Chapter 98: Phantom Assassin

Chapter 98: Phantom Assassin

On the last day of Flame Moon, Ji Xinghuo returned early from outside the city and arrived at the bounty hall, only to find it much livelier than usual. Over a hundred bounty hunters had collected their rewards and stayed to watch the excitement.

"Ji Xinghuo is here!"

Even before stepping into the hall, Ji Xinghuo heard someone calling out his name.

The bounty hunters queuing up quickly made way for him, allowing him to go directly to the counter to collect his bounty.

"Bounty of 3.04 million and 127 points."

The staff quickly tallied up Ji Xinghuo's submitted trophies and handed the cash reward to him.

Despite the bounty hunters' prior knowledge of Ji Xinghuo's capabilities, they still couldn't help but exclaim in awe at his substantial earnings.

The staff of the bounty office promptly updated the leaderboard, with Ji Xinghuo firmly in first place. His total points for the month stood at 1,618!

"That's outrageous..."

The bounty hunters shook their heads in disbelief.

The second-ranked Jing Ji and the third-ranked Hongmo Alex had barely broken a thousand points, and although they hadn't submitted their trophies for the day, their rankings were more or less settled.

"What's the highest single-month record?" asked one of the bounty hunters.

"I think it was over four thousand points," replied a veteran bounty hunter, although he didn't sound too sure. "If I recall correctly, it was set over two decades ago and hasn't been broken since."

"It was 21 years ago, to be precise. 4,150 points," someone else chimed in. "It was set by 'Thousand Illusion Swordmaster' Li Xuan, who was a Super Deviant at the time and had just advanced to 'Invisible Swordsman'. He came to Midpoint Fortress to hunt enemies and hone his combat skills. In a single hot season, he accumulated over 18,000 points across nine Star Realm months."

"That's right," someone quickly agreed. "The 4,150 points is not only the record for Midpoint Fortress but also the highest single-month score across all fortresses on the Star Realm frontline."

This was the first time Ji Xinghuo had heard of this record.

However, the name Thousand Illusion Swordmaster was one he was very familiar with.

Three years ago, Li Xuan had advanced to the Heavenly King realm, shaking the world and becoming the 13th Heavenly King Deviant in the Asia-Pacific Community.

This Thousand Illusion Swordmaster also held another record—he was the youngest among the current 49 Heavenly Kings worldwide, not yet fifty years old and ranked 45th on the Heavenly King leaderboard.

Ji Xinghuo wasn't concerned about breaking any records.

But the other bounty hunters were more enthusiastic, with one of them suggesting, "Brother Ji, you're not far off. Since you've only been here at Midpoint Fortress for half a month, if you push yourself a little harder, you might just break Thousand Illusion Swordmaster's record and truly make a name for yourself."

"Yeah!"

"With over 1,600 points in half a month, you could reach 3,200 points in a full month, which isn't far from the record."

Everyone joined in the lively discussion.

"But Li Xuan is a Heavenly King," someone suddenly interjected, quieting the hall. "If breaking this record means that Ji Xinghuo could also become a Heavenly King in the future, do you believe that?"

The bounty hunters exchanged uncertain glances. They hadn't considered this possibility before.

If Ji Xinghuo broke the record, wouldn't it mean that his strength surpassed that of Li Xuan back then? And given his youth, he might also advance to the Heavenly King realm in the future?

A Heavenly King...

In nearly two centuries since humans entered the Star Realm, there had been fewer than seventy Heavenly Kings, including those who had passed away.

It was plausible to speculate that Ji Xinghuo could advance to the Legendary realm.

But a Heavenly King...

The bounty hunters present found that hard to imagine.

Li Xuan's advancement to the Heavenly King realm wasn't solely due to his hunting record on the Star Realm frontline. It was also a result of a series of achievements and displays of his once-in-a-billion-years peerless talent. The single-month record was merely an insignificant footnote in Li Xuan's legendary life.

"The Heavenly King realm is far beyond my current reach, and it's not something I'm concerned about right now," Ji Xinghuo said with a relaxed smile. "As for records, they're not my primary pursuit."

The cheerful atmosphere in the hall resumed.

"You're still young. It won't hurt to give it a try," someone encouraged.

"Exactly."

Ji Xinghuo shook his head repeatedly.

Just then, a bounty hunter walked into the hall, and someone recognized him and called out, "Jing Ji is here."

Ji Xinghuo turned to look as well. He had heard about Jing Ji ever since he arrived at Midpoint Fortress but had never actually seen him.

Jing Ji had the typical appearance of a Shadow Blade.

He was around thirty years old, with an ordinary-looking face and neatly trimmed black hair. Standing at about one meter and eight, he wore a fitted dark leather armor. At his waist, he carried a long and a short weapon—a dagger and a curved sword in its sheath. He also had a crossbow on his back, and his footsteps were light and agile, making no sound as he walked.

Ji Xinghuo had heard from others that Jing Ji was a Super Deviant.

And now, seeing him in person, it was evident that this was true.

Moreover, Jing Ji wasn't an ordinary Shadow Blade. He had fused with far more Deviant Abilities than the average Deviant, already advancing to the professional template and mastering some of the abilities of an Echoist.

The combination of Shadow Blade and Echoist resulted in one of the most famous advanced professions—the Phantom Assassin.

Coming without a trace and leaving without a shadow, Phantom Assassins were the most feared assassins.

Through the etheric energy fluctuations, Ji Xinghuo could tell that every piece of Jing Ji's equipment was extraordinary, each one a super-ability weapon.

Even the leather armor he wore was super-ability gear.

In addition to his weapons and armor, Jing Ji wore two rings on his hands, and his boots emitted etheric fluctuations invisible to the naked eye.

"He's a rich one," Ji Xinghuo thought to himself. Just this luxurious set of equipment was probably worth over a hundred million.

However, Jing Ji had been hunting enemies at Midpoint Fortress for several years, often ranking first in points. His bounty earnings could easily amount to two or three hundred million, so it was no surprise that he could afford such equipment.

With a smile on his face, Jing Ji walked while greeting the bounty hunters he knew.

It was clear that he had good relationships with them.

He shook his head as he looked at the rankings.

At that moment, someone whispered beside him, and Jing Ji turned to look at Ji Xinghuo. He quickly sized him up and exclaimed in surprise, "You're Ji Xinghuo? It's an honor to finally meet you."

With a smile on his face, he walked over and extended his hand.

"It's me," Ji Xinghuo shook his hand and nodded. "I've heard your name, Jing Ji, ever since I arrived at Midpoint Fortress. It's an honor to meet you, too."

"Hahaha, those are just empty titles," Jing Ji laughed, not seeming to mind at all. "You're the one making the biggest waves here at Midpoint Fortress right now. You've surpassed both me and Alex. It's a case of the young pushing aside the old; I'm already part of the past wave."

"Brother Jing is too humble," Ji Xinghuo replied. "I merely have the advantage of my profession."

Ji Xinghuo did not dare to underestimate this Phantom Assassin, Jing Ji. The fact that he had been able to hunt safely at Midpoint Fortress for several years was a testament to his strength.

The reason why Jing Ji's bounty was lower than his own was due to the difference in their professions.

Phantom Assassins excelled in assassination rather than head-on combat, usually taking out only one or two enemies at a time before retreating; whereas Ji Xinghuo, as an archer, relied on his absolute range advantage to eliminate entire patrol teams in one go.

Their different combat styles determined the efficiency of their hunts.

It was hard to say who would win in a confrontation between the two.

Jing Ji glanced at the Dragon Falcon Eagle Bow on Ji Xinghuo's back and shook his head. "Being able to take down so many enemies is a testament to your skill. There's no need to be overly modest."

Ji Xinghuo did not continue to be humble.

"Once Alex arrives and settles his points for last month, we'll claim our rewards. Then, I'll invite you to join me for a drink," Jing Ji offered.

Ji Xinghuo readily agreed, "Sure."

Not long after, Hongmo Alex arrived as well, just a few minutes after Jing Ji. As usual, he wore a cold expression as he submitted his trophies and claimed his bounty.

His eyes then landed on Jing Ji, and next to him, Ji Xinghuo. He paused for a few seconds before asking in fluent Inter-Ally language, "Ji Xinghuo?"

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

Upon confirmation, Alex remained silent.

The staff member from the bounty office updated the leaderboard once more, adding Alex's points. Surprisingly, he overtook Jing Ji by three points, moving up to second place for the month.

However, he was still over 400 points behind Ji Xinghuo.

Jing Ji raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with this result.

The two of them had a bet going, comparing their total points for an entire hot season, and there was only one month left. Currently, Jing Ji was only leading by a little over 200 points, which was a risky position to be in.

If he lost to Alex, he would not only have to publicly admit his defeat but also leave Midpoint Fortress.

As long as Alex was here, he couldn't come back.

Leaving Midpoint Fortress was not a big deal, as there were dozens of fortresses along the Star Realm frontline where he could hunt the Beiluoshimen Tribe.

But losing the bet would be humiliating.

One of them was from the Asian Alliance, and the other was from the American Union. Outsiders had elevated the significance of this bet to the level of international competition, surpassing personal glory.

"Please come with me, all three of you."

A staff member from the bounty office approached and invited Ji Xinghuo, Jing Ji, and Alex into a guest room.

A man in military uniform was already waiting for them. He introduced himself as the director of the Midpoint Fortress bounty office, and both Jing Ji and Alex recognized him, having met him several times before.

"Here is the list of rewards for this month. Please take a look."

Jing Ji took the list and asked, "Director Li, isn't General Wang going to meet with us?"

The top three rankers in the Hero Points leaderboard every month received additional rewards and had the opportunity to meet with the fortress commander, though this meeting was not set in stone. Typically, an audience with the fortress commander meant gaining access to better deals when purchasing weapons and equipment.

"General Wang is busy with official duties and is unable to make it," Director Li replied solemnly. "The General asked me to convey his message that he will invite you next month when the points are settled. The list will also include several precious pieces of equipment."

Jing Ji's eyes lit up, and he nodded, "Good."

As Ji Xinghuo listened to their conversation, he browsed through the list in his hand, which outlined the extra rewards for the monthly first-place ranker.

First was 5 million in cash;

Then, there was a Level 3 Hero Medal. With this medal, one could receive preferential treatment in most countries on Earth. If one was a citizen of the Asia-Pacific Community, they would be eligible for a monthly subsidy of 15,000 Asia-Dollars, directly deposited into their account until their death.

The citizen subsidy had increased fivefold! Ji Xinghuo thought to himself that if he had no other aspirations, he could simply rely on this subsidy and live an idle life.

Unfortunately, he no longer cared for such trivial sums.

During his hunts, each silent arrow he used cost 15,000 Asia-Dollars, and sometimes he would fire five or six of them in a single battle.

One could only obtain the Level 3 Hero Medal once, and the subsidy would not increase cumulatively. However, there was no limit to the number of times one could receive the cash reward.

Lastly, at the end of the list, there was an inventory of weapons and equipment, totaling several dozen items.

These weapons and equipment were produced by the military's armament research units and rarely made their way to the outside world. Their quality was generally higher than that of products from many companies.

As the first-place ranker for the month, Ji Xinghuo could purchase one item from the list at a 20% discount.

The list included swords, long spears, daggers, armor, bows, and javelins.

There were also accessory-type items like rings and necklaces.

Most of these weapons and equipment were Super-Ability one-star, priced between 3 million and 10 million. There were also two or three Super-Ability two-star items, but they weren't suitable for him.

After carefully reviewing the information, Ji Xinghuo looked up at Director Li and said, "I want to purchase this item."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end