The midnight streets were shrouded in a thin layer of mist, and a biting cold wind swept through as if it sought to devour Cheng Yu. The dim streetlights stretched his shadow long and thin, while he trudged forward under the crushing weight of a life on the brink of collapse.

  He had just been fired from his internship.

  The news hit him like a hammer, pounding mercilessly at his heart.

  "Why... why is it always like this..." Cheng Yu muttered through gritted teeth, his trembling hand clutching his backpack with a force that made his knuckles turn white. A third-year university student from a poor family, he had taken on internships early to ease the financial burden at home. Yet despite all his efforts, the company’s decision had shattered his hopes—a dismissal notice that left him utterly defeated.

  The shadows cast by the streetlights grew longer, thinner. But Cheng Yu failed to notice the faint silhouette silently creeping into the edge of his vision.

  “What is the end of life?” A deep voice echoed behind him, slipping directly into his ears like an icy blade.

  Cheng Yu froze mid-step, stiffly turning his head. A few paces away stood a man clad in black, motionless. His long robe billowed slightly, and his face was concealed beneath a cold, black mask. His hollow, jet-black eye sockets were as deep as an abyss.

  “Who are you?” Cheng Yu asked, his voice trembling as he took a cautious step back. His palms were slick with sweat, and his heartbeat pounded uncontrollably.

  “And what of your future?” The man in black ignored the question, raising a hand to point at Cheng Yu's legs. “If you lost them, could you still move forward?”

  Before Cheng Yu could process the words, an excruciating pain exploded in his legs, as if they were being ripped apart. He wanted to scream, but the sound caught in his throat. Darkness consumed his vision, and he collapsed to the ground.

  The stench of rot and blood brought Cheng Yu back to his senses. He opened his eyes to see a dim ceiling and flickering lights above him. He tried to move, but his lower body felt completely numb. When he looked down, the sight nearly stopped his heart—the muscles of his legs had almost entirely vanished, leaving only bare bones and exposed, sinewy veins twisted together in a grotesque display.

  “You’re awake?” The familiar deep voice spoke again.

  Cheng Yu snapped his head up to see the man in black standing a few paces away, holding a piece of raw, bloody flesh in his hand. Behind him, a group of lifeless children coldly pieced together his stolen muscle into some grotesque, twisted shape.

  "You... what did you do?" Cheng Yu's voice trembled, his eyes filled with terror and anger.

  "I'll give you a choice." The man in black stepped closer, holding out a pitch-black mask. "Put it on, and you will be reborn. Refuse, and... you will become one of them." He gestured toward the numb children.

  Cheng Yu’s heartbeat thundered in his chest. He knew he had no choice. Shaking, he reached out and took the mask, slowly placing it over his face. Instantly, an irresistible force surged into his body, as if it were tearing him apart. Under the intense pain, he couldn’t help but let out a heart-wrenching scream.

  As the pain gradually subsided, Cheng Yu looked down and found that his legs, now devoid of muscle, were surrounded by black mist, yet they somehow supported him, allowing him to stand once again. He waved his hand experimentally, and a blade of black light appeared out of thin air, effortlessly slicing through a nearby metal operating table.

  "What is this...?" Cheng Yu muttered to himself, his gaze complex, his voice filled with shock and mixed emotions.

  "Death magic," the man in black coldly replied. "It grants you power, but the price is that you will never be redeemed."

  From that day on, Cheng Yu became the "hunter" of the man in black. His task was to hunt the chosen souls, using the death magic to offer their bodies as sacrifices to the man in black. At first, he resisted. Each killing left him feeling as though his soul was being consumed. But whenever he tried to fight back, the man in black easily suppressed him.

  "You're nothing but a tool of mine," the man in black reminded him coldly. "This power cannot be used against me. Don't try to challenge the rules."

  Day after day, Cheng Yu noticed a gradual change within himself. Killing no longer caused him pain; instead, it brought a strange pleasure. The use of death magic became an addiction, and this power seemed to be slowly consuming his soul.

  One day, while Cheng Yu and the man in black were on a mission, he inadvertently witnessed the death ritual formation the man in black used. The complex and eerie array made Cheng Yu vaguely sense a flaw within it. The power of the formation relied on sacrifices, and the man in black himself was a part of it.

  Cheng Yu began to use each mission as an opportunity to secretly absorb the energy of the sacrificed souls, storing it within himself. His death magic became more refined, and the black mist around his legs gradually took shape, even emitting a faint golden hue.

  “If I can destroy the formation...” a dangerous thought began to form in Cheng Yu's mind.

  He didn't act rashly. He knew that if he wanted to defeat the man in black, he needed to break through in terms of strength, not just by acting on impulse. He began to quietly draw energy from the sacrificed souls with every mission, storing it inside his body.

  After each hunt, he felt his power growing. His legs were no longer mere black mist; they began to form into some kind of solid black armor. His death magic also became more powerful, even allowing him to create huge bursts of energy.

  The man in black seemed unaware of his changes, perhaps due to overconfidence, or maybe because Cheng Yu's disguise was just that skillful.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Finally, during a new hunting mission, Cheng Yu decided to set his plan into motion.

  As usual, the man in black activated the formation amidst the struggles and screams of the target soul. Cheng Yu stood to the side, pretending to follow orders casually while focusing all his attention on the structure of the formation. He had already identified the crucial node—the core symbol constructed from the energy of the sacrificed souls.

  The formation flickered with unstable light, and the struggling souls emitted faint cries, as though resisting an unavoidable fate. Cheng Yu fixed his gaze on the core symbol, silently gathering his strength.

  At the moment when the man in black was engrossed in chanting the incantation, Cheng Yu suddenly turned, seizing the opportunity to strike. A never-before-seen black blade of light formed in his hand and he swung it forcefully towards the core of the formation!

  Boom——

  The entire space was engulfed in blinding black light, and the ear-splitting vibration felt like thunder cracking. The souls in the formation screamed and soared toward the sky, their light and shadows intertwining like a doomsday storm, tearing apart the formation's core. The man in black was sent flying several steps back, a low growl escaping beneath his mask.

  Cheng Yu coldly watched him, a faint smirk flickering in his eyes. "The rules are broken, and now it's your turn."

  The man in black staggered backward, his face growing darker. His breath was chaotic, clearly affected by the intense backlash of the formation's collapse. "So you've been hiding this all this time..." he growled coldly, his eyes brimming with uncontrollable rage.

  The man in black raised his hand, conjuring a pitch-black spear, and the air was thick with an oppressive pressure. "Do you think this is enough to defeat me?" His cold voice was filled with undeniable threat. "Your power is still not enough to truly kill me."

  Cheng Yu's gaze did not waver. He lightly pressed his lips together and slowly stood up, his eyes revealing an unwavering coldness. "I don't need to kill you, I just need to destroy the rules."

  As he spoke, he quickly gathered all his death magic, and the black blade of light in his hand once again gleamed, charging directly toward the spear the man in black had thrust toward him. Cheng Yu swiftly retreated, and the black blade collided violently with the spear, producing a sharp, ear-piercing clash. The two forces interwove and tore at each other in midair like colliding stars. The shockwave sent ripples through the space, warping the air around them. Cheng Yu could feel an overwhelming pressure as the man's frantic energy rapidly spread.

  However, Cheng Yu did not choose to evade. He knew that this moment would determine his fate and the outcome of this battle. His black blade gleamed with a dark golden hue, gradually consuming the energy the man in black had unleashed. In this intense confrontation, Cheng Yu, relying on his increasingly refined death magic, began to suppress the man in black’s attacks.

  The man in black's complexion grew paler, clearly taken aback by Cheng Yu’s ability to gain the upper hand in this struggle. "You really think you can turn the tables?" The man in black sneered, a wicked curve forming at the corner of his mouth. "This is just a small part of the game. You will never escape the chains of death."

  "The chains of death?" A cold gleam flickered in Cheng Yu’s eyes, his voice low and firm. "I am the new rule of this game."

  Cheng Yu struck fiercely, the black blade of light piercing like lightning into the source of the man in black’s spear, tearing apart the remnants of the formation. The man in black let out a scream of pain as the energy Cheng Yu had seized began to spiral out of control, causing the entire space to shake violently. The man’s body started to lose control, and dark mist began to spread from his body, swirling like a decaying storm.

  However, the man in black did not fall. He snapped back to his senses, his eyes flashing with a mix of anger and surprise. With a sudden jerk of his hand, his spear trembled and flared with radiant light. Cheng Yu was struck by an overwhelming wave of retaliatory force, sending him staggering backward, struggling to keep his balance. The man in black had regained partial control; though not as fluid and confident as before, he still wielded terrifying strength.

  “You think this is enough to destroy everything?” The man in black snorted coldly, and the intense energy fluctuations around him caused the space to distort, forming a massive black vortex. His voice was laced with threat. “You are far from capable of deciding the laws of death.”

  Cheng Yu’s body trembled violently, sweat beading on his forehead, but he did not retreat. He knew this was not the final battle, but a crucial moment in the contest of their powers. Though the man in black had not yet perished, Cheng Yu’s gaze grew even more resolute. No matter what, this struggle was far from over.

  The man in black suddenly sneered, his spear carving a blood-red arc through the air before unleashing a deafening sound, once again aimed directly at Cheng Yu’s heart. Cheng Yu barely managed to swing his black blade to intercept, and the two forces collided in a dazzling display of light. However, the clash sent violent tremors through the entire space.

  “How long do you think you can hold out?” The man in black’s cold voice echoed in Cheng Yu’s ears. “The ender of the laws of death is never easily challenged.”

  Cheng Yu clenched his teeth, the black and gold armor on his legs shining with an even more dazzling light. He quickly channeled the magic within him, focusing all his strength to retaliate against the man in black. Cheng Yu knew that to win this battle, he needed to employ a deeper strategy.

  As the man in black's energy grew ever more powerful, Cheng Yu realized that he had to end this conflict quickly, or he would once again be consumed. Just as the man in black prepared to launch his final strike, Cheng Yu suddenly turned, unleashing a powerful blow with immense speed.

  The man in black’s eyes flashed, and he swung his spear to block Cheng Yu's attack. But Cheng Yu had already anticipated this. At the moment the man in black swung his spear, Cheng Yu quickly summoned a lightning-fast wave of black energy, directing it toward a spatial rift behind the man.

  “You...” The man in black was caught off guard. The energy wave struck the edge of the rift, causing the space to collapse violently. The man in black was thrown back, his black mist swirling like water, yet it was unable to fully regain control.

  “I don't intend to end you,” Cheng Yu said calmly, a faint indifference in his gaze. “But today, your laws will no longer be as simple as they once were.”

  The man in black struggled to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger and resentment. He took a deep breath, fixing Cheng Yu with a burning gaze. “You haven’t defeated me, Cheng Yu. This game is far from over.”

  Cheng Yu smirked coldly, “No matter what, things have already changed.”

  說完，他轉身朝著前方的裂痕走去，身影緩緩消失在遠方。黑衣人沒有追擊，知道他動搖不了程宇的決心。程宇的力量已經開始改變遊戲規則，現在，他才是自己命運真正的主宰者。

  程宇走向了一個未知的世界，黑衣人冰冷的聲音在他身後響起：“程宇，你只是進入了一個新的遊戲，一個新的獵人，一個新的規則。”

  程宇沒有回頭。他的腳步堅定而堅定，他走向了新的命運。

  第2章

  第二場比賽：死亡魔法

  完全的