561-570

Chapter 561: Pick Up the Body

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Three days had passed since Lin Huang spoke to Hong Zhuang at the Union Government. The investigators had left the Martial Hunter College during the past few days and classes were back to normal. Lin Huang was back to his routine of going to the library, the training battleground, and his dorm.

Although he empathized with Hong Zhuang, he decided not to get involved in the case. He was not close to her after all. Although they knew each other, they were not on familiar terms. Lin Huang knew very well from the training camp that none of the people from the Purple Crow were honorable. Hong Zhuang chose her own path. As an adult, she should learn to accept the consequences of her decision, even if the result was death.

It was past nine in the morning. Lin Huang stuck to his routine of reading at the library. Suddenly, his Emperor's Heart Ring vibrated. It was a message.

"Hong Zhuang has been executed. Please bring her body back from the Union Government as soon as possible." Seeing the message, he did not hesitate. He closed the search page in the library and left. He had promised to retrieve Hong Zhuang's body, and he did not want any delay.

As he stepped out of the library door, he summoned his dimensional relic and stepped into it. He then appeared at the entrance of the Union Government. He asked for the morgue's location and headed to the first floor. The morgue was located at the west wing on the first floor. Lin Huang planned to ask the forensic officer for guidance, but seeing that the door was opened, he walked straight into the morgue.

"Hi, I received a message earlier. I'm here to pick up the body," Lin Huang spoke to the man who was standing next to a body.

The man with a lollipop in his mouth turned around and said, "Register at the forensic desk next door. They'll bring you back here after confirming your registration."

"Thanks." Lin Huang looked at him and walked to the forensic desk next door after thanking him.

After spending a couple of minutes registering himself, a lady in her 20's brought him back to the morgue to pick up the body.

"Hi, Deputy Director Wu." The lady blushed when she saw Wu Sheng.

"Hmm." Wu Sheng proceeded to check the body in front of him as he responded casually. He did not seem to bother about Lin Huang and the lady walking in.

"Please give me a minute. I'll look for it. Hong Zhuang's body was sent here this morning." A semi-transparent list appeared in front of the lady. Soon, she found the cabinet where Hong Zhuang was in and took her body out.

Lin Huang walked up to see a frozen corpse. It was Hong Zhuang. Due to the freezing temperatures, she looked pale. Her red lips were purple now. She was wearing the white clothes that she had on a few days ago. Her body was in pristine condition.

As he was checking the body out, Wu Sheng glanced at him secretly from the back.

"I don't see any wounds on her. How did you guys execute her?" Lin Huang asked after confirming that the body was still in perfect condition.

"The Union Government usually uses euthanasia for most prisoners nowadays. The same applied to Hong Zhuang," the forensic lady explained.

"Euthanasia… I hope she didn't have to suffer before she died." Lin Huang nodded and looked at Hong Zhuang's peaceful expression which seemed like she was asleep. Perhaps death was a relief for her.

"So, do I just bring her away with me?" Lin Huang asked.

"Yes, you may since you've already registered. Just make sure that it's the right body." The forensic lady smiled.

"Alright then. I'm bringing her with me." Lin Huang then put Hong Zhuang's body into his storage space.

"Thanks!" He thanked the forensic lady. He even nodded at the man with the lollipop as he was the one who had asked him to register.

As he left the Union Government, Lin Huang stepped into his dimensional relic and arrived at a B-grade foothold near the Eastern Ocean. He did not want to delay anything as Hong Zhuang's wish was to scatter her ashes there. Since it was still early, he planned to burn her body somewhere with nobody around.

He then summoned Thunder and in less than half an hour. He arrived at the Eastern Ocean beach. After confirming that there was no one around, he took Hong Zhuang's body out. After all, it was inappropriate to burn a body in front of strangers. It would be horrible if kids witnessed it. Luckily, there was nobody around where he could do that openly.

He took some time to figure out the fire source as he took the body out. It would take forever to burn her body with regular fire. The first thing that popped into his mind was Charcoal as its Dragon Flame would be the quickest solution, but it would be too much to burn a body alone.

"Never mind then. I shall use Witch Fire." Lin Huang performed a hand seal. The Witch Fire was one of the techniques from Witchcraft. It was a fire attribute attack, but it was much more challenging to fight compared to a typical fire attack. It was hard to put the fire out as soon as one was attacked.

It only took Lin Huang a couple of seconds to perform the hand seal. A cloud of blue flame covered Hong Zhuang's body. The frost on her body disappeared as the fire burned and her clothes were burnt to ashes. Lin Huang did not realize anything was wrong under the burning flame. Suddenly, Hong Zhuang's eyelids moved under the blue flame. Soon, she opened her eyes.

"Xiao Linzi, are you planning to kill me?" In less than a minute since Lin Huang had summoned the Witch Fire, her voice was heard. The body that was covered in flames stood up slowly. Before a shocked Lin Huang could put the fire out, the blue flames disappeared after an energy wave rippled. Lin Huang looked at the naked Hong Zhuang in apparent shock. He was dumbfounded that she was still alive. On the other hand, he was stunned by her voluptuous body.

"My little brother, do you miss me?" Hong Zhuang walked towards Lin Huang. He looked away and tossed a set of clothes that he had found from his storage space to her.

"Erm… Please dress first."

Hong Zhuang smirked as she put on the clothes that Lin Huang passed to her.

"I'm dressed now. You don't have to look away anymore."

Lin Huang had given her a set of male clothes that he had never worn before and kept in his storage space after purchasing them. Hong Zhuang looked attractive even in male clothes.

"You faked your death?" That was the first question Lin Huang asked.

"I learned that from you." Hong Zhuang grinned at him.

"But how come I could keep you in my storage space even though you faked your death?" Lin Huang thought it was odd.

"Because my way of faking death is more advanced than yours. So advanced that the storage space even mistook me as a dead body." Hong Zhuang smirked as she explained.

"So, you're using me to escape the White Capital?" Lin Huang squinted.

"Not really. I really thought I would die this time. It's just that I was lucky enough to meet a friend at the Union Government…" Hong Zhuang stopped there and did not proceed to explain further.

"Alright then. Since you managed to escape, please behave yourself." Lin Huang was skeptical.

"I'm giving you back your stuff. Please don't come to me anymore." He flicked her Emperor's Heart Ring to her and walked into his dimensional relic.

"I'll remember owing you my life. I'll return you the favor when I get the chance." Hong Zhuang smiled as she waved goodbye at Lin Huang.

"It seems like I have to make another fake identity and stay low-key for some time…" She glanced at the storage space ring in her hand as she watched Lin Huang left with his dimensional relic.

Chapter 562: The Stunning Effect of The Misfortune Card

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mu Yuntian had been in horrible luck ever since he returned from the White Capital. A flower pot fell on his head when he was walking on the street, a brick flew at him as he was walking at a construction site, and he encountered various birds when he was flying and covered in feathers as well as bird shit…

Those were just the minor ones. What annoyed him was that everything he used in the laboratory exploded. He even made a huge gash on his hand when he was dissecting a body. Fed up, he went back to his office to deal with his documents, but a fire broke out of nowhere. Many of his documents were destroyed, and even his Emperor's Heart Ring was not working.

"Can you please focus on your work?! Look at you these past few days. You've made the laboratory explode 11 times. Are you messing around?!" The white-bearded Si Nan glared at Mu Tianyun in the office. "Are you unhappy with me and actually intend to mess with me?!"

"No… No." Mu Yuntian held his head down. He had no idea why he was so unlucky these few days. No matter what he did, something terrible would happen!

"You even lost the demigod relic a few days ago. Tell me what else you're going to do now!" Si Nan proceeded to scold him. In his gold-framed glasses, Mu Yuntian hung his head as he thought to himself, "Am I cursed? If this persists, I'll need to go to a shaman…"

Life Power was a magical thing. Some of the Life Power would turn into negative Life Power when one died. The negative Life Power carried a unique curse or other adverse effects with it. Most of the people could not see the curse. Only a shaman could see and remove it.

Mu Yuntian started wondering if he was cursed since things had been going wrong for him for the past two days.

"Oh yeah, did you get anything from the two dead bodies these few days?" Si Nan just remembered after scolding Mu Yuntian for ten whole minutes.

"I've tried to break through their brains, but that didn't work. The team's thinking of other ways to decode it." Mu Yuntian did not dare to tell him that the laboratory had caught fire two days ago and almost destroyed the two bodies.

"Alright then, since we have the bodies with us, we don't have to rush to decode their brains. Take it slow, do it properly, and don't damage the bodies," Si Nan said, frowning.

"What noise is that?"

"What noise?" Mu Yuntian was stunned as he heard the banging as well. He had a bad feeling. Alarm broke in the entire base.

"There's a meteor shower around the ocean near our base. There's a giant meteorite that just landed on Skull Island above us. A third of the island is destroyed!" A panicked announcement came from the monitoring room.

"Skull Island has been destroyed?!"

Mu Yuntian and Si Nan were shocked. They then summoned a dimensional relic and stepped into it. They appeared above Skull Island to see that the northern side of the island was destroyed. The building under the island was revealed, upsetting the duo. Since the building was out on display, that meant the Union Government and the other organizations might find out about the underground base that they had built for tens of years.

Meteorites were still raining down. Some of them were headed towards Skull Island while some crashed into the ocean, creating vigorous waves.

"Let me handle this. Bring the two bodies away. Don't let anything happen to the two bodies!" Si Nan flew up and destroyed the meteorites with black streaks that shot out of his two fingers. Without hesitation, Mu Yuntian summoned his dimensional relic and stepped into it.

Just when he returned to the base under the sea, he smelled something burning.

"What's happening?" He grabbed an alarmed staff.

"I think the quake just now broke a couple of lamps and a fire spread. Many of the Surveillance Snails went into their shells, so most of the cameras have been blacked out. Until now, we're unable to find the source of the fire."

"Useless!" Mu Yuntian snapped the staff's neck and rushed towards the laboratory where the bodies were.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw smoke coming out of the laboratory. As he attempted to unlock the door with his fingertips, the door only responded with a notification that the door was not working.

"F*ck!"

Mu Yuntian did not expect this to happen. He punched the door twice, but nothing happened. Only then did he recall that the door was made of a unique metal to prevent theft. It was as powerful as a supreme relic which could not be opened with violence.

"Sir, the laboratory door isn't working. It's not opening." Mu Yuntian had to ask Si Nan for help.

"If the door isn't working, can't you just break the wall? Did you lose your brain?!" Si Nan shouted.

Mu Yuntian was stunned when he realized that the door was made of metal but not the wall. As he hung up, he punched a hole in the wall and smoke billowed out of it.

He could not care about the smoke anymore, and he crawled out of the wall. The laboratory was in a mess. The bodies were covered in flames. Mu Yuntian's heart dropped when he saw that scene. He put the fire out immediately and put them into his storage space without checking. He took out the bodies again to monitor their condition only after he had left the burning laboratory.

The bodies were burnt, and the automatic fire extinguisher in the laboratory seemed to be spoiled way before the fire happened which caused the bodies to be burnt. Mu Yuntian did not know what to do as he looked at the corpse heads that were completely burnt. Suddenly, the base was trembling again. Before Mu Yuntian could react, the ceiling on top of him collapsed. He managed to dodge the falling ceiling, but the two heads were totally crushed…

Mu Yuntian was in shock. There was still hope to save the burned brains earlier, but now nothing could be done as the heads were utterly crushed.

"I've handled the meteorites, but the base is destroyed now." A voice came behind Mu Yuntian.

The voice was getting closer.

"Where are the bodies?"

Before Mu Yuntian could respond, Si Nan spotted the two burnt bodies.

"Please don't tell me these two bodies are…" Si Nan's heart almost stopped beating.

"I'm sorry, Sir…" Mu Yuntian did not expect this to happen and he wanted to cry.

Si Nan was upset beyond words.

Chapter 563: Lancelot's Triple Mutation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Hong Zhuang's case was entirely over, Lin Huang's routine was back to normal for the next few days. He would go to the library and the battle training ground every day and return to his dorm. He would go to class when it was time. It was as if nothing had happened. He did not say anything about Hong Zhuang faking her death. The Union Government had announced to the public that she sentenced to death, and they did not mention that Lin Huang had taken her body away.

This time, the Union Government announced the truth on the forum of the Union Organizations. The attack was made by the Purple Crow together with an underground organization called the Leib Lab with the intention to take the bodies of the first and second elders of the Saint. The monster horde outside the White Capital was orchestrated by them as well. The objective of the monster horde was to get the imperial-level humans there so that the attackers in the city could escape.

Many were unfamiliar with the Leib Lab, so the Union Government shed more light on that as well. The organization had been the top underground organization 200 years ago, also known as the Scarborough Workshop. It was a hot topic among the Union Organizations members as the two top underground organizations worked together against the Union Government.

The Union Government announced war on all the Union Organizations forums but since the forums were only opened to the cultivators, ordinary people did not know about that. All of them thought that the monster horde had been caused by an opening of a Virtual Eye while the explosion in the White Capital was a weather phenomenon that the news had explained earlier.

Lin Huang noticed that 'theuglytruth' had posted the truth on the website again, but nobody believed in him. None of the people thought his prediction would come true as they had not seen his previous speculation about the fight between the two underground organizations and the Union Government. As Lin Huang had been upset the past few days, he did not follow the updates anymore.

However, Lin Huang had become popular in the Martial Hunter College after the news about him joining the Purple Crow training camp was exposed. Many thought that he was a Purple Crow spy at the beginning of the investigation. However, the investigation results from the Union Government proved that he was innocent.

Many of the teachers and students looked up to him now as he had managed to escape the Purple Crow under Hong Zhuang's watch, especially some of the teachers who knew that Hong Zhuang's ability was comparable with an imperial-level's. Even if she was not as powerful as she was a year ago, she should have been one of the top-ranked among the immortal-levels. Meanwhile, Lin Huang was not even on holy fire-level a year ago. However, some of them suspected the accuracy of the investigation and still insisted that Lin Huang was a Purple Crow spy. Lin Huang decided to ignore those people.

Without Hong Zhuang and the Purple Crow's threat, Lin Huang was in contact with Lin Xin again. It was the first weekend of December. Lin Huang had brought her to hunt for a bronze-level Life Seed, so Lin Xin was now on bronze-level. He then dropped by a severe danger zone to get Lancelot to kill a double mutated Sword Dao monster. He obtained a new sword servant called the Swordfiend Soldier.

What he did not expect was that the new sword servant would trigger Lancelot's triple mutation's hidden conditions. He had completed his triple mutation, and he was now the legendary-level Ruthless Sword Dominator. He did not undergo any significant changes. His black armor was now a dark maroon, and there was a claret red crown on his head. The black mist surrounding him was also now dark red. Lancelot's upgrade was a complete surprise. However, he did not obtain any special bloodlines. Lin Huang then used the last Reborn Card on Lancelot.

In Kylie's mini world, Lancelot transformed into a dark red cocoon under a golden glow. He broke out of the cocoon the next day. He had not changed much, but the mist surrounding him had disappeared. His aura was even more terrifying now. Even Lin Huang, who was on the same combat level, was slightly threatened by his aura.

"Which bloodline did you get?" Lin Huang asked.

"God's blood. The Ruthless God, low-level," Lancelot replied.

Lin Huang was stunned as he did not expect to obtain a second god's blood! He then activated his last Blood Thickening Card on Lancelot. After getting out of the cocoon for less than a minute, Lancelot transformed into a maroon cocoon once again…

Soon, a couple of hours had passed. Lancelot got out of the cocoon, and his bloodline was now at mid-level. Lin Huang then looked at the card's description.

"Monster Card: Lancelot

"Rarity: Legendary

"Monster Name: Ruthless Sword Dominator

"Type of Monster: God's Blood (Mid-Level)

"Nickname: Ruthless

"Combat Level: Gold Flame-Level

"Major: Sword Dao

"Major Skills: Sword Master, Dark Sword Spirit, Sword Dao secret skill, Saber Dao Territory, Holy Power.

"Minor Skills: Sword Steps, Dark Mirror, Enhanced Regeneration

"Summon Authority: Activated

"Card Remarks: Intensive training is recommended!"

There were significant changes to the card, and there were now many skills in the slots. There were more than 30 skills in the Sword Dao secret skill alone, and there were more than ten of them under minor skills.

"Freaking amazing!" That was Lin Huang's comment on the new Lancelot.

"The Dark Mirror seems to be an upgraded Dark Shield…" Lin Huang looked at the changes on his exclusive card and noticed that the Dark Shield was replaced by a Dark Mirror.

He took a close look at the card and realized that nothing much had changed to his defensive abilities whereby his limit was still ten times of his most powerful attack. However, there was a new attack bounce function whereby he could make the attacker's assault rebound back at 100% within his defense limits.

"This skill is ridiculous!" He was stunned as he studied the upgraded skill.

He thought of what he needed to do after his initial excitement. He could finally extract Lancelot's skill now. He still had two skill slots that were reserved for Lancelot. Xiao Hei's notification came soon after he crushed the Skill Extraction Card.

"Extracting skill… Excluding Dark Mirror that has been extracted… Selecting a skill randomly… Random selection is completed!

"Congratulations, you have obtained Sword Dao Territory!

"The system has detected that this skill can be integrated with Medium Territory to create a new secret skill. Would you like to activate a Skill Integration Card for the integration?"

"Yes!" Lin Huang decided without thinking twice.

"Skill Integration Card has been consumed. Monster Skill Sword Dao Territory and secret skill Medium Territory have been consumed. Coming up with a new Secret Skill card…

"Congratulations, you have obtained a new Secret Skill Card: Exclusive Territory.

"Exclusive Territory: Make a 1,000-meter radius into your own exclusive territory. Within the area, your ability will be twice as powerful, and you can suppress your opponent's ability up to a certain level.

"Remark 1: Within the territory, the user can attack any corners of the territory with any attacks and the attack strength won't be weakened.

"Remark 2: Territory can be integrated with a small part of defensive skills to strengthen the defense power.

"Remark 3: The territory attributes can be modified according to your combat needs. The attack strength will be increased when the territory attributes align with the attack attributes."

"Exclusive Territory? Isn't that a skill that only imperial-levels have?!" Lin Huang was familiar with Exclusive Territory. It was a skill that was activated whenever a Life Castle was summoned to increase the combat strength. He had heard of it from Mr. Fu before, but he did not expect to obtain this secret skill when he was only a holy fire-level.

"I wonder if my Life Castle Exclusive Territory can be activated together with this in the future. If that's possible, that means I'll have double territory!" Lin Huang was thrilled.

Chapter 564: Lin Huang's Plan

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After Lin Xin broke through bronze-level, she leveled up to bronze-level rank-3 in less than a day just by eating Life Crystals. Her speed of upgrading was so fast that even Lin Huang, who owned a Goldfinger, was impressed. Luckily, she could not break through a whole level just by eating Life Crystals, or else she would get to imperial-level within a week.

Since her Life Power was almost stable now, Lin Huang started training her once a week, mainly to strengthen her battle experience. She was also fast in gaining battle experience. Besides training Lin Xin, Lin Huang gave his all to his students as well. His class on Friday should have started from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., but he would always stay back until 11 p.m. and sometimes even midnight. That was like giving three sessions of classes. However, the students of Sword Dao Class 2 were all ambitious. None of them complained and were dedicated to learning.

The battle drill at the beginning of December was when Lin Huang had been interrogated for Hong Zhuang's case which caused the Sword Dao Class 2's assessment results to deteriorate. Although the class ranked No. 2 in the Sword Dao faculty, they were more than 200 points away from Class 1 and almost ranked No. 3 at less than 20 points ahead of No. 3. That made the students even more determined in their training.

Lin Huang was glad to see the students' dedication. Meanwhile, Qin Tianxing seemed to be depressed due to Hong Zhuang's incident, and he did not sit in this time. Lin Huang knew that it had nothing to do with himself, but because Qin Tianxing liked Hong Zhuang. He took it very hard when he found out that Hong Zhuang was one of the Purple Crow members and that she was now dead.

However, Lin Huang did not plan to tell him that Hong Zhuang was still alive. On the one hand, it was because Hong Zhuang wanted to keep it a secret and on the other hand, he did not want Old Qin to get close to her. With his character, it was very possible that Hong Zhuang might kill him. Qin Tianxing was one of the countable good friends that Lin Huang had in the college. He did not want to see Qin Tianxing fall into Hong Zhuang's trap.

Time flashed by, and it was the end of December. Some parts of the White Capital was snowing. Although it was sunny every day in the Martial Hunter College which was located in the central zone, the lake in the college was frozen. Students started wearing fur coats to college. Of course, this weather was nothing to transcendent-level humans. Lin Huang still dressed casually in school to continue his routine to the library, the battle training ground and his dorm.

After dinner, he trained with Liu Ming again. Liu Ming suppressed his combat level to purple flame-level during the training. If not for his breakthrough in Sword Dao, Liu Ming would have suppressed his combat level to gold flame-level while training with him. Throughout the 20 days, Liu Ming was impressed by Lin Huang's abilities. He could feel Lin Huang's improvement over time when they trained. It was scary to know that Lin Huang was getting more and more powerful with each training.

With Liu Ming's high Sword Dao mastery and the pressure of his abilities, Lin Huang did not limit himself to sword skills anymore. He used Vampire Particles, Telekinesis, Witchcraft, Punishment, and other attack Monster Skills during the training. As he grew in his command of Sword Dao, Lin Huang was getting familiar with Vampire Particles, Telekinesis, Witchcraft, and the other skills. He had activated some new techniques from those Monster Skills. He had even modified his Worldly Purification to Flowing Fire Sword!

The new technique was inclusive of tens of millions of sword techniques whereby the effect was similar to Worldly Purification. The target would be burnt to ashes from the attack. Lin Huang was working on the second technique as he wanted to compress the Thunder Sting to become a powerful attack with even faster speed. He had been discussing with Liu Ming for the past few days as well as training for many days, but nothing happened.

"Bro, why are you still going to the library every day? Shouldn't you have finished all the sword skills required by the school programme? I've already shown you the sword skills that aren't in the books. Why not use the time you spend in the library to train here?" Liu Ming felt refreshed over time as he trained with Lin Huang since they were going for different directions in Sword Dao. Although Lin Huang's mastery of Sword Dao was not as far as Liu Ming was, Liu Ming would always learn something new from Lin Huang, so he wanted to train more.

"I've already read about all the sword skills and learned all of them. What I'm reading now is about other combat skills including Saber Dao, Spear Dao, and other gunfighting techniques to see if I can get some inspiration."

Liu Ming was stunned when he heard that as he had never thought of reading about other topics. It was definitely an inspiration for him, but there might be some disadvantages to that.

"It's okay to read other stuff as long as you're not distracted."

"Don't worry. I'm not distracted." Lin Huang shook his head while smiling.

"Oh yeah, it's less than a month to the school holidays. What plans do you have?" Liu Ming asked in anticipation. He was not asking what plans Lin Huang had during the holidays, but rather if he would like to teach in the school after the semester.

Lin Huang understood what Liu Ming was trying to say.

"I'll leave Division 7 after I'm done with some stuff. I won't be able to teach after this semester ends." Lin Huang shook his head and smiled.

Although Liu Ming was disappointed, he had expected that.

"It's good to leave. The proper place for you to shine would be the core zone. You don't have to resign. I'll save a spot for you here. You're always welcome back," Liu Ming said.

"Since you have leveled up to imperial-level, I supposed you'll leave next year too, bro?" Lin Huang recalled.

"Yeah, the management has informed me that I'll be the Vice President of the Martial Hunter College in Division 3. There'll be a new dean sent here, but that doesn't change your position here. Many people in this college hold the position of a teacher, but they don't teach. Besides, the college's system is connected. If you're willing to, you can follow me to Division 3 to teach," Liu Ming invited.

"It's okay. I don't think I'll have the time to teach." Lin Huang shook his head.

"Then, you'll still have your position in the college, but you don't have to teach. It's set." Liu Ming decided to ignore Lin Huang's rejection.

"Alright, then." Seeing that Liu Ming insisted, Lin Huang did not decline.

"Oh yeah, brother, there's something that I need to ask," Lin Huang recalled something that he had always wanted to ask Liu Ming or Mr. Fu. "You know that I'm on holy fire-level now. I'm restricted from a lot of information if I don't join any organization. Do you have any suggestion about what I should do?"

"There's nothing much that you can do if you don't join any organization since most of the information is held with organizations nowadays. The information open to transcendent-levels and above is expensive on the black market. They even sell some of the free information, and there is plenty of fake information. The best is to join an organization.

"But, of course, you can build your own small organization if you don't want to join any organization. Though, you'll have to work with other bigger organizations for your information data bank. There's nothing else you can do as it takes tens of years to build a data bank for your own organization." Liu Ming did not have any better suggestion than that. "I think it's easy for you to get yourself an executive position in the Hunter Association. Their management is pretty liberal."

"It won't take much time to be a staff below the executive level, but executives will have to sign a contract, and there's a mission every year. I'm used to being on my own. Let me think about it then." Lin Huang smiled awkwardly as he shook his head.

Positions above executive level were officially considered top management in the Hunter Association. There would be some restrictions as they would not have the freedom of ordinary hunters.

"Why not you ask Mr. Fu?" Liu Ming could not think of anything else than that.

"Alright, then. I'll ask him after he comes back a few days later. He might be busy now." Lin Huang nodded.

"Wait for him to come back? Where did he go?" Liu Ming raised an eyebrow.

"He said he would leave Division 7 for a couple of days. I've no idea where exactly he's gone. He's been away for half a month." Lin Huang shook his head.

"He left Division 7? Why did he leave?!" Liu Ming was in shock.

"What's wrong with him leaving Division 7?" Lin Huang thought what Liu Ming asked was odd.

"No… Nothing." Liu Ming peeped at Lin Huang and did not say anything further.

"It's late. Let's end our training here," Liu Ming said after realizing it was past 11 p.m.

"Bro, are you and master hiding something from me?" Lin Huang figured that something was not right.

"I guess Mr. Fu has his reasons for not telling you. It's better for me to not interfere. Maybe it's better for you to ask him yourself." Liu Ming did not deny it.

"Okay, then." Lin Huang thought about it and shook his head.

Chapter 565: I Won't Be Responsible for The Students' Suffering

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was a Wednesday on 5th January. The sky was blue while the sun was shining brightly. It was a good day. More than 3,000 Year 1 students queued according to their classes on the Martial Hunter College field, including Lin Huang and the other teachers. It was the last battle drill for the Year 1 students in the semester where the results would be taken into consideration for their final exam. It was important that the teachers and the students took it seriously. Everyone was present.

It was the first time the Year 1 students saw how the dean, Liu Ming, looked like. Since he had leveled up to imperial-level, Liu Ming had lost weight. Lin Huang had contributed to that as well since the both of them were training every night for at least five hours a session. It was impossible for Liu Ming not to lose weight when he was working out every day. His features were sharper now. Although he was short, his position gave him a magnificent vibe. If Lin Huang did not know him, he might have been scared of Liu Ming.

That intimidation worked on the students on the field. As the news of Liu Ming leveling up to imperial-level spread in the college, the students looked at him with awe and respect. There was complete silence when he appeared; none of the students spoke. He then started giving his speech. As it was his first time speaking since the semester started as well as his last time speaking during his tenure in the college, he made it a long one.

Lin Huang poked the gloomy Qin Tianxing next to him with his elbow.

"Old Qin, how's your preparation with the students for this assessment? Are you confident in winning Class 1?"

"It's alright, I guess, but it's difficult to surpass Class 1." Qin Tianxing smiled awkwardly as he shook his head. He had lost his usual confidence and determination.

"Have you been going too easy on yourself these days? Why have you been so mopey recently and not sitting in my class?" Lin Huang jested and pretended that he did not know about his crush on Hong Zhuang.

"You're the one who's going too easy on yourself!" Qin Tianxing glared at him and gave an excuse. "Maybe I've been busy recently…"

"That's a shame. Let's get a drink tonight. Tell your bro all about it!" Lin Huang could not take Qin Tianxing being in the doldrums anymore.

"Okay then," Qin Tianxing agreed after some hesitation.

The both of them drew lots but they were not selected as the guardians of the battle drill this time. The battle drill would take place from Tuesday to Friday, so those would be their rest days for the next couple of days. After Liu Ming finished his speech, the other two Vice Presidents went up to give their speeches. Before the battle drill officially started after that, Lin Huang and the other teachers spoke to the students one last time.

Lin Huang then walked to the students of Sword Dao Class 2. The students were upset because they had heard he would not be teaching anymore after the semester ended.

"Sir Lin, are you really not teaching us next semester?" Zhou Ling had tears pooling in her eyes.

She had complained about him for a couple of weeks when the semester started and had even talked badly about him behind his back. However, her attitude changed after going through classes. With Lin Huang's guide, it was obvious that the Class 2 students had improved by leaps and bounds. Zhou Ling was not the only one. The other students did not want Lin Huang to leave either.

Lin Huang nodded and did not bother hiding the truth.

"We'll meet again. I'll leave Division 7 after this and won't be teaching you guys anymore.

Hearing that he was going to leave Division 7, all of them fell silent as that confirmed that he would definitely leave the college.

"Don't think too much. Focus on your assessment. We have one last class next week. I'll teach you guys a new sword skill. It's a simplified gold-level combat skill!" All the students' eyes lit up when they heard Lin Huang's promise.

The students had learned four sword skills this semester as Lin Huang would teach a new one every month. That would add up to be five sword skills if he taught another one next week. Meanwhile, most of the students from other classes had only learned two sword skills while another two or three classes had picked up three sword skills. A gold-level combat skill would mean that the sword skill could be used all the way until they got to gold-level. The college usually only taught bronze-level skills while some of them would teach up to silver-level skills. There had never been a teacher who taught gold-level skill, let alone a simplified one.

The students were all pumped by this news. Lin Huang then gave the students some reminders before seeing them off to the dimensional relic. The battle drill took place at a grade-2 wild zone, the Dry Desert, this time. As the semester had passed, all of the new students were now on iron-level. They were vastly different from who they were months ago, so it made sense for the battle drill to be more difficult this time.

As the Dry Desert was a grade-2 wild zone, there were bronze-level monsters there. The threat was much more prominent than the first two assessments that had taken place in a grade-1 wild zone. Moreover, this wild zone had limited water source. The assessment was extra challenging because the students were prohibited from bringing any food or water during the three days in the wild zone. Lin Huang and Qin Tianxing were laughing as they watched the excitement on the students' faces from the video projection.

"These kids think that they're on vacation," Qin Tianxing chuckled.

"I'm sure somebody's going to cry soon," Lin Huang laughed and nodded.

The Dry Desert looked beautiful as the humidity in the air was low. The dehydration rate would speed up with time, and perhaps the students would be thirsty in less than two hours. Some of the students realized that and looked for a water source the moment they arrived there while most of the students were taking selfies with the beautiful scenery.

As Lin Huang expected, many of them started feeling thirsty after one to two hours. They realized that the assessment was not as simple as they had thought. In reality, everyone, including the teachers had no idea that it was Lin Huang who had suggested the venue to Liu Ming. He wanted to leave the students with an important lesson before he departed the college. Liu Ming agreed to his suggestion right away, not because of Lin Huang's position, but because he wanted the students to remember the battle drill as well. As expected, many students were crying even before the first day of assessment ended.

"I'm so thirsty! I need water…"

Meanwhile, Lin Huang who was the culprit of the students' suffering was merrily drinking with Qin Tianxing.

Chapter 566: The Last Class

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The battle drill that stretched over three days was a miserable one. Among the 3,000 students, only 800 of them completed the drill, which was barely a quarter of them. Most of them were brought back by the guardians after suffering severe dehydration. Still, the 800 students who completed the assessment almost cried when they heard the drill was finally over. Many teachers could not help but laugh when they watched the students crying for help from the surveillance cameras.

"What a great assessment venue the dean picked! I'm sure the students will remember this battle drill for the rest of their lives and figure that the real wild zone isn't as simple as they thought." Qin Tianxing drank with Lin Huang during the first couple of days. He vented out his crush towards Hong Zhuang while sobbing. He ended up feeling much better after that. However, Lin Huang did not tell him that Hong Zhuang was still alive.

"It was I who suggested the venue to the dean," Lin Huang whispered into his ear.

Qin Tianxing was speechless.

The assessment results came out on Monday. Among all of the Year 1 students, the highest passing rate came from Lin Huang's Sword Dao Class 2 whereby among the 50 of them, 36 students had passed. In contrast, no other classes had more than 20 students who passed. 19 students passed in Saber Dao Class 1 and 16 from Sword Dao Class 1. Therefore, Sword Dao Class 2 became the dark horse of the assessment and achieved the first place among the entire Year 1. They did not only surpass Sword Dao Year 1 but also Saber Dao Class 1.

Of course, there were two most outstanding students. One of them was Mu Xiao from Saber Dao Class 1. He had leveled up to bronze-level rank-3 during the past few months. It was obvious that he did not take it easy on himself at all. Another one would be Lin Xin (Ling Xue). Lin Xin's combat level was actually the same as Mu Xiao's, but she had concealed her real abilities. She used gunfighting technique during the battle, and she was only 12 points away from Mu Xiao, which was far away from the third best student.

Looking at the results, Qin Tianxing could not help but ask Lin Huang, "Did you tell the students about the assessment venue before the battle started?"

"Definitely not. I know the rules, I've never ever mentioned the battle drill's venue." Lin Huang shook his head as he looked dead serious.

"Then, how do you explain your students' excellent passing rate?" Qin Tianxing was still skeptical.

"I've always taught them the ways to handle different terrains. You've sat in my classes before. Besides the desert, I've taught them the survival skills to go through islands, glaciers, and the ocean," Lin Huang explained. Qin Tianxing thought about it and recalled that Lin Huang really did talk about all those during his class and had gone through them thoroughly in his explanation.

As the results were announced on Monday, many of the students who did not complete the battle drill thought that they would fail, but Liu Ming gave all of them a pass and explained the purpose of the battle drill. The assessment left a deep impression on all of the students. After the results were announced in the morning, the students sat in class as usual. It was the last week of class in this semester. All of the cultural studies' examinations would end this week.

Knowing that all of them passed the battle drill, the students were relieved. In the following days, Lin Huang proceeded with his routine. He basically memorized all of the information that he had studied in the library. He even had copies of the information stored in his Emperor's Heart Ring. Soon, it was Friday, the students' last day of the semester.

In the battle training ground, Lin Huang gathered his 50 Sword Dao Class 2 students and taught them the sword skill that he had promised them - the Great Sword Scripture (simplified). The Great Sword Scripture was actually an advanced sword skill which Lin Huang had first learned. It formed a solid foundation for him and made the learning of other sword skills easier for him. There were 36 forms in the complete Great Sword Scripture, which belonged to the transcendent-level combat skill and was challenging to learn. If Lin Huang had not learned it by accumulating card pieces, it would have taken him one and a half years to master this sword skill.

To make it easier for the students, Lin Huang broke the sword skills down into 12 forms and downgraded it to a gold-level combat skill. It was now much easier to pick up.

"The sword skill that I'm teaching today is called the 12 Great Swords. It comes from a transcendent-level combat skill…"

"A transcendent-level combat skill?!" All of the students' eyes lit up when they heard that.

"This is the last sword skill that I'll be teaching you guys. I hope that you'll learn it properly."

After the simple introduction, Lin Huang started performing the 12 forms three times before letting the students train. The students were serious during this class where they trained from 2 p.m. until past 11 p.m. None of them left. Some of them who had bought tickets to board the Demonic Crystal Spaceship postponed their ride. Lin Huang looked at the 50 students who were present and gave his farewell message.

"I hope that all of you can shine at what you're good at after you graduate two and a half years later. I believe I'll be proud of you when I meet any of you in the future."

"Sir Lin…" Many of the girls started weeping, and some of the boys even had tears rolling down their faces.

"Alright, the class ends here. Class adjourned!" Lin Huang looked across the room and beamed.

"Sir Lin, please don't go yet. I still have questions for you!" Shangguan Hui raised her hand.

"Sir Lin, I have questions too!" Zhou Ling and the rest echoed Shangguan Hui. The students raised their hands one by one.

Lin Huang smiled awkwardly as it was already past 11 p.m. but the students still refused to leave.

"Alright then, each of you gets to ask one more question, and then you've got to stop messing around. Go back to your dorm after this! It's okay if you don't need rest, but the management lady deserves her holiday!"

"Sir Lin, which division are you going next year?" Somebody asked immediately.

"I think this has nothing to do with your learning." Lin Huang was irritated.

"Sir Lin, please tell us that!" A couple of students insisted.

"Alright then. I'm considering going to Division 3," Lin Huang answered helplessly.

"Sir Lin, Sir Lin, I heard the girls saying that Ling Xue from Class 1 is your sister. Is that true?" The students went into gossip mode.

"She's my cousin." Lin Huang nodded and admitted. As Lin Xin was using a different alias now, he had to say that she was his cousin.

"Sir Lin, are you really only 16?" Another girl asked.

"I'm 17 this year." Lin Huang smiled.

…

The students asked their questions rapidly. Most of them were merely gossip that had nothing to do with their studies. None of them followed Lin Huang's rule of one person getting only one question each. They chatted until 3 a.m. and soon, the sky was getting bright. Lin Huang stopped the questions as some of the students were evidently sleepy.

"Alright, return to your dorms to rest. Go back home during the holidays and spend more time with your families. I won't delete the group chat, so I'll see whatever you guys are talking about. You can talk to me personally if you need to. I'll still be in Division 7 before New Year's Eve."

The students left unwillingly. Lin Huang watched the battle training ground after sending of the students. He knew that it was the end for him and the college…

Chapter 567: Lin Huang's Invitation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Brother, when did you come back last night?" Lin Xin walked down the stairs while looking sleepy in her pink pajamas early in the morning. She had gone to Lin Huang's dorm after packing her stuff yesterday afternoon. She thought she could chat with Lin Huang, but he was still not back at 1 a.m, so she had gone to sleep.

"I could have been back just slightly past 11 p.m, but the kids didn't want to let me go, so we chatted until past 3 a.m." Lin Huang was making breakfast in the kitchen as he turned around and smiled at her.

"Brother, did you really resign?" Lin Xin had heard about the news.

"Yes, but the dean rejected my resignation, so I still have my position in the college. However, I won't be teaching." Lin Huang shook his head.

"Go wash up and get ready for breakfast. We'll talk later."

"Oh…" Lin Xin then went upstairs. She had gone to the kitchen as she heard the sounds of moving about before she could wash up. Soon, Lin Xin came downstairs while Lin Huang served breakfast on the dining table. He did not get the chance to make breakfast for the past few months as his three meals had been provided at the college canteen. However, it was the winter holidays now. The canteen and the stores near the college were closed, so he had to settle his usual three meals by himself.

"Brother, where do you plan to go next year?" Lin Xin asked as she munched on her fried egg.

"That's what I'm about to tell you…" Lin Huang swallowed the food in his mouth before he spoke again, "I'm leaving Division 7 and head to Division 3."

"You're leaving Division 7?!" Lin Xin was shocked to hear that. She put down her cutlery immediately. She knew that Lin Huang would leave the college, but she did not expect him to leave Division 7 at all.

"Yeah, I'll leave after settling some stuff next year." Lin Huang nodded.

Lin Xin remained silent. Whenever Lin Huang disappeared, no matter how long, he was always within Division 7. She could not accept him leaving Division 7 out of nowhere.

Seeing that Lin Xin was unhappy, Lin Huang comforted her, "I won't be leaving for long. I'll be back in July during your summer break. It'll be from March to June, so that's just four months. It's going be the same as when I was in Division 7. Just pretend that I have a long mission in Division 7."

"Oh…" Lin Xin was still upset.

"Oh yeah, where do you want to go during this winter break?" Lin Huang changed the subject.

"I haven't thought about it." Lin Xin shook her head.

"How about we go to a couple of wild zones and return to Winter City on New Year's Eve?" Lin Huang suggested.

"Wild zones? But you're not allowed to help me!" Lin Xin was excited.

"Of course, it's for you to train your battle skills," Lin Huang smirked.

After they decided, they started packing their stuff. Since Lin Huang would not be teaching at the college anymore, he would have to move out of his dorm. Having finished packing his things at past 10 in the morning, he cleaned the dorm one last time. He sent a goodbye message to Liu Ming, and Qin Tianxiang then stepped into the dimensional relic with Lin Xin. The both of them appeared on an island.

"This is a grade-3 wild zone, the Wild Forest Island. Give me all your food and water. You have to survive on your own for the next three days." Lin Huang extended his hand.

"Are you being serious now?" Lin Xin was surprised.

"Of course, you'll need to protect yourself since I won't be in Division 7 next year," Lin Huang replied in all seriousness.

"Alright then." Lin Xin passed Lin Huang all her food and water.

"Send me your location at 10 a.m. three days later, and I'll come get you." Lin Huang put her food and water into his storage space.

"Then, what will you be doing during the next three days?" Lin Xin was curious.

"I'll train somewhere. Okay, your battle drill starts now." Lin Huang had arranged his own agenda.

Lin Xin projected the map and headed into the forest with her Black Eagle 33 after identifying her location. After she disappeared, Lin Huang summoned Kylie.

"Follow her. Protect her in secret. Don't help her unless she's in danger."

Kylie disappeared in her black armor from where she was after recalling the 12 black wings on her back.

After settling Lin Xin, Lin Huang called someone. A while later, the video call was connected. A beautiful lady with long legs appeared on the screen.

"What's up? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into again?" Yi Yeyu wore a light pastel shirt with short sleeves and a mini skirt. It was as if she was not living in the same season as Lin Huang.

"It's winter. Is it really okay for you to dress so lightly?" Lin Huang was speechless.

"I don't feel cold. Why do you bother? We have a heater at home." Yi Yeyu rolled her eyes.

"Okay…"

"Is it a holiday at the college?" Although Lin Huang had never mentioned it, Yi Yeyu had found out that he was teaching at the Martial Hunter College. It was easy for her to ask around the social circle that she was living in.

"Yes, it's the first day of the holidays, but I've already resigned."

"Resigned? Were you fired because you're lousy at teaching?" Yi Yeyu grinned.

"You're overthinking. My students got the first place among the Year 1 batches in their year-end battle drill, alright?" Lin Huang raised an eyebrow.

"I could easily ask around about the truth of this. Don't lie to me." Yi Yeyu grinned.

"Go ask around. My class did get No. 1."

"Alright then. Why did you call? Are you looking for a new job?" Yi Yeyu asked.

"Are you free next year?" Lin Huang asked directly.

"I'm free during February and March. What's up?"

"I have a ruins key with me. Let's form a team to go into the ruins with your brother," Lin Huang finally admitted his purpose of calling.

"Really? Where did you get the ruins key? Only top organizations would have that. Even our family only have two sets." Yi Yeyu was shocked.

"I have to keep this a secret… So, are you coming?"

"Of course! But including my brother, that would only make the three of us. Isn't it a little wasteful to go into the ruins with only three people? Yi Yeyu asked.

"I'll get a few more friends, and we'll go together."

"Great, let me tell my brother so that he can clear his schedule. When exactly is it?"

"I'll let you know next year, but don't tell anyone about the ruins key," Lin Huang reminded.

"Of course, I know that!" She rolled her eyes at him.

After he hung up, Lin Huang called Leng Yuexin. It was much simpler speaking with her compared to Yi Yeyu.

"What's up?"

"Are you free next year?"

"When exactly?"

"Around mid-February to mid-March. We'll need a month," Lin Huang provided her with some rough dates.

"I'll try to postpone some of my plans. It shouldn't be a problem." Leng Yuexin agreed before even asking what they were going to do.

Lin Huang then told her that he planned to go into the ruins with a team. Although she was surprised that he had a ruins key with him, she agreed to join without asking further. After getting Leng Yuexin to commit, Lin Huang then called Li Lang and Qin Tianxing. Li Lang decided to join without even thinking while Qin Tianxing rejected him with a wan smile. He had classes next year, and he did not like to take leave from work. It would take more than a month, which meant that he would miss four to five classes. It was unacceptable to him. In conclusion, Lin Huang managed to get a total of five people to join the ruins excursion.

Chapter 568: It's New Year's Eve Again

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Twelve days passed by quickly. Lin Huang brought Lin Xin to three wild zones. Her battle ability and adaptability to various environments had improved tremendously during that half a month. Lin Huang occupied himself during those 12 days as well. He had modified a sword skill called the Thunder Eclipse with Thunder Sting as the foundation. It was more than ten times faster and more powerful than Thunder Sting.

"Brother, where are we going next?" Lin Xin, who had dirt all over her, smiled at him, baring her fangs. She did not feel tired for the past 12 days. On the contrary, she had fun killing monsters.

"Of course, we're going back to Winter City. It's the New Year in three days. You should rest." Lin Huang picked out the fallen leaves caught in her hair. "You could do with a shower when we get back."

"It's another three days to the New Year, so why not we go to another wild zone? Let's spend two days hunting and one day for the New Year!" Lin Xin was not done with her killing spree.

"We need to go shopping, and there are things to prepare before the New Year. One day is not enough for that. Even if we manage to get all those done, it would be quite a rush for us." Lin Huang shook his head and rejected her suggestion.

"Let's head back earlier. We can shop for two days and rest for a day. That's more like it."

"Alright then." Lin Xin had to admit that his arrangement made more sense, so she agreed to it.

As they stepped into the dimensional relic, they arrived at their home in the Winter City. The city was much colder than the wild zones that they were in for the past week. The Emperor's Heart Ring showed that it was -15 degrees Celsius. Although Lin Xin was shivering, Lin Huang did not feel the cold.

Lin Huang covered Lin Xin with a coat and lit up the black rock in the furnace on the first floor.

"Stay warm for a while. Let me look for hot water." Lin Huang walked to the bathroom. It had been half a year since they left the Winter City. The air quality there was much higher than the air on Earth. There was not much dust in the house, but the place was dull. He had no idea if some of the home equipment were even still working.

He turned on the Demonic Crystal heater and let the cold water out. He then filled the bathtub with hot water.

"There's hot water in the bathroom. Go and shower after the tub is filled. I'll open the windows for circulation. We can turn on the heater later. "

The house had a centralized heater whereby the heat would be sent all over the house when the valve was opened.

Lin Xin nodded, then stared at the flaming red furnace.

"Brother, where do you think Xiao Xuan is right now?" Lin Xin asked when Lin Huang was going upstairs after opening the windows on the first floor.

Lin Huang was stunned when he heard her, and he froze on the stairs. He recalled last year this time when Lin Xuan had been there with them. The three of them had spent New Year's Eve together. Lin Xuan loved staring at the furnace while he sat on the carpet.

"He should be doing well. Don't worry about him." Lin Huang forced a smile. He knew what he said was not only comforting to Lin Xin, but to himself as well.

"Do you think he misses us?" Lin Xin remained silent for a while and asked Lin Huang again.

"Of course he does. We're family!" Lin Huang was sure of that.

"Alright, go take a shower now!"

"Okay." Lin Xin seemed to have heard the answer that she was waiting for. She nodded and headed towards the bathroom.

Lin Huang went upstairs to open the windows on the second and the third floor. There was snow nearly 20 centimeters thick on the balcony of the second floor. Although the sun was shining, the snow did not melt in the cold city.

He opened the sliding door on the second door and looked far away as he stepped on the snow. It was the spot where he had watched Lin Xin and Lin Xuan playing in the snow last year.

"Where are you, Xiao Xuan?"

After letting the fresh air in for ten minutes, he closed all the windows in the house and turned on the heater. He then took a shower on the second floor.

When he returned to the first floor, Lin Xin was already dressed and sitting on the carpet next to the furnace. Her hair was still damp. Lin Huang walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and got rid of the food that had expired. There was nothing much left in the refrigerator.

"There's nothing to eat at home. Let's eat out later and go shopping after lunch. But before that, let's clean the house since it's been half a year since we last cleaned it." Lin Huang got Lin Xin to help him on purpose so that she would be distracted.

"Okay!" Lin Xin snapped out of her zone.

They spent more than an hour cleaning the third floor. It was almost noon when they were done, and they left the house after they changed. Lin Xin's mood was much better when she saw the snow outside.

"The snow on the ground is so thick!" As they had arrived in the living room on the first floor earlier, Lin Xin did not notice the snow outside.

"The winter in this city is longer. It starts to snow in October, and the snow only melts in April. The Winter City snowed a few times when we were away," Lin Huang smiled as he explained.

Lin Xin took some photos of the scenery and posted it on a social media app. Many of her friends liked her pictures. Lin Huang had the same app, but he hardly used it. They started shopping after they had lunch at a restaurant. Perhaps due to the shopping or the beautiful scenery, Lin Xin felt much better. They shopped until past six in the evening. Lin Huang only managed to get a few items as they spent most of their time buying clothes for Lin Xin. They had dinner and headed home when it was past 10.

"It seems like we'll have to shop again tomorrow," Lin Huang thought to himself when they got home. He was much relaxed the day before New Year's Eve while Lin Xin was back to her shopaholic mode. She started buying cosmetics thanks to the influence of her roommates. Lin Huang began to decorate the house the day before New Year's Eve after he was done with shopping, making the house looked rather festive.

On the night of New Year's Eve, Lin Huang sent his well wishes to his friends. Besides Mr. Fu, the rest of them replied his message. Mr. Fu seemed to be busy, but Lin Huang thought about it and decided not to disturb him. On the first day of the year, the Winter City started snowing again. Lin Xin woke up early in the morning and dashed down the stairs in excitement. She could not wait to open her presents. Meanwhile, Lin Huang was sitting on the couch, reading the news quietly. Most of the news was really New Year wishes, and there was nothing much on the Hunter Forum, which made Lin Huang realize the importance of the restriction of information.

"Brother, this is for you!" Lin Xin gave him a present.

"You got this for me?" Lin Huang was surprised. Lin Xin was holding a small box wrapped in golden wrapping paper. He accepted the box immediately.

Just when he was about to open the box, he noticed a blue box on the coffee table.

"One would be enough. Why did you get me two presents?" Lin Huang smiled as he shook his head.

"That's for Xiao Xuan. I've saved half of the stuff that you bought for him. If he returns one day, we can give him all the presents." Lin Xin beamed warmly.

Lin Huang did not say anything and patted Lin Xin's head.

"Sure, let's keep the presents for Xiao Xuan!"

"Brother, open your present now!" Lin Xin then urged Lin Huang to open his present.

Lin Huang opened the box immediately. There was a black scarf in it. It looked somewhat normal without any patterns. However, Lin Huang did not have any expectations as it was the thought that counted.

"Do you like it?" Lin Xin was excited to hear what Lin Huang thought.

"I like it!"

"I knitted it myself!" Lin Xin declared proudly.

"You made this? When did you learn to knit?" Now, Lin Huang understood why this scarf looked so ordinary.

"My roommate taught me. I worked on this every night when I had the time. I've knitted two scarves in the past few months. One for you, one for Xiao Xuan. The one for him is white in color," Lin Xin explained.

"Brilliant craftsmanship!" Lin Huang tied the scarf around his neck and gave her a thumbs up.

Playvolume00:00/00:00TruvidfullScreen

Chapter 569: The Five of Them Together

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"I've got a triple mutated Frost Demon. Are you interested?"

"I'm sorry, not interested."

Lin Huang turned off the black market mission page after replying in a dark forest. At the beginning of November last year, Lin Huang's Life Fire was already burning at its limit of 300 meters high. After more than a month, his combat level completely stabilized in December and he was ready to level up to crimson flame-level. However, it was already February now, yet he had yet to find a tinder monster that was suitable, so his combat level stagnated.

The reason was simple. Lin Huang was picky when it came to choosing tinder monsters. First, it had to be at least triple mutated and there were not many monsters that qualified for that condition in Division 7. It was rare as many Imperial Censor families were after this type of monster as well. Secondly, the monster would be, at best, a holy fire-level, and the highest would be an immortal-level rank-1. To be honest, triple mutated monsters were powerful. He might not be able to handle a monster higher than immortal-level rank-1 if he ever encountered one. If that happened, instead of obtaining tinder, it would become a suicidal attempt.

Thirdly, the tinder would have to cater to his needs. That last condition made the mission impossible. As it was difficult to find the tinder that he desired in Division 7, he had to head to the core zone. The safe zone in Division 3 was 2.4 times bigger than Division 7. The safety zone was much more developed than Division 7. Besides having more powerful monsters, the number of monsters were a couple of times more than the number of monsters in Division 7.

Without compromising the criteria of his tinder, the only way to level up was to look for the tinder in the core zone. As he turned off the black market page, Lin Huang sensed somebody walk into his territory. He smirked as he looked at the person's direction. Soon, Lin Xin revealed herself within the trees. She had a light silver glow under her feet. She had leveled up to silver-level. Although they were in a grade-4 wild zone, she was not as clumsy as she had been before. She had leveled up to silver-level two days ago and she was now on silver-level rank-3. She could definitely fight gold-level rank-3 monsters now.

Just as Lin Xin appeared, a black shadow materialized. It was a lady in a black dress. The triple mutated Wicked Witch looked exactly like a human. She had been familiarizing herself with Lin Xin and Lin Huang recently. Initially, Lin Huang wanted to get Kylie or Tyrant to protect Lin Xin as she was more familiar with the both of them. However, their appearance was too attention-seeking, so he thought that the Wicked Witch would be more suitable for the job. Besides, the Witch could conceal herself in Lin Xin's shadow to protect her anytime, anywhere.

"Brother! Witch!"

Lin Xin leapt from the branch when she saw Lin Huang and the Witch, landing less than two meters away from Lin Huang.

"Not bad," Lin Huang complimented as he knew Lin Xin could basically protect herself now.

The three of them stepped into the dimensional relic and disappeared from the forest, appearing at their home in the Winter City.

It was the Wicked Witch's first time here. She looked around with curiosity.

"Xin Er, show the Witch around," Lin Huang suggested.

"Brother, are you leaving tomorrow?" Lin Xin looked at the calendar on her Emperor's Heart Ring.

"I'm meeting my friends the day after tomorrow, but I want to go there tomorrow night. It's I who invited them after all. It'd be horrible for them to wait for me. There's still half a month to your winter holidays. Enjoy the holiday or train your gunfighting techniques at home. I've already booked the ticket back to the White Capital for you. They'll confirm your trip with you a day before," Lin Huang said.

"Alright then." Lin Xin knew that Lin Huang was not going to Division 3 this time but to the ruins. He would be back in March, so she was not that upset.

"Witch, let me show you around!" She waved at the Wicked Witch.

…

It was the middle of the night on the second day at foothold No. 7B51 Laotian City. On the 131st floor in a luxury hotel, Lin Huang gazed at the snow while standing on the balcony with a glass of green juice in his hand. The communication page on his Emperor's Heart Ring was open.

"I'm here. Let's meet at the City Sky Hotel at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Don't be late." He sent the message to four people in his contact book.

"Got it!"

"I know."

…

Soon, the four of them replied. The next morning, Lin Huang woke up early. It was not even eight when he was done with his buffet breakfast. He checked out at the reception and sat down at the cafe on the first floor. He ordered a black coffee as he read the news. It was less than ten days since New Year's Day had passed. There was nothing much on the news or on the Hunter Forum. Most of the hunters were relaxing during this period, so there was nothing new.

As Lin Huang was bored, he decided to check his social media app. Many friends posted photos of sceneries and food. He snapped a photo of the coffee that he was drinking and posted it on the app. Lin Xin was the first one who liked his photo while Yi Yeyu and the rest followed suit. After turning off the app, he then launched another app called Weibo and started reading news on topics that he was following. He came across a short post by 'theuglytruth'. It was posted before the new year.

"There's a battle of demigods in Division 1. Many of the islands on the quiet ocean have collapsed… It's too far away, so I can only see the blur images."

"A demigod battle in Division 1?" Lin Huang frowned. A person sat across him before he could think any further about the post.

"You sure know how to enjoy life!" It was Li Lang who he had not seen in a while. As usual, he was wearing his boring white suit with a red ribbon around his neck and combed back his hair.

"You're pretty early." Lin Huang turned off the app and smiled at his old friend.

"Of course! I've always been a punctual man! Tell me, are there any hot babes this time?" Li Lang bent down and asked softly.

"Yes, the lady from the Yi family that you've met."

Li Lang rolled his eyes. "Who else?"

"Her brother." Lin Huang grinned.

"I'm talking about ladies!" Li Lang emphasized.

"There's another one."

"Who's that?" Li Lang was excited.

"She's here!"

Lin Huang looked up at the hotel entrance. A girl in a white trench coat and sunglasses spotted him at the same time. He waved to her. She nodded and walked towards him.

"This is...?" Li Lang could not recognize her.

As she walked over to them, Lin Huang and Li Lang stood up immediately to offer their seats.

"This is Ms. Leng Yuexin. This is my friend Li Lang," Lin Huang introduced.

"Hi." Leng Yuexin took off her sunglasses and shook Li Lang's hand.

"You're the lady from the Leng family?" Li Lang was stunned.

The three of them sat down. After Li Lang and Leng Yuexin took a few sips of their coffee, Yi Zheng and Yi Yeyu arrived at the hotel. The duo had seen the photo that Lin Huang posted and headed straight to the cafe. Yi Zheng was wearing a slate blue trench coat, looking exuberant while Yi Yeyu wore a navy blue dress under a knitted coat. It was not even 8.40 a.m. when the five of them gathered. Lin Huang was dressed the most casual among the five of them in his regular sports attire. Since it was still early, Yi Zheng and Yi Yeyu ordered coffee for themselves as they chatted after the introduction.

The Yi siblings knew Leng Yuexin as they had met at some events before. Many people in the cafe were looking at them as the five made a handsome bunch.

"Lin Huang, you've grown taller," Yi Yeyu teased.

"Yeah, I'm 178cm now. Maybe 180cm when I'm wearing shoes." Lin Huang nodded. He was not the kid that they knew two years ago.

"I wouldn't have noticed that if you didn't mention it. He was a whole head shorter than I was two years ago, but now he's catching up with me." Yi Zheng had just noticed Lin Huang's height.

The four of them had met two years ago where they recalled Lin Huang's height when they first met. Lin Huang had grown from a teenager to a man.

"But why are you still on white flame-level? I'm already a purple flame-level and Xiao Yu is now a crimson flame-level, going onto blue flame-level." Yi Zheng thought it was odd.

"There's no tinder that I'm after in Division 7." Lin Huang shook his head.

"Did you choose a triple mutated monster?!" The four of them looked at him in shock.

"Yes," Lin Huang confirmed.

"Which monster did you choose to get to white flame-level with?" Now, even Leng Yuexin was curious.

"The Blacksword Killer," Lin Huang told a half-truth.

"You're insane!" Li Lang was shocked. It was difficult for him to kill double mutated monsters, but Lin Huang had managed to kill a triple mutated monster.

As they chatted and got familiar with each other, it was almost 9 a.m. and they had finished their coffee.

"Where's the entrance? How long does it take to fly there?" Yi Zheng glimpsed at the time and realized that it was about time they moved.

"Don't worry about it. I've already pinned the location last night. Just step into the dimensional relic and we'll be at the destination." Lin Huang brought the four of them out of the cafe and summoned his dimensional relic. The five of them stepped into the dimensional relic. As it closed, the five of them disappeared from the hotel.

Chapter 570: Treasure Card

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As they stepped out of the dimensional relic, the five of them appeared in a canyon.

"Is this the War Canyon?" Yi Zheng studied the cliffs on both sides and figured out where they were.

"Yes." Lin Huang nodded and summoned Kylie.

Besides Lin Huang, the four of them were stunned when they saw Kylie, who was clad in black armor and had 12 wings on her back, appear before them.

"Kylie, the ruins key," Lin Huang instructed.

Kylie glared at the four of them and passed Lin Huang a black metal box with the ruins key inside. Lin Huang accepted the box and recalled Kylie.

"Was that an angel?" Li Lang was skeptical.

"I think so. A Dark Angel." Lin Huang was not paying attention.

"A purple or gold flame-level?" Yi Zheng asked as he felt he might not be able to fight Kylie.

"A gold flame-level." Lin Huang did not plan to lie.

"Is she triple mutated? The bloodline thickness should at least be mid-level," Leng Yuexin offered a more concrete estimation.

"Yes," Lin Huang replied but did not give an exact answer. He opened the metal box directly. There was a conical cube the size of a palm in the box.

The four of them looked at it immediately.

"Is this the ruins key?" It was the first for them to see a ruins key up close.

The ruins key detached from Lin Huang's palm after he inserted a full Life Wheel of Life Power into it. It floated in the air and transformed into a black swirl of energy less than 20 meters away from them.

"Alright, let's go!" Lin Huang nodded to them.

The four of them entered the whirlpool accordingly while Lin Huang was the last to step in. In less than a minute after Lin Huang stepped into it, the black swirl disappeared from the canyon as it had never appeared before. The five of them entered a space with a dark sky and an ominous aura in the air. All they could see was dry land with craters left by the damage of the war. There were monsters and even human bones scattered everywhere.

As the ruins entrance behind them closed, the key returned into Lin Huang's hand. It seemed to be able to recognize Lin Huang by his Life Power. He kept the key in his sleeve when he heard Yi Zheng speak, "This seems to be an ancient war zone, so there should be many undead and spirit monsters here."

"If that's the case, are these skeletons our enemies as well?" Li Lang asked softly.

"We can't exclude that from the facts," Yi Zheng said.

"What do you know about this ruins? Do you have a map?" Yi Zheng turned around to ask Yi Zheng.

"Erm… Don't ask me. I don't even know what grade of ruins this is." Lin Huang was stuck.

"How dare you bring all of us here when you don't even know the grade of the ruins?" Li Lang was speechless.

"You idiot!" Yi Yeyu scolded.

"The ruins take a year to reopen. I can't be coming here myself and only get your guys in next year. So, I thought of getting all of you to discover this place together. If it's suitable, we can kill the monsters. If the grade is too low, we can leave right away. I'll buy you guys a meal. Treat this as a New Year's gathering. If the grade is too high, we can come back a few years later," Lin Huang explained helplessly.

"Where did you get the key? Do you not know anything about this place at all?" Yi Yeyu was irritated.

"I got the key from the Saints last year. I really know nothing about this place." Lin Huang smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

"Let's just pick any direction then. Without any information, we can only explore blindly," Leng Yuexin said.

"Then, you pick the direction then since you're the leader." Yi Yeyu poked Lin Huang.

The three of them looked at him expectantly. Lin Huang looked around, completely lost. It was a barren land that was left from the war, and it seemed like there was no difference which direction they picked. The map on their Emperor's Heart Ring would not work in such an isolated space. Besides that, the communication and network were locked. It would spell trouble if they lost each other along the way.

"Let's just pick any direction. It looks the same anyway," Li Lang urged Lin Huang when he noticed that he could not make up his mind.

"Wait!" Lin Huang suddenly thought of a card that he owned that could be used here as he was feeling lost.

"Treasure Card

"Function: Once the card is activated, it'll guide you to the nearest location with treasure including mineral mountains, graveyards, and ruins.

"Remark 1: The card is not used to create a treasure. Instead, it's used to track the location of the treasure. The detection point will be tracked from the user's activation point, and the limit is a 1,000-kilometer radius. As soon as the card is activated, the detection point will be set. Whether there's treasure within the range or not, the card will still be consumed."

"Remark 2: Each card can be used once, and only one treasure point can be selected. The treasure point can't be changed once confirmed. As soon as the user is guided to the treasure point, the coordinates will disappear.

"Remark 3: Once the card is activated, the coordinates will stay for a month. After that, the coordinates will disappear if the user doesn't arrive at the coordinates and will be considered as an aborted mission."

"Remark 4: There will be three colors of the coordinates according to the value of the treasure. White color indicates normal treasure, red color for rare treasure and gold color for legendary treasure. If there are gold-colored coordinates, the brighter the color, the higher the value of the treasure."

Lin Huang instructed Xiao Hei secretly after reading the card's description, "Xiao Hei, activate one Treasure Card!"

"Are you sure you want to use your current location as the detection point and to start searching for treasure?"

"Yes!"

"Treasure Card has been activated."

A ten-meter long white arrow appeared at Lin Huang's two o'clock.

"White coordinates… I really have bad luck!" Lin Huang thought to himself.

"I've decided. Let's go here!" Lin Huang pointed at his two o'clock and flew up without waiting for them to say anything. The four of them followed him as they did not have a choice.