Leaving the ruins behind.
Zhao Xuan once again appeared within that dense forest.
With a thought, he casually sealed off the naturally formed entrance to the ruins, only then leaving in satisfaction.
He didn't rush back to Tong City right away. Instead, he patiently completed the two remaining Tier-3 bounty missions he had accepted earlier. Only after finishing them did he hurry back to the Ability Users' Guild in Tong City.
Under Xiao Liu's admiring gaze, Zhao Xuan turned in all three missions one by one.
They were all combat-type missions of fairly high difficulty.
The total reward for all three came to a full 420,000 credits.
If it had been before, Zhao Xuan might have been ecstatic over that amount.
But now—
His horizons had broadened. His savings had grown as well.
To him, 420,000 was no longer much to get excited about.
After finishing the paperwork, Zhao Xuan suddenly remembered the diamond-shaped crystal he had dug out from the skull of that Tier-4 Desert Statue. He asked,
"Xiao Liu, is President Lian in the guild right now?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhao," Xiao Liu quickly replied. "The President just returned not long ago. He should be in his office at the moment."
"Got it."
Zhao Xuan nodded and strode straight toward Lian Jie's office.
Just as he reached the door, he heard President Lian's very excited voice from inside.
"Hello? Old Bi? Yeah, it's me—Old Lian! No, nothing urgent. Just wanted to let you know—our Tong City Ability Users' Guild successfully obtained the Heart of the Mystic Bird Ruins! Hello? Hello? …why'd you hang up?"
"Hello? Old Wang? What's the matter, can't I call you for no reason now? After all these years of friendship, that's a bit cold, don't you think? Haha, actually, there is a reason I called. Just wanted to inform you—no need to come six days from now. We've already secured the Heart of that ruin ourselves! Hahahahaha!"
"Hello? Old Ji? No, no, no, I'm not calling to form an alliance to develop the ruin together. In fact, I'm just letting you know—the ruin assessment's already been cleared by our Tong City team. You guys can stay home! Hello? Hello?"
"..."
Zhao Xuan stood silently outside the door for a while, his expression growing increasingly strange.
Before this moment, in Zhao Xuan's eyes, President Lian had always been the type of man who was upright, serious, and never one to joke around.
But right now…
From those phone calls alone, Zhao Xuan could smell a certain shamelessness.
So this is the real you, President Lian?
Zhao Xuan silently grumbled to himself.
When no more sounds came from inside, he finally knocked on the door. Knock, knock!
"Come in!"
Lian Jie's deep voice called out.
Zhao Xuan pushed the door open and entered.
The moment Lian Jie saw him, he shot to his feet.
He had just opened his mouth to speak—when his expression suddenly changed.
Then—
Whoosh!
His finger turned into a spear!
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Zhao Xuan.
Physique was a comprehensive measure of strength—speed, power, agility, and every aspect of one's body.
Zhao Xuan reacted instantly.
Azure Dragon Fruit ability!
Iron Body!
Armament Haki!
All activated at once.
In the next heartbeat—
Lian Jie's finger-spear struck straight at Zhao Xuan's chest.
Just before contact, it abruptly transformed into a fist!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A tremendous impact swept through Zhao Xuan's entire body.
He stumbled back seven or eight steps before finally stopping.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the office floor beneath his feet.
"President Lian, what was that for?" Zhao Xuan asked, baffled.
"Zhao Xuan, my young friend…" Lian Jie narrowed his eyes, frowning, disbelief written all over his face. "Your strength—it's far greater than it was this morning!"
"Hehe, that's right, President Lian." Zhao Xuan scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "While I was doing the bounty missions this afternoon, I accidentally discovered a natural ruin. It happened to be a low-tier one, so I went ahead and cleared the ruin assessment and got another Ruin Baptism."
"You… found a natural ruin while on a mission?"
"And you just casually cleared the assessment?"
Lian Jie was momentarily speechless.
It took him a long while before he finally managed, "Zhao Xuan, your luck is truly heaven-defying."
"Heh—heheh, it's alright, just average luck!" Zhao Xuan said, scratching his head again with an embarrassed smile.
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