Chapter 267 – Xu Xiayan's Recruitment and Calculations

————「Seven-Star」.

This is the universally acknowledged pinnacle of humanity today—the highest rank, the most formidable existence.

At best, a Six-Star Professional can only dominate in rural base cities like Longyao City, becoming the de facto apex, no different from a local warlord.

The true pinnacle recognized in people’s hearts remains the Seven-Star Professional.

Throughout history, every hero who left an indelible mark on human milestones has been of this caliber.

Beings of this rank are also humanity’s strongest reliance—the confidence to resist the invasion of the Spirit Demon Abyss.

With the Terror Species having manifested only once so far, Seven-Star Professionals can even single-handedly subdue Nightmare Species, slaying powerful Phantom Demons that leave Six-Star Professionals helpless and barely able to hold their own.

Only a small fraction of Phantom Demons—the undisputed elites among Nightmare Species—can rival Seven-Star Professionals.

In fact, only those Phantom Demons that failed to evolve into Terror Species and mutated instead can slightly surpass Seven-Star Professionals.

Under such circumstances, every Seven-Star Professional is seen as a hero in people’s eyes—a potential savior who could, at any moment, rescue countless lives from terrifying disasters and reverse humanity’s defeats single-handedly.

Even if a Terror Species were to manifest, it would ultimately be these Seven-Star Professionals who step forward, rise in defiance, and protect all of humanity through sheer numbers, confronting the enemy head-on.

The Terror Species sealed beneath Longyao City was subdued in this very way—by the mightiest among humanity.

Thus, the Seven-Star rank holds an exceptionally transcendent status in human society, not only as heroes in the eyes of the world but also as the ultimate aspiration for countless Professionals.

At least, as of now, no human has ever broken through the Seven-Star rank to reach a realm beyond it.

Perhaps, if someone could obtain the bloodline of a Terror Species, they might attempt to break through to a realm above Seven-Star.

But the bloodline of a Terror Species is impossible to obtain.

In the human world, only one Terror Species has ever manifested, and even in the Spirit Demon Abyss, few Phantom Demons evolve to this stage—the total number of Terror Species in the entire Spirit Demon Abyss likely wouldn’t exceed the fingers of one hand.

To obtain a Phantom Demon’s bloodline, one must capture it without harming it or depleting its bloodline and vitality, then perform an Extraction Ritual.

Capture alive a Terror Species—one that can turn the land into Hell, kick a base city like a ball, leave countless Seven-Star Professionals in the dust, and require immense sacrifice just to barely seal it?

Without harming it? Without letting it suffer any loss?

Is such a feat even possible?

Therefore, the Nightmare Species bloodline remains the limit of supernatural bloodlines humans can obtain. The Terror Species bloodline exists only in dreams—utterly unattainable for humanity.

It’s unrealistic.

Sorcerers, however, are not bound by bloodline limitations. Their own spiritual nature can grow, making them more likely than Hunters to break through the Seven-Star realm.However, that is only in theory. In reality, no Sorcerer has ever managed to Breakthrough the Seven-Star level and reach a higher realm.

It goes without saying how immense the spiritual energy required to reach that level must be.

For a human to give birth to a Sorcerer surpassing Seven-Star might be even more difficult than for a Phantom Demon to evolve into a terrifying species at the end of its evolution.

In summary, Seven-Star is the current limit that humans can reach.

And now, right before Xu Xiayan’s eyes, appeared someone with the potential to achieve Seven-Star.

This left Xu Xiayan utterly stunned and bewildered.

“Seven-Star…”

Xu Qianqian’s eye twitched slightly, her gaze shifting restlessly.

Although she had mentally prepared herself, knowing that Su Ming’s potential was extraordinary, witnessing firsthand that he possessed the capability to reach the pinnacle of humanity still left Xu Qianqian unable to stay composed.

Even Su Ming was somewhat surprised.

“So, my spiritual energy has already grown to this extent?”

It seemed that the heart-to-heart moment with An Zijin had a greater impact on his state of mind than he had imagined.

Su Ming couldn’t help but smile.

On the Hunter side, possessing the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species was equivalent to having a pass to Seven-Star, with potential reaching directly to that level.

On the Sorcerer side, it was now confirmed that his spiritual energy was extraordinary, having undergone a complete transformation, granting him the potential to advance to Seven-Star as well.

Dual Seven-Star potential, the peak of both professions—unbeknownst to him, one side of the door had already opened for Su Ming.

Knowing this, if Su Ming didn’t smile, it would seem a bit fake.

As a result, while smiling, Su Ming said something like this:

“Ah, I couldn’t even shatter a crystal ball. It seems I’m just not cut out to be a protagonist.”

He was so delighted that he could even joke like this.

Su Ming’s joke finally snapped Xu Xiayan out of her daze.

“Whoosh!”

Without any hesitation, Xu Xiayan stepped forward swiftly and picked up the spiritual energy tester.

She was conducting an inspection.

This was Xu Xiayan’s first reaction.

After finishing the inspection, Xu Xiayan stood there in a daze, murmuring to herself.

“It’s not broken…”

The instrument was not broken.

In other words, everything she had seen was real.

But how was this possible?

“This is Longyao City. How could a Genius with spiritual energy high enough to grow into a Seven-Star Sorcerer possibly appear here…?”

Xu Xiayan simply couldn’t believe it.

In response, Xu Qianqian glanced at Xu Xiayan and said calmly,

“I told you before, if you underestimate him, even you, Aunt, will suffer a great loss.”

Hearing this, Xu Xiayan fell silent.

The next second, Xu Xiayan raised her head and looked at Su Ming.

Her gaze had become intensely fervent.

“Uh…”

The fiery stare instantly snapped Su Ming out of his foolish delight, sending a shiver down his spine.

But by then, Xu Xiayan had already approached Su Ming with a beaming smile.

“Hey there, little brother Su Ming.”

Xu Xiayan wore an incredibly beautiful smile.

This smile was different from the somewhat dangerous one earlier—it was very kind, very amiable, and even carried a hint of wanting to devour Su Ming whole.

“Wh-what do you want?”

Su Ming grew wary.

But Xu Xiayan acted as if she hadn’t noticed, speaking in an exceedingly affectionate tone.”Sister has an immature suggestion. I wonder if you’d be willing to listen?”

Before Su Ming could even process these words, Xu Qianqian, standing nearby, was the first to respond.

“Aunt.” Xu Qianqian stared intently at Xu Xiayan as she spoke. “You’re not thinking of recruiting Su Ming into the organization behind you, are you?”

Correct.

Xu Xiayan had indeed been moved and wanted to recruit Su Ming into the organization she represented.

“This is a prodigy with Seven-Star potential!” Xu Xiayan made no attempt to conceal her intentions, speaking with barely concealed excitement. “And he’s a Sorcerer at that. Do you understand what that means?”

Seven-Star Professionals—beings of this caliber numbered only a few dozen among hundreds of millions of humans.

Even in Tianfeng City, that Human Sanctuary, center of the world, paradise for Professionals, and gathering place of resources, there were only slightly over ten Seven-Star Professionals.

Therefore, every talent with the potential to become a Seven-Star Professional was humanity’s treasure—prodigies whom major organizations would value highly, desperately protect, shelter, and recruit.

Prodigies of this level might not even appear once across several generations, even within those Super Families inheriting Nightmare Species Bloodlines.

After all, Bloodlines differentiate, decline, weaken, and might not be fully inherited.

This meant that once a Nightmare Species Bloodline propagated, aside from the initial few generations, far fewer people in subsequent generations could inherit a Bloodline of this level.

Even with deliberate efforts to maintain the Bloodline, refine it, and control the reproduction of descendants, maintaining peak condition indefinitely was impossible.

Moreover, compared to Hunters, talents capable of becoming Seven-Star Sorcerers were even rarer.

Sorcerers were already fewer in number than Hunters to begin with. Those who could Awaken a Spirit Constitution were exceedingly rare, and those who could develop their spirit to the level required for Seven-Star advancement were rarer still.

According to Xu Xiayan’s knowledge, among Tianfeng City’s dozen-plus Seven-Star Professionals, only two were Sorcerers.

Longyao City had been similar in the past—among its total of seven Six-Star Professionals, only one was a Sorcerer.

The number of Sorcerers was truly much smaller compared to Hunters.

Professionals worldwide numbered in the tens of millions, yet over seventy percent were Hunters, while Sorcerers accounted for less than thirty percent—roughly three times fewer than Hunters.

Yet paradoxically, Sorcerers were natural enemies of Phantom Demons, possessing unparalleled destructive power comparable to nuclear weapons.

This made Sorcerers highly sought-after commodities on the battlefield and targets countless organizations sought to recruit.

What organization wouldn’t want nuclear weapons?

What powerful individual wouldn’t fear an Advanced Spirit Art from a Seven-Star Sorcerer?

Not to mention a Seven-Star Sorcerer—even a Four-Star Sorcerer capable of using Advanced Spirit Arts represented nuclear-level deterrence and someone countless organizations wanted to recruit.

This was especially true for Hunter Families, where nearly all members were Hunters, making it impossible to cultivate family disciples into Sorcerers and forcing them to recruit externally.

This created an extreme craving for Sorcerer-type talents within Hunter Families, with demand far exceeding that of ordinary organizations.

The organization behind Xu Xiayan was precisely such a Hunter Family.That is a Super Family, one that carries the Nightmare Species Bloodline, with more than one Seven-Star Hunter within its ranks. In Tianfeng City, its status is transcendent, firmly positioned at the pinnacle, with only a handful of forces able to compare.

Xu Xiayan was noticed by an envoy sent by this family, subsequently receiving a recommendation and accepting their support. With vast resources and opportunities, she was able to grow to where she is today.

Naturally, such a Xu Xiayan belongs to that family’s faction.

Now, with a Sorcerer possessing Seven-Star potential appearing before her, how could she not recruit him?

“Don’t worry, we will absolutely not treat you unfairly. The resources provided to you will be of the highest grade, and the treatment will be the best. As long as you can grow, we won’t impose too many restrictions, ensuring you have ample freedom.”

Xu Xiayan began painting a rosy picture.

“Look at me, I’m extremely free. Usually, I only take on a few missions a year, and most of the time, I can do whatever I want. There’s even someone backing me up, so no one dares to offend me easily. Life is quite comfortable.”

Xu Xiayan coaxed patiently, her gaze toward Su Ming still blazing, as if she had found a rare treasure.

Unfortunately…

“I’m a Sorcerer,” Su Ming blinked and said, “Even if I were to join a faction, shouldn’t I choose the Sorcerer Guild?”

With that one sentence, the smile on Xu Xiayan’s face froze.

But Su Ming didn’t stop there.

“The Sorcerer Guild is full of Sorcerers. Not only are there Upper-Rank Sorcerers, but the headquarters in Tianfeng City probably even has Seven-Star Sorcerers, right?”

“With those Seniors to guide me, wouldn’t my prospects be much brighter than in a family faction with little ability to nurture Sorcerers?”

“Moreover, the Sorcerer Guild has gathered almost all the Spirit Arts in the world. The Spell Formula books for the entire sequence of Spirit Arts can likely be found at the Sorcerer Guild headquarters.”

“Compared to that, a Hunter family’s faction probably doesn’t have such resources or collections, right?”

Su Ming spoke eloquently, listing examples one by one, causing Xu Xiayan’s face to gradually fall.

How could Xu Xiayan not know these things?

Precisely because of this, Sorcerers generally choose to join the Sorcerer Guild rather than family factions.

The Sorcerer Guild monopolizes nearly ninety percent of Sorcerer-type talents, leaving family factions to pick up the scraps.

It’s also for this reason that the various family factions are so eager for Sorcerers and have such high demand for them.

But compared to family factions, the Sorcerer Guild is undoubtedly the best choice in the minds of Sorcerers.

After all, family factions are built on Bloodline connections, centered around their own Bloodline. They have countless ways to train Hunters, but their ability to nurture Sorcerers falls far short of the Sorcerer Guild.

Additionally, the Sorcerer Guild is academic in nature. Joining it guarantees maximum freedom without the restrictions of a family faction, which is even more appealing to Sorcerers.

Of course, the Sorcerer Guild has its drawbacks.

As an academic organization, they hardly need to provide resources for their members.

But even so, the vast collection of Spirit Arts and the presence of Senior experts available for guidance at any time continue to firmly capture the hearts of Sorcerers.

Su Ming clearly understood the benefits of joining the Sorcerer Guild.In that case, trying to coax him into joining her side was probably impossible.

“Can’t you reconsider it properly?”

Xu Xiayan immediately looked at Su Ming with a pitiful expression.

To be fair, when a stunningly beautiful woman pleaded so miserably like this, even a straight-laced man like Su Ming couldn’t help but feel swayed.

Fortunately, Su Ming wasn’t alone here.

“Cut it out, Xu Xiayan.”

Xu Qianqian grabbed Xu Xiayan’s face and unceremoniously pushed her away from Su Ming.

“I never asked you to do unnecessary things. All you need to do is bring Su Ming to Tianfeng City.”

Xu Qianqian showed no consideration for her aunt’s dignity.

“…Fine.”

Xu Xiayan immediately deflated.

However, she was secretly calculating in her mind.

“Anyway, it’ll take several days and nights to reach Tianfeng City. I have plenty of time to slowly persuade him.”

This was Xu Xiayan’s plan.

Otherwise, if she let such a promising treasure slip away, she’d probably have trouble sleeping well even in her dreams.

(End of Chapter)