Chapter 372: The Future King

Chapter 372: The Future King

Ji Xinghuo had just arrived at the villa when a tall figure rushed in. Seeing the group, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, sorry," Wu Qifeng apologized. "I was delayed, but fortunately, I made it."

"It's fine. We just got here too," Ji Xinghuo said with a wave of his hand as he looked at Wu Qifeng, who was clad in heavy armor.

He hadn't forgotten about his old classmate when forming this team.

Wu Qifeng had originally been part of another hunting team, but upon hearing of Ji Xinghuo's plans, he had promptly left that team to join this one.

He was an advanced alien with the profession of a "Gravity Knight," and had been in the Star Realm for three to four years, making him quite experienced.

"Everyone's here," Ji Xinghuo said as he stood up and looked around.

He put away his smile and continued, "From now on, we will be fighting side by side. Although you all know each other because of me, let's introduce ourselves to get to know each other better."

"I'll go first." Chi Zhonglin spoke casually, "I'm Chi Zhonglin, ranked 485th on the Tower, a jobless alien."

Everyone was impressed.

Among those present, Chi Zhonglin was the strongest and highest-ranked on the Tower, aside from Ji Xinghuo, and he had been Ji Xinghuo's former teammate.

Zhuoli Gegetu followed with an introverted demeanor: "I am Zhuoli Gegetu, a battle priest who can tank, fight, and heal. I'm ranked 1644th on the Tower."

Jiang Nancai also introduced herself.

These three super aliens, with their wealth of experience, would be the mainstays of the team in the future.

The others took turns speaking. Zhong Ming and Wu Qifeng were advanced aliens, far stronger than their peers; Lu Yunhai and Zhao Cangming were intermediate aliens and the weakest, hence their lack of confidence during the introductions.

"To be honest, the main purpose of forming this team is to gain experience for my second brother and Cangming," Ji Xinghuo said frankly. "During this hunting trip, unless it's absolutely necessary, I won't take action. You can act as if I don't exist. In the future, I won't be with the team all the time, so you'll have to rely on yourselves."

His gaze fell on the three super aliens as he continued, "I'm counting on you to guide the newcomers."

"No problem!" Chi Zhonglin assured, patting his chest. "Leave it to me."

Zhuoli Gegetu and Jiang Nancai nodded in agreement.

Wu Qifeng looked on enviously.

When he had first arrived in the Star Realm, he had often hit walls. It had been arduous for him to finally make a name for himself. On the other hand, Zhong Ming and Zhao Cangming were newcomers who had the guidance of Tower high-rankers and Ji Xinghuo's company. They were truly blessed.

Fortunately, he had managed to join this team as well. As long as he stuck with Ji Xinghuo, his future was secured!

Ji Xinghuo continued, "Our destination this time is the 'Rocky Forest Lake District.' You've probably all heard of it, and some of you are quite familiar with it."

"I've been there four times," Zhuoli Gegetu smiled.

Chi Zhonglin and Wu Qifeng indicated that they had also been there, and not just once.

"That's good," Ji Xinghuo nodded, but still gave a detailed introduction for everyone's sake.

The Rocky Forest Lake District was located about 1,700 kilometers northeast of Olympia. It was a region consisting of hundreds of large and small lakes, spanning an area of over 100,000 square kilometers, with no stargate restricted areas in its vicinity.

This area had a typical lava terrain, with countless rock peaks towering between the lakes, resembling a forest, and numerous floating mountains in the sky.

As a result, the terrain was extremely complex, and the climate was changeable.

The Rocky Forest Lake District was home to numerous monsters of various kinds, including those of calamity-level strength. It was considered one of the more dangerous places in the Thousand Peaks Abyssal Forest.

Ordinary hunting teams would find it difficult to survive in this region. Generally, only elite teams consisting of advanced aliens or above, with super aliens among them, could enter the Rocky Forest Lake District, and even then, they often suffered heavy casualties.

Here, one would also encounter Winged People and other extraterrestrial alien races.

For newcomers, the Rocky Forest Lake District was too high-level. However, with Ji Xinghuo's presence, everyone felt reassured.

"Do you have any questions?" Ji Xinghuo asked after finishing his explanation.

Everyone shook their heads.

The necessary supplies and equipment had already been prepared, and aside from the two newcomers, the others were experienced and didn't need special instructions.

"Then let's depart," Ji Xinghuo announced.

Although the starry night was not ideal for traveling, everyone had just arrived in the Star Realm from Earth and was full of energy and vigor, so there was no need to waste over twenty hours waiting for daylight.

The group, fully armed, left the villa and boarded a airship to the northeastern border city of the human domain.

Then, they exited the city and embarked on their journey under the starry sky.

All but Zhuoli Gegetu and Lu Yunhai chose to travel by foot.

He donned his rarely-worn ceramic steel armor, carrying Invisibility Sting and a quiver of arrows, with Thunder Rush hanging at his waist, a typical ranger outfit.

Qinghong, having shrunk in size, lay in his pocket, snoring away.

This guy had become not only chubbier but also lazier after lazing around at home for half a year.

However, this was not the reason why Ji Xinghuo chose not to ride on Qinghong. Qinghong's appearance clearly gave away that it was no ordinary mount, making it too eye-catching.

"Brother-in-law," Zhao Cangming approached and asked, "Why don't we buy a few mounts to save our energy?"

"No need," Ji Xinghuo shook his head.

Chi Zhonglin, who was walking ahead, turned back and said, "Regular mounts aren't much faster than walking, and we have plenty of stamina ourselves. There's no need to conserve energy that much. During battles, mounts can become a burden, often perishing after just a few fights."

Zhao Cangming still didn't quite understand. "Can't we buy combat mounts?"

He glanced at Zhuoli Gegetu and Lu Yunhai, whose mounts possessed strong combat capabilities and were also battle pets.

"Controlling battle pets in combat requires splitting your attention. Either you've formed a tacit understanding with your pet over the years, or you have the corresponding profession template," Ji Xinghuo patiently explained. "If you like battle pets, you can try buying one next time we're back."

Back when he first entered the Star Realm and went hunting with Ren Jie, they had always traveled by foot.

As for flying mounts, they were not easily accessible either.

While flying mounts were indeed very fast and could save a lot of time and energy, they were too conspicuous in the sky, easily attracting danger.

Ji Xinghuo had experienced this first-hand.

That time, when he rode the Silver Winged Pegasus to Yunxiao City, if not for his magnetic field sensing and the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, allowing him to avoid dangers time and time again, anyone else would have found it impossible to return safely.

Of course, with his current speed and strength, he could fly however he wanted as long as he didn't encounter a Shepherd Star Sage.

For Super Aliens and below, it was best to stay on the ground.

As the starry night turned into darkness, they left the human domain.

"Let's set up camp first," Ji Xinghuo ordered.

The group unpacked their bags and set up their tents, arranging the order of their night watch. With eight people, they efficiently set up their camp in just a few minutes, and Jiang Nancai prepared food for everyone.

As previously agreed upon, Ji Xinghuo was only there to accompany the team and would not participate in the battles or take night watch shifts. After eating, he sat in the tent and closed his eyes.

He was cultivating.

After advancing to Legendary, Aliens could use their Star Glands to control the circulation of stellar power in their bodies, consuming and restoring it through idle cycling, thereby increasing their stellar power.

While the Star Gland cultivation method was less efficient than combined training and more boring, it had the advantage of being convenient, allowing one to cultivate anytime, anywhere, without creating a disturbance.

With three etheric resonances and the characteristics of the Magnetic Spirit Star Core, along with his consistent use of Refined Etheric Solvent, even with the Star Gland cultivation method, Ji Xinghuo's efficiency was several times higher than that of other Legendary Aliens. After cultivating for three to four hours, his stellar power had noticeably increased by nearly 10 points!

Just before dawn, he suddenly sensed something.

His electromagnetic perception detected monsters—a group of night-traveling bats, about a dozen of them, with sharp hearing and smell.

A moment later.

The group of night-traveling bats discovered the camp and quietly drew closer.

At this moment, Jiang Nancai and Zhong Ming, who were on night watch, were not adept at scouting and had average perception. They did not sense the approaching monsters.

Ji Xinghuo did not remind them either.

It was only when the night-traveling bats flew to within 200 meters of the tents that Lu Yunhai's Ancient Hunting Hound finally smelled them and let out a loud roar, waking up the entire team.

"Monsters!"

"Everyone, get up and fight!"

The three tents in the camp shook as everyone grabbed their weapons and rushed out. They saw that Zhong Ming's body was already engulfed in flames, illuminating the surroundings, and they could vaguely make out several dark silhouettes approaching through the forest.

Jiang Nancai, wielding a long sword, flashed forward and sliced a night-traveling bat that had flown too close in half.

"Night-traveling bats!"

Chi Zhonglin calmly shouted, "They're afraid of fire and light. Zhong Ming, it's up to you!"

Seeing that these were just a group of ordinary monsters with little threat, both he and Zhuoli Gegetu didn't rush to take action, leaving it to the others to handle.

Boom!

Zhong Ming directly entered a state of combustion, his flames erupting as he soared into the air like a flaming meteor. He threw a punch at several night-traveling bats;

Lu Yunhai commanded his two battle pets to hold off the monsters from other directions, while he himself drew his compound bow and fired.

"Phew..." Zhong Ming's flames receded, and his star power remained largely untouched. He emerged from the fight unscathed.

A smile curved his lips as he remarked, "That doesn't seem too difficult."

"They're just Night-traveling Bats. We often come across them. As long as we can spot them in advance, they pose little threat," Chi Zhonglin explained. "Congratulations on your first battle in the Star Realm. You performed far better than the average alien."

"Thanks." Zhong Ming's demeanor was calm, a testament to his years of experience in the professional league, which had honed his mental fortitude.

Zhao Cangming, on the other hand, was more excited.

Jiang Nancai began teaching them how to gather exotic species, while the rest of the group returned to their tents to rest. From start to finish, Ji Xinghuo never left his tent, and his cultivation remained uninterrupted.

The next morning, the team packed up their belongings and continued their journey.

They traveled over 200 kilometers on the first day and encountered several battles, all of which were handled by Zhong Ming and Zhao Cangming.

Aside from Ji Xinghuo, everyone was astounded by Zhong Ming's strength.

Although he was only an advanced alien, the strength he displayed surpassed that of most super aliens!

Zhong Ming's profession template as an 'Inflamed Maniac' was well-developed, and he had already started to cultivate the 'Flying Steps' template, integrating 'Flight' into his abilities. He also possessed Fresh Blood Burning, Life Revival, Subtle Touch Sense, and Limb Regeneration, and his star power was abundant.

Strength, speed, burst, and recovery!

Zhong Ming's performance was exceptionally well-rounded.

Not only did he possess a large number of exotic species, but his combat talent was extraordinary. After several battles, he faced the monsters with increasing composure, improving at a rapid pace.

Initially, the team had harbored some disdain for Zhong Ming, attributing his presence to riding on Ji Xinghuo's coattails. Although he was a competition alien, they viewed him as a mere second-rate league player. They didn't voice these thoughts, but they didn't take him seriously.

However, after just one day, everyone's perception of him changed.

On the second night of camping, Chi Zhonglin asked curiously, "Xinghuo, are you and Zhong Ming really just part of a public family and not blood-related brothers?"

"Why do you ask?" Ji Xinghuo was puzzled.

Chi Zhonglin sighed, "If you're not blood-related, I find it hard to believe that a public family would produce two monstrously talented individuals. The probability of that is just too low."

"I'm far inferior to Xinghuo," Zhong Ming humbly replied. "Without the super-limit exotic species he gave me, I'd just be an ordinary Inflamed Maniac."

"Hehe..."

Chi Zhonglin was unconvinced.

Ji Xinghuo laughed and said, "Even if we were blood-related brothers, there would still be differences in our talents. Cangming and I aren't related by blood, but our bond is stronger than that of brothers. We grew up together, and his talent is no less than mine. In the future, he will surely become a King as well."

If anyone else had made such a claim, the team would have brushed it off as boasting. But coming from Ji Xinghuo, they had no doubts.

"A King!"

Zhuoli Gegetu couldn't hide his admiration.

He was still unsure how to advance to the Legendary realm, and the prospect of becoming a King seemed impossibly distant. The look in his eyes as he regarded Zhong Ming was one of fervent respect.

A future King was definitely someone worth befriending.

And it wasn't just Zhuoli Gegetu who thought this way. Lu Yunhai, Wu Qifeng, and the others shared similar sentiments.

"For a single family to produce two Kings, there would be no precedent for that on Earth," Chi Zhonglin remarked with a smile. "If it comes true, it would be incredible."

The team's perception of Zhong Ming shifted.

However, Zhong Ming himself remained level-headed. "The future is uncertain," he said humbly. "Don't listen to Xinghuo's bragging. He's putting me on a pedestal. I still have much to learn from all of you on our future adventures."

The more modest he was, the more the team admired him.

Overnight, Zhong Ming's standing in the team rose to just below that of Ji Xinghuo. As they continued on their journey, Zhong Ming demonstrated his worth, earning the respect of his teammates and gradually becoming one of the core members of the group.

By the time they reached the Rocky Forest Lake District, Zhong Ming had earned the recognition of the entire team. With Ji Xinghuo's deliberate encouragement, he began to take the lead in the team's decisions.

As expected, the Rocky Forest Lake District proved to be treacherous.

Upon entering this region, the number of monsters increased significantly, and they were stronger too. The hunting team found themselves in perilous situations on multiple occasions, even encountering the Winged People.

Ji Xinghuo refrained from taking action, allowing his teammates to handle the situations on their own.

After half a Star Realm month, Zhong Ming successfully led the hunting team to establish a foothold in the Rocky Forest Lake District, and their harvest was abundant.

Seeing this, Ji Xinghuo knew it was time for him to leave.

Tomorrow, we enter the fifth volume.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end