Chapter 138: Anomalies on Lotus Street

Dozens of monsters, without exception, were all at the spirit level, and some of them were even at the later stages or the pinnacle of the spirit level.

"Is that kid really at the early stages of the spirit level? Are you sure he's not a martial artist at the mysterious level hiding his true strength?"

"That kid killed the two of us on his first day here, clearly trying to establish his dominance. If he were a martial artist at the mysterious level, he wouldn't have gone after Fishmonger; he would have gone after those mysterious-level bosses."

At these words, others nodded in agreement, acknowledging this explanation.

"No wonder he was appointed as the Chief. That kid is far from being as simple as he appears on the surface."

"Fishmonger has long been on the hit list of the Exorcism Bureau, and she has been causing more trouble recently. It seems that the kid is planning to settle old scores and deal with all the cases that the Exorcism Bureau didn't handle in the past."

Some monsters began to think about something and looked at a monster with a leopard-like head.

"Leopard Bighead, your name is also on the hit list. Do you think that kid will come after you next?"

Upon hearing this, the monster known as Leopard Bighead sneered, "Humph, if he doesn't come, that's fine. If he really dares to come, I'll make sure he regrets it."

Leopard Bighead spoke with disdain, but there was a hint of hidden seriousness in his eyes.

If it came down to a life-and-death battle, he was confident that he could defeat Fishmonger. However, facing Su Nan, who could kill Fishmonger in a single blow, he didn't dare to guarantee that he could escape unscathed.

At that moment, a middle-aged figure covered in a black robe approached from the end of Double Willow Street and arrived in front of the group of monsters.

At first glance, the middle-aged figure appeared no different from a human, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the hands hidden beneath the black robe were actually two dark, hook-like appendages.

"Lord Hookscythe!"

Upon seeing the middle-aged figure, more than a dozen monsters greeted him respectfully.

The middle-aged figure glanced at the spot where Fishmonger had been killed, his expression remaining unchanged as he said, "To dare to come after my people, it seems that this new Chief really doesn't regard me, Hookscythe, highly!"

With that, he looked at a few monsters, and his gaze finally settled on a one-eyed monster with four ears.

"One Eye, Double Ears, I'll give you two days. If you can't bring me that kid's head within that time, you'll bring your own heads to me."

Upon hearing this, the two monsters turned pale, but they still reluctantly agreed.

...

"Zhang Yang, you've actually become the Chief of the Exorcism Bureau. How did you manage that?"

Su Nan retraced his steps, and the Huang brothers continued to follow him, not showing any intention to leave.

Huang Mingfeng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Zhang Yang, can we join the Exorcism Bureau?"

In their eyes, the current Chief of the Exorcism Bureau in Tianyun City was Zhang Yang. Joining the Exorcism Bureau would mean joining Zhang Yang's faction.

They realized that if the upcoming large-scale mission in the entire region was indeed related to repairing the Heavenly Seal, then joining the Exorcism Bureau would be a good choice.

"Are you interested in joining the Exorcism Bureau?" Su Nan stopped and asked.

Seeing Su Nan's reaction, the three brothers' eyes lit up, and they knew they had a chance.

"Of course!" The three of them nodded eagerly.

Su Nan fell silent for a moment and said, "You can join the Exorcism Bureau, but there's something I need you to do."

Huang Mingfeng immediately replied, "Great God Zhang Yang, whatever task you give us, we promise to complete it."

"Public testing is about to begin, and I want you to do your best to recruit as many players as possible to join the Exorcism Bureau."

Su Nan had considered whether he could use players to strengthen the Exorcism Bureau's forces.

Although players started off weak, they could surpass most ordinary martial artists in just one or two months.

He didn't have the time or energy to personally handle this matter, so he delegated it to the Huang brothers.

"You want us to recruit players to join the Exorcism Bureau?" Huang Mingfeng was slightly surprised but quickly understood Su Nan's intentions.

"Exactly. Just go and do it, and don't worry too much about how many players you can recruit."

Su Nan didn't attach much importance to how many players they could recruit. It was just something he did on a whim.

After the Huang brothers left, Su Nan took out the map that marked the distribution of monster forces.

He still had ten more uses of his foresight ability today, and he planned to continue his investigation by probing the strengths of several mysterious-level monsters.

Tianyun City was divided into South City and North City, with a central road that connected the two cities from east to west. During the day, the city belonged to humans, but at night, it was the domain of monsters.

South City was controlled by the White Water Monster King, while North City was ruled by the Green Wolf Monster King.

Su Nan was currently in North City.

To facilitate his movements in the city, he transformed into the appearance of a common-level monster.

After about fifteen minutes, he arrived near an abandoned prison, which was indicated on the map as the lair of a mysterious-level early-stage monster.

"You have arrived at the entrance of an abandoned prison. You know that there is a mysterious-level monster inside, and you intend to attempt to hunt it."

"The entrance to the prison is not guarded by any monsters, and you easily enter it. Inside the prison corridor, there are two common-level monsters on guard."

"As soon as you enter, the two monsters notice you, but you react quickly and immediately use your soul power to transform into a soul spear and launch an attack."

"Faced with your soul attack, the two common-level monsters fall to the ground without making a sound."

"After easily killing the two monsters, you transform into the appearance of one of them and silently proceed down the corridor towards the depths of the prison."

"One minute later, you arrive at the entrance to the second floor of the prison. Here, too, there are two common-level monsters on guard. You silently kill them and enter the second floor."

"You notice that the second floor of the prison has been completely renovated and no longer resembles the original prison."

"At this moment, more than a dozen female monsters are gathered here, enjoying wine with a middle-aged male monster covered in yellow fur on his face."

"You know that this middle-aged male monster is the mysterious-level monster you are looking for. Several of the monsters are already heavily intoxicated and have not noticed your presence."

"Silently approaching the mysterious-level monster, you attempt to attack it with your soul power while simultaneously using your 'Breakthrough Strike' to deliver a devastating blow."

"However, you are unaware that this mysterious-level monster is of the Secret Power type, and your soul power has no effect on it.

 Sensing the danger, the monster instantly sobers up and launches a counterattack with its soul power while dodging your attack."

"You are affected by the counterattack, and your attack misses, hitting another common-level monster and killing it."

"Facing the monster's soul power attack, you decisively activate your 'Soul Metamorphosis' ability, channeling all your spiritual and energy power into your soul power."

"Your soul power is greatly enhanced, nearly reaching the level of a mysterious-level monster, allowing you to barely withstand the monster's attack."

"You don't hold back and use your racial talent, 'Destruction Serpent Dance,' but without the support of your energy and essence, you can only severely wound the monster, not kill it."

"Two minutes later, your 'Soul Metamorphosis' effect wears off, and your strength diminishes significantly. The monster seizes the opportunity and attacks you."

"You die!"

"Well, that didn't go as planned!"

Even with the 'Soul Metamorphosis' active, Su Nan was barely on par with the monster, and without the cooperation of his energy and essence, his attack wasn't lethal.

The 'Breakthrough Strike' was powerful, but it required the synergy of his soul power. If his soul power didn't work, not even a pinnacle spirit-level monster could be hit, let alone a mysterious-level one.

Su Nan shook his head and had to change his target.

After a stick of incense, he arrived at an abandoned ancient street called Lotus Street.

This street had become the lair of another mysterious-level monster under the rule of the Green Wolf Monster King because it had experienced a massive fire in the past, resulting in the death of hundreds of people, after which no one lived there.

"You have arrived at Lotus Street, ready to hunt down the big monster in this street."

"No one knows that the monster living here on the surface is only at the early stage of the mysterious level, but its true strength is at the pinnacle of the mysterious level."

"Pinnacle of the mysterious level?"

"This is quite cunning!"

Su Nan couldn't help but comment. He knew the result even before the prediction started, and facing such a deceptive opponent, he could only accept his bad luck.

Unfortunately, once the prediction started, it couldn't be stopped for three minutes, or else he would have stopped immediately.

"Lotus Street is not long. Due to long-term abandonment, it is in ruins, and the traces of the previous fire are still evident."

"Near the center of the street, there are no buildings left; they have all turned into ashes."

"You search Lotus Street, and after one minute, you have explored half of the street and have not found any monsters."

"After two minutes, you have searched the entire street but still haven't found any monsters."

"You don't give up and continue to search."

"After three minutes, you still haven't found any monsters, but you have noticed something strange."

"You realize that, compared to other places, the temperature near the center of Lotus Street is slightly higher."

"The first prediction ends. Do you want to continue?"

"Higher temperature? Could it be that the monster in there has control over fire as a Pyromancer-type monster?"

After hesitating for a moment and looking at the remaining prediction attempts, he chose to continue.

"Continue predicting!"

"You are curious and carefully perceive the situation. Eventually, you confirm that the temperature at the center of the street is indeed slightly higher, though not by much."

"You want to find out what is causing this and stop searching for the monster. Instead, you investigate the center of Lotus Street."

"One minute later, you haven't found anything."

"Two minutes later, you still have no clues."

"Just when you are about to give up, your luck comes into play."

"You suddenly notice that on one side of the street, there is a large grinding disc with a burnt mark on the ground, which does not entirely match the position of the grinding disc, leaving traces of being moved."

"Curious, you can't help but try to move the grinding disc, and as you do, an underground passage appears before you."

"You realize that the mysterious-level monster you're looking for might be inside the tunnel."

"Unfortunately, at the moment you move the grinding disc, the mysterious-level pinnacle monster notices you."

"You die!"

"There's treasure in the tunnel!"

Su Nan's eyes lit up. The influence of luck was undeniable; there was likely treasure in that tunnel. Coupled with the monster's hidden strength, he became more certain.

"That guy clearly has the strength of the pinnacle of the mysterious level but pretends to be at the early stage. He must have some big plans, and who knows what kind of treasure that is?"

"Fortunately, even though the monster has clearly noticed the treasure, it's still guarding it here. That means the treasure isn't easy to take. At least, the monster hasn't gotten it yet!"

Su Nan was somewhat excited. What started as an attempt to hunt monsters had unexpectedly led to the discovery of treasure. However, even if he knew there was treasure, there was nothing he could do about it.

With that powerful pinnacle mysterious-level monster guarding it, it was not something he could covet at the moment.

After a deep look at Lotus Street, Su Nan turned and left, moving on to the next prediction.

Among the nine pinnacle mysterious-level monsters under the Green Wolf Monster King's command, there had originally been two at the early stage, but now it seemed there was only one.

Su Nan had no choice but to head to the South City, entering the territory of the White Water Monster King.

After more than twenty minutes, he started his prediction in front of a school called Heaven's Corner Academy.

"You have arrived at Heaven's Corner Academy, and you know that there is a mysterious-level early-stage monster hidden here."

"Entering the academy, you suddenly discover that dozens of small monsters are studying by lamplight, and the teacher is a bear-like monster."

"The monster notices you and rushes toward you. You react quickly, launching an attack with your soul power while using your racial talent, 'Breakthrough Strike.'"

"The monster is affected by your soul power attack, hesitating for a moment. Your strike lands on the monster successfully."

"Unfortunately, this monster has an extremely strong physique, and your strike, though hitting it squarely in the chest, does not inflict a severe injury. Instead, it swats you away with one paw."

"You try to attack it again using your 'Destruction Serpent Dance,' but this strike also fails to cause significant damage."

"In desperation, you activate your 'Soul Metamorphosis' and channel all your spiritual and energy power into your soul power."

"Faced with your soul power attack, the monster roars in frustration but is helpless."

"One minute later, your 'Soul Metamorphosis' effect wears off, and the monster finally finds an opportunity to counterattack."

"You die!"

"This guy is basically a tank!" Su Nan sighed.

While his soul power could have a significant impact on the monster, its thick flesh made it difficult for him to deal any real damage.

Unless he had a weapon that could pierce through the bear monster's tough physique!

"Of course, I can't use the Dark Sword. But if I had a weapon that could break through the bear monster's body, it wouldn't be too difficult to kill it."

The bear monster had a formidable physique, but it was not particularly outstanding in other aspects. To hunt it down, Su Nan only needed a suitable weapon.

Perhaps he could figure out a solution at the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.

While contemplating, Su Nan headed to the last monster's lair, which was located in the mansion of a wealthy merchant named Lv.

The prediction panel started to flicker.

Suddenly, Su Nan's eyes brightened.

He realized that there was a possibility of successfully hunting this monster, and the chance was not small!