“Where did they go?!”
“They probably ran that way!”
“After them!”
The iron gate was finally smashed open.
Bandits carrying weapons poured inside in a chaotic flood.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed throughout the area.
The pursuing force rushed off in another direction.
Only after the group of bandits had completely disappeared did a head cautiously emerge from a nearby rooftop.
He Shiyue Buque carefully looked left and right for a long while before finally whispering,
“They’re gone.”
Huu…
Mu Yu and the others collectively let out a long breath.
Only then did the tension in their tightly wound nerves begin to ease.
“Thank goodness…”
Great White Shark still looked shaken.
“We barely managed to kill those two squad leaders before they got inside…”
As soon as he said those words, everyone’s gaze unconsciously shifted toward Yin Huaichen.
Yin Huaichen blinked.
“Why are you all looking at me?”
He touched his face.
“Do I have something on it?”
Mu Yu couldn’t help asking,
“How did you do that?”
“Your damage output… isn’t it a little too high?”
Falling Leaf Unrivaled nodded repeatedly.
“I seriously thought I was seeing things just now.”
“Can Martial Artists really deal that much damage?”
“Why don’t any of the Martial Artists I’ve met have damage like yours?”
Yin Huaichen replied calmly,
“Oh. Everyone’s physique is different. That’s normal.”
Falling Leaf Unrivaled:
“…”
Mu Yu suddenly remembered their first encounter in the desert.
Thinking back to it, he asked,
“The elite monster we saw out in the wasteland before…”
“You killed it by yourself?”
Yin Huaichen nodded.
“Yeah.”
“So that’s how it was.”
Realization dawned on Mu Yu.
“I thought…”
At the time, he had assumed that Yin Huaichen’s token had been acquired elsewhere.
Who would have thought the man had obtained it by solo killing the elite monster himself?
Then again, considering the terrifying damage output Yin Huaichen had just displayed, soloing a Level 7 elite monster was hardly impossible.
The only explanation was that Mu Yu had completely failed to recognize a true expert.
He had mistakenly treated Yin Huaichen like every other inexperienced Martial Artist.
Looking at it now…
Their team had been the ones who gained a tremendous advantage.
The teammates were all extremely curious about Yin Huaichen’s damage output and immediately began asking questions.
The Martial Artist class was currently recognized as one of the weakest classes in the game.
Yet Yin Huaichen’s performance had shattered everything they thought they knew.
If the upper limit of the class was truly this high, then it meant that the overwhelming majority of players had severely underestimated this supposedly “bottom tier class.”
Yin Huaichen did not answer their questions directly.
Instead, he brushed them aside with vague responses.
The primary source of his damage came from skill completion rates.
Completion directly affected a skill’s damage multiplier.
And that multiplier increase was terrifying.
Moreover, it increased in stages rather than gradually.
Most players, even after considerable practice, could only achieve around seventy percent completion.
Anything beyond that generally required rare encounters, realm advancements, special equipment, or powerful medicinal pills.
Taking seventy percent completion as the standard example, the damage coefficient reached roughly one hundred and thirty percent.
At eighty percent completion, it rose to approximately one hundred and eighty percent.
As for Yin Huaichen’s ninety percent completion…
The damage multiplier reached a staggering two hundred and sixty percent.
After reaching ninety percent, further improvement became unimaginably difficult.
At the same time, however, every increase beyond that threshold became even more absurd.
The highest completion rate Yin Huaichen had ever achieved so far was during his battle against Chi Bantu.
At that time, he had executed Azure Dragon in the Sleeve with a completion rate of ninety three percent.
The resulting damage multiplier had reached an incredible three hundred and ten percent.
Merely a three percent increase in completion rate had boosted the damage multiplier by fifty percent.
Therefore, in theory, if a Martial Artist could truly achieve one hundred percent completion,
Even the most basic martial techniques could transcend technique itself and reach perfection through sheer force.
Of course, Yin Huaichen had no intention of revealing this information.
There were two main reasons why his completion rates were so high.
The first was that he had disabled assisted casting.
As a result, every movement and every circulation of internal energy was performed entirely by himself rather than relying upon the game’s automated assistance.
The second reason and the most important one, was the Formless Impermanence Manual he had carried over from his previous life.
This was a unique cultivation technique reserved exclusively for successive Palace Masters of the Palace of Impermanence.
It encompassed countless martial principles and was compatible with virtually every martial art under heaven.
Without the Formless Impermanence Manual, even if another player disabled assisted casting exactly as he had, they still would not be able to achieve the same completion rates.
Even now, Yin Huaichen wasn’t entirely certain whether the Formless Impermanence Manual qualified as a bug within the game’s system.
From the perspective of game balance, it certainly seemed unfair to everyone else.
More importantly, revealing the existence of the Formless Impermanence Manual would effectively expose the truth of his reincarnation.
That, in turn, would lead to a whole series of unnecessary complications.
For those reasons, Yin Huaichen chose to remain cautious.
“What is your mission objective?”
Yin Huaichen changed the subject.
Since they were teammates, there was no reason to conceal such information.
Mu Yu answered directly.
“An NPC from Thousand Mechanisms City had an important item stolen by Bladewind Stronghold.”
“He commissioned us to retrieve it.”
Yin Huaichen raised an eyebrow.
“So you’re stealing something back?”
Mu Yu paused.
“…That’s one way to put it.”
Then he asked,
“What about you?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
Yin Huaichen’s original mission from Gu Xingxiu had been to deliver a confidential letter to a disciple of the Azure Ocean Sword Sect outside the city.
However, after killing Chi Bantu, the mission had changed.
Judging from the updated description, that disciple of the Azure Ocean Sword Sect was probably still alive.
He had simply been captured and taken to Bladewind Stronghold.
“I see.”
Mu Yu was not surprised.
“Large regional missions like this are connected to a lot of different quest chains.”
“Every team probably has a different objective here.”
“Based on the information I’ve gathered, this Bladewind Stronghold isn’t simple.”
Yin Huaichen became interested.
“What do you mean?”
“If it were just an ordinary bandit fortress, there wouldn’t be this many interconnected quest lines.”
Mu Yu said,
“There’s definitely some hidden secret here.”
He continued,
“Right now, most players still don’t have a Bladewind Stronghold token, so they can’t enter.”
“But in a few days, more and more people will get access.”
“Once that happens, we’ll lose our first mover advantage.”
“So it’s best to grab some benefits before everyone else arrives.”
Yin Huaichen fell into thought.
He remembered that when he had turned in a quest to Gu Xingxiu earlier, the man had mentioned something called the Pure World Sect.
After a moment’s consideration, he asked,
“Have you heard of the Pure World Sect?”
“Never heard of it.”
Mu Yu shook his head.
“The quest lines in Eterniverse are incredibly complicated.”
“Every player follows different missions and obtains different information.”
“If you need more intelligence later, I’ll send you the contact information for Dustworld Pavilion.”
“They have a huge intelligence network.”
“You’ll probably find what you’re looking for there.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Why be so polite?”
Mu Yu genuinely wanted to establish a good relationship with Yin Huaichen.
Experts of this caliber were extremely rare.
Sooner or later, Yin Huaichen would definitely make a name for himself in Eterniverse.
And if they could recruit him into Mountain Wind Guild…
That would be even better.
“Let’s not stay here any longer.”
Mu Yu stood up.
“We should move.”
“Where are we going?”
Yin Huaichen asked.
“First, we’re getting the map of Bladewind Stronghold.”
Mu Yu explained,
“This place is huge.”
“To prevent large scale suppression, the fortress was built with interconnected roads, hidden mechanisms and secret tunnels everywhere.”
“Without a map, moving around here is almost impossible.”
“You could turn one corner and accidentally run straight into some major boss.”
Yin Huaichen looked curious.
“You know where the map is?”
“Of course I did my homework.”
Mu Yu grinned.
“For this Bladewind Stronghold expedition, we spent a fortune.”
“The intelligence alone cost twelve hundred taels of silver from Dustworld Pavilion.”
“Fifteen hundred.”
Yin Huaichen corrected him.
“You spent another three hundred at the entrance.”
Mu Yu:
“…”
Could we please stop talking about that?
Although they had successfully escaped the first wave of pursuit, that did not mean they were safe.
The interior of Bladewind Stronghold was filled with danger.
The group advanced carefully, doing their best to avoid the larger patrols.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
A twenty man patrol passed along a nearby path.
The bandits surveyed their surroundings vigilantly.
“Is the Chief still in seclusion?”
“Yeah.”
“But he should be coming out soon.”
“These are troubled times.”
“Without the Chief around, I just don’t feel secure.”
“Tell me about it.”
“The fortress has been restless all day.”
“I heard several groups of outsiders broke in.”
“I was supposed to be drinking with the brothers tonight.”
“Instead, I got dragged out for patrol duty.”
“They’re just a bunch of rats from Thousand Mechanisms City.”
“Don’t underestimate them.”
“Stay alert.”
“The Chief’s emergence from seclusion is approaching.”
“Don’t let these people ruin the Chief’s plans.”
“Understood.”
The bandits continued forward while speaking quietly among themselves.
Then one of the men at the rear suddenly shivered.
“Brothers, I’m gonna step aside for a moment…”
“That’s what happens when you drink too much.”
“Hurry up and catch up.”
The bandit nodded.
Leaving the formation, he jogged toward a patch of bushes in the corner.
After loosening his belt, he prepared to relieve himself.
Just as he was about to take out his equipment,
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
A translucent spirit silently appeared behind him.
The ghostly figure descended onto his back and instantly locked his entire body in place.
“Wha, “
The bandit had only managed to utter a single syllable before he tried to cry out for help.
But Yin Huaichen was even faster.
Leaping down from the rooftop beside him, he landed silently like a shadow.
His left hand shot out with lightning speed and clamped firmly over the bandit’s mouth, smothering the cry before it could fully leave his throat.
The unfinished sound was abruptly cut off.
At the same instant, the long sword in Yin Huaichen’s right hand slid free from its sheath.
A cold flash streaked through the darkness.
The blade swept cleanly across the bandit’s neck.
Before the bandit could even react, a beam of light and a burst of flame descended from above.
The coordinated attacks instantly emptied the remaining portion of his health bar.
His body collapsed limply to the ground.
Falling Leaf Unrivaled emerged from the shadows and glanced at his experience bar.
A look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.
“The experience from these monsters is ridiculously high…”
Although these were only Level 6 enemies, the experience they awarded was more than five times greater than monsters of the same level found in the wilderness.
“This must be one of the benefits of a special map.”
Mu Yu nodded in agreement.
“Even if no equipment drops at all, just farming experience here would already be worth the trip.”
After cleaning up the bandit, the group continued forward.
To avoid alerting the entire fortress, they remained extremely cautious.
Whenever possible, they targeted isolated bandits who had strayed away from larger groups.
They would strike quickly, eliminate the target and immediately move on without lingering.
The experience rewards inside Bladewind Stronghold truly were generous.
Before long, Yin Huaichen’s experience bar filled completely.
A golden light flashed around him as he advanced from Level 6 to Level 7.
The rest of the team also gained considerable experience and nearly everyone managed to level up once as well.
The lone bandits they eliminated occasionally dropped equipment.
Unfortunately, all of it was common white grade gear.
Nobody in the party had any interest in such low quality items.
Mu Yu simply collected everything and stored it away.
Once they finished their expedition through Bladewind Stronghold, he planned to sell the equipment and divide the proceeds equally among everyone.
Thus, while fighting and advancing simultaneously, the group continued deeper into the fortress.
About half an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination.
A simple courtyard appeared before them.
The outer perimeter was surrounded by rough wooden fencing draped with animal hides.
Inside, loud voices and lively chatter drifted into the night air.
Peering through the gaps in the fence, they could see several bandits gathered around a table inside one of the buildings.
The men were gambling.
Bone chips carved from beast skeletons served as their betting tokens.
Boisterous laughter and excited shouting flowed continuously through the open windows.
“Level 10 squad leader.”
From a distance, Mu Yu cast an inspection skill on the largest bandit in the room.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“This should be the place.”
Then he pointed toward another area inside.
“Look over there.”
The others followed the direction of his finger.
Near the gambling table sat a wooden chest.
A faint blue glow seeped from its surface.
Even from outside the building, the treasure chest was impossible to miss.
“According to the information I purchased, camps like this occasionally appear throughout Bladewind Stronghold.”
Mu Yu lowered his voice as he explained.
“These camps can contain treasure chests.”
“Opening them gives a chance to obtain equipment or even a map of Bladewind Stronghold.”
“The higher the chest’s rarity, the greater the probability.”
His gaze lingered on the blue chest.
“A blue grade treasure chest…”
He paused before asking,
“Should we go for it?”
“Of course we should.”
He Shiyue Buque was the first to answer.
“If we’re not opening treasure chests, then why did we come here in the first place?”
“Exactly.”
Falling Leaf Unrivaled immediately agreed.
“The higher the risk, the higher the reward.”
“Blue treasure chests aren’t something you see every day.”
“We fight.”
Great White Shark, however, looked somewhat hesitant.
“A Level 10 squad leader…”
“That means it’s probably entered the ranked stage already, hasn’t it?”
Within Eterniverse’s combat system, level progression was directly connected to rank advancement.
A Level 10 monster was no longer an ordinary enemy.
It had already stepped into First Rank.
At present, the party’s average level was only around Level 7.
None of them had reached First Rank yet.
And everyone knew exactly what that meant.
Every rank advancement resulted in a substantial increase in attributes.
Even though the squad leader was technically only three levels higher than them, the gap between ranked and unranked combatants could not be measured by levels alone.
The difference was enormous.
Yin Huaichen thought about it briefly.
Then he said,
“I’ll keep the squad leader occupied.”
“You deal with the smaller enemies first.”
Mu Yu looked at him.
“You can handle it?”
His expression was serious.
“That’s a First Rank monster.”
Yin Huaichen shrugged casually.
“No harm in trying.”
“…Fine.”
Mu Yu hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
The opportunity before them was simply too good to abandon.
If luck was on their side and they managed to obtain a map from the treasure chest, their entire expedition through Bladewind Stronghold would become vastly easier.
His eyes settled on the faint blue glow shining from inside the building.
Then he clenched his fist.
“Let’s do it.”
“We’re going all in.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
A wild translator appears! Their weakness: coffee. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Remember to keep a positive moodChapter 2 · Have fun playing the gameChapter 3 · Skill completion rateChapter 4 · Strange and malevolent creatures roam outside the cityChapter 5 · 90% complete!Chapter 6 · Serving the sect is my dutyChapter 7 · First meetingChapter 8 · Fang LecangChapter 9 · A prestigious and righteous sect!Chapter 10 · Kill Chi BantuChapter 11 · Spoils of warChapter 12 · We’ve made a fortune!Chapter 13 · Thunder and fire extinguish goldChapter 14 · You found it?Chapter 15 · The so called degree of freedomChapter 16 · The secrets of life and deathChapter 17 · A minor leader of the first rank.Chapter 18 · What kind of luck do you have?Chapter 19 · Let’s Do itChapter 20 · The BOSS escapedChapter 21 · “A wound to the heart is also a wound.”Chapter 22 · Good people are always blessed.Chapter 23 · The Old Man of the Valley of BonesChapter 24 · It’s me, young master!Chapter 25 · Take it slow and steadyChapter 26 · The older they get, the stingier they becomeChapter 27 · You know this person tooChapter 28 · I saw Wei Wanzhou againChapter 29 · You’d better keep having this kind of luckChapter 30 · “Password lock” crackedChapter 31 · We’ve come to punish you!Chapter 32 · A boorish country bumpkin who knows no manners.Chapter 33 · You have crossed the lineChapter 34 · Now that we’re here, do you think we can leave?Chapter 35 · A trivial skillChapter 36 · Actually, I was just kiddingChapter 37 · Upgrade mission complete, rating: SSS!Chapter 38 · AwardChapter 39 · I have always been law-abiding and law-abidingChapter 40 · Are you coming back for dinner tonight?Chapter 41 · Purple Lightning Square Seal.Chapter 42 · A money-grubberChapter 43 · BetChapter 44 · Four Continents Chamber of CommerceChapter 45 · This was my third meeting with Wei WanzhouChapter 46 · Oh, you want to hit on me.Chapter 47 · The angry drizzle has stoppedChapter 48 · Thunder SpearChapter 49 · “Are you a devil?”Chapter 50 · The Impermanent Lord!?Chapter 51 · Loot everywhere..Chapter 52 · His identity remains a mystery.Chapter 53 · Why not show yourself?Chapter 54 · He confronted Li Mingrui.Chapter 55 · Auction