In a small space beneath the Lake of Life in the Douluo Plane, Di Tian knelt respectfully on one knee and addressed the depths with unwavering loyalty.
"Master, your subordinate has something to report."
His voice echoed through the empty space, and it seemed that only his own echo answered him.
When the echoes faded, deathly silence settled over his surroundings. Still, he held his posture without the slightest change. Several minutes later, a muffled sound came from another hidden space deeper within.
It sounded as though an enormous creature had awakened and was slowly rising. The next moment, a pair of slit-pupiled eyes opened, like moons glowing with purple light, and a majestic yet ethereal, melodious voice rang out.
"What is it?"
"Master, your subordinate has encountered a... most extraordinary human."
Di Tian hurriedly recounted everything that had happened recently, though he naturally selected only the important matters.
These included the human's prophetic foresight, the gold of life within the Golden Hawksbill Turtle, and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's escape route.
He also spoke of the human's ability to travel between two planes, his cultivation system that did not rely on soul power, his ability to form contracts with soul beasts, and his recent acceptance of the remnant soul of a deity from another world.
The figure deep within the space was mildly surprised to hear that so much had happened lately.
The ability to travel between planes, foresee events, and contract soul beasts to fight for him.
What truly made her wary, however, was his acceptance of an unfamiliar deity's remnant soul. Once deities became involved, caution was essential.
"I understand, Di Tian. Keep a close eye on this human from now on. For now, he seems to bear us no ill will, but we must remain on guard. Humans are renowned for their cunning."
"Yes, Master."
"If there is nothing else, withdraw. I still need to heal."
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
Su Miu had no idea that Di Tian had already met with the Silver Dragon King because of him. Di Tian was now planning his own future.
Su Miu gave one 100,000-Year essence to Bai Xiuxiu for cultivation and another to Di Qiu'er to cultivate magic.
The two could convert energy through the devouring ability inherent to soul beasts, but Su Miu could not. He had no such ability to devour and convert energy. If he forcibly absorbed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's soul power essence to cultivate, his body would explode.
He planned to save the remaining two 100,000-Year essences for summoned beasts he would contract later. After all, a single 100,000-Year essence was enough for the two women to cultivate for several years.
On Blue Star, Su Miu put on a black robe and sunglasses, then went to the Hunter Hall to take on some jobs and earn money.
But he soon spotted a mission he remembered vividly: find Lin Yun'er, a missing student from Mingwen Girls' Middle School. The mission had been posted by the Military.
"Has it already begun?"
Su Miu studied the mission in thought. In the original story, Mo Fan had only become a hunter mage two months after his field training. Now that the student disappearance from the original story had already occurred, it meant the preliminary mission for the blood disaster was about to begin.
He immediately accepted the mission, then hurried straight to Mingwen Girls' Middle School.
After showing his Advanced Hunter credentials, he successfully entered the school. He also saw members of the City Demon Hunting Squad stationed there. They seemed to be investigating the disappearance as well, but had found nothing.
He remembered that the passage seemed to have appeared in... the cafeteria. But this school had three dining facilities.
There was the small cafeteria, the north cafeteria, and the Guesthouse. Classes were in session, making it inconvenient to investigate. That was rather troublesome.
Since he could not investigate yet, he decided to scout the locations first. He headed straight for the nearest one, the small cafeteria, and took a look at its size.
Unfortunately, the cafeteria was busy, which would hinder his investigation. He could hardly stop the students from eating.
Next came the Guesthouse. It was more luxuriously decorated and was reserved for receiving officials. Several members of the City Demon Hunting Squad were there as well.
"Hello, I'm Master, an Advanced Hunter. Have you found any leads concerning the missing student?"
Su Miu approached them and presented his credentials. Xu Dahuang, the captain of the City Demon Hunting Squad, was immediately surprised. He had not expected the young man to be an Advanced Hunter.
"Hello, I'm Xu Dahuang, captain of the City Demon Hunting Squad. Are you here to investigate the missing student case too?"
"That's right. My friend's younger sister attends this school, and I was asked to look into it. Have you found any leads?"
Just as in the original story, Xu Dahuang shook his head, indicating that they had none.
"Master Brother, we searched here all last night. We neither found the missing student nor uncovered any clues."
"All right, I'll take my leave, then. I'll be helping with the investigation over the next few days as well. Hopefully, we can resolve this case soon."
He nodded slightly and took his leave. Since there were no clues, he would have to look for them himself. Still, he remembered that Mo Fan's younger sister seemed to know something. He might as well ask her.
She should be easy enough to find, since her wheelchair would make her stand out. Su Miu walked across the sports field, his sunglasses and black robe drawing some attention as the students passing by whispered among themselves.
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