Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang was in a long silence after closing the window of the Hunter a.s.sociation forum.

The appearance of the duo, Fu Minghan, and Qi Hao gave him extra pressure.

Both of them were not considered outstanding among imperial-level powerhouses, but they had extraordinary talent in the cultivation of the ancient methods.

He knew that there would be more Fu Minghans and Qi Haos in the future. Inevitably, there would be people who were even more powerful than the duo.

Lin Huang"s emotions calmed down after a moment of silence.

He clicked into the Genius Union and logged in. He had been on checkpoint 55 the last time he logged out, and he remained on the same checkpoint when he logged in now.

Looking at the gigantic plants around him, Lin Huang knew he was still in the Secret Forest.

After confirming his direction, the internal communication line in the Genius Union rang all of a sudden when he was ready to kill.

He opened the communication page and realized it was Chan Dou who was calling.

Lin Huang pressed the b.u.t.ton to pick up. “Yes?”

“You"ve finally logged in! I haven"t seen you here since over half a year ago.” Chan Dou was wearing a white s.h.i.+rt like he always did and a pair of black slacks. He gave people the impression that he came from a wealthy family.

“I"ve been busy.”

“I heard that your combat strength has had a major elevation. So, which checkpoint do you plan to get to this time?” Chan Dou asked excitedly.

“My goal"s checkpoint 63, but I"m not sure which checkpoint will I be able to get to,” Lin Huang said while smiling.

“It"s great that you have a goal. Just work towards it,” Chan Dou gave him words of encouragement.

“I don"t suppose you called just for this?” Lin Huang faintly sensed that Chan Dou had something else to say.

“You saw through me.” Chan Dou chuckled. “Nothing much. I just want to tell you that I"m going to elevate to imperial-level.”

Naturally, Lin Huang knew what that meant. Elevating to imperial-level would mean quitting the Genius Union automatically. It would mean that Chan Dou would lose his chief position in the Heaven Alliance.

“That"s sudden. Did something happen?” Chan Dou"s unexpected decision surprised Lin Huang indeed.

“Actually, I"m almost done with the early preparations,” Chan Dou said with a grin, “Indeed, something that made me choose to elevate now has happened.”

Lin Huang blinked his eyes and roughly guessed the reason.

“You"d find out about this sooner or later, so it wouldn"t hurt for me to tell you now.” Chan Dou did not plan to hide anything. “The Union Government got a bunch of ancient cultivation methods from somewhere earlier. It was said that cultivating those methods could elevate a person to virtual G.o.d-level. Many organizations and clans are in discussion with the Union Government about this.

“However, the Union Government"s still unwilling to open the methods to more people at the moment. They"re planning to get imperial-level powerhouses to test the methods out for two years and the quota for each organization is limited. Our clan was given a few slots and one of them is reserved for me. I can only cultivate them officially when I"ve elevated to imperial-level.

“Initially, I didn"t want to rush into it since there"s already a quota reserved for me. After all, I could wait for a year or more before elevating to imperial-level. However, there was a piece of news that broke from the Hunter a.s.sociation that gave the elderly members in our clan a sense of danger. It was said that there are two people who have cultivated to holy fire-level in less than a month. They think that these two might elevate to Virtual G.o.ds a year later. Hence, they"re urging me to elevate to imperial-level so that I can cultivate the ancient methods.”

Lin Huang was speechless upon hearing that. He could not believe that even Chan Dou, one of the Five Princes, could not escape being controlled by his family.

He could tell that Chan Dou was not ready to elevate to imperial-level yet. Perhaps he had yet to find a Life Base monster that was perfectly compatible, or maybe he had found it but had no confidence to defeat it.

Although such a situation in which his family rushed him into things seemed minor, in the long run, it was unfavorable for Chan Dou.

Although he was the Fourth Prince who was above all immortal-level powerhouses, if he did not choose the right Life Base monster, he would lose his t.i.tle when he achieved imperial-level and might not even be in the top ten with people of the same level.

“I think it"s better that you drag it out as long as you can. Don"t mess up your own rhythm.” Lin Huang could only give him that piece of advice. Although he thought that Chan Dou"s clan behavior of ‘killing the goose that lays golden egg" was not encouraged, he was just an outsider after all. It was not his place to comment on other people"s business within the family.

“I"ve been dragging it out for almost two months now. There"s nothing else that I can do.” Chan Dou forced a smile helplessly. Naturally, he knew what the consequences entailed. “Never mind. Let"s not talk about me.”

“Try to get to checkpoint 63 this time. If you succeed, my recommendation to make you the Heaven Alliance"s deputy chief will have an 80% success rate.”

“What?!” Lin Huang was stunned to hear that.

“Since Tang Lang left before the New Year, the position for deputy chief has been vacant. You were already on my waiting list. Tan Lang came looking for me later on and told me that your combat strength has elevated to immortal-level rank-3. That"s how you"re the first on my list now. If not for your rather low combat strength, I"d even want to relinquish my position as chief to you.” Chan Dou could not see Lin Huang"s current combat strength because Lin Huang had covered it from being displayed on the Genius Union.

“Oh right, actually, what"s your combat strength now? Immortal-level rank-4?” Chan Dou could not help but ask.

“Something like that.” Lin Huang was afraid that he might scare Chan Dou if he told the truth, so he decided to hide it. Worried that Chan Dou would ask further, he changed the topic immediately. “Forget about the position. I"m very lazy. It"s pretty awesome being an ordinary member.”

“Man, don"t reject me. I"ve decided on this.” Chan Dou had made up his mind to drag Lin Huang into this no matter what. “It"s just a featherbed. You"ll only have to put in effort when it"s necessary. The chief and the other deputies will handle the usual stuff.”

“Alright then…” Lin Huang agreed unwillingly anyway. He knew if he disagreed, Chan Dou would definitely dwell on it. “When do you plan to elevate?”

“Within this month, I guess. I can no longer drag it out.” Chan Dou forced a weak smile.

“Great. All the best.”

“Thanks, brother! The Heaven Alliance will depend on all of you in the future!”

Lin Huang felt sorry for Chan Dou after hanging up the call.

If Chan Dou elevated his combat strength following his own rhythm, he should be the best of the best among Virtual G.o.ds when he elevated to that level in the future. However, the cultivation now would mess up his rhythm. It might be difficult for him to achieve his peak performance.

“There"s a Golden-armored Swine King approaching!” b.l.o.o.d.y warned through voice transmission all of a sudden.

Lin Huang turned to look at the direction the monster was coming from. The radius of his Territory skill had expanded to 7,000 meters, so he sensed the swine"s movement since the beginning.

“Then, let"s begin hunting!” Lin Huang snapped his fingers and summoned Bai and the bunch of imperial monsters.