Before the Team Competition

After forming their squad, the six, led by Lin Xin, found a hotel and planned to have a meal together to get better acquainted. A few days later, they would take part in the newly promoted Demon Hunter Squad team competition. By then, they would be truly fighting the demons to the death.

At the table, aside from Ling Mo and Sheng Cai'er, the other four were rather awkwardly staring at one another. The people who had only met a few times would now become lifelong battle companions, so it was only natural to feel a little uncomfortable. Sheng Cai'er cared little about anything other than Long Haochen, while Ling Mo simply did not care. Back when he was with the Fire Forging Moth, his comrades had been replaced batch after batch. Casualties in the battles against Herrschers had been terrifyingly high. It was only after the Fusion Warrior Project emerged that Ling Mo's teammates had largely stabilized—the Fusion Warriors later known as the Flame-Chasers.

Seeing that the atmosphere was too cold, Lin Xin, who had more social experience than the others, stood up and said with a smile, "We'll be teammates from now on. How about we introduce ourselves first? I'll go first."

"Ahem." Lin Xin cleared his throat.

"My name is Lin Xin. I'm nineteen this year, a Fifth-tier Level Two mage. I specialize in magical control and magical defense. I'm also a magic pharmacist and can refine all kinds of pills. Setting everything else aside, as long as I'm around, our team will never run short on pills."

After saying that, Lin Xin took out three bottles of pills and handed them to Ling Mo, Sima Xian, and Chen Ying'er respectively. "These are Spirit Gathering Pills. They can help you enter the Fifth-tier faster."

Chen Ying'er accepted the pills with a doubtful look on her face. However, Long Haochen said that it was with the help of this kind of pill that he had entered the Fifth-tier during the competition. Upon hearing that, Chen Ying'er immediately put away the Spirit Gathering Pills in her hand.

Sima Xian laughed loudly beside her. "Haha, no wonder you kept saying you had medicine during the competition. So you're a magic pharmacist! Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Chen Ying'er and Sima Xian were both delighted to receive the pills. Among the six of them, only the two of them and Ling Mo were still at the Fourth-tier. As Lin Xin had said, they would all be members of the same team in the future, so they naturally did not stand on ceremony and happily accepted the pills.

"Lin Xin, take this bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills back. I don't need it."

The atmosphere at the table, which had just begun to liven up, instantly turned cold at Ling Mo's words.

Lin Xin's expression did not change, and he continued smiling as he said, "It's fine. Keeping these pills with me would just mean keeping them around. Just take them and use them. Besides, if you enter the Fifth-tier sooner, our team will have an extra measure of safety when carrying out missions in the future. Isn't that right?"

Long Haochen also urged him, "Yeah, Ling Mo, just accept them. If I remember correctly, you're currently at Fourth-tier Level Nine. With Spirit Gathering Pills, you should be able to enter the Fifth-tier in less than ten days."

The others also spoke up to persuade him.

Yet Ling Mo still did not reach for the pills in front of him. He merely shook his head and said, "I don't want to deceive you, and I don't intend to hide it from you either. I'll just tell you the truth."

Ling Mo paused, then continued slowly and seriously, "I actually can't advance to the Fifth-tier."

The surroundings fell silent. Sima Xian and Chen Ying'er wore looks of utter disbelief, thinking Ling Mo was joking. How could someone strong enough to fight an Eighth-tier magical beast be unable to reach the Fifth-tier?

Lin Xin frowned beside them, lowering his head as he pondered the meaning of Ling Mo's words. What did it mean that he could not enter the Fifth-tier?

Everyone except Sheng Cai'er showed different reactions. Only Long Haochen seemed to have thought of something as he suddenly asked, "Ling Mo, how much Innate Spiritual Power do you have?"

When Lin Xin heard this, he had not yet understood why Long Haochen would ask that when Ling Mo calmly replied, "My Innate Spiritual Power is one point."

"What?!" X4

Lin Xin stared at Ling Mo in shock and asked, "Your Innate Spiritual Power is only one point?! How is that possible? With one point of Innate Spiritual Power, forget the Fourth-tier—even reaching the First-tier would be a problem. How could your Innate Spiritual Power possibly be only one point?!"

Ling Mo did not speak. He looked toward Long Haochen, and everyone else followed Ling Mo's gaze. At that moment, they suddenly realized that since Long Haochen had asked such a question, he must know something.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Long Haochen spoke at the right moment. "I have a teacher named Ye Hua. He is a Fifth-tier Sky Knight, and his Innate Spiritual Power is only eight points. Low Innate Spiritual Power does not mean one absolutely cannot break through and advance, but because his Innate Spiritual Power is too low, my teacher can no longer go any further. When I heard Ling Mo say that he could not enter the Fifth-tier, I immediately thought of my teacher, which was why I asked Ling Mo how much Innate Spiritual Power he had."

After hearing that, Sima Xian said with a face full of admiration, "I can't imagine how desperately you'd have to fight to break through the limits of your talent—and to push past your limits this far. Eight points to the Fifth-tier, one point to the Fourth-tier... you're both monsters!"

"If you want to know how they did it, just ask. Isn't one of the people in question sitting right beside you?"

Chen Ying'er casually mocked Sima Xian, but her expression clearly showed that she, too, was stunned by something so unbelievable.

As everyone turned to look at him, Ling Mo let out a sigh. "There's really nothing much to say. Can we just not talk about it?"

Long Haochen said, "Just tell everyone. I'm quite curious too. My teacher never told me on his own, so I couldn't exactly ask him."

"Yeah, yeah, tell us! I'm super curious." Chen Ying'er chimed in, urging Ling Mo on with an expectant expression.

"Ugh." Ling Mo sighed, thinking that he might as well have accepted the pills if he had known this would happen.

Wondering whether he should not have told them the truth, Ling Mo said to everyone, "It's actually pretty dull. To sum it up, I just kept fighting demons, breaking through between life and death. Like that Emerald Twin-Blade Demon Haochen killed before coming to the Holy City—I had already killed several of them when I was at the Third-tier."

"I didn't expect Brother Ling to be this strong! No wonder you can fight Eighth-tier magical beasts, haha." Though stunned, Sima Xian laughed and praised him. The others also began talking over one another, and the atmosphere became lively once more.

The gathering was brief. During the few days after the Demon Hunter Squad selection competition ended, the top sixteen could go to the Treasure Pavilion and choose one or two secret techniques, while the top three, aside from Long Haochen, could also receive a Spiritual Stove. While relaxing, the sixty newly promoted Demon Hunter Squad members were also making the most of their time to prepare for the upcoming team competition.

Just like that, the few short days quickly passed. Demon Hunter Squads One through Ten gathered once more before the Holy Temple Training Ground. It was worth mentioning that when they assembled, the members of Number One Demon Hunter Squad learned that Long Haochen actually had a Fifth-tier Retainer Knight named Han Yu. This greatly surprised everyone except Ling Mo and Sheng Cai'er—Ling Mo had known all along, while Sheng Cai'er simply did not care about such things.