Chapter 342: That Uncertain Future

Villa, Main Entrance.

Su Ming and his group escorted Xu Xiayan out, all the way to the fountain.

“Alright, this is far enough.”

Xu Xiayan stopped in front of the fountain, turned around, and looked at the Azure Mercury members standing before her with a slight smile.

“Don’t forget about the matter in one month, okay?”

Xu Xiayan was naturally referring to the Hidden Realm.

According to her, Tianfeng City’s official detection department had already analyzed and confirmed that the Hidden Realm at the northern end of Tianfeng City would appear in approximately one month.

This had been confirmed long ago.

That’s why Xu Xiayan had been able to prepare at a leisurely pace all along.

With one month remaining, Xu Xiayan wouldn’t slack off and would continue preparing for the mission.

“When everything is ready, I’ll notify you again and tell you the specific gathering time and location.”

Xu Xiayan looked at Su Ming as she said this to him.

“Alright.” Su Ming naturally had no objections and readily agreed, adding, “I’ll arrange my schedule accordingly.”

“Good luck.” Xu Xiayan patted Su Ming’s shoulder and said teasingly, “Your big sister has high hopes for you now. I hope you can bring me a big surprise.”

It must be said that after today’s visit, Xu Xiayan had indeed developed many expectations for Su Ming.

What kind of performance would this deeply concealed junior from her hometown show in the Hidden Realm one month later? Xu Xiayan felt anticipation about this.

And then there were the girls of Azure Mercury.

Xu Xiayan had a feeling that these girls’ strength seemed to be steadily improving.

What kind of appearance would these girls present before her after one month? Xu Xiayan was also looking forward to that.

Especially Chi Qian.

This female legend who had climbed to her current position through her own efforts seemed to have only recently advanced to Six-Star.

With her drive and effort, one month would be enough to thoroughly consolidate and adapt to her post-advancement strength.

By then, she would have another powerful helper on her side, undoubtedly increasing the possibility of completing that SS-level mission.

This wasn’t Xu Xiayan’s first time hiring an external team. She had mentioned that hiring teams wasn’t her first time, nor would it be her last.

But compared to the teams she had hired before, for some reason, Xu Xiayan felt more confident and expectant about Azure Mercury.

Even though among the previously hired teams were large A-grade teams that also had Six-Star Professionals, with scale and overall strength far surpassing Azure Mercury’s small team of just a few people, she felt more confident and expectant about this small team – it was indeed strange.

Unaware of Xu Xiayan’s inner thoughts, Su Ming just gave her a deep look and muttered.

“I’m just afraid the surprise might be too big and turn into a shock.”

Thinking this, Su Ming’s lips curled into a somewhat mischievous smile.

Unfortunately, Xu Xiayan didn’t see it, or she might have exclaimed that she had entrusted her hopes to the wrong person.

“Then I’ll be off?”

Xu Xiayan waved to everyone.

“See you in one month.”

After saying this, Xu Xiayan turned and left.Su Ming and his companions watched Xu Xiayan depart until her figure completely disappeared from sight before finally withdrawing their gazes.

Chi Qian, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao—all four girls—were looking at Su Ming.

Su Ming was also observing the four girls, and after a moment, he smiled.

“Let’s head back,” Su Ming said. “We need to prepare ourselves properly too.”

The girls nodded firmly.

Villa, Underground Training Ground.

After returning to the villa, aside from Su Ming, Tong Xinyao, and Feng Qing’er, both Chi Qian and Mu Yan had come here. Chi Qian silently drew her weapon and began swinging it relentlessly across the training ground.

The first strike was plain and unremarkable.

The second strike stirred up surges of Qi.

The third strike roared with a sonic boom.

The fourth strike sent Sword lights dancing wildly.

Chi Qian continued like this, swinging her Sword strike by strike, each one growing fiercer and more intense. Gradually, she began exerting her full strength, creating astonishing commotion.

“Sister Qianqian.”

Mu Yan watched Chi Qian with concern.

Chi Qian didn’t look at Mu Yan, continuing her swings as she spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Chi Qian said without turning her head. “I know you’re concerned about me, but I truly am alright.”

“Really?” Mu Yan fell silent for a while before speaking slowly. “I thought you would oppose the Commander taking on this mission.”

It was no wonder Mu Yan thought this way.

After all, in the past, Crimson had been completely decimated during an S-class mission, leaving only the four of them alive.

Moreover, throughout the past year, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao had been critically injured and near death, preserved in frozen slumber. Chi Qian herself had suffered a severed hand and disfigurement—their fates had been utterly tragic.

A single S-class mission had reduced all members of Crimson to such states, and now they were preparing to participate in an SS-class mission?

Even with Summer Chasing Smoke and other teams joining the operation, given their past trauma and everything Chi Qian had endured, it would have been perfectly normal for her to oppose the decision.

Mu Yan had expected Chi Qian to object when the matter was brought up.

Unexpectedly, Chi Qian hadn’t done so, instead tacitly accepting the decision, which left Mu Yan both surprised and worried.

But regarding this, Chi Qian responded thus:

“This is the Commander’s decision,” Chi Qian still didn’t turn her head. “I have already devoted everything to that person. Since that’s the case, even if his decision is wrong, I will accompany him to the end and exhaust all my strength to protect him.”

“And…”

Chi Qian paused briefly before continuing.

“There’s no meaning in dwelling endlessly on past pain. If we become restrained because of it, the future can never become better.”

These were words Su Ming had spoken to Chi Qian, and she had engraved them in her heart.

Therefore, Chi Qian would say no more, focusing only on doing everything she should to the best of her ability.

“With one month’s time, the red aragonite bestowed by the Commander, and desperate effort, I should not only be able to consolidate and adapt to my post-breakthrough power but also advance further.”

As she spoke, Chi Qian continued swinging her Sword, searching for the right feeling.

“Especially my right hand—it must quickly adapt to its current strength.”

Chi Qian’s dominant hand had always been her right.

In the past, she had wielded her Sword and fought with her right hand.Until her right hand was severed a year ago, Chi Qian had trained her left hand to take its place.

But the left hand was ultimately not her dominant hand, which significantly impacted her combat effectiveness.

Now that her right hand had regrown and her strength had advanced further, breaking through to the Six-Star Rank, she knew she had to diligently readapt to her once-abandoned right hand before the SS-rank mission arrived in a month. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to maintain peak condition. It was with this resolve that Chi Qian prepared to strive relentlessly.

“This time, I will definitely protect everything with my own power.”

Chi Qian made up her mind.

Seeing this, Mu Yan fell silent as well.

“Protect everything with my own power… huh?”

Mu Yan looked down at her own hands, then clenched them tightly.

A short while later, Mu Yan headed toward the swimming pool, her Thorned Whip in hand.

“I won’t admit defeat either.”

The underground training ground’s swimming pool was once again bombarded, sending huge splashes of water soaring into the air.

This time, Little Hai’er did not come out to protest.

The mermaid girl, enveloped in a mist of water, glanced at Chi Qian, then at Mu Yan, before pulling out a red medicinal stone and tossing it into her mouth.

Blood energy surged within her, allowing this not-yet-fully-developed Nightmare Species to grow slowly yet steadily toward her destined form. Besides Little Hai’er, Feng Qing’er, who had returned to her room, was doing the same.

“One more month…”

Feng Qing’er sat on her bed, holding several red medicinal stones in her hand.

“Sister Qianqian has advanced, Sister Yanyan has advanced too… In that case, I must hurry and advance as well.”

Only then could she face the journey a month later with greater strength.

Even Tong Xinyao brought out the Extraordinary Items Su Ming had given her earlier, consuming them one by one.

“Everyone is so strong, and I’m still just a lower-rank Professional…”

This wouldn’t do.

She didn’t want to become a burden.

She didn’t want to hold everyone back.

Having been given a second chance at life and the opportunity to continue working alongside Sister Qianqian, Sister Yanyan, and Sister Qing’er, she absolutely could not let it all fall apart.

“I’ll work hard too!”

In the room, the young girl’s spirited cry echoed resolutely.

Along with it, a continuously strengthening Spirit Power fluctuation rippled outward, burning like a steady flame, rising ever higher.

At the same time, in Su Ming’s room…

After returning to his room, the first thing Su Ming did was haul out a large bathtub.

The tub was filled with hot water, causing steam to rise continuously and humidity to build in the room.

Su Ming stood before the tub, his hand turning slightly as he produced a vial of alchemical potion.

It was none other than the top-grade alchemical potion capable of allowing a Hunter to cleanse body and mind, unlocking the potential of their Bloodline—

The Cleansing Potion.

“According to the instructions, as long as I pour the potion into the water while bathing and soak overnight, I can maximize the extraction of the hidden power within my Bloodline, rapidly increasing my strength.”

Su Ming muttered to himself.

“The higher the Bloodline Rank and the greater the potential, the more strength one gains after using this alchemical potion.”

Originally, Su Ming hadn’t planned to use this Cleansing Potion so soon.

He had intended to continue training, improving his strength as a Five-Star Hunter first, before using the Cleansing Potion.It would be best to use this Cleansing Potion when reaching the Five-Star Peak level.

With the potential of his Nightmare Species Bloodline, achieving a breakthrough to Six-Star would then be a certainty.

But now, he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Even for someone like me, the probability of failure is high for an SS-level mission without thorough preparation.”

Considering this, Su Ming decided not to wait any longer.

“At worst, I can use the resources scavenged from the Hidden Realm to advance later.”

Thus, Su Ming uncorked the bottle and poured this top-grade alchemical potion into the water.

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(End of Chapter)