Two days later, at dusk.
Lin Zhao, level 109, sat on the North Mountain cliff, leaning against the slanting sunlight, looking towards Panshan. When he had nothing to do, he would sit here and watch the demon race. Not far away, Chen Ben was practicing his martial arts, punching with great force in a set of military martial arts. Chen Ben did not modify the military martial arts much, but he had mastered them very solidly, which made Lin Zhao feel very relieved. Chen Ben’s path was to have a good foundation and to practice his martial arts to the extreme. It would be too difficult for him to understand the martial arts and its meaning too much. As for Chu Yu, she was clever, and practicing dead martial arts would be counterproductive. If she put more thought into martial arts and its principles, her achievements would not be lower than Chen Ben’s.
Further away, Tong Yu sat on the cliff, about a hundred meters away from Lin Zhao, quietly cultivating her sword intent. Half a month ago, Tong Yu had awakened a Sword Lake. Her master, Lin Wanhua, specifically went to Xueyu Tianchi and gave her a top-grade flying sword embryo. Therefore, Tong Yu was now honing her flying sword and had broken through to become a fourth-realm sword cultivator. Big Wind Novels Network.
Lin Zhao felt a bit helpless. Sword Immortal embryos were Sword Immortal embryos. They were much stronger than he was back then even if they cultivated with their eyes closed. Thinking back… how much hardship and effort he had put in to break through to the fourth realm of sword cultivation. It was too difficult.
He turned to look. Not far from Tong Yu, Wang Yue was practicing a solid stance. In fact, Wang Yue’s martial arts foundation was quite good, but her deep-seated obsession affected her cultivation. After many days of teaching by Chu Yu, she finally got started and was now a first-realm martial artist. Her body had become increasingly strong, and her eyes had gradually become brighter.
All of this, Lin Zhao, as the master of the Peak Villa, had been watching. He kept everyone’s state of mind in his heart, fearing any mistakes in the Peak Villa. After all, if the demon race attacked the mountain, although the more than 10,000 snow region cavalry were the main force to resist the demon race, these snow region cavalry were only used to "farm mobs." If they really had to resist powerful great demons, they would have to rely on the "mountain people" in the Peak Villa.
He turned his gaze towards the Peak Villa.
The lotus pond in front of Tianran Ju was filled with surging spiritual energy, enveloping the entire mountain range, making the entire Peak Villa shrouded in dense spiritual energy. At this moment, sword intent was rising from the clouds. That was the phenomenon of Xu Zhi cultivating in seclusion. At the peak of the eleventh realm, she had now selected more than 20 famous swords from the Sword Mountain, plus the more than a dozen famous swords from the rogue cultivator Jia Huapin, as well as the twelve-realm demon core of Lu Xiuyuan and two other eleventh-realm demon cores. Xu Zhi had a lot to refine. However, once all these external opportunities were converted into her own cultivation foundation, Xu Zhi could advance further beyond the peak of the eleventh realm. It was likely that once she broke through to the twelfth realm, her ranking among twelfth-realm sword cultivators would not be too low.
Further away, in the camp of the Snow Region Legion, Xu Sheng was teaching a group of snow region cavalry to practice spear techniques. Not far away, Mu Zao was practicing martial arts on his own, with a strong martial intent. Although he was the strongest martial artist in Xueyu Tianchi, Mu Zao did not dare to be negligent, especially Lin Zhao’s gaze, which made him feel immense pressure. He could no longer be content with being at the eleventh realm. He had to practice martial arts more diligently. Although he could not see the threshold of the twelfth realm, if he did not move forward, he would truly never see it in his lifetime.
Beside him, Xiang Ji was practicing stances and martial arts, also with martial intent. However, Xiang Ji’s martial arts talent was far inferior to Mu Zao, Chu Yu, and others. In this lifetime, let alone hoping to reach the fifth realm, it was questionable whether he could even break through to the Sea Stepping realm martial artist. Fortunately, the people in Xueyu Tianchi did not dislike him and still allowed Xiang Ji to hold an important position in the army, leading thousands of cavalry.
“Hoo…”
Lin Zhao exhaled. At the Jiaolong Boat in the distance, under the personal supervision of Xu Zhan, it was constantly being repaired. The bow of the ship had been almost completed, and it should be finished in a few days. He smiled slightly. Xueyu Tianchi was thriving, which was the best. Just then, a chime suddenly echoed in his ears. The first-level main city, which hundreds of millions of players in the national server had been waiting for for a long time, was finally open—
“Ding!”
System Announcement: All players, please note that the server will enter maintenance at 00:00 tonight. The maintenance duration will be 12 hours. After the maintenance, the first-level main city [Baidi City] will be opened (entry level requirement: Level 100). At the same time, the time players can stay in the northern region after leaving Shanhai Pass will be extended to 48 hours. Player prestige can be exchanged for specific skill books, equipment, etc. In addition, the Phantom Beast system will be opened simultaneously. With the influx of players, the popularity of Baidi City will soar, and the luck of the Human race will skyrocket. This will inevitably attract the covetousness of the four northern tribes, and the crisis is on the verge of erupting. Please all players strive harder!
……
Finally, it’s here. Baidi City and the Phantom Beast system are opened together. This is undoubtedly a carnival for national server players. In addition, the time players can stay in the northern region has been extended from 24 hours to 48 hours. This way, many S-rank or above main storyline quests can be completed with sufficient time.
He took a deep breath and checked the time. It was 8:00 PM in real time, with 4 hours remaining before maintenance. So, he said in the small group with Chen Xue and Shen Xingchen, "Are you still leveling up, or should we go offline and discuss the future development direction of the Scarlet Moon Knights?"
"No more leveling up."
Shen Xingchen smiled and said, "I was exhausted today and only reached level 108. I can't catch up with your level. Let's rest for the remaining few hours and go to the tea room for a drink?"
Chen Xue smiled happily, "Okay, let's go for tea."
So, Lin Zhao, Shen Xingchen, and Chen Xue logged off one after another, took off their game equipment, and got out of the game pods. Not far away, Roman also got up, took off his equipment, and said, "When the big shots are discussing matters, they always need a waiter to serve tea and water, right? I won't disturb you and promise not to speak the whole time. I'll just serve tea and water for you."
"Alright."
Chen Xue smiled.
The four of them went downstairs to the tea room on the first floor facing Taihu Lake. Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and Shen Xingchen sat upright, while Roman, wearing a short skirt, knelt beside Lin Zhao, serving tea to the three big shots with tea sets.
"Once Baidi City opens, almost all guilds will shift their focus to Baidi City."
Shen Xingchen furrowed her delicate brows, "We, the Scarlet Moon Knights, will also have to face first-tier guilds like Star River, Azure Dragon, Extreme Simplicity, and Cold City. Therefore, we need to consider the survival environment and strategy direction of the Scarlet Moon Knights. Should we focus on Baidi City itself, or focus on the Xueyu Tianchi direction?"
"No need to consider Xueyu Tianchi for now."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "Firstly, the system announcement did not specify how players can get to Xueyu Tianchi. If they still have to walk from Shanhai Pass, the leveling distance is too far. Moreover, they can only stay in Xueyu for 48 hours, which means they cannot stay for a long time. Ultimately, it is not suitable. In my opinion, the main storyline in the Xueyu Tianchi direction can only be considered as an 'extra meal' for everyone. The main meal should still be in Baidi City."
"Mhm."
Chen Xue nodded, "I checked. The map resources in Baidi City are far superior to any other main city. Even all eight state cities combined cannot compare. Especially the boss resources. Many high-level maps will refresh within Baidi City. These high-level maps will have Golden Flow-grade bosses at the minimum, and Earth-grade bosses at the maximum. It is said that when all bosses in the entire map are present, there will be 48 Earth-grade bosses simultaneously alive. Therefore, the competition in Baidi City will revolve around these 48 Earth-grade bosses. Before the Heavenly-grade bosses appear, whoever kills more Earth-grade bosses will have more Earth-grade equipment and advanced skill books, and will be able to seize more main city resources."
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded, "Players entering Baidi City is, to put it bluntly, a competition for map resources. It depends on who is stronger and more patient."
"Got it."
Shen Xingchen pursed her red lips and said, "Tomorrow, after Baidi City opens, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Lu Han, Zhang Jun, Roman, and I will each lead an expedition team to the six maps where Earth-grade bosses spawn. Currently, only players level 100 or above can enter Baidi City. The number of people in our Scarlet Moon Knights who meet the condition is only over 800. Other guilds, except for Star River, Azure Dragon, and Sheng Tian, probably do not have so many. Therefore, we have a certain first-mover advantage. Let's eat 6 of the 48 bosses during the first boss refresh, and then we won't be at too much of a disadvantage, no matter what."
Saying that, she looked up at Lin Zhao and said, "Do you want to lead a team to fight as well? After all, your equipment is good and your level is high. Bringing about ten people should be enough to safely take down an Earth-grade boss."
"No."
Lin Zhao said apologetically, "Xingchen, please bear with me and Ah Xue a little. Tomorrow, when Baidi City opens, I want to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to find Xiao Shitong. I haven't heard from him and I'm very worried about him."
"Mhm..."
Shen Xingchen smiled softly, "Okay, you go find Xiao Shitong. The guild matters will be handled by Chen Xue and me. It won't be a big problem."
She also knew that when Lin Zhao was still that young boy in Xueyu Tianchi, he had already taken Xiao Shitong around the small town all day to make a living. In fact, Lin Zhao had always treated Xiao Shitong like his own younger brother. Often, he would let Xiao Shitong eat his fill of good food before he would talk about himself. This kind of affection, others would not understand.
"Brother, drink tea."
Roman handed him a cup of tea.
Lin Zhao took it and took a sip, smiling and saying thank you. In fact, his heart was also filled with mixed emotions. Xiao Shitong was too important to him. When he was alone, Xiao Shitong appeared, like a younger brother, following him around all day. Although it increased his burden, thinking of Xiao Shitong practicing martial arts behind him, fishing with him, the joy when he caught a big fish, and the way he stood on a stool to stir-fry dishes for him and Xiao Jiu’er, all of this remained unforgettable in his memory.
Zhang Liucheng was Lin Zhao’s good friend, and Guo Dongyang was Lin Zhao’s brother. In the world, only Xiao Shitong was the person Lin Zhao regarded as a brother.
……
Fortunately, Baidi City has opened. Perhaps he will be able to see Xiao Shitong soon.