Chen Shu was momentarily silent, but then persistently said, "Old man, my current level allows me to kill Golden Monarchs. If I reach Legendary, I'll definitely be able to beat the Beast Emperors!"
"You think highly of yourself..."
The old man shook his head and said, "If Legendary could be achieved by piling up resources, I would have plundered resources from all over the world and created several Legendaries by now. Do you really think I wouldn't rob?"
"..."
Chen Shu felt a bit disappointed and said, "Are there no heavenly materials or earthly treasures that can cause one's level to soar?"
Based on the treasures he was aware of, it was indeed impossible, but the old man had lived for so long, perhaps he had some heaven-defying items...
"No!"
The old man stated, "Top powerhouses are not built by piling up resources; they require corresponding talent!"
"And there's a saying I've been afraid to tell you, lest it dampen your spirits."
"What?"
"The current era..."
The old man's gaze was profound, as if piercing through all obstacles and seeing the black-clothed elder at the passage entrance. He sighed and said,
"It's likely that no more Legendaries will emerge..."
"Why?!"
Chen Shu and Ning Bufan exclaimed in unison, their emotions running high.
If any new Legendaries were to be born, it would likely be one of them.
Chen Shu hardly needed any further explanation; he was the most heaven-defying prodigy of this era. As for Ning Bufan, he was hailed as the number one under Legendary, and there were rumors that he had been constantly seeking a path to breakthrough.
"I've actually never been entirely certain until I saw Old Li..."
The old man looked at the elder in the passage and sighed, "He's been stuck at Pseudo-Legendary for three hundred years!"
"..."
The two of them froze, a hint of daze in their eyes...
Three hundred years was an unimaginable span of time for them, far too long...
"Old man, that can't be right?"
Chen Shu frowned and said, "Aren't many of the current Beast Emperors from the new era?"
In his understanding, the Forbidden Mist Great Calamities were from the old era, while the current Beast Emperors were the strongest of the new era.
"Oh?"
The old man was slightly surprised and said, "You know quite a bit, kid."
"For a fierce beast of the new era to break through to Legendary, there is only one way: to plunder the bloodline power of old-era Beast Emperors and thus elevate oneself!"
"Hmm?"
Chen Shu was taken aback, then asked, "They weren't Legendaries themselves, how could they plunder?"
"You've really got a lot of questions, kid..."
The old man glanced at him and said, "Before the spiritual energy resurgence, there was a Forbidden Mist turmoil, and some top fierce beasts took advantage of it."
"..."
Chen Shu was momentarily stunned, then nodded, a look of realization in his eyes.
"Forbidden Mist turmoil..."
"Enough." The old man interrupted Chen Shu's question and said,
"You don't need to know too much about the old era; it won't change anything. The most important thing right now is to resist the fierce beasts!"
Chen Shu nodded, putting away his curiosity.
"Don't tell anyone else about the impossibility of advancing to Legendary,"
The old man said, "I'm afraid it will dampen the confidence of the other King-level Beast Tamers."
All beast tamers currently had an ultimate goal: to achieve Legendary. If they were told that the path to the end was cut off, many would likely suffer a mental breakdown...
"..."
Their gazes were distant as they looked at the old man,
"Aren't you afraid of dampening our confidence?"
"You two?"
The old man's gaze was peculiar, "I don't see that you two have been affected."
The reason he said it was because the two of them were too confident and would not be deterred by any words from their goals.
The old man's words did not make them despair; instead, they became even more excited and fervent.
After all, for the two of them, breakthroughs with difficulty were the only way to prove their worth...
Ning Bufan's confidence stemmed from his monstrous talent, while Chen Shu trusted his overpowered cheat...
At this moment, the old man said calmly:
"Alright, everyone is here. We're ready to start the meeting!"
The two of them were startled as if some barrier had been removed around them, and they suddenly saw over a hundred people gathered in the plaza.
At some point, they had already fallen deep into the Dark King's domain...
Their sudden appearance drew many glances, but most of the attention was focused on Chen Shu.
He was now the most brilliant star of the era, ranked first on both lists, peerless, even outshining the radiance of Pseudo-Legendary powerhouses.
"Everyone, I've called you here today primarily to summarize and commend the hunting operations of the past two months."
The old man's face was calm, his gaze sweeping over each person, and he said in a deep voice:
"Firstly, regarding the number of Monarchs killed: two hundred and thirty-two Black Iron Monarchs, fifty-eight Silver Monarchs fell, thirty Golden Monarchs, and eight Special Golden Monarchs!"
As soon as he said this, the silent crowd erupted in commotion.
Although they knew the general data, they couldn't help but be shaken when the old man spoke it.
These were legendary fierce beast Monarchs!
In times of peace, ordinary beast tamers dared not hunt them, and most people never saw one in their entire lives.
But now, with the advent of chaos, Monarchs had become incredibly vulnerable under the tide of the era...
"Excluding Dragon Abyss, the strength of fierce beasts from other alien spaces is less than half of what it was before!"
A faint smile appeared on the old man's lips, saying,
"Such great achievements are inseparable from everyone's efforts. I thank you all once again."
Everyone repeatedly waved their hands, a hint of awkwardness and tension in their eyes.
Their contributions were indeed great, but compared to the old man's thousand-year feat of guarding, they suddenly seemed insignificant.
"As for the rewards..."
The old man coughed and sighed,
"Due to the massive consumption recently, the official treasury has been emptied, and the treasures I've collected over the years are also running low."
Since last year, the government had been implementing a hunting plan, distributing substantial rewards.
The number of beast tamers in Huaguo was too vast, causing the official daily expenditure to be an astronomical figure. Despite numerous gains, they were still in a state of not earning enough to cover expenses.
Coupled with the chaotic times, the government would naturally set aside some resources for emergency use, making resource allocation even more strained.
This situation was within everyone's expectations.
"It's alright, old man!"
Just then, a voice rang out from the crowd, saying,
"Rewards and such are not really important. What we care about is honor and a sense of fulfillment! Even without rewards, we are willing to stand up!"
"Hmm?"
The crowd quieted down again, and everyone looked at the speaker simultaneously, their expressions instantly becoming extremely strange.
It was actually the Ruffian from Nanjiang!
However, is this your line?
At this moment, the old man's body trembled, and he couldn't help but lean back.
If it were anyone else, his heart would only be filled with comfort, as few people in this era were not driven by profit!
But Chen Shu's sensible words only made him feel a bit unnerved...