"Dad, we have a big client. Hurry up and come with me!" Mia pushed open the door to the conference room and said hurriedly to the middle-aged man who was addressing a group of people around the table.

The middle-aged man's expression tightened upon being interrupted. "Whoever it is, ask him to wait. I will see him after the meeting."

Mia shook her head. "No, you have to come with me now. It is very urgent."

Just as the middle-aged man was about to fly into a rage, one of the elderly men in the conference room interrupted him with a smile. "Please proceed with the meeting, Department Head. I will go and visit the guest with little Mia."

"But, Elder, this matter is of the utmost importance. You can't just stay out of it," the middle-aged man tried to make the old man stay.

But the old man just waved his hands with a smile and walked out with Mia. "This matter is important, but my presence is not. Even if I were to sit here, it would only be a waste. After all, I am not young anymore."

The middle-aged man sighed when he heard this. He shot a fierce look at Mia before resuming the meeting.

…

Back in the waiting area, Zappy was sitting on Draven's lap as he happily munched on the first-tier coin Draven had just given him, when the receptionist lady came rushing back as she dragged an old man with her.

"Sir, this is the 45th Elder, Elder Noah. He is a second-tier healer. Please rest assured your contracted beast will be safe in his hands," Mia said with a huge grin.

"Draven? So it was you who asked this girl for a healer. No wonder she even dared to stop the meeting to get one for you. You really are a woman's weakness, as the rumors say," Noah laughed.

Draven hurriedly stood up and greeted Noah with a smile. "Don't make such wild guesses, Elder. I bought her with money, not with my looks." As he said this, Draven took out five more second-tier essence coins from his storage ring and gave them to Mia.

Mia's eyes lit up when she saw the money. After giving a smirk at Noah, she happily went back to her reception counter.

"Follow me, kid. We can talk in the consultation room," Noah said to Draven as he walked toward one of the rooms.

Draven followed suit, and after entering the room, he laid Zappy on the white bed before him.

"Elder, his condition is a little special. Actually, he underwent a strange mutation and acquired a shape-shifting gene in his DNA, which allowed him to exist in two completely different forms…" Draven explained everything about Zappy he had heard from the shop owner.

Noah stroked his beard with a frown after he heard the entire story. "Such a mutation is technically impossible from some random coincidence, but at the same time, I don't have any alternate theory to justify your contracted beast's condition either."

"If I have to give an analysis, since the injury he sustained in his dragon form is still present in his body even after he switched into this sea otter form, it means that his body is only morphing itself using dragon chi to transform into a dragon. It's similar to how elemental spirits use elemental chi to create a body for themselves."

Draven frowned. "So you are saying that this guy is a sea otter in his base form and not a dragon?"

Noah shook his head. "Not a sea otter, but an Empyrean Otter, which is considered native to the Aethern Aeon Sea. From his appearance and the elements he possesses, I am pretty much sure about that."

When he heard the explanation, Zappy stopped munching on the first-tier coin and glared at Noah angrily. "You are an idiot! Zappy is a dragon, not some otter or all. I only look like an otter because I am still young!"

Noah patted Zappy's head and said seriously, "Don't think Empyrean Otters are just some random species just because they have the word 'otter' in their name. In fact, they are considered a species higher in hierarchy even when compared to dragons. Among the very few species in the world which can manipulate the taboo element of time, Empyrean Otters are considered the strongest."

Zappy rolled his eyes at the old man and continued munching on the coin like a squirrel.

Draven remained silent for some time before he finally said, "His injury is treatable, right? Will there be a problem due to his shape-shifting gene?"

"Nah, there won't be any problem. In fact, his dragon form seems to have protected his main body when he was attacked. His injury is only superficial, likely caused by the sudden impact of the attack endured by his dragon form," Noah said as he placed his hand on Zappy's head.

Suddenly, an amber glow radiated from his palm and entered Zappy's body, healing him completely.

"I would suggest giving him a full pet care treatment. That way we can also check if there are any other abnormalities in his body," Noah said after pondering for a while.

Draven nodded readily. "Feel free to do anything you want. Money is not a problem."

"Hey, Zappy is not some pet! I don't need any pet care and all," Zappy said angrily as he stood on the white bed like a human child.

Draven mercilessly pushed the guy back on the bed and said to Noah, "I have some business with the 21st Elder of the Technology Department. I will pick him up afterwards."

After that, without even looking back at the crying Zappy on the bed, Draven walked out of the room and headed towards the third floor to meet James.

As soon as Draven reported his purpose for the visit to the receptionist, he was immediately brought to a conference room on the third floor.

"I was thinking about contacting you. It's a good thing you came here on your own," James said. He had been talking with some other similarly-aged people in the conference room but immediately invited Draven in when he got the news of his visit.

Draven nodded at the higher-ups of the Technology Department respectfully before casting a suspicious look at James.

James smiled and introduced Draven to everyone in the room. "Elders, this young man is the one I was speaking about earlier. He is a first-tier grandmaster hunter and an excellent warrior with no match in the 36th Stronghold. If there is someone who can enter the Blood Marsh and retrieve the Thousand Beast Blood Fruit, it is him."

Draven stared at James blankly. It was obvious to everyone that he had never even heard of this name before.

James coughed lightly to attract everyone's attention and said to Draven, "The Blood Marsh is a first-tier forbidden land with a chi limit at the Mortal Realm. Meaning, the highest cultivation level one can utilize inside the Blood Marsh is only at the Mortal Realm. We only recently discovered the entrance to this forbidden land a day ago. By rules, we would have to report its existence to the higher-ups as soon as possible and transfer the control rights of the forbidden land to them."

"But until they arrive at the 36th Stronghold and take over the responsibility, we are free to explore it and look for resources inside. So, we sent a team of our young elites inside and found out that there is a rare natural treasure called the Thousand Beast Blood Fruit, which is condensed from the dead remains of beasts after millions of years."

"But the problem is that it is guarded by a swarm of Crimson Horned Mosquitoes at the very top of the Mortal Realm. Since the highest cultivation one can have there is only at the Mortal Realm, our team could only retreat helplessly. Now, as a last attempt, every department of our Merchant Association is trying to come up with a solution to retrieve it."

Draven remained silent for a moment after he heard the explanation. "How much is this thing's market value, and what are its specific effects?"

"The market price will be at least 50 tenth-tier coins. Apart from the Nether Phoenix Cave, this is the only currently known location of this fruit in the entire world, so the price might even go a lot higher. As for its specific effects, we are not entirely sure, but one thing we know for certain is that it can remove the venom of the Nightmare Bat, regardless of the venom's tier," a middle-aged women in the room said gravely.

Draven's mouth almost fell open when he heard the price. "Can you tell me how much that will be in second-tier coins?"

James sighed. "About five hundred quadrillion second-tier coins."

Draven swallowed hard as he actually imagined the number in his mind. "Why do you want an amateur like me to handle this mission instead of sending a squad of elites after your higher-ups get here?"

One of the old men from the group shook his head when he heard this. "It is useless even when they get here. At most, only five people can enter this forbidden land from the outside. If someone else has to enter, either the ones who entered have to come out, or someone inside must die. Furthermore, when James said 'swarm,' it is not one or two Blood Horned Mosquitoes, but tens of thousands of them."

Draven nodded in understanding. "So basically, there is a pie before your eyes, but you can't eat it."

Everyone's mouths twitched when they heard Draven's remark.

'Just agree with them. At the same realm, Blood Horned Mosquitoes are not much of a threat to you,' Silas's voice suddenly rang out in Draven's mind.

A faint smile appeared on Draven's face when he heard this. "Fine, I am ready to put my life at risk for you guys. But I have one condition: 50% of this fruit will be mine."

One of the old men stood up angrily when he heard this. "Bastard! Don't think that just because you are some big shot in the 36th Stronghold, you own the world. This fruit is a thing coveted even by God Realm experts. Are you sure you have what it takes to put conditions before them?"

Draven's face darkened, and a thick killing intent suddenly filled the room. "I absolutely hate it when someone calls me a bastard, so try to control your tongue, otherwise I will pull it out permanently. As for having the right to negotiate, Draven really doesn't have that qualification. But Draven Nyxborn does have it."

James hurriedly stepped in to defuse the tension when he saw the old man shivering like a little girl under Draven's killing intent. "Fine, fine. Let me talk with the higher-ups. We will do as they say."

Draven smiled. "By the way, I was here to ask you for a help. Please help me change my name in all the official records to 'Draven Nyxborn' and register my name as a member of the Nyxborn family of the First Stronghold."

James looked at Draven in surprise when he heard this. "someone higher-up from the Nyxborn family from the First Stronghold must confirm it for me if I am to register your affinity with the Nyxborns."

Draven nodded and handed a paper he took out from his storage ring to James. "It's the direct order from the current family head of the Nyxborns. That will be enough, right?"

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