The burly man smiled and spoke, his confidence in his own strength seemingly absolute.
Li Chonglou did not stand on ceremony. His gaze sharpened, and he immediately unleashed the strength of the mid-fifth layer, punching the burly man's arm.
Swish!
Although the force was moderate, the speed of the punch made the five people's eyes light up slightly.
Bang!
The burly man took a step back, surprise flashing across his face. "Kid, your punch is not bad either. It's almost reached the peak of the fifth layer's strength."
Li Chonglou smiled and said nothing.
The burly man grinned. "Then it's my turn. Seven-tenths of my strength, that should be enough, right?"
This guy, despite appearing confident in his strength, always gave off a condescending impression when heard by others.
Li Chonglou also felt the burly man was a bit boastful. However, the moment the punch landed, Li Chonglou's expression suddenly changed.
Damn, this seven-tenths strength seems even stronger than the peak fifth layer's?
Boom!
Li Chonglou retreated repeatedly until he was almost at the wall before stopping, looking at the burly man with equal surprise.
Is this innate divine strength?
After all, if he hadn't used some of his Tai Chi internal energy to deflect the force just now, he might have made a fool of himself.
This was mainly to conserve Old Lin and the others' energy, as Li Chonglou had deliberately suppressed his spiritual power.
However, even so, the strength displayed by the burly man was astonishing enough.
The burly man felt the same.
"You look thin and weak, kid, but you can take a punch, huh."
In his estimation, Li Chonglou should have at least hit the wall to dissipate the force, but he didn't expect him to not even touch the wall.
Li Chonglou didn't want to dwell on this matter and directly asked, "Can I pass now?"
The burly man smiled. "Of course. Just sign another contract, and we'll set off shortly, right Captain?"
Lie Dao rolled his eyes at him, then said to Li Chonglou, "Your strength is decent. If you really want to join, sign the contract."
Lie Dao then nodded to the man beside him, who produced a contract from somewhere.
Li Chonglou hadn't expected that contracts were still required here.
However, this was indeed the most convenient method. As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without norms and standards. This contract, in a way, bound everyone together.
If someone violated the contract's rules, they would not only be judged by the camp's authorities but also blacklisted by other teams, effectively cutting off their development path in the underground world.
Therefore, the contract had binding power and was quite reliable.
Li Chonglou was waiting for this very thing, so he immediately asked Old An to release his energy output and then carefully reviewed the contract.
Fortunately, it wasn't a complex contract, and there were no hidden traps. Li Chonglou quickly signed it.
Lie Dao also signed and returned a copy to Li Chonglou.
"By the way, what's your name?"
Li Chonglou calmly replied, "Just call me Xiao Li."
The five people also introduced themselves, and Lie Dao suddenly stood up.
"Alright, prepare to depart. Xiao Li, you've arrived at the perfect time. We've taken on a mission that requires people to lure beasts."
Li Chonglou nodded. He was a temporary member now, so it was understandable if they asked him to do more dangerous tasks. However, he was also evaluating the team in his heart.
If they were truly treacherous, he would leave after this mission.
Among the few provisions in the contract, the only one was that one could not leave arbitrarily during a mission. It did not mention leaving after the mission ended or if the mission was not urgent.
In fact, if it were about accumulating residual souls, Li Chonglou would definitely be faster acting alone.
But firstly, his current strength was compromised, making the difficulty correspondingly higher. Secondly, after witnessing Green Pill, Li Chonglou had also slightly altered his plan.
Compared to seeking out monstrous beasts for residual souls now, it would be much better to recover from his injuries first.
As the old saying goes, sharpening the axe does not delay woodcutting. Even if he couldn't fully recover to his peak, he should at least reach around the fifth layer.
Otherwise, in the underground world, he would truly be unable to move freely!
Another point was that after the incident with Yuan Bei, Li Chonglou now gave more thought to every decision. He was still in a state of knowing little about the underground world.
To live more safely, he naturally had to understand this place first, and the fastest and most convenient way was undoubtedly to join a team and blend in for a while.
Of course, another reason for Li Chonglou's change of plan was the people from the Commoner's Association.
He had just come out from the Judgment Association, and the captain of the Commoner's Association had openly threatened him. It was hard to say if they would send experts to track him.
He was currently injured, and if someone stronger than he could currently perceive was tracking him, it might expose some of his secrets, which Li Chonglou absolutely did not want to happen!
So, joining a team first would allow him to understand the underground world, earn some blood crystals, and also prevent tracking by people from the Commoner's Association. It was killing three birds with one stone, and anyone would make this choice.
The only drawback might be that it would take a bit more time, making Chen Pao and the others wait a while longer.
Afterward, the group tidied up briefly and left the room.
Unbeknownst to Li Chonglou, as he left his rented accommodation, he was spotted by Sun Yi, who had come out for a walk.
"Isn't that Brother Li? Is he with the Little Blade team?"
Meanwhile, in the地上 world.
After Zhou Tong finished his call with Li Chonglou, he brought the news to Chen Pao and the others.
The group, who had been filled with anticipation, fell silent upon hearing it.
That was a mortality rate of over half. Although the risk and reward were almost equal, they hadn't reached that point yet.
This meant there were significantly more things to consider, and for a while, no one could make an immediate decision.
Except for Chen Peiyue.
"Mr. Zhou, can you still contact Master? Tell Master that I will definitely go!"
She had originally come out with a mission to become stronger and help her father solve his problems. Initially, with Chen Pao and the others' praise, Chen Peiyue thought she was almost there.
Perhaps breaking through to the fifth layer would be enough for her to return and resolve the guild's affairs.
However, after witnessing the strength of Yuan Bei and the other two, Chen Peiyue instantly felt like a frog in a well!
A mere fifth layer, perhaps only enough to gain a foothold in Shangjing!
With this strength, Chen Peiyue felt it was completely insufficient for her expectations!
Therefore, she wanted to become stronger, to become even stronger, and to do so faster. Only by seizing every second could Chen Peiyue find peace.
Some things, if not necessary, she did not want to trouble others with.