"This is it."
Lin Zhao stepped forward and picked up the bracelet from the ground.
"..."
Xian Bai and Jian Huang hesitated. They could tell it was a magical artifact, but they didn't know its rank. Above Heavenly grade was Supreme grade; below Heavenly grade, it was hard to say if Lin Zhao had been cheated.
"What do you say?"
Jian Huang chuckled, "The bracelet is yours, but at least show us its attributes?"
"Alright."
Lin Zhao waved his hand, and the bracelet's attributes floated before his eyes—
[Blood Bodhi] (Immortal Grade Lower)
Strength: +400
Stamina: +400
Agility: +400
Spirit Power: +400
Special Effect: Concentrates the power of blood qi, providing the owner with a shield of 50% HP and resilience every 60 seconds.
...
"Oh..."
Xian Bai understood and said, "It can add a shield effect, but 50% is indeed a bit exaggerated. It's suitable for heavily armored tank players; having this will make them extremely hard to kill."
Jian Huang nodded, feeling a bit dejected, "He didn't lose out on this trip."
Lin Zhao laughed and said, "It's all thanks to the good fortune of you two guilds. I fought several bosses before and none of them dropped magical artifacts. As soon as I teamed up with you, I got one. Alright, I'm leaving. The upper levels still need me."
"Okay~~~"
As the two major guilds began to "divide the spoils," Lin Zhao steered a flying sword towards the entrance directly ahead and then transformed into a sword light, charging into the sixth level map. Lin Zhao had synchronized Chen Xue's location and chased after her, intercepting her in the clouds and directly throwing the Blood Bodhi to her. "I earned this working for Xun Xian and Lin Yuan Xian Yu. Don't look down on it. Immortal Grade Lower is still Immortal Grade. After refining this magical artifact, few people will be able to kill you, Chen Xue."
"..."
Chen Xue was slightly stunned, her expression a little complicated. "You're just giving away an Immortal Grade Lower?"
"Why not?"
Lin Zhao asked, "What else is there to say?"
"Mm."
Chen Xue pocketed the Blood Bodhi and said, "Generally speaking, unless you want to pursue a girl, there's no need to invest so much. Moreover... even if you do, there's no need to invest this much. An Immortal Grade magical artifact costs at least seventy to eighty million universal coins. Your generosity is truly astounding."
"Alright, alright."
Lin Zhao smiled, "I don't understand these 'martial world rules,' nor do I want to. I only know that Chen Xue is my deputy guild leader and has followed me since I was insignificant. Therefore, giving her a magical artifact is only right and proper, and has nothing to do with romantic relationships."
"Okay."
Chen Xue nodded and smiled, "I've accepted it. You go and be busy."
"Just right..."
Lin Zhao frowned. "A Yan sent me a message. Sheng Tian is hunting players from the Northern Four Tribes on the sixth level. I'll go help out. Xue, you go with everyone else. I'll go solo."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
After Lin Zhao flew away in a rainbow of light, Chen Xue looked at his departing figure, a hint of regret in her beautiful eyes. What a pity, this guy was truly lovable and detestable.
...
In the sky, within the clouds.
As the players on the ground were killing monsters, they saw sword lights shuttling through the clouds, followed by figures plummeting down. Among them was the renowned Xi He Da Guo Kui, and another was Ben Mo Ruo. Then another figure descended from the clouds, Ding Chun Qiu. The players from the Northern Four Tribes were all annihilated. Immediately after, a fiery red sword light soared into the sky and drifted away. Many recognized it as Lin Zhao again. In the national server, only he would dare to challenge that group alone.
"Beep!"
As Lin Zhao was traveling by wind, a message came from Shen Xing Chen: "The Level Six Boss, Stone Emperor, has been found by Xing He's people. Su Xing He is leading his men there. Xing He has a large number of people, over 700 in total. Their intention to solo this Stone Emperor is very clear."
"It's fine."
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Let them have it. You lead your people to Level Seven. I'll go to Level Seven as well."
"Okay."
Not long after, Lin Zhao's sword entered the territory of the seventh level. He hadn't flown far when he saw a large crimson dot on the minimap. He had found the Boss. It was a middle-aged man standing in a dilapidated palace, clad in dark armor, wielding a battle saber radiating malevolent energy. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes stared directly at Lin Zhao, filled with sinister intent. He sneered, "Seeking death?"
"..."
Lin Zhao descended gracefully and confirmed that it was indeed the final Boss of the seventh level, the Evil Emperor, a Level 187 Saint-grade Boss. The difficulty was certainly higher than the previous six levels, but it didn't matter. With Lin Zhao's strength, he could solo it. The experience gained from soloing was high, and Lin Zhao didn't usually grind for levels, so he didn't overthink it. Solo it!
"Swish!"
A sword light flashed past and collided with the Evil Emperor's battle saber. The Evil Emperor's gaze was fierce. After parrying a sword, he immediately unleashed a barrage of skills, including Stomp and Chaos. Lin Zhao's HP dropped rapidly. However, when the ten immortal swords attacked together, the situation began to turn. As long as five ancient immortal swords triggered a stun effect, Lin Zhao would find an opening for counterattack. Wielding Zhan Lu, he unleashed a series of skills, relying on the super defensive effect of the Golden Armor Immortal Robe to wear down a top-tier Boss of the current version.
After more than half an hour, Lin Zhao, having consumed seven Golden Zi Qian, finally depleted the Evil Emperor's last sliver of HP. With a mournful howl, the Evil Emperor fell to the ground, dropping a pile of items. Lin Zhao checked them one by one. No good equipment dropped; the best was a Heavenly artifact. The drop rate was somewhat outrageous. However, as he was picking up all the gold coins on the ground, he noticed a faintly glowing, miniature piece of armor. At a glance, he knew it was different from ordinary equipment. Its size was very small and it could change freely, clearly indicating it was a magical artifact.
[Heaven Reversal Armor] (Immortal Grade Lower)
Strength: +400
Stamina: +400
Agility: +400
Spirit Power: +400
Special Effect: When attacked, it can greatly absorb a massive amount of damage for the owner.
...
"Damn..."
Looking at the attributes of the Heaven Reversal Armor, Lin Zhao couldn't help but frown. Its effect was identical to the Golden Armor Immortal Robe? The only difference was in their grades. The Heaven Reversal Armor was Immortal Grade Lower, while the Golden Armor Immortal Robe was Immortal Grade Upper. This meant the damage reduction effect was likely different. The Golden Armor Immortal Robe's damage reduction was around 75%, while the Heaven Reversal Armor was probably less than 50%!
For a moment, Lin Zhao hesitated. He then shared the artifact's details in the three-person group chat with Chen Xue and Shen Xing Chen. "Xing Chen, Xue, take a look at this. Its effect is the same as the Golden Armor Immortal Robe. What do you think we should do with it?"
"Ah?"
Shen Xing Chen was surprised, not expecting another drop so soon.
"Did the Level Seven Boss drop it?" Chen Xue asked.
"Mm."
"So fast!"
"..."
Lin Zhao frowned, "Ask you two, what should we do with this? Or rather, who wants it? Logically, Xing Chen is more suitable. A mage wearing this would basically be unkillable."
"Mm, indeed."
Shen Xing Chen said, "But Lin Zhao, you mentioned before that the Golden Armor Immortal Robe consumes spirit power very quickly, calculated by the number of times damage is taken. Once the spirit power is depleted, you can only wait for it to recover slowly. So, besides you, who else in the entire server can afford to maintain it? We don't have the backing of Shan Dian Bie Yuan. In my opinion, it's better to sell it and accelerate Fei Yue Transportation's expansion."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded and smiled, "Xue, you mean the same, right?"
"I have no objections."
Chen Xue smiled, "Let's do that."
"Okay."
Lin Zhao checked the time. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening. "It seems we'll have to stay up late tonight and conquer all nine levels in one go. Why don't we log off first, have a late-night snack, and then continue?"
"Mm!"
The two beautiful deputy guild leaders nodded in unison.
Shortly after, the studio members logged off one by one.
...
Downstairs, Wang Ju had prepared a late-night snack of porridge and pastries. As Lin Zhao sat down, he noticed Wang Ju placing the clay pot of porridge on the table. She wiped the sweat from her face, looking quite fatigued. After a while, even a few crow's feet appeared at the corners of her eyes. She was once such a young and beautiful woman.
"..."
"Sister Ju, thank you for your hard work!"
Lin Zhao got up and helped her bring out the food. At the same time, he was already calculating.
After everyone finished their late-night snack, Lin Zhao was the first to stand up. "Xing Chen, Xue, come to my room for a moment. I have something I want to discuss with you."
"Oh..."
Shen Xing Chen and Chen Xue got up.
Luo Man and Mo Chen Xue watched with wide eyes, unsure what was going on. As for Ding Chi and Zhang Jun, they couldn't be bothered to care; they weren't part of the studio's management, so they didn't want to worry about it.
In the room.
Lin Zhao closed the door and walked directly to the windowsill, leaning against it and frowning. "Have you noticed that Sister Ju seems... a little older than before..."
"Ah?"
Chen Xue was taken aback.
Shen Xing Chen pursed her red lips. "Now that you mention it, I've noticed it too. Sister Ju sometimes can't even straighten her back..."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Cooking meals for seven or eight of us, and also preparing late-night snacks, staying up late with us... it's too much. Although the salary we give her isn't low, over time, it's a form of torment and exploitation for Sister Ju. It's because our studio was too poor before and couldn't even take care of ourselves. But now, we have Fei Yue Transportation behind us, so I think we should lighten Sister Ju's burden."
"Go ahead and say it."
Chen Xue smiled and said, "Just tell us what you've planned."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Fei Yue Transportation has a canteen, right? They even hired star chefs and the like. So, starting today, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be prepared directly by Su Wan and delivered by someone at a fixed time. Sister Ju only needs to make porridge for our late-night snacks. After all, she still has to clean and change our bedding regularly, which is quite tiring."
Chen Xue nodded in agreement, having no objections.
Shen Xing Chen added, "Also, let's increase Sister Ju's salary. We're not short on money. Everyone in the studio's income has increased, so why shouldn't Sister Ju's? If we truly consider her family, we shouldn't treat her like a worker. We should let Sister Ju see hope, the hope of being able to settle down and build a career with this salary."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. "Let's raise her monthly salary to fifty thousand. That should be enough for her and Xiao Ju to live on. If they save a little, they can even buy their own house in a few years."