Chapter 300 – Those Who Come for Chi Qian

Over the next three days, Su Ming remained at the villa, focusing on studying the Ancient Blade Art while supplementing his training efficiency with alchemical potions.

Chi Qian showed no signs of contact during these three days, appearing exceptionally busy.

Su Ming wasn’t anxious either. After recruiting a Five-Star Peak-level Professional like Chi Qian, he no longer visited the Talent Market to hire more people. Instead, he stayed home, dedicating himself to self-improvement.

To Su Ming’s surprise, aside from himself, Little Hai’er also began putting in effort.

The mermaid girl, who had always been “roaming and enjoying the scenery” while Su Ming trained, seemed to have had an epiphany of some sort, suddenly becoming concerned about her own strength.

Her demeanor suggested she had been provoked in some way.

“Is it because of the Poisonous Insect Queen?”

Watching Little Hai’er’s newfound determination, Su Ming had a vague guess.

The encounter with the Poisonous Insect Queen seemed to have made Little Hai’er aware of her own shortcomings, causing the once carefree mermaid girl to feel a sense of urgency.

After all, like the Poisonous Insect Queen, Little Hai’er was a Nightmare Species. Yet, even with Su Ming’s Spirit Power support, she was no match for the Poisonous Insect Queen and had no choice but to flee, leaving Su Ming to step in. Su Ming had to exhaust himself to repel the Poisonous Insect Queen.

Su Ming was only a Four-Star Hunter and a Five-Star Sorcerer. Facing an opponent as formidable as a Seven-Star Professional, he not only showed no fear but managed to drive her back, overcoming an insurmountable level gap to challenge such a powerful enemy.

And what about her?

Although she hadn’t yet reached her fully matured form, as a Dual Professional among Phantom Demons, Little Hai’er couldn’t even defeat opponents of the same level, let alone challenge those above her.

In comparison, it seemed only natural that Little Hai’er would feel provoked and become urgent.

To this end, Little Hai’er even went to Su Ming and “meowed” for a long time, stubbornly managing to take away most of the Red Vein Stones from Su Ming’s backpack.

As a Phantom Demon, the best way for Little Hai’er to enhance her strength should have been to seek blood sustenance and feed on fresh blood. However, as a traitor among Phantom Demons, Little Hai’er’s need for blood was far lower than that of other Phantom Demons. In fact, she seemed somewhat resistant to it.

For someone like her, using Red Vein Stones might be a good method to increase her power and strength.

Red Vein Stones had an extremely significant effect on Phantom Demons, increasing the probability of their evolution and enhancing the concentration of their Bloodline. Long-term consumption could fully assist Little Hai’er in maturing into her fully developed form more quickly, becoming a true Nightmare Species.

By then, with the fusion of spirituality and demonic nature, Little Hai’er—equivalent to a Dual Professional among humans—would undoubtedly surpass the Poisonous Insect Queen in strength, reaching a level where she could compete with mutated forms of Nightmare Species.

Thus, even though it pained him a little, Su Ming still gave Little Hai’er the majority of the Red Vein Stones he had stored in his backpack, allowing her to grow as quickly as possible.

And so, for these three days, the human and the Phantom Demon worked diligently, honing their strength and advancing their abilities.

During this time, a minor disturbance occurred in Tianfeng City.

The cause was naturally the earth-shattering clash between Su Ming and the Poisonous Insect Queen, which had raised alarms in Tianfeng City.Under the detection department’s surveillance, the Tianfeng City authorities successfully located the collision site and witnessed the aftermath left by the clash between Su Ming’s 【Silver Arm】 and the Poisonous Insect Queen’s 【Butterfly Dance】.

The scene, ravaged as if by a natural disaster—completely flattened and reduced to ruins—profoundly shocked the people of Tianfeng City.

Consequently, Tianfeng City placed high priority and attention on this anomaly, not only dispatching specialists to survey the site but even mobilizing a Seven-Star Professional to inspect the scene in person.

In the end, Tianfeng City confirmed that the aftermath was the result of a battle between two powerful entities, with one of them being the Poisonous Insect Queen from the Venomous Insect Cave.

This was impossible to conceal.

The residual demonic aura at the scene, along with traces of numerous venomous insects and insect-type Phantom Demons, could not be covered up no matter what.

With such intense demonic energy closely linked to venomous insects and insect-type Phantom Demons, and given the proximity to the Venomous Insect Cave, if Tianfeng City failed to deduce the Poisonous Insect Queen’s involvement, it would have been a disgrace to their reputation.

However, who had clashed with the Poisonous Insect Queen to cause such a commotion and collision, and what the final outcome of their battle was—these details Tianfeng City had yet to confirm.

Tianfeng City could only intensify their investigation efforts and issued related tasks for Professionals to look into the matter, which indeed prompted many teams to mobilize due to the incident.

Su Ming, hiding in his villa for self-training, remained unaware of these developments, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t be concerned.

The site was utterly destroyed, and he had been cautious enough to strike only once. Under such circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy for Tianfeng City to trace the incident back to him.

The only lead Tianfeng City might uncover was that Su Ming and Chi Qian had taken a train from Dragonheart District to the Western Border to reach the Venomous Insect Cave, rented an off-road vehicle there, and left Tianfeng City’s urban area, seemingly heading toward the Venomous Insect Cave.

But what did that prove?

On that day, thousands—if not tens of thousands—of Professionals had departed from Tianfeng City’s Western Border. Relying solely on that to pinpoint Su Ming would be nothing short of delusional.

Even if Tianfeng City narrowed it down to Chi Qian, the likelihood of implicating Su Ming would still be slim.

If Tianfeng City’s higher-ups learned that Chi Qian’s companion was dormant in the Venomous Insect Cave, they might suspect Su Ming, who had left with her that day.

But so what?

“I’m just a rookie who’s just started out. Who would think I’m a powerhouse capable of facing off against a Nightmare Species like the Poisonous Insect Queen?”

Su Ming felt not a hint of panic.

With the Blue Demon Ceasefire Ring on him, Su Ming constantly suppressed his strength, unafraid of being exposed.

In the end, the matter would likely fizzle out without implicating Su Ming.

Rather than this incident, Su Ming was more concerned about Chi Qian’s sudden disappearance and her whereabouts.

Fortunately, Chi Qian didn’t keep Su Ming waiting long.

Three days later, she finally appeared and visited Su Ming’s villa.

But she brought an unexpected surprise with her.

……

“Sorry, they insisted on coming along. I couldn’t stop them.”In the villa’s grand hall, Chi Qian, who was visiting this future team’s headquarters for the first time, spoke to Su Ming with an apologetic expression, her tone filled with the embarrassment of causing trouble and a thick sense of helplessness.

“It’s really not a big deal…”

Su Ming had a towel draped over his neck, wearing casual clothes soaked with sweat, his drenched appearance telling others he had just finished his workout.

However, at this moment, Su Ming’s expression couldn’t help but look somewhat peculiar.

Because Chi Qian hadn’t come alone—she had brought along three women who seemed vaguely familiar.

“So you’re Su Ming? The mysterious Commander Sister Chi Qian mentioned?”

The one who spoke these words was a young beauty among the three uninvited women, who had been staring at Su Ming with great curiosity ever since entering.

She appeared to be in her early twenties, looking quite youthful and vibrant, brimming with energy like a college student who hadn’t yet experienced society, allowing others to clearly sense the passion and lively spirit within her.

Su Ming recognized this seemingly very curious young beauty.

It was none other than the food-loving young beauty, the same age as Xu Yanyan, among the three companions of Chi Qian who had previously been frozen in ice coffins.

“And you are?”

Su Ming inquired tentatively.

“Let me introduce them to you.”

Chi Qian immediately stepped forward to make introductions to Su Ming.

“This is Feng Qing’er, twenty-five years old, one of the former members of my team. She comes from Yanming City, the Base City closest to Tianfeng City. The Feng Family is one of the top Families in that Base City, and Qing’er is a direct descendant of that top Family.”

Chi Qian first introduced the vibrant, food-loving young beauty.

“Hello there, little brother.”

Feng Qing’er greeted Su Ming quite cheerfully.

“Hello.”

Su Ming nodded in response.

Then, Chi Qian began introducing the somewhat coldly elegant woman standing beside Feng Qing’er.

“This is Mu Yan, twenty-eight years old, a local of Tianfeng City like me. However, unlike me who started from nothing, Yan Yan comes from a Family Hunter background. The Mu Family was once a top Family, but unfortunately it has declined. In this generation, only Yan Yan has a relatively outstanding Bloodline, and her strength is quite remarkable—she was my right-hand woman in the past.”

The person Chi Qian introduced this time was the ice-cold beauty, the same age as Bai Xuefei and Bai Ruxiang, who appeared in the photo Chi Qian had shown—the one quietly reading a book on the sofa.

When Chi Qian introduced this ice-cold beauty, she didn’t change her expression at all, not even nodding. She just looked at Su Ming with a cool demeanor, leaving others guessing what she might be thinking.

“Don’t mind her, this is just her personality—cold as ice. I’ve scolded her about it plenty of times before.”

Chi Qian spoke a few good words on Mu Yan’s behalf.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

Su Ming was already accustomed to people with strong personalities and paid no attention to Mu Yan’s icy demeanor.

Only then did Chi Qian feel relieved and proceeded to introduce the final person present.

It was the little girl whom Chi Qian had been holding hands with all along, who had been clinging tightly to her since entering, unwilling to be separated even by a small distance.

Chi Qian gently pushed the little girl forward and spoke to Su Ming.

“As for this child, she’s the little treasure I mentioned to you before.”Su Ming was genuinely looking forward to and curious about this young girl.

There was no helping it.

Earlier, Chi Qian had praised this little genius to the skies right in front of Su Ming.

“Tong Xinyao, fourteen years old this year, Tianfeng City’s only Spirit Bearer, the youngest Three-Star Sorcerer, currently recognized as one of the most talented and promising geniuses in all of Tianfeng City.”

Chi Qian’s introduction made Tong Xinyao’s little face turn completely red.

However, this young genius didn’t forget to bow and greet Su Ming.

“H-hello, I’m Tong Xinyao, fourteen years old this year.”

The young girl seemed somewhat nervous, her pair of round, bright eyes barely daring to look directly at Su Ming. After introducing herself, she immediately reached out to hold Chi Qian’s hand again, appearing too afraid to leave her side, which made Chi Qian smile wryly.

Nearby, Feng Qing’er was muttering to herself.

“Hearing Sister Qianqian’s introduction makes me feel really complicated. It feels like I just went to sleep, but when I woke up, I’d suddenly grown a year older for no reason. Such a loss.”

All three of them had been frozen in ice for an entire year, sleeping for a full year, only to be rescued and regain consciousness today, a year later.

So for them, they had indeed suddenly grown a year older, wasting a year of their lives. It was only natural for them to feel somewhat conflicted.

Especially since all three were women, their feelings were even more complicated.

After all, everyone knows that age is one of the things women least want to be reminded of.

Su Ming chuckled for a while before finally speaking.

“Welcome to our team’s headquarters as guests. Please, have a seat.”

Su Ming invited everyone to sit down.

However, the three women didn’t immediately take their seats.

“A team?” Feng Qing’er stared at Su Ming, asking with curiosity and surprise: “So it’s true what Sister Qianqian said? You really recruited her into your team?”

It seemed these beauties already knew about the situation between Su Ming and Chi Qian.

“What? Is there a problem?”

Su Ming raised an eyebrow, answering the question with another question.

“An E-rank team?”

Feng Qing’er confirmed.

“E-rank team!”

Su Ming affirmed.

This made Feng Qing’er find it utterly unbelievable.

She had roughly sensed it and discovered that Su Ming’s spiritual energy wasn’t very noticeable, his aura wasn’t particularly strong either – clearly just a small novice of one or two stars.

For such a small novice to dare form a team was one thing, but to actually dare recruit an Upper-Rank Professional, to recruit her own Sister Qianqian – that was truly incredible.

The key point was that Su Ming had succeeded.

Moreover, the reason was because he had saved them.

Feng Qing’er and the others indeed already knew about Chi Qian joining Su Ming’s team, as well as Su Ming saving them.

However, even after coming here to confirm it, Feng Qing’er still found it hard to believe.

“How exactly did you, the Commander of an E-rank team, a weak lower-rank Professional, manage to rescue us in that situation?”

Feng Qing’er looked full of doubt.

“Qing’er!”

Chi Qian immediately scolded her.

“Ah.” Only then did Feng Qing’er realize how rude her words had been, quickly apologizing: “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.”

However, just as Feng Qing’er’s apology left her lips, before Su Ming could even respond, another person spoke.

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to ask too.”Mu Yan, who had remained silent and quietly observed Su Ming, suddenly spoke such words.

“Yan Yan.”

Chi Qian furrowed her brows.

Yet Mu Yan’s expression remained unchanged, still icy cold.

“Don’t blame me for speaking too harshly,” Mu Yan said rather indifferently. “You’ve sold your entire life for our sake. I can’t simply turn a blind eye to that.”

Hearing this, Chi Qian fell silent.

Feng Qing’er and Tong Xinyao also exchanged a subtle glance before turning their gaze toward Su Ming.

Seeing this, Su Ming finally understood the purpose of these three women’s visit.

They had come precisely for Chi Qian.

(End of Chapter)