Chapter 348: Meeting Once Again

The day was clear but bitterly cold.

The howling wind brought waves of chill, prompting Tianfeng City residents to layer up with warmer clothing, with some already preparing for winter.

Professionals, however, continued taking missions as they had for years. Aside from more frail Sorcerers, Hunters largely disregarded the dropping temperatures.

With a Hunter’s physique, not only could they endure this early chill, but even during sub-zero winters they could roll through snowfields in thin short sleeves—and even work up a sweat doing so.

Naturally, this cold snap failed to dampen the burning enthusiasm of high-Rank large teams on this particular day.

Anyone with sharp senses would notice that Tianfeng North Gate, leading to the city’s northern outskirts, saw an unusual influx of major teams, significantly increasing foot traffic.

Some teams gathered elsewhere before marching over in grand procession, while others assembled directly at the north gate, forming massive contingents before surging outward in impressive formations.

Consequently, beyond Tianfeng’s northern gates, fleets of off-road vehicles either traveled in convoys or followed one another northward, kicking up clouds of dust with imposing Aura.

Closer observation would reveal armed helicopters periodically crossing the skies, alongside large transport aircraft carrying fully-equipped Professionals toward the north.

This spectacle and commotion startled Phantom Demons in the northern wilderness danger zones, with none daring to emerge for hunting lest they meet certain doom.

Had anyone traveled hundreds of kilometers north into the wilds, they’d have witnessed a bizarre phenomenon.

What strange occurrence?

Simply this:

Auroras shimmered across the sky.

Rainbows streaked over the land.

Flickering phantoms gradually solidified in mid-air.

These illusions resembled familiar mirages.

Yet this mirage took form as an inverted black fortress, slowly descending toward the earth.

Off-road vehicles, transport planes, and helicopters from Tianfeng City now surrounded the wilderness perimeter. Their occupants gazed up at the slowly descending mirage, eyes reflecting tension, excitement, apprehension, and greed.

Of course, those displaying such emotions were predominantly Professionals.

Beyond them, squads of soldiers armed with firearms had also arrived, deploying strategically as if to encircle the entire area.

“What an impressive display,” Feng Qing’er remarked as she stepped from an off-road vehicle, scanning the surroundings in awe.

“Even the military is here?” Mu Yan frowned in concern.

“Wh-why would the army come?” Tong Xinyao appeared timid.

Su Ming and Chi Qian emerged from the driver and passenger seats respectively, exchanging glances at the scene.

“The military probably came to maintain order and keep out unauthorized personnel, right?”Chi Qian made such a guess.

“Very likely.” Su Ming thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “After all, it’s already stipulated that aside from B-rank and above teams, all Professionals are prohibited from entering the Hidden Realm. So it’s only natural that the Tianfeng City authorities who made this rule would send people to guard this place.”

Just as Su Ming finished speaking, a voice sounded from nearby.

“That’s only one of the reasons.”

The person who said this was none other than Xu Xiayan.

Xu Xiayan was slowly approaching with several people in tow, coming to stand before the members of 『Azure Mercury』.

“Captain Xu.”

Chi Qian, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao—the four of them—immediately bowed in greeting to Xu Xiayan.

“Hello.”

Xu Xiayan didn’t put on any airs, responding to Chi Qian and the others naturally and casually.

In contrast, Su Ming looked at the people accompanying Xu Xiayan with a surprised expression.

“What are you all doing here?”

Su Ming uttered words filled with extreme surprise.

It couldn’t be helped.

Among the people accompanying Xu Xiayan, most were Su Ming’s acquaintances.

They were four women with extraordinary appearances and temperaments—if not breathtakingly beautiful, they could at least be rated above ninety points.

Of these four beauties, three appeared to be young married women with lingering charm, while the remaining one was even younger than Feng Qing’er, a beautiful girl just a few years older than Tong Xinyao.

Among these four beauties, aside from one short-haired older sister who looked exceptionally heroic, the other three were all familiar to Su Ming.

They came from the same Base City as Su Ming, and had even arrived in Tianfeng City on the same day as him—fellow townspeople who had been escorted here together by Xu Xiayan.

“Long time no see, Young Master Su.”

Bai Ruxiang wore a slight smile as she was the first to bow in greeting to Su Ming.

Beside her, Bai Xiaoyan quickly bowed as well.

Only Bai Xuefei remained silent, looking at Su Ming with rather complicated emotions.

Indeed.

Bai Ruxiang, Bai Xuefei, and Bai Xiaoyan.

The Bai Family Hunters who had come to Tianfeng City with Su Ming back then had now reunited with him today, accompanying Xu Xiayan.

Xu Xiayan smiled at the quite surprised Su Ming.

“Surprised?” Xu Xiayan chuckled lightly. “They’re all new members I recruited into the team over a month ago. Now that our team is undertaking an important mission, it’s only natural they’d come along.”

Xu Xiayan had specifically brought these three to see Su Ming.

After all, they were fellow townspeople—since they had encountered each other, it would be inappropriate not to bring them along to say hello.

Su Ming finally understood.

“So you’ve all joined 『Summer Chasing Smoke』?”

Su Ming hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

But upon careful thought, this development seemed only natural.

Given Xu Xiayan’s sense of responsibility—she had taken such good care of Su Ming—it stood to reason that the Bai Family members she had brought to Tianfeng City would also receive her care. It was completely normal for them to be recruited into her team.

Just as expected…”Thanks to Lady Xiayan’s great favor, both Xiaoyan and I have received the opportunity to join ‘Summer Chasing Smoke’,” Bai Ruxiang stated. “As for Lady Xuefei, being an Upper-Rank Professional, she was already valued by Lady Xiayan and was inevitably recruited into ‘Summer Chasing Smoke’ to receive focused training.”

Bai Ruxiang’s words caused Su Ming to shift his gaze toward Bai Xuefei.

This genius from Longyao City, who had received Xu Xiayan’s recommendation and the Wang Family’s support, seemed to have changed quite a bit over the past month.

First, her Qi had become much more profound, clearly indicating she had grown significantly stronger.

Second, her overall demeanor had changed. She no longer carried the same arrogance as before—perhaps from encountering so many individuals more outstanding and powerful than herself in Tianfeng City. The cold, aloof aura she had exuded during their first meeting had largely receded, making her appear more steady and mature.

It wasn’t just Bai Xuefei; both Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan had also made substantial progress in their strength.

Bai Ruxiang had reached the Peak of Three-Star, touching the limit of a Lower-Rank Professional. The next step would be a Breakthrough to become an Upper-Rank Professional.

Before coming to Tianfeng City, although Bai Ruxiang was considered to have touched the Peak of Three-Star, she still lacked the accumulation needed to reach the human body’s constraints and transcend into the non-human Realm.

Thus, while she was previously at the Peak of Three-Star, she didn’t give off the impression of being on the verge of a Breakthrough to another Realm.

Now, however, Bai Ruxiang seemed as if she could achieve a Breakthrough at any moment.

This was the true manifestation of reaching the Three-Star limit and touching the constraints of the human body.

As for Bai Xiaoyan, who had previously been only a Two-Star Hunter and hadn’t even reached the Peak of Two-Star, this young woman from the Bai Family had now advanced to Three-Star.

All three female hunters from the Bai Family had undergone what could be described as a complete transformation, which made Su Ming take special notice.

Especially Bai Xuefei, who had changed so much that Su Ming almost didn’t recognize her.

The evidence was that this Bai Family Genius, who had previously been somewhat indifferent or even ignored Su Ming’s presence, now noticed his gaze and, after a moment of hesitation, nodded to him in acknowledgment.

This truly shocked Su Ming.

“Good heavens, has she been beaten down by society or what?”

Su Ming couldn’t help but suspect this.

How could Su Ming have imagined?

Looking at Su Ming, who was flanked by Chi Qian, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao, standing opposite Xu Xiayan and engaging in an equal dialogue with her, the three women from the Bai Family felt deeply emotional.

Thinking back, Su Ming was merely a newcomer specially cared for by Xu Xiayan. After he rejected Xu Xiayan’s invitation, whether it was Bai Ruxiang, Bai Xuefei, or Bai Xiaoyan, they all believed Su Ming would face society’s harsh lessons, encounter numerous setbacks in Tianfeng City, and might eventually come crawling back to seek out Xu Xiayan.

Who would have thought that in less than two months, not only had Su Ming not faced setbacks or come crawling back to Xu Xiayan, but he had instead created a miracle.

“He really formed a team and recruited multiple Upper-Rank Professionals, including one Six-Star Professional of the same Rank as Lady Xiayan—a legendary female figure in Tianfeng City.”Bai Xuefei, Bai Ruxiang, and Bai Xiaoyan sighed inwardly, their perception of Su Ming completely transformed.

Azure Mercury had been mentioned far too many times over the past month. As a newly debuted team this year, being so widely discussed—with Su Ming as its founder—meant that regardless of anything else, Bai Xuefei and the others couldn’t help but admire him.

After all, they had essentially witnessed Su Ming build everything from scratch.

This was also the reason why Bai Xuefei’s attitude toward Su Ming had changed.

Because what Su Ming had accomplished, she admitted, was something she could never achieve herself.

Thus, she could no longer condescendingly offer him guidance as she had before.

Under Su Ming’s leadership, there were already individuals far more capable than her—and not just one or two.

She, Bai Xuefei, might no longer hold much significance to him.

(End of Chapter)