Upon hearing Vil mention the Moon Worship Sect, the crow named Rock immediately widened its eyes.

It was utterly surprised. After all, it knew that Vil was a traitor to the Moon Worship Sect—how could he still involve them in his plans? Wasn't he afraid that the members of the Moon Worship Sect would turn against him directly?

Rock carefully voiced its doubts.

Vil, unfazed, waved his hand dismissively and replied, "The members of the Moon Worship Sect are intelligent monsters and human traitors. They're greedy, selfish, and weak. They possess all the traits humans have, but even more intensely."

"I must say, perhaps this is the curse of wisdom?"

"All you need to know is that the Moon Worship Sect is divided into different factions. I've simply chosen to distance myself from a group of fools, waiting for the smarter ones to find me."

"Be cautious and proceed slowly according to the plan. We will succeed, and when the time comes, I'll give you everything you want."

The crow, Rock, lowered its head in acknowledgment, signaling that everything was proceeding as Vil had instructed.

The current Vil was not the same as before. Though Rock didn't understand why Vil had suddenly become so much stronger, it didn't interfere with their collaboration. As long as it got what it wanted, it didn't care what methods were used.

...

In the middle of the night, in Dorey City, at the Hunter Association.

[Progress to Silver Level Mid-Tier: 24%]

Ed looked at the progress of his advancement and couldn't help but feel a sense of reflection.

After what happened with Melissa, his progress had increased by a full 5%, and it was still only the middle of the night. There was still plenty of time before the moon would disappear and the sun would rise.

Melissa had already left. She seemed to have calmed down quite a bit, and after telling Ed that she was tired, she went straight to bed.

That was fine. Ed now had more time to focus on his Moonlight Meditation Technique and enhance his strength.

Without hesitation, Ed quickly put on his clothes, approached the window, and began his Moonlight Meditation Technique.

By the time the sun rose the next day, Ed slowly opened his eyes and stretched his body.

[Progress to Silver Level Mid-Tier: 26%]

Looking at his progress, Ed sighed. If only he could do that kind of thing with Melissa during the day, then practice all night, his progress would skyrocket!

Unfortunately, he had no idea when Melissa would need his help again.

Perhaps he could talk to her? Have her study his body a little?

Ed was also curious about why he was different from other Hunters. He had a feeling that this was going to be something extraordinary.

After a moment of thought, Ed decided to wait a little longer.

Today, he planned to check in on Uncle Du, Viktor, and Iris.

As for the high-level spiritual treasure, Ed figured he wouldn't need it for now. Plus, he couldn't use it at will. The vice-captain, Reve, seemed to be plotting something, so it might be better to keep the spiritual treasure hidden for the time being.

With the remaining time, Ed intended to find a decent warhorse—one that at least wouldn't be afraid of the scent of monsters.

With this in mind, Ed left the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

As he neared Uncle Du's inn, Hunter's sense alerted him to the presence of someone behind him, seemingly following him from the entrance of the association.

Could it be someone sent by Reve?

Ed subtly furrowed his brow. The feeling of knowing someone was secretly watching and plotting against him, but not knowing what they were actually planning, was quite unsettling.

An idea suddenly popped into Ed's mind: "What if I could win Anthony over, get him to betray Reve? That way, I wouldn't be so passive."

However, that would require investigating Anthony's background—his preferences, relationships, and so on, which was no small task.

As he pondered this, he entered Uncle Du's inn.

At the front desk, Uncle Du was excitedly counting his accounts, completely unaware of Ed's arrival.

It wasn't until Ed spoke up that Uncle Du looked up. "Uncle Du, what's going on? You look so happy. Has something good happened?"

Uncle Du's face lit up even more as he saw Ed. He immediately set the accounts aside and shouted up the stairs, "Viktor, Iris, come downstairs! Someone's here!"

Only then did Uncle Du start to answer Ed's question. He said, "It's about the mayor wanting to repair the roads and send people to clear the monsters. This means I can have others gather more goods in the next month."

"That's great! I didn't expect the mayor to be so wise. In the coming month, I'll be able to earn quite a bit more. Just thinking about it makes me happy," Ed responded.

After Uncle Du finished speaking, Iris's voice came from upstairs. "Father, I'm really busy these days. Can you stop bothering me?"

Viktor didn't respond, and Ed wasn't sure what he was up to.

Uncle Du shouted again, "I'm just reminding you! Didn't you keep saying you wanted to meet someone a few days ago?"

Iris didn't answer this time.

A few minutes later, Iris, dressed in a light blue long dress, her smooth, straight legs wrapped in white stockings, and a light touch of makeup on her face, hurriedly ran downstairs.

Her face was filled with joy as she rushed to Ed's side, hugging his arm and happily saying, "Ed, what brings you here today? Didn't you say you were going into seclusion?"

"I thought it would be a long time before I could see you again."

Uncle Du watched the scene in front of him, his smile slowly fading. He stared at Iris hugging Ed's arm, saying nothing.

Iris suddenly realized what had happened, and her face turned bright red. She quickly released Ed's arm, saying, "Viktor is probably still doing his meditation technique. I'll go call him down."

Ed waved his hand, not wanting to disturb Viktor. He asked Iris and Viktor about their current levels of strength.

Iris gave a simple answer. Since neither of them had undergone any formal tests or combat, they had only asked Uncle Du to observe. Iris had probably reached Apprentice Level 2, while Viktor was weaker than her, likely at Apprentice Level 1.

Ed was somewhat surprised by this information. He had directly skipped the Apprentice stage, but he knew that for most Apprentices, each level of improvement took a lot of time and effort.

It seemed that Iris was truly a genius, and while Viktor was slightly weaker than her, he was still much stronger than the average Apprentice.

After chatting for a while, Ed went to the room where he had stayed before.

The items in the room were arranged exactly as they had been when he left, indicating that Uncle Du hadn't let anyone else into the room in the past few days.

Ed walked to where the high-level spiritual treasure was hidden, checking it and finding no signs of it having been disturbed.

After the check, Ed reminded Iris to keep working hard on her training. Iris then asked if Ed was staying here tonight or returning to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

Ed thought for a moment and replied that he would be heading back to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association tonight.

Iris lowered her head, looking at the floor, clearly disappointed, and didn't say anything further.

After that, Ed asked Uncle Du where he could buy the best warhorse in Dorey City, and what the price would be.

He asked about the price because Ed had spent a lot lately, and his remaining gold coins were running low.

Now, he only had a little over two hundred gold coins left, so if the price was too high, he'd have to sell some of his belongings.

Uncle Du responded, "Dorey City has a dedicated horse market located to the north of the city. Iris knows where it is. How about you let her take you there? She's been meditating and training for the past few days, so it would be good for her to get out and stretch her legs."

Iris immediately looked up at Uncle Du, unsure of what to say.

Uncle Du continued, "By the way, Ed, there seems to be an outbreak of a contagious disease outside the city. It's only affecting livestock, though—many donkeys and warhorses have fallen ill. Because of this, the prices have gone up quite a bit. You should be careful and make sure not to buy any sick horses."

Upon hearing Uncle Du's words, Ed furrowed his brows.

A contagious disease?

Dorey City wasn't near any large rivers, and people usually relied on land transport for goods and travel. Donkeys and horses were crucial for the city, and at this moment, Ed couldn't help but think more deeply about it.

He asked, "Uncle Du, is this type of disease common?"

Uncle Du thought for a moment and then answered, "It's happened a few times in the past, but it usually doesn't last too long."

After hearing Uncle Du's response, Ed felt his wariness lessen. It seemed like it wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary.

Just as Iris was about to lead Ed to the horse market, Uncle Du suddenly called her over and pulled her into a corner, speaking in a low voice.

"Iris, you're not a little girl anymore. When your mother was your age, she already started pursuing me."

"Be bold. A person as exceptional as Ed is hard to come by, and if you miss your chance, it'll be difficult to find another."

Listening to her father's words, Iris took a deep breath and nodded firmly. She didn't want to repeat what happened last time—finally gathering the courage to approach Ed, only for him to leave suddenly.

With renewed determination, Iris quickly walked back to Ed's side.

Ed glanced helplessly at Uncle Du. Hunter's sense wasn't for show—he had clearly heard every word of the conversation between Uncle Du and Iris just now.

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