CHAPTER 10 — "THE FIRST HUNTER ARRIVES"
Ravenwood's morning was strangely quiet. Overly quiet. Students filtered into the courtyard with hesitant steps, their conversations hushed.
Everyone knew why.
Long Hao was coming.
And yesterday, he had fought a dungeon bare-handed and embarrassed a guild envoy.
Fear and curiosity merged into one electrified atmosphere.
Long Hao walked onto the campus calmly, hands in pockets, eyes half-lidded. He wore his school uniform slightly loose, the collar open, making him look both relaxed and dangerously unbothered.
A few girls blushed.A few boys muttered insults they were too scared to say louder.Everyone stared.
But Long Hao didn't mind. Attention, fear, hostility — none of it fazed him.
Not after facing death.
Not after killing without hesitation.
Not after seeing the void.
He was on his way to class when the air shifted.
Something sharp.Cold.Measured.
Assassin instinct prickled across his skin.
Long Hao stopped walking.
Slowly, he turned his head.
A man in a long black coat stood at the end of the path. His aura was controlled, disciplined — the kind that came only from years of awakened combat. An insignia shimmered on his shoulder:
Nightwatch Guild – Elite Hunter Division
Students gasped.
"Why is an Elite Hunter here?""Is he… here for Long Hao?""No way—he's just a student!""Did he break the law?""Is he a criminal awakener?""Is he… forbidden?"
Long Hao simply stood, emotionless.
The hunter approached, each step steady, deliberate.
"Long Hao?" he asked.
"Depends," Long Hao replied lazily. "Who's asking?"
The hunter's jaw tightened. "I'm Guild Hunter Zhang Hu. I'm here under direct orders to evaluate anomalies registered at this location."
Long Hao tilted his head. "Anomalies?"
"You," the hunter said coldly.
The surrounding students flinched.
Long Hao didn't.
Zhang Hu continued: "You displayed irregular combat performance in the dungeon incident. For the safety of the public, you are required to undergo guild evaluation."
Long Hao stepped forward slightly.
"And if I refuse?"
Zhang Hu didn't blink.
"Then I have authorization to bring you in."
Whispers exploded.
"He's dead—""You can't refuse a guild hunter—""He'll be arrested—"
Long Hao let out a soft breath, almost disappointed.
"Bring me in?" he repeated.
Zhang Hu straightened. "By force, if necessary."
Long Hao's lips twitched into a smile that was too calm, too cold, too entertained.
"Oh?" he said quietly."You think you can?"
A ripple of killing intent rolled across the courtyard. Students gasped. Murong Yuer, watching from a classroom window, felt her heart skip painfully.
Zhang Hu's fingers tightened on his blade.
Long Hao stepped forward again.
Void Flicker activated automatically.
The world dimmed.Sounds blurred.Even the sunlight flickered like a dying bulb.
Zhang Hu froze.
"What… what is this…?"
Long Hao walked right up to him, leaning in close enough that the hunter could see the faint crimson glint spiraling in his pupils.
"You don't have the qualifications," Long Hao whispered.
Then—
He vanished.
Reappearing behind Zhang Hu.
The hunter's instincts screamed. He spun, blade drawn—
But Long Hao's fingers lightly tapped his wrist.
A numbing shock shot up Zhang Hu's arm. The blade fell from his grip, clattering uselessly to the ground.
Students screamed.
Zhang Hu staggered back, horror spreading across his face.
"What… are you…?"
Long Hao smiled — the smile of a man who already accepted death once and returned untamed.
"Talentless," he said.
Zhang Hu could not breathe.
Long Hao walked away casually, hands in pockets, as if nothing had happened.
Every student parted like waves before him.
Whispers shook the courtyard:
"He's a monster…""Not human…""Murong Yuer really insulted him?""The Long Clan threw that away?""Who exactly is Long Hao…?"
Murong Yuer pressed a hand to her chest, heart racing.
She suddenly understood something terrifying.
Long Hao was not someone they pushed down.
He was someone they should have feared from the beginning.
Above the school, the sky trembled faintly.
Something was watching.
Something ancient.
Something that recognized the awakening of the Eclipse.
Long Hao didn't look up.
He only smirked.
"Let the hunters come," he murmured. "I've already died once."
[CHAPTER ENDS]