After reaching the main gate of the 36th Stronghold, Draven parked his superbike at the paid parking space of the Hunter Guild.
Since the sound of man-made vehicles could attract the attention of wild beasts, hunters were not allowed to enter the forest with their vehicles. Instead, the Hunter Association provided paid parking spots where attendants from the guild would look after the vehicles until the hunters returned.
When Draven reached the reception of the Hunter Association, a middle-aged man asked him with a smile, "Yo, Butcher Demon, we're forming a team to hunt a Jade-Horned Tiger King. Are you interested?"
Draven smiled upon seeing the man. "Uncle John, it's been a while since I last saw you."
"Cut the greetings, kid. Are you interested in joining the team or not?" John asked impatiently.
Draven shook his head. "I'm planning on exploring the deep forest this time, so maybe next time."
John nodded in disappointment and, after exchanging a few more pleasantries, left to look for other suitable candidates.
Draven returned to the reception and handed his hunter ID to the receptionist. "Draven Skywalker, First Tier Hunter Grandmaster."
The receptionist, who had been lazily scrolling on her phone, immediately straightened her back upon hearing 'Hunter Grandmaster.' She respectfully received the card from Draven's hand and inserted it into a scanner. After verifying his identity on her computer screen, she took out a smart watch and gave it to Draven along with his card.
"The verification is complete. Do you intend to take on any missions this time, Grandmaster Draven?"
Draven shook his head and left the reception with his smart watch and hunter ID.
The receptionist lady clicked her tongue in envy after he left. "Such a young Grandmaster... but he didn't look as scary as the rumors portray him to be."
"Little girl, Draven is indeed a handsome young man, but the rumors speak of the devil inside him, 'The Butcher Demon.' When he starts killing, it's as though he is possessed by a demon. Even demon beasts are inferior to him when it comes to brutality and mercilessness," a senior employee sitting at the adjacent reception table said to her.
The reception area had three receptionists in total, and Jasmine was new to the job. She asked the middle-aged woman beside her curiously, "All of us are hunters, so what's wrong with having a brutal heart? After all, our job itself is to kill, right?"
The senior employee, Sophia, chuckled lightly. "When he first came here to register as a hunter, he was just seven or eight years old. Back then, he was a frail little boy with a kitchen knife in his hands as a weapon. None of us believed that little boy could walk out of the forest with a cleaver that wasn't even a spirit weapon, but he returned dragging the carcass of a Crimson Wolf King behind him."
"From that day on, I saw him frequently in the Hunter Guild with his signature kitchen cleaver, bringing in wild beasts that even seasoned hunters didn't dare to mess with. Although he was wounded most of the time, none of us ever saw him cry or beg to join any team; he mostly hunted alone. Over the years, people here started calling him the Butcher Demon. Not because he is a butcher who hunts demons, but because he is a demon in human skin."
Jasmine's mouth fell open as Sophia finished the story.
Sophia laughed lightly at her reaction and continued with her work as someone else arrived at the counter for registration.
At the main gate:
In this world, there was only one unified human nation called Valoria. The rest of the land was territory belonging to wild beasts and plants.
Valoria was divided into 40 strongholds. The 1st Stronghold had the highest concentration of elemental essence in its atmosphere, and this concentration decreased all the way to the 40th, where it was close to none.
Of course, this had both advantages and disadvantages. The stronger the elemental essence, the stronger the wildlife around the stronghold would be, and the greater the threat. Nevertheless, every stronghold was surrounded by massive walls engraved with formations that created an invisible essence energy shield, engulfing the whole city in a dome-like protective structure.
If hunters wanted to enter the forest, they had to pass through this gate.
Upon reaching the main gate, Draven showed his hunter ID and entered the forest along with other hunters. Some of them were riding beast mounts like elephants, horses, lions, or other strange beasts, while others simply walked inside like Draven.
After walking alone for a while, Draven came across a secluded cave at the side of a mountain wall.
His eyes lit up. He walked up to the cave and pulled out a 1st-stage Mortal Realm brown bear that was sleeping inside, throwing it casually outside.
Startled awake, the bear roared in anger and bared its fangs at Draven. But upon meeting Draven's eyes, which were filled with cold killing intent, it turned around and ran away.
Draven ignored it and sat cross-legged inside the cave as he sent his spiritual sense inside the Divine Ring.
[Dream God Ring]
[Dream Points: 160]
[Life Span: 17/100]
[Innate Dream Walker Physique (Mortal)]
[Shadow World Behemoth Bloodline (Mortal): 0.005/100(+)]
[Chaos Divine Ape Bloodline (Mortal): 0/100(+)]
"After killing those six idiots, the dream points have increased to 160," Draven rubbed his chin in satisfaction. "Let's try if raising the quality of my bloodline can help me break the limit of my body and step into the Ascendant Realm."
"Add 100 points to the Chaos Divine Ape Bloodline."
As soon as Draven's voice fell, he felt as though his heart rate suddenly increased tenfold and the blood all around his body started pumping at an insane rate.
Draven felt as though the blood in his body had suddenly transformed into molten lava. Gritting his teeth, he remained expressionless. After the Butcher Heart Sutra reached perfection at the Mortal Realm, even though he could feel pain, the reaction his body gave him was not tears, but anger.
The more the pain, the angrier he became. But being angry here was useless, as everything happening in his body was out of his control, and he could only grit his teeth helplessly.
....
At that time, in a luxurious mansion in the 1st Stronghold of Valoria, an old man with red pupils and a sturdy frame sat in a recliner chair with a fishing rod in his hand, waiting eagerly for the black fish in the clear artificial pond to take the bait.
"Grandfather, good news...!" Just then, a loud voice was heard, and the fish were scared away, making the old man's face darken. He whipped his head back and stared frostily at the young man running towards him. "My beloved grandson... make sure whatever you are going to tell me is important. Otherwise...."
The young man stammered when he saw his grandfather's anger, so he stopped some distance away and said excitedly, "We have a lead on little sister!"
The old man's face changed, and he appeared before the young man in a flash. "Speak."
"The news is from our man at the Phoenix Academy. There is a 12-year-old girl named Jessy Skywalker among the students selected for elite training this time. She was at the 8th stage of the Mortal Realm and has awakened the Ancient Radiant Behemoth bloodline, just like Mother," the young man added. "With the surname Skywalker and the bloodline of the Everhearts, there is no way she is someone else."
The old man took a deep breath as painful memories passed through his mind. "Is there any news on Draven?" Even though he asked, he didn't truly have much hope.
But the young man responded with a beaming smile. "Of course there is. Jessy's guardian is stated in the official records as Draven Skywalker."
"Hahah... Good... Good!" The old man threw away the fishing rod in his hand and laughed out loud. Red lightning flickered all around his body as his aura spread out.
The young man's complexion paled. He hurriedly ran away and hid behind a pillar of the mansion, cursing the old man in his head.
Seeing this, the old man retracted his aura and waved his hand. An invisible hand made of spiritual energy lifted the young man up and tossed him in front of the old man.
"Speak, how is my grandson doing?" the old man asked eagerly.
"This..." The young man hesitated for a moment and said slowly, "Little brother seems to have suffered a blow to his soul and doesn't have any recollection of his past. Eleven years ago, during that accident, both of them somehow escaped and fell into the hands of a slave trader."
"At that time, a middle-aged woman, who had lost her husband and son in a beast tide, brought both of them as her son and daughter and settled in the 36th Stronghold."
"After a year, that woman was bitten by a poisonous insect and was on the verge of death. So, little brother, who was only seven at the time, signed an agreement with a branch family of the Stonewills, agreeing to voluntarily let them extract his bloodline in exchange for an antidote to save the woman."
"But those bastards cheated him and gave him a fake medicine, which led to the woman's death. After losing his bloodline, little brother's inner world also crumbled without its support. It was a relief that he somehow survived that ordeal."