Chance Encounter

"Brother Xuan Ye, what do you think of this move?"

During another break, Gypsy, who had once thoroughly trounced Xuan Ye, performed a set of basic sword techniques before looking expectantly at Xuan Ye. Xuan Ye appeared utterly bored, continuously poking at the sand in front of him with his wooden sword. Gypsy cautiously asked his question.

Having personally witnessed Sixth Grade Knight Attendant Xuan Ye turn the tables on an Eighth Grade powerhouse, Gypsy suddenly saw this unremarkable companion in a far loftier light. He was also deeply ashamed of their earlier spar, when Xuan Ye's "injury had flared up."

That was why he no longer had the nerve to mention sparring. During the following breaks, he simply practiced by himself and then asked Xuan Ye to point out his flaws and correct his posture.

At this stage, practicing the wrong method year after year would cause problems later on if the foundation was crooked. Correcting it afterward would be troublesome. Gypsy was a passionate young man with his own goals and hopes.

"Huh? Oh, the power behind that strike was there. It would be decent in actual combat, but use it less during normal practice. Three groups of muscles are currently overloaded when you use that move. Even if you don't strain them immediately, prolonged use will leave hidden problems."

After giving him a casual glance, Xuan Ye offered the advice as naturally as breathing.

Compared to the first time he had "guided" Gypsy with a sword, when he had been flustered and scrambling, simply observing from the side now gave Xuan Ye enough time to process the data he read and discover the differences in Gypsy's sword techniques.

Moreover, over the past few days, he had constantly absorbed battle scenes from the body's original owner. At present, relying on the various parameters he could normally read, he was confident that he could defeat Gypsy head-on through swordsmanship alone without activating his Bloodline Power.

And that was with the same level of strength as Gypsy!

Whenever he had free time, he would "idly" poke at the sand. The main purpose was to continuously adapt to changes in force under different postures, so he would not end up in another situation where he did not even know how to hold a sword.

As for his cultivation after reaching Sixth Grade, he had also begun progressing steadily. Using the Basic Breathing Technique, he constantly tempered the Perception Inner Palace near his liver. Well, the six Inner Palaces represented the body's six main physical attributes.

Entering the Professional Rank meant condensing a Professional Core. At the peak of the Professional Rank, all six Inner Palaces would condense cores. However, the order was extremely important, because every time a new Inner Mansion Core was condensed, it would further strengthen the previous ones. The attribute boost from the first professional Inner Palace core and the one condensed last were worlds apart!

That was where the Professional Rank got its name!

With the Eyes of Lawbreaking, Xuan Ye naturally chose Perception as the first Inner Palace to open. Uh, not counting the Star Palace, opening the main Perception Inner Palace first was, in a sense, indeed characteristic of the Ranger profession...

Of course, condensing the core of the Perception Inner Palace did not mean it only enhanced Perception. His physical qualities would improve across the board; Perception was merely the most noticeably enhanced aspect.

At the same time, over the past few days, the wound on his shoulder had healed considerably thanks to his far stronger physique. However, his pack had also gained another ten pounds...

This Scavenger Squad found an average of one or two magical beast carcasses or remains every day. They had even encountered an injured Predator-tier Desert Lizard, which Luo Luoji and another Senior Knight Attendant had killed together.

Xuan Ye had secretly observed that battle from the side. Watching Professional Rank Luo Luoji fight the injured Desert Lizard had left him thoroughly stunned.

Neither of them was something he could handle right now. Against Eighth Grade Jack, he could still rely on the Eyes of Lawbreaking to win, but against Luo Luoji, whose absolute strength completely crushed his own, neither skill nor exploiting weaknesses could make up the difference.

If Luo Luoji had been a Professional Rank Expert who had opened another Inner Palace, there might have been the slightest chance of trading his life for an injury. But against a Guardian who had opened the Qi and Blood Inner Palace and was known for defense, even Xuan Ye's full-force sword strike would probably leave no more than a small cut.

He would probably have to hack away for half a day even if Luo Luoji stood still. No wonder Jack, a Senior Knight Attendant, had earned the title Jack the Dismemberer. Ordinary people truly found it difficult to cut apart magical beast carcasses with bodies even stronger than Luo Luoji's...

"No wonder, no wonder those spots always hurt more after I finish practicing. I used to think that was normal. It's a good thing Brother Xuan Ye pointed it out. If I let it build up until it flared up, it would have been too late."

While Xuan Ye was somewhat lost in thought, Gypsy spoke with lingering fear and gratitude. He himself came from a commoner family. His father had been a Fifth Grade Knight Attendant who joined a Scavenger Squad when he was young.

But now, barely over forty, his father had been forced into retirement because of hidden problems accumulated in his youth. Gypsy had always paid attention to such matters because of his father's warnings, yet he had not expected them to still be so difficult to guard against.

No matter what move or technique one used, prolonged exercise would inevitably cause soreness. It was hard to tell what was normal and what was not. One could only rely on the experience of predecessors to make predictions; by the time one discovered the issue alone, it would be too late.

As a commoner, Gypsy naturally could not afford to hire anyone besides his father to teach him. Xuan Ye's seemingly casual words were genuinely an enormous help.

Seeing the enthusiastic and excited Gypsy, Xuan Ye himself felt a little uncomfortable. Having never experienced such a situation, he naturally did not understand the difficulties faced by ordinary martial artists like Gypsy.

After all, while he could not compare to aristocrats and great families, Xuan Ye himself had a Ninth Grade Knight Attendant father with an extremely solid grasp of the fundamentals.

"Ah, what a pity he's a boy."

As he watched Gypsy's excited face, Xuan Ye felt a small sense of satisfaction at having his vanity stroked, along with a faint trace of regret.

Then, as if going through the motions, he began prying Gypsy for information again. Well, Xuan Ye knew that he lacked the necessary social experience and would have difficulty fooling the other old hands, so he could only squeeze out whatever intelligence Gypsy knew.

"...Oh, the captain awakened the Bloodline Talent Skin of Steel? No wonder he chose a meat-shield profession like Guardian."

Xuan Ye nodded repeatedly, seeming to have learned something else. Although Skin of Steel was quite a common Bloodline Talent, its effect was at least extremely practical.

A common Bloodline Talent did not mean it was weak, and a rare one did not mean it was powerful. On the contrary, according to the laws of natural evolution, these common talents that had survived could only be said to have won through survival of the fittest. Their difficulty of awakening, chances of survival, opportunities to reproduce, and other factors all reflected the most cost-effective value.

"Yeah. I don't even know whether my family has any Bloodline Talent. Neither my father nor grandfather awakened one, but my mother said her great-grandmother's side had Bloodlust Power. I wonder if I'll have a chance."

As he said this, longing and envy flickered through Gypsy's eyes.

"You'll have a chance. A motley bloodline like Bloodlust Power is as stubborn as ringworm. Its heredity is remarkably strong."

Seeing the passionate youth's yearning, Xuan Ye "comforted" him. Although his intentions were indeed good, the naturally sharp-tongued way he phrased it made people want to slap him across the face.

Bloodlust Power and Skin of Steel could be called the two most common Bloodline Powers. Of every ten people who awakened Bloodline Power, seven possessed one of those two. Another twenty-five percent had something like the Kend Family's Power of Frenzy, while the final five percent possessed all sorts of strange and rare bloodlines.

Of course, even more people were unfortunate souls who failed to awaken a bloodline at all...

Fortunately, Gypsy was currently a die-hard fan of Xuan Ye and did not mind the inappropriate wording. Instead, he nodded rather excitedly.

"Mm-hmm, I hope so too. Once this mission is finished, I'm planning to take two months off to break through to Fourth Grade. The resources I've saved up should be enough by now. Hehe, Captain Luo Luoji even secretly gave me a big pack of Desert Lizard breast meat."

His words were filled with longing for the future and the spirit to strive forward, leaving Xuan Ye slightly dazed. As an only child who had come from Earth, it was difficult for him to understand that kind of drive.

After a moment of silence, he stood and patted Gypsy on the shoulder.

"I believe you definitely can..."

However, before Xuan Ye could finish, a signal horn sounded from ahead. They had only just stopped to rest, so it seemed something had been discovered.

The group was clearly accustomed to all kinds of sudden situations. No one complained. Each person swiftly carried out their own duties.

Thanks to the privilege he had earned from that "spar," Xuan Ye temporarily bade Gypsy farewell, secured his wooden sword, slung on his pack and heavy bow, and headed toward the front of the group to learn what was happening.

When he reached the front, the squad's other two Senior Knight Attendants had already arrived, aside from Luo Luoji and Jack.

Judging from how they were chatting and laughing, it did not seem to be bad news.

"Ah-ha, you came too, kid. Help us put on a show later. We found a mark left by an old client mercenary group. They should be just ahead, so we'll probably have a haul soon."

The few of them were quite friendly when they saw Xuan Ye arrive. Even Jack greeted him with a smile.

As the best Scavenger Squad in Stanrosai City, they had connections with certain mercenary groups. After all, not every mercenary was willing to let others pick up the prey they left behind.

Even if they could not carry it themselves, they might deliberately damage it. But if they happened to encounter a Scavenger Squad, they could sell it to them for a little money. The amount might not be much, but it would make them feel much better.

Of course, that depended on the other side being strong enough. Otherwise, many mercenaries would not mind swallowing a Scavenger Squad whole without any losses, then seeing whether its leader carried money meant for purchases. Usually, that was much easier to deal with than magical beasts.

Sure enough, not long after the group moved out, they saw several figures resting in the shadows of a sand dune. Not far from them lay the corpse of a Sand Spine Demon that had apparently died only recently.

After cramming in some knowledge, Xuan Ye already knew that, in terms of strength, such Spine Demons were Predator Rank Magical Beasts comparable to low-star Professional Rank Experts. Yet among the resting people, none gave him a feeling similar to Luo Luoji's.

One had to know that human experts of the same level were at a disadvantage against magical beasts and other Alien Races. Awakening a bloodline and engraving Talent Runes could only narrow the gap, and most people had neither.

The fact that there was no Professional Rank Expert present was naturally strange and unusual.

"The Sand Rat Mercenary Group, one of the top three mercenary groups in the city. Like their name, their members are very good at slipping through cracks. Their leader is a Professional Rank Expert, but it seems he didn't come this time. They're old clients. Six Senior Knight Attendants and two intermediate ones; they should be training newcomers."

Before they drew near, Luo Luoji gave a quiet but swift introduction. It was clearly meant specifically for Xuan Ye.

Although they had six Senior Knight Attendants, they had cooperated to kill a Spine Demon without even one Professional Rank Expert among them. That alone was enough to show their strength and coordination.

Just as primitive humans on Earth could use traps and tools to kill beasts far stronger than themselves, these people were all exceptional hunters.

If they did not possess that level of ability, they likely would not have dared to casually approach the Luo Luo Scavenger Squad, which had a Professional Rank Expert, to discuss cooperation...

The author humbly begged for support for this new book. This is an important period, so please recommend it and add it to your collection.