The next day, early morning.
At precisely eight o'clock, Lin Zhao and the others had already woken up and finished their morning ablutions. Downstairs, Wang Ju was already busy in the kitchen. By the time everyone descended, a pot of fragrant white rice porridge was cooked. Additionally, Wang Ju had fried a soft-boiled egg for each of them and bought fried dough sticks and sesame seed cakes from outside. This breakfast was quite a feast.
"Little Juzi, have some fried dough sticks!"
Lin Zhao picked up a fried dough stick and placed it on Little Juzi's porridge bowl. This sight immediately reminded him of Zhang Liu Cheng, who had defecated on the stone bridge at Bai Yu Stream. There was nothing this little scamp wouldn't do in this world. It was a pity that, under the sword of the great demon Lu Hai, that little scamp would never have the chance to cause trouble in the mortal realm again.
He actually missed Zhang Liu Cheng quite a bit, wishing he could sit by the bridgehead with him again, talk about leaving his world, and what this world he was in was like. He imagined Zhang Liu Cheng would be very happy, and perhaps yearn for this era of technological advancement.
"How's the fried egg?"
Wang Ju looked at Lin Zhao, smiling cautiously, "This is actually my first time making them. I learned from a cooking tutorial video. If it's not tasty, I'll improve it next time."
"It's very good."
Lin Zhao was not a picky eater and smiled, "The taste is good, just a little bland."
"Mhm, I'll know for next time."
After eating, Wang Ju took Little Juzi to the market to buy groceries. Lunch and dinner would also need to be substantial, after all, the three adult men in the studio had quite large appetites.
Lin Zhao and the others logged in, continuing their training.
...
The morning sun in Yun Shang County was bright. Rays of dawn light filtered through the branches and leaves of the large birch trees within the city, casting mottled shadows on the ground. Standing beneath the trees, one felt bathed in sunlight, with an incredibly gentle warmth pervading the body. Lin Zhao met up with Ding Chi and Zhang Jun. Together, they repaired their equipment and purchased potions. At this moment, the three of them already exuded the demeanor of experts. Ding Chi carried a sword case, with sword qi swirling around him. Lin Zhao wielded the Dragon Slaying Sword, the most authentic Dragon Slaying Sword skin. Zhang Jun wore a bamboo hat and a long sword at his waist. Beneath the hat, a pair of sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes were revealed, making him look even more handsome.
Moreover, the three of them were undeniably famous in Yun Shang County. Although Lin Zhao's ID on the leveling leaderboard was hidden, rumors had long circulated that the person was called "Bai Yi," the number one sword master of Yun Shang County. Coupled with the conflict with Sheng Shi Mu Dan, it was difficult not to gain notoriety. When the three appeared together, they immediately attracted the attention and whispers of many passersby.
Simultaneously, two level 29 sword masters from Sheng Shi Mu Dan were following them openly.
"Are you just following us like this?"
Lin Zhao turned around, looking at the two sword masters, and asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"
"No particular meaning."
One of the sword masters sneered and said, "We are following three people who are wanted by the Sheng Shi Mu Dan Peony Order. What if we follow? Our alliance leader said that as long as you are found, you three will not be allowed to leave the safe zone of Yun Shang County. We are merely carrying out the Peony Order."
"Tsk, impressive!"
Ding Chi laughed, "If someone didn't know, they might think that You Ling Wang is the first Heavenly King player in 'Tian Xia'!"
"Hahahaha~~~"
Zhang Jun also burst into laughter, "If you have the guts, keep following us. If Sheng Shi Mu Dan wants trouble, we, the Scarlet Moon Knights, are not afraid of trouble. Come fight if you want!"
"Let's go."
Lin Zhao gently raised his hand, drew the Fang Tooth Sword, and as they walked out of the East City Gate, he immediately accelerated to full speed. In the team chat, he said in a deep voice, "Let's go, let's go, let's leave the main city as quickly as possible. If they dare to chase, we'll turn back and take them down!"
"Alright!"
The three swordsmen galloped away.
"Damn it!"
The two sword masters were stunned, unsure whether to pursue or not.
"What should we do? Chase or not?"
"Chase!"
"Okay, chase!"
The two of them desperately pursued. Lin Zhao and the others had already rushed into a nearby forest. As soon as these two sword masters approached the forest, three burly men suddenly sprang out from the grass. With a "Qián Kūn Yī Zhì" and a "Zhǎn Lóng Jiàn," they forcefully pinned the two down at the edge of the forest. Picking up the potions and spoils of war from the ground, Lin Zhao and the three made their escape.
In small-scale battles, Sheng Shi Mu Dan was far from being a match.
...
Half an hour later, the three appeared in a map north of Yun Shang County. Ding Chi and Zhang Jun were jointly farming monsters of level 35-37, while Lin Zhao was soloing level 42 monsters. In fact, Ding Chi and Zhang Jun also knew that Lin Zhao should be soloing; his level advantage was quite useful, and coupled with his excellent equipment, he was invincible.
Around nine o'clock in the morning.
As Lin Zhao was fighting monsters, he suddenly heard rustling in the grass nearby. He frowned and saw the grass leaves swaying, but no figure. Clearly, it was a stealthy assassin. He pretended to continue fighting monsters, and the moment the opponent got close, he suddenly sidestepped and unleashed a "Zhǎn Lóng Jiàn" sweep. With a "swish," three assassins appeared on the grass. They were all from Sheng Shi Mu Dan!
"Damn it, we've been discovered!"
A level 30 assassin drew his dagger horizontally, "Force kill!"
A faint milky white light appeared on the edge of his dagger – Blindness, an early-game skill that could cause the opponent to lose vision for two seconds. Instantly, Lin Zhao, like a provoked beast, lightly tapped the level 30 assassin with his long sword, utilizing its range advantage, and then retreated to create distance, preventing the Blindness effect from being activated.
"Surround him!"
The other two assassins split into two groups.
Lin Zhao smiled faintly, instantly casting a sword qi that enveloped the assassin on the left. In the next second, the sword qi successfully struck, dealing double damage plus a heavy strike. This assassin instantly fell.
"Scoundrel!"
The level 30 assassin charged forward, his dagger, imbued with the Blindness effect, slashing towards Lin Zhao's neck.
At this moment, Lin Zhao's body seemed to retain the muscle memory from his previous life. The footwork of an eighth-realm peak martial artist manifested. The moment the opponent attacked, he twisted his body, and like an elver, he instantly evaded the almost certain strike of the blinded dagger. He then tapped the assassin on the right in the chest, preventing him from advancing, and instantly unleashed a fierce "Qián Kūn Yī Zhì." The result was a damage of over 1800+, and the second assassin also let out a groan and fell.
The moment he killed the second assassin, Lin Zhao leaned back, retreated rapidly, and lightly parried the incoming dagger with his sword. At this moment, the level 30 assassin's Blindness effect never had a chance to be used, and he couldn't even touch Lin Zhao. He was on the verge of questioning his life – could the game be played like this? What kind of operation was this?
The next moment, the duration of the Blindness effect expired, being ruthlessly extinguished in its cradle and entering cooldown.
"Your turn!"
Lin Zhao smiled faintly and landed several sword strikes on the assassin, while he continuously moved and kited, always staying outside the opponent's attack range, or using his sword to block and parry, giving the opponent no chance to touch him. A few seconds later, this level 30 assassin knelt on the ground, having been humiliatingly slaughtered.
...
Looking at the humiliated and dead expression of his opponent, Lin Zhao remained incredibly calm.
He picked up the equipment dropped by the opponent and began farming monsters again. However, his mind was thinking about more things. The battle just now had validated many of his ideas. The PK mode in "Tian Xia" was truly a "free combat" rule. As long as your skill was good enough, you could make the opponent unable to touch you. It was simple, yet not so simple.
Distance control, timing of attacks, angles of attack, whether to use a sword, a kick, or an elbow strike – all of these had their nuances. Even when the opponent was continuously attacked, a combo could be unleashed, and the damage would be explosive!
He felt a surge of joy. In a sense, he was already ahead of most players.
"Ding!"
In the team channel, Ding Chi frowned, "Ah Zhao, why are you red-named?"
"Three assassins from Sheng Shi Mu Dan came to assassinate me just now, so I turned red."
Lin Zhao said in a deep voice, "Let's change locations. It's not safe here anymore. Soon, a large number of You Ling Wang's lackeys will come to trouble us. If we don't change locations, our leveling efficiency will be lost."
"Too disgusting!"
Zhang Jun frowned, "The top players from Sheng Shi Mu Dan, like You Ling Wang, Fan Wang Zhi Xue, Bi Yi Jian Zhong, and Fei Long Zai Tian, are all leveling up. Sending a group of subordinates to stall our leveling progress, is this how a major guild behaves?"
"Let's change locations first."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly, "We won't let You Ling Wang off easily either."
"Mhm, we'll get revenge when we have the chance!"
...
A short while later, after changing maps and washing off his red name, Lin Zhao contacted the only assassin in the current Scarlet Moon Knights, "Mo Yin, are you there?!"
"Brother Bai Yi, I'm here!"
Mo Yin's voice was filled with excitement. He never expected Brother Bai Yi to speak to him directly. "What do you need, please instruct me!"
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao said, "Can you find the leveling locations of Sheng Shi Mu Dan's key members? Especially You Ling Wang. If you can find You Ling Wang's leveling coordinates, send them to me. I want to go and meet him."
"Okay, I'll go search for intel right away, please wait!"
"Mhm!"
Not long after, Mo Yin sent a set of coordinates –
[Flame Thistle Forest] (376,1828)
...
"I've found it."
Mo Yin said, "The Flame Thistle Forest is not far from your leveling location, at most a five-minute journey. Currently, there are three people there: You Ling Wang, Fan Wang Zhi Xue, and Bi Yi Jian Zhong, with two archmages and an experience baby."
"No wonder You Ling Wang's level is so high."
Lin Zhao smiled faintly and said, "Thank you. I'll handle the rest."
"Don't!"
Mo Yin said in a deep voice, "Although I'm not very capable, I'm willing to delay one of the mages for you, Brother Bai Yi. I can still help by causing a two-second blindness. I'll remain in stealth nearby. Just tell me when you're about to act."
"That's fine too."
Lin Zhao nodded, "Be careful not to be instantly killed by You Ling Wang. I'll kill the mages first, and then You Ling Wang last."
"Got it!"
Lin Zhao, sword in hand, crouched low and dashed into a dense forest on the left.
At this moment, the time for retaliation had finally arrived!