The next day, Draven woke up and began his morning workout. Even though the Ultimate Demon physique could be pushed to perfection by adding points, it could also be improved manually through continuous exercise, though the improvement would be negligible compared to the speed of adding points.
Still, Draven preferred to exercise in the morning when he was free, as it had become a habit after all these years.
After a routine session, he freshened up and sat on the living room floor in a cross-legged position. Following a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and entered the Dream God Ring to see the new changes that had appeared upon upgrading his remaining two bloodlines to perfection.
....
[Dream God Ring]
[Dream Points: 300]
[Life Span: 17/100]
[Innate Dream Walker Physique (Mortal)]
[Shadow World Behemoth Bloodline (Mortal): 100%]
[Chaos Divine Ape Bloodline (Mortal): 100%]
[Astral Nexus Bloodline: 100%]
''''''
[Dreamer Slab: 1]
[Ultimate Demon Physique (Mortal): 800/1000]
.....
[Dreamer Slab: 9]
[Inherent Technique(Mortal):0/100]
[Shadow World: 0/100(+)]
[Black Lotus Seal: 0/100(+)]
[Shadow Corruption: 0/100(+)]
...
[Dreamer Slab: 10]
[Inherent Technique(Mortal):0/100]
[Astral Nexus: 0/100(+)]
[Stellar Reassembly: 0/100(+)]
[Void Reflux: 0/100(+)]
....
As he expected, the first obvious change was the improvement in his Ultimate Demon Physique, which had surprisingly reached the 8th level after he awakened his two new bloodlines. The next change was the appearance of two more dream slabs, one for the inherent techniques of the Shadow World Behemoth bloodline and the next for the inherent techniques of the Astral Nexus bloodline.
Each had given him powerful unique techniques corresponding to the bloodlines. But since he didn't have a space core or a darkness core, upgrading them was useless and might even damage his body, as he had no place to store the elemental essence. He didn't dare add points to them directly.
But he was not worried about these techniques going to waste. He now had the Mirror Spirit Heart Sutra, which could reconstruct his inner world, and the Heavenly Star Core Formation Scripture, which could absorb elemental seeds to form Heavenly Star Cores that could serve the same purpose as an elemental core.
The only problem now was where to find a Mirror Spirit Heart or elemental seeds. Draven decided to ask Silas, since he was more knowledgeable.
Exiting the Dream God Ring, Draven touched the black hoop earring and asked in his mind, "Grandpa, do you know about the Mirror Spirit Heart?"
A second later, Silas's voice rang in Draven's head like a sound transmission. "Why do you need that?"
"Senior Asura God gave me a technique called Mirror Spirit Heart Sutra, which can reconstruct my inner world using the Mirror Spirit Heart, but I don't know anything about it," Draven replied honestly.
Silas remained silent for a moment. "Go to the Merchants Association and ask there. They might have news on it. Since it is information you can acquire with some effort, don't ask me. I won't help."
Draven was speechless. Sure, Silas had said not to expect any help other than protection, but couldn't he even give out some information? If he had to go to the Merchants Association, those cunning snakes would charge for every word at the price of gold.
"One more thing," Silas's lazy voice rang again. "Asura God is your ancestor. From now on, address him as ancestor, with respect."
Draven nodded helplessly and stood up. He had to enter the Devil Swamp Forest again to hunt for decent prey. It couldn't be helped; his bank balance was a pathetic 50 first-tier essence coins. While it might be a great sum for other Mortal Realm cultivators, for Draven it wasn't even enough for a week's food expenses, since what he ate now were second-tier delicacies, which cost ten times more.
It was also time to upgrade his Black Phantom. Its current speed was even slower than Draven's running speed after his vital chi reached the 8th level of the Ascendant Realm. But this would also cost a lot of money, which he didn't have, so he could only make do for now.
After reaching the Hunter Association, Draven handed his hunter ID to Jasmine for registration.
"Grandmaster, Master Hunter John has been asking about you lately. Should I convey a message to him?" Jasmine asked as she gave Draven a hunter smart watch and his ID back.
Draven put the smart watch into his storage ring. "Just tell him I will visit his wine shop after returning this time."
Jasmine nodded with a smile. "By the way, there is news on 10th-stage Mortal-level beasts. Are you interested in buying some?"
Draven thought about it. "Is there information on 5th-stage or above Ascendant Realm beasts?"
Jasmine was surprised at first, but given Draven's display of standing against Ascendant Realm police officers from the 36th Regional Police Department all by himself, his image in the Hunter Association was that of an anomaly who was as strong as an Ascendant Beast even though he was only in the Mortal Realm.
Because of this reputation, Jasmine didn't hesitate and typed on her computer screen for information on Ascendant Realm beasts in the Devil Swamp Forest.
This information was sold to the Hunter Association by other hunters who explored the devil swamp forest, so it could be false or outdated. Even if a beast was there when a hunter reported it, it might have moved by the time someone bought the news. Beasts moved according to their will, not a hunter's wishes. These reports could only be treated as a reference, not an actual route map to a demon beast's lair.
"There are a total of 120 reported findings of Ascendant Realm beasts, but most are in the inner parts of the Devil Swamp Forest. There are also five unclaimed bounty missions related to beasts above the 5th stage of the Ascendant Realm," Jasmine said, looking at her screen.
Bounty missions, as the name suggested, were given to the hunter guild by people in need of beast materials or other natural treasures. In return, they paid a pre-deposited price to the hunter who completed it through the Hunter Association.
"Please explain the missions," Draven said with interest. If he found something with a decent bounty, he could try earning some quick money, as bounty missions were usually more generous than simply selling a hunted beast.
"The first is to hunt a lightning-attributed black bear at the 10th stage of the Ascendant Realm. The employer needs the bear's claws intact. The bounty is 10 second-tier essence coins."
"The second is to hunt water-attributed demon rabbits at the 5th stage of the Ascendant Realm. The employer needs the skin intact without any weapon marks or damage. The bounty is 5 second-tier essence coins per rabbit, with no upper limit on how many they will accept."
"The third is a mission to hunt a lightning-attributed 7th-stage Ascendant Realm Arapaima fish. Its scales should be intact, and the beast must be killed without using elemental chi, as the employer also needs the meat untouched by elemental energy. The bounty is 10 second-tier coins."
"The fourth is to hunt a fire-attributed poisonous toad at the 9th stage of the Ascendant Realm. The employer needs its poison sac intact. The bounty is 9 second-tier essence coins."
"The fifth is to collect one liter of honey from a fire-attributed bee hive, with its queen bee supposedly at the 10th stage of the Ascendant Realm. The bounty is 20 second-tier essence coins."
Draven thought deeply. First, he eliminated the fifth one outright. If the queen bee was at the 10th stage, there would be at least a hundred bees at a similar realm. Trying to take honey from their home was nothing but suicide.
He also eliminated the first one. His vital chi was only at the 8th stage, and hunting a 10th-stage lightning bear would be too risky.
The fourth one was also not to his liking, as it involved dealing with a poisonous creature, which was unpleasant, especially at the 9th stage. Even at the 8th stage, he would have avoided it, as poisonous creatures were notoriously hard to deal with.
After deliberation, Draven decided to take the missions to hunt the rabbits and the Arapaima fish, due to their lower risk and high reward.
"I will take the second and third missions. You can inform the client to meet me. Also, please tell me how much it is for all the information regarding the beasts I asked about."
Jasmine typed for a moment. "The information will cost you 30 first-tier essence coins in total, as most of it is from reputable hunters. As for the employer, both missions are posted by the same person, and he has agreed to meet you in 30 minutes."
Draven handed his bank card and smart watch to Jasmine. "I want all the information."
Jasmine received the card and watch. First, she swiped the card to complete the payment, then connected the smart watch to her computer. After about a minute, she handed them back with a professional smile. "The information has been sent to your hunter account. Please wait for the employer in the waiting area."
Draven nodded and entered the large hall some distance from the reception table. Though called a waiting area, its interior was no less than a modern-day restaurant, with many hunters drinking wine or having meals. Others sat at round tables discussing adventure plans or other matters.
Draven walked to an empty table and sat down. In no time, a young man in a waiter's uniform approached politely. "Sir, would you like to order something?"
Draven looked at his bank card and scratched his cheek in annoyance. He only had 20 first-tier essence coins left. After a moment of internal struggle, he still ordered four portions of second-tier chicken fried rice and two liters of second-tier seven-colored deer milk.
The young waiter noted the order with a happy face. "That will be 6 first-tier essence coins, sir."
"Add two whole second-tier roasted chickens and bread made from second-tier wheat as well," Draven added.
"That will be 15 first-tier essence coins," the waiter said after recalculating.
Draven swiped his card and paid the amount, as it was a "pay first, then serve" policy here.