Brian Carter wandered around the courtyard for a long time before reluctantly taking out the bronze key, preparing to open the bamboo gate and go home. Suddenly, a thunderous roar sounded from outside, the bamboo wall shook several times, and someone violently blasted a huge hole through it, with shattered bamboo scattered across most of the courtyard.

Brian Carter had spent the whole day with Lily Smith. The Kyoto Monster Affairs Bureau was much like a human government department, only even more efficient. Although Lord Carter of the Carter Estate held a high position and unfathomable power, he was always amiable, and Monster Locust Street was especially peaceful and harmonious. This had given him the illusion that monsters were all quite friendly, not much different from humans. So he froze for a moment, completely unsure how to react.

The person outside, after smashing through the wall, didn’t continue attacking but stepped right in. He was a towering man, as tall as Yao Ming, but with muscles ten times more developed—a truly imposing figure with a fierce, intimidating face. Just his appearance alone would let him play a Marvel movie supervillain without any special effects makeup.

Behind the fierce giant followed a small, thin, sinister-looking middle-aged man, clearly not a good person at first glance, dressed in a shabby green military uniform from the early days of the founding of the country.

The fierce giant glared at Brian Carter, grinned menacingly, and his voice boomed like a great bell, making Brian Carter's ears tingle as he shouted, “We just got the news that an Undying Tree bloodline has awakened, so we’ve come to recruit you. Join our Storm Legion! There’s a vast, boundless world waiting for you. You’re not suited to grow old and die slowly in a small place like Monster Locust Street.”

The giant’s aura was overwhelming, but to Brian Carter, it just felt like: “Is this guy brain-damaged? Who would ever join the monster underworld with someone who so obviously looks like a villain?”

Though he was cursing inwardly, he didn’t want to provoke these people, so he cautiously asked, “Who are you?”

The fierce giant grinned again and said, “You’ve never heard of the Storm Legion? The four great legions of the monster world are the only forces that can rival the eighteen immortal sects and hidden schools of the human world—they’re the pillars of the monster realm. Our Storm Legion is the strongest of the four, unlike the Ten Thousand Monsters Society, who grovel before human cultivators. Joining us would be your highest honor.”

Brian Carter truly couldn’t take the giant’s intelligence seriously. He hesitated a moment, then tactfully replied, “I won’t join any club before I go to college, so please leave.”

The giant let out a cold laugh, bent forward slightly, and his muscles bulged as if coming alive, brimming with explosive power.

Brian Carter didn’t have any detectors, but even just by looking, he could tell this guy’s strength was far beyond his own. As for monster power or spells… his black light demon aura was only good for passing through walls and nothing else, so it would be useless in a fight. He couldn’t help but take a step back, his voice trembling: “What do you want?”

The sinister middle-aged man in the old military uniform behind the giant suddenly stepped forward and said in a hoarse voice, “I’ve looked into your background. You only recently awakened the Undying Tree bloodline, and it’s a skipped-generation inheritance. You probably don’t even know what that means, right? No one at the Kyoto Monster Affairs Bureau has told you, have they?”

Brian Carter nodded. Indeed, no one had ever mentioned these things to him.

The sinister man bared his teeth in a grinding tone, speaking slowly, “Because they all want you to become the next Locust Granny.”

Brian Carter asked hesitantly, “Locust Granny? Who’s that?”

The sinister man in the old military uniform sneered, “Monsters need their own residential areas, separated from the human world, in what are called ‘illusory realms’—rifts in space and time. To obtain such a rift, you need an exceptional anchor. Locust Granny is the anchor of Monster Locust Street and has been sealed for three thousand years. Becoming the anchor of an illusory realm means your true body will be sealed away. Even if you regret it later, you can never leave. You’ll be forced to guard a single street until you die—and if you never die, it’s even worse. Do you really want to become a monster forever trapped in a specific illusory realm?”

The fierce giant interjected, “Becoming the nineteenth monster residential area in North City—is that the future you want? Compared to a promising future, all these so-called benefits you’re getting now are nothing! The Ten Thousand Monsters Society is just luring you with petty gains.”

Brian Carter had never imagined the truth was like this. Instinctively, he felt that although these two looked vicious, they weren’t lying.

Brian Carter was silent for a long while, but finally said firmly, “No matter what, I won’t consider joining the Storm Legion. Please leave.”

The fierce giant sneered, took a step forward, and roared, “You think you still have a choice? No one has ever refused an invitation from the Storm Legion!”

The threat in his words was unmistakable. Brian Carter, nervous, released his demon aura, his whole body shrouded in black light. Eight streams of black light surged like monstrous pythons, making for quite an imposing sight. He didn’t care that his demon aura was only good for using ‘Black Light Wall-Passing Technique’ and nothing else.