The information Fang Senyan could access with his current clearance was extremely vital, but it was obvious that this particular enhancement was designed to counter encounters that were dense, tense, and high-intensity. For Fang Senyan and his team right now, the density of the defensive battle against the hordes in the last world seemed to have been the absolute limit, and something similar wouldn't be needed again for a while.

Thus, Fang Senyan’s choice was crystal clear. Since Sanctuary could benefit everyone and was highly practical, he poured all four of his Team Skill Points into it! Fang Senyan then discovered that after this ability was upgraded, the bonus it provided to Max HP/Mana increased progressively, in a steady increment.

When Sanctuary advanced from Lv1 to Lv2, the extra bonus to Max HP/Mana was only 110 points, a gain of just 10 points. However, investing further points resulted in an additional bonus of 130 points to Max HP/Mana!

This single point investment yielded a bonus gain of 20 points. By the time Sanctuary reached Lv4, every single Team Skill Point invested yielded an extra 30 points to Max HP!

Fang Senyan impulsively pushed Sanctuary straight to Lv5, reaping a total benefit increase of 10+20+30+40 = 100 points!! At Lv5, Sanctuary could now add 200 points to the owner's Max HP/Mana! If he had any more Team Skill Points, pushing it to Lv6 would grant Sanctuary an additional bonus of 250 points to Max HP/Mana!

Of course, when Sanctuary leveled up to Lv4, Fang Senyan received a prompt: he had elevated the Silver Team Ability, Sanctuary, to Lv4, triggering the relevant conditions, and was now required to draw one additional special effect associated with Sanctuary Lv4.

a: Any damage taken by the owner is reduced by 2%. b: (Rare) When the owner is attacked by an enemy, there is a 10% chance for the Silver Aegis to manifest, bathing the body in silver light, reducing that instance of damage by 50% (Exclusive effect of Silver Team Ability). c: The duration of any abnormal status effect suffered by the owner is reduced by 25%. d: Physical damage taken by the owner is reduced by 5%, but magic damage taken increases by 2%. e: Magic damage taken by the owner is reduced by 5%, but physical damage taken increases by 2%. f (Rare): When the owner sustains damage, there is a 15% chance to instantly recover 200 Health Points, but this effect is subject to a 30-second internal cooldown once triggered (meaning even the luckiest person will trigger this effect at least once every 30 seconds) (Exclusive effect of Silver Team Ability). g: The owner gains an additional 30 Max HP / 30 Max Mana. h: (Rare) When the owner uses various recovery items, there is a 33% chance to recover an additional 50% of the Health Points (Exclusive effect of Silver Team Ability). l: (Uncommon) ?????? (Attribute unknown)

Here, the extraordinary nature of the Silver Team was evident; even the drawn rewards included three extra rare options, and even one uncommon option. Fang Senyan drew option 'f', which was respectable enough, but clearly, the most valuable choice here was option 'l'. However, one cannot ask for perfection in everything, nor can Fang Senyan expect to scoop up every single bargain available under the sun.

After completing all these matters, Fang Senyan felt utterly drained. Although he had gained much in the world of Avatar, the vast majority had been "internally consumed." At this moment, he had nothing noteworthy to sell! Fang Senyan could only entrust the task to Jin Kuang to keep an eye out for market opportunities before returning to the real world.

Upon his return, despite his exhaustion, Fang Senyan used his phone to contact Reef. This matter was quite urgent. Fortunately, Reef had provided multiple contact methods, including email and phone, ensuring someone was always reachable.

The person who answered was an elderly butler speaking with an authentic Oxford accent. Upon hearing Fang Senyan speak Chinese, he switched to standard Mandarin. The annual salary for a butler of this caliber must be at least one hundred thousand pounds or more, indicating that Reef’s background was certainly not simple—either a super-rich second generation or simply incredibly wealthy and handsome. In less than a minute, the call was transferred to Reef’s private quarters.

"Hhhh~~~~" The sleepy sound on the other end suggested Reef had just been woken up. "Boss, what's so urgent?"

Fang Senyan asked with gravity:

"That item: the Ekru High-Energy Injection, have you used it?"

Upon hearing this, Reef suddenly became alert, his tone laced with an anxious uncertainty about loss or gain:

"Boss? You mean the one that directly promotes one to a Hunter...? I haven't dared to use it yet because I was afraid of encountering some unforeseen situation; I was planning to discuss it with you all. Has something gone wrong?"

Fang Senyan chuckled:

"There’s no issue, and with my rank upgraded, I can now view some information about that item for free just by having direct contact with it. This thing isn't as complicated as you imagine. There are no prerequisite conditions for use; just use it, select a series of rewards, apply points, and listen to the Nightmare Imprint's guidance and teachings. After that, you will officially be a formal Hunter."

Even separated by a receiver, thousands of miles, and the interference of radio waves and air, Fang Senyan could distinctly hear the sound of relief escaping Reef’s breath. However, Fang Senyan continued:

"The purpose of my call is to ask you not to use it in a hurry."

Reef sounded dejected:

"Why? Boss, you don't know, in the summary report from the last world, my gains have already started to be weakened by about 20%! If I don't use it in the next world, my mission completion rewards might be weakened by over 40%..."

Fang Senyan smiled gently:

"My dear friend, my excellent partner, don't fret. I am also currently accumulating free base attribute points, which will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of the worlds we face later. Therefore, I hope you can endure it temporarily, just until we at least accept the main mission in the next world before promoting."

"This way, at least at the beginning of the next world, the main mission difficulty we face will still be at the level of Contractor + Reserve Hunter, instead of Hunter + Reserve Hunter + Contractor. This will make the mission difficulty significantly easier, and your benefits won't be harmed."

Reef let out a long breath and readily agreed:

"No problem, I'll do as you say."

Fang Senyan paused to think:

"We should have a longer stay in the real world this time. Do you have a way to arrange things for me? The three locations you mentioned before—the Siberian death row concentration camp, the Chinese Esoteric Buddhist ascetic monastery, and the Thai bare-knuckle training gym—I might visit all of them. I feel that my innate abilities are almost on the verge of awakening, perhaps just a hair's breadth away. Through grueling training, I should be able to break through."

"No problem," Reef replied promptly. "I'll have people make arrangements immediately. Everything should be ready by this time tomorrow at the latest. Boss, you can start packing your bags, but which place would you like to visit first?"

Fang Senyan pondered for a moment:

"I’ve looked up some information before. While the Esoteric Sect also trains physical stamina, it heavily emphasizes spiritual cultivation. What I currently lack is intense physical hardening. I’ll go to nearby Thailand first; if that proves insufficient, then I'll go to Siberia."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Senyan went straight home and collapsed into bed. When Fourth Uncle and Zai Zai asked, he simply claimed he had a fever and was sweating it out; such things were common, and the two didn't suspect anything, going about their own business.

Meanwhile,

Europe,

London, the capital of the United Kingdom,

This ancient and historically rich metropolis was currently enveloped in a thick, pervasive fog, making it impossible to see more than five meters ahead.

The chime of Big Ben sounded melodiously—the sound of the thirteen-ton bronze bell, which had withstood centuries, remained crisp and beautiful, carrying a considerable distance.

Three miles west of Big Ben stood a magnificent Twin Tower complex. Its height surpassed the one thousand meter mark, immediately demoting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai to the second tallest in the world. It boasted over two hundred floors, with eighty elevators alone, running at a top speed of 20.6 meters per second—these would be the fastest and longest-traveling elevators in the world! The luxury within need not be mentioned.

These Twin Towers were the headquarters of E. Corporation, arguably the world's foremost multinational conglomerate, drawing global attention from the moment construction began. It housed nearly thirty thousand employees!

At this moment, on the one hundred and ninetieth floor of this tower, there was a vast training area, somewhat resembling a Dojang in Taekwondo. The floor was made entirely of high-grade birchwood, polished to a mirror sheen.

About a dozen powerfully built men stood in a circle, clutching 85-centimeter-long rubber-embedded steel wire batons, cautiously surrounding a woman who looked decidedly cold and aloof in the center.

Though these men were not wearing uniforms, their postures were rigidly straight. Many bore scars on their faces and bodies, clearly indicating they were soldiers experienced in real combat. Yet, the cautious expressions on their faces suggested not that they were surrounding someone, but rather, eerily, that they were the ones being surrounded!