Chapter 226 – Even If Going, I Must Go Myself

To be honest, Su Ming was genuinely tempted.

Tianfeng City was indeed a place full of opportunities for Professionals, and it was undeniably attractive from every perspective.

Even for Su Ming, who possessed the Golden Finger capable of producing various Extraordinary Items, and who could afford to disregard most opportunities in Tianfeng City, he still needed to exchange chips by using Extraordinary Items and materials to open packages.

From this perspective, Tianfeng City, which guarded the Chaos Demon Cave, was also a Holy Land for Su Ming, who wanted to exchange chips to open packages. There were countless Extraordinary Items there, endless Phantom Demons to hunt, and more business opportunities, allowing him to sell rare items to accumulate wealth and continue exchanging for more chips to open packages.

None of these were available in Longyao City.

Just think about it: in the first year after arriving in this world, Su Ming could only slowly gather materials from Phantom Demons through missions to exchange for chips, which was highly inefficient.

After a full year of accumulation, even after trading with Xu Qianqian, the number of chips Su Ming obtained was only over a hundred thousand. Although this was enough to open many packages, with the massive gains from the Huaming Campaign and his dual professions advancing to the Advanced level, those chips were gradually becoming insufficient to meet Su Ming’s needs.

After all, opening packages was entirely random, and the items obtained weren’t necessarily useful. Many Extraordinary Items that were once decent had become far less effective now that Su Ming’s dual professions had advanced to the Advanced level.

For instance, Su Ming had previously opened hundreds of packages and obtained many Extraordinary Items that boosted Spirit Power, causing his Spirit Power to surge more than tenfold and triggering his Awakening. But now, even if he opened the same number of items, the increase would be far less dramatic given his already immense Spirit Power.

The same went for Red Vein Stones, which could enhance Bloodline concentration and increase the likelihood of a Hunter’s Awakening. But now that he had already awakened, Red Vein Stones had become far less useful to Su Ming.

Under these circumstances, Su Ming urgently needed more chips to open packages, increasing the chances of obtaining more useful, higher-level Extraordinary Items to boost his strength.

From this perspective, going to Tianfeng City, which guarded the Chaos Demon Cave, was still very appealing to Su Ming.

Of course, tempted as he was, Su Ming didn’t immediately accept Duan Xiaofei’s offer to recommend him.

The reason was simple.

“Are you sure that if I go to Tianfeng City on your recommendation, what will surprise the factions there is my right hand, and not the Demon Emperor Sword I carry?”

Su Ming’s words, spoken with a faint smile, caused the smile on Duan Xiaofei’s face to stiffen slightly.

That’s right. If Su Ming went to Tianfeng City based on Duan Xiaofei’s recommendation, what awaited him might not be opportunities but disaster.

“The conflicts among the various Families in Longyao City are already intense. In a major Base City like Tianfeng City, which gathers the world’s most outstanding Professionals and powerful factions, there must be even more scheming and deceit, right?”

Su Ming didn’t want to assume the worst of others, but he also wouldn’t blindly trust their goodwill.He wouldn’t dare say it applied to everyone, but in a place like Tianfeng City, there were certainly forces like the Mo Family, and it was absolutely impossible for everyone to harbor goodwill toward outsiders.

Not to mention, when faced with a Divine Artifact of astonishing power, even those who originally had good intentions—how could one be sure they wouldn’t develop some improper thoughts?

The power of a Divine Artifact was truly unfair. Even an ordinary person obtaining it could instantly possess incredible strength. If an average Professional gained such power, they could fearlessly challenge even the Seven-Star Professionals standing at the pinnacle of humanity, let alone those already powerful Professionals. How much stronger they would become with such power was imaginable.

As for the side effects of the Divine Artifact, as mentioned earlier, they might not necessarily deter everyone.

Not only those willing to pay any price for power but even those with reservations—whether they could resist the temptation when faced with such immense strength remained unknown.

After all, Su Ming himself had been tempted when he saw the Demon Emperor Sword, so how could others be any different?

Therefore, Su Ming was certain that if he went to Tianfeng City openly and boldly, what awaited him there would definitely not be entirely good.

If the people there simply intended to rob him outright, he would actually feel more at ease.

What he feared was that some would be hypocrites, harboring malicious intentions while using righteous-sounding reasons to disgust him.

Su Ming had no desire to go there and encounter the major forces, only to have someone stride up to him and demand he hand over the Divine Artifact, claiming such power should serve all humanity—that he should entrust it to more outstanding experts so they could wield it against the Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss.

Such appeals to national duty and moral coercion—Su Ming believed there were definitely people who wouldn’t hesitate to use them.

For this reason, although tempted, Su Ming had to refuse Duan Xiaofei’s recommendation.

“Even if I go to Tianfeng City, I’ll definitely go on my own. I’d rather not go through your recommendation,” Su Ming stated thus.

Duan Xiaofei opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself at a loss for words.

He wanted to tell Su Ming how dangerous it would be to go to Tianfeng City alone, but the other was clearly more worried about the greater dangers he might face through a recommendation—dangers from his own side. Given that, such persuasion felt utterly feeble.

He also wanted to tell Su Ming that accepting a recommendation would grant him support and resources, allowing him to grow stronger quickly and transform himself. But compared to the power brought by the Demon Emperor Sword, the enhancements from such support and resources seemed laughable.

Ultimately, from the moment a Divine Artifact like the Demon Emperor Sword fell into Su Ming’s hands, he was destined never to trust anyone’s goodwill again.

As for guaranteeing that the people of Tianfeng City wouldn’t covet the Demon Emperor Sword or make a move for it—even Duan Xiaofei himself didn’t believe such words.

In short, just as Su Ming had said, even if he went to Tianfeng City, he would go alone, absolutely not using any recommendation from there to give others a chance to manipulate him at will.

He even planned to shed this identity. In the future, even if he went to Tianfeng City, he wouldn’t make his way there under the title of Ming Wang.

Otherwise, all those who coveted the Demon Emperor Sword would become his greatest enemies.”Then just give your recommendation opportunity to someone else.”

After leaving these words, Su Ming turned around and walked straight out of the Xu Family Estate.

Duan Xiaofei stared blankly at Su Ming’s retreating figure, ultimately letting out a long sigh.

“When will humans stop being wary of and fighting each other? That’s probably when we’ll be able to counterattack the Spirit Demon Abyss, right?”

It was unclear whether he was referring to Su Ming or those so-called major powers he understood all too well.

And this was certainly nothing but a pipe dream anyway.

……

“Tianfeng City… huh?”

After leaving the Xu Family Estate, Su Ming didn’t actually leave immediately. Instead, he found a secluded corner, stroked his chin, and began to ponder.

While the location of Tianfeng City wasn’t exactly classified information, it was quite distant from the Four Base Cities located in coastal areas.

Very few people paid attention to Tianfeng City, and even those who did almost never considered going there. Just like country folk who both yearn for and fear big cities, there were very few people in Longyao City who knew much about Tianfeng City.

If he wanted to go to Tianfeng City, he would first need to obtain a map.

In this world, maps were extremely important.

Not only because they indicated locations and directions, but more importantly for safety reasons.

Even in dangerous wilderness areas, there were relatively safer places with fewer Phantom Demons.

Therefore, when it came to maps of areas outside base cities, if they marked safer zones and secure routes, their value far exceeded that of ordinary maps.

If Su Ming wanted to go to Tianfeng City, it would be best to get a sufficiently detailed map that clearly marked safe routes.

Otherwise, even with his current improved abilities, if Su Ming recklessly charged into dangerous wilderness areas and accidentally entered some Phantom Demon nests or territories of high-level Phantom Demons, there was still a chance he might end up dead.

Even though Su Ming still had many life-saving escape items in his backpack, he didn’t want to stake his survival entirely on successfully escaping.

Given this, obtaining a detailed map became the most crucial step in going to Tianfeng City.

“But who would have such a detailed map?”

Su Ming first thought of Yun Langyue.

As the head of the Cloudflow Commerce, the Yun Family Estate must have maps of areas outside base cities, and they would certainly be detailed.

Otherwise, this commerce wouldn’t have established businesses in all Four Base Cities.

However, whether the Cloudflow Commerce had maps leading to Tianfeng City was unknown.

But since the Cloudflow Commerce dealt in so many types of business, they might possibly be involved in map trading – that was also a possibility.

Plus, he had used the Yun family’s name, fabricated a Ming Wang alias, and obtained the Demon Emperor Sword…

“…I should quickly coordinate with that girl Yun Langyue later.”

Su Ming sighed.

After obtaining the map to Tianfeng City, he would need to find a way to request leave from the Academy.

Or rather, with his current strength, hiding in the Academy wouldn’t provide any further help.

Now that both his professions had reached the upper level, Su Ming wasn’t satisfied with just staying in Longyao City, let alone remaining in the Academy.

“Perhaps I could apply for early graduation.”

Su Ming remembered this possibility.Attending the Demon Hunter Academy allows for early graduation applications.

As long as one passes the official Professional assessment to become a licensed Hunter or Sorcerer and obtains a formal license, they can graduate from the Academy.

Naturally, the Professional assessment posed no difficulty for Su Ming.

Not only was he already an Upper-Rank Professional, but even if he weren’t, he possessed ample ability to pass the assessment. Ultimately, the Professional assessment wasn’t particularly challenging—anyone who successfully graduated could eventually pass it, becoming a One-Star Professional and joining the Professional circle as immediate combat reinforcements.

An assessment that One-Star Professionals could pass wouldn’t just fail to stump Su Ming; it wouldn’t even pose a challenge to an elite student.

It could be said that top students and elite students at the Demon Hunter Academy were all Geniuses capable of passing the Professional assessment, with at least One-Star Professional strength, while the highest-ranked among them even possessed Two-Star Professional strength.

If they wished, they could graduate from the Demon Hunter Academy at any time and become official Professionals.

But they generally didn’t do so.

Because the Academy housed the Archive, offering free access to various combat techniques and Spirit Arts, along with a scholarship system that periodically provided resource rewards to help students enhance their abilities.

Such conditions weren’t available outside.

Once entering the Professional circle, one had to purchase resources themselves, buy knowledge themselves, and earn money themselves—nowhere near the favorable conditions within the Academy.

Additionally, the Academy had various instructors providing hands-on guidance, which even led to scions of great Families enrolling for further training, striving to reach greater heights.

Of course, this also included an element of protection for these Family heirs.

Tasks in the Professional circle were far more difficult and dangerous than those at the Academy, and the Families naturally preferred to shield their promising young members by keeping them in the Academy rather than risking early casualties.

Thus, top and elite students naturally had no desire to graduate early.

Su Ming hadn’t originally planned on early graduation either.

But now…

“I’m an elite student now too. Even if I apply for early graduation, it shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

Though graduating early would likely mean bidding farewell to those two troublemakers at the Academy.

And then there were Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei—those two juniors were still acting mysteriously, and Su Ming hadn’t had the chance to uncover their secrets yet.

Most importantly, there was An Zijin.

How would his childhood neighbor react upon learning he intended to graduate early?

“…Suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. Must be my imagination, right?”

Immediately, Su Ming quickly dismissed some dangerous thoughts.

“Forget it. There’s no need to rush the matter of going to Tianfeng City. I still need to properly arrange things with Mom and Dad.”

Leaving Longyao City for a distant Base City wasn’t something he could do without thoroughly discussing it with his parents.

How to settle his parents after his departure was another issue altogether.Longyao City was currently in a tumultuous period, facing wars one moment and being targeted by underground giants like ‘Sin’ the next. Coupled with the terrifying King of Phantom Demons buried beneath the city, it was foreseeable how unstable this place would become in the future.

At the very least, Su Ming didn’t believe ‘Sin’ would let the matter rest.

“It seems I need to find a way to relocate my parents,” Su Ming thought with a furrowed brow.

After organizing his thoughts for a while, Su Ming finally left the corner and returned to the Xu Family Estate.

This time, he had shed all disguises and restored his original appearance.

7017k

(End of Chapter)