Near the Clear Water Lake instance entrance, night had fallen, yet quite a few Professionists were still gathered in twos and threes, discussing in low voices.

“Tsk, tsk, tonight is truly lively,” a leather-armored Assassin said, taking a swig of cheap wine.

“Isn’t it though? Has some new Secret Realm been discovered in this Old City District? People from the Radiant Alliance are going in one after another,” an Elemental Mage next to him chimed in.

“The strange thing is, we only see people going in, but hardly anyone coming out. What’s going on?”

As soon as this was said, the surroundings quieted down a bit, and a strange atmosphere filled the air.

It wasn't until the third wave of people had been inside for a long time that three figures finally stumbled out from the end of a deserted street in the distance.

The leader was the Level 40 Shield Warrior, now covered in blood, his armor shattered, his face etched with terror and lingering fear.

The other two were also ragged and dispirited, as if they had just escaped from Hell.

“Look! Someone’s come out!”

“My heavens! There were over twenty people going in, so grand and imposing, and only these three are left?”

Everyone was in an uproar, finally realizing that the Radiant Alliance was clashing with mutated beasts or someone in the Old City District.

But, for what? That ghostly Old City District didn’t have much to offer, but the danger was immense.

A well-informed merchant lowered his voice: “I heard that someone severely offended the young master of the Zhou Family and hid in the Old City District. The Radiant Alliance is acting on orders to apprehend him.”

“The Zhou Family? Lu Qi?”

“Hiss—so that’s it!”

Everyone suddenly understood, and their gazes towards the Old City District held a hint of awe and curiosity.

“My goodness, how fierce must this person be to make the Radiant Alliance suffer such heavy losses?”

“The previous two waves are probably in grave danger as well.”

“This is practically a slap in the face to the Zhou Family.”

Inside the Zhou Family mansion, the lights were bright, but the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

Liu Yuru’s well-maintained face was covered in frost.

“Useless! A bunch of useless people!”

“Is this the Radiant Alliance your Zhou Family painstakingly built? Huh?!”

“You can’t even catch a little bastard who hides his face! And you’ve lost so many people!”

“Are all the people your Zhou Family raised just freeloaders?!”

Zhou Feng’s face was ashen, his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, veins throbbing on his forehead, yet he remained silent, silently enduring Liu Yuru’s roar.

In the corner of the bedroom, Lu Qi lay on the bed, and although his body had been mostly healed by the healer, he still feigned a very weak appearance.

“Mom! You must stand up for me! That bastard named Yasuo, he... he made me so miserable! Look at my injuries... boo hoo hoo...”

Upon hearing her son’s cries, Liu Yuru instantly transformed into a state of heartache and pity.

She quickly walked to Lu Qi’s side, gently stroked his forehead, and softly said, “My dear Qi’er, don’t worry! Mom will definitely not let that little beast off the hook!”

“Not only will I capture him, but I will also ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) carve him into a thousand pieces, making him wish for death but unable to die! To avenge you!”

After comforting Lu Qi, she abruptly turned around, once again aiming her anger at Zhou Feng, her eyes like poisoned daggers.

“Zhou Feng! I’m telling you! If Qi’er suffers any harm or is left with any sequelae, I, Liu Yuru, will not be done with your Zhou Family!”

“You! Now! Immediately! Gather all the manpower you can mobilize! Even if you have to turn the entire Old City District upside down, you must drag that Yasuo out for me!”

Zhou Feng took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently a few times, forcefully suppressing the anger and humiliation in his heart.

He squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: “I will... send more people.”

Having said that, he could no longer endure the oppressive atmosphere, abruptly turned, and strode out of the bedroom.

Arriving in the courtyard, the night breeze was cool, dispelling some of the heat in his heart.

Zhou Feng pulled out his communicator, dialed a number, his voice devoid of any warmth.

“Issue a bounty for me.”

“Put a bounty on that person named Yasuo.”

“Bounty amount... five hundred thousand great xia currency!”

He paused for a moment, seemingly feeling it wasn’t enough to vent his anger, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

“No! One million! I want him alive, or his corpse!”

...

Overnight, the news of a million great xia currency bounty spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the entire Professionist circle of Donghai City.

“Radiant Alliance Bounty: Yasuo, male, suspected Thunder-element Professionist. Fifty thousand great xia currency reward for assisting in his capture! One million great xia currency reward for killing or capturing him alive!”

Attached were a blurry portrait drawn based on Lu Qi’s and a few survivors’ descriptions, as well as a surveillance screenshot of Yasuo outside the Trial Tower.

“Holy crap! One million great xia currency! The Radiant Alliance really went all out this time!”

“What exactly is this Yasuo’s background? He’s worth so much?”

“You didn’t see the miserable state of those Radiant Alliance people; I heard nearly forty people in the Old City District were all thanks to this Yasuo!”

“Hiss! One person, in that ghostly Old City District, managed to kill dozens of Radiant Alliance members? This... this is simply a Divine Being!”

“How did he do it? Could he control the mutated beasts of the Old City District?”

“He’s got some serious guts; I really want to see this fierce person with my own eyes!”

In taverns, on forums, discussions about Yasuo were everywhere.

Some marveled at his strength and courage, while others gloated.

“What’s the use of being brave? With a million great xia currency bounty out, countless big shots and lone experts will be drawn to it.”

“That’s right, he’s a walking piece of fat now; hiding in the Old City District is useless, he’ll be found sooner or later!”

“What a pity, such a formidable character will probably die young.”

All sorts of speculations and discussions were rampant, and the name Yasuo quickly became the hot topic in Donghai City.

Old City District, in a dilapidated two-story building.

Molly, curled up in a corner, finally succumbed to overwhelming fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.

She was truly exhausted; the experiences of this night were more thrilling than all the dangers she had encountered in the past year combined.

Meanwhile, Yasuo’s figure moved like a ghost through the ruins.

The mutated beasts in the Old City District were generally above Level 20, which was considerable pressure for Yasuo, who was currently only Level 10.

But relying on the formidable attributes of his S-Class Profession and the precise combat control of the Smart Core AI, he acted cautiously, specifically targeting isolated low-level mutated beasts or groups of two or three.

“Thunderous Strike!”

A flash of sword light, and a Level 22 Rotten Corpse Dog howled, its head flying off.

“Killed Rotten Corpse Dog LV22, gained 1800 experience points!”

Yasuo quickly cleaned up the battlefield, picked up the dropped Materials, and then immediately moved to another location, not giving other mutated beasts a chance to surround him.

In this way, he, like a patient and deadly hunter, slowly accumulated experience in the perilous Old City District.

Time slowly passed.

When the first ray of dawn pierced the darkness and illuminated this desolate, dead city, Yasuo’s Rank had quietly risen to LV14!

“The experience from killing monsters above my Rank is indeed bountiful,” Zhou Huai thought, feeling quite satisfied with the stronger power surging within his Clone.

Just then, the System suddenly prompted him.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, your Clone ‘Ouyezi’ has successfully forged an Epic-grade equipment, completing the challenge mission — Divine Craftsman’s First Cry!”

“Mission Reward: Profession Orb Draw Chance X1, already issued!”

Zhou Huai’s spirits lifted.

It finally succeeded!