Night was falling.

Lin Yi sat on the bus, staring down at his phone.

In the "Fifth Demon Hunting Team" group chat.

A few people were chatting idly.

Their conversation mostly revolved around the morning’s news and their respective mission objectives.

Little Shrimp: I ran into my target demon yesterday. We fought for a few rounds, but it got away.

Mystic: What’s your target?

Little Shrimp: A Cow Demon. Its defense is insane.

North Nether Wanderer: A Cow Demon? Lucky you, getting to hunt it?

Little Shrimp: Ranger, you’ve seen that Cow Demon?

Ranger: Ran into it once before. I was going to kill it, but that thing’s defense is seriously high. It got away from me too. You should be careful, though. Cow Demons hold a grudge...

Little Shrimp: I’m just afraid it *won’t* hold a grudge. I wish it would come looking for me. I’ve wasted too much time trying to find it.

Lao Gao: By the way, if anyone sees a Dog Demon, let me know!

Little Shrimp: @Lao Gao, your mission is a Dog Demon?

Lao Gao: Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on, but all the Dog Demons have gone into hiding lately. Not a single one has shown its face!

Ranger: Hahaha... Didn’t someone kill a 1-star Dog Demon a while back? Probably scared the daylights out of them. They’re all too terrified to come out now.

Little Shrimp: Dog Demons are timid. They usually work with accomplices. Since a 1-star just died, they’ll probably lie low for a while before they dare show themselves again!

Lao Gao: ...

Lin Yi read through their conversation.

His brow furrowed. ’The person they’re talking about in the group, the one who killed the Dog Demon... that couldn’t be me, could it?’

The Demon Hunting mission he had just completed two days ago was to hunt a 1-star Dog Demon, wasn’t it?

He just never imagined that Dog Demons could be timid.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived at his stop.

Lin Yi got off and headed straight for his residential complex.

Soon, he opened the door to his home and stepped inside.

He saw Lin Dazhi sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.

A new dining table, clearly a recent purchase, stood nearby.

On the table were several plates, each covered with an overturned bowl.

The moment Lin Yi shut the door, Liu Hongmei came out, a wide smile on her face. "Xiaoyi, you’re back? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?"

"The food’s still warm. Come on, sit down and eat. If you think it’s too cold, I can heat it up for you..."

Walking into the living room, Lin Yi shook his head. "No need, Aunt Liu. I’ll just make do!"

After saying this, he headed straight for the bathroom.

Only then did Lin Dazhi put down the newspaper in his hands.

His face was dark as he said, "See? He walks in here, doesn’t even make a peep in my direction, like I owe him something. You’re wasting your time being so nice to him!"

"It’s his day off, and he’s been out running wild all day, only coming back this late.

I just don’t get it. How did I end up with a son like that? Why didn’t a demon beast just eat him out there?"

Lin Dazhi wasn’t speaking loudly.

Just as he finished, Liu Hongmei hurried over and nudged him in the shoulder.

"Have you given up on fixing your relationship with him?

Don’t you forget, we’ll be counting on him to go out and earn money in the future!

"If you don’t rein in that temper of yours and he really runs away from home, what will we use to provide for Xiaoyu? Just bear with it. If you can’t, go wait in your room!"

After Liu Hongmei finished speaking,

Lin Dazhi looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself, ultimately choosing to pick up his newspaper and continue reading.

A moment later, Liu Hongmei composed herself.

She said with a smile, "Xiaoyi, Aunt Liu will go heat up the food for you. I’ll call you out to eat once it’s ready!"

By now, Lin Yi was already back in his room.

Hearing Liu Hongmei speak from outside, he gave a soft "mhm" in acknowledgment.

He then pulled up his personal status panel.

[Name: Lin Yi]

[Occupation: Student]

[Martial Arts Realm: 1-star, 1st Stage]

[Qi and Blood Value: 88.12%]

[Martial Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Perfection), Basic Leg Technique (Perfection)]

[Talent Traits: Absolute Focus (Purple), Heaven-defying Comprehension (Purple), Destiny (Golden), Fist Technique Mastery (Blue), Godspeed (Blue), Wall-walking (Purple), Iron Fist (Blue 2/3), Tenacity (Blue), Bronze Tendons Iron Bones (Blue), Snake-shaped Stepping Technique (Blue), True Blood Moon (Red)]

[Plundered Traits: Wall-walking, Iron Fist, Tenacity, Bronze Tendons Iron Bones, Snake-shaped Stepping Technique]

[Cultivation Technique: Star River Qi Transformation Technique]

When Lin Yi saw the [True Blood Moon (Red)] trait had suddenly appeared in his list,

he was completely dumbfounded.

’When did this trait appear? I have no memory of it at all. And it’s a red one...’

Until now, he had never seen a single red trait.

The highest quality trait he knew of was golden.

This had led Lin Yi to subconsciously assume that golden traits were the highest possible quality.

But now, a red trait had appeared among his own.

He was both shocked and delighted.

[True Blood Moon (Red): Epic-tier trait. Bathed in moonlight, you can increase your own attribute values. Speed +100%, Physique +100%, Strength +100%, Explosive Power +150%]

’As expected of an Epic-tier trait! The attribute bonuses are insane!’

Amid his excitement,

the strange painting he had seen in Yang Yong’s office once again surfaced in his mind.

A blood moon.

An ocean.

A lone boat...

’Could it be... I got this trait because of that painting?’

Lin Yi fell into deep thought.

But now, as he recalled the scene from when he had entered the painting,

the roaring sea, the eerie blood moon...

a suffocating sense of dread washed over him.

Trapped in a place like that, there was no hope of survival.

Especially when he looked at the blood moon.

He felt as if he were being toyed with, looked down upon by gods.

In that instant, Lin Yi’s rage maxed out; he wanted to slaughter those so-called gods.

’Was that emotion, perhaps, brought on by the eerie blood moon?’

Lin Yi couldn’t figure it out, and he couldn’t be bothered to investigate the painting’s origins either.

Still, obtaining an Epic-tier trait like this was an unexpected windfall.

On top of that, his Qi and Blood value had also increased significantly today.

Most importantly, he had also accumulated some practical combat experience.

Clearly, his trip to the Martial Arts Hall today had been quite fruitful.

PLOOP.

Suddenly, the sound of something falling into water came through.

The screen of his phone lit up.

Lin Yi glanced over. It was a message.

He picked up his phone, unlocked it, and opened his chat app.

The first thing he saw was a private message from someone named "Snow Angel."

Snow Angel: Demon Hunter? Is your mission target a Cat Demon?

Lin Yi checked Snow Angel’s profile and saw they were from the group chat.

He quickly replied: That’s right. Have you found it?

Snow Angel: Yes. Come to the Cyan Mountain Orphanage. I’ll be waiting for you here.