The stout old man and the lean old man flanking Leorion were startled by his expression, unable to help but ask, "Physician Leorion, what is wrong?"

Leorion did not answer, instead continuing to mutter to himself, "Two contradictory elixirs fusing together, even generating new properties—it's miraculous, truly miraculous!"

"Do you two know where those people are now?" Leorion suddenly inquired, forcing down the intense excitement churning within him.

"Neither the stout man nor I know," the stout old man shook his head, then added when he saw the look of disappointment on Leorion's face, "But I think Hu Niu will know!"

Hearing this, Leorion's body jolted sharply. He said no more, walking straight toward the exit.

"Physician Leorion, where are you going?" the stout old man hurried to ask.

"I'm going to find those few esteemed masters..." Leorion's voice drifted back from a distance.

The stout and lean old men exchanged a glance, then made a unified decision: they chased after him.

※※※※※※

At the inn, everyone had already cleaned the premises once, making it look considerably better than before.

As everyone prepared dinner, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin walked in from outside. It should be noted that after treating Hu Niu's father, the two of them had left again and journeyed back to that forest.

"Sister Niu Niu, dinner is ready!" Niu Niu called out loudly.

"Sister, where did you go? Why didn't you take me?" Tiya clung to Robin like a patch of plaster.

Robin briefly recounted their journey. When the surrounding group, including Caine, heard that the mission to slay the "Level Eight Demonic Beast, the Scarlet-Tailed Lizard," had been completed, they all froze solid!

Heavens, how could they be so incredible? To complete a mission of this difficulty in just one day—were they even human?

※※※※※※

While Zhong Shenxiu and his group were eating, Leorion and the others, guided by Hu Niu, finally located the inn.

Upon seeing Zhong Shenxiu and Robin again, despite having mentally prepared himself, Leorion still couldn't help but feel nervous, standing there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say.

"Hu Niu, hurry over here!" Niu Niu showed great enthusiasm upon seeing Hu Niu.

"Hu Niu, how is your father now?" Keni asked with a smile.

"Thank you, Sister. My father is much better now. My father asked me to thank you on his behalf..." As Hu Niu spoke, she started to kneel again to offer Keni a full bow of deference, but this time Keni did not allow it.

"Hu Niu, you haven't eaten yet, right? Come, sit next to me. This food Sister Angelia made is delicious!" Niu Niu practically dragged Hu Niu to her side.

"Esteemed guests, if you don't mind, please join us for the meal!" Keni spoke very politely to Leorion, who was still lost in thought.

"Thank you, but no..." Leorion finally snapped back to reality. He first declined Keni's kind offer, then cupped his hands towards the dining Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, saying, "I thank both of you for saving my life!"

There was no response. Zhong Shenxiu remained self-absorbed, and Robin was completely engrossed in his food.

Leorion appeared somewhat awkward but not irritated, recognizing that they had come at an inconvenient time.

"You didn't come here just to express thanks, did you?" Just as Leorion was preparing his next words, Zhong Shenxiu's indifferent voice drifted over. He still had not looked up.

"There are indeed some matters I wish to consult the esteemed masters about!" Leorion cupped his hands again.

However, Zhong Shenxiu offered no reply. The stout old man and the lean old man almost spoke several times but restrained themselves.

"Esteemed masters, may I inquire about..." Leorion began again, but Zhong Shenxiu cut him off mid-sentence.

"Hey, want to make a deal with me?" Zhong Shenxiu finally lifted his head, a long-absent light flickering in his eyes.

He hadn't struck a bargain with anyone in quite some time. Although he had only met Leorion once, with his own capabilities, Zhong Shenxiu had already formed a fair understanding of Leorion's character.

"Wha... what kind of deal?" Leorion was momentarily stunned by Zhong Shenxiu's question.

"My shop is in need of an apothecary. Are you interested in joining? If you join, I will impart some knowledge regarding compounding elixirs to you..." Zhong Shenxiu’s tone remained level; no one could discern his true intentions from it.

At this moment, Leorion could barely keep up with Zhong Shenxiu's line of thought. He had come here intending to consult on medical knowledge, yet Zhong Shenxiu brought it up first, giving him a feeling of unreality!

"May I... ask what kind of shop it is?" Leorion managed to ask with difficulty.

"The Dark Commerce Guild!"

Zhong Shenxiu remained utterly calm, but Caine, Ingrid, and the others beside him lacked such composure; they were all petrified as if struck by lightning.

However, Leorion's reaction was less dramatic. He only felt that the name "Dark Commerce Guild" sounded vaguely familiar but couldn't recall where he had heard it. Yet, one thing he was sure of: the "Dark Commerce Guild" was a legitimate establishment!

"Fine, I agree!" As Leorion spoke these words, he failed to notice the intensely envious looks from everyone else.

Good heavens, that was the "Dark Commerce Guild"—the most formidable commercial association universally recognized across the world!

※※※※※※

In the days that followed, it was time for Caine and the others' specialized training. This training session was quite unusual: it required them to fell trees and then have the mages process the raw timber into uniformly sized planks.

This was not merely a test of physical strength and endurance; it was more a trial of control. Given Zhong Shenxiu's nature, he would never let them complete this task easily, imposing numerous restrictions upon them.

Consequently, the swordsmen sweated profusely, and the mages were utterly exhausted, once again experiencing Zhong Shenxiu's endless methods of torment.

"Hey, Caine, don't you think we're building something?" Xilaine whispered as she approached.

"I have the same feeling. Look at those stacked timbers, all so neatly arranged. Perhaps he plans to build houses here!" Caine speculated based on his observations.

"I know what we're building!" At that moment, Tiya's voice chimed in.

They looked over and saw Tiya standing not far away with a smug look.

Caine and Xilaine exchanged glances. Through their time together recently, they had gained some understanding of Tiya. They quickly adopted expressions of deference and eagerness, asking, "What is it?"

"A ship!"

"A ship?" Caine and Xilaine were both taken aback.

"Yes, a very large ship!" Tiya smiled.

One week later, an enormous vessel stood before everyone's eyes. Looking at the results of the past week, the group felt an indescribable sense of emotion!

The completion of this great ship signaled that they would soon be leaving this place. They had already spent sufficient time; if they delayed further, they might miss the deadline for submitting their mission, and then they would truly have to bid farewell to the "Mercenary Alliance Grand Tournament"!

The sailing speed of a ship could not compare to flight. By the time Zhong Shenxiu and his group returned to Sunray City, it was precisely the last day for mission submission.

After resting for a few more days, the second competition of the "Mercenary Alliance Grand Tournament"—the Points Match—finally arrived.

The "Points Match" bore some similarity to the "Elimination Match," involving three rounds: solo, duo, and group competitions. However, the rules had changed significantly. Since it was based on a point system, there was no concept of elimination; only the accumulation of points mattered.

According to the rules, the winning side of each of the three matches would earn five points. If the match ended in a draw, both sides received two points; a loss yielded zero points.

From this rule, one could deduce that every mercenary alliance participating in the "Points Match" would compete until the end of the "Mercenary Alliance Grand Tournament." This also indicated that these alliances were the elite among the elite, all qualified to enter the world rankings. Therefore, no side would be eliminated; only their final placement would be determined by their accumulated score!

It was worth mentioning that the "Points Match" would be immediately followed by the final competition, the "Mission Match." Completing missions of varying difficulty would accumulate different points, and the final ranking would be based on the total scores of the mercenary alliances—this was the true test of an alliance's caliber.

。。。。。。

"We're back!" Tiya's cheerful voice carried from far away. She had just returned with Caine and the others after drawing lots at the "Mercenary Association" to determine the order and matchups for the "Points Match."

Seeing them return, Ingrid and the others hurried to meet them. They could not maintain the composure of Xia Luo and the others; having just narrowly survived the Elimination Match, they were anxious to know who their opponents would be in this first round.

"Sister Xia Luo, guess who we are facing next?" Tiya ran up to Xia Luo and put on a mysterious expression.

Xia Luo gave her an exasperated look, knowing the girl was surely plotting something, but she played along and replied, "It couldn't be the 'Sunset Mercenary Alliance' that eliminated us earlier, could it?"

"Sister Xia Luo, you're so smart!" Tiya cheered, then suddenly changed her tone when she saw Xia Luo’s look of expectation, "But you guessed wrong!"

Ugh!

In that moment, Xia Luo genuinely wanted to throttle the little imp; she was definitely just trying to amuse herself at Xia Luo's expense!

Seeing Xia Luo adopt the posture of a hungry tiger ready to pounce, Tiya immediately burst into laughter and scampered a few steps away, then announced, "Sister Xia Luo, I'll tell you—you will be absolutely surprised. This time, our opponent is the 'Heavenly King Mercenary Alliance'!"

"What did you say?" Xia Luo's entire body instantly stiffened.

"The Heavenly King Mercenary Alliance, that's the alliance that has your idol!" Tiya repeated.

It was completely unexpected that the very first match would pit them against the "Heavenly King Mercenary Group," ranked number one in the world. It was hard to tell if this was good luck or bad luck!

(Alas, perhaps that final sentiment should have been voiced by the 'Heavenly King Mercenary Group' instead! sweatdrop)V