The next day, in the afternoon.
Chen Xue, after having eaten and drunk her fill with everyone else, had a cup of coffee brewed by Sister Ju Zi in the studio before going online. With a flash of light, her character appeared deep in the jungle. As she opened her eyes to survey her surroundings, she saw a figure not far ahead, who had just felled two monsters with a swift sword strike. It was Lin Zhao. At this moment, Lin Zhao was covered in a thick layer of blood-red aura, not officially a red name but far surpassing one. His eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, looking somewhat terrifying, like a beast about to unleash its fury.
"Tired?" Chen Xue asked with a smile.
"Tired."
Lin Zhao nodded, spun, and leaped onto a crooked tree. "But no matter how tired I am, I have to bear it. I plan to sleep in the game later. I heard that sleeping in the game is equivalent to 65% of real-life sleep effectiveness. I wonder if it's true."
"It's true. It's just a function to promote brain dormancy. While it can achieve a certain degree of rest, it's ultimately not as comfortable as sleeping in your bed in reality."
Chen Xue rode her mount forward and extended her hand. "Come on, take off your equipment and give it to me. I'll help you repair it back in town."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao took off his equipment piece by piece. In a blink, all his equipment with durability was handed over to Chen Xue. He took out a pile of Silver and Black Iron gear from his inventory to use as placeholders, wielding a bronze longsword. He still exuded the unfettered grace of a sword immortal, and said with a smile, "A Xue, do you believe it? With my current stats, I can still crush a heavily armored player of the same level equipped with all Dark Gold gear."
"I believe you."
Chen Xue shot him a sideways glance. "I know you're powerful. To get Shen Xingchen into the studio, you're even disregarding your own health."
"Can't be helped. You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair, right?"
Lin Zhao waved his hand. "Alright, you go back to town and repair the equipment. I'll rest here for a while."
"Mm."
Chen Xue turned around and shouted into the distance to Xu Du, "Xu Du, the alliance leader is online and resting here. Dispatch 20 people to come level up here, and also to protect the alliance leader."
"Roger that, coming right up!"
Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes. This time, he could finally sleep with peace of mind. He activated the online dormancy system, setting it for 30 minutes, and then fell into a drowsy sleep.
...
"Dong dong dong—"
In his dream, the sound of war drums filled the air.
Lin Zhao slowly opened his eyes to find himself on a battlefield, riding a tall warhorse as a cavalryman of the Tianchi Army. He was covered in heavy armor, his head encased in an iron helmet, with only slits for his eyes and nose. In his hand, he held a dark iron spear, and a sword hung at his waist. His gaze was cold as he looked forward.
Ahead lay an entire demon army encampment, with two hundred thousand demon soldiers densely packed. The blood-red war banners of the demon race fluttered in the wind. It seemed that a great demon of the Upper Five Realms was present, and waves of chilling killing intent emanated from the formation.
"An ant trying to shake a tree, how can it be easy?"
A demon commander drew his long sword with a clang, pointed its blade forward, and roared, "Demon warriors, charge! Tear these human ants before us to shreds!"
"Form ranks!"
From within the formation of the Tianchi Army's Death Defiance Battalion, someone shouted.
It was Chu Huai Xi's voice.
"Marshal Chu..."
Lin Zhao trembled. After so many years, he deeply missed his days in the Tianchi Army, missed the time when Chu Huai Xi was still alive. He quickly turned to look, but couldn't see Chu Huai Xi's figure at all. He could only see the Death Defiance Battalion's cavalrymen raising their heavy shields and spears, forming a formation facing forward. In the distance, countless demon soldiers were rolling in, and battle was imminent.
"Reporting to Marshal Chu!"
A rider galloped up. The scout dismounted and said, "Demon cavalry have appeared on the right flank of the battlefield, numbering countless!"
Lin Zhao turned his gaze. On the horizon at the valley entrance, a dense expanse of golden armor glinted and merged into one. It was demon cavalry. The demon cavalry were always flamboyant, dyeing their armor and the armor of their steeds gold. Golden shields, golden swords, etc., were incredibly luxurious, but their combat power was equally terrifying.
At this moment, the demon cavalry advanced slowly. The front few rows of demon cavalry raised three-meter-long lances, on the tips of which were impaled blood-stained heads. Some heads even still had their helmets attached. And that helmet... it was the standard war helmet of the Tianchi Army's vanguard!
"Huang Ting Yu!"
A demon cavalry general raised his sword and laughed, "Your vanguard's three hundred cavalrymen have all been torn to shreds by our divine race. Do you still dare to oppose us?"
"Bah!"
From within the crowd, a familiar voice rang out. "Damn divine race, just a bunch of savage barbarians. Watch this sword immortal shatter ten thousand armors and hack you all to pieces!"
"Old Huang!?"
Lin Zhao quickly turned, wanting to see the speaker's appearance. He greatly missed Huang Ting Yu, the twelfth-realm sword immortal whose true form was a large yellow dog. After the battle at Snow Domain Tianchi, Huang Ting Yu's life and whereabouts had been unknown. Was he still alive now?
Unfortunately, the Tianchi Army cavalry formed a vast expanse, and Lin Zhao couldn't discern anyone's face.
"What's happening to me?"
He was in great pain, gripping the iron spear in his hand, his heart aching.
"My lord, what's wrong?"
The voice was from Wu Zhi.
"Wu Zhi..."
Lin Zhao looked back in despair, but couldn't see Wu Zhi's figure.
"My lord, the enemy is about to attack!" It was Luo Yang's voice.
"Marshal Lin!"
Mu Fa's boisterous voice came through. "Why don't I lead a detachment of cavalry to engage them first? We can keep the demon army encampment a hundred meters away, so that my lord can get a clear look at the demon army's combat strength!"
"Mu Fa..."
Lin Zhao's vision blurred, and he couldn't see anyone clearly. He reached out to grasp, but only touched the cold air. In his ears, the voices of Dong Hu, Hua Ping, Gu Luan, and others could be heard again. Everyone seemed to be present, yet also seemingly absent.
"Lin Zhao."
From behind, Chen Yu's voice came. "Please take good care of the descendants of the Great Chen Dynasty..."
"Princess Yu!"
Lin Zhao was almost in tears, but he couldn't see anyone clearly. At this moment, his heart was ashen. His friends of the past had all turned to bones beneath the earth, and he alone lived like a lonely wandering ghost in this world. Lin Bai Yi of Snow Domain Tianchi was a legend, but for Lin Zhao, that memory was like a curse etched into his bones, causing him pain, making him reminisce and long for it.
...
"Lin Zhao?"
Suddenly, someone shook him awake. It was Chen Xue.
Chen Xue's pretty face was full of helplessness. "You're only lightly sleeping in the game, and you're already having dreams?"
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao was stunned and somewhat embarrassed. He sat up from the tree trunk. "A Xue, you're back..."
"Mm."
Chen Xue frowned. "What were you dreaming about? You were even calling out strange names like Mu Fa and Wu Zhi in your dream..."
"Nothing..."
Lin Zhao was a little embarrassed, scratching his head. "Are my equipment repaired?"
"Mm, here."
Chen Xue opened the trading window and transferred all of Lin Zhao's repaired equipment. Lin Zhao put it all on, and in a moment, he was once again clad in top-notch gear.
"Continue killing monsters this afternoon?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao leaped down from the tree, his landing graceful. He stood up and said with a smile, "The effect of God Slayer Blood Drink seems to have no upper limit. The more we can farm, the better. Shen Xingchen is so powerful, I must secure the greatest advantage. You go about your business, I'll continue farming monsters."
"When are you scheduled to duel Shen Xingchen?"
"Tonight at eight o'clock."
"Okay, got it. I'll be there to watch."
"Alright."
Chen Xue led her team to level up, while Lin Zhao soloed monsters to accumulate the God Slayer Blood Drink effect. At this moment, the 1000+ members of the Crimson Moon Knights were only farming monsters in the wilderness, not venturing into the secret realm maps at all. However, it was clear that their hearts were still in the Titan Secret Realm map, and they would inevitably return to fight. After all, those who were truly villains would leave; it was only a matter of time.
...
At night, in Hai Xi County.
Light rain was falling in a patch of woods. Shen Xingchen held her staff, her Starlight Shield active. The raindrops naturally slid off the edge of the shield, not wetting her mage robe even a bit. Beside her were Su Xing He and Shen Ling Yuan, their faces quite grim.
"Xingchen, you should have discussed this with me."
Su Xing He frowned. "That person in white... let's not even say if they're a top-tier expert, but they're certainly not weak. To cause such a stir in Yun Shang County, and to use terrain and class advantages to single-handedly hold off a Wind camp of the Azure Knights, and to be the first player in the national server to awaken the Yun Jian Lake and Flying Sword abilities – such a person must have considerable strength. What if you lose?"
"Senior, if I lose, I lose."
Shen Xingchen began to farm monsters, swinging her staff. "Buzz," a black gravity trap descended from the sky, significantly slowing down an entire pack of monsters. Then, she raised her staff, and the tip shot out a scorching flame laser, continuously burning monsters. The damage numbers were quite explosive, and the monsters' health bars seemed to vanish instantly.
"Senior."
Shen Xingchen smiled faintly. "If I win, I can gain such a powerful force as the Crimson Moon Knights for Xing He. The Youth Corps, the White Robe Corps, plus the newly formed Thousand City Corps – I don't dare to say more, but I've watched their combat recordings. The overall strength of the Crimson Moon Knights is already at least 20% of ours in Xing He. If I can secure them, Xing He's strength will advance by leaps and bounds."
"What if you lose?"
Su Xing He frowned. "Do you really intend to leave Xing He?"
"Mm."
Shen Xingchen nodded directly. "I haven't signed any contract with Xing He, nor have I taken a single cent from Xing He. I'm only in Xing He to help you achieve the dream of being number one in the Huaxia region. Xing He is already number one in the national server now, so I can leave anytime, without any constraints."
"Xingchen!"
Su Xing He gritted his teeth. "Do you have no feelings for Xing He at all? Are you responsible to those in Xing He who rely on you so much if you leave like this?"
"Senior?"
Shen Xingchen turned, her beautiful eyes glancing at Su Xing He. "Everything has its limits."
Her service to Xing He was out of camaraderie as classmates. But to try and morally blackmail her now was too much. In fact, the one thing that made Shen Xingchen want to leave Xing He the most was Su Xing He's pursuit. Shen Xingchen's attitude towards life was quite casual. She didn't play games to conquer or make money; she just wanted to have fun. Out of consideration for their classmate relationship, she offered her strategies. Now you want strategies and the person too? This is going too far, isn't it?
"..."
Su Xing He remained silent, his heart filled with a thousand mixed emotions.
...
"I'm going to Yun Shang County."
Shen Xingchen held her staff and said with a smile, "If you want to watch, follow me. If you don't want to watch, stay and level up."
With that, she directly crushed a town scroll and returned to the city.
"..."
Su Xing He and Shen Ling Yuan exchanged a glance, and they also crushed town scrolls and returned to the city.