After listening to Qian Xun's story, Qin Chu felt that both the Alchemist Guild and the Devil's Castle were viable options, but he personally leaned more towards becoming a Devil Hunter. While becoming a Devil Hunter would restrict him from harming the Devil's Castle's interests, why would he want to harm their interests anyway? Was he that bored? Walking in the darkness as a Devil Hunter, harvesting the heads of wrongdoers – Qin Chu found the thought incredibly exciting.
"Then I'll go check it out later!" Qin Chu said.
"When I Cultivate to the fourth stage, I'll also give it a try," Qian Xun said.
In the evening, Qin Chu left the inn and arrived at the Devil's Castle.
Under the night sky, the Devil's Castle resembled a terrifying Yao Beast.
After a slight hesitation, Qin Chu entered the Devil's Castle.
As soon as Qin Chu entered the Devil's Castle, a creaking sound came from behind him, and the main gate closed.
This situation put Qin Chu on alert. He reached out his right hand and gripped the hilt of his Azure Spirit Sword. Even if it was a Dragon's Den or a Tiger's Lair, and even if the enemy's strength was unfathomable, he would not sit idly by!
"Don't be nervous! To prevent outsiders from knowing about those who enter, this passage will remain closed until your matter is resolved. This is also one of the Devil's Castle's rules," a slightly low voice said, and then a figure in a black cloak appeared, followed by several lights turning on.
At this point, Qin Chu clearly saw the figure in the black cloak. The cloak covered the figure's body, and their face was also concealed.
"Are you here to post a mission? We can give you a reply for resource missions now. If it's an assassination mission, then our Devil's Castle will set the price based on the target's cultivation and Jianghu status, but you'll need to pay the initial investigation fee!" the cloaked figure said.
"I'm here to apply to be a Devil Hunter," Qin Chu stated his purpose.
"To apply to be a Devil Hunter, the first step is an assessment. Once you qualify to join, then we can discuss other conditions," the cloaked figure said.
Qin Chu nodded. He knew that the Devil's Castle had high requirements and generally didn't accept beginners.
Led by the cloaked figure, Qin Chu entered an underground passage. The passage had many guards, all dressed in cloaks without exception. The difference was that the cloaked person who appeared first had silver trim on their cloak.
At the end of the underground passage was an underground palace, and on the left side of the palace was a dueling stage.
After the cloaked person led Qin Chu to the dueling stage, he beckoned to two cloaked figures on the side of the stage, saying, "This is the examinee."
"Examinee, you only qualify for the next stage of review if you defeat these two. Good luck!" the silver-trimmed cloaked figure said.
Cupping his fists to the silver-trimmed cloaked figure, Qin Chu stepped onto the dueling stage. At this moment, the two cloaked figures responsible for the assessment attacked. One used a battle sword, and the other used a long spear. Neither showed any mercy, attacking Qin Chu directly. One of them had second-level Sword Intent, and the spear-wielder also had Spear Intent augmenting his long spear.
Third-level Sword Intent erupted, suppressing the cloaked figure using the battle sword. Qin Chu executed the 'Evil Slash' from the basic sword techniques, parrying his long sword, then followed with a direct thrust aimed at the opponent's throat. Because he was suppressed by Qin Chu's Sword Intent, the cloaked figure using the battle sword had already lost most of his combat ability.
At this moment, the cloaked figure using the long spear twirled his spear, blocking it in front of the battle sword-wielding cloaked figure's throat.
Twisting his body, Qin Chu delivered a flying kick, his instep connecting with the head of the cloaked figure using the long sword, directly knocking him down.
After knocking down the sword-wielding cloaked figure, Qin Chu fully suppressed the spear-wielding cloaked figure with his attacks.
After several rounds of fighting, Qin Chu used his sword to parry the spear-wielding cloaked figure's long spear. The Azure Spirit Sword then slashed towards his wrist. At this point, the spear-wielding cloaked figure either had to abandon his spear or have his wrist slashed.
At the critical moment, the spear-wielding cloaked figure hesitated. He really didn't want to let go of his long spear. While he was hesitating, it was already too late to abandon the spear.
Would he really cut off the opponent's arm? Qin Chu naturally couldn't. He simply delivered a flying kick in the instant the opponent was distracted, sending him off the dueling stage.
"The strength assessment is passed. You, follow this enforcer." The silver-trimmed cloaked figure glanced at Qin Chu and left the underground space. Qin Chu followed him into a room.
The silver-trimmed cloaked figure took out a pen and ink, "Name, background, age, strength, parents' names!"
"Qin Chu, from Qingyun Sect in Nanyan State, seventeen years old... actually eighteen now. Cultivation is at Spirit Yuan Realm Level 4. I was adopted as a child and don't know my parents' names!" Qin Chu said. It had been nearly three years since he left the valley where he lived. He was fifteen when he left, and now he was almost eighteen.
"You go back and wait for news. Come back in half a month, and by then, there will be a result on whether your review passed or not," the silver-trimmed cloaked figure said after finishing the record.
Qin Chu nodded, "Sir, the identities of Devil Hunters are hidden, but just now in the underground hall, those people saw my face, but I don't know who they are."
"Your identity will not be leaked, because those people are all dead soldiers cultivated by the Devil's Castle itself and will not reveal any secrets of the Devil's Castle," the silver-trimmed cloaked figure said.
Then the silver-trimmed cloaked figure waved his hand, and two cloaked figures appeared, "Escort him out."
Qin Chu understood why the Devil's Castle's secrets wouldn't be leaked. It was because the entrance and exit were not the same. When he reappeared, he was in an alley. Looking back, Qin Chu didn't even know where he had emerged from.
After a brief thought, Qin Chu returned to the inn. He felt that the Devil's Castle's system was indeed strict, but investigating his background didn't seem that easy, after all, Qingyun Sect was in Nanyan State, which wasn't so easy to investigate.
After Cultivating all night and washing up, Qin Chu and Qian Xun met in the inn's small courtyard.
Qian Xun knew Qin Chu had gone to the Devil's Castle but wisely didn't ask, as it was Qin Chu's secret, and even if it was an unspoken understanding, it shouldn't be spoken aloud.
"Let's go. We'll head to the Alchemist Guild and see if there are any small missions. We're not looking to earn a lot of resources, but just to gain some experience," Qin Chu said.
"It's the boss who needs to gain experience, I don't need it at all, but I'll still accompany the boss," Qian Xun said.
Giving Qian Xun a disdainful look, Qin Chu left the inn and walked towards the Alchemist Guild.
After entering the Alchemist Guild, Qin Chu walked towards the mission posting area.
Upon reaching the mission posting area, Qin Chu saw that the missions were divided into two categories: an Alchemist area and a non-Alchemist area.
Missions in the non-Alchemist area involved finding medicinal herbs, obtaining Yao Beast Materials, and so on. As for the Alchemist mission area, there were tasks for sorting medicinal ingredients, refining medicinal dregs, and assisting with Alchemy. Most surprisingly, there were even Medicinal Pill testing missions, requiring accurate descriptions of the medicinal properties of new Medicinal Pill varieties.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Chu felt that the task of sorting medicinal ingredients was acceptable, as it could increase his knowledge.
Just as Qin Chu was about to accept a mission, an old man walked out from inside the Alchemist Guild. After looking at the people doing missions, he pointed at Qin Chu, "Are you an Alchemist here to accept a mission?"
"Yes!" Qin Chu nodded.
"Follow me!" the old man said.
What was this situation... no explanation, just follow him?
"Can't you do the work? Can you help me stabilize the pill fire?" the old man frowned.