While Hood and Andrew were in Jerome’s office discussing, something else important was also happening elsewhere in A16 Manor, which was also in the Central District.

A16 Manor had the family name Ji.

Find the original at Hosted Novel.

It was a family name from the Northern Lands. While there were many that spoke the language in Norzin, there weren’t many Northlanders living in the city.

“Ji” was the most dazzling name amongst Northern family names, and it could even be said that this family clan was the most dazzling one among the aristocrats in Norzin.

Hunters originated from the Northern Lands.

With the emergence of the first hunter, ordinary humans possessing no magic, knowledge, or extraordinary gifts such as super strength gained the capabilities to fight against dream beasts.

As such, the Northlanders undoubtedly had an important standing in the history of both humankind and transcendent beings. Their past glories could still be identified by their language being one of the most widely used.

But similarly, the Northlanders having a much too high regard for hunters resulted in the abuse of sordid blood, which consequently created the terrible disaster of beast mutation.

The power of the sordid blood accumulated within the Northlanders unleashed itself all at once, manifesting into a disease and turning most who had used sordid blood—regardless of dosage—into beasts at that time.

The disaster wiped out a considerable population of the Northlanders in a flash as the various original formulas of the hunters disseminated widely. Their glory faded into normalcy, eventually resulting in only a small population of Northlanders left within Norzin.

Yet, the affection of the Northlanders toward hunters still remained even today.

This was also the reason Ji Zhixiu decided to become a hunter instead of another transcendent class.

Of course, the current her wasn’t ‘Nightmare Weaver’ Ji Zhixiu, the female leader of ‘Spider,’ the hunter organization that had tacitly replaced ‘White Wolf.’

Instead, it was Ji Zhixiu, the noble heiress of the Ji family and the only daughter of the president of Rolle Resource Development.

Ji Zhixiu was wearing a black, loose off-shoulder gauze dress with an alluring red rose attached to her bosom, revealing her exquisite collarbone and fair neck. She lifted the hems of her dress while walking briskly across the corridor in a pair of heels.

Her gorgeous face sparkled under the light; her steel gaze was razor sharp and her slender figure further highlighted the length of her legs. She looked absolutely majestic.

Servants along the corridor all made way for her while bowing in respect.

After passing by countless rooms and taking numerous turns, she finally arrived before a thick, palatial door.

When the massive door opened, what came into sight was the dancing of the white curtain in the balcony from a distance which provided a bird’s eye view of the entire scenery. The nearby private fenced garden, colossal fountain pool, rows of perfectly symmetric pathways, small hill from afar, lush maple forest, azure blue miniature lake… Bright lights in the night sky were like stars in a summer night, embellishing the tranquil and breathtaking environment.

As Norzin was a man-made city, there weren’t any natural attractions within the inner city.

Therefore, this vast area of ‘hills, forests, and lakes’ within the city center was, in fact, all synthetic.

Which also meant that the ‘natural-looking’ scenery outside was actually part of A16 Manor.

Or, in a certain sense, it actually couldn’t be called a ‘manor’ but a ‘district’ instead.

A16 Manor spanned across tens of thousand square kilometers, the luxurious four-storied manor—or rather, castle—occupied a tenth of the area, with the remaining being occupied by artificial natural attractions.

Logically, given Norzin’s congested architecture layout, it was almost impossible to devote such a large area of land for aesthetic pleasure. Not to mention the prime location of Central District, where every inch of land was as exorbitant as gold.

But the Jis were really too damn rich.

In fact, Ji Bonong had purchased the mansions from A16 to A20 and combined them into a new residential district named “A16 Manor.”

Or rather, as some Central District aristocrats would call it, “Norzin’s Lone Island.”

Although unprecedented, there were no regulations prohibiting it. The authorities of the Central District had promptly agreed after some discussion.

While Azir had lost its ocean and islands after being enveloped by the Wall of Fog, through the historical records, it wasn’t difficult to imagine an island standing alone like a maverick, braving against the ferocious waves of the vast ocean.

In Norzin’s waves of metallic steel, “A16 Manor” was that lone island standing tall.

It was a green haven for the extravagant aristocrats.

Every few months, Ji Bonong would hold a grand party here and send out invitations voraciously, to aristocrats, businessmen, and even the transcendent beings among them.

These people were all proud of being invited. Even though they might not necessarily get to meet the head of the conglomerate, it was at least something worth bragging about for years.

And with that, Ji Bonong had made acquaintances with his fair share of high-ranking transcendent beings.

Transcendent beings, apart from Supreme-ranks, were human too and could be easily swayed with monetary gains. Especially from someone as influential as the chief decision-maker of Rolle Resources.

Yet, in recent times, these parties had ceased for quite a while.

Ji Zhixiu shut the door as she looked toward the spacious study table by the window where a middle-aged man was sorting through all sorts of documents.

Ji Bonong put down his pen and looked up, revealing his slightly weary face. Rubbing his temples, he asked, “What’s the matter? How can I help you? Is the Hunter organization lacking funds?”

Ji Zhixiu fiddled with the rose on her bosom, and at that moment, its petals unfolded, revealing a seemingly fathomless abyss within. Ji Zhixiu reached in and retrieved a document which she then placed on Ji Bonong’s desk.

“Funds are more than sufficient. But if you delay your visit to the bookstore any further, the spoils would all be split up among others.”

Ji Bonong perused the document as his brows scrunched up in surprise. “This time it’s… the Truth Union?”

His gaze involuntarily went to the top right corner of his desk, where there were a bunch of similar reports documenting every organization and individual’s interaction with the bookstore and their respective outcomes.

The most recent report was regarding the establishment of the Sun’s Faith.

Before that, Ji Bonong had always relied on his own intelligence networks. But now, his daughter’s intelligence was way more advanced than his…