Home

Turning around to face the hill shimmering with blue light, Xu Feng closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the panel.

[Breakthrough Points - 100]

[Qi Realm: Blood Condensation Stage - Early]

A surging energy exploded within his body!

In his dantian, the original seven strands of Qi and Blood spun wildly, converging and compressing!

The eighth, ninth, and tenth new strands of Qi and Blood were born successively, then merged with the original seven.

Ultimately, they transformed into a new Qi and Blood as solid as mercury!

The quality of this Qi and Blood was far superior to before!

Xu Feng opened his eyes, a flash of crimson-gold light disappearing in an instant from his pupils.

He roughly estimated that if he activated the "Blood Dragon State" with this Qi and Blood, its duration could reach at least two minutes!

Moreover, the pure strength amplification gave him the confidence to directly confront the full charge of yesterday's Bull Leader!

Next, he began to eat.

He scooped up the plump, fleshy fish from the swamp that had grown fat from devouring Lizardman corpses, scaled and deboned them, and swallowed them raw.

His powerful digestive system converted the flesh and blood into pure energy, nourishing his newly broken-through body.

Half an hour later, Xu Feng stood up and walked towards the hilltop.

The amount of magic stone ore was less than he had anticipated, filling only about one medium-sized burlap sack.

He weighed it, estimating that these raw ores could yield about ten thousand standard D-class magic stones, with a market value of... over a hundred million.

"No wonder."

Xu Feng muttered to himself.

Human nature was indeed fragile in the face of such immense profit.

Today's betrayal had taught him a bloody lesson.

He suddenly remembered something and took out the Lizardman leader's corpse from his backpack.

His gaze fell on its right shoulder.

Embedded there was a strange, pigeon-egg-sized, deep blue bead that seemed to have liquid flowing inside.

Xu Feng could feel a peculiar spatial fluctuation emanating from the bead; it was slowly absorbing the free-floating magic power in the air.

With a thought, he took out a handful of magic stone ore from the sack and attempted to guide the magic power within it using his Qi and Blood to inject it into the bead.

Hummm--

The bead trembled, absorbing frantically like a thirsty sponge.

After consuming about one percent of the total magic power from the raw ores, the bead's color shifted from deep blue to a profound, dark blue, and more complex magic patterns appeared on its surface.

Xu Feng placed the bead against his chest.

The next moment, a strange fluctuation enveloped his entire body.

His body began to become transparent, blurry, and finally disappeared completely into the air!

There was no leakage of magic power, no energy fluctuations, not even his body temperature or breathing were perfectly concealed!

The only flaw was the air disturbance caused by movement, but in the dim and complex environment, this was almost imperceptible.

"Invisibility..."

Xu Feng deactivated the effect, looking at the bead in his hand, a satisfied glint in his eyes.

After thoroughly cleaning the battlefield and packing all the spoils, Xu Feng activated the invisibility bead and silently walked towards the direction of the teleportation gate.

Outside the teleportation gate, Hunter Association staff and military guards had already set up a cordon, awaiting the return of the expedition team.

As Xu Feng, invisible, passed by them, a young staff member looked up in confusion, "Huh? Was that a gust of wind just now?"

"Isn't it normal for there to be wind from the sewers?" his companion replied dismissively.

Ten minutes later, long after Xu Feng had departed, the pale blue teleportation gate suddenly fluctuated violently.

Then, with a swish, it completely closed.

"The underground city... was breached?!" the on-site commander stared in shock at the empty wall, "But... what about the team that went in? Why hasn't anyone come out?!"

No one could answer.

And these things no longer concerned Xu Feng.

Carrying his heavy pack, he quietly returned to the small grove behind the Guanghua Residential Area.

Little Black leaped down from the treetops, affectionately rubbing against his trouser leg.

Can't find the book title? You can try searching for the author, maybe it was just renamed!

Xu Feng ruffled its furry head and tossed it a few pieces of good-quality Lizardman tail meat. Little Black grabbed the meat and nimbly darted back to its secret nest in the tree.

Xu Feng then began to take stock of his gains from this trip:

Invisibility Orb, a bag of D-class magic stone ore, a C-class magic power weapon [Poison Scale Blade], and various Lizardman materials.

"I'll ask Brother Piao tomorrow if there are any dedicated trading channels in the Hunter circle," Xu Feng repacked the items and hid them again. "I need to get rid of these hot potatoes as soon as possible."

He patted the dust off his body, cast one last glance into the depths of the dark forest, and turned to walk in the direction of home.

Crrrack--

The key turned slightly in the lock, and the door opened.

Xu Feng moved as lightly as a cat's paw stepping on a carpet.

It was already past three in the morning.

At this hour, his parents would usually be fast asleep.

However, as he pushed open the door, a warm, orange light greeted him.

In the living room, Yang Lingxia was asleep, lying on the sofa, covered with a faded but clean floral quilt.

Her breathing was even and deep, but her brows were still slightly furrowed in her sleep, as if she wasn't resting soundly.

The TV nearby was already off, and the remote control lay quietly in a corner of the coffee table.

And not far from the sofa, at the old wooden desk.

Xu Shan was hunched over, holding a pen under the dim lamplight, carefully comparing an open ledger with several stacks of handwritten receipts.

He wore a pair of old-fashioned gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his expression focused.

Hearing the door open, Xu Shan immediately looked up.

Seeing his son, a look of relief flashed in his eyes, followed by him raising his index finger to his lips, forming a "shush" gesture, and then nodding towards his sleeping wife on the sofa.

He put down his pen and stood up slowly, beckoning Xu Feng to follow him into the kitchen.

Father and son, one after the other, moved with extreme lightness, afraid of disturbing the quiet in the living room.

Once in the kitchen, Xu Shan lowered his voice, speaking with a hint of helplessness and a great deal of affection:

"Your mom insisted on waiting for you to come back.

I told her to go to sleep first, but she wouldn't listen. She held on to watch TV for you, but she fell asleep not long after.

I was afraid she'd catch a cold, so I covered her with a blanket.

I wanted to carry her to her room, but I was afraid of waking her...

Sigh, never mind. I had to check the accounts anyway, so I just stayed with her."

As he spoke, Xu Shan's gaze inadvertently swept over the backpack behind Xu Feng, which faintly exuded a peculiar smell.

He also noticed a hint of suppressed emotion in his son's eyes, which, despite his best efforts to conceal it, was still visible.

But he didn't ask anything. He simply extended his rough palm and pointed to the ceramic soup pot simmering on the stove.

"Here, your mom specifically saved this for you. Ginkgo nut stewed with old hen. It's been simmering on low heat for a few hours.

She said you must be tired after your first mission tonight, so you need to replenish your strength."

Xu Shan lifted the lid, and a warm aroma, a blend of medicinal herbs and rich chicken broth, instantly filled the air, dispelling the lingering chill in the kitchen.

"Drink it while it's hot, then wash up and get some sleep."

After speaking, he couldn't help but let out a big yawn, a few tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes and didn't say anything more, just patted his son's shoulder, then tiptoed back into the living room.

He sat down again at the desk, picked up his pen, and continued to meticulously check the tedious accounts under the lamplight.

Xu Feng stood at the kitchen doorway, holding the chicken soup, which was at the perfect temperature.

The clear broth was dotted with plump ginkgo nuts and oil slicks, with tender, stewed chicken beneath.

He looked at his father's slightly hunched back in the lamplight, listened to his mother's even breathing from the living room, and then looked down at the bowl of hot soup in his hands.

After a long moment, he picked up the soup bowl, tilted his head back, and drank the warm broth in one go.

The savory, mellow flavor slid down his esophagus and into his stomach, and warmth instantly spread through his limbs.

He gently set down the empty soup bowl, still moving quietly.

Without going to wash up immediately, he walked into the living room, carefully tucked in the corner of the quilt that had slipped off his mother, then walked to the desk and nodded silently at his father, who looked up.

Then, he picked up his backpack and headed towards his room.

Before closing the door, he cast one last look at the living room--

The light was soft, his mother was sleeping peacefully, his father was bent over his work.

This was his home, the harbor he would protect with all his might.