Chapter 46 - 46

Chapter 1058: Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's Profound Nine (1)

The city had been sealed yet again.

Even though most of the outsiders were already gone, Su Yu still kept his death spirit transformation when he was outdoors. He had to maintain his disguise. After all, the mayor was still in the city. That fellow was probably harboring a great hatred against him.

He could never be too safe. Thus, he maintained his disguise. He roamed the empty streets, feeling incredibly free and refreshed. If only the mayor was dead. What a pity. Because of the damn mayor, he had to keep his disguise. If he ended up killed after going this far, it would feel way too terrible.

"This feels great!"

The streets were still flooded with death qi, but it did not affect him whatsoever. He was in a great mood. As he roamed the city, he would occasionally pat some of the weaker death spirits on their shoulders, acting like a great general visiting his subordinates.

What a pity that these death spirits were all unclothed. Otherwise, he would probably help tidy up their collars as well, showcasing his genial side to his subordinates. In his impression, this was what those great generals would do while visiting their subordinates.

Grandstar City. What a great city. Su Yu kept praising the city inwardly. And he felt like he wasn't going to stop praising the city anytime soon. He was in no rush to look for the little furball. Rather, he headed toward the mayor's residence. The gates of the mayor's residence remained shut. The mayor was nowhere to be seen, and not a single guard could be seen either. He wondered if those guards were all dead. He reckoned that a lot of them had died during the chaos earlier.

Earlier, a Pseudo Invincible death spirit had attacked the mayor. A massive battle erupted, and even the mayor was gravely injured. It was unlikely that the guards could survive well. Su Yu observed the mayor's residence for a bit and noted that the building was exceptionally quiet.

"Is the mayor still in the middle of recuperation?"

Su Yu guessed that the mayor had probably suffered a massive level of death qi erosion during the short battle earlier. The mayor could very well be in the final stages of his transformation into a death spirit right this moment.

But since the mayor was leaving the residence locked, Su Yu had no way of entering. Whatever. He resumed his patrol. He checked building after building, trying to determine the number of residents left and judge their strength from the buildings they were staying in. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel⁂fire.net

He had to know everything about the city. That way, he would not remain clueless when some outsiders sneaked into the city. If the mayor had done a census on the city's population prior to this, he would have been able to detect Su Yu easily.

Su Yu clicked his tongue disapprovingly. This was why population census was important. Everyone in the city needed to be registered. As for the residents, they should be issued identity cards if possible. Even their deaths had to be recorded. Sure enough, you should never expect too much from the intelligence of these demonic beasts.

Su Yu had discovered that these ancient city mayors were incredibly irresponsible. They didn't even know the number of population in their cities. That would only make it easier for unwanted elements to sneak into their cities.

If every resident was registered and a restriction was placed on the change of residence, the order in these ancient cities would be improved significantly. Situations where anyone could enter an ancient city and hide from everyone would drop significantly. In terms of city management, it was clear that humanity was better than these brutes.

"But the workload is too heavy. I won't be able to do it alone."

Yes. Su Yu was already seeing himself as the mayor. He felt helpless when he looked at the massive city. And the further it was from the center, the larger the rings would be. In the three innermost rings, there were roughly three thousand buildings.

From the fourth to the eighteenth ring, there were more than thirty thousand buildings. Beyond that, there were more than a hundred thousand buildings. There were at least a hundred and fifty thousand buildings in the entire city.

If each building could be occupied by an average of three residents, there were probably more than five hundred thousand residents in this city during the ancient past. It wasn't a mind-blowingly large population, but it was most certainly not small either.

It would be foolish to compare this city with modern human cities. Those human cities were filled with high-rise buildings, resulting in a much larger population in each city. But here, apart from the mayor's residence and a few other buildings, most buildings were only one-story tall. If all these buildings could be expanded to six-storey buildings, the city could probably accommodate three million residents.

Su Yu concluded that the city was definitely decent in size and potential, but the management was truly poor. He wasn't an expert in city management by any means, but he believed he would be much better than the dark devil dragon.

How could a mayor allow his city to sink into such chaos? Also, look at the outside forces such as the Allheaven Treasure House and Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. They were happily doing business here, but did they pay for business permits? Were they even taxed? Had they obtained the mayor's approval before doing business here? Had the races with bases of operation in the city obtained the mayor's permission to operate here? What terrible management.

"Right, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion has branches in these ancient cities."

Reminded of that, Su Yu started looking around. Soon, he found the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's branch in the twenty-second ring. The building was rather large. It was a two-story building with quite an expansive space.

According to the signboard outside the building, it was occupied by a resident at the moment.

It was unknown if a resident had taken over the building or if a Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member had simply converted into a resident. Su Yu believed that it was more likely that the member was also a resident. This was the most logical action for an organization wishing to base itself long-term in an ancient city.

Heavenly Hunt Pavilion!

As far as Su Yu was concerned, this was an organization of scumbags. Earlier, he had demanded five hundred drops of Sunmoon blood essence from them. But they were only willing to pay him two hundred strands of heavenearth profound light. Niu Baidao was supposed to accept the payment on his behalf, but he wasn't sure if the payment was ultimately made since he had yet to check the index copy.

But he wasn't too bothered about the payment. He was more worried that Niu Baidao would fall into danger after receiving such a large payment.

"Heavenly Hunt Pavilion."

Staring in front of the building, Su Yu sank into thought. Should he get an index copy? He could get the latest updates and get in contact with the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. He no longer feared tracking. But he had to remain wary of the mayor.

At this point, he realized that the mayor was starting to cause him anxiety. Without the mayor around, he would no longer need to care about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's tracking. Those outsiders were free to enter the city for him if they had the guts to. As for the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member who had converted into a resident, would someone like this be overly strong?

Su Yu highly doubted that. Despite what his recent encounters might suggest, Sunmoons weren't that common. Even losing two Sunmoons might be a terrible loss the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion would weep over.

"A branch of Heavenly Hunt Pavilion...is there anything good in there? I guess not..."

After all, White One was in the city previously. That fellow was no fool. He would have grabbed any good things left in the branch before leaving. At the very least, there should be some index copies inside.

Su Yu would be able to reconnect with the outside world through this branch. He wasn't sure if the other residents had index copies in their possession. But it was quite unlikely. Most of the time, only young geniuses and experts would be given these index copies. And the residents in the city were neither of those. The mayor was probably the sole exception.

"Let's blind you in the city as well."

With a third ring medallion, Su Yu unlocked the door forcefully. The door swung open, revealing an expansive lobby. Only one person was inside. A person with a white mask.

When the masked man saw Su Yu, he sighed and said, "Greetings, Lord Su. I'm Profound Nine, a member of the Profound Department, one of the Four Departments of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. I'm also the branch leader of the Grandstar Branch. I knew you would come. Forgive me for the poor reception, Lord Su."

Su Yu asked with surprise, "You knew I would come?"

"Yes." Profound Nine spoke in a calm manner, "There are only two places in the city that are still connected to the outside world. One of them is this branch and the other is the mayor's residence. The mayor has an index copy as well, so that's understandable. Since you've sealed the city yet again, you clearly wish to keep more of your secrets hidden. But for that, you also need to get the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion branch under your control."

Through Su Yu's observation, he judged that this person was not strong, but certainly not weak either. This was a seventh-stage Mountainsea. Someone with this level of strength could easily enjoy life as a regional overlord as long as they stayed away from the conflicts involving the major races.

Su Yu was only this indifferent because his worldview had been completely skewed by the sheer number of experts he had seen. Not even Invincibles were that rare to him anymore. In truth, the bulk of the people in the Allheaven Battlefield were Skysoars and Cloudbreaches. Even Mountainseas were quite rare.

A seventh-stage Mountainsea was more than enough to lead a branch in an ancient city. Here in an ancient city, most Sunmoons would avoid attacking someone with this level of strength unless absolutely necessary.

Noticing Su Yu's attention on him, Profound Nine said, "I'm the only one left in this branch. The others have either died or are the part-timers hired among the residents. I'm the only proper member left."

He took out an index copy and a catalog as he explained, "This is the index copy you can use to contact the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. This is a list of the items left behind by Lord White One. Only some cheap items are left behind so you'll probably find them boring."

Offering the two items to Su Yu, Profound Nine continued speaking, "You may kill me, Lord. The pavilion wishes to reestablish contact with you. We are willing to swear on our heritage that we will never expose your whereabouts anymore in the future."

Su Yu was surprised, but he laughed and said, "Swearing on your heritage? I'm merely someone who will die soon. There is no need for you people to try so hard. Or perhaps you're waiting for me to die so that you can get everything I have? After all, I seem to be quite rich."

"You misunderstand, Lord." Profound Nine explained, "We do not bear any ill will toward you. The pavilion is more interested in what you know about the death spirits and Death Realm since you were converted personally by a death sovereign. After all, you are the person with the deepest connection to the Death Realm alive."

"I doubt so." Su Yu laughed, "Don't tell me that a major power like your organization has never tried studying the death spirits."

"We did try, but due to the limitations of the laws, we weren't able to learn more." Profound Nine explained, "The death portals are very hard to open either. Each of them is watched over by an ancient stone statue..."

At the mention of the stone statues, Su Yu asked curiously, "Just what exactly are those stone statues? Are they dead or alive? Are they mere puppets?"

"We're unsure. We only know that they are both sentient and incredibly strong."

"..."

Su Yu rubbed his chin. Sentient...

Did he...court death unknowingly that one time? He once hammered the stone statue in Heavendoom City. So was that statue dead or alive?

In truth, he had been quite terrified during recent the battle between the Invincibles. He wasn't able to see anything, nor had he been able to see the stone statues. But he did hear something. The stone statue of the city seemed to have spoken during that incident.

That was why he was so terrified. If he was right, the stone statue in Heavendoom City might be alive as well. And each stone statue was incredibly strong. Strong enough to fight Invincibles. And he...had given such an existence a beating with his hammer. He had even obtained so many benefits from that statue.

In that case, those talismans had probably been given to him by the stone statue instead of some bullshit opportunity. Yes. That tailed stone statue. How terrifying. After receiving a beating from him, the stone statue had given him so many benefits instead of punishing him. What was up with that stone statue?

Su Yu thought that if he had to reward someone with benefits after receiving a beating from that person, that had to be his own child or grandchild. Otherwise, he would simply return the beating.

Chapter 1059: Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's Profound Nine (2)

Profound Nine didn't know much more about the stone statues. But seeing that Su Yu was still waiting for him to say more, he said, "The elders are also inviting you to join the Pavilion and replace me as the branch leader of the Grandstar Branch."

Su Yu asked indifferently, "And will I get anything from that?"

"Yes." Profound Nine explained, "Take me as an example. Each year, I will receive thirty thousand human merit points worth of supplies from the pavilion. You can ask for anything within that limit. The pavilion also places a lot of importance on profits. Thus, I can get 0.1 percent of the profit I make for the pavilion as a commission. Most of the time, I can make them a profit of more than ten million human merit points per year. And that's on the low side. On average, I make about fifty thousand merit points each year in commission and salary.

"On top of that, we will also be granted access to the cultivation methods of some powerful races. We can also raise our authority through contribution and gain access to secret information. More importantly, we also have the protection of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion."

"Protection?" Su Yu laughed, "How are you guys being protected? I have never seen the pavilion doing anything when you guys were being killed."

Profound Nine shook his head, "You misunderstand us, Lord. The pavilion will actually protect us. But the level of protection we receive depends on our value. A genius like you will enjoy a much higher level of protection. For example, one of our members received the protection of an Invincible at the Plain of Desires not long ago. The Invincible had personally moved that person out of the area."

Su Yu had an impression of that incident.

He raised his brow, "How do the departments, positions, and levels in the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion work?"

"You would have known this long ago if you had interacted more with us, Lord. There are Four Departments, East and West Chambers, and North and South Spires. The Four Departments are in charge of information gathering and external transactions. The Four Departments are essentially one, but they are also split into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Departments, representing different levels of strength and status among the members. This is quite similar to the four indexes.

"The East and West Chambers are in charge of the study of ancient secrets and undercover works in the various realms. The North and South Spires are in charge of assassinations, rescue operations, and security services."

The different roles were divided quite clearly. The two spires were essentially a powerful security company that also dabbled in assassinations. The two chambers were in charge of digging up ancient secrets. As for the Four Departments, they were basically the representatives of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion in the Allheaven Battlefield.

"Under the leaders of the departments, chambers, and spires are the elders. Only late-stage Sunmoons can become elders. Below the elders, the members are further split into several tiers. At the first tier are the white masks, at the second tier are the black masks, at the third tier are the rainbow masks, and at the fourth tier are the half masks."

"Wait." Su Yu asked in surprise, "There are other masks apart from white masks?"

He had only met white masks before! What the hell?

Profound Nine said, "You're different. You entered the Heaven Index not long after your debut in the Allheaven Battlefield. Thus, you have been served by the white masks since the very beginning. Since I'm a branch leader, I'm also a white mask."

In other words, Su Yu had been interacting with the upper echelons of the pavilion since the very beginning. The other masks were simply not qualified to serve him. Only experts were qualified to serve him.

Su Yu nodded. At this point, he already had a rough understanding of the structure of this organization.

He asked, "Why didn't you run? You can simply take off your mask and hide elsewhere in the city. I won't be able to know that you're a white mask. You're a resident. I'm not a lunatic that will kill all residents."

Profound Nine lowered his head, "I am here to serve as the pavilion's gift to you. This is our way of showing our sincerity. In any case, the growth of death qi in my body has accelerated significantly in recent days with the city sealed. I won't be able to live much longer. Even if I run, I'll still die. I might as well do more for the pavilion before dying."

"I'm also a dying man. What's the point of recruiting me?" Su Yu smiled, "Why don't we fight it out instead? You can try killing me. Who knows? The pavilion might decide to save you if you manage to kill me."

"You must be jesting, Lord."

Su Yu shook his head, "Not at all. I don't like it when my enemies cower before me and throw their lives away. That's too boring. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion has once betrayed me. Thus, I will never trust the pavilion. I am not interested in getting involved with you guys. I'm more interested in witnessing the strength of an expert from the pavilion. Why don't we do it this way? If you can prove your strength and defeat me, I'll consider joining."

He was more interested in testing his own strength.

Since he had shut the door after entering, he wasn't worried that this white mask would sell his whereabouts while he was there. At worst, he would simply stay inside the building and wait it out.

At this point, the mayor was probably the only person capable of killing him in the city. He could simply let the mayor wait outside while he cultivated in seclusion if the mayor decided to act.

But Profound Nine did nothing. He said, "I won't be able to kill you, Lord. You are probably very strong..."

That might be what he was saying, but inwardly, he was thinking that Su Yu would probably not be strong enough to kill him either. He was a seventh-stage Mountainsea. He had that much confidence in himself.

Yes, Su Yu had killed Sunmoons before. But the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was aware that he had relied on Ye Batian's characters to do so. That was in no way a demonstration of his actual strength. He was probably only around as strong as an early Mountainsea. At most, he would only be as strong as a middle-stage Mountainsea.

Su Yu smiled, "Don't you want to give it a try? Kill me and you can get seven thousand strands worth of resources I have on me. This is enough to move even Invincibles. The door is shut and there are only the two of us here. Even if you kill me, nobody will find out. The city is still sealed. You can simply claim that we never met after the gates reopened."

Profound Nine's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm not even on the index anymore. Nobody will know even if I die. If people find out about my death, everyone will blame the death qi in my body instead. Who will know you're the culprit?"

Su Yu continued staring at Profound Nine with a smile. He simply found it boring that Profound Nine was waiting to be killed without resisting. A lot of people were trying to kill the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's members. It wasn't like these members were saints. After all, they had two spires specializing in assassinations.

More importantly, they had sold his information before. He would not forgive that. It was only natural that he would try to kill a member when encountering one. But when that member was sitting there without resisting, it felt too pointless. This wasn't what he wanted.

Finally, Profound Nine looked up. With a slightly agitated tone, he asked, "Lord...don't keep trying to tempt me. I'm afraid that I'll really lose patience. This is too tempting." Follow current novels on novel⸺fire.net

Su Yu had treasures worth thousands of strands of heavenearth profound light on him.

This was too tempting. There might really be a way for Profound Nine to extend his life with that amount of wealth. With more time, he could keep cultivating and even advance in cultivation, further slowing the growth of death qi in his body. Numerous thoughts surfaced in his mind.

Meanwhile, Su Yu continued staring at the masked individual in front of him in silence. He was actually quite surprised. This person was already dying, yet he was still filled with devotion and loyalty toward the pavilion. What was the charm of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion? How did it get its members to embrace death for its sake? Was an organization so greedy actually worth serving with one's life?

"What did the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion promise you to make you accept death in my hands? What's the point if you're not going to be around to enjoy the benefits they promised? Are they holding your family hostage?"

"No. I have no family." Profound Nine said, "I'm doing this voluntarily."

"Voluntary?"

"Yes." Profound Nine inhaled deeply and said, "I'm doing this out of my own free will. For people like me, the pavilion is our home. How did you think the pavilion found us? Did you think that we were the geniuses of the various races? Not at all. We were merely a bunch of lost souls. We came from different minor realms. Some of us had debts of blood to repay. Some of us used to be beggars who had nearly starved to death on the streets. Some of us used to struggle in the Allheaven Battlefield just to live another day.

"We had no backers. We had no home. Survival was but a luxury. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion gave us a chance. It granted us new lives. It allowed us to truly live. It allowed us to repay our blood debts. It allowed us to experience the wonders of the world. It allowed us to stand amid the proud geniuses of the myriad races. It allowed us to witness the grace of the various Eternals. Everything we have, we received from the pavilion."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. So this was how the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion recruited its members.

Profound Nine said, "Lord Su, you won't regret joining the pavilion. The pavilion can save you!"

Right at that moment, he took off his white mask, revealing a pale face. He was not a human. Nor was he from a race Su Yu recognized. His face looked bland, but his eyes were essentially two blazing balls of flame.

"I am a member of the fiery eye race."

Holding the white mask with both his hands, he said, "Lord, by putting this mask on, you will become Profound Nine of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Nobody below the Invincible Realm can see through the appearance behind this mask. It can hide your aura and presence. It is also capable of direct communication with the pavilion. Combined with your own concealment abilities, even Pseudo Invincibles will struggle to see through your disguise. If you're able to become an elder one day, you will receive an elder's mask. Not even Invincibles can see through an elder's mask."

Chapter 1060: Heavenly Hunt Pavilion's Profound Nine (3)

Su Yu's heart thumped. He asked, "Can these masks be snatched easily?"

"Nope. The mask will self-destruct the moment the owner dies. But it is possible for the owner to voluntarily hand it to someone else. There will be a record of the transfer in the pavilion. But no outsider will find out about your identity."

Su Yu couldn't help but admit that the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion truly had a lot of treasures. It was true that he had no way of seeing through this mask. Even if he encountered a white mask he had met previously, he wouldn't know it was the same person.

If a white mask was already so impressive, what about an elder's mask? No wonder the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had remained a mystery even after so many years. It was likely that these members had other identities with their original faces as well. And upon putting the mask on, nobody would know who they were. And not even Invincibles could see through the disguise of those elders. This was a terrifying concept.

There might even be humans in their ranks.

Su Yu's understanding of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had grown considerably through this exchange. This was an enigmatic and powerful organization. Furthermore, they also had the Heavenly Hunt Index, an absolutely terrifying treasure.

Profound Nine stared at Su Yu while struggling internally. In truth, he had been tempted by Su Yu's words. He had been tempted to kill Su Yu and fight for his own survival.

But ultimately, he sighed when he thought of the pavilion he loved so much. He said, "Lord...you're a good person."

"Hmm?"

Su Yu was stunned. Yes. he was completely stunned. He was...a good person?

What the fuck? Holy shit! Someone was calling him a good person?

How many people had he killed? How many experts had died because of him? It wouldn't be wrong for one to consider him a devil instead. But someone was calling him a good person? And that someone was a Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member.

Noticing Su Yu's expression, Profound Nine laughed. As death qi started leaking out of his body, he sighed again, "Lord, you refused to kill me when you saw that I wasn't putting up a fight. This might be the pride of a genius. Or perhaps you are simply a kind soul deep inside. But I still hope that you can accept this mask and become a new Profound Nine. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion might be able to provide you with a way out of your current predicament."

As death qi started taking over his body, he stopped fighting the erosion. With yet another sigh, he said, "Lord Su, this is what happens when someone is fully eroded by death qi. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is very sincere in recruiting you as a member. Lord, aren't you the same as us? The human race has abandoned you. Just like us, you're a lost soul. In that case, you might as well join us..."

Su Yu indifferently said, "Forgive me for being blunt, but the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion isn't any better than the major races. What's the point of saying that?"

"True."

More and more death qi consumed Profound Nine's body. Su Yu did nothing.

While gasping for breath, Profound Nine spoke again, "At the very least, I still hope that you can agree to accept an index copy. This shall be my final mission. The pavilion gave me a new life. Thus, I served the pavilion until my very last breath. I regret none of this...I...only hope that...you can help plete my f-final...mission. This...is the only thing...I can do for you, Lord. I shall demonstrate the state one will be in...upon being fully consumed...by death qi."

Boom!

The sounds of a sea of willpower crumbling apart rang out.

Profound Nine was dead.

Su Yu couldn't understand Profound Nine loyalty toward the pavilion. But he could see that Profound Nine was already dying even before this. But why did Profound Nine insist that he accept an index copy until the very end? What was the point of that?

Something else was happening before his eyes. Profound Nine had been completely consumed by death qi. All the death qi in the building started surging into his body. Slowly, his body turned black while his clothes rotted away. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a corpse filled with incomparably dense death qi.

And mere moments later, even his facial features fully rotted away. After even more time, Profound Nine stood up again. At this moment, he had fully transformed into a death spirit.

Su Yu was greatly surprised.

Profound Nine walked toward the door and pushed it open, revealing a Mountainsea death spirit who was already waiting outside. Under the lead of the Mountainsea death spirit, Profound Nine vanished into the distance. That was the death spirit who had converted Profound Nine into a resident.

Su Yu thought of something and rushed outside, ignoring the white mask and index copy in the building. He started giving chase. The death spirits had always appeared and disappeared in a mysterious manner for him. They had always appeared out of nowhere and departed by simply vanishing into nothingness.

He only knew that those at the Sunmoon Realm and above would need to leave through the mayor's residence. Also, the death spirits seemed to be split into two categories: ancient and regular death spirits.

But after a short moment, Su Yu's eyes flickered. The two death spirits had simply vanished into thin air. Did they move underground? There was no way to move underground in ancient cities. Was it possible that the death spirits were simply residing under the cities? Was that why they could appear and disappear anywhere?

And Profound Nine was brought underground instead of into the mayor's residence. What did that signify? He wasn't even brought to the Death Realm. He still remained in the city. Was this the fate for all recent death spirits? Were they restricted from even the Death Realm?

Numerous questions appeared in Su Yu's mind.

Suddenly, he saw a flash in front of him. Before he knew it, the little furball had reappeared in his sea of consciousness. He rolled his eyes and asked, "How did you find me?"

"Smelly mixed with a tiny bit of yummy. That's your signature."

Those were the little furball's exact words. Even in his death spirit disguise, Su Yu was unable to conceal himself from the little furball. After all, the little furball relied on his instincts instead of anything else to detect Su Yu.

Even if Yummy was now smelly, he was still slightly yummy.

Su Yu was speechless. He grumbled that not even dogs had such an advanced sense of smell.

"Where's my stuff?"

As a response, the little furball spat a storage ring out and hurriedly explained, "They scammed you! They didn't pay you the full amount! I was angry, but I wasn't their match. Before I could do anything, they left..."

Su Yu stared at the furball with stupefaction. Did the furball believe that he would believe this nonsense?

He checked the storage ring. There were 1,200 strands of heavenearth profound light and 800 drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid inside. According to White One, that was what he was supposed to receive. Even the ancient dragonblood fruits and the Sunmoon blood essence were all there. Only the celestial devil fruits were lacking. There were only four left. He was supposed to receive five of them.

These fruits weren't cheap at all. The five fruits were worth three hundred strands. In other words, he had to kill six early Sunmoons and extract all their blood essence just to buy one of these fruits.

Even if Su Yu didn't know what he could use them for, he still knew that they were extremely valuable. And now, one of them was missing.

"A fruit is missing."

"I can't count! They must have scammed me!"

The little furball even had a frustrated expression to go along with his act. He grumbled in exasperation, "They took advantage of me because I couldn't count!"

Su Yu didn't know what to say anymore. The little furball not knowing how to count? What bullshit! The furball had demonstrated an incredible skill with numbers when counting characters in the past. He had counted his characters countless times before. And Su Yu had noticed that.

But he couldn't be bothered to say anything else. Whatever. So be it.

With this, Su Yu had turned into a terrifyingly wealthy individual. In total, he had 1,380 strands of heavenearth profound light, 1,100 drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid, 50 five elemental fruits, 4 celestial devil fruits, several ancient dragonblood fruits, 470 drops of Sunmoon blood essence, some heavenblood fruits, and 9 drops of eighth-stage Sunmoon blood essence.

He was already wealthier than most of the human invincibles. After all, these human Invincibles were still too young compared with the other major races.

Of the 470 drops of first-stage Sunmoon blood essence, 270 of them were the deposit he had received for the auction, including what he received from the Zhu and Qin Families. He had given them the human hostages, but he had not returned them their blood essence.

He did not have a clear idea of how rich he was before this, but after counting his belongings, he found that he had turned extremely wealthy. Furthermore, he also had seven Invincible notes on him.

He also had a decent amount of Mountainsea blood essence that would serve as his heavenly source qi supply.

"Time to check out the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion branch..." Latest content publıshed on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

He rushed back to the branch. Only three items were left in the building.

An index copy, a catalog, and a white mask.

Profound Nine was no more. This was Su Yu's first time witnessing a transformation into a death spirit. That had given him a lot of new ideas. With the mask in hand, he sank into contemplation.

After a long while, he placed the mask on his face. Perhaps...this would be of use to him. But suddenly, he wondered if the mask was clean. Did Profound Nine have a bad habit such as spitting on the mask or something?

Should he disinfect it first? Also, the previous owner of this mask had just died. Was it proper for him to put it on so soon?

Numerous random thoughts emerged in his mind.

Chapter 1061: Joining The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion (1)

Numerous thoughts surfaced in Su Yu's mind when he put on Profound Nine's mask. But soon, something else distracted him.

When his gaze landed on a death spirit outside.

Death spirit: Skysoar

Su Yu was stunned when a row of words appeared before his eyes. Did this mask come with identification functionalities? What was this? Something similar to the Perception Jade?

But its range was clearly much shorter than the jade. Su Yu took the mask off with an odd feeling. Could this be considered a special weapon? He was a weaponsmith as well. Thus, he was alarmed after studying the mask for a bit. Was this...an earth weapon?

Just how rich was the damn pavilion? A single white mask like this was an earth weapon? He put the mask back on and dragged the little furball out. But the result was completely unexpected.

Unknown race, unknown strength

Everything about the furball was unknown.

Unknown race? Su Yu was surprised. Was this due to a lack of information in Profound Nine's mask or was this race unknown to even the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion? No way...right?

Perhaps Profound Nine's mask was simply not advanced enough, resulting in a lack of information. The furball's race should not be completely unknown, right? While he was staring at the little furball, the little furball was staring at him doubtfully as well.

What? Did Yummy think that he could hide himself by simply wearing a mask? Impossible! No matter how stinky Yummy became, he would never forget the Yummy's unique scent.

"Wait, I remember all these Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members have those special notebooks they write on."

Yes. Instead of index copies, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members relied on those special notebooks for communication. But he couldn't see such a book anywhere. Perhaps Profound Nine had destroyed it before dying.

Su Yu guessed that those notebooks were probably similar in function to the index copies. Perhaps that was simply a version meant for internal circulation while the index copies were meant for external circulation.

He picked up the index copy. Just as he thought about the special notebook, a white beam shot out of his mask and landed on the index copy. Right before his eyes, the index copy transformed into the familiar notebook.

Su Yu was stunned. Was this...supposed to happen?

On the cover of the book, two words appeared: Profound Nine.

***

At the same time.

Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.

Inside a large hall.

The number of gathered faceless elders had dropped significantly. Only a few of them were left. One of them shook slightly. He took out a book and checked the contents.

Profound Nine. Dead.

But shortly after, the dim name lit up again: 1982nd Profound Nine, real name Su Yu, human, Cloudbreach, Great Xia

The elder's expression changed. Profound Nine was dead! That wasn't too surprising. He was already aware of Profound Nine's approaching death before this. He was more surprised by the fact that Su Yu had actually accepted Profound Nine's mask. He had thought that Su Yu would refuse the offer.

***

At the same time.

Feeling doubtful, Su Yu took off the mask and inspected it yet again. Shortly after, he put it back on and entered a certain question into the mask through his willpower: Where are you?

***

Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.

The elder had an odd expression. Did that kid discover the special functions of the mask so soon? A genius was indeed different from others.

The mask did not come with an instruction manual. If one obtained it by coincidence, one would have to explore its functions without any guidance. But these so-called coincidences were rarely true coincidences. After all, these masks could only be passed on voluntarily or they would self-destruct.

"I'm in the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion." The elder replied. But after thinking about it, he added a longer reply, "Don't worry. Only the direct elder of the mask can track its location. The first ten numbers of the Profound Department are all under my direct management. I am the only person capable of tracking your location. Your Heavenly Hunt Directory is bound to your mask, so nobody can track you through it either."

***

"..."

Su Yu was completely stunned. That was merely a random test he did because something felt off. No matter what, he was an earth weaponsmith. He was still able to discover some clues about what the mask should be able to do if he studied it thoroughly enough.

Surprisingly, someone actually replied.

An elder of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion! An elder who was also the direct superior of Profound Nine from the Profound Department.

"Elder of the Profound Department? What's your name? Do you know my name?"

After thinking about it, the elder replied, "Su Yu of the human race."

Holy shit!

Su Yu cursed inwardly. What bullshit! Sure enough, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was not to be trusted. Then again, this was expected. There was no way the elder wouldn't know his identity.

"Can you track my location?"

"Yes. Since you've put the mask on, you're now Profound Nine. Of course, you're free to quit at any time. You only need to destroy the mask if you wish to quit. But since you're already one of us, we will naturally stop selling your information. You can act as normal. Your life won't be affected."

Su Yu asked, "Why did you insist on recruiting me?" Follow current novels on N0velFire.ɴet

"It wasn't that we're insisting for you to join. Rather, a lot of other geniuses are also our members. Of course, you won't know who they are. Not even I know that information. I only have access to the information of the first ten profound masks."

The elder explained, "Recruiting geniuses is an ongoing practice of the pavilion."

Su Yu ignored the explanation and asked, "What's your name?"

"Each elder has their own codenames. You may address me as First Profound Elder. After me, there are Second Profound Elder, Third Profound Elder, and so on. The concepts of Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches are not unique to the human race. These concepts are used across all races. Each elder corresponds to one of them. Thus, the maximum number of elders in a single department will not surpass twenty-two. But in truth, these ranks have never been fully filled."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. There were twenty-two elders per department. Four departments would result in eighty-eight elders. Including the two spires and two chambers, it would be truly terrifying if they could fill all these ranks.

One ought to remember that only late-stage Sunmoons could become elders. How many Sunmoons in total were there in the entire human race?

Su Yu wasn't too sure about that. But as far as he knew, there were only Zhu Tiandao, Niu Baidao, Umbra, the general of the Heavenly Dao Army, the general of the Iron Cavalry, and Ye Hongyan in Great Ming. These were the six late-stage Sunmoons he knew of.

As for Great Xia, he only knew of Xia Longwu, Marquis Xia, Administrator Hu, and the general of the Devil Subduing Army. But the general did not seem to be a late-stage Sunmoon. He was not too sure about that. As for General Zhao, he believed General Zhao wasn't even a Sunmoon. Right, there was also that mount of the deceased second principal...

These four were the late-stage Sunmoons he knew of. Naturally, Great Xia probably had more late-stage Sunmoons he didn't know about. He had only met several members of the Martial Dragon Guard and Great Ming's Shadow Guard. And all of them were incredibly strong.

Great Xia and Great Ming were already the more powerful prefectures of the Human Realm. As for the other prefectures, even if he assumed there were about five or six in each of them, humanity would probably have only about two hundred late-stage Sunmoons.

Or maybe more since he had to take into consideration the experts who had been around during the period when humanity founded all those prefectures. But most of these old experts were not that far from death. Some had even died in seclusion.

Meanwhile, there could possibly be over a hundred late-stage Sunmoons in the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.

How terrifying.

There was a big difference between an entire race and an organization. The human race could be considered a major race. It had countless talented individuals and only the best of the best could grow into late-stage Sunmoons.

If Profound Nine's words were to be believed, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion mostly focused its recruitment efforts on individuals with great grudges or terrible pasts from the various realms. Strictly speaking, there were very few truly talented individuals among these people. Even so, they were able to accumulate such a large number of late-stage Sunmoons.

It was worth noting that without sufficient talent, no amount of wealth could make one an expert.

Su Yu thought that his old man was one such example. His old man was too untalented. He could throw money at his father all he wanted, but his father would never grow into an expert. Even if he could push his old man into the Mountainsea Realm, his old man would only be a weak Mountainsea. As for the Sunmoon Realm, that was even more impossible.

Su Yu asked, "Is the First Profound Elder, the strongest elder of the Profound Department?"

"Not necessarily." The elder explained, "You're Profound Nine. But is there a guarantee that you're weaker than Profound Eight or Profound Seven? The number is not representative of one's strength. Some of these codenames have been inherited from the previous generation. Perhaps back during the first generation, the codenames were assigned based on the strength of their holders. But after so many generations, that is no longer the case."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu.

"So I only need to keep the mask on to officially become a member?"

"Yes. This remains true even when you take the mask off. It will only change when you destroy the mask. When that happens, the pavilion will forge a new Profound Nine mask and await the next Profound Nine."

"How many members are there in the Profound Department?"

"I don't know."

"..."

Su Yu believed that the elder was lying to him. The elder was giving him bullshit answers.

Chapter 1062: Joining The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion (2)

First Profound said, "I'm only in charge of the ten of you, and I only know the identities of those directly subordinate to me. I lack information about those not directly subordinate to me. So I won't be able to give you an accurate number. But each department will be rather limited in size. There won't be too many white masks and black masks in each department. The rainbow masks and half masks will probably be higher in number.

"After becoming Profound Nine, you will be given the information of the ten black masks directly subordinate to you. You can check their locations through your Heavenly Hunt Directory."

Su Yu was in no rush to ask further about all that. Instead, he asked something else, "What is the White One's status in the pavilion? Why isn't he a heaven, earth, profound, or yellow?"

"White One...The Four Departments operate independently. Above the elders, there are four department leaders. And under the four department leaders are some members directly subordinate to them. Those directly subordinate to the leader of the Heaven Department use the white series of codenames. The direct subordinates of the Profound Department leader use the black series of codenames. Those under the Profound Department leader use the rainbow series of codenames. As for the Yellow Department—"

"Half series of codenames?"

Su Yu completed the sentence for the elder. This mask was much easier to use than the index copy. He didn't even need to write. He only needed to transmit his thoughts through the mask. It made communication seamless and convenient. It also allowed him to interrupt someone mid-sentence.

He was learning more and more about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Those codenamed heaven, earth, profound, and yellow are direct subordinates of elders. Meanwhile, people like White One are direct subordinates of the department leaders. In that case, it was logical for the Yellow Department leader to head those codenamed half since that was the next tier of the masks after the rainbow mask.

His interruption left First Profound somewhat speechless. Shortly after, the elder replied, "No. They are codenamed gray. The so-called half masks are actually gray in color."

Su Yu asked, "What's the difference between the four departments? Is the Profound Department weaker than the Heaven Department?"

If each department enjoyed a different level of status, with Profound Nine's strength as a seventh-stage Mountainsea, he shouldn't have remained in the Profound Department, right?

"Not really. Yes, the four departments differ in strength, but the gap isn't too big. The Heaven Department is indeed slightly stronger, but the departments mainly differ in roles."

First Profound gave a long explanation. If Su Yu was only a regular Mountainsea, he wouldn't have wasted his time. But Su Yu was not a regular Mountainsea. He was Su Yu. Thus, he received the personal attention of Profound Department's first elder.

"Externally, we are collectively known as the Heavenly Hunt Four Departments. The Heaven Department is in charge of gathering the auras and information of geniuses. They require a higher level of strength to traverse the Allheaven Battlefield.

"The Earth Department is in charge of logistics. For example, all your previous transactions with us were handled by them. The Profound Department is in charge of our branches. The previous Profound Nine was one such example. This is also a dangerous task. The Yellow Department is based in our headquarters, in charge of communication. They face the lowest level of risk among the four departments, so their members are also weaker in comparison."

Once again, Su Yu's understanding of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion deepened. Their roles had been clearly defined. The first Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member he encountered was the aura gatherer. That was a member of the Heaven Department.

His second direct encounter with them happened in Heavendoom City when he made a purchase from them. The person who had delivered his purchase was a member of the Earth Department.

The people who had been communicating with him through the index copy were from the Yellow Department. The North and South Spires were in charge of security and assassination services. The East and West Chambers were in in charge of undercover operations in the various realms.

Finally, a complete picture took form in his mind.

First Profound continued his explanation, "Naturally, some members are allowed carry out jobs outside their regular job scope in unique or emergency situations. For example, as the leader of our Grandstar Branch, you might be required to carry out our delivery and protection services in the city during the times when the city is sealed."

Su Yu nodded in understanding. For example, Profound Nine would serve as a shopkeeper most of the time. But during emergencies, he would need to serve as a delivery man or a hired thug.

"What do I stand to gain if I join?"

"Firstly, nobody can purchase any information regarding your whereabouts anymore.

"Secondly, you are granted access to our internal store. There, you can purchase items we don't offer to outsiders. Elders enjoy a fifty percent discount, white masks enjoy a forty percent discount, black masks enjoy a thirty percent discount, rainbow masks enjoy a twenty percent discount, and half masks enjoy a ten percent discount."

Su Yu's heart fluttered. Holy shit! Forty percent discount! That was quite big! That was quite tempting to him.

"Thirdly, with enough contribution, you can even apply for the protection. During crucial moments, even Invincibles will act to protect you.

"Fourthly, you will receive 0.1 percent of the transactions you complete as commission. For example, if you can complete a large transaction involving thousands of heavenearth profound light strands, you will receive several strands as your commission..."

This time, Su Yu grumbled inwardly. This was too low.

Only 0.1 percent.

"You will also receive 0.1 percent of the transactions your black mask subordinates complete as commission. With their yellow mask subordinates, the transaction volume of these black masks can be quite high."

Su Yu nodded. That was acceptable. He remembered that he only had ten black masks subordinate to him.

"Do I have access to the information of the rainbow masks under my back masks?"

"No. According to the rules of Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, only the direct superior of a member can know the identity of that member. This system is put in place to prevent a chain reaction in case of a disaster, resulting in an eventual destruction of the entire organization."

How strict. Su Yu nodded. That was actually quite a good rule for him. With that, this elder would be the only person to know his identity.

"What about the Invincibles? Does this rule apply to them as well?"

"Yes. Not even the Invincibles are exempted. Even the department leaders will only have the information about the elders directly subordinate to them."

First Profound said, "There is no promise of an absence of bias even if one is a department leader. Take you as an example. If our department leader is a divine or a devil, you will be in great danger. But with this rule in place, they won't even know who you are. No single decision maker will know everything about the organization. That will only make it easier for the organization to be destroyed in one fell swoop."

Once again, Su Yu nodded. This was a good rule, but it wasn't completely perfect either. For example, things might get troublesome when the elder perished...

While he was thinking, First Profound said, "Don't worry about my death. That won't cause you to lose all contact with the pavilion. Even if my mask ends up destroyed, the pavilion will produce a new mask for the new First Profound. The new First Profound will automatically assume control and reestablish contact with all of you. Naturally, if the position remains empty for an extended period of time, that might open up some new opportunities for you guys..."

"Opportunities?"

"Yes. Generally, only late-stage Sunmoons can replace a dead elder. But if an active position remains empty for too long, one of the ten direct subordinates will be selected as the successor. In that scenario, the successor does not need to be a late-stage Sunmoon."

So that was how it was.

"And what new benefits do an elder enjoy? How do I go about being an elder?"

"You will naturally learn about the benefits when you become one. To become one, firstly, you need to accumulate sufficient contributions to the organization. Secondly, you need enough strength. Thirdly, you need the recommendation of your direct superior before taking a test in the headquarters. If you pass the test, you will be promoted to an elder."

"So I can't enter the headquarters yet?"

The elder had the urge to roll his eyes. That was a given. Just from the tone Su Yu was using, it was obvious Su Yu was harboring evil designs against the headquarters.

"Yes. Apart from the Yellow Department due to the nature of their job, only the elders of the other departments can enter the headquarters."

"Are there Invincibles in the headquarters?"

"..."

First Profound was left speechless. Just what did Su Yu want to do? Why was he asking these questions?

"Yes."

"Oh."

Su Yu instantly lost interest. Since there were Invincibles there, he wouldn't be going. He wouldn't go even if they asked him to go. That would be way too dangerous.

It was tiring conversing with Su Yu. And First Profound was experiencing that first-hand. He patiently said, "After becoming the new Profound Nine, you will need to take over the responsibilities of the original Profound Nine as well. If you fail to complete your assessment three times, the mask will self-destruct."

What?

Su Yu asked, "What are the assessments? And how long will it be before one needs to take one?"

"It happens once every three years. A lot of our members are experts. It is normal for any of us to spend three years or more in seclusion. But it is not acceptable for someone to keep failing for nine years."

Su Yu nodded. That was actually quite generous.

"What are the contents of the assessment?"

"For the Profound Department, it's mainly related to sales. Since you're in charge of a branch, you need to sell our products and information. When the number of your sales reaches the required level, you will complete the assessment."

Su Yu asked, "So how many merit points do I need to make to pass the assessment?"

"Here in the Allheaven Battlefield, we don't use merit points as our standard currency. In any case, there is no common currency in the Allheaven Battlefield. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion has its own currency. Each heavenly hunt point is equal to a drop of first-stage Mountainsea blood essence in value. Thus, each heavenly hunt point is worth about a thousand human merit points."

Su Yu nodded. That was indeed the price of first-stage Mountainsea blood essence in the Human Realm. The price would only be cheaper if one bought in massive volumes.

"For white masks, you need to reach a thousand points to pass your assessment."

Su Yu converted that into merit points and noted that it was a million human merit points. In truth, that wasn't high at all. For more chapters visıt novel★fire.net

Even the blood essence of a weak first-stage Sunmoon was worth ten thousand merit points per drop, or ten heavenly hunt points. In other words, he only needed to make a hundred drops of Sunmoon blood essence in sales over a period of three years.

On average, he only needed to make about thirty drops per year. But at this point, he realized that this was by no means a low amount.

First Profound continued, "If you can complete the assessment in a single transaction, you will be spared from further assessments for a period of thirty years. And you can keep accumulating your immunity. This allows someone to spend a long time in seclusion without losing their position."

That was a fair rule as well. With that rule, one only needed to make a few large transactions to stop worrying about assessments for a long time. Wait, why was he even thinking about all that? It wasn't like he was going to join.

Once again, Su Yu started cursing. The damn Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was filled with scammers. First, they scammed his money. And now, they were scamming his feelings.

He said, "Can I kill other members after becoming Profound Nine?"

"..."

Wow. How honest.

First Profound was left speechless. But soon, he said, "When both parties are masked, that's not allowed. If one or both of you aren't masked...you are naturally free to do whatever you want."

"Will there be punishment if one of us kills the other when both of us are wearing masks?"

"Yes." First Profound explained, "When both of you are masked, the direct superiors of both masks will be informed about the kill when it happens. In that scenario, you will face punishment."

"What sort of punishment?"

"The assassins of the two spires will be sent after you. Do you understand?"

"Yes. And what's next after I kill those assassins?"

"Stronger experts will be sent to kill you."

"What's next after I kill those stronger experts as well?"

What the fuck was wrong with this guy?

Was killing the only thing he knew?

Fuck!

First Profound was starting to feel like coughing blood from sheer annoyance. He still patiently answered, "If you can kill even the two leaders of the North and South Spires, the pavilion will stop going after you. You will be left alone. Do you understand that now?"

"Yes. So only strength matters. I understand now."

Su Yu nodded. Yes. Finally, he understood. If he could kill them all, they would naturally not go after him anymore. In other words, it was better for him to take his mask off if he wanted to kill a member before he was that strong.

Understood!

Chapter 1063: Joining The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion (3)

First Profound had actually provided him with a good idea on how he could deal with the pavilion. Clearly, this elder was not a good person either. Just look at how the elder was instigating him to unmask and kill his fellow members.

It was lucky First Profound was not aware of what Su Yu was thinking or he would really start coughing blood from sheer anger. When in the world did he instigate this brat to kill their members?

Recalling something, Su Yu asked, "Elder, what race are you from?"

"No comment."

"Are you a divine or a devil?"

"No!" First Profound knew what Su Yu was thinking. He said, "Profound Nine only approached you due to my instructions. I'm not a divine or a devil. If I were, there wouldn't be a need for me to do so. To kill you, tracking you once or twice won't work. You can destroy the mask at any time to avoid tracking."

"You never know."

That was all Su Yu had to say. With sufficient preparation, tracking him once would be enough. Were they supposed to let him go to try killing him a second time? He could never trust the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.

"What is the goal of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion? Is making money the only goal?"

"No. We exist to stimulate the potential in the myriad geniuses, allowing geniuses to become bigger geniuses and experts to become bigger experts. Through their growth, we wish to promote the growth of the Myriad Realms..."

"Ahh, I understand. So the pavilion's goal is sowing chaos. By encouraging geniuses and experts to kill each other, the victors will grow stronger. The pavilion's ultimate purpose is to become an excellent war merchant."

"..."

The elder was left completely speechless. That made too much sense. Wow. Su Yu was indeed smart. He had instantly understood the true purpose of the pavilion. First Profound felt like he had nothing to teach Su Yu anymore. After all, Su Yu already learned everything himself.

Su Yu had reached that conclusion through his own experience. Just look at what these people had been doing. For example, they had played a big role during the Heavendoom City incident. They had been selling the whereabouts of Su Yu and his enemies to each other, escalating the conflict further and further.

Meanwhile, they were profiting off the parties involved in the conflict. How could they make more money without wars and conflicts? They had been doing the exact same thing during the most recent incident. Because of the chaos created by Su Yu, they were able to earn a massive profit off the conflict.

At that thought, Su Yu said, "The pavilion earned a lot through me from the most recent incident. That should be counted as part of my sales. Where's my commission?"

"..."

The elder was rendered speechless. After a short moment, he answered, "You weren't a member before this. Someone else has been credited for the sales made during this incident. White One was the one who had remained in the city and arranged for all the communications, he was given the credit."

"White One!"

Su Yu decided to remember that name. That person owed him a lot of money. Those sales belonged to him, not White One.

"Isn't the share too small? Only 0.1?"

Su Yu could hardly motivate himself to work hard with such a small share.

"That's not small at all. You can also sell any special information you know to the pavilion. For example, if you sell any information about the ancient city that is known by you alone, you can bargain for a good price. Remember that for the recent incident, White One wasn't the only one with the information about what was happening in the city."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. White One wasn't able to get a good bargain for the recent incident since Mo Duona and the other index copy holders were also aware of what was going on in the city.

"Will you betray me, Elder?"

"I won't." The elder explained, "Even if I decide to track you, the mask will alert you about it. This is the special privilege enjoyed by white masks. The moment I try doing so, your mask will start glowing. I will only track you during emergencies or situations where we lost contact with you. That's the main reason we maintain our ability to track our members. We're not doing that so that we can kill our own members."

"Really?"

"I'm not lying!"

"Fine. Try tracking me."

"..."

First Profound rolled his eyes and said, "Every tracking costs a decent amount of energy. Treasures like source qi liquid, blood essence, heavenearth profound light, heavenly source qi, and so on can be used as the fuel..."

"Yes, yes. Try it."

Holy shit!

Was this guy not listening? It wasn't free!

After stealing a glance at the other elders and making sure that nobody was paying attention, he stealthily sent some energy into his directory. Soon, it flickered slightly.

Done.

A row of words floated in front of his eyes. He said, "You're inside our Grandstar branch."

"So the tracking can actually be so accurate?"

Looking at his shining mask, Su Yu rushed out and vanished far away in the blink of an eye.

"Elder, try tracking me again..."

"Su Yu!"

First Profound was starting to feel annoyed. He said, "Out of respect for your astonishing talent, I have been patient with you. I wouldn't have wasted my time entertaining anyone else with your level of cultivation. Do not push it too far."

"I'm dying. What's the point of talent?"

Whatever. How stingy. But Su Yu was glad to learn that he could sense any attempt to track him. Of course, there was always the possibility that this was a lie. Perhaps the glow was deliberately created by the elder to feed him with this lie.

"You're rich enough to stay alive for quite some time. As a member, we might even be able to collect your corpse after you die. That might benefit us too."

"I'll become a death spirit after dying. How are you supposed to collect my corpse? Stop lying."

Once again, First Profound was left speechless. This time, he could find no counter to Su Yu's argument. Whatever. It was too tiring to communicate with Su Yu. It was clear that Su Yu had zero fear or respect for him.

But that was understandable. Anyone capable of surviving the siege of several Invincibles would lose all respect and fear toward Sunmoons. Furthermore, this guy was already an insanely brazen person in the first place.

He wouldn't have dared to set up such a massive scam otherwise.

***

First Profound ended the connection.

This time, Su Yu was the one left speechless. The elder had actually hung up on him. What a pity. He still had a lot of questions about the pavilion. For example, he hadn't even gotten the chance to ask about the Heavenly Hunt Index.

How could that elder be so impatient? He had only asked a few questions. Why was the elder so grumpy?

Then again, he had finally figured out the functions of the book and the mask. The mask could be used as a method of communication between superiors and subordinates. As for the book, it was used to communicate with the headquarters and the communication center manned by the Yellow Department.

"Should I destroy the mask?"

He took off the mask and stared at it. He was starting to hesitate. This thing was actually quite useful. Through it, he could contact the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion at any time. He would even receive a forty percent discount for his purchases with the pavilion.

Furthermore, it was an earth weapon with the ability to help with concealment. He was finding it hard to part with something so useful. He was also curious about the ten black masks subordinate to him.

He hurriedly took out the Heavenly Hunt Directory and flipped it open. The information he was looking for was available on the very first page.

"Profound Nine Black 01..."

What...was this codename? With one look, one would be able to see that this was a black mask under Profound Nine. In short, this was Profound Nine's number one lackey. While shaking his head, Su Yu continued reading. The information given was quite short and concise.

2685th Profound Nine Black 01. Real name: Luoerduo Bazhe, earthfire devil, Cloudbreach.

Earthfire devil?

The devils were his enemies! There was actually a devil under him! That wasn't important. More importantly, what was the codename of the rainbow masks under this black mask? Su Yu was very curious about that.

Profound Nine Black 01 Rainbow 01? Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel_fіre.net

Was that how this worked?

As for the gray mask under the rainbow mask, the codename would be Profound Nine Black 01 Rainbow 01 Gray 01?

Holy shit!

Su Yu started wondering if the lower-ranked masks would simply forget their codenames. It would be way too long. Then again, through this system, everything was clear. The codename itself made the line of command clear.

Should he change his codename to First Profound White Profound Nine instead? That would serve as the proof that he was serving under First Profound Elder, right?

All sorts of random thoughts emerged in his mind. He was quite curious about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Or to be precise, he was more curious about their wealth. They were too rich. It was as though they could offer anything one could dream of.

After becoming an elder, he could even enter the headquarters. But there were Invincibles there...Well, perhaps it was only a matter of time before he paid the headquarters a visit. He wondered if all their treasures were stored there. Or perhaps some were kept in the branches as well. The Grandstar branch was probably empty because it had been emptied beforehand.

This mask was an unexpected gain for Su Yu. He decided to keep the mask around for a bit. As for its ability to track him, he would worry about it after learning more. This would be quite a useful identity to have.

Suddenly, Su Yu's directory shook. When he picked it up, a row of words appeared.

"Profound Nine, are you still in Grandstar City?"

This was a question from the Yellow Department.

Su Yu replied, "Yes."

"The mayor of Grandstar City has issued a call for help. He wishes to purchase a large amount of heavenly source qi from the pavilion. Do you have any stock in the branch? If you do, deliver some to the mayor's residence as soon as possible."

Su Yu was about to say no when he did a double take. What? Where?

Mayor's residence?

Holy shit!

Did he just receive a ticket to the mayor's residence out of nowhere?

"The mayor is very strong. I'm worried that he'll kill me."

Su Yu gave his reply.

A reply came shortly after, "Don't worry. He's gravely injured. You're the sole Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member left in the city. With you around, he can try to get some assistance for his condition. If he kills you, he will no longer have any way of fighting his approaching death."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. Was that the case? For some reason, this identity suddenly felt a lot more useful than before.

Not long ago, he was still worrying about the mayor. He needed to gain access to the mayor and snatch the mayorship. With this, he would have the perfect opportunity to inspect the mayor and look for an opening to do something. But it would still be dangerous.

"How much does he need?"

"A hundred portions." It did not take long for a reply to come, "Do you have enough stock in the branch?"

"The branch is empty, but I have some personal stock..."

"In that case, we'll do it according to the rules. You can transact directly with the mayor and hand only one percent to the pavilion as the transaction fee."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. So he could do this as well. It was acceptable for the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion to charge a transaction fee when they were serving as the transaction platform. After all, they had to contact the customer, deliver the order to Su Yu, and maintain communication across unlimited distances. Considering what they were doing, that wasn't expensive at all.

That was especially true considering the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion tended to overcharge on their products by quite a high margin. The mayor had definitely been quoted a massive price. Thinking about that, Su Yu grinned.

That fellow must have sustained terrible injuries or he wouldn't have agreed to allow the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion to enter the mayor's residence. The stronger one was, the more cautious one would be. Most of the time, these experts would not allow anyone to approach them when they were injured. Clearly, the mayor was left with no choice but to take this risk.

"Very well. From now on, I'm Profound Nine."

Previously, he was still hesitating about this new identity. But now, he had decided to become the new Profound Nine. This was such a great identity to have.

Chapter 1064: Dark Devil Dragon's Fall (1)

Since he had received a job from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion so soon after assuming the new identity, Su Yu decided that this was an identity worth keeping. A hundred portions of heavenly source qi.

"I don't have too much heavenly source qi left either...I guess I need to make some preparations..." Updates are released by NoveIꜰire.net

With that thought, he wrote on his directory, "Tell the mayor to give me a moment. I need to break free from the Sunmoon death spirits. There are still some of them left in the city."

"Alright. Try to be quick about it. Also, submit a report on the updated inventory of the branch as soon as possible. We still need to verify it with White One."

"Alright."

Su Yu already had a general gist of how the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion operated. It would seem like he had to report the current inventory of the branch to the headquarters as well. At that thought, he contacted First Profound again.

"Elder, do I need to take responsibility if someone else robbed the branch and emptied its inventory?"

"..."

First Profound was in the middle of a conversation with the other elders. When he received the new message, he was left speechless. After a moment, he replied, "Of course you need to take responsibility for that. If there is proof of the robbery and the identity of the perpetrator, you will only be fined ten percent of the inventory as punishment. Without any proof, you will be held liable for the entire inventory."

"Oh...Our branch was robbed by Su Yu. I have proof of that. I even have a recording of him in action. So I only need to pay 10 percent of the inventory, right?"

"..."

First Profound was dumbstruck. Robbed by Su Yu. What? Oh...The elder finally understood!

This kid was staging yet another play. Profound Nine would end up robbed by Su Yu. The main blame would go to Su Yu, not Profound Nine. Was that the play?

"What are you thinking? The inventory is quite empty right now!"

Su Yu instantly understood what the elder was trying to say. He should give the inventory some time to fill up before doing it. It wasn't worth doing when the inventory level was low. That would force him to do it more frequently, increasing the risk of exposure.

If it only happened once, it wouldn't be too suspicious. After all, everyone knew Su Yu was in the city. Understanding dawned on him.

Su Yu sighed. Wow. First Profound Elder was such a nice guy. The elder had taught him yet another trick to deal with the pavilion. From this, he could see that this elder was a good superior to have. Just look at how understanding he was of his subordinates.

First Profound said, "Profound Nine, I'm warning you. There is a special agency in the Profound Department answering directly to the department leader. In our department, the rainbow codenames are directly subordinate to the leader. Part of their job involves supervising the department. Every member of the Profound Department can be supervised and audited by them. Do not try anything stupid."

Each department leader had an agency directly subordinate to them. As for the Profound Department, this agency was manned by the rainbow codenames.

Su Yu nodded in understanding. So that was the case. No wonder. He had been wondering about the high level of freedom they allowed their members. So there were mechanisms in place as checks and balances.

***

After ending the conversation, Su Yu went back to the branch.

He picked up the catalog left by the previous Profound Nine and checked the inventory. There were some blood essence, a small amount of source qi liquid, some heavenly source fruits, and some weapons. There was a decent selection of profound weapons, but there was only a single earth weapon in the inventory.

Perhaps this was only a small inventory comparatively. Strictly speaking, this was still quite a valuable inventory. The actual warehouse was located inside the branch as well. Each branch was equipped with formations installed by Sunmoons to help with storage management. Only the branch leader could control the formations.

In other words, these formations were under Su Yu's control. He did not spend too much time checking the inventory. Soon, he moved on to extract more heavenly source qi. He couldn't help but wonder if he could still do this with the amount of death qi in his body.

Also, he was curious if the heavenly source qi he extracted now would be mixed with death qi. Shortly after, he completed the extraction of a small portion. It was still working well. He could still extract pure heavenly source qi without any death qi mixed in it. That was mostly because the moment any death qi come into contact with heavenly source qi, it would melt away. How unfortunate. Su Yu's plan to poison the mayor to death was not going to work.

He had nearly forgotten that heavenly source qi and death qi were the polar opposites of each other.

"Since the mayor requires heavenly source qi, he must be on the verge of being completely eroded by death qi. Otherwise, a ninth-stage Sunmoon like him would have plenty of ways to deal with his injuries without seeking help from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. His injuries must have been very heavy indeed."

Numerous thoughts emerged in Su Yu's mind. At the current stage, the mayor was his biggest enemy. No, that wouldn't be accurate. They were competitors. This was merely a power struggle.

Su Yu wanted to take over the city, but he had to worry about the threat of the mayor. The moment the mayor left seclusion and noticed that the city was still sealed, he would probably kill Su Yu unhesitatingly to maintain his grip over the city. After all, the city was his biggest backer.

There was no avoiding this conflict. As for their previous conflict, that wasn't something that could not be resolved. After all, it wasn't that big of a deal. But the conflict over the ancient city was not something they could resolve. Neither of them would be willing to give up on the city. That was simply impossible.

Su Yu could no longer leave. There were probably dozens of Sunmoons still outside waiting for him. Thus, control over the city was extremely important for him.

"How should I go about killing him?"

Su Yu started thinking while extracting more heavenly source qi from blood essence. Even as he was doing this, the heavenly source qi would automatically fight against the death qi in his body with each portion he extracted, resulting in a considerable amount of waste. But he wasn't too bothered as this would also reduce the amount of death qi in his body.

"With heavenly source qi in hand, the mayor might gain the ability to counteract a decent amount of death qi in his body. Will this backfire on me and help him recover instead?"

If that happened, he would look like an absolute fool. But as a ninth-stage Sunmoon, the mayor wouldn't be fooled by some fake heavenly source qi. The difficulty of fooling the mayor with fake heavenly source qi was too high.

The mayor would most definitely inspect the heavenly source qi carefully after the transaction. Nobody trusted the so-called reputation of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. It wasn't like they had never outright robbed someone in the absence of witnesses before. In fact, they had planned to do the same to him before.

Of course, nobody could prove that they had actually done something like that. Even so, everyone knew about their dirty deeds. Nobody would fully trust them.

"Faking the heavenly source qi won't work. I won't be his match in a fight either. As a ninth-stage Sunmoon, he will still be stronger even if he's gravely injured."

Furthermore, the mayor would definitely be on high alert during their meeting. Su Yu felt greatly troubled. He couldn't even kill someone who was so badly injured. What was he supposed to do here?

"Should I rely on the death spirits? But death spirits won't kill residents unless the residents are guilty of killing death spirits..."

Unless the mayor killed enough death spirits to spawn Sunmoon death spirits, there was no point in relying on death spirits to kill the mayor.

The mayor was no fool. Why would he kill death spirits out of nowhere? That was even more so in his current condition. He was already suffering from death qi. He would try his best to distance himself from death spirits instead.

Numerous ideas took form, but they were all deemed unsuitable. These plans were too risky when the target was a ninth-stage Sunmoon.

"So troublesome."

What a pity that he was out of Ye Batian's characters. Otherwise, he could probably kill the gravely injured mayor if he could catch the mayor by surprise.

"Whatever. I'll meet him and check his condition first."

After about three hours, he finally extracted enough heavenly source qi. In the process, the level of death qi in his body had dropped by about ten percent. It would start growing again before long, but he wasn't worried. Sure. Feel free to grow. It would never be able to grow as fast as his cultivation.

In fact, he found the death qi in his body so harmless that he couldn't even be bothered to spare it much attention.

***

Mayor's residence.

Once again, Su Yu was here.

With his white mask, white robes, and the change, deceit, and calm characters, combined with the concealment art of the looping turtles, and his brand new patience character, he would blend almost perfectly into his surroundings when he remained still.

Furthermore, his willpower, source qi, and characters had also grown considerably compared to before, further boosting his concealment and disguise capabilities. With the assistance of the mask, he could probably look normal to even Pseudo Invincibles so long as he remained inactive. Even if they did see him, they would only take it for granted that all Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members were such enigmatic existences.

When he reached the gate, he altered his voice to mimic the voice of the previous Profound Nine and spoke, "Lord Mayor, Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is here."

Moments later, a wave of powerful willpower spread out and scanned him. Nothing was said but the gate swung open.

"Come in."

With that invitation, Su Yu floated inside. Yes, he was floating instead of walking. He had noticed that the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members loved floating around like ghosts instead of walking like a normal person. Thus, he decided to do the same.

It was incredibly quiet inside the mayor's residence. He remembered that a large number of guards had entered the residence previously, but not one of them could be seen. The dark devil dragon had probably recruited a decent number of subordinates after running the city for so many years. But after a single calamity, all of them were gone.

Su Yu was unbothered by their deaths. He even saw some ancient city medallions on the ground. These were probably left behind by the dead guards. The jade path led him straight to the main hall of the residence. He floated into the main hall, acting as enigmatic as any other Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member.

Inside the hall, the mayor had assumed a humanoid form. Seated on the throne, his skin had turned slightly dark. That was a result of death qi erosion. He was no longer the same overbearing tyrant Su Yu had seen previously.

"Greetings, Lord Mayor."

The mayor narrowed his eyes as he studied Su Yu and asked, "Are you the branch leader who has been staying in this city?"

"Yes."

"Profound Nine?"

"Yes."

The mayor nodded. He wasn't too close to the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Or to be precise, he didn't want to be too close to them.

He found their tendency to pry on all sorts of secrets annoying. Thus, he preferred keeping a distance from them. He was not interested in becoming yet another merchandise they were selling. This time, he had initiated contact with them because he was out of options.

"Do you have the heavenly source qi on you?"

"Nope." Su Yu replied nonchalantly, "What about the payment? Do you have it on you? I don't have the heavenly source qi on me. I was worried that you might decide to take it by force instead."

"Hmph!"

A single snort was enough to cause Su Yu's heart to thump violently.

The mayor's eyes turned cold as he said, "Profound Nine, the people of Heavenly Hunt Pavilion are supposed to be the hunters of the heavens. Since when did you all turn into such cowards?"

"This is embarrassing, but I have to do things this way."