Chapter 186 Purity Essence


    Ye Ci’s voice was soft, but it was still enough to quiet the crowd. It was if time had stopped at that moment; the gathered yers were all as stoics as statues as they stared dumbfoundedly at Ye Ci.


    Ye Ci wasn’t used to others having such a reaction towards her; she’d never thought of herself as someone special. Nobody in ‘Upwards Ho!’ would when they saw her, thus she felt like like an alien that had just arrived from outer space.


    “Oh shit, it’s Gongzi You...”


    One of the yers gasped in admiration, breaking the long period of silence. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief the moment he did so—the awkward situation had finally been resolved. Immediately afterwards arge number of yers began to send messages in the Map Channel, “Guys, let’s gather at the western gate of Dark y City! With Gongzi You on our side, we can bring the fight to those Northern Continent scum!”


    “Is that really Gongzi You?”


    “Are you for real? You’re joking, right?”


    The Map Channel instantly erupted into chaos. While some yers doubted the credibility of such messages, many were excited. A huge number of them immediately header towards the western gate of Dark y City to join in on the fun. Some of them also spread the news to the yers in their guild, which attracted even more yers to the Swamp of Sorrows.


    Most of them imed that they wereing to fight the Northern Continent yers and defend their fellow yers, but most of them were simply boarding the hype train.


    With this, the once-quiet Swamp of Sorrows had be as busy as Champion City.


    However, this was nothingpared to the tens of hundreds of yers that flocked towards the western gate momentster. Ye ci was relieved when she saw the enormous amount of reinforcements; with so many yers from the Eastern Continent present, she definitely be able to slip away. But when they finally arrived at the western gate, Ye Ci realized just how wrong she’d been.


    There would always be people like them in the world: People that weren’t afraid of dying, or of losing their items and levels. The only that they yed for was to have fun, for the rush of excitement, and for the endless stream of gossip. So long as you could provide them with enough of these things, they would dly die for you.


    Ye Ci suddenly realized that she was the source of their excitement and gossip, and immediately felt arge amount of difort amidst the crowd of people. It was like she was a an exhibit on disy, being showcased to everyone possible. A lot of yers ran up to her and took different poses besides as they took photographs with her.


    At that moment, Ye Ci felt like she was a statue or some sort ofndmark at a tourist hotspot; she’d suddenly be the perfect backdrop for others to take pictures with. The yers had even formed lines so that they could take photos with Ye Ci. This was the darkest moment in her life.


    With the crowd growingrger andrger, Ye Ci finally decided to act. She refused to allow this situation to continue. She cleared her throat, then spoke to the nearest yer trying to maintain order, “Excuse me, may I know your name?”


    The yer she’d spoken to was an Elf with blonde hair and blue eyes. He turned around after suddenly being called out to, only to be shocked when he realized that it was Ye Ci that had called out to him. “M-my n-name is C-Cactus. G-Gongzi You, is there anything that you need help with?”


    “Ah, I’ve been meaning to ask... Are you guys here tounch a counteroffensive on the Northern Continent’s yers?” Ye Ci would always try her best to be as polite as she could to people who weren’t of immediate interest and that she might not ever meet again; nobody knew what the future held. After all, when one gives another leeway, one is giving one’s self leeway.


    When he heard her question, Cactus finally remembered that the main aim of the yers gathered here was indeed to bring the fight to the Northern Continent’s yers—who were doing whatever they wanted in the Swamp of Sorrows—instead of taking photos and interacting with their idols. He paused slightly, then somewhat awkwardly responded, “Y-yes, we’re here to fight the Northern Continent’s yers!”


    “Then if you don’t mind my question, who’s in charge?” Ye Ci nodded. Very good, at least they haven’t forgotten what they’re here for. Ye Ci finally felt relieved after being stared at like an exhibit for such an extended period of time.


    “Aren’t you the one in charge?” Cactus stared at Ye Ci, shocked. Based on his understanding, Ye Ci should naturally be the one inmand as a god-tier yer who was present.


    However, he soon realized his mistake when he saw that Gongzi You’s smile had frozen, and that the corners of her mouth were twitching. She stared at him, not saying a word.


    Fortunately, Cactus was quick-witted. Heughed somewhat fordedly, then said, “Ah... if you’re looking for the person inmand... Let me go ask that guy over there.” He said, pointing towards a Human atop a maroon horse. He smiled apologetically at Gongzi You, then turned around and left.


    Ye Ci watched from afar as Cactus walked over and talked to the Human, who in turn turned to look at her, then rode towards her. He nodded slightly at her, then said, “Well met, Gongzi You. My name is Purity Essence.”


    Purity Essence[1]? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She immediately shifted her gaze towards his face and studied his facial features; he was indeed the same Purity Essence she knew. She could recognize him even without the scar that had been left on his face after a certain quest.


    So that’s why I wasn’t able to immediately recognize him; he hasn’tpleted that quest yet! A smile formed on Ye Ci’s lips when she realized this.


    Ever since the advent of online gaming, the name ‘Purity Essence’ had been used by many people, causing the once-special name to be tacky. However, in Ye Ci’sst life, only one person came to mind when she thought of the name ‘Purity Essence.’


    He was a lvl70 Human Priest who’d managed to y the Aquablight Snek, a lvl85 World BOSS, alone. He was also the man currently standing in front of Ye Ci.


    Purity Essence had risen from a nobody to one of the most renowned Priests in the Eastern Continent after ying the Aquablight Snek. Because of his aplishment, his name was included on Fate’s top 10 Priests leaderboard.


    Despite his sess however, he preferred to keep a low profile; it was rare for him to appear in public. Ye Ci had only known him because they’d been in the same group in a PvP tournament. After fighting in the same group together for three days, the two had finally had their first conversation.


    Through their conversation, Ye Ci learned that Purity Essence hadn’t originally intended to be A Priest; he’d started with the intention of bing one of the game’s most renownedmanders. His attempts, however, hadn’t yielded any results. Ye Ci had had a small talk with Green Hill’s Moon after the tournament, and had found out that Purity Essence was, truthfully speaking, not a badmander; he’d simply had the misfortune of joining a guild with a bad reputation. With his guild members constantly bickering and infighting amon urence, his performance was badly affected.


    Despite her cold nature, Ye Ci felt a sense of familiarity towards Purity Essence, as he was someone she knew from herst life. She blinked, nodded, and extended her hand. “Well met indeed.”


    Her simply gesture was enough to excite Cactus, but Purity Essence kept his calm. He shook Ye Ci’s hand, then said, “I’ve heard that you’re not going to takemand from Cactus?”


    “I’ve never really takenmand before. Besides, I don’t think I could so many yers in line.” Ye Ci said a half-truth.


    While Purity Essence remained silent, Cactus’ face was full of astonishment. Gongzi You’s dungeon-clearing videos were extremely popr in the forums. She was known for being extremely direct and efficient while leading her party members, and for being swift and decisive. A lot ofmanders couldn’t achieve what she showcased. Her dungeon-clearing videos even served as tutorials for battlemanders in various guilds. As such, Cactus couldn’t bring himself to believe that someone such as Gongzi You wouldn’t be able to lead the Eastern Continent’s yers into battle.


    “You must be joking! There are so many videos of you leading parties through dungeons in the forums...”


    Ye Ci skillfully deflected his statement, “Commanding yers in arge scale battle is very different from clearing a dungeon. I’m afraid to admit that I don’t have the talent to be a battlemander.”


    When he heard Ye Ci’s words, Cactus tactfully shifted his gaze to Purity Essence and said, “Purity...”


    “If Gongzi You doesn’t mind, then I’ll takemand.” Purity Essence nodded, not noticing anything wrong with Ye Ci’s words. He’d been an experiencedmander in his guild in a previous game. However, it was still the first time he’d taken part in such arge scale battle; he wasn’t sure if he could keep things under control. Even though he had the option to decline the position, when he saw Gongzi You’s dagger-like sharp gaze, he found himself unable to do so.


    Trantor’s note:


    [1]Purity Essence (真水无香): When someone has achieved a high level of enlightment, they no longer about money and fame. They have transcended beyond the material world.