After learning about the staggering rewards for Fourth-Tier bounty missions, Zhao Xuan couldn't wait to grow stronger.
However—
instead of picking the most difficult and highly paid Third-Tier tasks,
He deliberately chose a regular one instead.
The reward: 70,000 yuan.
The mission site: a farm on the outskirts of the city.
The goal: drive away a group of Second-Tier beasts that had taken up residence there, freeloading off the farmers.
Leaving the Ability User Guild behind, Zhao Xuan hailed a cab and sped off toward his mission destination.
About an hour later, he arrived.
The farm owner, already notified by the guild, was waiting for him at the entrance.
Though he had been told Zhao Xuan's age beforehand,
actually seeing the young man left him speechless.
As the farmer put it himself—
"My son's two years older than you, and he's barely a Second-Tier ability user."
Under the farmer's guidance, Zhao Xuan quickly headed toward the area where the beasts were nesting.
On the way, he gathered more details.
The unwelcome guests were a troop of Honey Monkeys, nine in total—a full monkey clan.
Despite their name, they were also known by another, more fitting one:
Lazy Monkeys.
And the name said it all.
They ate.
They slept.
Then they woke up and… ate again.
Each movement took an eternity—ten whole seconds just to take a single step.
Creatures that slow shouldn't even be able to survive in the wild.
But these monkeys had a trick.
Hidden in their elbows were venom glands.
While grooming themselves, they would smear that venom across their fur, coating their entire bodies with a toxic film—
a natural defense mechanism that kept predators at bay.
Before long, Zhao Xuan and the farmer reached the orchard on the western edge of the farm.
"Mr. Zhao," the farmer said, pointing ahead,
"this is the place. The Honey Monkeys have taken over the orchard and won't leave.
Harvest season is almost here—if they're not gone soon, all my work for the past six months will be wasted!"
"Leave it to me," Zhao Xuan reassured him, then strode into the orchard.
The place was eerily quiet.
As he walked deeper, the ground became littered with half-eaten fruit—
each one chewed twice and tossed aside.
It didn't take long before Zhao Xuan spotted them.
The Honey Monkeys were sprawled across the branches, snoring loudly.
One of them, disturbed by his footsteps, cracked open a single eye—
took one lazy glance at Zhao Xuan—
then promptly went back to sleep.
"Seriously?"
Zhao Xuan smirked.
Fine.
With a quick burst from Moon Step, he leapt up onto a tree branch and delivered a sharp sweeping kick.
Whack!
The sleeping monkey tumbled off the branch and hit the ground—
still snoring.
Zhao Xuan blinked.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
Thinking it was a fluke, he jumped to another tree and kicked down a second monkey.
Same result.
Still asleep.
He went through all nine of them.
Not a single one woke up.
Zhao Xuan stared at the pile of furry bodies below, speechless.
"They're still not waking up?"
"How the hell am I supposed to drive them away like this?"
"Am I seriously going to have to carry them out one by one?"
He immediately shook his head.
"No, no—that's pointless. They'll just come back once I'm gone.
If they're comfortable here, they'll never leave on their own."
He needed to teach them a lesson—one they'd remember.
Something that would make them never want to come back.
Zhao Xuan folded his arms and thought for a moment.
Then, suddenly—his eyes lit up.
"Right! When I'm in partial dragon form, my body naturally releases dragon pressure!"
"A dragon is a top-tier predator—its aura alone should terrify low-tier beasts like these monkeys!"
Without wasting another second, Zhao Xuan activated the Azure Dragon Fruit.
A deep, ancient dragon's might surged from his body—
raw, primal, and overwhelming.
Almost instantly—
"Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!"
The sleeping monkeys leapt awake, screeching in panic,
their fur standing on end.
The alpha of the group bared its fangs and lunged at Zhao Xuan in defiance.
"Oh? You're brave, I'll give you that!"
Zhao Xuan swung his leg.
Thud!
The alpha was sent flying.
He braced himself for a counterattack—
but it never came.
Instead—
the remaining eight monkeys took one look at their fallen leader…
and bolted.
Fast.
Very fast.
"Ha! It works!"
Zhao Xuan's eyes gleamed with excitement.
He chased after them just long enough to make sure they kept running,
maintaining his dragon aura all the while.
By the time he saw them flee past the edge of the farm,
He finally withdrew the Azure Dragon's power.
He smiled faintly.
"So the dragon's aura really does affect lower-tier creatures. That makes things a lot easier."
His eyes sparkled as a new idea formed.
"If I remember correctly… there are quite a few Third-Tier bounty missions involving low-tier beasts, right?"
And just like that—
a brand-new money-making strategy began forming in Zhao Xuan's mind.
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