Before Departure

Lu Qingshan naturally had no idea that, after an exquisite round of analysis, the two masters of Yuanshan Tower had already defined him as a Nascent Soul Cultivator with a blood-deep grudge against the underworld.

Of course, even if he had known, he would not have admitted it—but neither would he have denied it.

At this moment, Lu Qingshan was standing on the busiest street in Yuanshan City.

Across the street, Lu Qingshan gazed at the building bearing the Monster Hunter Alliance sign.

The Monster Hunter Alliance was a vast yet loose organization.

Its vastness lay in the fact that, like the Great Xia Trading Company and Zhishou Tower, it was spread throughout nearly every major city of the human race.

Its looseness was reflected in the fact that the Rogue Cultivator Hall did not belong to any single force. Its administrators were formed through consultation among multiple factions.

The Monster Hunter Alliance had originally been founded by several great cultivators from Rogue Cultivator backgrounds, its initial purpose being to gather together the vast number of Rogue Cultivators.

That was right. Among human cultivators, the largest group by number was precisely these most inconspicuous Rogue Cultivators.

Rogue Cultivators had no sect or faction to support them. In order to obtain cultivation resources, they often had to risk life and limb, only to come away empty-handed.

And hunting demon beasts had always been an extremely important way for Rogue Cultivators to obtain cultivation resources.

However, due to their lack of resources, Rogue Cultivators generally had relatively weak combat power.

Demon beasts, meanwhile, often relied on their powerful bodies and all kinds of innate divine abilities to contend against several Rogue Cultivators of the same realm.

This often resulted in Rogue Cultivators being unable to defeat demon beasts during hunts and dying on the spot.

A large part of the reason Rogue Cultivators had such a high mortality rate was thanks to demon beasts.

Yet even so, Rogue Cultivators still charged at demon beasts one after another, wave upon wave.

The reason was simple: if they did not fight for it, where would Rogue Cultivators with no one to rely on find resources for cultivation?

Under such circumstances, forming teams to hunt demon beasts became an excellent option for Rogue Cultivators.

But then another problem arose: how were Rogue Cultivators who had never met to form teams?

And how could they ensure that the Rogue Cultivator teammates they found were trustworthy and would not stab them in the back?

One had to know that in the world of cultivators, people were often more terrifying than demons.

Those great Rogue Cultivators deeply understood how difficult Rogue Cultivator cultivation was, so after putting their heads together, they established the Monster Hunter Alliance.

Cultivators could post team-up missions through the Monster Hunter Alliance, search for suitable Rogue Cultivators, and form teams to hunt demon beasts together.

Each completed demon-hunting mission granted a certain amount of Points, and the completed mission would also be recorded in one's record.

When cultivators looked for teammates, they only needed to examine their records to see at a glance whether they were trustworthy.

Every day, tens of thousands of cultivators searched for suitable missions within the Monster Hunter Alliance.

The Monster Hunter Alliance was open to all human cultivators. Whether Rogue Cultivators or sect disciples, all could post and accept missions through the Monster Hunter Alliance.

For this reason, the Monster Hunter Alliance gradually grew stronger.

What truly transformed the Monster Hunter Alliance was that the Great Xia Imperial Family believed its model greatly benefited the overall improvement of human cultivators' combat strength. Thus, they stepped in and vigorously supported its development.

With the support of the Great Xia Imperial Family, the Monster Hunter Alliance rapidly spread its branches and leaves throughout human cities, swiftly becoming a colossal behemoth.

By now, the Monster Hunter Alliance was no longer limited to posting team-up demon-hunting missions. Its mission formats had extended into every aspect of cultivators' lives.

Whether one sought spirit herbs, spirit materials, or wished to form a team to explore ruins, corresponding missions could be posted through the Monster Hunter Alliance.

Naturally, having developed to this point, the Monster Hunter Alliance could no longer belong to just a few cultivators.

The Monster Hunter Alliance was now jointly controlled by great Rogue Cultivators, cultivation Lineages, and sects from various regions, all restraining one another.

The Great Xia Imperial Family was the Monster Hunter Alliance's highest authority, yet did not participate in its management.

As his thoughts swirled, Lu Qingshan had already crossed the street, arrived opposite, and entered the Monster Hunter Alliance's main hall.

There were not many people in the hall at the moment.

That was perfectly normal.

Cultivators had extremely long lifespans, so their concept of time stretched across much greater spans.

To cultivators, a month was often no different from a single day for mortals.

Thus, in most cases, the Monster Hunter Alliance in a small county city like Yuanshan City was exceedingly quiet.

Lu Qingshan first needed to register as a monster hunter.

Becoming a monster hunter had no requirements, nor was there any so-called strength assessment.

—Cultivators were the most insecure and suspicious group of people. How could they be willing to casually reveal their strength to others?

To become a monster hunter, one only needed to pay ten First-grade Spirit Stones.

Naturally, the wealthy Lu Qingshan did not care about such a trifling sum.

After honestly handing over ten First-grade Spirit Stones and registering his basic information, Lu Qingshan received the Spirit Seal representing his monster hunter identity from the young female cultivator responsible for reception.

It was a Spirit Seal forged from spirit jade, upon which all of Lu Qingshan's records within the Monster Hunter Alliance would be inscribed.

Lu Qingshan sent his divine sense into it.

Lu Qingshan (First-grade Monster Hunter)

Points: Zero

Record: None

First-grade Monster Hunter was the lowest rank of monster hunter in the Monster Hunter Alliance.

A monster hunter's rank was determined entirely by the quantity and quality of the missions they completed, and had nothing to do with their strength.

Each completed mission granted the monster hunter a certain amount of Points based on the mission's difficulty.

Once one's Points reached a certain amount, one could advance in monster hunter rank.

For example, advancing to Second-grade Monster Hunter required one hundred Points.

As long as Foundation Establishment cultivators were diligent enough, becoming a Second-grade Monster Hunter was not difficult.

There were even many Qi Refining cultivators who had accumulated enough Points to advance to Second-grade Monster Hunter.

The higher a monster hunter's rank, the higher the corresponding authority.

Those missions with generous rewards often had requirements for a monster hunter's rank as well.

"Are there any missions I can accept whose destination is Zhenjiang City?" Lu Qingshan asked.

The beautiful female cultivator at the reception was quite courteous. Following Lu Qingshan's request, she lowered her head and began searching through the complicated mission Jade Slips for missions that met his requirements.

"Found one!" The female cultivator at the reception gave a soft cry, picked up a Jade Slip, and handed it to Lu Qingshan.

Joy rose in Lu Qingshan's heart.

Zhenjiang City was a thousand li from Yuanshan City. Missions with Zhenjiang City as their destination were generally of relatively high rank, not something a First-grade Monster Hunter like him could accept.

He did not have the time right now to grind his monster hunter rank up to Second-grade.

He had merely asked on the off chance, yet there really was one.

Lu Qingshan accepted the Jade Slip.

"Mission details: The Lin Family needs to transport a batch of goods to Zhenjiang City. To ensure safety along the route, they are recruiting ten monster hunters to assist in escorting it.

Mission reward: Thirty First-grade Spirit Stones.

Mission evaluation: Simple (completion grants ten Points)."