Secrets of the Universe

After Eden had prepared the group for the mission, they immediately embarked on their journey.

Crossing the perilous hills and traversing the risky mountains, the group slowly advanced to their destination.

Two days later, they panted as they had not rested for even a minute. It was non-stop walking, which was also difficult for cultivators.

They didn't give up, though. After fighting off a bunch of low leveled demonic beasts, the group crossed the last section of the forest.

"Wow," awed Archer.

His recurve bow dangled on his back as he let himself fall on the grassy floor.

The others were also amazed by the spectacle they were facing. All except Eden, who seemed to have been here before. This was not strange as the cultivator would have probably tried his luck in his younger days.

In front of the group was a long grassy plain. Beyond that, however, was a large decrepit wall that was incredibly tall, high enough to challenge the eyes of the group.

The wall extended beyond their sight and appeared to be on a curve. Looking at this, Jake could understand that it was the walls of the Weeping Town.

From the outdated designs on the wall, Jake could envision how beautiful and gallant it was decades ago. Now, it was reduced to a mere spectacle.

"Oooh! There are others," said River as she flashed out her alert black eyes.

As the group rested on the soft grass, they could see other tents closer to the walls of the town.

A young blonde-haired woman among the group that looked identical to River observed the tents.

She gave out what she could observe, "They have been here for days, while some seemed to have just arrived."

Despite being of average height, she was able to see far away and spot the different people in the tent.

Responding to her words, Eden kicked his legs in the air, "That's to be expected, Sea. We are not the only ones."

His light green eyes soared the surrounding. To no one's surprise, other groups had begun to spill out of the forest, just minutes after them.

Ignoring them, Eden checked the status of his team. He examined all of them.

Eden was a simple, yet not simple man. Years ago, he had decided to only recruit one person to join his team. That was Archer!

The third to join was the usually silent one, apart from Jake, Renee. Renee was one of the important members of the group.

She had a face that scared away most men. Yet, it could not be denied that she was a beauty, a beauty that didn't care about her body. 

She kept her dark brown hair short, and always wore a cloak around her to hide her large weapon. Nonetheless, she was still attractive to the eye, just that her strict demeanor chased off most of them.

The fourth and fifth were the unique pair of blonde-haired sisters, River and Sea.

If not for their similar appearance, Eden would have wondered whether they were actually sisters. One was an excessively free person, while the other was uninspired just like her soulless black eyes.

The last person Eden recruited was Jake, a young man whose talent was rare. Eden had spotted this gem when he floated to the beach unconscious. From there, he had carefully nurtured a respectful relationship, which brought them to the present.

Among them, Jake was the youngest, while the two sisters were in their twenties along with Renee. Archer was in his forties, if he had to guess, it would forty-two(42)

After the brief wave of nostalgia had left him, Eden stood up from the soft grass and ushered the rest, "Let's go."

He picked his spear and continued walking to the tents.

....

Getting to the minicamp site, the group quickly became the center of attention.

"Hey look, it's the Teglyca Salamanders!" said one of the weaker hunters.

The name of the group Jake joined was the Teglyca Salamanders. It was an odd choice of name, but Jake didn't concern himself with it.

After his first days of being a member, Jake had realized that his group was one of the top three bounty groups.

They held one of the strongest setups in the island with Eden being the strongest. The second strongest was Archer and Renee, who were both at [Realm-3 Stage-1].

Actually, Jake could contest for that position, but it didn't to him. He had only informed the group on his breakthrough, however, since then, he focused on his techniques.

He was sure to increase rapidly if he decided to cultivate now. However, as he had said, it didn't matter. Stages of a realm were just the quantification of energy. Skillset mattered more.

The two sisters were also at [Realm-3 Stage-1], but they had just broken through last month. So, they were not as strong as the others.

Nonetheless, it was still a massive force. At Aztec, [Realm 3] warriors were not that much, only a few could achieve it after all.

Like that, Jake's thoughts derailed further....

"Jake, focus," reminded Eden.

He already knew of Jake's ability to wander off.

As soon as the group arrived, they were guided by the other bounty hunters to a specific tent.

Despite being in competition, they still held respect for one another. However, when they enter the town, it would be different!

Knocking before he entered, Eden flipped the entrance of the tent.

Inside it was two groups heavily discussing a topic that sparked argument among them.

The Teglyca's presence only managed to bridge the two groups as they nodded at the group.

"You are finally here," quipped in the head of one of the two groups.

The other group head simply smirked at Eden.

They allowed the newly arrived group to take their spot and finally the three top bounty hunter teams were assembled.

The first head exuded an experienced aura as he re-introduced the heavy topic, "Eden, you are late. Whatever, you are always later."

The head sighed at Eden, "Many hunters barged into the town, and they all died loudly for us to hear. I'm afraid we have to find another way to enter the town!"