Chapter 1: Chapter One: I Want to Become a Hunter

Tianxin Town was a quiet and peaceful small town, surrounded by mountains on three sides and bordering the sea on the fourth. The mountains yielded all kinds of fruits and medicinal herbs, even many rare ones, while the sea teemed with various seafood products. The people here rose at sunrise and rested at sunset; their lives were as tranquil and serene as the town itself. Neighbors maintained harmonious and friendly relations; whenever any household faced trouble, everyone would gather to help.

A legend persisted here: Tianxin Town was discovered by the legendary hunter Master Tianxin, who settled here with his clan. When they first arrived, the land was infested with all manner of monstrous beasts, all hostile toward humans. Master Tianxin led his clan in an arduous and extraordinary battle against these beasts, ultimately defeating them and driving back their leader. Thereafter, Master Tianxin and his clan settled down, eventually developing into Tianxin Town. However, one hundred years after their settlement, the beasts began to riot again. The previously repelled beast leader reappeared, its injuries fully healed. By then, Master Tianxin was an old man in his twilight years; though still alive as a legendary hunter, his strength had greatly declined, while the reemerged beast leader's power had further increased. The people of Tianxin Town were forced into another grueling and extraordinary battle against the beasts. Although they defeated the beast horde, Master Tianxin ultimately fell to the beast leader, whose strength had grown immensely. Just as despair engulfed the people, Master Tianxin activated his prepared contingency: a powerful explosive device. Thus, Master Tianxin and the beast leader perished together in the explosion. After that battle, the beasts no longer harassed the people, who thereby survived.

To commemorate Master Tianxin and celebrate Tianxin Town's survival after disaster, the people designated this day each year as the Tianxin Festival. On this occasion, the townsfolk would dress meticulously, bring out their family's treasured foods, and share them with everyone at the bonfire gathering. Of course, these were not the most important aspects; the most crucial event was the selection of seeds on this day to undergo trials, ultimately strengthening Tianxin Town. After all, the beasts had been repelled but not exterminated; this measure ensured that, should beast attacks occur in the future, the people would possess the ability to defend themselves, or even drive the beasts back.

Naturally, this was also the time when elders told stories to the children, and every year they recounted the same tale: how Master Tianxin led everyone to defeat the beasts and establish Tianxin Town.

Zhuge Tianxin was one of the children whom the elders had imbued this year with the heroic deeds of Master Tianxin and their ancestors. Now, Zhuge Tianxin's heart overflowed with longing to become a figure like Master Tianxin, and he yearned to leave Tianxin Town to see the outside world.

He had once heard merchants who came to collect medicinal herbs and seafood speak of the splendor of the outside world, so he felt a particular longing for it. Every day he dreamed of leaving Tianxin Town to witness the outside world, to see those figures even more formidable than Master Tianxin whom the herb merchants described, to behold those capable of soaring through the skies, and to become such a person himself. He also knew that every year at this time, Tianxin Town held a hunter selection; those who passed could proceed to the nearest Hunter Organization audit point outside Tianxin Town to take the formal hunter examination. Only by passing this examination could one become a true hunter.

The hunters Zhuge Tianxin aspired to become were the masters of this world. They were a group possessing a license to kill—the Hunter License. All fell under the administration of the Hunter Association, yet were not restricted by it; each hunter was a free individual. The Hunter Association was responsible only for examinations, issuing hunter licenses, and registration; it could not compel any hunter to perform specific tasks, but could only publish hunter missions for hunters to accept and complete. However, the Hunter Association held the authority to revoke a hunter's status, though only if that hunter committed acts that aroused universal wrath, such as violating the most fundamental rules of Hunter Continent. Ordinary killings, however, would not concern the Hunter Association; even if a hunter killed a good person or committed intentional murder, the Association would not intervene. Naturally, hunters could also attack and kill one another; this too was permitted. Furthermore, the families of those killed by hunters could post bounties on the Hunter Association's mission board, offering rewards for the death of the hunter who slew their kin, provided they could offer stakes tempting enough to other hunters.

Moreover, due to their vast numbers, hunters encompassed all kinds of people: some might kill you merely for encountering them on the street, while others, finding you agreeable, might do anything to assist you. In short, the hunter community was filled with all sorts of perverts, murderers, good people, eccentrics, and extraordinary individuals of every temperament. The hunter world was likewise saturated with all manner of abnormal, normal, and indeterminable events, occurring daily across Hunter Continent. Yet one should not assume from this that Hunter Continent was necessarily a place where the people suffered endlessly and life was devastated. In truth, most regions, peoples, and times on Hunter Continent remained peaceful, even flourishing vibrantly.

All this existed because of Hunter Continent's most fundamental rule. This rule continuously maintained the continent's harmony and stability. Of course, in places unseen by people, undercurrents always stirred; these remained unnoticed by most, yet certain individuals constantly monitored them.

All the above made some people shrink back in fear, but for those with hot blood and a spirit of adventure, especially the young, it held a fatal allure. Every moment of every day, they strove to become hunters, learning about all matters concerning hunters through various channels, hoping one day to become the godlike existence in their hearts—the hunter. Though countless lives had been lost in the pursuit of becoming hunters, these people remained tirelessly devoted; indeed, each day saw new individuals resolve to become hunters.

Therefore, the Hunter Association conducted hunter examinations annually. Anyone who passed would receive a Hunter License from the Association, certifying their formal status as a hunter. The hunter examination imposed no restrictions regarding ability or identity; as long as one passed, it mattered not whether one was a murderer or a good person. Upon passing, one's identity became singular—hunter—and nothing else concerned them.

Thus, for Zhuge Tianxin, this time each year brought special excitement. In previous years, due to his age, he had been unable to participate in the town's hunter selection, which remained his greatest regret. But this year, that regret would not recur, for he had now turned fifteen—the minimum age for Tianxin Town's hunter selection. Upon reaching fifteen, one qualified to participate; passing the selection would allow him to leave Tianxin Town and behold the outside world.

"I want to become a hunter," Zhuge Tianxin silently said to himself in his heart.

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