"Come in..."
Yin Lian hesitated for a while, and finally opened the wooden door.
The two walked in and passed the corner. In front of them was the living room on the first floor. The air was filled with the smell of food, and it was obvious that lunch had just ended. In a corner against the wall, three figures were helping each other. They kept beating their waists, shoulders, necks, knees, and other parts, making banging sounds. When I looked closely, I found that they were Jem, Camus, and Herb.
"Grandpa Herb... Uncle Jem..."
Claire was slightly startled, then greeted. The old hunters were in the neutral camp of the Hunter Association, and generally only supported the Black Organizer. As the niece of the Black Organizer, Claire naturally knew many old hunters.
"Uncle Jem, aren't you in the Ford County branch? Why are you back at the headquarters?" Of all the old hunters present, Claire was obviously the most familiar with Jem. Because Iron-faced Jem was once a good friend of Claire's father, and he often came to visit before he was transferred to the branch.
"It's little Claire. Oh, everyone wanted to get together at the headquarters these days, so I came too. I was planning to visit the director and your home tomorrow." Jem said halfway when his neck suddenly shrank.
"Hiss, be gentle..."
"It's light enough. It's you who has a big bruise here."
Camus shrugged helplessly.
Claire came closer out of curiosity and suddenly found a thick and dark bruise on the back of Uncle Jem's neck. It looked like it was chopped off by a knife, a simple and rough mark left by the fight that ended in an instant.
"Uncle Jem, you were beaten?!" Claire was surprised: "You have to talk to your uncle about this. Who dared to attack the old hunter?"
"No, no, no, it's just a few of us old guys... Well, anyway, we're just sparring with each other. When we spar with each other, it's normal to get a few minor injuries..."
Jem seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He could only speak vaguely, and his expression seemed a little awkward under the mask.
He took the golden wound medicine, smeared half of his palm, and helped Hebu, whose clothes were half lifted, to apply the medicine. On Hebu's back, there was an obvious slap mark on the surface of the skin. It looked serious, but it was actually not bad. Hebu and Yin Lian were the old hunters who had been beaten the least and lightly.
It's not that Kaxiu deliberately took care of them, but the two of them were weak, so they had to take it step by step. The three old hunters on the sofa were at most average. The worst were on the second floor, Rudy who had just arrived in the morning, and Kroger who was the strongest and received the most care. Their bodies were densely covered with marks left by physical therapy, but fortunately they were only superficial injuries, just a little exaggerated.
"All right… "
Claire smelled the medicine in the air and was about to say something, but stopped herself. These people are all old, and they still like to make trouble when they get together every few years.
“Heh heh heh…”
Suddenly, there was a scream of pain from the second floor, like a methane explosion. It was like a pig being slaughtered, and people couldn't help but look up.
"This... What's going on again?"
Claire couldn't help but walk over and went to the second floor.
On the sofa in the living room on the second floor, there was an old body with its entire upper body covered with plaster-like patches, and the pungent smell went straight to the brain.
When I got closer, I saw Grandpa Rudy! The two had just met at a meeting yesterday because of the attack on Soth.
"Grandpa Rudy, ah... you..."
Claire walked forward a few steps and went straight to the living room. Suddenly, she found another figure on the balcony. The figure was extremely burly, with dark skin, like a healthy bronze color. Claire looked more carefully and saw that it was not skin color at all, but a bruise.
Yes, the entire back was covered with bruises and bloodshot underneath the skin.
The figure slowly turned around. It was Kroger the Butcher.
"Why are all the old hunters who are somewhat famous in the organization returning to the headquarters? And they are all injured?" Claire was a little confused.
"Ah, it's Claire. Am I hallucinating because I was beaten?"
Rudy opened his dim old eyes and muttered to himself.
"No, Grandpa Rudy, it's not an illusion."
Claire waved her hand in front of Rudy.
"No, it must be an illusion!" Rudy's eyes were full of wisdom, and he said in a state of confusion: "Bai Kui, don't try to fool me! I will continue to fight with you. Four hours is nothing. I won't feel tired even if I fight you for ten hours! If I were young, I wouldn't be afraid of forty hours..."
"Hahaha, you little brat, you're still far from being able to fight me!"
He burst into laughter and began to talk to himself.
"Claire, ignore him. You know what's going on here..."
Kroger came over and tapped his temple with his finger.
Claire nodded secretly. She had known that Grandpa Rudy sometimes had headaches and was miserable. But she had never thought it would be so serious, with hallucinations appearing and him falling all over like this.
"Alas..." Claire couldn't help but sigh as she thought that sooner or later she would be in this situation. She prayed that this day would come later.
"Bai Kui is on the third floor. If you have any questions, you can knock on the door."
Kroger reminded him. When Claire came up, he looked at Rudy who was still mumbling beside him. Rudy was indeed hallucinating, but it was not a frenzy attack. It was because the disasters accumulated in his body for decades were discharged at once, which stimulated his old brain.
Just one or two more times and he shouldn't go crazy again.
Kroger glanced down the stairs. There were a total of six old hunters gathered in the Heb family, almost all the remaining old guys in the Dark Hunting Organization.
Two days after they arrived at the organization's headquarters, they suddenly developed an unprecedented unity. Not only because of the joy of having the disaster in their bodies expelled, but also because of Kaxiu. They wanted to push Kaxiu to the position of Shadow Hunter, and perhaps this would bring good changes to the Shadow Hunter organization.
Kroger glanced again at the upward staircase.
As for Kaxiu's hidden strength comparable to that of Shadow Hunters and the magical effect of his secret weapon, what does it matter? They only need to know that Kaxiu is here to help the Hunter Association, and he can solve the problem of Hunters turning into beasts!
"I hope the trial and assessment time will come sooner..."
On the third floor, Claire gently knocked on the door of a secret room.
Because of Grandpa Rudy's nonsense on the second floor, he became more curious about Kaxiu. What did it mean to fight for four hours? What was the reason for continuing to fight? Could it be that the slender and handsome young man had a side that was unknown to the public? In fact, he was a very violent fighting maniac
However, Bai Kui was using illusion, how could he be so violent...
Claire was thinking in her mind when the door in front of her suddenly opened with a click. The curtains on the balcony behind her whistled and the wind and waves blew.
She faced the sunlight in the room and squinted her eyes to look over.
A tall, rock-white wall completely blocked the aisle.
Half a second later, the wall flipped over.
Oh, this is not a wall, but a person. A muscular man with a burly figure, his upper body is naked, revealing the outline of his muscles cast in steel. His two arms are like concrete piles, with dark blue tendons wrapped around them, like strong and thick steel bars. The surface of his skin is slightly shimmering with honey oil, obviously sweat from a recent workout. His long golden hair is draped over his shoulders, with a wild and unrestrained aura.
The black trousers and belt on the lower body give people a sense of contradiction between civilization and barbarism. In short, it has the style of a strong man. You can tell at a glance that he is not a simple person.
"Um, hello. Is Bai Kui here? I have something to ask him..."
Claire said subconsciously.
"Claire?" The burly man in front of him made a low sound, as if his entire skull and chest were resonating, bringing a sense of power.
"Yes, I am. May I ask who you are?" Claire nodded.
"I'm Bai Kui. Don't you recognize me after just one day?"
The sturdy man walked towards them step by step, his footsteps low and muffled.
"Bai... Bai Kui?!"
Claire widened her eyes. The Bai Kui in front of her was similar in every way except that her facial features were similar to the previous one.
This nearly 1.9-meter-tall man, with a tank-like physique and arms as strong as cement piles, is completely different from the 1.7-meter-tall feminine boy before! At least, Claire couldn't accept it.
"You are Bai Kui? Impossible!"
Claire subconsciously took a step back. Although she was reluctant to make malicious assumptions about others, the aura of the man in front of her was really ferocious.
She had prepared herself to be attacked in advance.
"This is the badge you gave me. I'm returning it to you."
The burly man in front suddenly stretched out his hand and handed over a wooden badge.
Claire was startled. This badge was indeed something that she had forced upon Bai Kui. If there was any danger, it could be crushed, and Claire could sense it instantly.
She hesitated for a moment, looking at the huge hand in front of her that was big enough to crush her head, but she finally reached out and took it back.
"Bai Kui, why did you become like this?"
Ten minutes later, Claire reluctantly accepted the reality before her.
"He was secretly cultivated by the old hunters from the beginning, even before he joined the Dark Hunter Organization? After joining the organization, he has been keeping a low profile and never revealing his strength before he has decisive power! Until today, he and the six of you teachers decided not to pretend anymore..."
"Good fellow... Good fellow..."
Claire was dumbfounded, she didn't expect things to turn out this way.
I just vowed to protect Kaxiu. But now it seems that Kaxiu doesn't need to be protected. It's better to protect his enemies.
Claire couldn't see through Kaxiu's strength. This proved that the other party had at least the same level as her or even stronger strength that had been hidden.
So now, I have a strong competitor
On the sofa in the living room on the first floor, Claire, Rudy, Jem, and Yin Lian sat facing each other. The expressions on their faces changed rapidly, which was very interesting. The three old hunters opposite each of them had a cup of tea in their hands, sipping it slowly.
"Little Claire, grandparents and uncles also have their own difficulties. The royal family and the parliament are watching, and we can't let the seedlings cultivated by us old guys be exposed early. Once exposed, Soth's situation will be the same as Bai Kui's, and even the assassination will be more unscrupulous. After all, we are some old guys, and it is not easy to ask the legion commander to stand up for us..."
Rudy spoke slowly, leaning on a cane.
"Yes, so we can only take it slowly. Bai Kui has been very low-key since he joined the Hunter Association. It's been very hard for him. He has to use the bone-shrinking technique to compress his body every day and pretend to be very weak and fragile. He has always hated the way he looks after compressing his bones. What you just saw is Bai Kui's true perfect form..."
Jem pushed his mask upward and took a sip of his tea.
"Uh..." Claire was speechless. He thought that Kaxiu should keep shrinking his bones. The strong man just now was too scary and too oppressive.
"Well... Little Claire, my aunt's opinion is that you should not confront Bai Kui. This guy is ruthless. He will never show mercy to women. He is ruthless even to old men and women..."
Yin Lian clicked her tongue three times and shook her head.
"Yes, Claire. In any case, in the next battle for the Shadowhunter seat, it's best not to confront Bai Kui. Just let him deal with Solomon of the Council and Soth of the Royal Family, and you just stand by and watch."
Rudy twirled his cane and spoke thoughtfully.
Claire was a little impatient. In yesterday's meeting, Grandpa Rudy had urged her to be proactive during this period. Soth's arm was broken in the assassination, and his strength has declined a lot, and his competitiveness has obviously declined. If Claire seizes the opportunity, it is entirely possible that she will succeed in one fell swoop!
But now he turns around and starts to persuade himself to avoid Bai Kui's edge.
Claire was one of the top dark gold hunters after all. She had been a genius since she was a child and was proud. Claire was a little dissatisfied that the three seniors who had watched her grow up were so pessimistic about her.
"I admit that I can't quite see through Bai Kui's aura right now, but I don't think I won't even compete with him! I don't think my Siren can't match his muscles." Claire pouted, "Because of Soth's assassination, the Shadow Qualification Tournament will be moved forward to a week later, and everyone will be assigned a dangerous mission. It will all depend on their abilities then..."
"Fair play," she added at the end.
"It's not fair... How can this be fair..." Rudy shook his head.
A competitor who already possesses the strength of a Shadow Hunter has an overwhelming advantage over other competitors who are still at the Dark Gold level.
If Claire wants to compete with Kashu, she must go to the source of the Holy Spring in advance and soak until she reaches her limit, which will greatly increase her strength. It will also take several months to master the surge in power, and then several years of fighting to become proficient.
Only in this way will we have a chance of winning this competition.
Rudy sighed, not wanting to expose Kaxiu's strength.
"Well, don't rush to do anything. Let Solomon and Soth go first. Then you can see what the situation is and make a decision..."
Rudy stood up and patted Claire on the shoulder. He walked out of the living room in Claire's dazed eyes and walked up to the second floor.
In the living room on the second floor, Kaxiu had already washed and dressed.
He planned to go to the Hunter Association to take away the resources that belonged to him.