Chapter 136 - 101 Take Off Lying Down

Chapter 136: Chapter 101 Take Off Lying DownJi Xinghuo and his two teammates embarked on their first team bounty hunt, which lasted for over forty hours. It wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day that the trio made their way back to Midpoint Fortress. When they arrived at the reward office, there were only a few people in the hall. The leaderboard for the month’s points had already been updated. Jing Ji looked up and saw that the first place was held by Alex, with a current score of 68 points. The second and third places had the same number of points, and judging by the names, they were United States, probably Alex’s teammates. On the way into the city, word of their teaming up had already spread. "Heh heh..." Jing Ji smiled calmly and placed a heavy bag on the counter. The staff member opened the bag, and instantly, a large number of spoils of war poured out, overflowing the counter and spilling onto the floor. A few bounty hunters who happened to be onsite were dumbstruck. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "So much!" "How many enemies did they kill?" Amid the onlookers, it took the staff member almost ten minutes to tally the spoils of war, then announced loudly, "Bounty of 14.08 million, 387 points!" The bounty hunters burst into an uproar. Jing Ji said, "Register the points to each of the three of us equally." "Sure." The staff member was very familiar with Ji Xinghuo and his team, promptly registered the points, and then took out two large stacks of cash, each bill worth 100,000 Ya Yuan, and handed them to Jing Ji. Jing Ji did not hesitate to divide the bounty into two and transferred it to Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen. The leaderboard was quickly refreshed as well. Jing Ji took the first place, with Ji Xinghuo and Yuan Chongzhen tied for second and third place with 129 points each, squeezing Alex and his teammates down to the fourth through sixth places. "Awesome!" Coming out of the reward office, Jing Ji clenched his fists, a look of joy on his face. Yuan Chongzhen also wore a smile. He didn’t care much for points; what delighted him was the day’s income of just over 7 million, which could cover his usual income for half a Star Realm month. Moreover, there were still Alien Species and a few pieces of equipment to deal with, which could probably sell for another one or two million. Ji Xinghuo was the most composed, as the earnings from the team hunt were indeed high, but when averaged out, it was about the same as what he usually made. The biggest benefit was that his Spiritual Origin Ability had nearly tripled! With three people in the team, one desired points, one sought the bounty, and one aimed for Spiritual Origin Ability; everyone got what they needed, and all were pleased. Jing Ji looked at Ji Xinghuo. He experienced what it felt like to be effortlessly carried aloft; with Ji Xinghuo there, he barely had to do anything from start to finish. Against weaker foes, a few arrows from Ji Xinghuo killed them. Sometimes, he hadn’t even seen the enemy before it was already dead, fallen to Ji Xinghuo’s arrows; all that remained was to go and collect the spoils. Even in fights that required their participation, they were quite relaxed. He just had to step up and release a Silent Illusion, charge in front with Yuan Chongzhen as a decoy or to hold off the enemy, and then watch Ji Xinghuo’s performance — shooting arrow after arrow from afar, while enemies fell one by one before them. Even against powerful foes they couldn’t beat, Ji Xinghuo could detect them in advance and lead everyone to make a swift escape. There was simply no danger. Jing Ji had only one feeling — it was easy and thrilling! Yuan Chongzhen felt the same — thrilling and easy! "According to our hunting efficiency, we don’t need a whole month; just ten days will be enough to pull ahead of Alex and his team, forcing them to give up," Jing Ji laughed, his previous worries dispelling, "With Xinghuo here, what do they have to compete with us?" "We’ve got this!" Yuan Chongzhen nodded. "Don’t be complacent." Ji Xinghuo, on the other hand, remained vigilant, "Hunting like this will definitely provoke a response from the Beiluo Shimen Clan, and we may not always reap such great rewards every day." Jing Ji’s smile faded, and he said seriously, "They might even send Legendary." "Indeed." In fact, Ji Xinghuo had already noticed Legendary Dagon people searching for them, but there were only one or two. After today’s hunting, the number of Legends might increase significantly, making it far more dangerous. "We can expand our hunting area and not just operate near Midpoint Fortress. It might take us a lot of time on the road, but it’s safer," Jing Ji suggested a strategy. "We have no other choice." Ji Xinghuo nodded, agreed on a meeting time for the evening with the others, and then they went their separate ways back to their hotels. In his room, he activated the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil. Last night, he had gained over 350 points of Spiritual Origin Ability, with Thunderbolt Hand progress at (Third Rank 742/743), leaving the last point unimproved. Ji Xinghuo invested one point of Spiritual Origin Ability. Suddenly, on the right side of the interface, a silhouette of a human body lit up with electricity at the wrists of both hands, a tingling felt all over. Electric currents jumped around inside his arms, from palms to fingertips, with lightning coiling and his skin glowing with electrical light. The interface information updated, changing to Thunderbolt Hand (Fourth Level 1/2833). "No advancement?" Ji Xinghuo was somewhat surprised. Previously, he thought that Abilities would advance upon moving from the third to the fourth level, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. "It must vary with each Ability." "Ether Sensitivity progresses at Third Rank, but Thunderbolt Hand doesn’t necessarily." Ji Xinghuo stopped worrying and carefully felt the enhancements of his Thunderbolt Hand, now at Fourth Level. With a thought, his hands began to light up with electricity, making a crackling sound. "Preparation state?" He raised his hand and lightly tapped, and instantly a bolt of lightning burst forth from his fingertip, with almost no delay, nearly instant. However, this electrified state continuously consumed Star Power. Ji Xinghuo drew out Lei Chi. Electricity from his hands ran along the hilt to its blade, lighting up the three lightning patterns on it; the attached Pulse Arcs were activated. The blade trembled lightly, the air it touched was pierced by the current. With a casual wave, the ceramic mug on the table was instantly cut in half, the cut as smooth as a mirror. "Even sharper!" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed in admiration. The Lei Chi, enhanced by the Fourth Level Thunderbolt Hand, could truly be described as cutting iron like mud. He put down the war blade and tested other objects. He found that even without a weapon, using just his bare hands charged with electricity, he could cause extreme damage. Grabbing an object, conductive or not, it would bear burn marks within seconds. His hands in the preparation state could create high-temperature electric shock damage! Releasing lightning was faster now. The power was stronger! And Ji Xinghuo discovered that he could release two bolts of lightning at once. If he used both hands together, it meant releasing four bolts simultaneously. While the lightning released at the same time wasn’t as potent as a single bolt, and the distance was shorter, it could strike more targets. Four bolts of lightning released in a crossing pattern could form an electric grid, covering all the enemies in front directly, inescapable! Releasing four bolts of lightning with an Electromagnetic Pulse, the damage from the Pulse Arcs increased as well. But after releasing it, his tendons were overloaded, requiring a few seconds to cooldown before he could use Thunderbolt Hand again, and it consumed more Star Power. Ji Xinghuo went to the training ground and practiced for two hours. He still had over 300 points of Spiritual Origin Ability. After much consideration, he used these points on Qing Hong, just enough to raise its "Miniaturization" to Second Level, advancing to (Second Level 1/3049). Qing Hong closed its eyes, and a few minutes later, its body shrunk once more. "So small!" Ji Xinghuo was greatly surprised. Second Level Miniaturization state Qing Hong was now less than three centimeters long, like a tiny insect. He carefully picked up Qing Hong, holding it before his eyes, clicking his tongue in wonder. Miniaturization truly was a marvelous Ability, as shrinking also lightened its body weight, making it almost imperceptible in his hand. Such a small volume was very hard to detect. "From now on, you can hide in my hair, make a nest right on my head, and no one will see you," Ji Xinghuo said with a laugh. But Qing Hong shook its head in disgust. It liked cleanliness and making a nest in hair was too unhygienic. "Well, never mind then." Ji Xinghuo chuckled to himself – he took baths daily. Only then did he notice a problem: Elevating Miniaturization to Third Level actually required 3049 points of Spiritual Origin Ability, a nearly tenfold increase, nearly as much as upgrading Alien Coexistence. "Abilities related to space are indeed complicated and cannot be judged by common sense," he pondered. Ji Xinghuo didn’t give it too much thought and laid down to rest. When night fell, he went to the bar to meet up with Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen. After dinner, they set off again. In the following days, just as Ji Xinghuo predicted, the Beiluo Shimen Clan dispatched several Legendary figures who tirelessly searched day and night along the defense line, giving special protection to patrol teams. Sometimes, these Legendary fighters disguised themselves as Third Rank Dagon people, hiding amongst the Patrol Teams. However, Ji Xinghuo detected them. As previously agreed, the squad directly avoided that area, traveling over a hundred kilometers each day to expand their hunting range. While this method reduced their hunting efficiency, it was safer. Every day, the trio of Ji Xinghuo would leave the city at night and wouldn’t return to Midpoint Fortress until the next day at noon, with bounties all above ten million. The trio’s points also increased by more than 100 points each day. Unexpectedly, the points difference between Jing Ji and Alex did not widen significantly. Although the gap grew slightly, it wasn’t the kind of overwhelming advantage they had anticipated. Alex’s team clung to their points, and for several days, the maximum gap didn’t exceed 200 points. On the tenth day. Ji Xinghuo and his team returned from hunting and entered the bounty office, only to find the atmosphere somewhat odd. Looking up, all three were astonished. They had been overtaken in points! On the leaderboard, the first place was now Alex, the second and third were his teammates, all with 1172 points. In just one night, Alex’s points had increased by nearly 300! "What happened?" Jing Ji was puzzled and asked a Bounty Hunter nearby. "The Red Demons eradicated a Beiluo Shimen watchtower last night, slaying over seven hundred enemies," said the Bounty Hunter. "They returned this morning with the spoils. It took twenty minutes just to count the bounties, which were over thirty million!" Jing Ji and his companions exchanged glances; that was incredibly fierce. Beiluo Shimen watchtowers weren’t as vulnerable as secret posts. Watchtowers at key positions had defensive fortifications and were heavily manned; it was impossible to kill quickly. Just a few minutes’ delay could bring reinforcements, including Legendary figures. It was a mystery how Alex achieved this; the fall of the watchtower was certainly true, as it could be verified. Was there a Legendary figure secretly helping them cheat?