After Xiang Ning joined the team, everyone slowly started to show their true abilities and function in the team. Qi Longxiang held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. He was the one that fought in front, attracting the beast and defending them. 

Li Qimu held a long sword, and, despite his gentle demeanor, according to Qi Longxiang and Zhou Yuanyuan’s descriptions, fought like a madman, aiming for a beast’s weak points. He could always kill a beast in the shortest time possible. 

Zhou Yuanyuan’s weapon of choice was a surprise to Xiang Ning. More specifically, he was in disbelief. A slender girl like Zhou Yuanyuan’s weapon of choice was boxing gloves. She was a martial artist in the traditional sense. Despite her feminine, slender looks, there was an explosive strength hidden beneath her appearance. According to Qi Longxiang, she was stronger than him and could fight a tier five beast with her hands. She was the protector of the team’s spiritual cultivator, which was different from the stereotype of a girl being protected. 

“But I don’t need that. I’m a spiritual cultivator, but I’m also a martial artist.” Xiang Ning didn’t think it was necessary to hide the fact. They would find out the moment they entered the wilderness anyway. 

“What? A dual cultivator? Are you for real?” Qi Longxiang asked in surprise. “Hahaha, we found a treasure! In that case, that frees up one more fighter for us. That way, even if we meet a tier six beast, as long as it doesn’t have more than three tier five beasts with it, we should easily be able to escape.” 

Zhou Yuanyuan and Li Qimu were obviously happy with the news as well. If Xiang Ning hadn’t previously proven his tier four spiritual cultivator abilities, they would have laughed it off as a joke because he was too young. 

“Brother Xiang Ning, what’s your martial artist level?” 

“Tier five,” Xiang Ning chuckled. 

The trio gasped. Tier five martial artist, tier four spiritual cultivator. The tables had turned. They knew how precious dual cultivators were, because they could definitely hunt solo if they wanted to. Usually, people had to spend money to hire dual cultivators for jobs, and the starting price was very high. 

“You.…”

“Actually, I just arrived from another city, I haven’t left my city much, so I’m not that familiar with other cities,” Xiang Ning awkwardly explained, showing his silver hunter’s badge. His registration details were written on it, and seeing as the date of registration was just two days ago, they were stunned. So that was why he hadn’t been snatched by another team! And a large part was due to his looks, too. Had they lucked out on this one? 

They felt guilty once more. How many times had they doubted him at this point? They were so embarrassed. 

“What’s up with you guys?” 

“Hahaha, nothing, nothing. I’ll tell you the details about our job, then we’ll leave. It doesn’t matter if you’re unfamiliar with the area, we’ve got to pass through the tier three and four areas before arriving in a tier five area. You’ll have time to adapt,” Qi Longxiang laughed. 

The other two nodded. 

“We’re heading towards Astra Valley. Although we aren’t sure what kinds of beasts there are, based on the terrain, we can expect defense-type and aerial-type beasts there. So if we encounter flying beasts, we’ll kill those first. If we can’t kill them, shoo them away and it’ll be fine.…” 

Xiang Ning listened to Qi Longxiang’s briefing. It looked like finding a team was a good thing after all. After getting to know them better, he also got to know that they were actually a team with two years of history, so they had some experience under their belt. They were one of the higher-ranked teams in Kunlun City. 

They didn’t drive to the wilderness, but had a driver send them there instead. That was a service provided by the Hunters Guild, a privilege enjoyed by Platinum hunter teams of tier five and above. Teams like those usually went to tier four or five regions and common transportation didn’t fare well in rough terrains. And since they often went for many days, or maybe months, if their parked cars were discovered by vandals they could be vandalized, or even stolen. No one wanted that, even if they only owned cheap cars. 

“Haha, Brother Qi! You found a guy so soon? Uh… isn’t he a little too young? Even if you can’t find a tier four, you still shouldn’t take advantage of him,” the driver whispered to Qi Longxiang. 

Xiang Ning didn’t look solid, with none of the iron-blood aura of a martial artist. He had the look of a spiritual cultivator, but was too young, definitely not tier four. He thought Qi Longxiang was compromising. 

“Hahaha, what’re you talking about? Why would we take advantage of anyone? Don’t judge him by his looks, let me tell you.…”

“Holy shit? Are you serious? Dual cultivator? Tier five and tier four? Where did you find him? Wait, why would a guy like that join you?” 

“Hey! What’s wrong with our team? We’re one of the top thirty teams in the city and we’re quite strong too, alright?” 

“Tsk tsk, a talent like that should be in a Diamond team.” 

“Are you asking for a beating?” 

“Hahaha, I’m joking. Let’s go, let’s go. Where are we headed?” 

“Astra Valley.” 

“Tsk, that won’t be easy. But with such a powerful member, it shouldn't be a problem.” 

Xiang Ning smiled while sitting in the back seat, listening to their bickering. He felt comfortable with them. 

The journey took some time and everyone was curious about the newcomer, so they chatted with him. 

“Oh, you’ve only been here a few days? So that’s why. I was just wondering.… A person like you would’ve been snatched away by the top ten teams… you shouldn’t be with them.”

“Do you want me to beat you up?” 

“You’re training your body? Mm, looking at your delicate figure, it does need some training.” Qi Longxiang stroked his beard, eyeing Xiang Ning’s body. Although they were also tier five martial artists, their bodies were much more robust than his. 

That was perhaps a weakness on Xiang Ning’s part. As a spiritual cultivator, he could rely on his Mental Power instead of fighting physically. Then again, he was too young and too busy; he didn’t have the time to condition his body. 

“That’s impressive. To be honest, I didn’t participate in the beast stampede. I only watched it on television, I’d like to experience it one day,” Qi Longxiang laughed. 

The group happily chatted away.… 

Hmm so technically even though MC's cultivation is higher than theirs, it seems that the physical body itself may not be tied to his cultivation as tightly as we've had thought before. So basically he still needs to temper his physical body to be strong and robust even though his cultivation is already high.