The Forbidden God System

The Hunter's Trail

Two days had passed since Marvin slaughtered the Bloodfang Boar deep within the Forbidden Forest. For those two days, he had learned to live alongside a pain that never truly faded. The Forbidden God Meridian within his chest never slept. It pulsed softly, demanding blood and life essence like a starving beast.

Now, Marvin stood motionless atop a massive tree branch, thirty meters above the ground. His body blended perfectly with the shadows cast by the dense foliage. The afternoon breeze drifted slowly through the forest, carrying the scent of damp earth mixed with the distinctive stench of decay. Yet beneath the thick smells of nature, Marvin's nose caught something else.

The scent of human sweat, cheap weapon oil, and a faint surge of low-level spiritual energy.

Marvin narrowed his eyes. A faint red glow flickered within his irises beneath the darkness of the branches. He held his breath, allowing his now-enhanced hearing to pick up every vibration below.

"Damn it, this place smells like a rotting corpse!" A rough voice shattered the silence of the forest.

"Shut up, Bima. Do you want to attract the monsters around here?" a second voice replied, deeper and more cautious.

"Ah, you're too timid, Raga. We're already at the edge of the forest. High-level monsters wouldn't bother roaming around a shallow area like this."

Three men stepped into the small clearing directly beneath the tree where Marvin was hiding. They wore leather armor reinforced with steel soles. Engraved on the right side of their chests was the emblem of crossed swords, the distinctive insignia of the Sterling clan's guards.

Marvin recognized all three of them. They were low-level mercenaries commonly hired by the Sterling clan for dirty work. The stocky man with a large machete strapped to his back was Bima. The tall, sharp-featured man beside him was Raga. And the young man walking at the very back, anxiously carrying a crossbow, was Joko.

"What exactly did Young Master Marco send us to search this area again for?" Joko spoke up, his voice trembling. "It's already been three days since that cripple was thrown in here. There's no way anyone could survive after being dragged into the Forbidden Forest by wild wolves."

Bima burst into laughter. The sound was jarring amid the silence of the forest. He tossed a leather waterskin toward Raga before spitting on the ground.

"You don't understand how rich people think, Joko," Bima said with a grin. "Young Master Marco just wants absolute certainty. He wants us to bring back at least a fragment of bone or some piece of Marvin's clothing. He wants to show it off to Holy Maiden Xena as a gift."

"A gift?" Joko raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

"Of course!" Bima proudly slapped his chest. "Didn't you hear the news from the clan's main hall the day before yesterday? The official engagement between Young Master Marco and Holy Maiden Xena has been confirmed! Their grand wedding is scheduled for next month at the headquarters of the Blue Cloud Sect!"

Raga took a long drink from the leather waterskin before roughly wiping his lips. "The Sterling clan is celebrating like crazy. They say the Grand Elder himself has been leading three straight days of spiritual wine feasts to celebrate the disappearance of the clan's 'stain.'"

"'Stain'?" Joko chuckled softly. "You mean that cripple, Marvin?"

"Who else?" Bima laughed even louder. "That piece of trash without meridians was nothing but a burden for twenty years! Do you know what Holy Maiden Xena said at yesterday's announcement ceremony?"

"What?" Joko asked curiously.

"She said..." Bima imitated a woman's voice in a mocking tone. "'Throwing Marvin into the Forbidden Forest wasn't merely the right decision, but also an act of cleansing our destiny. A cripple has no right to breathe beneath the same sky as geniuses.' Hahaha! That woman is ice-cold, but I like the way she talks!"

High above them, Marvin's fingers tightened around the thick branch beneath him.

Crack.

The sturdy wood cracked beneath the pressure of his fingers. Thick, foul-smelling black blood seeped from the pores of Marvin's skin, evaporating into a thin mist in the air. His chest thundered violently. The pain of that night of betrayal pierced his chest again like dozens of poisoned needles.

Cleansing our destiny? Marvin screamed internally. The clan's stain?

Xena's elegantly smiling face beside Marco flashed through Marvin's memory once again. The memory of willingly sacrificing his leg and the health of his meridians to help that woman obtain spiritual medicine years ago now felt like the cruelest joke of his life. He had given them everything, and they had repaid him by crushing his bones, spitting on his dignity, and celebrating his death with three days and three nights of wine.

Black vapor began to seep from Marvin's body. His Meridian surged violently, reacting to the pure rage burning within his soul. The cold energy demanded release, whispering inside his mind for him to leap down and tear out the throats of the three men below him right now.

[Kill them... Drain their blood... Make them scream...] The System's voice whispered coldly within his subconscious.

Marvin squeezed his eyes shut. His teeth chattered as he fought to suppress the violent trembling in his arms. He forced himself to take a deep breath. The cold forest air filled his lungs, slightly calming the turmoil in his chest.

No. Not yet, Marvin whispered to himself. A blind rampage will only expose me. I'm no longer the foolish, emotional Marvin I once was.

Marvin opened his eyes again. The red glow in them no longer radiated panic or overwhelming rage. Instead, it had transformed into a cold, calculated gaze.

He listened to the conversation below once more.

"But honestly," Raga said as he sat on a large rock, "Young Master Marco is being very generous this time. Five hundred low-grade spiritual stones for anyone who brings back proof of Marvin's death. That's equal to two years of my wages!"

"Then use your eyes properly, Joko!" Bima barked at the young soldier. "Search around those bushes. Maybe there's a skull or an old shoe left behind!"

Joko let out a long breath, clearly reluctant. "It's getting darker. This forest gives me a bad feeling. What if we just go back and tell Young Master Marco that his body was completely devoured by monsters without a trace?"

"Such a coward!" Bima lightly kicked Joko's leg. "Search for another half hour! If we find nothing, then we'll head back to the headquarters!"

Marvin observed the three men from above. His mind worked rapidly, analyzing the situation.

The Sterling clan and the Blue Cloud Sect believed he was dead. Marco believed he had won completely. Xena was enjoying her position as the clan's future empress. The entire cultivation world in this region believed that Marvin Sterling was nothing more than a dark chapter that had been erased at the bottom of the Forbidden Forest.

A thin, cold smile, utterly devoid of humanity, appeared on Marvin's face.

They think I'm dead, Marvin thought. Good. Very good.

The belief that he had died was the best shield he could have right now. As long as Marco and Xena believed he had become a corpse, they would never prepare for his retaliation. They would remain off guard, wallowing in luxury and arrogance, never realizing that the shadow of their past was slowly crawling out of the darkness.

Marvin's hatred no longer burned uncontrollably inside him. It had frozen into a precise strategy. His focus became absolute. Every step, every drop of blood he would spill from this night onward, would become another brick used to build a hell for Marco and Xena.

"Hey, I need to take a piss behind those bushes," Joko said as he lowered his crossbow and walked away from his two companions.

"Don't take too long, Joko! If a wolf eats you, I won't bother looking for your bones!" Bima shouted, laughing with Raga.

"Yeah, yeah! I'll be quick!" Joko shouted back as he walked deeper among the trees, only a dozen meters or so from where Marvin was hiding.

Above the branch, Marvin's eyes locked onto Joko.

Qi Refining Stage 2. The weakest of the three, Marvin analyzed automatically. His spiritual energy is fragile, his physical defense is poor, and his fear is slowing his reactions.

This is the perfect target. My first human prey after hiding in the Forbidden Forest.

Marvin felt no hesitation. No regret. No pity remained for anyone who wore the Sterling clan's emblem. They were fuel for his Meridian. Every drop of life energy he absorbed from them would bring him closer to Marco and Xena's heads.

Marvin moved. His movements were so smooth that he made no sound, not even the snap of a branch or the rustle of leaves. He slid down from the large branch using the divine Shadow Step technique that had become one with his soul. His body seemed to melt, blending perfectly with the darkness of night as it began to consume the Forbidden Forest.

Below, Joko stopped behind an ancient tree covered in rotting moss. He leaned his crossbow against the trunk and let out a relieved sigh. The night air in the forest felt increasingly cold, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Damn it, why did it suddenly get so cold?" Joko muttered to himself. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

He did not realize that the temperature around him had dropped drastically, not because of the night wind, but because of the dense killing aura radiating from the figure now standing exactly two meters behind him.

Marvin emerged from the tree's shadow. His black hair drifted slightly in the breeze, and his eyes glowed red against the complete darkness. He slowly raised his hand, his fingers forming sharp claws infused with a dense black aura that froze the air around him.

Joko froze instantly when he sensed something strange at the back of his neck. The overwhelming stench of blood suddenly pierced his nose.

"Bima? Raga? Are you guys messing with me?" Joko asked in a trembling voice, afraid to turn around.

There was no answer from the darkness. Only a cold whisper brushed against his left ear.

"Your search is over, Guard."

Joko's eyes widened in panic. He tried to turn around and reach for his crossbow, but before his body could even complete half the turn, an icy hand as hard as steel shot out of the darkness like lightning, clamping around his neck with an absolute grip.