Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 52 The Xia King! (Please continue reading)
Claude's smile faded slightly. He put down what he was holding and stroked his meticulously trimmed white beard.
"Xia is very mysterious, and people like that don't join guilds. For them, guilds are more like a constraint than a help!"

Claude twirled the large gemstone ring on his finger and said meaningfully:

"Lone wolves, there are very few lone wolves in the hall, extremely few. Do you know why?"

The chimpanzee shook his head noncommittally; he had a brain, but under normal circumstances, he didn't want to move.

"Because not everyone is qualified to be a lone wolf. He needs to be strong, well-rounded, resilient, and so much more."
More importantly, the loneliness of walking this long road alone is unimaginable.

He has traversed countless worlds yet remains a mere passerby; he is incredibly powerful yet utterly alone.

That kind of spiritual loneliness has crushed countless strong individuals.

Claude chuckled: "So most people can't be lone wolves; they die too quickly."

The chimpanzee was silent for a moment before nodding.

"So you wanted to recruit him, but Xia definitely wouldn't be interested, so you came to me?"

He has a brain, but under normal circumstances he doesn't want to act; it's just that this isn't a normal situation.

Claude's smile faltered, and he suddenly coughed.

That's obviously right.

The chimpanzee laughed: "I have another question, what are draft picks?"

"Draft picks?" Crowder was speechless. "You still remember that?"

He sat up straight, crossed his hands, and said calmly, "Any successful guild has an extremely well-established hierarchical structure and a process for cultivating new talent."

While it's impossible to provide high-level equipment to lower-ranking apostles, it doesn't mean it's impossible to help lower-ranking members grow quickly.

Whether it's intelligence, the breadth of the equipment pool, or even resources, the guild can provide you with a lot.

A constant influx of new blood is extremely important for every guild, which is why the Hall of Fame has granted us special privileges.

The winner is determined through a contest, and that winner has the right to choose first in that batch.

Furthermore, one can rely on the resources provided by the temple to view the evaluation of each apostle's previous trial and the potential star rating marked by the temple.

It's like a talent show.

Cloud said proudly, "The Brotherhood of Steel is the victor of this guild war and has the right to choose first!"

The chimpanzee was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You're not a Tier 1!"

"Oh? You figured it out?" Claude shook his head, clearly not intending to hide it: "Yes, I won't tell you the specifics, but the restrictions are extremely high."

For example, my strength is locked, and I cannot attack anyone. The mission is forcibly downgraded to the lowest rating, and I cannot use items higher than green grade.
Simply put, my only task is to observe—to observe you all, and to observe those rookies with high potential ratings.

What is my potential assessment?

"Well, that's a very complex assessment, but to put it simply... A-"

"A- That sounds good. Summer?"

Claude fell silent, and the gorilla actually saw extremely complex emotions on the face of this seemingly calm old man.

Awe, disbelief, worry, jealousy, resentment. Acceptance.

"LVMAX is also known as the 'model-level'!"

"I'm joining you."

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the darkness, flocks of birds startled by Smaug flew back to Lonely Hill.

The crows spread the news of the tyrannical ruler's death far and wide, and everyone was drawn to the endless wealth of Lonely Mountain.

Just as they were sharpening their knives and gathering their troops, ready to grab a share of the spoils, Li Xia opened his eyes.

Six henchmen dutifully guarded him. Number 1 and Number 2 greeted Li Xia with a "hehehe" sound.

After standing in the stance for a while, until his whole body felt warm and all his fatigue was gone, Li Xia prepared to return to Changhu Town.

On the way back, I took a quick look at the chat platform and my eyes were soon drawn to the messages from the knight and the madwoman.

There is no private chat function in the trial world, so they can only repeat it every now and then, hoping that Li Xia will see it.

The Treasure Chest of Destiny seems to be very important? So important that even two prospective members who have almost no chance of accessing it were told of its importance?
Li Xia pondered for a moment, and finally decided to send her reply in the chat channel:
Xia [Dragon Slayer, Leader of the Human Faction]: "What is the Treasure Chest of Destiny?"

Only after posting it did I realize that two suffixes had appeared after my name: the Dragon Slayer was blood-red, while the Human Faction Leader was glowing with a faint golden light.

It's just... strangely good-looking.

As expected, the moment these two particularly eye-catching signs were put up, they immediately caused a huge uproar on the communication platform.

What do you mean? We're still struggling to work for other factions, and you've already become the faction leader??
Li Xia frowned as she looked at the flood of notifications for a while, some praising, some sour, and some sarcastic, so she simply muted the comments.

Only the Knight and the Madwoman's statements remained.

Crazy Girl (Nightingale Sisterhood prospective member): Oh, I don't know, but the guild instructed us that if we come across a Treasure Chest of Destiny, we should try our best to contact the seller and buy it. There will be a commission, you know.

Knight (Prospective Member of the Sword of Judgment): Brother Xia, I don't know the specifics either, and it's not convenient to talk about it here. If you're interested, how about we go back to the hall and discuss it further?

It seems that these two people, like myself, also have limited knowledge. But how did they know that they might get a Treasure Chest of Destiny?

Xia [Dragon Slayer, Human Leader]: "We'll see."

After saying that, he closed the chat platform; Changhu Town was already in sight.

This once bustling town has been reduced to ruins.

The wooden plank foundation that laid under the entire town collapsed by more than half.

So the entire town of Changhu collapsed and slid down.

Corpses floated everywhere on the water's surface, and desperate cries and wails drifted intermittently to the ears on the wind.

Some people used long bamboo poles to poke around in the water, trying to find survivors.

But judging from the expressions on their faces, the harvest was likely zero.

The fire ignited by Smaug has been mostly extinguished, leaving only the burnt remains still emitting black smoke.

The small wooden boat gradually sailed into Changhu Town, and some people were stunned when they saw him.

More and more people put down what they were doing and looked at Li Xia standing at the bow of the boat.

Gradually, whispers like bees began to rise in the crowd, which then turned into a buzzing sound.

People looked at him with a strange light in their eyes.

Everyone knows him; ever since he joined the Changhu Town Guard, he has been working tirelessly for the town.

He captured vicious criminals, wiped out murderous river bandits, and eradicated man-eating beasts.

It was he who, under everyone's watchful eyes, charged towards the dragon and ended the beast's life.

Reputation is never a cold, impersonal reward from the system; rather, it's the heartfelt gratitude that the residents of Changhu Town feel after each completed task.

Someone in the crowd shouted the first word, followed by deafening shouts.

"The Dragon Slayer! King Xia!"

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

I didn't arrive at my destination until 10 o'clock. I wrote a little something on the high-speed train, so please forgive me for being a bit late.

If you have any tickets, please give me some monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)