Chapter 276 – Building My Own Team

Dragonheart District, Main Street.

Walking along this broad avenue that led directly to the square housing the Base City Management Building and the Professional Assistance Center, Su Ming fiddled with the Terminal in his hand. Following the tutorial, he first bound his phone card and Professional Certificate to ensure all functions were fully operational, while simultaneously scanning his surroundings with a faint trace of astonishment in his eyes.

“This Tianfeng City truly lives up to its reputation as a paradise for Professionals. You can encounter them practically anywhere.”

Such were Su Ming’s thoughts.

Along the way, he had lost count of how many fully-armed Professionals he had passed by, or how many he had spotted blending into the street scenes—some shopping, others resting and eating at outdoor seating areas of street-side shops.

Throughout his walk, he had seen one Professional after another, witnessing scenes where Professionals mingled seamlessly with ordinary citizens, appearing completely natural and taken for granted.

This was a rare sight in Longyao City.

“After all, there are too few Professionals in Longyao City. Except for specific occasions, it’s really uncommon to see Professionals appearing everywhere at any time.”

“But Tianfeng City is different.”

“The ratio of Professionals to ordinary people here isn’t that high—typically two or three Professionals for every hundred individuals. Plus, this is the main street in the city center leading to the Professional Assistance Center, so it’s perfectly normal to encounter so many Professionals here.”

Su Ming was gradually acclimating to all of this.

“Mi-ling…”

In contrast, Little Hai’er, the mermaid girl in her invisible state, watched the Professionals constantly passing by her side with considerable trepidation.

Being a Phantom Demon, the girl was naturally antagonistic toward ordinary Professionals. Finding herself in a place where Professionals were so ubiquitous made her quite nervous, fearing that she might suddenly be discovered and the surrounding people would pounce on her.

“Don’t worry.” Su Ming noticed Little Hai’er’s apprehension and whispered behind him, “Even Xu Xiayan couldn’t detect you. As long as you’re careful, ordinary Professionals shouldn’t be able to discover you either.”

“Mi-ling.” Little Hai’er responded, though she sighed inwardly.

The mermaid girl felt she was having a truly difficult time. Throughout the journey, she had to remain vigilant against being discovered by Xu Xiayan and Bai Xuefei, requiring extreme caution. Now, she also had to guard against detection by the Professionals in Tianfeng City, leaving her constantly on edge and feeling quite mentally exhausted.

Back in Longyao City, she hadn’t faced such pressure. Even at the Demon Hunter Academy, filled with apprentice hunters and apprentice sorcerers everywhere, Little Hai’er hadn’t worried about being discovered. But here in Tianfeng City, it was completely different.

If nothing else, just the Professionals passing by on the street gave Little Hai’er much greater pressure than those in Longyao City.

What did this indicate?

It showed that these Professionals were generally more powerful than those in Longyao City!

Even though these Professionals were basically all lower-rank and she hadn’t encountered any Upper-Rank Professionals yet, the gathering of so many high-quality lower-rank Professionals still left Little Hai’er feeling anxious and unsettled, finding it hard to calm down.

Even Su Ming had noticed the fundamental differences between the Professionals in Tianfeng City and those in Longyao City.For instance, among the Professional teams currently passing by Su Ming, nearly every member had several bottles of high-quality alchemical potions hanging from their waists.

Not far away, a Professional who hadn’t yet advanced to the Upper Rank was openly flaunting a dagger that was clearly an alchemical weapon.

Although daggers weren’t particularly outstanding among alchemical weapons, with only a handful making it onto the weapon rankings, this category of alchemical weapons generally wasn’t of high quality. Yet, even the lowest-grade alchemical weapon would spark a frenzy among Upper-Rank Professionals if it appeared in Longyao City, making it utterly impossible for a lower-rank Professional to possess one.

Hadn’t Jiang Wanyu been targeted and harassed by numerous Upper-Rank Professionals for a period simply because she owned an alchemical weapon?

But here in Tianfeng City, a lower-rank Professional could boldly carry an alchemical weapon on the street. While other Professionals cast noticeable glances, few displayed greed or intense envy.

What did this signify?

It meant that in Tianfeng City, alchemical weapons, though not commonplace, were far from rare. Even lower-rank Professionals could acquire them, which prevented such items from arousing covetousness or jealousy!

Beyond this, many Professionals were equipped with noticeably superior gear, elevating their Aura by at least a level compared to those in Longyao City.

Witnessing this, Su Ming had reason to believe that if Professionals from Tianfeng City and Longyao City were to clash, those from the former would undoubtedly be far stronger within the same star rank!

In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Tianfeng City’s Professionals could challenge and defeat those from Longyao City even when outranked!

The gap wasn’t just in equipment and consumables—it extended to their Legacies as well.

The combat techniques and Spirit Arts mastered by Tianfeng City’s Professionals clearly surpassed those of their Longyao City counterparts by more than a margin. Coupled with their location at the frontline Base City near the Chaos Demon Cave, where they frequently undertook missions to hunt Phantom Demons, Tianfeng City’s Professionals carried a palpable air of solemnity and lethality. Their combat experience was undoubtedly far richer than that of Longyao City’s Professionals.

These were true Professionals who integrated strength, skill, and equipment, honed through hardship and life-or-death battles!

In contrast, Longyao City’s Professionals resembled fresh recruits on their first deployment, utterly incomparable to these battle-hardened veterans!

“So this is what Tianfeng City’s Professionals are like?”

Su Ming couldn’t help but marvel.

Not only were there far more Professionals here than in Longyao City, but their quality was astonishingly high. No wonder Longyao City’s Professionals had always been on the defensive against the Underground Professionals of 『Sin』—the two sides weren’t even on the same level.

Even Longyao City’s Upper-Rank Professionals gained no advantage when facing their counterparts from 『Sin』.

This made it clear that Longyao City’s Professionals truly couldn’t measure up to those beyond its borders.

“No wonder those Underground Professionals look down on Longyao City’s Professionals, always treating us like backward country folk.”

A simmering heat stirred within Su Ming’s heart.

Coming to a Base City like this ignited in him an impulse to truly prove his mettle.Back in Longyao City, Su Ming had never felt such impulses.

The temple of Longyao City was ultimately too small to ignite the fervor in the heart of a Transmigrator like Su Ming, who possessed a Golden Finger.

Thus, it was only at this moment that Su Ming truly developed an ambitious aspiration to reach the pinnacle of this world, to dominate this world and this Base City.

It proves that every man carries a burning passion in his heart.

The only question is whether that passion can be ignited.

Even a shut-in, when thrust onto the battlefield and stirred to bloodlust, cannot conceal the fervor boiling within him.

Su Ming now felt as though he had arrived at a stage where he could fully display his talents, and he was already growing impatient to make his mark here.

“Alright, let’s first think about what to do next.”

Su Ming temporarily suppressed the fire in his heart and fell into contemplation.

His ultimate goal was to obtain as many resources as possible to exchange for chips to open packages.

According to Xu Xiayan, to acquire ample resources, one must earn enough Contribution Points.

Contribution Points were the hard currency within Tianfeng City; almost any Extraordinary Item could be purchased with them. Theoretically, with sufficient Contribution Points, one could even empty Tianfeng City’s treasure vault outright or freely hoard Extraordinary Items in the market without any reservations.

In a place like Tianfeng City, resources were absolutely abundant.

With the Chaos Demon Cave providing an inexhaustible supply—be it materials from Phantom Demons or rare treasures found only in the Spirit Demon Abyss—all could be found in Tianfeng City.

Su Ming logged into the Tianfeng City Professional Center and discovered that some people even listed their acquired treasures for sale online. The array of items dazzled him; many he was seeing for the first time. For someone like him, who possessed a Golden Finger capable of yielding any Extraordinary Item, this was still a remarkably novel experience.

Naturally, he coveted these treasures intensely.

“If all these were thrown into the shop, how many chips could they be exchanged for?”

Just thinking about it made Su Ming feel as though he was drooling.

Therefore, Su Ming also agreed with Xu Xiayan’s perspective.

“To make a name for myself in Tianfeng City, I must earn enough Contribution Points.”

Contribution Points could accomplish too much; their value to a Professional was immense. As hard currency, they far surpassed the worth of mere money.

With sufficient Contribution Points, Su Ming could indulge in extensive purchases, filling his chip reserves.

“Additionally, forming a team is also necessary.”

Originally, Su Ming had intended to be a lone wolf, reluctant to join any team or collaborate with others.

He had too many secrets and hidden strengths; teaming up casually might force him to reveal much.

If he chose not to expose his abilities and held back, he wouldn’t be able to take on high-difficulty missions, preventing him from earning substantial Contribution Points.

This undoubtedly did not align with Su Ming’s own interests.

Hence, Su Ming had initially wanted to avoid joining a team and being constrained by one.

However, after checking the official website, he found that teams in Tianfeng City differed significantly from what he had imagined.

Here, a team was not just a group for mutual support and assistance but also a faction in its own right.The commander who forms a team not only gains privileges, such as priority access to high-difficulty, high-reward missions at the Professional Center, but can also accept multiple missions at once and assign them to Professionals within the team for separate completion. This allows for rapid completion of numerous missions and the accumulation of substantial Contribution Points.

Of these Contribution Points, the commander can levy 30% as operational funds for the team. If there is a need to equip team members with gear, supplies, alchemical tools, and other resources, the levy can even exceed half.

Under such a system, commanders of large teams are almost invariably individuals who earn immense profits, amassing vast amounts of Contribution Points to purchase resources for self-improvement, leading to exceptionally rapid growth in strength.

Thanks to this, if a team operates successfully, the commander undoubtedly reaps the greatest benefits.

Team members who join are not merely nominal participants; they must sign binding contracts in black and white, obligating them to safeguard the team’s internal secrets and follow the commander’s directives. The only variation lies in the duration of their commitment.

Similar to employment contracts, some opt for long-term agreements, serving the team for extended periods, while others choose short-term contracts, joining the team temporarily to fight for its cause. Even after the contract expires, confidentiality agreements remain in effect, eliminating concerns about members leaking secrets.

This is why Xu Xiayan stated that a team here functions as an individual’s personal faction, wielding significant authority.

Consequently, every Professional aspires to form their own team.

Unfortunately, establishing a team is no easy feat.

“Without appealing conditions or sufficient strength, who would willingly join a team, subject to orders and restrictions from others?”

Professionals who choose to join teams typically do so to earn Contribution Points while avoiding the dangers of solo missions. Simple missions yield insufficient rewards to satisfy their ambitions and needs, prompting them to seek team membership. By leveraging the team’s strength, they can tackle high-difficulty missions, reduce risks, and rely on companions for mutual support, thereby maximizing their earnings.

Naturally, Professionals must carefully evaluate teams, as poorly conditioned teams are unlikely to attract any members.

To facilitate this, the Professional Center has established a Talent Market, operating 24/7, where Professionals seek teams to join and teams recruit new members. It stands as Tianfeng City’s most bustling and prominent location.

Even core disciples of the Eight Great Families have teams recruiting there, underscoring the Talent Market’s vibrancy.

“It seems I’ll have to go there as well.”

Yes.

Su Ming has decided to form his own team.

Joining someone else’s team is unnecessary, as it would impose too many restrictions on him.

Only by establishing his own team can he enjoy the privileges, accept numerous missions, delegate them to team members for divided completion, and swiftly accumulate enough Contribution Points for his use.

With binding contracts in place, he need not worry about others leaking secrets, even if he reveals his true strength.

This is the most suitable shortcut for Su Ming to make his mark in Tianfeng City!

Of course, forming a team is no simple task.At the very least, Su Ming realized that if he wanted to conceal everything from others, he would have to put in considerable effort to attract enough talent.

“There’s no other way. I’ll have to start with investments first.”

After pondering for a long time, Su Ming finally formulated a preliminary plan.

To complete the team formation, the first step was to have a sum of Contribution Points on hand.

With this in mind, Su Ming checked his Terminal, looked up some information, and ultimately confirmed a direction.

Immediately after, Su Ming headed in that direction.

(End of Chapter)