As Yang Yu traveled, he took out a Spiritual Qi Arrow and pierced his left wrist, using the Void Quiver to collect some blood. Previously, he had 60 Poisoned Spiritual Qi Arrows, and after killing the Silver Ring Snake, 10 remained, each capable of inflicting 99 points of bleeding damage per second. He stored these separately in a compartment of the Void Quiver.
After crafting 100 new Poisoned Spiritual Qi Arrows, Yang Yu pondered for a moment. He found a secluded bush, took out the glass bottle Yue Yao had given him, and unbuckled his belt. The sound of flowing water followed...
Moments later, Yang Yu had a bottle of warm, orange-yellow toxic liquid. He then divided it into five glass bottles, about 100 drops each, sealed them, and stored them in his backpack.
Having completed these tasks, Yang Yu, satisfied with his nearly full health, set off again. Traveling through the night, time would not betray a frugal youth who refused to waste even his urine!
Yang Yu's Bloodfiend Poison Body was constantly strengthening. Perhaps in the future, there would be more opportunities to sell "potions." He couldn't always "manufacture" the most toxic "potions" on the spot. It was necessary to stockpile some in advance!
Ten minutes later, Yang Yu passed through a valley entrance and finally reached his destination, the Black Rye Grassland. Perhaps due to the time spent offline eating noodles, or because the Black Mountain Goats were non-toxic and not very dangerous, there were already quite a few players sporadically hunting on the Black Rye Grassland.
Yang Yu observed that these players had reached level 3, often forming teams of three to five. By taking turns to withstand damage, they could collectively kill a Black Mountain Goat in about two minutes.
"Another piece of equipment dropped!"
"Great, it's a leather helmet!"
"Increases defense by 3 points and health by 20 points. Let's give it to Old Third so he can be safer at the front."
"No problem!"
"Agreed..."
Yang Yu saw a team of five and, to avoid conflict, kept his distance. However, their conversation still reached his ears.
"No wonder these people are challenging the Black Mountain Goats despite the level difference. It turns out the goats drop equipment."
Thinking of this, Yang Yu felt a surge of excitement. He was still practically running around naked!
He cast Appraisal on a nearby Black Mountain Goat.
[Black Mountain Goat] (Common Monster)
Level: 4
Health: 1200
Attack: 58
Defense: 30
Speed: 27
Skills: [Savage Charge]
[Note]: Herbivores of the Black Rye Grassland, they are generally docile and won't attack humans unless provoked. However, don't underestimate their strength; their thick hides and immense strength mean that if hit by their [Savage Charge], you'll not only be injured but also paralyzed for one second!
Though the Black Mountain Goats were non-toxic, compared to the Silver Ring Snake, their attributes were nearly doubled. A typical level 3 player's health was only around 200 points, making it very dangerous to face a Black Mountain Goat alone, with the risk of losing one's life at any moment.
To avoid drawing attention, Yang Yu distanced himself from the other teams and finally found a herd of Black Mountain Goats in a secluded mountain hollow, a place no one dared to hunt. The herd consisted of over twenty goats, which ordinary players avoided, but for Yang Yu, they posed no threat. He even thought the herd was too small; twice as many would have been better.
With a physical defense of 41 points, even the goats' 58-point attack would only reduce his health by 17 points per hit. Yang Yu's health was already at 397 points, so he wasn't worried about such minor damage.
More importantly, Yang Yu's speed was 35 points, while the goats' speed was only 27 points. Even without the slowing effect of the Poisoned Arrows, they couldn't catch up to him, ensuring he wouldn't get hurt. And with Poisoned Arrows dealing 198 damage per second, it would only take six seconds to bring down a goat.
After some consideration, Yang Yu stood 15 meters away from the herd, bow drawn, ready to start hunting. Suddenly, a commotion broke out nearby.
"Get out, get out! Everyone, leave immediately!"
"This area is reserved by the Batian Guild. If you don't want to die, leave now!"
"Why should we? Do you think the Heavenly Dao game is your personal property? You can't just reserve an area!"
"Why?" Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
"Because of the axe in my hand!"
"Brothers, clear out these fools for me, leave none alive!"
"Kill!"
The sound of fierce combat echoed. Yang Yu looked from afar to see a burly man wielding a giant axe, leading nearly a hundred people to chase away all the leveling teams on the Black Rye Grassland. The battle was one-sided. Soon, the leveling teams were either dead or had fled, leaving only the group led by the burly man.
"Boss, these paupers didn't have much, only three pieces of common equipment, probably dropped from the Black Mountain Goats."
A small figure approached the burly man, respectfully holding three pieces of equipment. The burly man picked through them, chose two, and casually tossed the remaining piece to the newcomer.
"Keep it."
"Thank you, boss!"
The burly man donned the new equipment, brimming with confidence, and shouted, "Brothers, I've heard the Black Mountain Goats have a decent drop rate. Let's get everyone in the guild equipped with a set of common gear."
"Ten of you guard the valley entrance. No one but our guild's level 3 players is allowed in!"
"Yes, boss!"
The group quickly dispersed, forming several teams to hunt the Black Mountain Goats, working in sync. However, even they didn't dare provoke the larger herds, opting instead to lure the goats out one by one for individual kills.
Soon, a four-man team spotted Yang Yu.
"Heh, didn't expect to find a fool hiding here. Brother Hui, what should we do?"
The leader laughed heartily, "Of course, kill him. Maybe he'll drop something good!"
"He should've run earlier. Now it's too late!"
"Brother Hui is right, kill him!"
"Kill!"
Without giving Yang Yu a chance to explain, the four charged at him with weapons drawn!
Yang Yu frowned. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but they left him no choice. He drew four Poisoned Spiritual Qi Arrows, nocked them, and as the four entered his 15-meter range, he released the bowstring!
Four arrows flew!
"-28"
"-198"
"-32"
"-198"
"-25"
"-198"
"Miss"
Three arrows hit three of them, but the last arrow was dodged by the one called Brother Hui with a quick roll.
The three hit by the arrows didn't even have time to scream before they turned into white light, resurrecting at the Novice Village Altar!
"What a waste..."
Yang Yu shook his head, watching the Spiritual Qi Arrows dissipate. These arrows could have taken down a Black Mountain Goat with a single shot, but now they were used on these rookies.
[Ding!]
[As the victor, you can choose to plunder 0-100 experience points from them; the defeated will not only suffer a level drop penalty but also face a penalty of three times the plundered experience points!]
[Ding!]
[You have successfully slain 1 Red-Name Player, gaining no Crime Value. As the victor, you can choose to plunder 0-200 experience points...]
Hearing this notification, Yang Yu was startled!
He quickly chose [Plunder 0 Experience Points]!
What a joke, my leveling experience is reserved for monsters of my level. What makes you think you deserve to take from my experience pool?
Yang Yu checked his character panel. His previously hidden ID was now red, unable to be concealed, with "Crime Value 2 points" displayed above his head.
Killing three people but only having 2 Crime Value meant one of the three had recently killed or maliciously attacked someone, so killing them didn't increase his Crime Value.
Yang Yu wasn't worried about the Crime Value. The Novice Village had no patrol guards and didn't prevent Red-Name Players from entering. He could still trade at the General Store and Pharmacy, only unable to receive quests from villagers. Yang Yu didn't plan on taking quests for now. By the time he needed to take the Village Exit Quest at level 10, his Crime Value would likely be cleared.
Yang Yu sighed internally. Meanwhile, "Brother Hui," who had dodged the arrow, was pale with fear. He stopped abruptly, falling to the ground with a faceplant, shouting, "Boss, there's a master here! His bow's attack range exceeds 10 meters, and he one-shot Zhang Mazi and the others. Come save me..."
Not bad for someone who dodged my arrow, he has some insight.
Yang Yu mused, releasing another arrow. "Brother Hui," just getting up, couldn't dodge at such close range and was hit directly!
"-14"
"-198"
"-198"
Yang Yu was surprised by Brother Hui's high defense and health, which exceeded 230, allowing him to survive until the second second of the poison's effect before turning into white light.
[Ding!]
[You have successfully slain 1 Red-Name Player, gaining no Crime Value...]
Apparently, Brother Hui had also killed someone recently, so killing him didn't increase the Crime Value.
"Too bad killing Red-Name Players doesn't reduce Crime Value, even though the experience points plundered are 100 more than from White-Name Players."
"Otherwise, I might consider killing them all..."
Yang Yu regretfully shook his head, looking at where Brother Hui had died. There, a piece of black leather armor had dropped!
He picked up the leather armor and checked its attributes.
[Black Scale Leather Armor] (Black Iron Equipment)
Physical Defense: +10
Magic Defense: +6
Health: +50
Level Requirement: None
Seeing these attributes, Yang Yu was delighted!
No wonder Brother Hui survived until the second second; he had a piece of Black Iron Equipment!
Before this, Yang Yu had only the Novice Cloth Garment, not even a piece of common equipment, let alone Black Iron Equipment. The Void Quiver, though upgradable, couldn't be upgraded as Yang Yu hadn't obtained any other equipment besides the indestructible novice gear.
This Brother Hui was only level 3; this Black Iron Equipment wasn't dropped from monsters. It was either a lucky draw at the start or looted from other players.
"Unexpectedly, the first piece of equipment I obtained in the game wasn't from a monster but from a person. What a sin..."
Recollecting his thoughts, Yang Yu looked into the distance. The burly man, hearing Brother Hui's call for help, was charging over with a giant axe, leading dozens of players with fierce momentum!