Chapter 15: The Bounty Hunter

Lady Xin was brewing tea when she heard Lin Jiufeng's words. She looked at him in surprise, then pondered for a moment before asking, "You've done well here. Why leave?"

"I was only passing through the Holy Angel City, taking a brief rest. Now it's time to move on," Lin Jiufeng replied with a calm smile, though he felt rather helpless inside.

A year had passed, and the lease on his rented house had expired. He and the Sacred Beast Qilin couldn't afford to renew it. Staying in Holy Angel City was no longer an option.

Over the past year, both he and the Sacred Beast Qilin had grown significantly in strength. They no longer wished to remain idle in the city. Besides, Lin Jiufeng had already finished reading all the books in the library, leaving no reason for him to stay.

Lady Xin listened to his reasoning, then fell silent for a moment before casually flicking her wrist. A jade pendant flew toward Lin Jiufeng.

He caught it instinctively and discovered it was a spatial jade pendant. Scanning it with his divine sense, he found inside a thousand jin of divine source.

The divine source had the same fiery hue as the ones Lin Jiufeng had secretly excavated before—pure, high-quality, and undoubtedly valuable.

"Lady Xin, what does this mean?" Lin Jiufeng asked, puzzled.

"You've worked diligently for a year, and I'm very satisfied. This is your payment," Lady Xin replied.

Lin Jiufeng shook his head, placed the jade pendant on the table, and said, "We agreed that I would manage the library in exchange for reading the books here. Now that I've read everything, that is already the best reward I could ask for. I can't accept this."

Without hesitation, he turned and walked away, waving casually as he stepped out the door.

Lady Xin watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the jade pendant left behind. A smile appeared on her lips as she murmured, "Quite an interesting young man. Loves books and cherishes them, too. But I wonder what he did to anger the old skeleton so much—there are bounty posters of him everywhere."

If Lin Jiufeng had heard her words, he would have broken out in a cold sweat.

Lady Xin had long seen through his disguise and knew that he was the very person being hunted by the Skeleton Clan's ancient ancestor. Yet, she had chosen to remain silent all this time.

After bidding farewell to Lady Xin, Lin Jiufeng returned to his rented house, where he found the Sacred Beast Qilin still deep in enlightenment, studying space fragments. He gently nudged the creature awake and said, "Our lease is up. It's time to leave."

The Sacred Beast Qilin nodded, well aware that they could no longer afford to stay in Holy Angel City. "Where are we headed next?"

"I've already looked into it—there are bounty hunters in Holy Angel City who take on missions for commissions. We're going to become bounty hunters, earn some divine source, and hone our combat skills while exploring the vast Dimensional Battlefield," Lin Jiufeng explained.

Over the past year, aside from reading books, he had been planning his next move.

Becoming a bounty hunter was the path he had chosen.

It would grant him freedom, allow him to experience the unique cultures of different regions, and provide opportunities to strengthen himself.

Lin Jiufeng still remembered his promise to the old dragon in the mortal realm—to visit Dragon's Valley and deliver a message to the dragon's younger sister.

However, before heading to Dragon's Valley, he needed to reach the Fifteen Forbidden Realms: Creation and Genesis.

Right now, Lin Jiufeng was at the Twelfth Forbidden Realm, the Ancient Overlord level.

He still had three more major realms to break through, requiring further effort.

But first, he needed divine source. Then, he would find a proper training ground and dedicate himself to cultivation.

Becoming a bounty hunter was the first step toward that goal.

The Sacred Beast Qilin declared, "I have no objections! As long as I'm with you, I'm happy to go anywhere."

"Then let's go. No point staying here any longer. Let's register as bounty hunters, take on a few missions, and earn some divine source," Lin Jiufeng said decisively.

Activating the Phoenix Concealment Technique, he once again transformed the Sacred Beast Qilin into a slender yellow dog. As for himself, he took on the guise of a potbellied, sickly-looking middle-aged man.

With that, they headed toward the bounty hunters' marketplace in Holy Angel City.

Lin Jiufeng had already scouted the location beforehand and was familiar with the registration process.

Upon arrival, he paid a fee of one jin of divine source and officially became a registered bounty hunter. With his hunter's badge in hand, he could now access the mission hall.

Everything proceeded smoothly, impressing the Sacred Beast Qilin.

"Big brother, why are you so familiar with all of this?" the Qilin asked, curious.

"I've been gathering information while you were cultivating," Lin Jiufeng replied.

"But I thought we were out of divine source?" the Qilin pressed.

Lin Jiufeng smirked. "Did you really think I wouldn't find a way to acquire some over the past year?"

"You're amazing, big brother," the Sacred Beast Qilin said in admiration, following Lin Jiufeng into the bounty hunter hall.

From the outside, the hall seemed unremarkable, but upon entering, it expanded into an immense space large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Inside, powerful beings from various races filled the hall. Cultivators at the Twelfth and Thirteenth Forbidden Realms were common.

Lin Jiufeng's gaze landed on an elderly figure radiating an aura as vast as an abyss and as unyielding as the earth itself.

The old man's hands were claw-like, hard as iron, and his sharp, hooked nose made him look particularly menacing.

"That's an expert from the Divine Eagle Clan. At least at the Fifteenth Forbidden Realm," the Sacred Beast Qilin transmitted telepathically.

"Stay away from him," Lin Jiufeng immediately responded, discreetly leading the Qilin in another direction.

He wasn't sure if a Fifteenth Forbidden Realm expert could see through the Phoenix Concealment Technique, and he wasn't eager to find out.

Fortunately, no one paid them any attention.

A chubby, sickly-looking middle-aged man with an unimpressive yellow dog—who would bother noticing such nobodies?

"What do we do now?" the Qilin asked after they had moved to a quieter area.

"We take a mission," Lin Jiufeng replied.

"Where do we get one?"

Lin Jiufeng led him to a half-man-high, oval-shaped stone pillar in the corner of the hall.

The pillar had a palm-sized indentation. Lin Jiufeng placed his bounty hunter badge into the slot, and the pillar instantly activated.

Hum—

A web of runes lit up, and countless mission descriptions appeared in the air.

Lines of text scrolled rapidly, refreshing in real time.

But the first thing Lin Jiufeng and the Sacred Beast Qilin saw was—

[The Skeleton Clan offers a bounty of one million jin of divine source for the capture of the human youth. (Image attached)]

The text was highlighted in a glaring red font and pinned at the very top, accompanied by a few flames indicating its popularity.

Lin Jiufeng clicked on it and saw his own image displayed prominently—his real appearance from when he was in the mortal realm.

Below the image, numerous comments flooded in:

"What the hell did this human do to offend the Skeleton Clan's old ancestor so badly?"

"First, the bounty was ten thousand jin, then fifty thousand, and now it's a million. I'm so jealous."

"Are we even sure this human actually ascended?"

"Confirmed—he did. Otherwise, the Skeleton Clan wouldn't have raised the bounty."

"Where's the confirmation from?"

"The old coot at the Ascension Platform sold the footage of his ascension to the Skeleton Clan for ten thousand jin of divine source."

"Lucky bastard, selling mere intel for ten thousand jin!"

"Hey, human kid, let's make a deal—I'll turn you in, and we'll split the bounty seventy-thirty. You get the seventy."

Lin Jiufeng's face darkened.

"That old bastard actually sold the footage…"