Chen Tian battled the boss, leaving Sen Sha stunned at his side. How could Chen Tian's strength be so terrifying? Were these the means of an ordinary player? Fighting a foe two major realms higher was unheard of, a feat not even achieved by veteran players since the server opened. Chen Tian and the Huang Ming Scorpion fought, initially with Chen Tian holding the upper hand. As the Huang Ming Scorpion's body darkened, Chen Tian distinctly felt their power gap narrowing. It seemed the Huang Ming Scorpion was beginning to unleash its abilities. A smile played on Chen Tian's lips. This was how it should be, this was truly a game!
Chen Tian's aura erupted as he threw punches. His fists collided directly with the golden pincers. Boom! The shockwave rolled out, forcing Sen Sha to shield his eyes with his arm, barely withstanding the aftermath. He was pushed back hundreds of meters, unable to believe the immense power Chen Tian unleashed while fighting the boss. Sen Sha watched silently, knowing he could offer no help in this situation. He could only observe. He was no heaven-defying player like Chen Tian; any attempt to assist would only result in his death. Sen Sha was well aware of his own limitations.
Chen Tian and the Huang Ming Scorpion's pincers clashed, locked for a full thirty seconds. Chen Tian retreated three steps, while the Huang Ming Scorpion's massive body seemed to move only once. It appeared Chen Tian was at a disadvantage, but the scene was deceptive. In reality, the Huang Ming Scorpion was at a disadvantage. Due to its immense size, it only appeared to move one step. If it were the same size as Chen Tian, its retreat would have been far greater. This collision saw Chen Tian gain the upper hand. Chen Tian knew clearly that to deal with this Huang Ming Scorpion, he needed to be only slightly serious. This quest had presented such a rich boss encounter right from the start. Defeating this boss would grant Chen Tian a level or two. Chen Tian wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
He gathered energy directly into his hand, forming a long sword. With the sword in hand, Chen Tian leaped into the air. Gripping the sword tightly, energy flowed, and sword qi coiled around it. Gales howled and thunder rumbled. Sen Sha, watching from the side, rubbed his eyes. What was he seeing? Chen Tian mastered multiple energies. What kind of class was this? A player possessing two elements was already rare; could Chen Tian be in that league now?
Chen Tian's long sword descended, wind and thunder energy converging, sword qi coiling. A heaven-shattering strike fell, as if the surrounding space was being cleaved open by this blow. The Huang Ming Scorpion sensed danger and instinctively defended. Its instincts screamed that this move posed a threat. Its pincers unexpectedly launched, transforming into two massive cannonballs that shot towards Chen Tian's sword. Chen Tian's sword met the cannonballs head-on. Suddenly, an explosion roared, and Chen Tian retreated from the blast. Chen Tian hadn't expected the Huang Ming Scorpion to make such a decisive decision, sacrificing its pincers to ensure its own safety.
Chen Tian and the Huang Ming Scorpion faced each other. The Huang Ming Scorpion's pincers were gone, its arms essentially lost. Chen Tian's combat would become easier, or so he thought. However, the Huang Ming Scorpion's pincers slowly began to regenerate. Chen Tian couldn't allow this and stepped forward to attack. His long sword slashed, creating streaks of light. With a *pfft, pfft* sound, Chen Tian's sword, entwined with ice and fire, bypassed the Huang Ming Scorpion's defense. Any powerful object would show cracks under the relentless assault of ice and fire. Even the strongest body would show flaws against ice and fire, let alone Chen Tian's divine ice and divine fire. With the dual onslaught of ice and fire, the Huang Ming Scorpion's defenses were like paper.
Each strike of Chen Tian's long sword pierced the Huang Ming Scorpion's body. In mere minutes, the Huang Ming Scorpion was covered in sword marks, deep gashes revealing bone. The game "Chronos Epoch" rendered the bones with such realism that they appeared just like human bones, incredibly lifelike. It seemed the game's realism had improved considerably. Chen Tian swung his long sword, unleashing a beautiful sword qi lotus. The sword qi lotus flew towards the Huang Ming Scorpion, enveloping it. Then, the sword qi lotus exploded. After the explosion, the Huang Ming Scorpion was nowhere to be seen. Chen Tian had dealt with the Huang Ming Scorpion.
A game interface popped up. Chen Tian saw a plethora of rewards. His level increased by two and a half. As expected, quests offered the most experience. Chen Tian looked forward to what the subsequent floors would hold.
Chen Tian looked at the panel and, upon seeing something, spoke, "This skill is..."
Chen Tian clicked it open, his eyes widening in surprise. How could this skill appear here? A skill of this caliber should, by all rights, exist on the third floor. This was only the second world! Chen Tian was raking it in. He turned to look at Sen Sha, who was still in shock and hadn't noticed his own interface. Chen Tian couldn't see it anyway. After a period of stunned silence, Sen Sha finally reacted and glanced at the rewards. Because he was grouped with Chen Tian, their experience was split. His level had increased by a full five and a half levels. Although Chen Tian's level was lower than Sen Sha's, Chen Tian's experience points remained unchanged, the original amount. This meant that defeating a boss that should have given five and a half levels of experience only resulted in two and a half levels for Chen Tian, which was quite disadvantageous.
However, Chen Tian didn't seem to mind. He approached Sen Sha. Sen Sha swallowed nervously and, clearing his throat, stammered, "Chen Tian, you... you... are you still the same newcomer from before? After not seeing you for a while, I feel like you're much stronger than even me, an old player."
"It's nothing, just some rewards from completing rare quests and bosses. Alright, let's head to the next floor. After defeating a boss, a portal to the next floor will appear."
Chen Tian and Sen Sha looked towards where the Huang Ming Scorpion had died. A blue portal appeared before their eyes – the portal to the next floor. Sen Sha's expression shifted from grimness to ease. With Chen Tian present, was there any fear of not being able to pass?
Impossible. If Chen Tian couldn't clear this, then no player truly could. Sen Sha didn't know that this quest scroll was originally prepared for Chen Tian, and it was only by sheer luck that he had discovered it. Even the game developers didn't understand how a player with thirty Luck could find this quest scroll, as the system was designed to rely on luck.
As an "Emperor of Luck," how had Chen Tian found this quest scroll? Fortunately, Chen Tian's participation was no different from him entering alone. The plan remained undisturbed.
Chen Tian and Sen Sha stepped through the portal. With a flash of light, they appeared in a room filled with countless bookshelves. The room was like a library, extending infinitely. As far as the eye could see, there were bookshelves, each laden with books. The sheer number of books was impossible to count, making it seem as if they had stumbled into a colossal library.
Chen Tian sensed the area. There was no boss aura on this floor, suggesting it was a puzzle room. And since it was a puzzle, it was Chen Tian's forte. There was no game puzzle he couldn't solve. "This floor might be a puzzle room," Chen Tian told Sen Sha. "Let's split up. There might be clues among these bookshelves."
"Okay, Chen Tian."
"Remember to call me if there's any danger. No one knows what mechanisms are hidden here."
Sen Sha nodded. He dared not disobey Chen Tian's words; he still relied on Chen Tian to get out of here. Sen Sha and Chen Tian split up. Chen Tian headed for the bookshelves on the left, while Sen Sha moved towards the shelves in front of him. Chen Tian was certain this floor was a puzzle level and that the clues lay within the books. He approached a bookshelf, which had seven rows and fourteen columns, totaling nearly a hundred books. Chen Tian examined the first bookshelf, but found nothing unusual. He reached out to touch it, only to find his hand pass through, as if the bookshelf were intangible.
Helpless, Chen Tian looked at the next bookshelf. After examining over a dozen bookshelves, Chen Tian found nothing special. Sen Sha approached Chen Tian, a troubled expression on his face. "Chen Tian, I haven't found any clues at all. Are you sure the clues are on the bookshelves?"
"I'm sure. You must have noticed that these bookshelves cannot be touched. If they are bookshelves, why can't they be touched? Therefore, the bookshelves themselves are the problem."
Chen Tian fell into thought. His words immediately sparked an idea in Sen Sha's mind. Right, if they were bookshelves with books, why couldn't they be touched? Did that mean they couldn't be read either? What kind of bookshelf holds books but doesn't allow them to be read? Therefore, the bookshelves themselves were problematic. Chen Tian had identified the core issue but hadn't yet figured out the specific method to solve it; he needed to observe further. The bookshelves were definitely not ordinary. Chen Tian and Sen Sha separated again. This time, neither of them would miss any detail.
"Chen Tian, Chen Tian, over here, over here!"
Sen Sha's voice rang out. Chen Tian ran towards the sound and soon found himself in front of Sen Sha. Chen Tian looked at the bookshelf before him, which appeared no different from the others. Sen Sha's voice continued, "Chen Tian, look at the fifth row, sixth book. Does it have a serial number written on it?"
Chen Tian's eyes focused. Indeed, there was a serial number: ten. Countless images flashed through Chen Tian's mind. The most likely decryption method appeared in his thoughts. A smile played on Chen Tian's lips. "I think I know how to break it."
Chen Tian's body split into countless clones, which exploded towards the bookshelves at speed. Soon, the entire space began to shake, cracks spreading. With a *crack*, the bookshelves shattered. All the bookshelves and books coalesced into a portal, and this stage was thus passed.
Sen Sha still didn't understand what had happened. Chen Tian explained, "The decryption for this stage was simple, I just overcomplicated it. There are as many bookshelves as there are books. Only one book is real. By finding the serial numbers of all the real books and touching them, the puzzle can be solved."
Chen Tian had initially thought this puzzle would be very difficult. Who knew this stage was so simple? It was Chen Tian who had overcomplicated it; the problem wasn't the bookshelves themselves, but that on each shelf, only one book was real, while the others were illusory, for aesthetic purposes. Only by touching the real book could the stage be cleared. As many bookshelves as there were, there were that many books. The task was to find them in order according to their serial numbers. The difficulty lay in finding the books, as there were thousands of bookshelves. To find the corresponding serial numbers, one person's strength would be limited and a lot of time would be wasted.
Chen Tian directly used his clones. The clones followed Chen Tian's commands. If Chen Tian hadn't been there, Sen Sha alone would have likely taken a considerable amount of time to find them. Chen Tian said indifferently, "Let's go, we'll head to the next floor."
Sen Sha didn't know how to describe Chen Tian's gaming talent. He had just discovered a clue, and Chen Tian had already devised a solution. Such gaming talent was befitting the undefeated king of the gaming world back then!
Chen Tian and Sen Sha entered the portal. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in a city. This time, Chen Tian's senses failed him. It seemed this city was unusual, and this stage wouldn't be as simple as the previous ones. Chen Tian and Sen Sha walked through the city, yet there wasn't a single person. The entire city seemed deserted, but the buildings were intact, giving no impression of it being a ruined city.
Chen Tian and Sen Sha walked along the road when suddenly, a black beam of light shot straight into the sky. Chen Tian and Sen Sha ran towards the location of the light pillar, thinking it might be the test for this stage. They didn't know what rewards this stage would offer. The rewards from the previous stage were meager, possibly due to it being a puzzle, though the experience gain was high. Chen Tian had leveled up three and a half times, and Sen Sha six times. Their levels were increasing rapidly. Information for this stage was currently unknown, so they could only head towards the black light pillar.
As the two approached the black light pillar, a figure blocked their path – an old man. The aged elder, leaning on a cane, stopped Chen Tian and Sen Sha. The elder said with concern, "Youngsters, don't go any further. Don't go to your deaths."
Sen Sha murmured, "An NPC? It looks like a quest trigger."
"Sir, may I ask what is happening ahead?"
Sen Sha spoke first. Chen Tian knew this was a trigger quest, and since Sen Sha had already spoken, Chen Tian saw no need to inquire.
Suddenly, a panel appeared before Sen Sha, and Chen Tian saw one as well. Chen Tian said, "It looks like there are two quests. Sen Sha, you take the second one. I'll take the first. I can hold them off for a few days."
Chen Tian knew the first quest's difficulty was far beyond what Sen Sha could handle. If it weren't for the time limit on this quest, Chen Tian could have completed it alone while delaying them for a few days. The quest required both to be completed simultaneously; even a second's difference would be considered a failure.
This tested Chen Tian and Sen Sha's coordination. With Chen Tian's strength, as long as Sen Sha completed the second quest, Chen Tian would be able to instantly kill the opponent upon hearing the game system's notification. Other players might miss this opportunity, but Chen Tian wouldn't. Chen Tian could kill the opponent in less than a second.
"Okay, Chen Tian, be careful. This quest doesn't feel simple."
Sen Sha didn't know what else to say. With Chen Tian's gaming talent, these game stages posed no pressure to him; Chen Tian could easily clear them.
Sen Sha headed towards another part of the city, while Chen Tian continued towards the black light pillar. Neither of them noticed that the elder NPC had vanished. This was inconsistent with game design.
In games, NPCs typically didn't disappear. Once an NPC issued a quest, they would wait for the player to complete it at their original location. But now, the NPC had vanished, and Chen Tian hadn't even noticed how.
Of course, it's possible Chen Tian noticed but chose not to deal with it.
Several consecutive sword strikes directly pierced the Huang Ming Scorpion's...