Though they had gone about two kilometres deep by now, this was still considered the outskirts of the forest. Strong demon beasts did not like to wander so close to the cultivator city as the outer and inner disciples of Dragon City's various sects were often led into the forest for training exercises or to capture beasts for taming. Though these disciples did not amount to much, they were often accompanied by a team of strong experts. So, unless the three servants ran over nine or ten kilometres deep into the forest, they were unlikely to be attacked by a demon beast.

Eyes pinned on the fleeing boy's back, Hans and Freya were running at speed.

Though the boy in front was not running extremely fast, he always seemed to be just out of reach.

"You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Just wait 'til I get my hands on you!" Hans roared, face red from the exertion of running. With his big, lumbering body, he was finding it difficult to keep up with Van's fleet footedness. Freya was doing much better in contrast, but her face was still flushed and her lungs uncomfortably tight.

Hans' and Freya's intent were to threaten the boy, and maybe cripple him if he didn't comply with their demands to hand over his weekly reward to them.

With a few broken bones here and there, he wouldn't be able to wield an axe for months and they would monopolise the top rewards. It was an extremely attractive scenario; due to their mediocre potential, this was Hans' and Freya's fastest path to reaching the 3rd level of Qi Distillation and becoming an outer disciple!

That was what Hans and Freya had agreed on, but Hans thought this was being too lenient, especially since...!

Unwillingly, Hans remembered his utter humiliation a few weeks ago, when he had impatiently demanded his customary weekly reward at the herbal hall – only for the surrounding servants to burst out into raucous laughter. The elder servant in charge of distributing the herbs shook his head.

"I'm afraid those herbs are not for you."

Hans' face turned white, then red. He nearly grabbed the elder servant by the throat to shake him violently. The sarcastic words around him entered his ears.

"That beef-for-brains still thinks he's the strongest around...Look at him strutting around showing off his amazing first place rewards…oh wait, that's right, they're not his anymore…"

More laughter.

"I heard the new first place is a thirteen-year old kid. Unbelievable. What kind of trash do you have to be to lose to a brat."

Ears burning with the words "beaten by a brat," Hans' face had turned white and then red. The words burned into his mind. For nights, he tossed and turned well into the night, until his obsession with regaining first place nearly became an internal demon!

Hans' pride in himself had taken a heavy blow, he had never been so humiliated in his life!

Hans' narrowed his eyes, simmering hatred overflowing from his aura.

For that humiliation, this kid was going to take all the frustration and anger Hans had built up over the past few months! Leniency was not a word in Hans' vocabulary!

Filled with s.a.d.i.s.tic glee, Hans chased after the fleeing figure.

In front of them, Van's breath imperceptibly sped up.

Before he had strengthened his body, Van had been a good long-distance runner. Now that he had? His endurance was on another level compared to the two behind him, who could only gnash their teeth from afar.

Their footfalls behind him grew heavier and less regular.

Hans started to slow down. His breathing was laboured, and his every step heavy. Sweat tricked down his temples, through his close cropped hair.

Hans shot a look at Freya. The girl nodded back.

Hans' eyes focused on the boy in front, his concentration sharpening.

At that moment, Van swerved past an extremely wide tree.

Hans reacted immediately.

SOU!

He hurled the staff with all his strength. It streaked through the air, gleaming wickedly. Something small was attached to one end.

Van dodged easily with gazelle-like steps. The staff whooshed pa.s.sed him.

BANG!!!

It hit the bark of the tree. Van continued forth, unconcerned.

But the moment the staff hit the tree, a gloating smile twisted Hans lips. Beside him, Freya smirked, her brown eyes flas.h.i.+ng with schadenfreude.

A thick grey fog billowed outwards from the tree, thick and pervasive. The running figure in front of them was obscured.

Hans and Freya stopped running. They coughed; the smoke stung the eyes and clogged the lungs. Telling themselves to remain calm, they waited for the smoke to clear.

When a few metres each way became visible, they smiled at each other and confidently strode forwards.

A magnificent sight greeted their eyes.

An enormous, glistening structure was attached to the trunk of an extremely wide tree. Thick gossamer threads stretched across rugged bark. Ensconced within the s.h.i.+ning threads was a vague human-like figure trapped between the mysterious web and the tree.

Hans burst into laughter. His mirth boomed through the forest. All around them, the forest was eerily silent. The small critters had long fled. Larger animals in the far distance heard the bang and drew closer, curious.

The surface of the web rippled outwards as if something inside was struggling and hitting the web from the inside. After a moment, the struggle became less violent, but the structure continued to shudder every so often.

A desperate shout could be heard.

Grinning, Hans advanced forwards while emitting a dangerous air. He picked up the silver staff and continued forwards.

________________

Pinned to the tree behind him by the sticky web in front of him, Van was not happy.

The moment the grey smoke was released, his robes had reacted violently. Shuddering, thick, white strands of webbing formed wherever the smoke touched his robes. He had tried to rip his robes off him, but only managed to tear off the back before the smoke completely surrounded him. The threads kept spewing out from his robes, flying towards the tree beside him.

A few moments later, he was trapped. The threads were strong, flexible and absorbed every blow he aimed at it. No matter how much fleshly power he channelled, he could not puncture it at all – it would distort only momentarily and settle back into its original shape, unperturbed.

There was a m.u.f.fled, booming laugh.

"I'm afraid no matter how much you struggle, you won't be getting out any time soon."