Death Notice Book 8: Chapter 22: Venus

Release Date: 2026-06-02 13:23:02

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«Volume 8 Chapter 21: Inheritance

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »

Qin Lun slowly opened his eyes. He felt as if a whole century had just passed, yet also just for a moment. The sapling in his hand had completely withered. The Elf Elders who had been watching were long gone. Only Iristin remained, smiling at him.

“You’re awake!” After confirming Qin Lun’s bloodline, Iristin sighed with relief. Her face, covered in paint, showed a playful smile as she made a funny face at the young man. She completely lost the dignified manner she had when they first met; perhaps this was her true self.

“You tricked me! This clearly wasn’t a Treant sapling!” Qin Lun dusted the dirt off his hands, stood up, and looked at the Elven Druid with displeasure. By now, he understood that those old Moon Elf geezers had fooled him.

“Don’t be mad. This was a branch from the World Tree that Elder Adeline kept. It was about to wither anyway, so it was perfect for your test.” Iristin blinked her lively blue eyes, not showing any guilt on her face. “But, didn’t you gain a lot from it too?”

Qin Lun’s expression froze for a second. Looking at the long list of messages in his Death Notice, his mood quickly brightened. No matter what, he really did gain a lot. Besides, the Moon Elves testing him was to be expected; he wouldn’t fully trust an outsider either.

“Mmm, the tribal Elders have recognized your identity as a descendant of the royal line. From now on, you’ll be invited to attend the tribal Council of Elders meetings as an observer.” Iristin smacked her lips and gave Qin Lun a very displeased look.

Back when she worked to restore her status as a royal descendant, she had to put in a lot of effort and pass a series of tests. If it weren’t for these special times, even with the right bloodline, gaining the tribal Elders’ recognition wouldn’t have been so easy.

“Royal descendant… So, are there any benefits?” Qin Lun licked his lips and asked cautiously.

“You… I…” Iristin glared at Qin Lun, her fingers trembling slightly. Her high chest heaved a few times, and she shouted angrily, “As a descendant of the Moon Elf royal line, serving your people is your duty! What benefits are you looking for? Besides, Elder Adeline using that World Tree branch to help you activate the Ancient Inheritance was already the greatest privilege…”

“Fine, no benefits then. Why get so worked up?” Qin Lun muttered under his breath.

Iristin took a few deep breaths to calm down, then rolled her eyes and continued, “Forget it. Since I’ve gained a cousin, I’ll give you a gift!”

“Why cousin, not sibling? Aren’t we of the same bloodline?” Qin Lun deliberately teased Iristin, not expecting the Elven Druid to actually think about it seriously.

“The royal bloodline has several branches. My clan is Moonfall, Iristin Moonfall. Your clan is Moonlight, Firal Moonlight. We’re only closely related, so we’re cousins.” Iristin suddenly looked proud, lifted her chin, placed one hand on her hip and pointed at Qin Lun. “I’m definitely older than you, so from now on, you have to call me… Sister Iristin!”

“…” Qin Lun was silent for a moment, then seemed to remember something. A sly gleam appeared in his eyes as he replied calmly, “I remember you said you have a mother, meaning you’re a placental-born Elf. But I was born from a World Tree Fruit, a legacy Elf. So, my generation is definitely several cycles older than yours. Calling you sister is out of the question. I might barely accept you as a younger sister. Right, Iristin… little sister!”

Iristin’s proud smile instantly froze on her face. The paint all over her face began to glow red.

“Ahem, that… Sister Iristin… your gift…” Seeing the Elven Druid’s anger and embarrassment, and signs she might rage, Qin Lun quickly stopped his mocking smile and humbly gave in.

“Hmph, at least you know what’s good for you. Follow me!” Iristin wrinkled her pretty nose, snorted coldly, turned, and headed into the jungle.

Qin Lun followed Iristin through the forest for over an hour. He realized the surroundings looked familiar. They had actually looped back to the Elven Druid’s treehouse, which was set up near the Magic Cup Court.

Iristin led Qin Lun into the treehouse and lit some incense with a grassy scent. Soon, a low growl came from below the tree.

“It’s that Gale Panther? Wait, no, its body seems a bit larger, and its fur color is different too.” Qin Lun leaned out the treehouse window to observe the large cat below, whose fur was as beautiful and sleek as black satin.

“It’s the child of that Gale Panther. But its father wasn’t a Gale Panther; it was a Shadow Panther. It has the talents of both the Gale Panther and the Shadow Panther. You could call it a Shadow Gale Panther.” The Elven Druid jumped down from the treehouse and waved for Qin Lun to come down.

“Iristin, you called it here…” Qin Lun had a vague idea of the Elven Druid’s intention, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

“Didn’t you say the other day that your summon was a hell creature, and you wanted me to help you find a suitable hunting partner?” Iristin said with a smile. “What do you think of this one? It just reached adulthood, is at the seventh rank now, and has the potential to advance further.”

“A high-rank magical beast! Would it willingly become my hunting partner?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow and glanced at his Death Notice. Although the recent Elf inheritance had improved his physical condition a bit, if he didn’t cancel the summoning contract with Cerberus, he wasn’t sure if he had the capacity left to contract this seventh-rank Shadow Gale Panther.

“It has been very close to me since it was born. It has a high affinity for Elves.” Iristin glanced at Qin Lun and said lightly, “I have to leave Qiongda’er Forest now, so I can’t take care of it anymore. You’d definitely be willing to make it your hunting partner and take it with you to Ank Forest, right? Right, Firal… little brother!”

The Elven Druid emphasized the words “little brother,” her beautiful big eyes fixed unblinkingly on Qin Lun.

“A high-rank magical beast, I might not be able to… Alright, fine!” Under the “threatening” gaze of Iristin, Qin Lun could only agree with a bitter smile. It seemed this “gift” was forced upon him; he couldn’t refuse even if he wanted to.

“Just wait until it goes to the Shattered Starry Sky with me. Don’t come crying then!” Qin Lun watched Iristin happily preparing the contract array and added this thought silently to himself.

…

“Finally succeeded!” The Elven Druid wiped the sweat from her forehead, watching as the Shadow Gale Panther’s body slowly turned translucent, dissolving into points of faint light that merged into Qin Lun’s right hand.

The palm of Qin Lun’s right hand originally had a small skull pattern, with two points of eerie red fire glowing in its eye sockets. That was his Soul Mark. However, after his Class Change to Jungle Hunter, this pattern changed into the image of a hunter hiding in the jungle, appearing on the back of his right hand.

Now, on the Soul Mark pattern, there was an additional sleek black panther. Its streamlined body was hidden in the bushes, with only its head peeking out from behind the hunter, cautiously observing its surroundings.

Although Qin Lun now had two summoned beasts, he vaguely felt that the Inferno Hound might not fit the requirements of the Jungle Hunter profession, which is why it didn’t appear in the profession emblem. Perhaps only when he advanced to a Demon Hunter could he incorporate Cerberus into the profession system.

Qin Lun waved a hand and summoned the Shadow Gale Panther again. After becoming his hunting partner, the big cat felt very affectionate towards him. The wariness originally in its eyes completely vanished. There was a faint soul connection between the man and the panther; they could sense each other’s every move and intention.

This was far superior to Cerberus, who could only rely on simple intelligence to grasp Qin Lun’s intentions.

“You must take good care of Venus from now on, or I won’t let you off!” Watching the Shadow Gale Panther ignore her and only lick Qin Lun’s hand, Iristin felt very frustrated and glared fiercely at the young man.

“It’s called Venus? Oh, it really is a female!” Qin Lun glanced at the area between the big cat’s hind legs, and his expression turned a bit strange. However, he quite enjoyed Iristin’s jealousy. After becoming hunting partners, of course the summoned creature should be closer to its master.

“It’s getting late, let’s head back to the Court.” Iristin looked up at the sky and said wearily.

Presiding over the contract array just now had exhausted her. It was on the brink of failure several times, but she managed to pull it back each time. Having never performed this kind of contract before, the Elven Druid thought it was due to her own efforts, not once connecting it to the fact that Qin Lun hadn’t canceled his first contract with the hell creature.

…

The two quickly returned to the Magic Cup Court. After parting ways with Iristin, Qin Lun hurried into his room to check the messages in his Death Notice.

“Apostle 70053, due to the induction of an unknown force, the recessive factors in your bloodline genes have been manifested. Your gene chain has begun to restructure and evolve…”

“After calculation, this evolution will not cause your Law Body to collapse. It conforms to the Jungle Hunter career path. The protection clause of the Apostle Covenant cannot be activated. The Shattered Starry Sky will not intervene.”

“Prompt: Apostle 70053, you have comprehended the Hunter’s Heart. Gene chain restructuring will optimize and enhance some of your physical attributes.”

“Prompt: Your Firearms Specialization has been upgraded to a master-level skill – Shooting Master; Dagger Proficiency has been upgraded to Advanced Dagger Specialization; Intermediate Swordsmanship has been upgraded to One-Handed Weapon Proficiency; Primary Magic Network Core has been upgraded to Intermediate Magic Network Core.”

“Prompt: The Hunter Profession skills related to ranged shooting, scouting, evasion, and traps have begun to optimize and advance under the relevant law inheritance.”

“… B+ ranked Clock Eye has been upgraded to A- ranked Eye Technique; Detection Aura has been upgraded to B- ranked skill; Swift Wind Step has been upgraded to C ranked skill, and has derived the D ranked ‘Leap’ skill; Spiral Shooting Technique has been upgraded to D+ ranked, and has derived the C ranked guided arrow ‘Wind Arrow’; Weakness Crosshair has been upgraded to C ranked skill, and has derived the C+ ranked ‘Piercing Arrow’ skill; Ballistic Refraction has been upgraded to D+ ranked, and has derived the C ranked skills ‘Scatter Shot’ and ‘Rapid Shot’.”

“Prompt: A new trap-type magic has been added – Wood-type Trap (D+ rank). It is a branch magic of the ninth rank peak magic ‘Tree World Descent’.”

Wood-type Trap (D+ rank): Can create a simple vine trap in any location with grass or vegetation. Depending on the plant type, it can add poison, entanglement, or life drain effects. This skill has a cooldown of 30 minutes. The Stamina/Energy Points consumed and the trap’s effectiveness depend on the terrain and plant species.

“Prompt: The bloodline ability Moonlit Summoning has merged into Elf Whispers. Elf Whispers has been upgraded to its peak rank. The Shadow Talent has been stimulated by the law inheritance, deriving a new C- ranked skill ‘Concealment’.”

Concealment (C- rank): A hunter should possess good camouflage and hiding abilities. While stationary, the Jungle Hunter can consume Mana Value to cover their body surface with a concealment magic, erasing their own presence to evade enemies’ eyes and ears. This skill can only be used while stationary and will continuously consume Stamina/Energy Points.

Looking at the long list of information in his Death Notice, Qin Lun couldn’t help but grin. He really hit the jackpot this time!

What pleased him most was that the ten thousand Shattered Crystals used for the B+ ranked Tree World Descent were taken from the Fortress Team’s shared storage. After all, this was to gain the trust of the Moon Elf Elders, so Stark and the others had to reimburse him.

The newly derived skills were still a bit unstable; the symbols representing their ranks kept flickering. This was because Qin Lun had never used these skills before; he gained the insights completely from the Elf inheritance.

However, Qin Lun believed that given some time, he could basically eliminate this hidden risk. Moreover, these new skills had just appeared, so there was still a lot of room for improvement; they might not necessarily remain at their current ranks.

Apart from these new skills, what made Qin Lun happiest was that comprehending the Hunter’s Heart had opened the path for his profession advancement!

«Volume 8 Chapter 21: Inheritance

Index

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »