However, Ed quickly realized that since the black bell had already acknowledged him as its master, it meant that the evil power accumulated inside for decades was now his.

"Regardless, now, besides the Moonstone Mark, I have a second trump card."

Ed whispered excitedly to himself. He didn't care whether the black bell was evil or not; as long as it had enough power, that was all that mattered.

After becoming its master, the method for using the black bell was transmitted directly into Ed's mind. Its main functions were actually just two:

To absorb and to release.

Absorbing meant drawing in the essence of various undead, while releasing was using the absorbed undead essence to attack enemies!

However, what exactly the form of the release would be and how powerful it was, Ed didn't know. He had no subjects to test it on at the moment.

But Ed was certain of one thing. He glanced at the bodies of Brown and Brian on the ground.

"I've already drawn my sword against the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, meaning that a series of events will inevitably follow!"

"I'm completely in the game now. The revenge has officially begun. My battle has just started!" Ed raised his head and sighed.

Within the vast barrier, he was the last person left.

Holding the black bell, he walked towards the bodies of Brown and Brian.

"So, I can't let my guard down for even a moment. Also, I must increase my combat power as quickly as possible."

Ed thought to himself, and since the black bell could absorb undead essence, then...

He used the bell, directing it towards the bodies of Brown and Brian with a focused thought.

"Whoosh!!"

Instantly, black undead essences shot out from the bodies of Brian and Brown, and at an incredibly fast speed, they were sucked into the black bell.

Through his perception, Ed could feel that the aura within the black bell had grown stronger.

"And the ghost spirit... I can't waste it either."

The dead spirits lay on the ground, and seeing that the last of the spiritual energy was about to fade away completely, Ed hurriedly held the bell and approached.

"Whoosh!"

Having done all of this, Ed put the black bell away, placing it in a pocket where he could easily access it, yet it wouldn't be visible to others.

Then, Ed carefully took Brian's gas vent stone and tucked it into another pocket.

"This way, not only will it conceal my aura, but it will also conceal the advanced spiritual treasure's..."

With that, Ed finished thoroughly cleaning up the battlefield.

Ed did not rest. He looked around at the barrier and noticed something strange.

"The ghost spirit has been dead for some time now, so why hasn't the barrier disappeared?"

Not only had it not disappeared, but it didn't even seem to be dissipating.

Ed began to investigate the cause and eventually turned his gaze to himself—the skull that had dropped from the B-grade ghost spirit after its death.

Activating his hunter's senses, Ed discovered that the aura of the skull was actually connected to the barrier!

Ed was shocked. "Could it be that the skull left by this ghost spirit can control the barrier?"

He was sure that this was the case. At this moment, Ed could use the skull to close the barrier.

However, he didn't do that.

"I wonder how many people are waiting outside the barrier right now."

Ed knew there were definitely people out there, and more importantly, there were probably members of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association. The one-eyed man's shouting earlier was the best proof of that.

He had killed Brown, killed Brian, and killed the ghost spirit. It seemed like he was the last winner.

But that wasn't the case at all. Unless he could come up with a good reason to explain away everything and convince the one-eyed man that Brown and Brian's deaths had nothing to do with him.

"I should still prepare for both scenarios. If I go outside, there's a good chance I'll end up fighting again. If I can't win, I need to have an escape plan."

Ed muttered to himself. Though he now had the black bell in hand, which had significantly boosted his power, he was still not confident in facing the one-eyed man, a Silver-tier Hunter.

"I need to focus on increasing my strength while the barrier is still active!"

Ed placed the skull on his chest. He certainly wasn't going to deactivate the barrier. Instead, he chose to stay inside and cultivate.

He would continue to meditate until he felt secure enough to venture outside!

So, Ed sat cross-legged beneath the moonlight and began to swiftly operate the Moonlight Breathing Techniques. After the intense battle, his cultivation speed had indeed increased!

[Progress +1]

[Progress +1]

[Current progress to breakthrough to Low Quality Silver Rank: 92%]

Though Ed was still at the Mid-tier Black Iron level, before his fight with Brian, he had already reached 90% of the progress to Low Quality Silver Rank

.

"Now, let's push through to Low Quality Silver Rank!"

While fully immersed in his cultivation, Ed also began to replenish the Moonstone mark on his body.

Soon, Ed realized that after a satisfying battle, his cultivation speed had improved significantly, much more so than after training with a sword!

Only half an hour had passed!

[Progress Breakthrough 100%]

[Breakthrough Success:

Low Quality Silver Rank Hunter]

[Reward Obtained: Killer Intent Perception]

In an instant, Ed felt a constraint in his body shatter, and immediately, his strength surged to a new level.

In addition to that, he received a special reward.

"Killer Intent Perception?" Ed raised an eyebrow. After reading the information that appeared in his mind, he understood the function of this ability.

Unlike the Hunter's basic hunter's senses, which primarily detects various auras, Killer Intent Perception allowed him to directly detect the thoughts in the minds of those around him!

"As soon as someone harbors murderous intent, I can sense it? The range of this perception seems to be similar to that of my hunter's senses."

The range of hunter's senses also increased as a Hunter's cultivation improved.

For example, the Silver-tier Hunter, the one-eyed man, could expand his hunter's senses to a distance of 500 meters!

"I wonder what level the Silver Rank Demon Hunter, One-Eye, is at among the Silver Rank Hunters?"

Ed was quite pleased with this newly gained special ability. With it, it might come in handy during critical moments.

He then continued his cultivation, but just as he was focused on his training, he suddenly noticed something. After his cultivation increased, the speed at which the Moonstone mark grew had also notably accelerated!

"Hmm?" Ed thought to himself. In the beginning, when his cultivation was weakest, the Moonstone mark would require an entire night to increase by four or five marks.

But now...

Before he began his cultivation session, Ed only had twelve marks on his hand. After a short time of training, he had already gained one more.

He was thrilled by this progress and continued to operate the breathing techniques.

Several hours later, after observing the process, Ed discovered that now it only took two hours to gain one new mark!

...

Outside the barrier.

Since Thomas and his companions had escaped and were encountered by the one-eyed man, they had been enduring torment.

However, this torment wasn't caused by the one-eyed man, but by the moonlight.

Due to the intense mental strain, they had forgotten about their physical discomfort, but as soon as they stopped, they immediately felt the power of the moonlight!

Let's not forget, both Brian and Brown had avoided the moonlight at all costs, so what about these Apprentices?

Thus, Alex and Lucas quickly decided to flee. "I can't take it anymore! It's not that we don't want to wait for Lord Ed, but if we stand here any longer, we'll be done for."

"That's right. There's no shelter here. I've heard that various associations and the city lord's manor are organizing rescue efforts. If we leave now, we can get their help to escape."

Alex and Lucas quickly reached an agreement, but Thomas stopped them.

"You can't leave! Lord Ed hasn't come out yet. What if he's severely injured by the ghost spirit and needs our help?"

"You can't stay just a little longer? Look at this one-eyed gentleman!"

Thomas said, looking over at the sturdy man standing beside them.

The one-eyed man also stood under the moonlight, his expression unchanged. What stood out was that he was always surrounded by a faint white glow, almost like a protective layer clinging to him!

It was this white light that allowed the one-eyed man to remain unaffected.

Hearing Thomas' words, Alex immediately frowned and complained, "Brother Thomas, are you comparing us to this one-eyed sir?"

"He can drain his cultivation to resist the moonlight. He won't be harmed at all. That's a power only Silver-tier Hunters possess!"

But as for them, they certainly didn't have the one-eyed man's abilities!

In the end, Thomas could not stop Alex and Lucas, and as they turned to leave, he shouted at their retreating figures.

"Spineless! Are you really going to walk away now? What about the tenth of the reward that Lord Ed promised you?!"

Alex and Lucas didn't hesitate as they disappeared into the jungle, leaving Thomas to stomp his feet in frustration.

The one-eyed man spoke up, "You're Ed's people. I suggest you leave too. I can receive information from the outside."

"Right now, the city lord's manor and the major associations are indeed rescuing people, but if there are too many casualties, they might have to pull back. If you don't leave now, it may be too late."

Despite the one-eyed man's advice, Thomas shook his head and smiled helplessly.

"No, I can't leave."

"All of Ed's points in this competition are on me. If I leave now, won't he come after me?"

With that, Thomas stood under a tree, which provided a little bit of shade from the moonlight, though its effect was minimal.

While trembling slightly, Thomas carefully arranged the monster corpses and monster ears he had collected, silently praying that Ed would come out soon.

The one-eyed man, seeing Thomas—a weak Hunter—willing to stay in the moonlight just to wait for Ed, was somewhat surprised.

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