As time passed, a month slipped by.
Z City.
Inside an ordinary milk tea shop with cozy decor.
"Hello, your seven servings of mango pomelo sago are ready. Please enjoy."
A young woman in a black-and-white maid outfit carried over a tray. With deft movements, she set the seven drinks one by one on the large round table by the window.
The drinks had arrived, but the atmosphere around the table was a little strange.
Only Xu Feng reached for a cup, inserted a straw, and began sipping it slowly, his expression calm.
The other six—
Piao Zhi Yong, Jin Shan, Luna, Kuang Lei, Li Ze Yuan, and Mai Xiao Wen—
stood around the table, staring intently at the Hunter Association strength evaluation report in Mai Xiao Wen's hands, freshly printed from the printer. Their expressions were solemn.
Mai Xiao Wen pinched the edge of the paper between her slender fingers, her fingertips pressing down slightly.
From time to time, she looked up at Xu Feng, who was leisurely sipping his mango pomelo sago. Shock, delight, and a hard-to-describe complexity swirled in her beautiful eyes.
Today she wore a simple white short-sleeved shirt and a pink knee-length skirt that covered her thighs just right, leaving only her shapely, fair-skinned calves exposed.
Her little red boots tapped lightly against the floor without her realizing it. The swaying toes betrayed the tempest raging in her heart.
"You, you, you..."
Mai Xiao Wen's voice wavered. She pointed at the report, then at Xu Feng, and took a long moment to find the words.
"You really... awakened a second time? And jumped straight to low B-class?!"
Piao Zhi Yong looked at Xu Feng with an equally complicated expression. The shock in his eyes was obvious, though beneath it lay a hint of understanding.
Over the past month, Xu Feng's performance in several dungeon raids had long exceeded the limits of a D-Rank physical-type hunter.
Especially last week, when they faced the boss of a peak D-Rank Dungeon, a hulking creature renowned for its defense and strength. With a seemingly ordinary punch, Xu Feng sent it flying more than ten meters. It died on the spot!
Ever since then, the team had privately speculated about what had happened.
Xu Feng had probably experienced an extremely rare "second awakening," causing his strength to skyrocket in an instant.
But no one had expected the increase to be so terrifying.
At the team's suggestion, Xu Feng had gone to the Hunter Association for a new assessment today. The overall rating they got back was—
Low B-class!
Xu Feng held the straw between his lips, savoring the sweet-and-sour blend of mango and grapefruit. He noticed his teammates' gazes fixed on him.
He looked up, and a shy, bashful smile came naturally to his face.
Deep in his eyes, where no one could see, his Attribute Panel hovered silently:
[Name: Xu Feng] [Breakthrough Points: 3000] [Qi Realm: Blood Pool Realm Late Stage (0/10000)] [Body Realm: Nine Refinements (0/10000)] [Strength Evaluation: High B-class (normal state)]
The "Strength Evaluation" entry had appeared automatically on his system panel after his second official assessment.
Of course, he hadn't shown all his strength during the test. He'd revealed only a small portion of it, yet his overall rating had still reached low B-class.
It was a useful benchmark, giving him a more direct measure of his combat strength in his normal state.
His progress over the past month had been nothing short of terrifying.
Aside from joining Piao Zhi Yong's raiding team for regular missions, his biggest source of Breakthrough Points had come from using the "Invisibility Orb" to secretly tail other teams entering Dungeons.
At first, he'd given quite a few teams a serious scare.
Before they'd even engaged, the monsters up ahead would inexplicably have their heads burst open and drop dead one after another.
The Hunter Association had even sent investigators, but Xu Feng's invisibility ability produced no magical fluctuations, and he was extremely cautious. Besides, whenever he showed up, he helped the raiding teams complete their missions with ease and reduced their casualties.
Over time, the Association simply turned a blind eye.
In fact, hunters had even given this mysterious "good Samaritan" a nickname in private.
Wind Hidden One!
It was only because a gentle breeze often stirred whenever he appeared.
Naturally, those high rewards had also brought a leap in strength.
His Qi and Blood Martial Path had surged from Blood Condensation Realm Early Stage all the way to Blood Pool Realm Late Stage, while his physique had been tempered to the realm of "Nine Refinements."
However, Z City was only a county-level city, with limited resources.
The highest-level Dungeons that appeared there were only C-class.
Clearing a full D-class Dungeon now brought in only about 300 Breakthrough Points in total, while a C-class one yielded around 3,000.
Yet the panel showed that his next breakthrough, whether in the Qi Realm or the Body Realm, would require a full 10,000 Breakthrough Points!
Those meager gains were no longer enough for him.
So Xu Feng had already begun thinking about leaving.
His thoughts turned to S City, not far from Z City.
It was the capital of H Country, the true center of power and strength!
It was home to hunters of all ranks, and C-, B-, and even A-class Dungeons appeared there from time to time. Its resources and opportunities far surpassed those of Z City.
Still, he hesitated to leave the life he had now.
His parents, his second uncle's family, and this close-knit raiding team...
Just as he was weighing his options, Piao Zhi Yong suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Xiao Feng,"
Piao Zhi Yong cleared his throat, breaking the slightly odd atmosphere around the table.
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you.
"I have an old friend in S City who's one of the people in charge of the Wanbao Auction House there. They're looking for a high-level hunter to go over and... well, serve as a supervisor. In practice, it's mostly just lending your name and helping keep things in order.
"You'd hardly have to do anything, and the base salary is this much each month."
He held up five fingers.
"Five million?" Luna exclaimed.
Piao Zhi Yong nodded.
"Right, five million a month.
"If you need to step in and deal with trouble, that'll be paid separately, and the reward will only be higher.
"My friend asked me if I knew anyone suitable. I was going to contact a few independent experts I know... but now that you..."
He looked at Xu Feng, his gaze sincere.
"I know that with your strength and potential, staying in our little team would be holding you back. S City is where you belong.
"It's a great opportunity. You can establish yourself there, and the income is stable and generous.
"What do you think?"
Xu Feng's heart stirred.
It was indeed a good stepping-stone into S City's upper-tier hunter circles. The work was easy, the pay was excellent, and he could still look after his family.
However, before he could respond, Mai Xiao Wen, sitting beside him, turned pale.
She bit her lower lip and twisted the hem of her skirt between her fingers. Though she forced a smile, the strain and disappointment in it were plain for all to see.
Jin Shan, Luna, and the others noticed her mood, too. They opened their mouths, wanting to say something to ease the tension, but didn't know what.
Over the past month, Mai Xiao Wen's feelings for Xu Feng had become an open secret in the team.
She brought him different kinds of milk tea every day, packed him lunches, and cared for him in every way.
Xu Feng might have been a bit of a blockhead when it came to romance, but he wasn't oblivious. He often returned the favor by treating her to meals, and the two got along quite well.
Everyone had noticed the hazy affection between them.
Looking at Mai Xiao Wen's forced smile, Xu Feng felt a complicated ripple stir in his heart.
He knew about Mai Xiao Wen's background.
She had grown up in an orphanage with no one to rely on. It was only after she awakened as a hunter and joined Piao Zhi Yong's warm, welcoming team that she gradually opened up.
She was like a sunflower striving toward the light, innocent and passionate.
He hadn't been insensitive to her feelings over the past month. But his future was uncertain, and he had too many secrets. He hadn't dared to respond lightly.
Still, when he saw Mai Xiao Wen continually avoiding his gaze, his heart softened.
After a few seconds of silence, Xu Feng turned to Piao Zhi Yong and asked, "Brother Piao, does the auction house need an assistant supervisor or someone in a similar position?
"If possible, I'd like to recommend someone.
"We can take part of the assistant's salary out of mine."
The moment he said this, the whole table fell silent.
Piao Zhi Yong was taken aback. Then his gaze moved between Xu Feng and Mai Xiao Wen, who had instantly lifted her head, her eyes shining. A knowing, teasing smile spread across his face, and he laughed.
"Of course! It makes perfect sense for a supervisor to have an assistant! Leave it to me. I'll talk to my friend!"
"Yay!"
Mai Xiao Wen sprang up from her chair, her expression instantly brightening. Her smile shone brighter than the sunlight outside the window.
Without a second thought, she rushed to Xu Feng's side, rose onto her toes, and planted a loud kiss on his cheek before he could react.
"!!"
Xu Feng froze completely.
In all his life, he'd never been kissed so directly by a girl.
A strange warmth spread from the back of his neck to the tips of his ears.
In a panic, he grabbed the half-finished mango pomelo sago from the table and gulped down several mouthfuls. Then he shot to his feet.
"I-I'll go home and tell my parents first!"
He left those words behind and bolted out of the milk tea shop as if fleeing for his life.
"Hahaha! It's rare to see Xiao Feng get this embarrassed."
Watching his flustered retreat, Jin Shan was the first to burst into laughter.
Luna laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath, while Li Ze Yuan and Kuang Lei shook their heads with helpless smiles.
Only then did Mai Xiao Wen realize what she'd just done. Two clouds of red bloomed on her cheeks.
But she soon straightened up, planted her hands on her hips, and put on a fierce act as she addressed the teammates watching for fun.
"What are you looking at? I've spent a fortune on milk tea and lunches this past month!
"A duck that's practically in my mouth... No, a boyfriend I've already got—how could I let him get away?"
With that, she snatched up her little bag and said, full of energy, "I'm going home to pack, too! I'm renting my place, so I just need to end the lease. I've saved enough over the past two years to get by in S City!"
Watching her lively retreat, Piao Zhi Yong leaned back in his chair and took a sip of mango pomelo sago. His face held a warm, wistful smile as he murmured,
"Young people... How wonderful."
Sorry for the trouble. Single heroine, pure love is unbeatable!
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