Chapter 288 – A Legend Heading Toward Ruin

“What’s going on?”

Su Ming, who had been dozing in his spot, woke to the sound of rising commotion.

He rubbed his eyes, looking every bit the part of someone who had just woken up, and let out a yawn. He didn’t seem at all like someone here to recruit.

But like everyone around him, his attention was immediately captured by that figure.

There was no helping it—despite her ethereal aura and alluring curves, her disfigured face and severed hand evoked both sympathy and an unavoidable pull on one’s gaze.

Judging by the reactions of those around her, she seemed quite well-known.

Su Ming turned to the person at the neighboring recruitment station and asked, “Brother, who is that woman?”

His question earned him a sidelong glance, the other man looking somewhat surprised.

“What? You don’t know her?”

The man seemed genuinely taken aback.

“I just got here,” Su Ming replied without elaborating, getting straight to the point. “Tell me about her. She seems pretty famous—I’m curious.”

“Pretty famous?” The man chuckled. “Brother, she’s not just ‘pretty famous.’ She’s a legend in the industry—almost no one hasn’t heard of her.”

“Oh?” Su Ming raised an eyebrow. “That impressive?”

“Of course,” the man said with admiration. “She was once the legend of Tianfeng City. If you’d come about a year earlier, I guarantee you’d have heard her name every single day.”

Spurred by his neighbor’s words, Su Ming grew even more curious.

Under these circumstances, the man proceeded to explain.

“Her name is Chi Qian. She’s a local of Tianfeng City, born into an ordinary family—neither a descendant of any notable Family nor blessed with an Awakened Spirit Constitution. She was just a regular person through and through.”

“But Chi Qian refused to accept mediocrity. From a young age, she taught herself various combat techniques—the kind you can find easily online, very basic stuff. Yet, she trained diligently and made remarkable progress. By the age of twelve, she could fend off several adult thugs who had their eyes on her. At fifteen, she used Contribution Points she’d painstakingly saved up to buy some alchemical bullets effective against Phantom Demons and a Spear, then ventured into the dangerous wilderness.”

“Surprisingly, this woman had real skill. A week later, she returned to Tianfeng City with a vial of Phantom Demon blood. She found an Alchemist and, somehow, convinced him to brew a Phantom Demon Potion for her.”

“And so, this woman became a Hunter.”

At this point, the man clicked his tongue in amazement.

“After that, Chi Qian’s legend began.”

“She rose to prominence with unstoppable force, fearless in the face of challenges. Like a relentless warrior, she took on high-difficulty missions day after day, accumulating Contribution Points and exchanging them for resources.”

“Despite having a low-level Bloodline, she pushed herself through rigorous training and resource accumulation. In just three years, she reached the Three-Star Rank. By the age of twenty, she had reached the peak of Three-Star, her strength surpassing even that of many Geniuses from prominent Families.””Many major Families were moved by Chi Qian’s tenacity and diligence, ultimately extending olive branches to her, wishing to sponsor and recruit her.”

“Yet this Chi Qian was remarkably audacious—facing recruitment from so many Family factions, she actually proposed one condition: they must perform a Bloodline replacement ritual for her and provide an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon-level Bloodline.”

Clearly, Chi Qian had realized her Bloodline Rank was too low. No matter how hard she worked, attempting a Breakthrough to become an Upper-Rank Professional would remain as difficult as ascending to heaven.

While it wasn’t impossible for a lower Phantom Demon-tier Bloodline to Breakthrough into an Upper-Rank Professional, the probability was so low that, even if not quite as outrageous as becoming a Dual Professional, it was certainly nowhere near high.

Moreover, Chi Qian’s goal was clearly not limited to becoming an Upper-Rank Professional or a Four-Star Hunter—she aimed to climb even higher. Thus, replacing her Bloodline became an extremely crucial matter.

Unfortunately, who would expend an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon Bloodline and perform a Bloodline replacement ritual for a mere Three-Star Hunter with a lower Phantom Demon Bloodline?

After all, the Bloodline replacement ritual itself had a success rate—if it failed, it would be a total loss. Worse still, Chi Qian’s own value didn’t even match that of an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon Bloodline.

And so, Chi Qian’s demand caused all those who had extended olive branches to back away.

Yet, this woman did not give up.

“With no sponsors and no one to help her replace her Bloodline, she resolved to rely on herself, just as she had before, to accomplish everything.”

“She trained diligently, worked hard on missions, accumulated Contribution Points with effort, painstakingly improved her strength, and gambled on that slim possibility—using a lower Phantom Demon Bloodline to Breakthrough into an Upper-Rank Professional.”

“And guess what happened?”

By this point, the speaker was exclaiming in amazement.

“She actually succeeded.”

That’s right—Chi Qian succeeded.

After eight long years, at the age of twenty-eight, Chi Qian successfully achieved her Breakthrough, Awakened the Demonization ability, and became an Upper-Rank Professional.

At this, the major factions in Tianfeng City could no longer sit still.

The fact that she could rely on her own ability to Breakthrough into an Upper-Rank Professional with only a lower Phantom Demon-level Bloodline was more than enough proof of Chi Qian’s extraordinary talent.

Giving such a prodigy an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon Bloodline would undoubtedly yield returns far exceeding the investment, allowing her to grow even further.

She might not reach the level of a Seven-Star, but becoming a Five-Star Professional, or even a Six-Star Professional, was highly plausible.

In other words, investing in her was absolutely a sure-profit venture.

However, just as the various Families were preparing to invest in Chi Qian and win her over with the condition of an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon Bloodline, Chi Qian unexpectedly vanished.

She left Tianfeng City and entered the Chaos Demon Cave.

Two years later, the thirty-year-old Chi Qian returned to Tianfeng City, her Bloodline already replaced with an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon tier.

Chi Qian herself had achieved another Breakthrough, becoming a Five-Star Hunter.

And her legend was only just beginning.

“After returning to Tianfeng City, Chi Qian did not accept sponsorship from any Family or faction. Instead, she formed her own team, recruiting only female members.””In the following two years, Chi Qian led the team to rapid development, and within just two short years, the team rose to B-rank.”

“At that time, Chi Qian was simply unstoppable—driven, hardworking, daring to think and act, and growing increasingly beautiful—she directly became one of the most popular goddesses in Tianfeng City.”

It had to be said, that guy was really good at telling stories, with a clear rhythm and perfectly modulated tone, making Su Ming listen with great interest.

This guy was truly wasting his talent by not writing novels.

At the same time, Su Ming also learned just how formidable this woman named Chi Qian was.

“She really went all out.”

Recalling the experiences of her life, Su Ming could only offer such a sigh.

Just by listening like this, Su Ming could imagine how many setbacks Chi Qian had faced, how many difficulties she had encountered, some of which were even extremely dangerous—one wrong move, and she could have been gone at any moment.

But Chi Qian overcame them all along the way, so success was inevitable.

It’s just a pity…

“Because she loved to push herself and dared to take risks, she ended up pushing herself straight into disaster.”

The storyteller sighed with regret.

“What happened?”

Su Ming’s heart stirred, and his gaze drifted toward the large scar on the face of the female Hunter named Chi Qian and her severed palm.

Under these circumstances, the storyteller spoke up.

“Just a year ago, Chi Qian took her team to accept an S-rank mission and ventured deep into the Chaos Demon Cave for it.”

“But that trip turned out to be a catastrophe.”

“It’s said they encountered unimaginable dangers—not only were almost all the team members wiped out, but Chi Qian herself suffered fatal injuries and ended up like this.”

After finishing, the guy added with some emotion, “So, people, especially Professionals like us, should never think that just because we’re willing to push ourselves, we can achieve anything.”

“Our enemies are the Phantom Demons, monsters that see us as food, wanting to suck our blood and gnaw on our flesh. No amount of caution is too much.”

“If it weren’t for safety, for surviving in the hands of the Phantom Demons, who would want to come here every day shouting their lungs out to recruit for the team? Isn’t it all about sticking together, getting stronger, being able to take on missions more safely, and coming back unharmed?”

The guy shook his head and fell silent.

Only Su Ming remained, staring at the woman named Chi Qian, lost in thought.

At that moment, Chi Qian found a seat and sat down.

As luck would have it, this woman actually sat right next to Su Ming, becoming his other neighbor.

However, there was no space next to Su Ming to set up a recruitment station.

Chi Qian didn’t seem to be there to recruit for her already decimated team either. Instead, she took out a board and, imitating Su Ming from a few days ago, simply propped it up.

Su Ming was the first to see what was written on the board.

It was actually Chi Qian’s own resume.

“Name: Chi Qian.”

“Gender: Female.”

“Age: 33.”

“Profession: Hunter.”

“Rank: Five-Star.”

“Introduction: Seeking to join a team. No restrictions on team rank. No payment or salary required. No need for food or lodging. Willing to sign a lifetime contract.”

“Only requirement: Four drops of Dragon Demon Saliva.”At this point, how could Su Ming not understand?

This legendary woman named Chi Qian hadn’t come to recruit new team members—instead, she was here to join someone else’s team.

What’s more, she didn’t require payment, didn’t need a salary, and didn’t care about the team’s Rank. It seemed she was even willing to join an E-rank team.

But that wasn’t all. Most importantly, this woman was actually willing to sign a lifelong contract.

What did that mean?

It meant she was willing to join any team without compensation, with no time limit, and work for that team for the rest of her life without asking for anything in return—not even a single meal.

This wasn’t just about seeking to join a team; it was like selling herself into servitude.

As long as one condition was met, anyone could obtain this woman named Chi Qian—a Five-Star Hunter who could be commanded for a lifetime.

“This…”

Su Ming frowned deeply.

Undoubtedly, this was an incredible stroke of luck.

Just by fulfilling one condition, one could gain the lifelong loyalty of a Five-Star Hunter. Even the Eight Great Families would likely be overjoyed if they encountered such an opportunity.

Especially since this was Chi Qian, a woman who had once achieved legendary feats. If someone were willing to nurture her further, it would be entirely possible for her to advance to Six-Star in the future.

The lifelong loyalty of a future Six-Star Professional?

Who could refuse that?

If Chi Qian hadn’t been disfigured and lost a hand, her status as one of the most popular goddesses and her former elegance would have driven countless men wild with such an offer.

Yet, faced with such a tempting proposition, the people present shook their heads repeatedly.

“As expected, Chi Qian is here again seeking Dragon Demon Saliva.”

“And a full four drops of it.”

“Who could possibly provide that?”

People whispered among themselves like this.

Su Ming was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but turn to the guy beside him.

“Has she come here to submit her résumé like this before?”

Su Ming referred to Chi Qian’s actions as “submitting a résumé.”

Though the guy found the term a bit absurd, he still nodded.

“Ever since the incident a year ago, for a whole year, she’s been coming here every now and then to… well, submit her résumé.”

Hearing this, Su Ming fell silent.

She’s been doing this for an entire year?

“It seems Dragon Demon Saliva is extremely important to her.”

But Su Ming also understood why, despite “submitting her résumé” for a full year, no one had taken this legendary woman away.

The reason was simple: Dragon Demon Saliva was far too rare and precious.

It was a material that could only be obtained from a type of Phantom Demon known as a Dragon Demon.

As the name suggested, Dragon Demons were dragon-type Phantom Demons.

Though they weren’t the divine dragons of the East but rather the malevolent dragons of Western lore, Dragon Demons were almost identical to the dragons described in Western legends.

Not only did they resemble them in appearance, but their ferocity and terror were also on par with legendary dragons. They were born as Hazardous Species, matured into high-level Phantom Demons, and their chances of evolving into Nightmare Species were over ten times higher than those of other Phantom Demons. This made Dragon Demons one of the most fearsome races in the Spirit Demon Abyss, deeply dreaded by humans.Of course, such a fearsome race comes at a cost—their numbers are exceedingly scarce, and their reproduction difficulty is hundreds, if not thousands, of times greater than that of other Phantom Demon races. This makes them not only the most terrifying but also the rarest Phantom Demons in the Spirit Demon Abyss.

Throughout human history, there have been only three recorded instances of Dragon Demons manifesting in the world. To this day, the human world has yet to witness the appearance of a fourth Dragon Demon. The most recent record of a Dragon Demon’s manifestation dates back over a century.

Thus, merely locating a Dragon Demon is an immensely challenging task, let alone obtaining the Dragon Demon Saliva from one.

This Dragon Demon Saliva is far more than mere saliva—it is a precious material that a Dragon Demon secretes only once in its entire lifetime.

Yet Chi Qian requires a full four drops of Dragon Demon Saliva.

This condition is one that no one could possibly fulfill.

(End of Chapter)