There's a K-head!

Lava splattered, flames spread.

The expedition team continued deeper into the scorching cave.

With Bai Luhao, an S-class Hunter, present, the scattered Monsters they encountered along the way, even several elite Lava Scorpion Armor Beasts that reached mid A-class in strength, couldn't stir up much trouble.

Bai Luhao often only needed a swift charge, a few swipes of his tiger claws imbued with pale golden energy, to easily tear through their thick armor and extract the Monster's core or crush its brain.

However, as the battles increased, a subtle sense of unease began to spread among the team.

The first to notice was Jin Changpu.

As an earth mage skilled in manipulating the earth and possessing keen senses, he was extremely sharp at observing battlefield details.

He had long noticed that some Lava Scorpion Armor Beasts, which he and his teammates had jointly heavily injured but were still one hit away from death, would suddenly develop several tiny holes in their vital head areas during extremely short intervals.

The holes were minuscule, as if pierced by extremely fine metal needles, but the effect they caused was exceptionally fatal.

Those Monsters would instantly lose all signs of life and collapse to the ground.

At first, he thought it was Piao Changfan's "Thousand Thread Pull" becoming even more refined.

But upon closer inspection, the marks left by those metal needles were completely different from Piao Changfan's spiral-shaped energy, which pursued extreme penetration and speed.

The metal needles that appeared later might not have entered at the most cunning angles, nor were they necessarily the fastest, but the needle bodies seemed to contain some kind of highly destructive oscillating energy.

The moment they pierced the target's brain, this energy would erupt like a miniature bomb, thoroughly shredding the cranial tissue.

For resilient A-class Monsters, merely physically piercing the brain might not be instantly fatal.

But this internal explosive energy oscillation was a true killing blow.

"Something's wrong... there's a kill stealer!"

A thought surfaced in Jin Changpu's mind.

He subtly glanced at Piao Changfan, who was focused on controlling metal needles to attack another Monster, his brow furrowed, clearly also noticing the anomaly.

It wasn't just the two of them; other perceptive team members, like Li Xuanbing.

Even several experienced melee Hunters had gradually noticed.

Those weakened Monsters, which should have been finished off by them, were always preempted by one or more metal needles.

Although the other party seemed only interested in "kills" and showed no intention of attacking them.

In a way, they even helped reduce the pressure.

But the feeling of being watched and having their kills stolen by an unseen person still made them very uncomfortable, even vaguely unnerved.

The team members began to use their eyes and the tacit understanding formed through long-term cooperation to silently exchange information amidst the fierce battle.

'Ten o'clock direction, that elite one, it's weakened, watch closely.'

'Saw it, it's happening again! That needle!'

'It's not Piao Changfan's technique.'

'So fast, the timing is too perfect.'

'...Is it the rumored 'Wind Hidden One'?'

'Possibly... I heard he likes to help in this way...'

Bai Luhao had naturally noticed the abnormality in his team members, and more clearly sensed the persistent feeling of being spied upon.

While casually smashing the head of a lunging Lava Scorpion Armor Beast, he swept his gaze from the corner of his eye over the corpses of the Monsters that had been finished off, his tiger eyes gleaming.

"Wind Hidden One..."

Bai Luhao's thoughts raced.

This name was no longer unfamiliar among the lower to mid-tier Hunters in S City recently.

A mysterious individual whose strength was at least B-class or above.

He hadn't paid much attention to such people before; after all, those who hid their faces and identities, no matter how strong, had their limits.

Furthermore, they posed no threat to large guilds and could even make expeditions easier.

But now, witnessing it firsthand, Bai Luhao's view had slightly changed.

The individual could, in this A-class underground city.

Right under the nose of an S-class Hunter like himself, "steal kills" so precisely.

Moreover, the strange oscillating energy attached to those metal needles was by no means an ordinary method.

This indicated that the individual's strength, stealth capabilities, and grasp of battle opportunities were all quite impressive.

"Perhaps... he's a talent worth recruiting."

A hint of interest flashed in Bai Luhao's eyes.

Although the White Tiger Guild was full of strong individuals, S-class Hunters were ultimately rare. The true backbone of the guild consisted of A-class and B-class Hunters.

If this mysterious "Wind Hidden One" could be brought under his wing, it would be greatly beneficial, whether for executing special missions or increasing the guild's deterrent power.

With that thought, Bai Luhao subtly shifted his gaze towards Li Xuanbing.

Using coded gestures understood only within their group, he issued a command.

Li Xuanbing understood immediately.

After once again unleashing ice cones to suppress the monster horde, he quietly spoke a few words to the two B-class peak agility-type team members beside him.

The two nodded, their expressions barely changing, as if they were just chatting casually.

Immediately after, during a brief lull in the fight, the assassin team member suddenly clutched his abdomen, his face contorted in pain as he said to Bai Luhao, "Guild Leader! I was accidentally grazed by a venomous stinger just now. My magic power circulation is a bit sluggish, I might need to retreat to the rear temporarily to deal with it!"

The ranger team member quickly "concerned"ly helped him up.

"I'll go with him! The environment here is too harsh; it's not safe for him to retreat alone!"

Bai Luhao frowned and looked at them, then said solemnly, "Hurry back! Be careful! Xuanbing, give them a few layers of shields!"

"Understood!"

Li Xuanbing immediately waved his staff, and three ice-blue shields radiating biting cold instantly appeared on the two of them, emitting powerful protective waves.

The two thanked him, supported each other, and began to "struggle" back the way they came towards the teleportation gate.

Their mission was clear.

Block any possible escape routes for the "Wind Hidden One" and, if possible, try to make contact or force them out of hiding.

With Li Xuanbing's triple frost shields, even if the opponent suddenly attacked, they would have some buffer time and a warning.

Hidden in the shadows, Xu Feng watched this scene unfold.

Trying to block my retreat?

Xu Feng sneered inwardly but paid it no mind.

His attention was focused more on the constantly updating attribute panel.

The rewards for entering an A-class underground city were indeed beyond imagination.

[Name: Xu Feng]
[Breakthrough Points: 180000]
[Qi Realm: Mid Blood Sea Realm (0/7w)]
[Body Realm: Mid Golden Body Realm (0/7w)]
[Strength Evaluation: A-class Middle (Normal State)]

Since entering this Lava Grotto, more than half of the monsters killed by Bai Luhao's team were finished off by him with metal needles infused with Qi and Blood.

Although those B-class metal needles were of average quality, they were small and easy to carry and project.

They could barely contain his condensed Qi and Blood, unleashing destructive power far exceeding their material composition.

"One hundred and eighty thousand... The efficiency is good," Xu Feng estimated. "Once we clear the core area of this underground city, I should have enough Breakthrough Points to advance to the next realm."

The team continued to advance, finally reaching the deepest part of the grotto.

This was an exceptionally vast underground space, with a giant, bubbling lava lake in the center.

In the middle of the lake stood a tiered platform made of obsidian, surrounded and enveloped by molten lava.

And at this moment, in this space...

A terrifying army of monsters was entrenched!

Over a hundred ordinary Lava Scorpion Armor Beasts of low A-class rank.

They were scattered like a red tide along the edges of the lava lake and the surrounding rocks, their scarlet compound eyes fixed on the intruders.

There were also ten elite individuals, noticeably larger, with darker carapaces and longer, thicker tail stingers, exuding a mid A-class aura.

They guarded the surroundings of the high platform like generals.

At the summit of the platform, on the lava-streaked stone steps, lay the absolute ruler of this place--

The Lava Scorpion Armor Beast King!