Chapter 47: The Head of a Fifth-Tier Professional, an Olive Branch from the Merchant!

The Tower of Babel.

A functional building that appeared in the Dragon Kingdom eight years ago, located in Qinghai City.

Entry is restricted to levels 15 through 25, and most second-tier class quests take place here.

As a result, professional adventurers from all over the country flock to Qinghai City, bringing massive economic benefits.

In just a few years, Qinghai City transformed from a small town into one of the Dragon Kingdom’s twelve main cities.

Its professional adventurer atmosphere is even stronger than that of Sangyu City.

Qinghai City was also Li Yao’s destination on this trip.

Having just reached level 20 yesterday, Li Yao returned home for a meal with his parents and settled some matters before catching an early flight to Qinghai City.

Qinghai City was not far from Jiangzhou, located north of Sangyu City, and the flight only took three hours.

“Dark Wing—Gaenyat...” Li Yao muttered silently on the plane with his eyes closed.

The monsters he had encountered before, even those of lord rank, had never been officially named.

This uniqueness made Li Yao treat this situation with great caution.

The quest description didn’t explicitly require him to kill this unknown creature.

One could only imagine just how formidable the upcoming Dark Wing would be.

However, Li Yao was not afraid; the Tower of Babel’s level cap was 25.

At this stage, he still had some confidence.

Soon, the plane landed.

As Li Yao stepped out of the airport, a familiar figure approached him.

Wearing a pale blue qipao paired with flesh-colored stockings, her slender waist and perfect figure were beautifully accentuated.

Every man around was captivated by her presence.

Li Yao was no exception.

Her stunning beauty coupled with a powerful aura made it impossible for him not to notice.

Among the people Li Yao knew, only a woman from the Sakura Nation could rival her in looks.

“Li Yao, I’ve been waiting for you,” the woman said with a smile as she stepped forward, extending her right hand. “Shang Jia, Shang Zijin.”

“Something you need?” Li Yao asked, shaking her hand gently.

She seemed to be one of the adventurers preparing to join the second wave of dungeon raids outside the primal dungeon.

“If nothing else, I’ve been standing here waiting for you in this heat for quite some time,” Shang Zijin said with a smile, opening the door of a luxury car behind her before getting in.

“Let’s go; I’ll take you to the Tower of Babel.”

“I can get there myself.”

“Hey, hey!” Seeing Li Yao turn to leave, Shang Zijin quickly got out of the car to block his path.

“You’re just going to ignore a gorgeous lady who came all this way to pick you up?”

Shang Zijin sighed, doubting her own charm for the first time.

“I came to find you because I have what you wanted. You can’t exactly pull that thing out in broad daylight, can you?”

“Oh?” Li Yao raised an eyebrow.

That was quick.

After a moment’s thought, he got into the passenger seat.

Sure enough, once inside the car, he caught a faint scent of blood.

On the back seat sat a half-meter-tall brown box, from which the scent emanated.

Shang Zijin started the car and headed toward the Tower of Babel.

“Your item is with you, right?”

Li Yao nodded. “Of course. But I mentioned before—it has to last a while. Whoever brings me the most heads gets the item.”

The longer the bounty lasted, the greater the loss to the Yan family.

Hearing this, Shang Zijin rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Don’t worry, this will definitely be the largest head you’ll receive.”

“That old man from the other day was Yan Xinghong, and the owner of this head is Yan Xingrong.”

“They’re brothers.”

“Huh?”

Li Yao paused, not quite understanding.

“Yan Xingrong is a fifth-tier adventurer from the Yan family. Even for the Shang clan, it took a huge price to behead him in a certain dungeon.”

Shang Zijin pursed her red lips and looked at Li Yao with interest.

“Fifth-tier!?” Li Yao’s reaction pleased her, so she explained further.

“That’s right—the fourth head of the Yan family, Yan Xingrong.”

Fifth-tier adventurers were the elite of the Dragon Kingdom.

After reaching third-tier, one could become a leader in a city like Jiangzhou or, like Zhang Yi, take a federal post and become a principal.

Fourth-tier adventurers could rule a city; even among prestigious families like the Yan clan, they were treated as honored guests.

Fifth-tier adventurers were true powerhouses.

Core members of top families.

Professors of various disciplines at the four great martial academies of the Dragon Kingdom were also at this level.

Beyond that were national generals and leaders of main cities.

As for seventh-tier...

Li Yao honestly did not know if such people even existed in the Dragon Kingdom.

Yet this woman casually mentioned that the box behind her contained the head of a fifth-tier powerhouse.

Li Yao asked, “Just for a first-clear treasure chest?”

“Yes and no. I think it’s more like a ‘token of allegiance,’” Shang Zijin said, gripping the steering wheel with one hand while lighting a lady’s cigarette with the other.

“Now... we have a common enemy.”

Killing Yan Xingrong was far from simple.

To win Li Yao over, the Shang clan had originally planned to hunt down a young prodigy from the Yan family.

While gathering intelligence, they happened to learn that Yan Xingrong was leading a team into a fourth-tier public dungeon.

The Shang clan’s head was ruthless.

Li Yao’s talent prompted him to make a bold decision.

Since the Yan family was already at odds with the Shang clan, they decided to go all out...

The Shang clan leader personally led the team to ambush the dungeon.

At the cost of six fourth-tier adventurers and severe injuries to himself, he succeeded in bringing back Yan Xingrong’s head.

“So, will you cooperate with my clan?”

Shang Zijin turned, looking at Li Yao seriously.

Li Yao froze for a moment.

“What are you staring at? You’re driving—watch the road!”

“Is that a no?”

Shang Zijin’s face showed a hint of grievance.