Uncle Du's inn was divided into two sections: the rear area where people slept, which was the inn itself, and the front area, which was a restaurant.
Right now, Ed was in the restaurant area. The restaurant had already closed, and only dim candlelight illuminated the space.
Tap, tap, tap!
At that moment, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door!
The sound was soft, but with his heightened Hunter's senses, Ed could instantly detect it.
"What's that sound? It's dark outside, why would anyone be near the restaurant?"
Ed immediately became alert, turning his head toward the door, his face full of confusion.
Tap, tap, tap!
This time, the footsteps grew closer and closer, eventually stopping right in front of the door!
Ed thought for a moment, then decided to go meet them.
"If it's a thief, I'll deal with it and it'll be a way to repay Uncle Du for his hospitality."
However, when Ed opened the door, he was greeted not by a thief, but by two men dressed in Nightcloaks.
Beneath their cloaks, they wore suits, and these two didn't look like thieves at all!
The two men had their hands suspended in the air, both surprised, seemingly confused as to why the door had opened without a knock.
Then, when they saw Ed, their expressions immediately shifted to a mix of astonishment and joy.
"Oh my god, is it really him? Is it Ed?"
"Yes, it's him! He's really here!"
Ed furrowed his brows, looking at the two strange men. "Who are you?"
The two men quickly composed themselves. One of them pulled out a business card, and when Ed looked at it, he saw that it was from the Wood Spirit Association.
"Wood Spirit?" Ed recognized the name. It was the same association Henry had tried to force him to join just the day before.
"Did Henry send you?" Ed asked directly.
The two men paused for a moment, then nodded without hesitation. "Yes, indeed, Mr. Ed. We've come to invite you to join our association."
"We know you must be busy training during the day, so we thought we'd come by at night to avoid disturbing you."
"Rest assured, the benefits of joining our association are second to none!"
The two of them eagerly promoted their association, their faces filled with excitement.
Ed was not impressed.
"You're coming by at night to avoid disturbing me? Actually, now you're disturbing me at the worst possible time."
"I'm not interested, and I'm also busy tonight."
With that, Ed began to close the door.
The two men immediately became frantic.
"No, Mr. Ed, the conditions we're offering are truly excellent!"
"Although our association may not be top-tier, we're willing to go all out and do everything in our power to train you!"
They were insistent, which only irritated Ed more. He was only focused on his training.
"I've already said I'm not interested. I only have time during the day."
The two men quickly responded, "Daytime? That's fine too. We can meet you during the day as well!"
"Mr. Ed, we'll leave you with the address of a hotel. Can we meet there tomorrow to discuss everything in more detail?"
Ed felt a headache coming on. As much as he wanted to simply slam the door and leave these two outside.
He knew that doing so would likely result in continuous harassment. It would disturb Uncle Du and the others, and that wouldn't be good.
Reluctantly, Ed opened the door again.
"Fine, give me the hotel address."
The two men's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly wrote down an address and handed it to Ed.
Afterward, they bade him farewell. Ed took the address, stuffed it into his pocket, and then closed the door without giving it another glance.
The only reason he took the address was to avoid further disturbances. As for a detailed discussion, that was out of the question.
There was no way he would be going tomorrow!
"Finally, I can get back to my training!"
Ed returned to his room and resumed his meditative practice, enjoying the soothing rhythm of the Moonlight Meditation Technique.
…
Meanwhile, outside.
The two men, having successfully handed over the address, felt as if they had just won a victory.
They were ecstatic, clapping and cheering.
"If he accepts our address, that's already a success! Tomorrow, we'll do everything we can to get him to join our Wood Spirit Association!"
"With time, in ten years, our association could become a superstar organization!"
As they fantasized about their future success, suddenly, a group of people dressed in Nightcloaks blocked their path.
The leader of the group spoke:
"Wood Spirit Association? A pitiful, poor place like yours can afford a top-tier talent like him?"
"Heh, it's hard to believe that the address of this top newcomer was first obtained by your trashy association!"
The two men from the Wood Spirit Association were immediately taken aback.
The group of people in front of them were clearly not friendly.
"Are you from another association? Did you follow us?" one of the Wood Spirit Association members demanded.
"Pfft, follow you trash? We found Ed's address on our own, just a few minutes ahead of you."
One of the men replied. Then, the leader, a cold tone in his voice, spoke again.
"I overheard everything. Ed agreed to meet you at a hotel. Now, give us the hotel address, or else…"
The man drew a steel sword from his back.
The two men from the Wood Spirit Association didn't want to give in, but the disparity in strength between them and this group was too great. Their association was still a small one, after all.
In the end, they had no choice but to comply.
"Fine, we'll tell you the hotel name…"
Once the hotel name was given, the two from the Wood Spirit Association felt miserable.
This meant they'd now have to compete with other associations to invite Ed tomorrow, which added a lot of uncertainty.
On the other side, the group from the other association laughed joyfully. The leader spoke with excitement:
"Haha! Get ready for a big gift tomorrow! We'll go to the hotel and invite Mr. Ed. A talent like him must belong to our Goat Demon Association!"
Just as those words were spoken,
Thud, thud, thud!
Another group of people dressed in Nightcloaks appeared behind the members of the Goat Demon Association.
A disdainful voice rang out:
"What kind of garbage is the Goat Demon Association? Who do you think you are, trying to recruit Ed?"
"This person belongs to our Blackstone Association!"
The members of both the Wood Spirit Association and Goat Demon Association were shaken. What was going on?
Why were there more people showing up now?
Shortly after the Blackstone Association made their threats.
Several more groups emerged from all directions!
All of them were dressed in Nightcloaks, representing various Hunter associations.
They had all been drawn here by one person—Ed!
Under the moonlight, every group was stunned to see so many different associations gathered in one place.
"What? Ed is this in demand? He really is causing a sensation everywhere."
After that, every association quickly reached a consensus:
"Ed is so sought after, we absolutely cannot let him go. No matter what, we must try our best to invite him!"
The two members of the Wood Spirit Association, who had arrived first, were the most devastated.
They had thought they could secretly claim Ed as their own.
They had already planned out how they would invite him with great respect at the hotel the next day.
But now, with so many associations aware of the hotel's location…
"It's over. The Wood Spirit Association doesn't stand a chance now. Look, aside from the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, every other association is here."
Sigh "We'll have to go back for now. But with so many associations going to the hotel tomorrow, which one will actually manage to invite Ed?"
...
Meanwhile, Ed was in his room, meditating under the moonlight.
He had no idea that his mere presence had caused so many Demon Hunter associations to mobilize!
He also didn't know that the hotel he had no intention of going to tomorrow would be filled with people, all prepared with lavish gifts for him.
Time flew by, and after sixteen hours of meditation, Ed finally opened his eyes to find that the sun had risen.
He checked his progress.
[Progress to break through to a top-tier Hunter: 75%]
[Moonstone Runes: 22]
"After just one night, the progress is at 75%!"
Ed was ecstatic. The speed was incredible. If he kept up his sword practice, or used other methods to exhaust his energy during the day,
Breaking through to a top-tier Hunter might just happen in the next couple of days!
So, after getting up, he planned to have breakfast before going to practice his swordsmanship.
Meanwhile, Iris and Viktor were also outside.
Ed glanced over and was surprised to see that both of them were holding newspapers.
He casually asked, "Viktor, what are you reading?"
Viktor didn't even look up, his tone full of excitement.
"Mr. Ed, do you remember the mysterious Hunter who defeated Brown at that challenge event I told you about? He's caused another sensation."
"Last night, more than ten Hunter associations showed up at his door, trying to recruit him. In the end, these associations decided to compete to invite him to a hotel today!"
"This is insane!"
Viktor's eyes were filled with awe and admiration!
Ed was stunned when he heard this!