Chapter 1 Gaining a Foothold

After waiting for two days at the Empire Hunter outpost, Zhou Jing had roughly figured out the situation. The facilities here were comprehensive, catering to the needs of the Empire Hunters, with many settlements nearby.

Tarn City was both the royal capital and the safest fortress city in the Terra Empire. Influxes of outsiders were common throughout the year. Since the fortress city couldn't be easily expanded, it was divided into three areas: the inner city, the outer city, and the attached towns.

The attached towns were settlements and villages that depended on the royal capital, scattered around the city walls. As restrictions on residence within the capital tightened and land prices soared, most outsiders chose to live in the attached towns, gradually separating according to customs, culture, and wealth. There were eight attached towns around the royal capital, and the Empire Hunter outpost was one of them, more special than the others.

Besides hunting, the Empire Hunters did basically nothing else. Due to their powerful physiques leading to higher hormone secretion levels, they were filled with desire, often more restless than teenagers in puberty, and each had their own way of venting.

Some sneaked off to brothels in other attached towns every day, while others spent their days wrestling in the training grounds, sweating it out.

Because of the brief exchange with Cole that demonstrated his strength, news spread like wildfire these past two days. All the Empire Hunters at the outpost knew that a formidable newcomer with a second enhancement had arrived, and they invited Zhou Jing to wrestle every day.

Hunters were martial, respected the strong, and intense activities often led to greater daily harvesting profits. Zhou Jing didn't refuse anyone and wrestled whoever came, indulging himself to the fullest.

He got to know many people through wrestling these past two days, and the name "Jess" spread among the Empire Hunters.

On the third day, several hunter teams that had gone out hunting finally returned to the city, covered in dust and grime.

Empire Hunter Commander Kleeber returned. Upon hearing about Zhou Jing's situation, he didn't even bother to change his clothes, which were stained with xenobeast blood, and immediately had Cole fetch Zhou Jing to meet him.

...

Zhou Jing followed Cole to the front of the outpost gate, where he immediately saw a caravan of more than a dozen beasts of burden pulling wooden carts piled high with xenobeast carcasses of various shapes.

There were also a few captured xenobeasts, riddled with wounds, bound by special ropes, injected with paralyzing agents, and listless after not eating for days, with little strength to struggle.

A large group of workshop personnel surrounded the caravan, unloading xenobeast carcasses and dragging the surviving xenobeasts off the carts. Beside the caravan, many hunters, including Cole, were surrounding one person like stars around the moon.

Zhou Jing's eyes shifted over, and he was slightly taken aback.

Unlike the other tall and burly hunters, this person was less than 1.7 meters tall, yet he was extremely stout, with muscles bulging explosively, almost bursting through his leather armor, and he looked very solid, like a craggy rock. A hexagonal spiked warhammer with an extremely exaggerated hammerhead, stained with mottled blood, hung on his back.

Thick eyebrows, large eyes, and graying temples made him look old, and he had a full beard.

"That's our commander, Kleeber," Cole whispered beside him.

"Not quite what I imagined..." Zhou Jing said honestly.

"I know," Cole lowered his voice and smiled. "The commander wasn't always this size, but during his fourth enhancement, he chose a Dwarf Turtle Dragon and unfortunately inherited a side effect... Anyway, it's best not to mention his height in front of him, or he'll fight anyone who does."

Zhou Jing's mouth twitched.

...It seems that getting one or two more alien blood warriors to clear the game is necessary. If I unfortunately get a side effect from an enhancement, I'll at least have a backup option to switch to.

At this moment, Kleeber saw Zhou Jing, immediately pushed through the crowd, and strode over, saying with a booming voice:

"You must be Jess! I heard you can beat Cole? Good, we Empire Hunters need talented people like you."

Although he was smiling, his voice was extremely deep, almost causing the air to vibrate.

Zhou Jing greeted him simply, curiously sizing up Kleeber.

Is this the current chief hunter of the empire, the highest enhancer in existence?

He quietly opened the panel and spent 10 Star Realm Points to activate Reconnaissance.

In the next moment, Kleeber's attributes flashed on the panel.

[Attributes: Physique 74, Resistance 80 (Tier 2 ax), Perception 42, Spirit 18, Energy 10]

'Three attributes have broken Tier 1, and his resistance is really high, touching the threshold of Tier 2... Ordinary people with five enhancements should be slightly below this level, but Kleeber must know a lot of skills to support his attributes... Speaking of which, he actually has 10 points in Energy attribute.'

Zhou Jing was very interested.

According to others, Kleeber was a fifty-five-year-old hunter who had been the Empire Hunter commander for seven years, with rich hunting experience, proficient in various weapons, and an extremely powerful body, even able to beat most high-threat xenobeasts to death with his bare hands, and handle lethal-grade xenobeasts with ease.

This level of physical attributes already exceeded most xenobeasts, and only a very few creatures in this world could threaten his existence.

Zhou Jing compared it to his own physical parameters and felt that Kleeber's strength was conservatively estimated at over ten tons, possibly reaching twenty tons. He didn't seem to be good at speed, but his speed was at least one hundred twenty or thirty kilometers per hour. His strongest aspect was his defense, which could withstand impacts much stronger than his own strength.

While he was calculating and thinking, he didn't stop talking and chatted with Kleeber a few times to get to know each other.

Although Kleeber was at the peak of the current hunters, he didn't put on airs. Although his voice was imposing, he spoke with great affability, speaking frankly:

"Cole said you plan to enhance three times, you have a lot of courage, not bad. When you officially join, the workshop's inventory will be fully open to you, and you can choose whatever alien blood you want. You've waited a few days, so don't delay any longer. Let's go to the colosseum today, I'll take you there."

He directly dumped the unloading work on his deputy, beckoned Zhou Jing and Cole to follow, and headed straight for the colosseum with swiftness and decisiveness.

Zhou Jing followed closely behind, and the group quickly arrived at the colosseum on the outskirts of the royal capital, a huge circular building guarded by heavily armed soldiers.

Kleeber went up and talked to the guards, using his face to directly bring Zhou Jing and others in.

The person in charge of the colosseum, upon hearing the news, came out to greet them in person, with considerable enthusiasm.

"Commander Kleeber, what brings you here today?"

"Looking for a xenobeast, I want to test out our newly joined young lad." Kleeber let out a muffled thunder-like laugh, cutting straight to the point.

"No problem! I'll have someone pull one over from the beast cages right away." The person in charge of the colosseum agreed immediately, then looked at Zhou Jing: "What level of xenobeast do you want to fight?"

Kleeber and Cole also turned to look at Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing pondered for a moment, tentatively saying, "Mid-threat xenobeast?"

If it's a one-on-one fight, he felt that it was better to be cautious.

"Good." Kleeber had no objections.

Second enhancement corresponded to mid-threat xenobeasts. Although Jess was very strong at this level, challenging high-threat might be okay, and success would make him more valued... But it was still somewhat risky.

Choosing to challenge mid-threat, in Kleeber's view, was acting within his capabilities. He had long passed the age of gambling, taking risks, and challenging limits. He preferred a steady and grounded style, and only acting when he was sure was an advantage for a hunter.

...Of course, choosing low-threat would be more stable, but that wouldn't match the level corresponding to his enhancement level.

Zhou Jing prepared briefly and then entered the colosseum, while Kleeber and Cole went to the high stands to be spectators.

He waited for a while and suddenly heard a beast's roar gradually approaching.

"Hululu--Roar!"

The entrance opposite Zhou Jing, sealed by iron fences, was opened, and a xenobeast roared into the colosseum, its chain dragging on the ground, making clanging noises.

It was a humanoid xenobeast with a wolf's head, about 2.3 meters tall, standing upright on two feet, hunching its body, with long, gray-black fur and sharp claws like knives, capable of easily disemboweling people. While running, it scraped deep claw marks on the walls.

"A human-like xenobeast, a Gray Wolfman, is it..." Zhou Jing recognized the species of this monster.

Among the xenobeasts, there was a special category of species called human-like species, which often had limb structures similar to the human body. Compared to other species, their strength and speed were not outstanding, but their small size made them difficult to deal with, and they were generally more cunning.

The characteristic of the Gray Wolfman was its fast self-healing speed and extremely strong sense of smell. Although its physical strength was limited, its "small" size made it more agile, making it quite dangerous.

The most troublesome thing was that Gray Wolfmen were social creatures that only came out in packs, making them more troublesome than ordinary high-threat xenobeasts. Opportunities for one-on-one fights like this were rare.

'The colosseum must have deliberately chosen this one. Xenobeasts with self-healing abilities are probably the colosseum's favorite, as they can be reused.'

Zhou Jing thought to himself, his movements not stopping, and drew the long blade from his back... This was a new weapon purchased with money, forged from refined iron, tough and sharp, and of excellent quality among ordinary weapons.

After rushing into the colosseum, the Gray Wolfman wanted to escape, running and jumping frantically, but it couldn't jump over the high surrounding walls.

Its scarlet eyes rolled, and it finally noticed Zhou Jing in the arena. It immediately lowered its body, assuming a posture ready to pounce at any moment, baring its fangs at Zhou Jing, its throat making a low, muffled growl, threatening and intimidating its opponent.

Zhou Jing flexed his shoulder joints and suddenly charged forward quickly.

Seeing this, the Gray Wolfman roared and pounced ferociously, its ten claws like ten daggers, thrusting straight out.

Zhou Jing closed his breath and instantly entered the [Thunder Assault] state, his explosive power increasing sharply.

Whish!

His feet turned, and at the moment of collision, he spun to avoid the Gray Wolfman's pouncing claws, with only a hair's breadth of difference.

The long blade tilted upward, dragging out a narrow, cold light.

Whack!

In the colosseum, two figures instantly crossed paths.

Silently, a severed wolf hand flew out.

Fresh blood spurted, the cut smooth.

One of the Gray Wolfman's arms was chopped off in one exchange. Before Zhou Jing's blade with its high power and speed, it was like a hot knife through butter.

"Ooh!"

The Gray Wolfman cried out in pain, like a puppy, turned back, and swung its arm, heading straight for Zhou Jing's back.

However, Zhou Jing's speed was even faster. He stepped forward and returned a slash, swift and unparalleled.

Whack—The blade broke through flesh and bone all the way, directly cutting off half of the Gray Wolfman's remaining hand and a large piece of its forearm.

The Gray Wolfman was in agony and became extremely savage, ignoring the severe injury to its arm. It opened its large mouth, wanting to bite off the throat of the enemy who had injured it.

Driven by the strong neck muscles, the Gray Wolfman's bite was like the ejection of a snake's head, very swift. In the blink of an eye, its mouth full of sharp teeth was about to touch Zhou Jing's skin.

But before the Gray Wolfman could bite, Zhou Jing discerned its trajectory.

His expression unchanged, he raised his hand and delivered an elbow strike, heavily hitting the Gray Wolfman's chin, directly slamming shut its bloody mouth that was spewing a fishy odor.

Then he raised his foot and kicked out, a huge force erupting between the Gray Wolfman's chest and abdomen.

Bang!

The Gray Wolfman was kicked up into the air.

Only halfway through its flight, the chain around its neck suddenly tightened violently. The other end was actually grabbed in Zhou Jing's hand.

He exerted force and yanked!

In the next moment, an even greater force stopped the Gray Wolfman's momentum, directly yanking it back in front of Zhou Jing in mid-air.

Before it could land, Zhou Jing released the chain, gripped the blade with both hands, and met the flying Gray Wolfman with an explosive slash.

A flash of cold blade light appeared, cutting open the Gray Wolfman's vision horizontally.

The neck passed through the horizontal blade.

Pfft!

A huge wolf's head spun into the sky, a fountain of beast blood shooting out four or five meters high.

The headless corpse brushed past Zhou Jing, staggered forward a few steps, and then crashed to the ground behind Zhou Jing.

"Hoo..."

Zhou Jing exhaled the air trapped in his body, casually flicked off the viscous blood on the blade, and sheathed the blade.

A mid-threat xenobeast was nothing but a chump in front of Jesson's current physique. He didn't even need to use any rolling skills and could kill it head-on.

Clap clap clap—Applause came from the stands.

Kleeber's expression was approving: "Not bad."

The battle was short, almost a one-sided slaughter. He saw Zhou Jing's suppressive force in it, smooth and effortless.

It looked easy, but only by completely crushing the Gray Wolfman in all aspects of strength and speed, and discerning the opportunity to strike and the opponent's habits, could he kill a mid-threat xenobeast quickly with such seeming ease.

Kleeber had always been very fond of capable hunters.

He jumped off the stands, came to Zhou Jing, and looking up, said: "From now on, you are a glorious Empire Hunter."

There's no oath or paperwork or anything?... Zhou Jing wanted to scratch his head.

The xeno-beast world is more hasty... abbreviated in this regard than the main world.

Just then, new information popped up on the panel.

[Achievement [Empire Hunter] triggered!]

[You have gained 500 Star Realm Points]

[Specific conditions have been met... Load a new [Life Goal] for the current Apostle?]

[Current Life Goals: [Empty Slot] x3]

[Loadable Goals: [Empire's Chief Hunter], [Hunter Master], [Beyond Epic]]

"Hmm?" Zhou Jing was slightly taken aback.

A new life goal? He thought that after completing an Apostle's life goal and settling the game, this thing would no longer exist.

It seems that his guess was wrong. [Life Goal] is renewable and can be replaced or increased in some way, probably something like career tasks or career achievements.

And the initial number of life goals for a Star Realm Apostle meant how many "empty slots" there were after completion.

Zhou Jing quickly analyzed.

The so-called "achieving specific conditions," a part of it should be intervening in special events or joining certain camps?

If so, it's more favorable than he expected. The Eternal Apostle still has this stable way to obtain information state particles, not just causing trouble everywhere.

Unlike generating a new Apostle, the self-triggered [Life Goal] is no longer mandatory, and can be explored and chosen whether to load it for the Apostle, making it more flexible... This is similar to a normal person completing a goal and setting a new one.

And Zhou Jing discovered that the self-discovered [Life Goal] seemed to be similar to the Apostle's initial [Life Goal] route. Perhaps only more ambitious goals in a similar direction can be triggered?

Does this mean that a person who is determined to study medicine, unless they encounter special reasons, will not easily have a life ideal that deviates far, such as "becoming a literary master"?

'If not only the Eternal Apostle, but also Apostles who have not cleared the game can trigger new life goals on their own, then this may be a long-term route to brush up the game clearance evaluation. Completing one clearance task after another is more purposeful and stable than the illusory act of causing trouble, but the premise is that it can be triggered.'

Zhou Jing secretly pondered, excited.

The three goals that can be loaded at this time are all xeno-beast hunter routes.

[Empire's Chief Hunter] is self-explanatory, requiring imperial conferment; while [Hunter Master] is to master and become proficient in a large number of hunter breathing techniques and combat skills, and accumulate hunting one hundred xeno-beasts, becoming a "master" recognized by the hunter community; [Beyond Epic] is to exceed the historical record of enhancement times, higher than Raven's eight times.

"Jason Wood" is currently a salted fish without a goal. Zhou Jing felt that these three goals were similar to his plan, and without hesitation, he directly chose to load them.

[Jason Wood's life goals have been replaced]

[Current Life Goals: [Empire's Chief Hunter], [Hunter Master], [Beyond Epic]]

'I feel like life has a purpose all of a sudden...' Looking at the three new goals, Zhou Jing inexplicably had a little more motivation.

While he was operating the panel, Kleeber didn't stop.

"...As for your friend Rosen, I understand the situation, and I can make an exception and exempt him from the hunting test." Kleeber slowly said, "If you can successfully enhance three times, you will be a backbone member of the Empire Hunters, and you will be qualified to lead a small team. Let Rosen be in your team."

"Okay." Zhou Jing came back to his senses.

Kleeber nodded, raised his hand high, patted Zhou Jing on the shoulder, and encouraged him with the expectations of a great leader for a potential employee:

"I'm counting on you. You can come to me to communicate if you have time."

After saying that, he didn't continue to stay here, bid farewell to the two, and leaped away directly, not even going through the main entrance, swift and decisive.

Zhou Jing watched Kleeber jump out of the colosseum and then turned to look at Cole: "He's pretty good."

"Of course, Commander Kleeber is the old leader that our Empire Hunters trust. He remembers the name of every hunter and apprentice," Cole shrugged.

While the two were chatting, the medical team waiting on the side of the colosseum had already entered the arena to see if the Gray Wolfman could still be saved.

Discovering that it was dead, the medical team immediately turned into a dissection team, collecting materials on the spot and squeezing out the Gray Wolfman's secondary value.

Zhou Jing and Cole didn't stay long, bid farewell to the person in charge of the colosseum, and set off back.

Not long after, the two returned to the Empire Hunter outpost. Zhou Jing didn't delay and went directly to the workshop.

Hearing that he had officially become an Empire Hunter, the workshop opened its services and took him to the warehouse to show him the inventory of alien blood.

"This is our current stock. See what you want."

Zhou Jing took the list handed over by the workshop staff, and his eyes widened.

The dense content filled the list, one page after another.

There's so much stock?!

There's such a large number of hunters here, it shouldn't be like this.

Seeing Zhou Jing's surprise, the workshop staff explained helplessly:

"This workshop is directly under the Empire, unlike other towns. Our production capacity is much greater than consumption. We have a sufficient amount of xeno-beast materials, and production almost never stops, and when developing new formulas, we create a large number of by-products.

We only use alien blood in large quantities when training apprentices every year, but usually, few hunters want to break through to higher enhancement levels, so the warehouse is always getting bigger and bigger, with all kinds of alien blood piling up and gathering dust..."

Zhou Jing looked at the list, one high-quality potion after another that would definitely be reserved in other towns, but almost no one cared about here. His eyes became brighter and brighter.

This royal capital is the right place to come!