Chapter 1025: I Have No Plans to Join Any Guild or Organization
It had to be said, the divine beast girls looked even more enchanting after dressing up.
At the very least, when Yun Man and the others appeared before the waiting crowd in the manor, many eyes lit up.
Ling Zhan looked even more striking.
He was already handsome, with a tall and well-proportioned build that could carry any outfit.
Combined with his aloof aura like a towering mountain, he easily caught the eyes of several female Professionals.
With Ling Zhan and the three divine beast girls standing together, they perfectly embodied the phrase "a talented man and beautiful women."
"Alright…"
"Let's go."
The staff member once again gave a deep glance at the three divine beast girls beside Ling Zhan before turning around and activating the manor's magic teleportation array.
Kost Hotel.
This was the top-tier hotel in the city.
Tonight, it had been fully booked for the Ascenders' welcome banquet.
Though reserved, many Professionals in Kost City could still attend the banquet.
The stars of tonight were the Ascenders…
And the heads of various noble houses and guilds.
At 6:30 PM sharp…
All guests entered on time.
The banquet was formal, with everyone in proper attire.
In this so-called upper-class society, no one dared break the mood by dressing casually.
After all, the banquet was hosted by the city lord of Kost.
Everyone was expected to show respect.
At this moment…
The hotel lobby had already welcomed several figures.
The Ascenders entered together, drawing the attention of many guests.
The Ascenders couldn't help but feel…
Like the guests were sizing them up like merchandise.
Well…
That feeling wasn't wrong.
These guests had come tonight to scout qualified Ascenders to join their factions.
So…
It was only natural they looked at them this way.
"So these are the new Ascenders?"
"Finally, our turn in Kost City…"
"But the quality doesn't seem great."
"I see several human Professionals. Should we consider inviting them to our guild?"
"Better not. Just because there's a Qin Fan doesn't mean they're all Qin Fans."
"True, but maybe we'll get lucky. If anything, offer them less favorable terms and see."
"…"
The guests whispered among themselves.
To be clear, Kost Port wasn't the only Upper Realm port for Ascenders.
This batch just happened to be sent here.
Other cities had their own scheduled batches arriving.
It was up to each city to seize the opportunity.
Human Professionals were the least favored—most never got past level 200.
Ling Zhan wasn't surprised by the reactions.
He'd spent the whole afternoon reading up on Upper Realm info.
So he already understood how things worked.
From his research, he learned that this New Soil Territory didn't have a single human noble family.
In other words, humans couldn't rise here.
All humans lived in the Old Soil Territory.
That place had no resources, no dungeons—everything came from scheduled aid from the New Soil side.
Recently though, an Ascender named Qin Fan had shocked everyone by becoming an instructor at a king-tier academy and now participating in the annual Celestial Cup Trial Tournament.
He'd already won two consecutive matches.
Kost City was a remote town.
Its Professionals also watched the tournament.
After reading all this, Ling Zhan understood…
Normally, human Ascenders would be sent straight to the Old Soil Territory.
But because of Qin Fan's performance, people began to believe human Ascenders might have potential.
Hence why human Ascenders were allowed to attend tonight's banquet.
Under usual rules, they wouldn't be allowed.
Ling Zhan, however, felt no particular emotions about this.
He never planned to join any organization or guild here.
In addition…
He looked up detailed info on the wilderness and small towns.
Only big cities required identity passes. Small towns didn't.
Many without identity passes simply lived in small towns.
Of course…
The safe zones in small towns were limited.
Most were divided into inner (safe) and outer (non-safe) zones.
And those without identity passes could only stay in the outer zones.
Now…
The guests finished mingling.
The banquet officially began.
As usual, it was Will—the assistant to the city lord of Kost—who gave the speech.
It seemed Will held considerable authority here.
In fact…
He also served as the vice-city lord.
So many addressed him as Lord Will.
After a short speech…
The toasts and networking began.
Ascenders were soon surrounded by guests.
Each race's Professionals were pulled aside for private chats.
Even the few human Ascenders were approached.
Soon…
The guests revealed their intentions—
All trying to invite Ascenders to join their factions.
Preferably with a soul contract.
Naturally, the Ascenders refused.
A soul contract was basically selling oneself.
No one was stupid.
Seeing this, the guests offered another option—a magical contract.
Note…
In the Upper Realm, magical contracts were legally binding.
But still much better than soul contracts.
And the terms could be negotiated.
"Sir, may I ask what your class is?"
At that point, a few guests approached Ling Zhan.
Upon arrival in the Upper Realm, Ling Zhan had hidden his class info.
The reason was simple…
It drew too much attention.
A non-specialist was an extremely rare existence, both in the lower and upper realms.
It easily invited trouble.
So the low-key Ling Zhan preferred not to deal with that.
He simply shook his head and replied calmly, "Sorry, everyone. I currently have no plans to join any guild or organization."