Three in the morning.
Lin Zhao hurriedly got up from his game pod, went downstairs to boil water, and cooked noodles in the microwave. While cooking, Chen Xue and Luo Man also came downstairs, standing by his side with eager eyes, "I want some too..."
"Okay, wait."
Lin Zhao unpacked two more packets, adding an egg to each serving of noodles. Not long after, the three of them sat downstairs slurping their noodles. After finishing, Lin Zhao wiped his mouth and was about to head upstairs.
"Wait."
Chen Xue poured some hot water, "Drink some water before you go. The seasoning packet of instant noodles with an egg is a bit salty. Drinking some water afterward will make your throat feel better."
"Okay."
Lin Zhao drank some water.
"How's the fifth floor coming along?" Chen Xue asked. "Many people have gone to the sixth floor. The core map on the sixth floor is a Golden Mullet Lake, teeming with monsters. An hour ago, Sheng Tian's forces, through sheer numbers, defeated a Ghost God-level Boss, the Golden Mullet Dragonfish. It dropped 10 Golden Mullet Coins. All the guilds are now green with envy, searching the bottom of the Golden Mullet Lake for traces of the Golden Mullet Dragonfish. Xing Chen and I have also brought our people over. We'll take whatever money we can get. What do you say?"
"The money I make on the fifth floor might not be less."
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "However, the monsters on the fifth floor are all elites, and their spawn rate is slow. I'll head to the sixth floor soon too. I plan to kill a Golden Mullet Dragonfish and earn some more money, save up for a dowry."
"Ah?!"
Luo Man's pretty face turned red. She turned and linked her arm with Lin Zhao's, saying softly, "Brother, will the wife you're saving for be me?"
"No."
Lin Zhao slowly withdrew his arm from her embrace, tapped Luo Man's forehead with the back of his finger, and laughed, "I'm going upstairs to continue grinding!"
"Oh~~~"
After Lin Zhao went upstairs, only Chen Xue and Luo Man were left downstairs drinking water. The moment Lin Zhao stepped into his game pod, their expressions immediately changed. Luo Man crossed her arms, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, looking unapproachable, while Chen Xue's lips curved into a meaningful smile.
"Do you know how much Lin Zhao's assets are worth now?" Chen Xue raised an eyebrow and asked.
"I don't know, why do I need to know?" Luo Man pursed her lips and smiled faintly, "I love Brother, nothing else matters. I don't like him for the money."
"Is that so?"
Chen Xue's lips curved upward, "Lin Zhao has the highest stake in Fei Yue Transport, with the largest investment. Moreover, Lin Zhao is the master of the Fei Yue Knights. His personal valuation of the Fei Yue Knights alone could account for at least 20%. And in the game, Lin Zhao is equipped with top-tier gear and magical artifacts, all of which are priceless. The combined value of these three would put Lin Zhao's net worth at no less than two billion."
"So what?" Luo Man frowned.
"That's enough."
Chen Xue tapped Luo Man's nose with her fingertip and chuckled, "For little girls like you and me, do we need a dowry of two billion to get married? No. The reason he's still saving is that, subconsciously, the person he wants to marry is not someone like us, but someone worth far more than two billion. So don't flatter yourself."
Luo Man immediately put on a sickly look, her hands clasped on the table with her chin resting on the back of them, pouting, "It doesn't matter, I just like Brother. If Brother agrees, I'm willing to be his little..."
"Damn it!"
Chen Xue almost flipped the table, her face filled with helplessness. "I'm going online to make money. Are you coming?"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Luo Man got up and took Chen Xue's hand, saying with a smile, "Women, in the end, have to rely on themselves. Men are unreliable!"
"Good that you know!"
...
Five in the morning.
When Lin Zhao checked his inventory again, it was completely full. With the substantial consumption of potions, most of the space in his inventory had been cleared out. The emptied spaces were mostly filled with loot. Currently, his inventory contained over 240 pieces of high-grade Celestial-grade equipment. As for Earth-grade items, there were a staggering 680+ pieces. Based on market prices, selling all this equipment would fetch a fortune. At this stage, many top-tier teams might not even obtain one piece of Celestial-grade equipment after two to three days of adventuring. He had gained over 240 pieces in just one day, an income level that would incite envy and resentment.
The resources on the fifth floor had been almost entirely depleted by him alone. The elite monsters spawned at a very slow rate, and it would likely take several days for them to respawn. Therefore, he couldn't linger much longer and decided to head to the sixth floor.
He obtained the coordinates of a nearby entrance to the sixth floor from Mo Yin. Riding his flying sword, he sped towards it. Descending from above the stone forest, he plunged straight into the sixth floor map. However, his vision blurred, and in the next moment, Lin Zhao was randomly teleported into the sixth floor map of the Ancient Dragon Swamp, tumbling into a body of water.
Golden Mullet Lake, located in the very center of the Ancient Dragon Swamp's sixth floor, occupied about 25% of the map but concentrated over 95% of the sixth floor's resources. Lin Zhao didn't move further. He rose from the water, gracefully landing on the surface. Then, using his "A Reed Crossing the River" skill, he dashed across the water. He opened his mini-map, searching for the Boss's location.
On the mini-map, dense red dots represented ordinary fish monsters in the water. The Boss's red dot would undoubtedly be larger. Without further thought, Lin Zhao drew his sword and roamed the Golden Mullet Lake. Fortunately, his luck was good. In less than ten minutes, in the depths of a reed marsh, a large, blood-red dot appeared on his mini-map.
He dove into the water. Indeed, schools of level 172 Ghost God-grade ferocious Dragon Bone Fish were swimming around. In the middle of this group was a Golden Mullet Dragonfish, at least five meters long, its entire body shimmering gold. Its mouth was lined with rows of sharp teeth, giving it a fierce appearance.
Good luck!
Lin Zhao took a deep breath, not rushing to attack. Instead, he first removed the stopper from his orange gourd and silently deployed all 36 of his Mayfly Flying Swords into the water to clear out the group of Dragon Bone Fish. Once the Dragon Bone Fish were all turned into experience points, only the Golden Mullet Dragonfish remained, swimming back and forth in the water.
Although it was a level 172 Ghost God-grade Boss, it was no longer much of a threat to Lin Zhao. After all, Lin Zhao was now level 166, and the level disadvantage was minimal. He drew Zhanlu, activated the "Wind in the Sail" formation technique in the water, making his movements extremely agile and nimble. He charged forward and struck the Boss squarely on the forehead with a powerful "Sword Immortal" slash. Immediately, a barrage of flying swords followed, causing the Golden Mullet Dragonfish's scales to fly off.
After nearly 16 minutes of combat, the Golden Mullet Dragonfish turned into a corpse and slowly faded away. Lin Zhao, on the other hand, gained a significant amount of experience from the Boss, leveling up to 167. Additionally, the Golden Mullet Dragonfish dropped two pieces of Celestial-grade equipment. These were not significant. The most important thing was that this Golden Mullet Dragonfish dropped ten unbound Golden Mullet Coins, which were precisely what Lin Zhao needed.
Afterward, he patrolled the sixth floor for nearly half an hour, but found nothing else. He had no interest in grinding ordinary monsters. He was already level 167, and the experience gained from killing them was no longer substantial. He considered killing players from the Northern Four Tribes... but there were none left. Players from the Northern Four Tribes, led by Guoke Wuming, Ding Chunqiu, Youling Wang, and Changye Yuhuo, had almost been wiped out by players of the Human race. They were virtually non-existent in the Ancient Dragon Swamp. However, Lin Zhao's leveling from 153 to 167 in a single day was arguably the biggest win in the Ancient Dragon Swamp. Coupled with the gains from over 240 pieces of Celestial-grade and 680+ pieces of Earth-grade equipment, it was clear that no one had profited more than him since the opening of the Ancient Dragon Swamp map.
Now, it was time to head to the seventh floor.
...
Ancient Dragon Swamp, Seventh Floor.
A gloomy sky cast a pall over the land. Dragon-men chieftains walked the earth, a type of half-human, half-dragon monster. Their lower bodies resembled coiling dragons, with two legs connected to a long torso and tail, while their upper bodies were those of adult males, clad in armor, wielding bright blue spears in their hands. Their eyes were fierce, looking ready to fight anyone they encountered.
A figure slowly descended in the wind. It was Sword Emperor, holding a long sword and riding a flying sword. He was one of the few Golden Core Sword Cultivators in the national server. He was the first to arrive on the seventh floor, intending to explore its wonders. However, the seventh floor seemed to hold no hidden opportunities, only an endless stream of Dragon-men Chieftains, level 172, Saint-grade monsters. Was he supposed to acquire treasures solely by killing these Dragon-men Chieftains?
There was no alternative, so he could only grind monsters.
Sword Emperor sighed and raised his treasured sword, preparing to pull in a group of monsters to battle. However, he dared not pull in too many, as the attributes of these Dragon-men Chieftains were formidable. With his strength, pulling in 3-5 at a time would be sufficient. Any more could lead to his own downfall.
Just then, a flute melody drifted from behind him.
"Hmm?"
Sword Emperor turned abruptly and saw a young man in green, riding a green ox, playing a rustic melody. The youth exuded an aura of intelligence and potential, making Sword Emperor's heart skip a beat. Could it be that he had triggered a legendary hidden quest? Had an opportunity come knocking on his door?
He had heard that the Dao Ancestor ascended riding a green ox. Could this young man be the Dao Ancestor himself, hidden in the deepest reaches of the Ancient Dragon Swamp, awaiting a destined person to impart his teachings, after which he could ascend to the Heavenly Realm's Daoist ancestral hall and become a sect master with ease?
The thought sent a tremor through Sword Emperor's heart. He had already come up with a Daoist title for himself: True Person Lin Yuan!
"Hey!"
The young man riding the ox also saw Sword Emperor and immediately rode his ox closer, saying with a smile, "Who are you, and why have you come here?"
"Ah?!"
Sword Emperor was momentarily stunned, then replied with utmost reverence, "My name is Zhang Dalei. I stumbled in here while pursuing evil spirits."
"Oh."
The young man on the ox nodded, held up his bamboo flute, which was instantly enveloped in golden radiance and Daoist patterns, and said with a smile, "Zhang Dalei, I have a karmic connection here. I wonder if you are willing to accept it. If you can accept it, cultivating to the Thirteenth Realm will be a matter of a single thought. Now, I ask you, are you willing?"
"Willing! Willing! So willing!"
Sword Emperor was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Thank you, Immortal Master, for your benevolence!"
"Hmph..."
A hint of disdain flickered in the young man's eyes. The moment Sword Emperor accepted the bamboo flute, it suddenly became immensely heavy and, with a thunderous roar, pressed down with a purple mountain range. Sword Emperor let out no cry before being crushed into a pile of dust beneath the mountain range, disappearing as a white light in the seventh floor of the Ancient Dragon Swamp.
The young man then smiled, and two green dragon horns slowly emerged from his forehead, saying, "Where in the world would such good fortune exist? Dreaming day and night, truly deserving of death!"