"Tell me, what the hell is going on?"
The hoarse voice was filled with anger. A middle-aged man with a cold face was sitting at the head of the table. He stared at Edgar and scolded, "Didn't you guys investigate everything thoroughly?
How could a level-3 hunter ruin all your preparations?! "
Edgar's face was dark as well. He had promised his superiors that he would be able to complete this mission easily. He had also made meticulous preparations beforehand.
However, who would have thought that they, who had gathered several small teams and thought of all possible contingencies, would fall into the hands of a level-3 guy who had suddenly joined? The loss was extremely heavy!
Edgar could only suffer in silence in the face of the middle-aged man's questioning. He still did not understand how the three level-4 hunters had died.
How did the newly joined level-3 hunter clearly sense the location of the level-4 assassins, and how did he survive in the five-colored poisonous fog?
"Trash, what a bunch of trash!
Not only did you not complete the mission, you even almost alerted the enemy! "The middle-aged man said angrily.
Edgar was not convinced, but he did not dare to show it. He knew that the man in front of him was very powerful, and could easily kill him.
However, he could not understand why the other party, who was so powerful, did not do it himself, but wanted to borrow their hands.
"Find a way to inform Wo Shan and get him to come here as soon as possible!"
Seeing that Edgar did not respond, the middle-aged man lost interest in getting angry, and waved his hand.
His initial plan was simple. He wanted these people to test Mai Xun's strength after killing the guards. It would be best if they could threaten Mai Xun, and then he would make his move to secure victory.
That way, the price he had to pay would be extremely small, and he would be able to settle everything easily afterwards.
However, he did not expect that his perfect plan would be ruined by a level-3 hunter. Now, he had to increase his bargaining chip and use a foolproof plan.
Wo Shan was one of the founders of Dragon Mountain, and had level-6 strength. Once he got him to help, he would definitely achieve his goal, but the price he had to pay would be extremely high.
…
…
Zi Chen, who had thought that he would have another battle today, heard Steward Mack's voice before Malt could provoke him.
"Steward Mack."
Zi Chen approached the butler. After spending a few days together, he had a good impression of the butler.
Furthermore, he had been speculating that Malt was a 4th-tier fighter, so how powerful was this butler?
Zi Chen did not believe that the other party was not a Hunter.
"Do you have time to walk around with this old man?" Steward Mack looked at Zi Chen and smiled.
Zi Chen nodded. He guessed that Steward Mack had something to say to him.
Steward Mack turned around and walked into the darkness. Zi Chen followed behind, maintaining a distance of half a step.
"Zi Chen, what do you think of a Level 4 Hunter?" Steward Mack asked without turning around.
Zi Chen was puzzled. Wasn't a Level 4 Hunter just Level 4? Did he really need to think about it?
"Oh, or rather, what do you think of a Level 4 Hunter?" Steward Mack asked again.
"Isn't there a Level 4 after Level 3? Is there a special meaning behind it?" Zi Chen asked after thinking for a while.
"Only a Level 4 Hunter can be considered a true beginner. Before reaching Level 4, a Hunter is nothing."
Steward Mack turned around and looked at Zi Chen. Seeing Zi Chen's puzzled expression, he smiled and said, "You must be from the outside world as well, right?"
Zi Chen nodded. In this world, more than 99% of people came from the outside world.
"In the outside world, Saints are divided into three levels: Saint, King, and Supreme Saint!
Only Kings are qualified to enter this world, but it is not absolute. I know some special passages that can send some special people in. "
Steward Mack paused for a moment before continuing, "But no matter who it is, as long as they come to this world, they have a chance to become a Hunter. They also know that there are different levels of Hunters, but very few people know that a Level 4 Hunter is the true beginner.
Only when you reach this threshold can you move on to the next step. "
"What threshold?" Zi Chen asked.
Of course, there was a standard to enter this world, and that standard was the threshold.
Steward Mack stopped and turned around to look at Zi Chen. "Saint-level physical body!"
"Saint-level physical body?" Zi Chen was stunned.
"That's right. If you want to enter Level 4, you must have a Saint-level physical body!
In other words, you must have a Saint-level physical body to enter the Saint-level.
This is the standard of this world. Even if you have the strength of a Peak Holy King in the outside world, if you don't have a Saint-level physical body, you can't enter Level 4 here. Level 3 is the peak! "Steward Mack nodded and said.
"If that's the case, doesn't Dun Li and the others all have Saint-level physical bodies?" Zi Chen asked again.
"As long as it's Level 4, it's equivalent to a Saint-level physical body in the outside world!"
With Steward Mack's confirmation, Zi Chen finally understood why the minimum requirement to enter this world was to have a Saint-level physical body.
He also understood why Jia Tu, Huang Tu, and the others didn't immediately become hunters, but instead built their foundation step by step.
He believed that once they had a good foundation, they would be able to become Level 4 hunters very quickly and reach the standard to enter this world.
This could be seen from Zi Chen. He didn't have so many resources to support him, but he still became a Level 3 hunter in a very short time.
"Whether you can quickly enter Level 4 depends on whether you have a Saint-level physical body in the outside world.
If you do, then you can quickly advance. If you don't, then you can only advance step by step, and the speed will be very slow. "
Steward Mack looked at Zi Chen and said, "Now, Zi Chen, tell me honestly. When you were in the outside world, did you have a Saint-level physical body?"
Zi Chen didn't hesitate for long. He nodded and admitted it directly.
After sparring with Malt for the past few days, he could already sense that Malt was actually helping him in the name of sparring.
In just a few days, Malt definitely played a big part in his improvement.
When he saw Zi Chen nod, Steward Mack smiled. "I guessed right. The speed at which you absorb the Sacred Origin Liquid is really too fast. So fast that you don't even need to refine it.
If we liken your body to a large vat, then you already had enough Sacred Origin Liquid to hold a Level 4 hunter before you came to this world. What you need is to constantly replenish it.
Of course, the speed of replenishment depends on how quickly you obtain the Sacred Origin Liquid. "
Zi Chen didn't deny this point. Right now, he didn't have enough Sacred Origin Liquid, so his progress naturally slowed down.
"What you lack now is resources. If you have enough resources, you can quickly enter Level 4."
Steward Mack reached into his clothes and took out a glowing bead. "Right now, the Sacred Origin Liquid isn't enough to help you break through quickly. Only this can help you reach Level 4 in the shortest time possible."
"What is this?" Zi Chen asked curiously as he looked at the glowing bead. However, there was no joy or greed in his eyes.
"A kind of energy crystal that will be very useful to you right now," Steward Mack said.
"Is this for me?" Zi Chen asked doubtfully.
"Don't tell me I'm just taking it out for you to see and show it off in front of you?" Steward Mack chuckled.
Zi Chen didn't take it. Instead, he asked, "Why?"
Zi Chen was an existence that had lived for over a thousand years, while Steward Mack was an existence that had lived for tens of thousands of years. Both of them were pretty much at the level of foxes, so there was no need to beat around the bush.
Steward Mack directly said, "Because of your battle prowess!
Your battle prowess is something I've never seen before. Being able to kill those above your level is truly beyond my expectations.
This energy crystal can be considered another mercenary reward for you. This mission is to protect Malt in times of danger.
In other words, take Malt and escape in times of danger! "
"Why me?"
"Because I believe that at Level 4, you'll be even stronger than them!"
These words were clearly very sincere. Moreover, Steward Mack had given him a deposit first. It seemed that the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages for Zi Chen.
After all, if he quickly reached Level 4, his battle prowess would increase once again. This way, he would have stronger means to protect himself.
However, once he accepted this energy crystal, it meant that his fate was tied to Malt's. When danger arose, he had to consider Malt's safety and take care of him.
Protecting their employer was a mercenary's duty.
Hence, no matter how one looked at it, Zi Chen wouldn't lose anything. Steward Mack's energy crystal was only to make him stronger so that he could protect everyone.
Zi Chen had no reason to refuse. Moreover, the temptation of reaching Level 4 was indeed very tempting.
He nodded and agreed.
"Swallow it directly. The energy released will spread throughout your body like the Sacred Origin Liquid!
When your physical body reaches a certain limit, you'll naturally break through! "
After hearing Steward Mack's words, Zi Chen swallowed it without hesitation. Steward Mack had no reason to harm him.
As the energy crystal entered his stomach, Zi Chen felt an energy similar to the Sacred Origin Liquid. However, this energy was much purer and more abundant. This energy continuously flowed into his body, causing Zi Chen's physical body to rapidly change.
After returning, Dun Li and the rest were still roasting meat. They didn't ask the two of them what they had done outside.
Malt also surprisingly didn't look for Zi Chen to spar. Clearly, she knew about this matter.
Zi Chen sat beside the fire and closed his eyes as if he was taking a nap.
Just like that, several days passed in a row. Zi Chen seemed to be somewhat listless and spoke much less. Most of the time, he closed his eyes and took a nap.
On a certain night, Dun Li couldn't help but ask, "Zi Chen, what's wrong with you? You don't seem to be in good spirits. Are you feeling unwell?"
Hearing this, Zi Chen opened his eyes. In his eyes, there seemed to be a flash of light.
His perception began to expand at this moment, extending further into the distance. In his perception, images of Pseudo Divine Beasts appeared one after another.
As his senses expanded, Zi Chen's mind and physical body underwent a perfect transformation.