"Swish!"
A flash of white light flickered past, the character was successfully loaded and appeared in front of Natural Abode. The Autumn Wind Plain battlefield had opened an hour ago. That map was located north of Gu Xia Pass and was now a territory contested by humans, demons, and devils. The entire Autumn Wind Plain map was already blood-red. In the upper right corner of the map interface was the player honor ranking. Currently, the first-ranked player was a demon race sword cultivator named "Gu Ke Wu Ming" (Passing Stranger No Name). No one knew his origin, his honor value even surpassed that of Su Xinghe, Xian Bai, and Yi Shi Cang Liang.
"Hoo..."
He took a deep breath and, after a few seconds of observation, understood. To go to Autumn Wind Plain, one had to teleport to the temporary human teleportation array at Gu Xia Pass. This teleportation array spawned in real-time and was only for player use. NPCs likely couldn't use it. Otherwise, a teleportation array appearing out of nowhere would greatly affect the strategic progress within the game.
Let's go, first to Gu Xia Pass!
The next second, Lin Zhao directly consumed 1g to teleport to the temporary teleportation array at Gu Xia Pass. As he walked out of the teleportation array with two swords on his back, no one noticed him. Everywhere was a sea of people, countless players teleporting from Bai Di City to Gu Xia Pass, all rushing to the battlefield. Upon exiting the teleportation array, many mounted combat players directly summoned their warhorses and galloped away, without forming any parties. The current Autumn Wind Plain was a chaotic battlefield, so players within the battlefield couldn't form parties, and their combat modes were forcibly changed to "All-Out Attack" mode. This made it impossible to implement many team tactics, so everyone tended towards "solo ventures."
Following the crowd, Lin Zhao summoned his warhorse and headed north with the masses. After setting the auto-pathing, he looked back and saw a very conspicuous "Lin" character flag fluttering on the reconstructed Gu Xia Pass city walls. Under the "Lin" flag, spears bristled, and armor gleamed like a forest. The Stone Rock Army led by Lin Ruo had already arrived on the battlefield.
Why Lin Ruo, that was a question.
But Lin Zhao didn't think too much about it. He sped towards the distance. Soon after, he left the main road and no longer paralleled a large group of players. With a light raise of his hand, the warhorse disappeared, replaced by the flying sword Hong Ye. However, Lin Zhao didn't want to be too ostentatious. After stepping onto the flying sword, he flew at high speed at an altitude of about one meter above the ground.
Looking up, a figure in the sky was descending on a flying artifact, charging into the distant Autumn Wind Plain map. That person's ID was blood-red, and they seemed to be a player who had joined a ghost cultivation sect. They were extremely arrogant. As they fell into the forest, a flash of lightning erupted, and even the cries of human players could be faintly heard in the wind.
As chaotic as expected!
As Lin Zhao flew along on his sword, he said in the studio channel, "I'm going solo?"
"Mm!"
Chen Xue said, "Your personal combat strength is the strongest, and you are a Nascent Soul sword cultivator. Solo ventures will yield the highest honor value. Being with us would be restrictive everywhere and not as comfortable. We are all soloing, both offense and defense. Not just you, Xingchen, Ding Chi, and Zhang Jun are all soloing. Luo Man and I, along with Xiao Xue and Lu Li, we are a group traveling together. The all-out attack mode is a bit troublesome, but it's always better to have more people. Just use fewer AoE skills."
"In all-out attack mode, can Xiao Xue heal you?" Lin Zhao asked.
Ding Chi couldn't help but laugh, "Did you forget why Xiao Xue could heal you when we fought Sheng Shi Mudan back then? Wasn't it the all-out mode?"
"Hahaha, alright then."
Lin Zhao laughed, "Then I'm going all out, closing all chat channels, and focusing on PK."
"Be careful."
Shen Xingchen said, "There are many players who have joined the Northern Four Clans. I believe quite a few are watching you. There isn't just one or two people who want to kill you, Lin Baiyi of Xue Yu Tian Chi. Don't be overconfident when facing trouble. Fight if you can, run if you can't."
"Oh, isn't that my famous saying?" Lin Zhao chuckled.
Shen Xingchen couldn't help but smile, "In short, be careful. Go, let yourself fly!"
"Mm!"
...
The next second, Lin Zhao "swished" into a dense forest, having entered the Autumn Wind Plain map. This map wasn't just plains; it also had forests, bushes, and other terrain, a rather complex area. The grasslands were suitable for cavalry charges, so most players were unwilling to go there and stayed mostly within the forests.
The moment he charged into the battlefield map, a ringing sound echoed in Lin Zhao's ears—
"Ding!"
Combat Notification: Please note that due to the unequal numbers of human players and Northern Four Clans players, for balance considerations, all attributes of Northern Four Clans faction players are currently increased by 17.55%!
...
Lin Zhao frowned. Was this to encourage players to join the Northern Four Clans? He immediately understood. His concern for the interests of the human race didn't mean everyone cared. Perhaps from the game designers' perspective, each race was equal and balanced, and they only cared about the game's fun and playability.
Just then, a surge of bloody lightning radiance erupted ahead, followed by the cries of players. As Lin Zhao weaved through the leaves on his sword, a figure came into view. It was a ghost cultivator player wearing a purple robe, exuding an aura of death. He was level 129, a seventh-realm ghost cultivator, but not a coffin bearer. Instead, he was a player who had joined a sect called "Yu Gui Sect" (Ghost Taming Sect), and his ID was "Ling Ren Fa Zhi" (Outrageous).
"Damn it!"
Ling Ren Fa Zhi, despite being a ghost cultivator mage, acted like a warrior, stomping his foot on the back of a level 118 Sacred Hall Knight from the Xun Xian Guild. He grabbed the latter's chin with one hand, and threads of bloody electricity coursed through his body. He laughed, "You trash still want to ambush me? Are you worthy? I'm a mage, and you can't even fight me in melee. What a bunch of losers!"
Saying that, his body flared with lightning. He raised his left hand, holding a bolt of lightning, about to finish off the wounded Sacred Hall Knight from the Xun Xian Guild.
Lin Zhao didn't hesitate. Although the Xun Xian Guild wasn't exactly an allied force, they were still human players. So, without thinking, he sped past on his flying sword and unleashed a powerful "Qian Kun Yi Zhi" (Throwing Heaven and Earth) onto the opponent's chest. Simultaneously, the flying sword Ming Yue activated its divine ability "Feng Han" (Sharp Cold), piercing the mage's throat, delivering two overkill damages—
"53372!"
"68927!"
He had overestimated the ghost cultivator's vitality. One sword strike would have already killed him. The attack from Ming Yue was a formality, just displaying a damage number.
"Ding!"
System Notification: Congratulations on defeating player [Ling Ren Fa Zhi]. Honor Value +12!
...
Lin Zhao looked up. The player with the highest honor value on the map, Gu Ke Wu Ming, only had a little over 400 points. Killing Ling Ren Fa Zhi earned him such a high honor value, proving that most of Ling Ren Fa Zhi's honor value had transferred to him. Otherwise, he should have only gained 1-3 honor points. He decided not to dwell on it and flew through on his flying sword. Lin Zhao didn't want to linger in such a chaotic battlefield. As a sword cultivator, flying swords wreaked havoc, and striking and moving was the way to go!
"Ah?!"
The Sacred Hall Knight, who had been pinned down by Ling Ren Fa Zhi, got up in a sorry state. He looked at his low health, then at Ling Ren Fa Zhi's corpse and the pile of potions that had dropped. He scratched his head and murmured, "Was that... the Alliance Leader Bai Yi from the Scarlet Moon Knights? He saved me?"
"..."
For a moment, the young knight fell into deep thought. Didn't their Xun Xian Guild repeatedly make things difficult for him? Had they been ungracious?
The next moment, a bell sound echoed across the entire map—
"Ding!"
System Announcement (Player Ling Ren Fa Zhi broadcasting): All brothers who have joined the Northern Four Clans sects, be careful! Bai Yi has entered the battlefield! He's alone. Everyone, work hard, the opportunity to slay Lin Baiyi of Xue Yu Tian Chi has come!
...
"???"
Lin Zhao looked up at the starry sky, speechless. Was this playing dirty? Acting like he was going to call for backup. The flying sword under my feet is the fastest in the Chinese server. Would I be afraid of your encirclement?!
Ahead, shadowy figures flickered in the forest.
Lin Zhao immediately pressed his sword and stopped among the leaves. Peering through the gaps, he saw a group of demon race armored warriors entering the jungle. There were exactly ten of them: one demon squad leader and nine armored soldiers. Each of them had a clear honor marker above their heads. The squad leader was worth 3 honor points, and the soldiers were worth 1 honor point each. Without a second thought, Lin Zhao flew out on his sword and struck the squad leader on the forehead.
"Careful!"
The squad leader, a mantis demon, roared as he swung his saber the moment he was hit, "It's a human Nascent Soul sword cultivator!!!"
"What?"
A small demon looked greatly alarmed, "Nascent Soul? Do we even need to fight this?"
His expression turned mournful, "Mother, I'll never be able to go home for dinner again!"
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhao's sword qi cage descended from the sky. Then, he zipped through, accurately landing in front of their group. The two AoE skills, "Li Jian Shi" (Falling Sword Style) and "Po Jian Shi" (Breaking Sword Style), erupted together, causing the group of demon armored warriors to wail endlessly. At the same time, nineteen flying swords flew out of the Spirit Ruins one by one, wreaking havoc among the monsters. He was clearly just a Nascent Soul sword cultivator, but his fighting style was like an army of sword cultivator players, his presence incredibly imposing!
In less than half a minute, all ten demon armored warriors fell, and Lin Zhao now had 24 honor points.
...
Moving further ahead, he saw a group of players locked in a fierce battle with a fourth-realm demon. However, Lin Zhao didn't want to steal their merit, so he flew past on his flying sword, skimming the treetops, trying to keep his coordinates hidden. Despite his strength, maintaining a low profile was essential, or he would eventually fall.
Just then, with a "ding," a message came from an unknown player—
Player Gu Ke Wu Ming: Autumn Wind Plain (27662, 47723), this is my coordinate. I heard this account is the player identity of Lin Baiyi of Xue Yu Tian Chi. What do you say, dare you come over and play?