Yun Bing smiled. "Ah, it seems that you know everything already."

"Have the white grubs in the white-grub cave already been hunted to extinction?" Zhang Lie asked, mirroring her smile.

"In truth, they were more or less all gone by the time we went searching for them. After repeated trials, of the three types of food you listed, the white-grub cores were the ones that gave the best efficacy. In that case, would you be will—"

"I can certainly contact him, but I can't guarantee that he'll accept your request to trade," Zhang Lie interrupted, anticipating the question.

"As long as you can arrange a meeting for us, we'll handle the rest. After all, as representatives of two of the major clans, Chu Feng and I are confident that we'll be able to handle someone like him!"

Zhang Lie laughed. "As long as you're confident. But don't get too excited—he's not as easy to deal with as you might think. Be careful that he doesn't scam you!"

Upon hearing Zhang Lie's words, Chu Feng and Yun Bing immediately caught on to the fact that the mysterious hunter in front of them had some sort of relationship with Zhang Lie. In fact, he might just be the anonymous poster whose threads on the forum had caused such a huge ruckus.

But no matter the identity of this mysterious hunter, he was someone that neither of them wanted to offend. After all, he was too strong for them to handle, and seemed to possess knowledge from a mysterious source.

The Li clan wasn't all that powerful, but their clans certainly wouldn't have been able to crush it with such short notice.

"Let him try! As long as he's willing to sell the cores, we'll give him a price that'll satisfy him!" Yun Bing proclaimed, not seeming to be worried that Zhang Lie would pass the message on.

"In that case, you'll hear back from me soon."

Before Zhang Lie could leave, Yun Bing quickly added, "Please try to be as quick as you can."

"Oh? You must have made quite a bit of progress with the breakthrough, then."

"Things are going fine. We have had about thirty successes to date, and our tests show excellent improvement in all areas after the breakthrough. Our clans have decided to promote this technique as widely as we can, and even Chu Feng and I have decided to purge our techniques and start from scratch after participating in the Void Cup."

Zhang Lie was a little surprised that the two of them would be willing to give up what they had already achieved just for ten limit fragments, but it spoke to their resolution.

"Not bad, not bad! You'll need this sort of dedication if you really want to reach the peak of all hunters."

Zhang Lie downed the cup of liquor in his hand, feeling as though a bolt of lightning had shot down his mouth and all the way through to his stomach. Instead of a charring sensation, however, he felt relaxed and invigorated all over.

"This wine's not bad!" he praised.

"Come over whenever you like. As thanks for helping us arrange a meeting with Zhang Lie, this bar will never charge you for any of your expenses."

"In that case, I'll thank you in advance!" Zhang Lie hadn't anticipated Yun Bing would be so generous, and he quickly decided to make the most out of it, ordering as much of the wine as he was able to drink. Of course, he wasn't going to get himself drunk: he prized a clear head over anything else, after all.

It was only at two or three in the morning that Zhang Lie, somewhat tipsy, walked back to the inn. He stumbled into bed and slept all the way until morning the next day.

Because the settlement's walls were rather tall, there were only a few places where the sun could reach in the morning. One of these few places was naturally the VIP suites in the Blackgold Inn.

Zhang Lie opened the windows, basked in the sun, and stretched.

"You're awake!" Just as Zhang Lie was luxuriating in the warmth, he heard a female's voice from behind.

He stumbled, then turned around.

What's she doing here? What's going on? Didn't I come back alone?

How could this girl be here? Nothing untoward happened last night, right...?

Zhang Lie then glanced downward at his own body.

"What're you looking at? Don't you recognize me anymore? It's only been one night!"

Chu Xun glanced at Zhang Lie as though she had suffered some grievance: was she so annoying that he had to look at her so disdainfully?

"No, I mean—you, I, what sort of situation is this?!" Zhang Lie stammered, his mysterious image shattering to pieces. 

Upon seeing Zhang Lie's flustered appearance, Chu Xun immediately laughed. "What do you think?"

Her laugh actually caused Zhang Lie to relax.

He glanced at her critically and noticed the master key in her hand, which would grant her access to all rooms in the inn. Of course she couldn't have been in his room last night! She had likely only entered right before he woke up.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "Alright, you little nuisance. How did you end up with that master key?"

He immediately felt as though he was forgetting something important.

"Given who I am, would it be difficult for me to obtain such a key from the three corporations?"

She put her hands on her hips, a smug smile on her face, but Zhang Lie's face darkened, because he realized what he had forgotten: all he was wearing at the moment was underwear, and Chu Xun had seen his face!

Come to think of it, that didn't seem like such a big deal. So what if his identity were exposed? He had the strength to defeat anyone who would try to oppose him, after all.

That didn't excuse the girl's actions, however. He stared at her severely. "Does that mean you recognize who I am?"

Chu Xun tilted his head. "Of course I do! Aren't you Blackie? You don't look ugly, so why do you have to drape yourself in that ugly black cloak all day long? Are you just trying to be mysterious?"

Or perhaps his identity hadn't been revealed after all: Zhang Lie might have been infamous among the regular hunters of the settlement, but would someone like Chu Xun care about who he was, or even what he looked like?

Of course not! 

Zhang Lie schooled his features. "Are you proud of breaking into my rooms?"

It was then that Chu Xun realized that Zhang Lie might be mad at her for what she did. After all, she was already of age, and this certainly wasn't an appropriate prank for someone like her to play.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I-I just wanted to see you again! Your scent's so unique that I noticed you the moment I passed by the Blackgold Inn! Don't get mad at me!" Her eyes turned red, and she seemed on the verge of tears.

Zhang Lie was never able to stand such hysterics. "Alright, alright, don't cry! What's the matter? What's so urgent that you had to barge into my room so early in the morning?"