When young people sat down to eat with an old man, especially a senior in the same line of work, their favorite thing to do was to pry and listen to stories.

In the Azure Coalition, “story” mostly meant legends and the people behind them—those who stood at the very peak and the things they had accomplished.

The old man in front of them had once been the commander of the Ninth Army.

“Army Commander Shen,” Han Qingyu prompted.

“Hm?”

“Just how high can the masters of our world go?”

This was the question Han Qingyu cared about most, not because he wanted to aim far beyond his limits, but because he wanted to gauge his strength. That way, he could work out whether the assassins from the City of Sin would be easy to kill.

The most important thing when baiting and hunting was to avoid accidentally turning into the prey.

“That depends on which level you’re asking about,” Shen Fengting said, mulling...