The next day, early morning.
Lin Zhao and the other two woke up precisely at eight o'clock. They bought some porridge, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks from outside and returned to the studio for breakfast. As Lin Zhao and Zhang Jun were eating buns, Ding Chi took out his phone, placed it on the table, and pressed it lightly. Instantly, streams of text materialized into holographic images. He smiled faintly and said, "I did a little research last night, and the background of this Ghost King and the Prosperous Peony guild is basically clear. There are no secrets."
Lin Zhao and Zhang Jun looked over.
Ding Chi continued with a smile, "Ghost King, real name unknown, but it is certain that he is from the wealthy district of Suzhou. He inherited a garden from his grandfather's generation. It was in the style of a Suzhou garden over a hundred years ago, covering more than five hundred square meters. It was a very affluent family. After the upheavals of the war, only that large plot of land remained of the ancestral property. A few years ago, the government of the Huaxia region acquired the land to build a commercial district, so the Ghost King's family struck it rich. It is said that the money was in the hundreds of millions."
Lin Zhao nodded lightly and asked with a smile, "Is this the legendary overnight wealth?"
"Indeed."
Ding Chi chuckled and said, "And it just so happened that the Ghost King is an absolute gaming fanatic, so he was very willing to invest in the game. During the era of 'Conquest,' he was a super RMB player in the game, very generous with his money. He founded the Prosperous Peony guild, styled himself as the Ghost King, recruited a large number of followers, and established a set of Human Emperor Decrees."
"Peony Decrees?" Zhang Jun exclaimed.
"Yes."
Ding Chi suppressed a laugh and said, "The Peony Decrees of Prosperous Peony are as unyielding as mountains! You can see for yourselves, this set of Peony Decrees is listed below." Da Feng Novel Network.
"Let's take a look quickly..."
Lin Zhao and Zhang Jun looked down. Indeed, lines of text appeared before their eyes, causing great shock.
Peony Decree: Used for summoning the guild for small-scale battles, or for resolving conflicts between guild members, usable by team leaders.
Peony Emperor Decree: Mid-level, used for large-scale battles, or for strategic operations such as attacks and raids, only usable by commanders.
Peony Venerable Emperor Decree: High-level, used for battles at the entire alliance level or campaign level, only usable by deputy alliance leaders.
Peony Holy Emperor Decree: High-level, used for life-or-death battles to defend homeland. Once activated, it is a fight to the death with the enemy. Used by the alliance leader, usable at most once a month.
Peony Divine Emperor Decree: The highest level, the final trump card to unleash. The initiator can only be the Ghost King, and it can only be used once in a lifetime.
...
"Holy shit..."
After Zhang Jun finished reading, he was completely stunned.
Lin Zhao was also dumbfounded. Although he didn't know why, he somehow felt that this person was inexplicably powerful.
Ding Chi crossed his arms and laughed heartily, "Impressive, isn't it? Are you scared by the overwhelming chuunibyo aura?"
Lin Zhao frowned, "The Peony Divine Emperor Decree is powerful, but there are too many restrictions, only usable once in a lifetime. But if the Ghost King has already used it once, what happens if he encounters a life-or-death battle later?"
Ding Chi chuckled, "Reincarnate and use it again?"
Zhang Jun burst into laughter, "That's so mean!"
"So then..."
Ding Chi narrowed his eyes and smiled, "We are only three people, but we have to face the entire Prosperous Peony guild. Although our enemies seem chuunibyo, they are actually quite capable. Firstly, the Ghost King has almost inexhaustible financial reserves, so he can recruit new members in large numbers. The fame of 'Tian Xia' is too great, and there are too many players. The Prosperous Peony guild, rebuilt by the Ghost King in 'Tian Xia,' will only be more formidable. Secondly, the story of Prosperous Peony is widely circulated on the forums. Precisely because of the Ghost King's chuunibyo nature, many people who like to stir up trouble want to join Prosperous Peony just to witness 'My King's demeanor.' This has led to the existence of genuine experts in Prosperous Peony."
Lin Zhao frowned, "Fan Wang Zhi Xue, Bi Yi Jian Zhong. Are these two mages such people?"
"Yes!"
Ding Chi nodded, "Fan Wang Zhi Xue and Bi Yi Jian Zhong were both Grandmasters in the game 'Conquest,' just one step away from King level. They are considered rare players. But both of them have rather outgoing personalities and like to cause trouble. Joining Prosperous Peony, they've been waiting to watch 'My King' make a fool of himself every day and can't bear to leave. So they've stayed with Prosperous Peony and have been serving the Ghost King. Both of them are mages with extremely powerful attack capabilities, and they will be quite troublesome. Once we encounter them, if they focus fire on anyone, that person will die. That's basically how it is."
"It still depends on the sword qi collision," Lin Zhao said, taking a deep breath. "If the sword qi collision is used well, we might be able to defeat these two. However... there are too many people in Prosperous Peony. We should still try to minimize friction with them."
"Mm."
Ding Chi smiled, "But yesterday's PK had many benefits. That staff sold for a full 5,000 universal coins. There are too many rich people in this game; they spend money without even blinking."
"Let's get ready to log in and level up and make money."
"Alright!"
...
In the morning, the map Fiery Bee Forest was no longer suitable for leveling. Players were everywhere, like a bustling market. As players leveled up, a large number of them came here to try their luck, all hoping to kill a giant bee and get a copy of 'Qian Kun Yi Zhi.' In reality, the drop rate of giant bees for the past two days had been quite disappointing, it seemed only Lin Zhao's copy of 'Qian Kun Yi Zhi' had dropped.
Therefore, Lin Zhao chose another map, Colorful Butterfly Forest.
Colorful Butterfly Forest spawned level 32-38 Golden Magic Butterflies, which were also monsters with high attack, low defense, and low health, making them very suitable for leveling for a Sword Master, a profession with high attack and high agility.
Again, Ding Chi and Zhang Jun formed a party to fight level 32 Golden Magic Butterflies, while Lin Zhao went deeper to fight level 35 Golden Magic Butterflies. His task this morning was simple: reach level 30. Once he reached level 30, he could return to the city to learn the level 30 skill, Sword Qi Bodyguard, which would significantly improve the early survivability of a Sword Master.
"Swish!"
As the sword skill 'Qian Kun Yi Zhi' instantly dealt nearly 1500 health damage to the Golden Magic Butterfly, the skill leveled up to level 3. At the same time, Lin Zhao activated the skill 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' (Draw Sword Slash), and his figure darted forward, colliding with the monster. He directly advanced 3 yards to the Golden Magic Butterfly's back, forming a back-to-back stance.
From within the sword blade, a wisp of AoE sword qi was ready to burst forth. Lin Zhao immediately turned around and heavily struck the Golden Magic Butterfly with the damage from 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn.' Simultaneously, he himself was hit by a flame impact from the Golden Magic Butterfly, taking over 300 points of damage.
He frowned, looking at the Golden Magic Butterfly that was killed by the damage from 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn.' Logically, he shouldn't have taken this damage. It was undoubtedly because the turn after 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' was too late. The mechanism of 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' was actually very simple: a forward charge + an AoE sword slash damage. Therefore, it had two uses: one was to simply charge forward and deal AoE damage, and the other was to use the charge effect to flank the opponent, then turn around to catch them off guard. After all, this was everyone's first time playing a 100% realistic game, and many people were not accustomed to it, becoming disoriented. Suddenly charging behind an opponent could often have surprising effects.
Especially when he was being attacked from both front and back, if 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' was used well, it could reverse the situation. Therefore, Lin Zhao practiced his operations while leveling, continuously familiarizing himself with all the game settings. For Lin Zhao, 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' was no longer just 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn'; it was 'Bá Jiàn Zhuǎn Shēn Zhǎn' (Draw Sword Turn Slash). If he couldn't master this 'Bá Jiàn Zhuǎn Shēn Zhǎn' operation, then this skill could only be considered half-understood, and he might suffer losses in PK because of it.
Lin Zhao was a person who liked to thoroughly ponder things and do them to the extreme. Therefore, even if leveling up was a bit slower, it didn't matter. He had to master 'Bá Jiàn Zhuǎn Shēn Zhǎn,' train it to perfection, and make it flow like water. Only then could a Sword Master be considered a true Sword Master. He couldn't even fully grasp his own class skills and claim to be a Sword Immortal.
Thus, he practiced 'sword charge + turning attack' again and again, using the agile and nimble Golden Magic Butterfly as a practice target. If his 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' could be executed so quickly that the Golden Magic Butterfly couldn't even turn around before he struck, then he would be halfway to mastery.
But this was easier said than done. The entire morning only saw slight progress, far from perfect integration.
...
Half past eleven.
Ding Chi's excited voice came from the party channel: "A Zhao, we've encountered the boss of Colorful Butterfly Forest!"
"Ah!?"
Lin Zhao was startled, "Send a screenshot!"
"Okay!"
The next moment, Ding Chi posted the boss screenshot in the party chat. It was a level 38 golden boss named Golden Butterfly King. As for its attack power and other attributes, the level difference was too great to see!
"How is it? Can we fight it?"
Ding Chi raised an eyebrow, "It should be the first refresh of Colorful Butterfly Forest. If we can kill it, it will definitely be the first kill."
"A bit difficult," Lin Zhao frowned and said, "At least with our current strength, we definitely can't defeat it. We have to wait until I reach level 30 and learn Sword Qi Bodyguard. Slowly depleting its health might still work."
"How long until you reach level 30?"
"Half an hour!"
"Okay!"
Ding Chi said in a deep voice, "Da Jun and I will stay here and watch the boss. After you level up, immediately return to the city to learn the skill, then come over. Let's give it a try. If we can't beat it, we'll at most lose one level. It's not like we can't afford to lose it."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly and continued to focus on leveling.
...
At noon, precisely at twelve o'clock, a golden rain of light descended from the sky. Lin Zhao successfully reached level 30, becoming the first player in Cloud Upon County to reach level 30, one step faster than Fan Wang Zhi Xue and Bi Yi Jian Zhong. He immediately returned to the city and spent 1g from the professional trainer to learn the Sword Master's level 30 skill—
[Sword Qi Bodyguard] (S-rank): Summons a wisp of sword intent to form a protective sword qi, greatly increasing one's defense and resistance for 7 seconds, with a cooldown of 25 seconds.
An S-rank skill, which was higher than basic skills like 'Bá Jiàn Zhǎn' and 'Jí Fēng' which had no rating.
Not only that, to be absolutely sure, Lin Zhao also went to the pharmacy and bought some instant recovery potions and healing powders usable at level 30. Only then did he leave the city. He circled around Fiery Bee Forest and then detoured to Colorful Butterfly Forest.