45: Hell-level promotion mission

For the next two days, Lin Feng was completely immersed in hunting in the primeval jungle.

During this period, he only summoned the Corrupted Wing Sound Bat Alien and the Forest Python Alien.

The monster levels in this area were indeed not high, mainly Black Iron Level, with Silver-level being rare; the most challenging opponent was a Bronze-level peak Earth Sloth.

This behemoth possessed immense strength and astonishing defense!

Although it was only at the peak of Bronze-level, its skills were exceptionally broken.

As long as any part of its body touched the ground, it could continuously draw power from the earth veins to restore itself, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

The Corrupted Wing Sound Bat Alien, relying on ultrasonic interference and aerial advantage, continuously harassed and disrupted the Earth Sloth's rhythm, precisely targeting its relatively weaker joints and vital points such as eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

The Forest Python Alien, on the other hand, moved along the ground, transforming into a deadly shadow assassin, seizing opportunities to launch fatal constrictions and strangulations, utilizing its astonishing strength and tenacity to restrict the sloth's movements and continuously apply pressure.

The battle was fraught with danger; the Earth Sloth's several furious counterattacks almost severely injured the Forest Python Alien, and the Corrupted Wing Bat's fleshy wings were torn in several places.

But in the end, with the fearless and exquisite cooperation of the two Xenomorphs, Lin Feng commanded them to seize a fleeting opening… the Forest Python Alien tightly coiled around the sloth's neck, while the Corrupted Wing Bat poured high-frequency sound waves into its ear canals, destroying its sense of balance.

Lin Feng seized the opportunity, channeling all his energy into a Shadow Spike that pierced its relatively soft eye socket, ending the giant beast's life.

Although the process was arduous, the result also brought Lin Feng considerable rewards.

A Bronze-level peak magic crystal and a complete, exceptionally sturdy Earth Sloth hide.

Lin Feng skillfully processed these spoils of war.

As for the Earth Sloth's corpse, Lin Feng threw it into the Spirit Beast Space, where it became nourishment for the Alien Queen's evolution.

The hunting results of these two days were quite fruitful; the Spirit Beast Space had accumulated many monster remains, and the monsters inhabiting this primeval jungle were almost all killed by him.

There were at least dozens of magic crystals from various Bronze-level and Silver-level monsters!

The Alien Queen's state had also changed considerably, and she had laid six more Facehugger eggs.

The shells of these six Facehugger eggs were glossy black with clear patterns; the Facehuggers that hatched from them were all highly active, roaring powerfully, and without exception, were top-grade specimens of excellent quality.

At the same time, Lin Feng also put all five remaining Facehuggers that the Queen had laid while in a weakened state into use, parasitizing several slain Bronze-level and Silver-level monsters.

The result was exactly as described in their attribute introductions… regardless of whether the host was Bronze-level or Silver-level, the newly born Xenomorphs were uniformly only at Black Iron Level 6 to 7, and their growth star rating fluctuated only between 1 and 3 stars.

Although these newborn Xenomorphs were fierce, their potential was limited, and they could only serve as cannon fodder or consumables in specific situations.

The good news was that after completely digesting the remaining five Gold-level monster corpses in the Spirit Beast Space, the Alien Queen's level saw a significant increase.

The energy fluctuations emanating from her body became more condensed and profound, and the color of her carapace grew darker, with a metallic, hard texture.

Her level had steadily climbed to Gold-level Ten, just one step away from entering Transcendent-level!

As the Alien Queen's master, Lin Feng himself also benefited greatly; under the dual effects of continuous combat and the Queen's energy feedback, his own level had also unconsciously and naturally risen to Black Iron Level peak (Ten), just a hair's breadth from Bronze-level.

Just as the Forest Python Alien efficiently and lethally strangled a Silver-level 1 "Iron Claw Swift Wolf" in front of him, Lin Feng was about to collect the spoils.

Suddenly! A cold, vast, and emotionless will, without any warning, pierced deep into his sea of consciousness!

A mechanical synthetic voice, devoid of emotional fluctuations, clearly boomed in his mind.

Detected Professional Lin Feng has reached Black Iron Level peak (Ten), meeting the qualifications for Bronze-level promotion.

Activating Bronze-level Promotion Trial Quest — 'Awakening of the Bloodline · Gaze of the Abyss'!

Quest Description: The Bronze Realm cannot be broken by brute force alone; it requires will to permeate the bloodline and life-and-death tempering to sharpen one's edge. This is the beginning of a life-leap and the initial test of the will of heaven and earth. Quest Difficulty Rating: Hell-level (Unique).

Quest Sequence One: The Hunter's Sole Proof. Objective: Within the next 24 hours, independently kill three Bronze-level monsters. Requirements are as follows:

First one: A strength-type or defense-type Bronze-level One monster (e.g., Rock-Armored Rhino, Iron-Backed Bear).

Second one: An elemental-type Bronze-level Two monster (e.g., Fire Elemental Monster, Water Elemental Monster).

Third one: An agility-type Bronze-level Three monster (e.g., Shadow Leopard, Gale Wolf).

Restriction: The Professional may only use their own skills, equipment, and basic combat abilities. Teaming up or receiving direct/indirect assistance from other Professionals (including but not limited to contracted creatures, buffs applied by others, etc.) is prohibited.

Failure Penalty: Promotion quest disappears, level permanently locked at Black Iron Level Ten, permanently unable to trigger the promotion quest again.

Completion Reward: Unlocks Quest Sequence Two and grants a small amount of 'Bronze Seed' energy (to be used later for breaking through to Bronze-level).

Warning: Once triggered, the quest cannot be abandoned. Countdown begins: 23:59:59...

The cold prompt tone was like a heavy hammer striking Lin Feng's heart, instantly jolting him awake from the joy of his recent level-up.

“Independently kill three Bronze-level monsters? And categorized? With a time limit? And I can't receive help from other Professionals, not even allowing them to apply buff effects to me!!!”

Lin Feng's pupils contracted, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

These quest requirements were simply outrageously stringent!

This difficulty, for any ordinary Black Iron Level Professional, would absolutely be a devastating, despair-inducing blow!

“No wonder they say there's only a one-in-a-million chance for a One-Star Professional to break through to Bronze-level! With this quest difficulty, one-in-a-million is already quite good!”

He 'looked' at the quest description in his sea of consciousness.

And this was only the first part of a series of quests!

How many more parts were there? Would the quest difficulty continue to increase?

No one knew!

“Hell-level difficulty… truly lives up to its name; this first part is already brutal enough!”

Independently defeat three Bronze-level monsters, meeting the quest requirements! And complete it within 24 hours!

Lin Feng's thoughts swept over the massive, majestic Alien Queen radiating a Gold-level peak aura deep within the Spirit Beast Space.

With the Alien Queen by his side, his promotion was a sure thing!

He was never worried about whether he could advance, but rather marveled at how unfair and despair-inducing this abnormal quest difficulty was for other One-Star Professionals!

He hadn't even seen the content of the subsequent quest parts, but this first 'appetizer' alone was enough to stop countless aspiring One-Star Professionals at the edge of the abyss, completely cutting off their path to advancement.

“Gaze of the Abyss… Hmph, let's see who gazes first!”

Lin Feng's lips curled into a cold arc, a sneer at the quest designers and a display of confidence in his absolute strength.

The jungle map rapidly unfolded in his mind, combining with the information previously scouted by the Corrupted Wing Bat, filtering for monsters that matched the quest description…