Chapter 59: He is the Bitter Rain

Tian Shen’s eyes narrowed as they locked onto Jackson’s figure. His gaze was sharp and cold, carrying the unmistakable arrogance of someone who had already decided that everyone around him was beneath his notice.

"Who the fuck are you, kid? Trying to play hero just because you have a mask on?"

His voice echoed across the clearing.

Until this moment, Tian Shen had barely paid attention to Jackson.

Compared to the other members of the group, Jackson’s presence was weak and almost nonexistent. There was no overwhelming aura radiating from his body, nor did he appear physically intimidating. To Tian Shen, he had simply been another insignificant figure standing at the edge of the battlefield.

A nobody.

Yet now, just as Tian Shen was preparing to make his move, this nobody had suddenly stepped forward and stolen the spotlight.

How could he tolerate that?

A trace of anger appeared in Tian Shen’s eyes.

Even Alchemist Dawn couldn’t help but frown.

From his perspective, Jackson was pushing things too far. Tian Shen was clearly not someone they could casually provoke, and Jackson’s sudden provocation could easily turn the already dangerous situation into an outright battle.

But Jackson remained completely calm.

Seeing the reactions around him, he couldn’t help but shake his head beneath his mask.

Too far?

When dealing with enemies, there was no such thing as going too far.

If someone was already standing on the opposite side, worrying about whether his words were too provocative was pointless.

By now, Jackson had unconsciously become the center of attention.

The members of Locke’s group were looking at him.

Tian Shen was staring at him with growing hostility.

Even the leader of the Desolate Troop had shifted his attention toward Jackson.

Instead of anger, however, amusement appeared in his eyes.

Originally, he had expected the confrontation to be rather boring.

Locke and his group would resist.

Tian Shen would crush them.

Then the Nine Essence Flower would fall into his hands.

Simple.

Predictable.

But now, things had suddenly become interesting.

A mysterious masked youth had stepped forward and challenged Tian Shen.

The Desolate Troop leader’s smile widened.

This is much more interesting.

Jackson, however, couldn’t have cared less about what the man was thinking.

He simply treated the Desolate Troop leader as though he didn’t exist.

His gaze swept across everyone present before finally settling on Tian Shen.

"I don’t have a habit of introducing myself."

His voice remained surprisingly calm.

"But I’ll still give you one warning."

The atmosphere in the clearing gradually became heavier.

Jackson pointed toward the Nine Essence Flower.

"Leave the Nine Essence Flower behind and leave."

He paused.

The next words came out with an unmistakable coldness.

"Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

The clearing fell silent.

For a moment, even the surrounding forest seemed to have stopped breathing.

Tian Shen stared at him in disbelief.

Then a mocking smile slowly appeared on his face.

He clearly couldn’t believe that someone who looked so insignificant would dare threaten him.

What Tian Shen didn’t know was that Jackson’s confidence was partly a bluff.

If necessary, Jackson could use the Golden Brush to kill them.

But his spiritual force was limited.

At most, he could use it to eliminate one group before exhausting himself.

If he tried to kill everyone present, he would be the one putting himself in danger.

But that was precisely where Jackson’s greatest advantage lay.

None of them knew that.

To them, Bitter Rain was an unfathomable masked awakener whose abilities they had never seen clearly.

They didn’t know his limits.

They didn’t know his weaknesses.

They didn’t even know exactly what kind of ability he possessed.

Jackson, on the other hand, already knew far more about them.

He knew their cultivation levels.

He knew their strengths.

He knew their abilities.

And most importantly...

They had no idea what he was capable of.

That information gap was worth more than raw strength.

As long as they continued believing that Jackson possessed some terrifying, unknown ability, he could use their uncertainty against them.

His greatest weapon wasn’t the Golden Brush.

It was the mystery surrounding him.

Maybe it was Jackson’s words.

Or perhaps it was simply the humiliation of being challenged in front of everyone.

Whatever the reason, Tian Shen’s face twisted with fury.

"How dare you...!"

His roar echoed across the clearing.

The next instant, he charged.

Like an enraged bull breaking free from its restraints, Tian Shen shot forward with terrifying momentum. The ground cracked beneath his feet as his aura erupted, and a massive greatsword suddenly appeared in his hand.

The blade gleamed beneath the sunlight, its edge reflecting a cold, murderous light.

"Die!"

Jackson’s eyes narrowed into slits.

He had already given them a warning.

Tian Shen had chosen to ignore it.

Since the man was so eager to die, Jackson didn’t mind fulfilling his wish.

His spiritual force surged.

The moment Jackson’s ability enveloped Tian Shen, something immediately felt different.

There was far less resistance than when he had tried to manipulate the Shadow Cat.

Jackson’s eyes flickered.

So his magical power isn’t strong enough to resist me.

A powerful wave of spiritual force descended upon Tian Shen.

For a brief moment, nothing appeared to happen.

Then Tian Shen’s expression suddenly changed.

"What...?"

His body began to swell.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

His muscles expanded unnaturally, his armor stretched, and his entire body began inflating like a balloon being filled from within.

Tian Shen’s eyes widened in horror.

He could feel something going terribly wrong inside his body.

"No!"

His roar had barely left his mouth when—

BOOM!

His body exploded from within.

Blood and flesh erupted outward.

The terrifying momentum of his charge continued for another instant, carrying the greatsword forward before the weapon finally slipped from his lifeless hand and crashed onto the ground.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking stone echoed through the clearing.

Then silence descended.

Complete silence.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

It was as though every mind present had suddenly stopped functioning.

The hunters simply stared at the empty space where Tian Shen had been standing moments ago.

What...

had just happened?

They had watched Tian Shen charge toward the masked figure with murderous intent.

They had expected a fierce battle.

Instead, before he could even reach his opponent, his body had suddenly exploded.

No visible attack.

No exchange of blows.

Nothing.

Just death.

A chill slowly crawled up everyone’s spine.

Even the hunters who had been preparing to attack Locke’s group instinctively took a step backward.

"What... what was that?"

A trembling voice broke the silence.

Then another hunter from Tian Shen’s group suddenly seemed to remember something.

His eyes widened.

"Wait..."

He stared at Jackson’s masked figure.

"Is that masked figure... Bitter Rain?"

The name fell into the clearing like a thunderclap.

Jackson himself hadn’t realized just how far his reputation had spread.

But the hunters clearly knew.

Anyone with access to the virtual world had almost certainly seen the footage of Bitter Rain’s battle against Alexander Drag.

The mysterious masked awakener.

The rising star who had accumulated hundreds of consecutive victories.

The fighter whose opponents repeatedly met the same bizarre fate.

A single move.

Then their bodies exploded.

"Bitter Rain..."

Someone whispered.

The words spread through the hunters like sparks catching dry grass.

"It’s really him?"

"That Bitter Rain?"

"The one who defeated Alexander Drag?"

"He kills his opponents with a single move..."

"He actually came here?"

One by one, realization dawned on their faces.

The mysterious identity that had previously belonged only to rumors and arena footage had suddenly appeared directly in front of them.

Bitter Rain.

The rising star who had won hundreds of consecutive battles.

The terrifying awakener whose opponents could rarely survive even a single exchange.

And now...

They had just watched Tian Shen die in exactly the same manner as the opponents from those arena battles.

The atmosphere changed completely.

The confidence that had filled the Desolate Troop hunters moments ago disappeared.

Their grips on their weapons tightened, but none of them stepped forward.

The courage to attack had simply vanished.

For the first time since arriving at the clearing, they understood something very clearly.

The masked man standing before them was not some arrogant young hunter playing hero.

He was Bitter Rain.

And they had just watched him kill Tian Shen with a single move.

The Desolate Troop’s leader quickly recovered from his shock and shouted, his voice cutting through the tense silence.

"Everyone, don’t fall for his tricks!"

He pointed toward Jackson, desperately trying to restore the confidence of his subordinates.

"We all know Bitter Rain relies heavily on his talent. So what if that talent is powerful? How many times can he possibly use it?"

His voice grew louder as he spoke, and a fierce glint gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Attack together! Once we overwhelm him, we’ll kill him!"

His words seemed to reignite something within the surrounding hunters.

Indeed.

Bitter Rain’s reputation was terrifying, but reputation wasn’t the same as invincibility.

They had all heard that he had been defeated in casual battles before.

Perhaps the scene they had just witnessed had been nothing more than a powerful talent with some kind of limitation.

Perhaps if they attacked together, they could overwhelm him before he had the chance to use it again.

The Desolate Troop leader’s breathing gradually became heavier.

But his thoughts went beyond simple survival.

Bitter Rain was already a famous figure.

If he could kill him here...

A crazed glint flashed through the leader’s eyes.

Wouldn’t that prove that he was stronger than the rising star?

The fame alone would be enough to change his life.

He could already imagine the attention that would follow.

The hunters who had previously looked at him with respect would speak of him with awe.

His name would spread throughout the sector.

The thought made his blood boil.

His words finally pulled the other hunters back from their fear.

Their expressions changed.

Weapons were raised once again.

A few even began moving forward.

Jackson watched them silently.

He could already guess what they were thinking.

A faint sneer appeared beneath his mask.

Idiots.

He didn’t care whether they believed he was strong or weak.

He didn’t care whether they thought his ability had limitations.

They would understand soon enough.

Jackson began walking toward them.

One step.

Then another.

His footsteps were not particularly loud, yet in the unnaturally silent clearing, each one seemed to land directly on the hunters’ hearts.

The surrounding hunters gradually stopped moving.

Jackson continued forward without the slightest hesitation.

He eventually stopped only a few steps away from the Desolate Troop leader.

Close enough to look directly into his eyes.

The leader’s pupils trembled.

For some reason, an inexplicable sense of danger suddenly flooded his mind.

He wanted to move.

He wanted to attack.

He wanted to order his men to surround Jackson.

But his body refused to obey.

It was as though an invisible force had descended upon him, pinning him firmly in place.

His muscles refused to respond.

Even his fingers could barely move.

The killing intent that had been building inside him moments ago remained trapped within his chest, unable to find an outlet.

His expression changed.

Then he noticed something even more terrifying.

It wasn’t only him.

The dozen or so hunters surrounding him were frozen in exactly the same manner.

Not a single person dared to move.

Jackson calmly looked at them.

Then he simply snorted.

He walked past them.

His back was completely exposed.

He wasn’t even bothering to defend himself.

Yet not one of them attacked.

Jackson reached the Nine Essence Flower.

He bent down and carefully plucked it from the ground.

The delicate flower trembled slightly between his fingers, its nine petals releasing a faint spiritual glow.

Jackson stored it inside his storage space.

From beginning to end, his back remained turned toward the Desolate Troop leader.

The humiliation was almost unbearable.

The leader’s eyes became bloodshot.

His fists trembled.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him to attack.

But he couldn’t.

No matter how desperately he tried, his body refused to move.

It was as though some invisible hand had wrapped itself around his entire body.

Then Jackson turned his head slightly.

His voice was calm.

Almost indifferent.

"Scram."

One word.

That’s all it took.

The word echoed through the clearing like thunder.

The remaining courage of the Desolate Troop hunters shattered instantly.

Whatever fighting spirit they had managed to recover disappeared completely.

Nobody gave another command.

Nobody tried to be brave.

They simply turned around and fled.

Some ran toward the eastern side of the forest.

Others sprinted in the opposite direction.

They scattered like headless chickens, desperately putting as much distance between themselves and Jackson as possible.

Within moments, the clearing was almost completely empty...

Only the discarded greatsword remained on the ground.

Jackson glanced at it briefly before turning toward Locke and the others.

The entire confrontation had ended without him even needing to lift a finger.