she might reach the peak of the High Mortal Rank.

Taking the World Heart from her would be child's play.

But the turn of events completely defied her expectations.

That small, fragile girl, who looked as if a gentle push could topple her, possessed a strength inversely proportional to her appearance—she was actually a super-powered expert at the Rule level.

Good heavens, a level Ling Yi herself hadn't yet attained! The supposed easy prey had turned out to be a monstrous, top-tier Boss.

This realization plunged Ling Yi into utter despair.

She understood then that Heaven wasn't favoring her; it was actively conspiring against her.

Before she even had a chance to flee, the other party struck instantly with a Rule-level forbidden spell, effortlessly annihilating her.

Not even a corpse remained; her physical body and soul were utterly pulverized into ash.

Originally, she should have simply died there, eliminated from the Divine War.

However, as a Walker, Ling Yi possessed an ability others lacked: resurrection.

This power manifested upon reaching LV2.

Regardless of whether her soul shattered or her body vanished, upon death, her soul would decompose into particles, reappear randomly elsewhere, reassemble, and fully resurrect.

Furthermore, upon resurrection, her power would double compared to before her death.

Of course, while this ability was heaven-defying, it came with a critical restriction: it could only be used once per rank and once per world.

Moreover, the Xin Dian’s current level experience points would reset to zero.

For instance, if she died with LV2 and 99% experience, she would resurrect at LV2 with 0% experience, forced to start the grind anew.

Additionally, the doubled strength was not permanent; it was merely a brief buff immediately following resurrection.

She had originally planned to deploy this ability at the crucial final moment to surprise everyone and become the ultimate victor.

Who could have imagined being instantly obliterated in the very first engagement, completely derailing her meticulous scheme? She seethed with hatred.

“That damned brat actually wasted one of my most precious resurrection opportunities! I will never let her off!” Ling Yi ground her teeth and muttered resentfully.

Just then, she felt the immediate threat of death.

Her body instinctively leaped skyward.

As she ascended, her gaze involuntarily flickered downward, spotting two beams of light—one white, one red—streaking past the exact spot where she had been standing moments before.

An enemy? “Damn it, which bastard is ambushing me…” Ling Yi was both alarmed and enraged, a mask of ferocity contorting her beautiful face.

However, her protest died halfway through, as her Xin Dian simultaneously delivered a notification.

“System detects the Book of Contracts.

Master: Lin Luo, LV2 Walker.

Ability: Contract.

Strength Evaluation: Spirit Rank, Initial Stage.” The master of the Book of Contracts...

Perfect.

I'll take out my frustration on you.

“Shameless ambusher, show yourself!” Ling Yi gripped her black longbow, staring coldly in the direction the light beams had originated from.

“Oh dear, a failure.

Such a pity,” Lin Luo stepped out from behind a boulder, spreading his hands with an air of helplessness.

While the target was undeniably a beauty, the life-and-death reality of being a Walker remained unchanged.

The moment she materialized, he and Mugino had launched their attack, never expecting her vigilance to be so high that she managed to dodge.

“Hmph, so you are the master of the Book of Contracts…” Ling Yi’s face was grim as she appraised Lin Luo from head to toe, then suddenly barked, “Then prepare to die!” In an instant, she drew her longbow to its full extent.

An arrow suddenly materialized upon the otherwise empty bowstring.

As the arrow shot forth, it sliced the air with a sonic whoosh, already arriving before Lin Luo in a flash.

Lin Luo’s expression darkened slightly.

The appearance of that arrow was incomprehensible to him, and its speed was astonishing.

Even his perception couldn't lock onto it… Of course, no matter how fast an attack is, if one is aware of it beforehand, it holds little meaning.

Rule Force engaged, and a white mist shimmered before him, instantly halting the incoming arrow.

“What… what kind of ability is this?” Ling Yi’s expression shifted drastically.

“Did you expect me to tell you something like that?” Lin Luo chuckled nonchalantly, simultaneously whipping out a custom-made bullet from his pocket.

Without any need for charging, an orange-red beam of light blasted toward his opponent.

“Ah!” Ling Yi cried out, sensing an inability to resist the Railgun.

She immediately tried to evade, but she was a fraction too slow.

As her body shifted, the orange-red beam pierced her shoulder, sending her tumbling down to crash onto the ground with a thud.

“Huh?” The most surprised by this outcome wasn't Ling Yi, but Lin Luo.

This woman, who had managed to evade even the surprise attack moments ago, couldn't evade a direct Railgun blast? What was going on? Had the previous instance been an anomalous burst of power? Was her actual strength much weaker? Lin Luo found this notion unbelievable.

After all, the Book of Contracts had rated her as Initial Stage Spirit Rank.

How could she fail to withstand a frontal Railgun assault? Lin Luo instinctively suspected a trap.

He kept his gaze fixed on the woman on the ground, contemplating firing another shot to test the waters, only to see her suddenly cough up a large mouthful of blood.

As she struggled to look up, her face was devoid of color, pale as paper—like someone nearing death.

“You…” Lin Luo was startled.

Although the Railgun was indeed potent, for a single shot to grievously wound an Initial Stage Spirit Rank Walker to the point of near-death seemed excessively strange.

“You really show no mercy, attacking a beauty like me with your finisher right off the bat… Truly… decisive,” Ling Yi clutched her pierced shoulder, blood streaming between her fingers.

She spoke while spitting blood, a picture of utter misery.

“What act are you putting on? Your power should be far greater than this.

Initial Stage Spirit Rank… Do you expect me to believe you’re done in by that?” Lin Luo’s face hardened.

He dared not let his guard down, though he held his fire.

While her tone was narcissistic, she was indeed a beauty, and beauties sometimes held certain privileges.

This weak and pitiable demeanor was enough to stir a flicker of sympathy.

“I… I’m really about to die… Ugh.” As she spoke, Ling Yi coughed up another glob of blood, her face pale.

She managed a bitter smile, “I fought a host earlier and was killed once.

Although… although I resurrected, my strength has already dropped to one-tenth of its former level.

Your attack… ugh… just give me a quick end… kill me… the pain is too much.” The woman’s face was a portrait of sorrow and suffering.

“You…” Seeing her state, Lin Luo couldn't help but feel a pang of compassion.

Furthermore, her words didn't sound like a lie.

She had mentioned wasting a resurrection opportunity earlier, so it was plausible that her strength had indeed diminished upon returning.

After all, aside from devout followers of Chun Ge, no one could resurrect at full capacity instantly.

Lin Luo frowned, unsure what to do.

In normal circumstances, killing her would be easy, but now… even though she was an enemy, he found himself unable to strike down a beautiful woman who had closed her eyes, accepting death without resistance.

Fine, I’ll just knock her out and leave her to her fate.

She looks like she’s already half-dead anyway.

Lin Luo sighed internally.

Just at that moment, he distinctly heard her softly utter two words under her breath.

“Hunt.” Before Lin Luo could process the word, a colossal sense of crisis slammed into his core, freezing him as if plunged into an ice cellar.

“This is…” He couldn't pinpoint the source of the danger, and by the time Lin Luo realized what was happening, it was too late.

A black arrow materialized out of thin air directly behind him, shooting toward his heart like lightning.

Swish.

Just as the arrow was about to pierce his body, a beam of white light suddenly shot in from the side, instantly disintegrating the black projectile.

Atomic Decay.

“Mugino!” The sense of crisis vanished as quickly as it arrived.

When Lin Luo spun around upon hearing the voice behind him, he saw only a black arrowhead lying at his feet.

“You imbecile, you actually let yourself be fooled so easily.

Was it because she was a woman?” Mugino stepped out from her hiding place, looking at Lin Luo with undisguised disapproval.

“…” Lin Luo was speechless, consumed by shame.

There was no need to analyze the origin of that arrowhead; with only three people present, it couldn't have been him or Mugino.

That left only… “You woman, you almost had me fooled!” Lin Luo glared fiercely at the woman in front of him.

“You were completely fooled, hehe.” “You were totally tricked, you pervert!” Ling Yi and Mugino spoke in unison, though their tones were vastly different.

Looking at Ling Yi now, there was no trace of injury.

Forget blood; even the shoulder supposedly perforated by the Railgun was perfectly intact.

Meeting Lin Luo’s gaze, Ling Yi smirked wickedly, her expression cunning.

“Because I am a Hunter, deceit and traps are my fundamentals.

You are so easy to trick, you pure little virgin.” Lin Luo nearly spat blood.

P.S.: The names Lin Luo and Ling Yi are somewhat similar, and while writing, the two names kept getting jumbled in my head, causing me to keep typing them incorrectly.

Damn it.

V