Brown's eyes widened as he sensed something—an aura he was extremely familiar with.

Someone… someone he knew very well!

Brian, furrowing his brow, spoke up, "In a place like this, how could there be anyone else? Brown, I think we should leave quickly!"

"The atmosphere here is too heavy with bloodlust, even I feel uneasy. And if we leave quietly, the captain will probably notice!"

As he spoke, Brian started to get up, clearly not wanting to stay in such a dangerous place any longer.

But Brown immediately grabbed him, urgency in his voice. "I really felt it! It's him, Ed!"

The two of them were positioned exactly opposite to Ed's team, behind a wooden house.

Brown followed his senses, cautiously peeking out. He saw the four members of Ed's team, and his breath caught in his throat.

"It's him! He's really here!"

Brown was both shocked and overjoyed. He never expected that such a casual exploration would lead him to the one person he most wanted to find!

Brian saw it too, his heart stopping for a moment. Then, both of them quickly withdrew, pressing their bodies against the wall to avoid being noticed.

Brian held a black stone in his hand, his face now filled with complexity.

"Just as I thought, Ed really came to compete. But I didn't expect to find him here."

After all, this was the very heart of the Nightmare Wasteland!

The one-eyed captain had even said that there might be ghost spirits here.

The reason they dared to come was largely because of the stone they had. It was a spiritual treasure called the Gas Vent Stone.

It was extremely expensive, costing over three thousand gold coins. Only one association in all of Dorey City—the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association—could provide this spiritual treasure to its disciples.

This was also the pride of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association!

Its power was extraordinary: it could hide one's presence.

With the stone in hand, Brian wasn't too worried about encountering a ghost spirit. The stone would prevent it from detecting them, giving them a chance to escape if necessary.

But now, discovering Ed gave the Gas Vent Stone even more significance.

Brian cautiously peeked out once again, seeing that Ed and his team seemed to be completely unaware of their presence.

They hadn't noticed at all that Brian and Brown were hiding just a few meters away, on the other side of the house.

Brian relaxed and withdrew his head.

Brown, still overjoyed, took a deep breath and whispered, "Brian, I've got to ask you. If we both strike at the same time, do you think we can kill Ed in the shortest time possible?"

In Brown's eyes, there was only Ed. He had completely ignored the other three teammates of Ed's.

After all, those three were far too weak—just insignificant ants that he could easily crush.

But Brian didn't answer Brown's question. Instead, he snorted and reminded him coldly:

"Brown, don't let hatred cloud your judgment. Have you forgotten where we are?"

"We're in the heart of the Nightmare Wasteland!"

As soon as he heard this, Brown snapped back to reality. The terrifying bloodlust around the wooden house immediately brought him back to his senses.

"Right, acting recklessly might attract monsters…"

"Damn it, could it be that after all this time, I finally find him, only to be forced to let him go?"

Brown's thirst for revenge burned. Before crossing over, he had followed Karot around the school, traveling from the south to the north.

They were part of a notorious gang, wreaking havoc wherever they went. They made sure to get back at anyone who crossed them.

Not to mention, leaving Ed alive would be a massive threat.

Brian also said, "Don't rush. We definitely can't let Ed go. I don't want to miss this rare opportunity either."

"But we need to be cautious, play it safe. We must act fast, but also ensure our safety."

"Don't forget, we snuck out. If we don't head back soon, the captain will notice!"

Brown frowned and lowered his voice, "So, after all that, what exactly do you suggest we do?"

Brian thought for a moment, then replied, "The first thing we need to do is observe the environment. Let me scan the surrounding aura first."

With that, he closed his eyes, activating his Hunter's Senses and began scanning the area around them.

Brown could only wait patiently. His strength was at the lower tier of Black Iron, one level below Brian, so his Hunter's Senses were not as refined.

After just a few seconds, Brian opened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

"My God!"

"This bloodlust is much worse than I thought! It's definitely a ghost spirit! There must be a ghost spirit in that house!"

He arrived at the same conclusion as everyone else who had seen the wooden house.

"A ghost spirit?" Brown was stunned, his face pale with unease.

Anyone who joined the Hunter Association was required to learn about demon hunting, especially those like them, disciples of the strongest association—the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

They both knew just how dangerous ghost spirits could be!

"What should we do?" Brown asked urgently, clearly unwilling to back down.

Brian was in a tough spot too. If it weren't for Ed being here, the moment he confirmed the presence of a ghost spirit, he would have turned and run.

Seeing Brown's look, Brian sighed, then his thoughts shifted.

"Wait a minute. If there's such a terrifying ghost spirit aura here, what are Ed and his team doing here?"

"Why haven't they left?"

With that, Brian once again activated his Hunter's Senses and started scanning. This time, besides the ghost spirit aura, he detected another presence.

And this new presence was even more extraordinary!

"What?!" Brian suddenly widened his eyes, so shocked that he almost exclaimed out loud. Luckily, just as the words were about to leave his mouth, he caught himself and suppressed his voice.

Brown, seeing how much more startled Brian was compared to when he first sensed the ghost spirit, asked in confusion:

"What's going on now? What did you discover this time?"

Brian looked at Brown, gulped nervously, and after a long pause to steady himself, said:

"An advanced spiritual treasure!"

"There's the aura of an advanced spiritual treasure inside that wooden house!"

Brown was stunned, almost unable to believe it. "No way! Are you sure? This place actually has an advanced spiritual treasure?!"

Brian responded, "I'm sure. I've seen the aura of an advanced spiritual treasure once, on the captain. That aura, I'll never forget it!"

"And the thing inside that house—the aura matches the one from the captain's treasure exactly. It's definitely an advanced spiritual treasure. There's no mistake about it!"

Both of them were shaken, their minds racing. The excitement of discovering an advanced spiritual treasure almost overshadowed the discovery of Ed himself.

If they could bring back an advanced spiritual treasure to the association, it would be a massive accomplishment!

But even with such temptation before them, reason ultimately prevailed.

They couldn't forget that, even though Ed and the advanced spiritual treasure were so close, there was also a ghost spirit right here!

"What should we do? We can't just go out there!" Brown was desperate, his hands and feet restless.

Brian said, "We have to hold back! We'll keep observing, and if things get too dangerous, we'll go get the captain."

The temptation was enormous, but at times like this, acting recklessly was the last thing they could afford to do.

One wrong move, and it could mean disaster.

Meanwhile, at the front of the wooden house, Ed had told the others to stay away and was heading toward the house alone.

The three quickly blocked his way.

Thomas said, "Hey, Ed, wait up!"

To say they weren't afraid of a ghost spirit would be a lie.

But if they let Ed stay here alone, it would be too embarrassing.

Thomas continued, "We'll stay further back, but we'll keep watch outside the house. After all, we're a team!"

As he spoke, Thomas glanced at Alex and Lucas behind him.

They hesitated for a moment, but then immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're a team! How could we just leave Ed here by himself?"

"Before, if it wasn't for Ed, we would've been looted by Ivar, or worse, badly hurt by the Red Poison Ants. We certainly wouldn't run off in the middle of things now!"

They even pounded their chests in assurance. "If we weren't so underpowered, we'd want nothing more than to fight by your side, but our skills are just too low."

"Ed, brother, if you need any help with anything else, the two of us will absolutely have no objections," said Thomas.

Ed, who had been walking towards the wooden house, suddenly stopped in his tracks as a thought crossed his mind.

He turned around, his face expressionless, and asked, "You two, were you serious about what you said earlier?"

Alex and Lucas froze for a moment, unsure of what Ed meant.

Wait, could it be that Ed really wanted them to help fight a ghost spirit?

Ed clasped his hands behind his back. "Don't worry, you don't have to concern yourselves with the fighting. I can handle it on my own."

"I just need you to give me something. After the competition, I'll give you ten percent of the points."

When they heard they could earn points without risking their lives in battle, Alex and Lucas felt a surge of excitement.

However, they didn't immediately agree. Lucas furrowed his brow and asked, "Ed, brother, the thing you want... it won't be too expensive, right?"

Ed, hearing this, was somewhat speechless. It was as if these two thought they had something particularly valuable.

"Are you two backing out? Fine, then the deal's off." With that, Ed turned without hesitation.

Alex immediately panicked. This was a great opportunity to earn points!

He quickly said, "No, no, no, it's fine! Ed, brother, just tell us what you need us to do."

Ed replied, "It's simple. Just give me some tongue blood."

Tongue blood?

Alex and Lucas exchanged a confused glance.

Ed explained, "The blood of a Hunter is different from that of a regular person. Monsters, especially ghost spirits, really hate the blood of Hunters."

"In other words, Hunter blood has a suppressive effect on these evil beings. The stronger the Hunter, the more obvious the suppressive effect."

"Even though you two aren't very powerful, it's still better than nothing. And the blood from the tongue is the most powerful energy source among all types of blood."

Alex and Lucas finally understood.

Thomas spoke up, "I've heard that Hunter's tongue blood can be life-saving."

Ed then took out his steel sword and motioned for Alex and Lucas to stick out their tongues.

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