“Strange… very strange… How could there be a lake here?” wondered Qi Longxiang, staring at the lake in bewilderment. 

“Brother Qi, what’s the matter? Why do you say that?” Zhou Yuanyuan asked, puzzled. 

“Look, this is the satellite image of the place. Only mountains and forest, no lakes!” Qi Longxiang pointed at the map. It was all too peculiar. 

“Uh… no way, maybe the location is set wrong?” 

“That’s impossible. Look, this map has been accurate in all the places we passed through. And.…” Qi Longxiang turned his drone on and matched the terrain data it recorded to the map. “Here, the similarity is up to ninety-eight percent. There were a few misses, but all of them were very small,” he continued, still pointing. 

The team wasn’t dumb; they immediately saw the difference. The Heavenly Door acted as a knife, completely separating both sides. 

“Unless…. Are we going to discover ruins in our Kunlun City?!” Qi Longxiang gasped in delight. 

“Ruins?” Zhou Yuanyuan was in a daze, while Xiang Ning had some ideas. The Chaos was built based on technology found in ruins. The ruins being discussed were actual ancient ruins, though only the highest-level leaders of the world had information about them. Very few people knew about them, and seeing as Qi Longxiang did, it meant his background wasn’t as simple as Xiang Ning thought. 

“That’s right. Let me put it this way.... Tens of thousands of years ago, there were beings you may understand as aliens who possessed technology much more advanced than our current science. They came to Earth and conducted research and experiments, and some people even theorize that the Great Disaster was orchestrated by them,” Qi Longxiang smiled. People had already been suggesting the possibility of aliens coming to Earth even before the Great Disaster, but the theory that aliens could have orchestrated the Great Disaster could still be completely dismissed as a natural occurrence on Earth. 

“So… so what should we do? Go in, or retreat?” asked Li Qimu. 

“Let’s leave. There’s no need to investigate. If they’re really ruins, it won’t be something we can explore at our level. And this place is giving me a very bad feeling, it isn’t a good place to stay for long. I feel that leaving is the best option,” said Qi Longxiang. 

Zhou Yuanyuan enthusiastically nodded in agreement. 

And just like that, they traveled for another five days and finally arrived back in Kunlun City. The trip had been smoother than they’d thought it would be. 

Xiang Ning and the team went straight to the great hall of the Hunters Guild without stopping to rest, still disheveled from the trip. Other people only took an extra glance at best because it was common for hunters to head straight there to submit their completed tasks. And they still looked decent. 

“You guys take a rest here, I’ll go submit the stuff.” Qi Longxiang let out a hearty laugh, the way he held his chin up and chest out attracting more looks. People who behaved that way were people who had completed large jobs. 

Two minutes later. 

The great hall bustled with conversation. While Bo Yan’s appearance wasn’t surprising, it was his anxious excitement that had them talking. He seemed to be hurrying toward the conference room. 

“Wow, Uncle Bo’s here.” 

“Look at how anxious he looks, did something big happen?” 

“I might know a little about it. I know Qi Longxiang, didn’t he receive a scouting job about a week ago?” 

“Are you saying they made a huge discovery on the job?” 

“I think it’s possible.”

More and more people gathered at the hall. A few people who were more familiar with Qi Longxiang’s team ran over to ask Zhou Yuanyuan and Li Qimu questions while they rested. 

Xiang Ning was completely ignored. 

“Stop asking questions. I can’t give any answers even if you do.” 

“Yeah, let’s wait until Brother Qi returns. He’ll say what he’s willing to say. We can’t speak on his behalf.” 

“But there’s no fun in that!” 

About ten minutes later, the hall was full, but Bo Yan still hadn’t left his room. Instead, the results of the team’s expedition were announced. 

“Damn! They discovered thirteen new species of beasts, including an alpha. With complete fighting videos and data, too.” 

“And more than thirty types of plants! Those are all business opportunities!” 

“The reward for this will be generous.” 

Many people were envious. When Bo Yan and Qi Longxiang appeared, many people asked them for details. 

“Everyone, please be patient. We’ve sent our data for analysis. All of the newly discovered plants and animals will be uploaded into the database later. You may look them up then. As for further details, we’ll announce them tomorrow,” said Bo Yan.

“Uncle Bo, while this is an important find, it isn’t important enough for you to handle it personally. Were there any other major discoveries?” 

“Haha, you’ll know when we have completed our analysis.” 

Bo Yan turned to leave, leaving behind Qi Longxiang, who was engulfed by the crowd. He only said the things he could, remaining cautious of what was revealed. At that point, he had already accepted money in exchange for his silence, so he couldn’t make their discovery public before anything was confirmed. 

That was a protocol of the Federation. More research had to be done to confirm that it was a ruin, and before the expeditions were complete, they would never make anything public. Even so, it depended on the rank of the findings. If it was something average, then announcing it would be fine. But if it was something significant, it might never be made public. 

“Xiang Ning, come. This is your share.” As he spoke, Qi Longxiang distributed three beast cores to Xiang Ning, who had previously voiced his need for beast cores. 

During the expedition, they had received a total of five beast cores, and the reward for completing the job was a mediocre number. Qi Longxiang wanted to give Xiang Ning a little more since he made huge contributions—the completeness of the job could be almost entirely attributed to Xiang Ning. 

The gasps they received during the playing of their expedition footage were also all because of him. 

“Since when did Qi Longxiang have such a powerful cultivator on his team?” 

“Unless it’s the guy that entered with him just now?” 

“Huh? I don’t think so?” 

“Are you blind? He’s so young?” 

“Uh… fine.” 

In the video, Xiang Ning’s face was blurred with a mosaic, so he was virtually unrecognizable. That was the result of Bo Yan and his discussion. Bo Yan had intended to publicize the footage, because the fights were just too impressive. They would be beneficial for many people, and there were still too few videos on Peak Mastery cultivators in battle. 

Xiang Ning didn’t care, as long as they blurred his face. Otherwise, he would feel weird about it.

Mc's decision is definitely a rational one here. No point attracting unnecessary attention in a town full of strong people. Still, I wished that everyone knew how powerful he is!