Seven in the evening.
With a flash of sword light, the head of another first-realm demon soldier rolled in the snow. It was the 5,000th kill by Lin Zhao, and the S-rank mission quota was full. He returned to the mountainside of Xueyu Tianchi with his long sword. Xiang Ji was still sitting there, but there were a few more demon soldier heads at his feet, even a demon core, dropped by an eighth-realm Golden Core demon. Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle, it seemed he hadn't been idle while Lin Zhao was down the mountain killing demons.
"What happens to these demon things in the end?" Lin Zhao asked.
"It's simple."
Xiang Ji showed a look of shame and smiled, "Actually, I'm not always at Xueyu Tianchi. I go down the mountain once a month, taking these demon heads and cores to Fusang Great Wall. Over at Fusang Great Wall, I trade these for food, flying fish money, and other cultivation necessities. Otherwise, I'd really have to eat demon corpses to survive."
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao nodded. It made sense. The next moment, he submitted the mission, and a chime rang in his ears. He had reaped generous rewards—
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations on completing the main mission [Kill Enemy 2] (S-rank). Rewards obtained: Current level experience +40%, Gold coins +1000, Reputation +800, Charm +1!
...
The moment he handed in the mission, a rain of golden light descended and bathed him, leveling him up to 73. Doing quests in Xueyu Tianchi indeed leveled him up incredibly fast. In the next second, Lin Zhao's gaze swept over, and Xiang Ji already had a new quest refreshed. It didn't disappoint. He reached out and took the new quest. There was nothing else to do but grind here.
"Ding!"
System prompt: You have accepted the mission [Kill Enemy 3] (SS-rank)!
Mission content: Head north of Xueyu Tianchi, defeat over 20,000 demon units of level 75 and above. Return to Xiang Ji after completion for extremely generous rewards.
...
It was actually an SS-rank mission, and the kill quota reached a terrifying 20,000. Lin Zhao glanced at his inventory with some embarrassment. His potion consumption wasn't high; after all, 44% lifesteal was enough for him to kill monsters without taking damage. Replenishing Qi with Huiqi Pills was also fine; if there were no Huiqi Pills, he'd just kill slower. But his inventory was packed with Silver-grade, Gold-grade, and other miscellaneous items. Of the 200 slots, fewer than 60 remained. He would probably have to start discarding some dropped items, otherwise, he would have to return to the city to sort them out before coming back. But traveling between Xueyu Tianchi and Tianji City took about four hours one way, which was precious time!
Never mind, he'd focus on this mission first!
He drew his sword and headed down the mountain again.
Xiang Ji, however, frowned as he watched the young sword cultivator ride down the mountain. He felt a inexplicable envy. Once upon a time, in his youth, he too had ridden his horse to traverse the land, doing only what he wished. Back then, he was a sixth-realm martial artist, and with a pair of iron fists, he had journeyed north from Furong Province, slaying malevolent spirits and pacifying bandit lairs that preyed on the common folk. But since when did he start to lose that sense of freedom?
Perhaps it was from the day he became a general.
With heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, a hero cannot be free.
...
Down the mountain.
Lin Zhao continued to kill monsters, pulling over 50 demon soldiers for a group grind. His Benlei Sword danced, and his Flying Sword, Mingyue, weaved back and forth. He was like a god of war, and his experience bar kept ticking up. His leveling speed was beyond ordinary. Originally, after level 70, leveling should take 1.5-2 days per level. But at Lin Zhao's current pace, he could gain 120%-125% of his current level's experience in a single day, making his leveling speed comparable to a rocket.
"Roar roar roar~~~"
A pack of demon soldiers cried out in agony as they were slain by Lin Zhao. Some even wailed mournfully before dying, "Mom, you don't have to worry about me not eating meat anymore~~~"
While killing monsters, Lin Zhao frowned, thinking about how he had already slain over 7,000 demon soldiers. Would these numbers count towards the Ninth Army under the command of the Eleventh Realm White Fox? If so, wouldn't he have wiped out an entire army camp's worth of demon soldiers in just over ten days? But on second thought, it probably wouldn't be like that. Games had their own algorithms. These demon soldiers before him were likely not counted towards the army camp. The strength of the army camp should be used in plot-driven version events. Otherwise, with hundreds of thousands of players descending upon Xueyu Tianchi, they would empty the demon army of millions in a month.
As he was thinking, his Benlei Sword flashed with golden lightning. It was the pursuit effect of Benlei Blade. After a normal attack, he swiftly followed up with a 300% Benlei Blade pursuit damage, instantly slaying the level 80 Flowing Gold Demon Soldier before him. This demon soldier was a mantis. The moment it died, it let out a squeak, and then with a "pat," it dropped a green sac-like object.
"Hmm?"
Lin Zhao frowned, picked it up, and shook it. After shaking off the sticky mucus, the sac suddenly emitted a shimmering emerald green glow, like a soft jade woven bag. He reached out and brushed it, and its attributes filled Lin Zhao with ecstatic joy—
[Mantis Demon's Sac] (Flowing Gold grade Storage Artifact): When equipped, it provides the user with an additional 500 storage slots and increases the user's attack damage by 5%.
...
A good item!
The legendary storage treasure, it really came when he needed it most. Moreover, this was a Flowing Gold grade storage artifact, which should be considered quite high-grade. Besides expanding his inventory by 500 slots, it also boosted his attack damage by 5%, which was extraordinary. All in all, this Mantis Demon's Sac was effectively equivalent to dropping a Flowing Gold grade item.
In fact, given Lin Zhao's current situation, its value exceeded that of a Flowing Gold grade item!
With a happy smile, he equipped the Mantis Demon's Sac. Every player's panel had five dedicated slots for equipping storage artifacts. If he was dissatisfied later, he could take it out and equip a better one. So there was no hesitation. The next moment, Lin Zhao gained 500 storage spaces, and he could now grind monsters in the Northern Region to his heart's content.
Perhaps, by the time he had ground enough and returned to Tianji City, he could earn a significant sum just by selling and consigning equipment. For a moment, even grinding monsters filled him with vigor.
The Northern Region, covered in snow.
Lin Zhao, alone with his sword, fought with burning passion.
...
Meanwhile, in Baima City.
Nightfall, the prime time for grinding monsters. Every major city had countless players heading out to train. Baima City was no exception. With a city buff that increased both attack and defense by 3%, Baima City attracted a large number of players. Among them were stronger guilds like Zhixian Jiànyuè, Tianting, Xinhuochuánchéng, and Zixiao Gong. These large guilds had each claimed their territory and occupied leveling resource areas, focusing on developing and maximizing all their interests.
In a forest where level 70 Green Mantises spawned, a beautiful young girl in a milky white spirit robe, holding a Gold-grade staff, was leveling up with four friends. Although her equipment was far from her best, a happy smile graced her lips. It was only when she left Yunshang County that Mo Chenxue felt truly free. Now, she had four friends by her side: one was her close friend Xiao Xia, whom she had met while working at an electronics factory, along with Xiao Xia's boyfriend, who also worked at the same factory. Both were mages. Then there was a level 66 Templar Knight, a very young boy named Yuanqi Manman. He looked at Mo Chenxue with eyes full of admiration, a person who truly loved her and wanted to be with her. Lastly, there was a level 67 God Archer, a friend of Yuanqi Manman, named Wo Jintian. Together, they formed "Wo Jintian Yuanqi Manman," a group of quirky guys.
Mo Chenxue felt that interacting with these people was much more comfortable than being with the Ghost King. Every second facing the Ghost King made her feel as if she were sitting on needles, unable to adapt.
"Xiaoxue."
Yuanqi Manman said with a smile while swinging his sword and killing monsters, "There are only five of us. It seems we can't go to higher-level maps. Our team's average level is 67. The optimal monsters to hunt should be level 73-75. The level here is a bit low, and the leveling efficiency probably won't match those big guilds."
"Yuanqi."
Xiao Xia frowned and said, "Are you saying... we should join other guilds?"
"Mmm."
Yuanqi Manman said, "We all understand the saying that it's better to take shelter under a big tree. If we can join a medium-to-large guild, we will not only get better resources but also protection, and maybe even a signing bonus. What do you think? Leveling up alone as a group of five isn't a good long-term plan."
"This..."
Mo Chenxue's delicate eyebrows furrowed, "There's no need to rush this, right? We just left Shengshi Mudan, and joining another guild right away, I'm worried it might cause trouble."
Xiao Xia, being straightforward, frowned, "Of course, we can't join other guilds now. If we really wanted to, why didn't we just join Scarlet Moon Knights back then? That Bai Yi knew Xiaoxue and was quite kind to her. We didn't even go to Scarlet Moon Knights, so there's no way we're considering other guilds for now."
"Mmm."
Yuanqi Manman pulled his sword blade from the Green Mantis's body, lightly tapped it on his shield to shake off the mucus, and smiled, "I was just saying. Since everyone thinks this matter is up for discussion, let's put it aside for now. We'll discuss it together when everyone feels the time is right."
"Mmm."
Mo Chenxue and Xiao Xia nodded with smiles.
...
"This, you don't need to discuss it anymore in the future."
Just then, a voice came, and the nearby woods rustled. A level 70 high-tier swordsman in exquisite armor, riding a fiery red warhorse, emerged from the woods. It was Changye Yuhuo, the alliance leader of the Changye Changong guild. He slowly raised his hand and drew his sword, smiling, "After all, from now on, no one in Baima City will dare to shelter you."
"You..."
Mo Chenxue, Yuanqi Manman, and the others were stunned.
"Brothers, prepare to attack!"
Changye Yuhuo lowered his sword blade and smiled, "Kill Mo Chenxue and everyone with her. Baima City is not a place for you trash!"
In the woods, leaves swayed, and dense heavily armored players appeared. There were forty to fifty heavily armored players alone, followed by ranged attackers. They were certainly giving them due respect.