After reading the letter, Lucian started searching for the techniques mentioned by the writer.
He found a book under the table. It was thick and covered in dust.
After cleaning the cover, the title became clear:
"The Ten-Star Sovereign Combat Art"
Lucian read the title but stood frozen. He read it once, then again, to check if his eyes were lying.
"A ten-star martial art?!"
A smile appeared on his face, and soon he started laughing.
"Damn, hahaha, this is crazy."
He tried to calm down. Even if it was a ten-star art, he still had to see if he could train it or not.
When he opened the book, he saw the cultivation requirements:
1. A Sovereign Pill
2. A strong body
3. A strong soul
4. A powerful will
5. Great effort and talent
All these were just to start cultivating the technique.
Lucian was mostly worried about the first requirement — the Sovereign Pill.
Most cultivation techniques needed resources, and sometimes they needed so many that people made them into pills.
A pill like the Sovereign Pill must be a grade-ten pill.
Indeed, there was a page with the ingredients, and it clearly said it was a grade-ten pill.
Lucian didn't even know most of the ingredients.
He felt like a starving man looking at a big, tasty piece of meat — but he couldn't eat it.
He kept the recipe. Maybe in the future, he could find the ingredients.
Then Lucian continued reading about the technique.
It was a full system of mixed martial arts — punches, kicks, movement, using Qi, and more. It was a full and well-balanced set of techniques that made one complete martial art.
Lucian couldn't help but admire it. Now he understood why the ten families wanted this family's secrets. Maybe this technique was the reason.
Even the princes of the ten families only trained in six- or seven-star martial arts. At most, one eight-star technique. Only the family leader had more than one eight-star technique.
As for nine-star arts, each family had only one, and only the most talented members could train it.
But ten stars? Lucian had never heard of it before. This was the first time he saw one.
But the fact that a family with a ten-star technique had fallen reminded him: martial arts are not everything. Talent, race, and skills all matter in battle.
Lucian stored the book in his storage ring and decided there was nothing more to stay for.
Now, he had to think of a way to return to the human domain.
But he had no plan. The city now carefully recorded who entered and left.
It was impossible for Lucian to enter without being seen.
While he was thinking, he looked outside the door, where the monster's feet were.
Then, a crazy idea came to his mind...
---
Later...
Leo and Luke met the rest of the team — just in time.
Naila and Luna were in bad shape, unlike the others. But they didn't stop bragging about how they defeated a monster. They even had lots of pictures.
As for Seth and Gu An, nothing special happened. They did their job without problems.
Luke and Leo had more to say — a lot happened to them.
Now that the group was back together, it was time to return to the capital and submit the report.
They stayed in Wall City for one night, then left in the morning for the capital.
---
After a week, they arrived and gave their report.
But someone unexpected came to meet them.
"Did you find anything?"
It was Kailen, Rain's older brother.
"Sorry, we didn't find anything," they answered.
Kailen expected this answer.
It had been more than a year, and he still found nothing.
He was losing hope. He started to believe his brother really died because of the wolves.
His father often shouted at him for not giving up.
He had to return to reality and forget his useless dreams.
The group looked at Kailen, who seemed lost in his thoughts.
In the end, he turned and left without saying a word.
"Well… that was strange," Naila said.
"Alright, your mission is over. I hope we meet again. See you later."
"Wait!"
Before he left, Luna called out to Gu An.
She didn't know why. She just suddenly spoke, then felt shy. But this time, she took a step forward.
"U-um… are you free for a cup of coffee?"
"Now?"
"Uh… what? I mean, if you're free…"
"I'm free."
"Ah, great! Bye Naila, I'll call you later!"
Luna left, her face red like a tomato. She felt nervous and excited. She finally made a move, and Gu An didn't reject her!
Naila was shocked as she watched Luna and Gu An walk away.
"That girl… no way she just did that."