《The Ultimate Acceleration System》 Chapter 1 - Heavens Arrival On the planet Sea Blue, in the city of Twilight Clouds, in the warm afternoon where the sunshine was gently tempered by a soft breeze, there was a high-end hospital room where a pale-faced young man lay with his eyes tightly shut. [Ding, soul binding in progress¡­] [Ding, binding successful, you have obtained the "Ultimate Acceleration System!"] [Wish you a happy life!] What? Guan Ren groggily opened his eyes, shaking his head to clear it. "Brother! You''re finally awake! Do you know how worried I was?" Gu Xiao Yun, with tears in her eyes, threw herself onto Guan Ren. "Ouch¡­" A sharp pain from his chest brought him back to reality. He glanced around and found himself lying in a hospital bed. The room was filled with people who all sighed in relief upon seeing him awake. "This¡­" Guan Ren could hardly believe it. "Thank you, Mr. Guan Ren." A clear, spring-like voice spoke up. A slender and incredibly beautiful woman approached the bedside, her eyes filled with gratitude and apologetic sentiment as she gazed at him.Guan Ren stared blankly at the woman. Lin Ruo Xue? What situation was this? Wars, ferocious beasts, and battlefields strewn with corpses... Scenes flashed relentlessly through Guan Ren''s mind. Wait! Have I... Have I been reborn? "Mr. Guan?" Lin Ruo Xue blushed under Guan Ren''s gaze, her demeanor slightly awkward. "¡­Sorry, I was just thinking about something." Guan Ren offered an embarrassed smile, rubbing his nose, but inside, his heart was cheering triumphantly! I''ve truly been reborn! He remembered distinctly. Just before the launch of the holographic game "Heaven''s Arrival," still a passionate youth, he had stepped forward to save Lin Ruo Xue but got stabbed in the chest for his trouble, leading to blood loss and unconsciousness. The familiar scenery confirmed his rebirth! And it was five years prior, right before the launch of "Heaven''s Arrival"! Heaven''s Arrival! At that thought, Guan Ren''s eyes darkened, and a smothering presence began to rise from his body, causing everyone in the room to tense without understanding why. "Heaven''s Arrival" was a super virtual game constructed through the mega-intellect "Heaven''s Dao System" by the Sea Blue Federation. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Players could easily enter the game world of Heaven''s Arrival by simply binding their consciousness to a device! With 100% realism, it instantly overshadowed all other virtual games of the same type on the market! Even in just one month of open beta, it had attracted half the world''s population! It was called humanity''s second world! Moreover, the game''s 2:1 real-world time ratio extended the lifespans of all players. To promote "Heaven''s Arrival," the Sea Blue Federation opened a currency exchange system, allowing in-game currency to be directly converted into Sea Blue coins for real-life use! Thus, playing the game well could turn one into a billionaire, not merely a pipe dream! But that wasn''t the most crucial part! Having lived once already, Guan Ren knew the emergence of "Heaven''s Arrival" and the "Heaven''s way System" wasn''t as simple as it seemed! With the game''s progression, it would gradually realize a feature of virtual synchronization, allowing players to bring in-game attributes, abilities, and items into the real world. But this was far from good news, for with the completion of virtual sync, the monsters and bosses from the game would appear in the real world, opening a full-scale invasion on humanity, bringing unprecedented catastrophe! In his previous life, for some reasons, Guan Ren entered the game world a month later than others. In the world of games, being slow by even a step meant lagging behind in every aspect¡ªresources, opportunities, items, all were far out of his reach compared to other players. Although he caught up with his exceptional gaming talent, when the "Catastrophe of Havoc" erupted, he ultimately fell in battle. However, now reborn, nothing could stop his march! He glanced at his sister Gu Xiao Yun, who was weeping in his arms, and affectionately ruffled her hair, ignoring the searing pain as he enveloped her in a reassuring embrace. If there was any regret in his last life, her death undoubtedly tormented him greatly! And in this life, he would never let such a tragedy unfold again! "Mr. Guan, my name is Lin Ruo Xue. Thank you for not standing by and saving my life last night." Lin Ruo Xue''s sparkling eyes met Guan Ren''s as she spoke, her fair cheeks still flushed with a rosy glow. The events of the previous day had been sudden, and when the villains furiously brandished their weapons with intent to harm, Guan Ren had stood his ground, repelling them all though getting hurt in the process. To Lin Ruo Xue, the emaciated young man, looking a little malnourished from hard labor, seemed a towering figure of valor and strength! "It''s nothing, merely a trifle." Guan Ren smiled slightly and waved a dismissive hand, wincing as he did so, pulling at his wound and inhaling sharply from the pain. "Hmph, always showing off! A trifle? Look at the state you''re in!" Gu Xiao Yun scolded, her eyes red and swollen from crying. "Hehe..." Guan Ren gave an awkward chuckle. In fact, Lin Ruo Xue was a kind girl who had helped him a lot in his previous life; it was a shame that she too didn''t survive the calamity. "Mr. Guan..." "Just call me by my name; ''Mr. Guan'' feels a bit weird." "Okay. Then... Guan Ren, there''s something I''d like to discuss with you, if that''s alright?" Lin Ruo Xue spoke, her little face flushed red with embarrassment. The words "Guan Ren" and "official husband" didn''t have the same meaning but sounded very similar. Her statement, combined with the tone, resembled that of a young wife sharing a secret with her husband, which could easily lead to misunderstandings. "Go ahead." Guan Ren was unfazed by the implication. His maturity and composure, honed by past experiences, masked any na?vet¨¦ that one would expect from an eighteen-year-old. "You seem quite skilled?" Guan Ren had handled himself well against five attackers the day before, which demonstrated he had some significant abilities. "It''s adequate." Guan Ren responded soberly. His work at the construction site had built up his core strength despite his malnourished appearance. Coupled with regular exercise, his physical capabilities were far superior to the average person. "I''m planning to start a gaming studio for ''Heaven''s Arrival.'' Would you join as a member of the combat team?" Lin Ruo Xue''s eyes were hopeful as she gazed at Guan Ren: "Don''t worry, the salary will be higher than what you earned at your previous job. Plus, I''ll provide accommodation and gaming equipment for free. What do you think?" Guan Ren was tempted because "Heaven''s Arrival" was set to start its public testing at eight that night, and all the game login devices had been sold out. If he wanted to level up in the game immediately, joining Lin Ruo Xue''s studio was the best option. "What about my sister¡­" "Don''t worry, Xiao Yun can come too!" "Deal!" Guan Ren agreed without hesitation. Lin Ruo Xue¡¯s lips curled into a delighted smile. Guan Ren had saved her life, and knowing about his hardships at the construction site, she wanted to do something in return as a means of showing her gratitude. "No! I refuse!" Chapter 2 - System On! In his previous life, this kid was a traitor! Guan Ren''s gaze was fixed on Xiang Dong, clad in his smart suit, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Enough! It''s my studio, and I make the decisions!" Lin Ruo Xue''s delicate brows furrowed as she spoke calmly. "Xue''er..." "No more words." Lin Ruo Xue gave Xiang Dong a stern look, then turned towards Guan Ren with a light smile, "I''ll have someone deliver two log-in devices tonight. Rest and heal; I''ll visit you again tomorrow." "Thank you." Guan Ren sincerely thanked her. With the game log-in devices sold out and the next batch not hitting the market until at least a week later, this was not good news for Guan Ren. So he was genuinely grateful for Lin Ruo Xue''s help. This way, he wouldn''t be left behind as he was in his last life. The hospital room cleared, leaving only Guan Ren and his younger sister, Gu Xiao Yun. "Xiao Yun, take a rest." Looking at his sister''s swollen eyes, Guan Ren felt a pang of compassion. Growing up orphaned, they relied solely on each other¡ªwords couldn''t describe the depth of their bond. "No, I''m not tired!" Gu Xiao Yun shook her head, her small hands gripping Guan Ren''s, "You can''t be so reckless anymore, you hear?" Watching Gu Xiao Yun pout in feigned anger, Guan Ren couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle. His sister was just too adorable. "You¡­ Don''t laugh! Jerk!" A flush spread across Gu Xiao Yun''s cheeks as she lunged at him. "Ah... Ouch, my wound! Ah..." ... Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. At 7 in the evening, as darkness descended and stars dotted the night sky, Guan Ren gazed out the window, lost in thought. Being reborn granted him a second chance at life! He had to seize this opportunity, ensuring the tragedies of his last life didn¡¯t repeat. Putting aside grander ambitions, his minimum goal was to ensure the safety of his loved ones. With five years of rich gaming experience in his head, entering the game would allow him to quickly surge ahead of others in strength! While Guan Ren was engrossed in thinking about how to make his mark in ¡°Heaven''s Arrival,¡± the door creaked, and a small, adorable head peeked in. ¡°Finished school?¡± Guan Ren shifted his gaze towards the door. ¡°Yeah, tomorrow''s the weekend, so we got out early today. I made you duck soup!¡± Gu Xiao Yun walked cheerfully into the room, carrying the duck soup to the windowsill with both hands. ¡°You''re such a good girl.¡± Guan Ren fondly tousled his sister''s hair. Thump, thump, thump. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°This is from Miss Lin, your two log-in devices. Please confirm their receipt.¡± A man in a suit and sunglasses handed over two beautifully packaged boxes to Guan Ren. ¡°All right, please thank your mistress for me.¡± Holding the two boxes, Guan Ren was visibly excited as he nodded to the man. ¡°Brother, what are you so excited about? You¡¯ve never been into gaming before!¡± Gu Xiao Yun looked puzzled, not understanding the source of Guan Ren¡¯s happiness. What''s with her brother looking so odd? Did he hit his head and get silly? ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand, this ''Heaven''s Arrival'' is not just any game!¡± Guan Ren said with a slight smile, massaging Gu Xiao Yun''s head, ¡°Starting today, hurry back after school so you can join me in playing the game.¡± ¡°...You''re serious?¡± Gu Xiao Yun gaped at Guan Ren. Her brother had always been strict, forbidding her from playing games and supervising her homework every day. But now... why the sudden change? ¡°Of course.¡± Guan Ren was well aware of what "Heaven''s Arrival" meant for humanity''s future. If they did not start preparing now, it would be too late when disaster struck their world! Thinking of his sister''s fate in his previous life, his heart ached. This time, he would not let history repeat itself. ¡°Bro, why have you suddenly become so nice?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Haven''t I always been nice?¡± Guan Ren frowned playfully, pretending to be annoyed. ¡°Hehe, no! Of course not!¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hurry up and finish eating so we can log into the game. ''Heaven''s Arrival'' is launching at eight tonight; we can''t hold the studio back!¡± Guan Ren said with a smile, ¡°You''re part of the studio now. You can¡¯t slack off, you hear?¡± ¡°Got it! Stinky brother!¡± ... The log-in device was a bronze-colored ring with a blue gem set into it; a key component for connecting to "Heaven''s Arrival." Placing the ring on his finger and pressing it to his forehead, a blue light engulfed him in an instant. [Ding, soul binding successful, would you like to log into Heaven''s Arrival?] As the familiar prompt sounded in his mind, Guan Ren''s lips curled slightly. At last, he would enter this world of endless opportunities and challenges! "Xiao Yun, make sure to watch the entire introductory animation. It''s beneficial to you!" "Got it." Gu Xiao Yun didn''t ask why. In her eyes, Guan Ren always had her best interests at heart, so there must be a reason for his instructions. After giving his directions, Guan Ren chose to log into the game. Darkness enveloped him, and then, in the next second, he found himself on a vast battlefield. Sandstorms raged as corpses littered the ground, and an overwhelming aura of bloodlust and death washed over him. Even watching the intro for the second time still sent a shiver down Guan Ren''s spine. Familiar scenes bittered his smile; he remembered this was the battlefield of gods and demons. In his last life, the merging of the real world and that of Heaven''s Arrival began here! Reflecting upon it made him sigh. The three-minute intro showed players the diverse races across the vast lands of Heaven''s Arrival. The last image was of the continent crumbling, gods and demons perishing together, culminating in a formidable inferno that shaped into two shining golden characters¡ªHeaven''s Arrival! Phew¡ªFinally over. As the frame fixated on the last image, another prompt rang in Guan Ren''s ear. [Congratulations, player, on receiving a hidden reward! As one of the first ten thousand to watch the complete intro, the system rewards you with a talent! Please make your selection!] With a flash of light, a screen appeared before Guan Ren with three talent options. [Combo: Every combo hit causes your next attack to deal an additional point of damage.] [Piercing: Attacks deal an additional 20 points of piercing damage.] [Block: Block up to 20 points of incoming damage.] Truth be told, Guan Ren wanted all three talents, but the system rule was clear: he could only choose one. Furrowing his brows, he was torn. In the early stages of the game, these talents were as powerful as divine skills! If only he could have them all... [Ding, analyzing host''s desires...] [Requirements met for system activation...] [Ultimate Acceleration System successfully initiated, have a pleasant life!] [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations on acquiring the talent ''Combo''!] [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations on acquiring the talent ''Piercing''!] [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations on acquiring the talent ''Block''!] Chapter 3 - A blessing in disguise? However, just as Guan Ren was lost in confusion, a light orb emitting a white glow suddenly appeared in his mind. Tentatively, he reached out to touch the orb, and to his surprise, a system interface directly sprouted up in his thoughts! [Ultimate Acceleration System] Level: 1 Plunder: Can plunder everything; currently unlocked: attribute plunder. Acceleration: Can accelerate everything; currently unlocked: tenfold attack speed. Experience: 0/10000 (Experience can be used to upgrade the system level and unlock more system functions.) The simple description left Guan Ren, who had relived a lifetime, stunned and incapable of collecting his thoughts for a long while. With the gaming experience from his five-year veteran past life, now combined with this system, wouldn''t he be invincible at whim? Guan Ren''s heart was racing with excitement, and he couldn''t help but erupt into laughter. He had led an unsatisfactory life before, but this time, he was determined to live it to the fullest! [Ding, data anomaly!] [Ding, data anomaly!] Suddenly, amid the engulfing darkness, a system notification echoed like thunder across the sky. [Data Repairing¡­] [Data Repair Failed!] In less than a minute, system notifications continued to chime until, with one final repair failure alert, an overwhelming force descended from above, placing a mighty pressure directly upon Guan Ren! Boom! A bolt of red lightning struck from the sky, hitting Guan Ren squarely, causing him to collapse to the ground! At the same time, a red, lightning-shaped gemstone embedded itself inside him, ultimately fusing with his heart! The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. [Ding, successfully bound to the Heart of Divine Punishment!] Amidst fading consciousness, a system notification sounded. Before he could ponder further, the surrounding darkness dissipated, and in the next second, Guan Ren felt his world spin, finding himself atop a massive, archaic altar. Before him was a small angel with fluttering white wings, donned in silver armor, and no bigger than the palm of a hand. "Welcome, adventurer from another world, please choose your advancement path!" A screen materialized before Guan Ren, displaying two major categories¡ªPhysical and Magical. Having created a character in his previous life, Guan Ren was very familiar with this. In "Heaven''s Arrival," professions were divided into two main factions, Physical and Magical, each with many sub-professions and a wealth of variety. At character creation, players could only choose the faction. Specific performances in-game would determine future career possibilities. "I choose the Physical faction." Guan Ren made a decisive choice. He had been a swordsman in his past life, so from the standpoint of experience, this was the perfect fit. "Selection failed, reason unknown." What? Guan Ren''s gaze darkened. After hesitating for a long while, he exhaled deeply and chose the Magical faction. "Selection failed, reason unknown." "¡­" Guan Ren fought the urge to curse, breathing heavily in frustration. "I choose neither." The corners of Guan Ren''s mouth twitched with helplessness. In his past life, only those lacking talents were unable to choose between the two professions, and the odds of this were one in a hundred thousand! These people could still level up and fight but couldn''t change jobs to become combat professions. As a result, they missed out on exclusive skills and professional bonuses, slowly trailing behind other players over time. As compensation, however, the system would allow these individuals to turn into a wider range of life-based professions. Typically, combat players could only change into one life-based profession, but non-combat players were different. Since they couldn''t change into combat professions, the system allowed them to switch among six life-based professions. While this seemed a fair compensation and made them highly sought after by major guilds, for Guan Ren, who knew what the future held, entrusting his fate to others was foolish! He wanted to be powerful in his own right, not just surviving through someone else¡¯s protection! "Selection successful! Please allocate your initial attributes!" Finally, a smile appeared on the small angel''s face, and she waved her hand, casting a beam of pure white light upon Guan Ren. [Ding, congratulations! You have received 10 free attribute points. Please allocate them at your discretion!] Guan Ren¡¯s mouth contorted fiercely. As a non-combat profession, he only had 10 initial attribute points, which was nowhere near the 20 free attribute points enjoyed by combat professions! But there was no turning back. He opened the attribute panel to allocate his points, and that''s when he was completely dumbfounded. Next to his Charm and Luck attributes, there was a small "+" sign, indicating he could increase these two fixed attributes! Generally, everyone''s initial Luck and Charm are zero, only increasing later through equipment, special quests, or rare items. But now, blessed by misfortune, Guan Ren discovered he could directly add points to these inherently fixed attributes! He had never heard of non-combat players having this "privilege" during the initial phases in his past life. Could the system be bugged? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he didn¡¯t dwell on it, beginning to furiously add points to his Luck. Charm affects the trigger rate for hidden quests, while Luck relates to the drop rate of items and the success rate of various actions. For reborn Guan Ren, aside from the special missions requiring fixed Charm to trigger, he was intimately familiar with the methods to activate general hidden quests. Thanks to the forums where he''d compensated for lagging behind others, these details were etched into his memory, as fresh as yesterday''s recollections. So to him, Luck was paramount! But to his surprise, because of the capped initial attributes, he could only allocate 5 points to Luck before it refused more. With the remaining 5 free attribute points, after some deliberation, he allocated all to Constitution. The 5 points of Constitution increased his health points to 50, a necessary boost since, without any combat attribute bonuses, his initial health pool was a mere 1 point¡ªa single touch from a monster could be the end. As for attack and defense, with talents like Piercing and Blocking, he would still be quite powerful in the early stages of the game. "Now, all you need is to choose a name, and you can head to the world of Heaven''s Arrival!" The little angel winked playfully at Guan Ren. "Officer Guan!" "Name selection successful! Enjoy your game!" The little angel closed her hands in prayer, and a radiance blossomed from the altar. The next second, Guan Ren vanished from the altar. "Who would have thought that someone cursed with the Heart of Divine Punishment truly existed..." Chapter 4 - Sunward Town Sunward Town was a place Guan Ren had heard of even in his past life. It was said that within this town hid a secret about a divine weapon. Although no one ever found any clues by the end, many hidden quests were unearthed here. And these hidden quests were a treasure trove to the current Guan Ren! Quickly, Guan Ren made his plan and headed towards the central square of Sunward Town. "Mayor Fang, do you need any help?" he asked, after waiting in line for half an hour to speak with the elderly man with silvery white hair, leaning on a walking cane. [Fang: The Mayor of Sunward Town, advanced in age and frail. Level: 10] "Cough cough cough... Thank you, young man, for your concern. I need some herbs; I hope you can help collect them." [Ding, mission triggered, Fang''s Request!] [Fang''s Request: Go to the forest outside of Sunward Town and collect 20 pig bones, 10 bull horns, and 5 robust herbs. Mission reward: 2000 experience points, 1 Gold Coin, one Ordinary Weapon.] The game had just launched, and everyone was equipped with starter sets from the system of very poor quality, classified as inferior-grade equipment. In Heaven''s Arrival, the quality of equipment ranged from Inferior, Ordinary, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Amethyst, Obsidian, Faeries, Gods and Demons, to Forbidden. Heaven''s Arrival was notorious for its low equipment drop rate, so newcomers typically wielded inferior-grade items, with Ordinary-grade being rare and Black Iron-grade being extremely scarce. The reward from the Mayor of Sunward Town was an Ordinary-grade weapon, which, at the onset of the game, was akin to a divine weapon! This attracted a majority of players to undertake the quest. But what they didn¡¯t know was that although the mission could only be completed once, through item stacking, the rewards could be multiplied! In other words, if you turned in double the quest requirements, you would receive double the rewards! And if you turned in ten times the materials required, you would be awarded a Black Iron-grade weapon and a bonus of 100 Gold Coins! Not to mention the value of a Black Iron-grade weapon, Gold Coins, as the hard currency in-game, were exceptionally valuable. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. At this early stage, the currency exchange system was not yet activated, making Gold Coins scarce, and their in-game price was inflated. In his past life, Guan Ren entered the game to earn money. He once read a report stating that a single Gold Coin could be sold for 200 Sea-Blue Coins! But back then, he missed the first batch release of Heaven''s Arrival log-in devices. By the time he purchased one and entered the game, it was already a month after the launch. At that point, the currency exchange system had opened, and the exchange rate for a Gold Coin had stabilized at around 10 Sea-Blue Coins. Even so, he still managed to make a considerable amount of money by playing the game. However, now, unlike in his past life, Guan Ren entered the game for the first time using the log-in device gifted by Lin Ruo Xue, and the current price of Gold Coins was still at a base of 200 Sea-Blue Coins! Of course, Guan Ren''s reasons for taking up this quest were not so simple. In truth, after turning in ten times the materials needed, it would trigger a hidden quest line. Completion of subsequent tasks could even lead to a hidden Life-class profession! Currently, Guan Ren was unable to change into a Combat-class profession for some unknown reason, so his focus was on these hidden Life-class professions. After all, some of these Life-class professions still possessed formidable combat capabilities. Without hesitation after accepting the mission, Guan Ren ran straight towards the town outskirts. This one task would be enough to keep him busy for a long time. Passing by the town''s exit, Guan Ren glanced at a destitute man by the old well at the town''s entrance, his figure shrouded in a long black robe, obscuring his appearance. A group of enthusiastic players was fervently engaging with him, trying to receive a mission. Guan Ren shook his head with a wry smile at the sight; he knew this man as a trap set by the Heaven''s Way System as exposed in the forums, with no actual hidden missions. Without looking back, Guan Ren left the town. "The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment? Interesting..." The shadowy figure, solid as a rock beside the old well, glanced in the direction Guan Ren had left, his lips curling in a mysterious smile before closing his eyes to meditate, ignoring the clamor of players around him. "Dammit, what''s going on? Where''s my experience?" In a corner of the forest outside Sunward Town, Guan Ren stared at his unmoving experience bar after killing a wild boar, completely baffled. Currently at level zero, he needed 100 experience points to reach level one. As a level three creature, each wild boar should have rewarded him with 20 experience points! However, he hadn¡¯t received any experience at all! What was going on? A grave expression crossed Guan Ren''s face as he recalled the system bound within his mind. His thoughts delved deeply, triggering the white orb that opened the system interface. [Ultimate Acceleration System] Level: 1 Plunder: Can plunder everything, currently unlocked: Attribute Plunder. Acceleration: Can accelerate everything, currently unlocked: Tenfold Attack Speed. Experience: 10/10000 (Experience can be used to upgrade the system level and unlock more system functions.) Just as he thought! Guan Ren''s expression changed. It was the system''s doing! Was it that he had to upgrade the system first to level up? How long would it take for him to leave the newbie village at this rate? [Ding, host''s inability to level up is not due to the system! Please be advised!] "Not the system''s fault? Then why can you gain experience while I cannot?" [Ding, system analyzing...] [Analysis successful! The system will only absorb half of the experience you gain for upgrading! You received 20 experience points for killing the wild boar, so the system has already absorbed 10 points!] "What about the other 10 experience points?" [Due to the influence of ''The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment'' within the host''s body, the other 10 points of experience have been directly exempted!] The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment? Guan Ren''s face took on a new light of realization, recalling the red lightning that struck him from the sky after acquiring his Talent. His head was fuzzy at that moment, and he had vaguely heard a notification saying "The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment successfully bound!"¡ªhe had thought it was a hallucination, but apparently, that was not the case! Hurriedly, he opened his attribute panel, but after carefully inspecting every section, he found no information about The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. [The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment has now fused with your own heart, host!] What? On hearing this, Guan Ren quickly tore open his shirt to look at his chest. Indeed, there on his heart was a red lightning-shaped mark! Chapter 5 - The Heart of Heavens Punishment [Data sampling is limited; the system does not yet know the specific functions of "The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment!"] "..." Guan Ren sat slumped on the ground, silent. He had thought that with his rebirth, he could make great strides, yet here he was at the very beginning, hampered by this so-called "The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment." Was he to remain unable to level up, stuck in the starting village forever? [Host, there is no need to worry. The system has completed the analysis for the exemption of experience acquisition by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. Simply elevate the system to level 2, and you will unlock the ability to plunder experience points, thus meeting the requirements for leveling up.] "Plunder experience points?" [Correct. The experience plundered will not be exempt by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment, so you can rest assured!] That even experience could be plundered was a notion that caused the metaphorical rock in Guan Ren''s heart to finally drop. Now, with a direction to exert effort towards, there was no reason for him to wallow in dismay any longer! Just a measly ten thousand experience points? It was time to go all in! Guan Ren had memorized the dense monster spawn points around Sunward Town and, with the three powerful Talents he had obtained at the start, he could mindlessly grind monsters to rapidly accumulate the ten thousand experience points required by the system. The tenfold attack speed allowed Guan Ren to dispatch a wild boar in just one second. And the power of attribute plunder was beginning to show through Guan Ren''s monster-slaying progress! [Ding, wild boar killed, 1 point of Strength attribute successfully plundered!] [Ding, wild boar killed, 1 point of Constitution attribute successfully plundered!] [Ding, wild boar killed, 1 point of Agility attribute successfully plundered!] ... The success rate of attribute plunder depended on luck, and in ten minutes, Guan Ren killed over a hundred wild boars, but only gained a total of ten attribute points. It seemed the successful plunder rate for Guan Ren''s attributes was less than 10%. But some improvement was better than none, and Guan Ren''s stats were now comparable to other players'' initial attributes. [Name: Officer Guan] Level: 0 Occupation: Non-combatant Health: 80/80 Energy: 1/1 ¡ª¡ªCombat Attributes¡ª¡ª Strength: 5 Constitution: 8 Agility: 2 Intelligence: 0 Spirit: 0 ¡ª¡ªFixed Attributes¡ª¡ª Charm: 0 Luck: 5 ¡ª¡ªSkills¡ª¡ª None ¡ª¡ªTalents¡ª¡ª Combo, Penetration, Block If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ... Two hours passed, and Guan Ren had killed a full thousand wild boars, finally amassing the desired ten thousand points of experience for the system. With the [Ultimate Acceleration System]''s experience reaching ten thousand, an [Upgrade] button appeared in the system''s interface. Without hesitation, Guan Ren clicked upgrade. [Ding, system upgrade successful!] The milky orb within his mind suddenly surged with light for about ten seconds before returning to normal. [Ultimate Acceleration System] Level: 2 Plunder: Can plunder everything, currently unlocked: Attribute Plunder, Experience Plunder. Acceleration: Can accelerate everything, currently unlocked: Tenfold Attack Speed, Tenfold Movement Speed. Experience: 0/100000 With the system elevated to level 2, the experience required for further upgrades had increased tenfold, but the abilities to plunder and accelerate had each gained an additional feature. Guan Ren''s gaze lingered on the "Experience Plunder," and the detailed method of operation immediately came to mind. [Experience Plunder: Killing players allows you to gain the experience they lose upon death.] The simple description sent a serious expression across Guan Ren''s face. Slaying others for leveling up could quickly make him the enemy of everyone. But given his current predicament with The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment, this was the only path he could take if he wished to level up. "Regardless, let''s take it one step at a time." Guan Ren¡¯s eyes grew resolute. While he could continually grow stronger through the ability to plunder attributes, to leave the starting village, he had to reach level 10 or higher. He didn''t want to be stuck here forever, so engaging in PK outside the village was inevitable. The thousand wild boars had further improved his stats. Although still at level 0, his attributes had increased multiple folds compared to half an hour ago. [Name: Officer Guan] Level: 0 Occupation: Non-combatant Health: 250/250 Energy: 1/1 Attack: 30 (+1) Defense: 25 (+3) ¡ª¡ªCombat Attributes¡ª¡ª Strength: 30 Constitution: 25 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 0 Spirit: 0 Ordinary players gained 10 attribute points with each level-up. The system would distribute 5 of them across the five fundamental combat attributes while the remaining 5 were free points for players to allocate as they preferred. Now, Guan Ren''s attributes alone were comparable to a level 4 ordinary combatant player. And in Sunward Town''s level ranking, the top-ranked player was precisely level 4. So, putting levels aside, Guan Ren''s stats were among the first tier. It was just unfortunate that he was still level 0 and unable to equip the items dropped from the wild boars. He looked at the spoils scattered on the ground with a bitter smile. At the start of the game, the backpack only had 20 slots; with limited storage available, he had to be selective with the spoils. This was all money! A thousand wild boars and, with the addition of Guan Ren''s 5 points of luck, resulted in over twenty items of equipment! "Seems like I need to go back and sort through this equipment." Guan Ren assessed his backpack''s contents against the equipment on the ground. At that moment, a group of ill-intentioned players approached, bearing down on him. "Kid, these items are ours!" The leading man with stubble wielded a tiger-head sabre, greed flickering in his eyes as he stared at the spoils at Guan Ren''s feet. He clearly saw, among other things, several pieces of equipment! Having reached level three, he had only managed to obtain a poor-quality saber and coarse leather armor¡ªtestament to the soul-crushing equipment drop rates in Heaven''s Arrival. Nevertheless, he was determined to claim these spoils! "These items were dropped from monsters I killed." Guan Ren narrowed his eyes and replied flatly. "Bullshit! This is the Boar Forest, where the monsters are all level 3 or higher. You¡ªa level 0 noob¡ªkilling monsters here? Don''t make me laugh!" The stubbled man scoffed with disdain, not bothering to say another word, and with a wave of his hand, he commanded his men, "Send this kid back to Sunward Town. These are our items!" "On it!" The others charged forward with sinister grins. They were no strangers to PKing in games, although this was their first pillage in Heaven''s Arrival. Guan Ren''s eyes darkened, and if that was the case, he would just have to test out the efficacy of plundering experience! As his attackers closed in, Guan Ren narrowed his eyes and grasped his starter sword, his foot moving. Whoosh! His tenfold movement speed instantly triggered, leaving the others only to see a blur as his sword touched each of their throats! Five men, two strikes each. -40! -20! -40! -20!... Critical hits to their weak spots combined with penetration damage resulted in an easy deduction of 60 health points per strike. Two strikes per person and within the blink of an eye, the stubbled man''s men had all fallen and vanished as motes of white light, leaving behind more potions and copper coins. [Ding, successful plunder! You gain 200 experience points!] [Ding, successful plunder! You gain 200 experience points!] [Ding, successful plunder! You...] ... A series of system notifications chimed, and Guan Ren¡¯s experience surged, as his level rose directly to level 2 accompanied by flashes of golden light! "You... you little..." The stubble-faced man paled with shock, never in his wildest dreams expecting this ''easy prey'' to be a wolf in sheep''s clothing! He immediately revealed his ID¡ª[Slaughter Charge]! "Slaughter Charge" said confidently, "Careful there, youngster! I''m part of [Slaughterworld Syndicate]! Make an enemy of me, and you''ll regret it!" Slaughterworld Syndicate? A sharp glint crossed Guan Ren¡¯s eyes. Memories of his past life resurfaced. If it had been any other guild, he might have reconsidered, but since it was someone from Slaughterworld Syndicate, there would be no hesitation! Whoosh! He lunged forward and with one swipe of his sword, sent Slaughter Charge back to Sunward Town. Thunk! Two pieces of equipment dropped to the ground¡ªa poor-quality long saber and crude leather armor. "Trash." Comparing their attributes to the items in his backpack, Guan Ren shook his head regretfully, picked up the potions and copper coins, and then turned to leave. If the dead Slaughter Charge could have seen this, he would have been furious. Those were the spoils earned through hard grinding for two hours, and someone just called them trash!? "That man... he''s incredible!" In a corner at a distance, a pair of beautiful eyes were fixed on Guan Ren, who defeated Slaughter Charge''s gang single-handedly, with a look of shock. "Big sis, should we go over?" "Let''s go level up somewhere else." The woman shook her head and departed. Approaching now could easily lead to misunderstandings. ... Chapter 6 - Monsters siege the city! With his backpack full, Guan Ren had no choice but to temporarily put down his work and head back to Sunward Town. Finding a good spot in the central square, Guan Ren spent a gold coin to set up a stall. He displayed his equipment on the shelves for all to see and sat down to rest with his eyes closed. Previously, by killing Slaughter Charge and his gang, he had smoothly leveled up from level 2 to level 3. However, due to the influence of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment, he only received 6 free attribute points and did not even get the 5 normally automatically allocated by the system with each level! Guan Ren, however, did not show any discontent. After all, he could plunder attributes, so as long as he killed more monsters, he''d never lack for attribute points! What''s more, the free attribute points he received from leveling up were not simple, as they could be used to enhance combat attributes as well as fixed attributes! In other words, it''s possible to increase luck and charm values with the free attribute points! For him, this was extremely good news! Without hesitation, Guan Ren allocated all 6 points to his fixed attributes, with 5 points going to luck and 1 to charm. As a result, his luck value finally increased to 10, and his charm was no longer zero. With Guan Ren¡¯s increase in charm, something miraculous happened. Players passing by his stall turned their heads at a significantly higher rate. In fact, players spending a gold coin to set up a stall were few and far between, making Guan Ren¡¯s stand quite conspicuous in Sunward Town. Coupled with the bonus from 1 point in charm, it quickly attracted a crowd''s attention. "Damn! They are all of ordinary quality, and all are level 3 equipment! Who is this guy? How is he so powerful?" One player, seeing the purely ordinary quality equipment on the stall, was almost floored. Due to Heaven''s Arrival¡¯s generous drop rates, having one piece of inferior-quality leveled equipment was cause for rejoice among players. Yet, Guan Ren appeared out of nowhere, presenting a bunch of ordinary quality gear! How could this not shock people? However, in Heaven''s Arrival, to protect players'' privacy, detection spells could only reveal others'' levels. Regarding other attributes, they remain undetected! Unless one party engages in malicious PK, their ID would then be exposed. "Bro, are you selling that Boar Leather Armor for one gold coin?" "I''ll pay 10 gold coins! I want all this equipment!" "I offer 20 gold coins! Step aside, you poor sod with only 10 coins!" ... The crowd was noisy, gathering more and more onlookers, most of whom were just there for the spectacle. "Slaughterworld Syndicate is taking over! Everyone else, step aside!" A cold shout rang out, a group of players were rudely pushed aside, they were angry but dared not speak. The Slaughterworld Syndicate was one of the top hundred guilds in the region, not someone these solo players could afford to offend. "It''s you!" Slaughter Charge recognized Guan Ren at first glance, his expression changing as his eyes flickered ominously. "Brother Charge, long time no see." Guan Ren smiled wryly at Slaughter Charge, clad in starter gear. But Slaughter Charge was not bothered by past affairs, instead took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and addressed Guan Ren: "I''m here to buy equipment, you don''t plan on refusing to sell to me, do you?" "Of course not! Guests are gods, and harmony brings wealth. As long as the price is right, let''s trade!" Guan Ren shrugged his shoulders; he did not regard Slaughter Charge highly, confident even if the other sought to deal with him later. Currently a member of Lin Ruo Xue''s studio, he knew the studio valued efficiency, and it was vital to show sincerity on his first day of work. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Furthermore, he genuinely needed some gold coins to carry out his subsequent plans. With a mindset of profiting where possible, Guan Ren welcomed all comers. Of course, there was a caveat ¡ª you had to have the right price! "I¡¯ll take any amount of equipment for 10 gold coins each!" Slaughter Charge said firmly, his gaze concentrated. With the current price of gold coins trading at 220 Sea-Blue Coins each, 10 gold coins amounted to 2200 Sea-Blue Coins ¡ª a fortune to the average player. And Guan Ren''s stall had a full twenty pieces of equipment! If bundled together, that was over forty thousand Sea-Blue Coins! The onlooking crowd gasped, casting envious glances towards Guan Ren. But Guan Ren remained unmoved by the offer, slowly shaking his head, stating, "Too low." Having lived another life, Guan Ren knew exactly what this equipment meant at the game''s beginning. They might appear as mere ordinary quality items but to the newbie village three hours into game launch, they were worth far more than 10 gold each! If up for sale, a piece of ordinary quality equipment could fetch at least 20 gold at this time! With strong equipment early on, one can harvest more resources in the newbie village! For rewards, wilderness Boss fights were all predicated on having formidable strength. With so much gear on hand, Guan Ren, to any force, was a hugely desirable asset! "Think it over and make a decision promptly. Otherwise, once people from other powers arrive, it won''t be as easy to swallow this batch of gear." Guan Ren sat still, a picture of calm confidence. Only the beginning had passed; the real spectacle was yet to unfold! Due to his previous rampage in the Boar Forest, he had met the trigger conditions for a hidden event. All he had to do was stay in Sunward Town for half an hour, and the hidden event would activate ¡ª that''s when the real excitement would start! "I''ll take it all for 20 gold pieces each!" As soon as Guan Ren finished speaking, Slaughter Charge clenched his teeth and offered 20 gold coins per piece. "Holy... did I hear that wrong? 20 gold a piece? Is he crazy?" "You don¡¯t understand? This is an investment! If the people from Slaughterworld Syndicate get their hands on this batch of equipment, they can surely secure the top spot in Sunward Town!" "But... where are they getting so many gold coins? Currently, everyone is scraping together money just for potions and monster hunting for survival - I doubt they have much spare change. I only have 20 silver coins after squeezing every last bit out of my pockets!" "What do you know? Which powerhouse guild doesn¡¯t have a financial consortia backing their operations? Not to mention dedicated gold farmers or simply buying gold coins at premium prices from solo players." In the world of Heaven''s Arrival, 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins. Additionally, due to scarce monster resources at the beginning of the game, most players struggle to accumulate a single gold coin. "Wait! I''ll pay 21 gold!" As the words echoed from afar, a group of graceful female players parted the crowd and approached the stall. The woman at the front, with a purple veil adorning her face, dressed in a purple robe, gazed at Guan Ren in his starter gear, saying, "The highest offer wins, right?" "Of course. But let me ask this Slaughterworld Syndicate brother first. This lady is willing to purchase this batch of equipment at 21 gold coins. What about you?" "22 gold!" Slaughterworld Syndicate furrowed their brows, glaring at Guan Ren. "25 gold!" The woman said lightly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Who is that lady with so much money?" "Don¡¯t you know her? Are you new to the game? She is Violet, one of the top ten beauties in our Nine Provinces gaming world! Her guild, Clear Rain Pavilion, is also one of the top hundred, just like Slaughterworld Syndicate!" "That incredible? With two powerhouses clashing, one is bound to lose!" Guan Ren appeared calm on the outside, but inwardly he was ecstatic. At this rate, he was certain to make a killing! "25 gold once, 25 gold twice, 25 gold..." "30 gold!" Slaughterworld Syndicate, their faces twisted with rage, regretted their necessity to outbid Clear Rain Pavilion. Violet frowned slightly at this. 30 gold coins exceeded her budget, and she was ready to surrender the bidding war. After all, she wasn¡¯t foolish enough to overpay, and the gold could be better utilized later for more significant tasks than obtaining ordinary quality equipment. "Roar!!!" Just then, a thunderous roar emanated from beyond Sunward Town, startling everyone. They looked towards the horizon, sensing the arrival of an exciting event. "The good stuff is coming!" Guan Ren¡¯s lips curled upward as the system announcement boomed through the skies. [Ding! Due to player ''Officer Guan'' slaughtering a vast number of boars in the Boar Forest, the Boar King has been enraged and will lead an assault on Sunward Town in half an hour! Please prepare in advance, players!] A monster''s attack on the city? Everyone was dumbfounded, but then, their faces lit up with excitement. Since everyone had low levels, death was inconsequential. And once a city-besieging Boss was defeated, the reward would be substantial! This was a risk-free deal! "I offer 35 gold!" Violet bit down on her teeth, making her decision. Armed with this batch of equipment, they could gain a definitive advantage against the Boar King! Thus, she pushed the price bravely to 35 gold coins per piece! "40 gold!" Slaughterworld Syndicate''s gaze hardened, their lips curling into a vicious smile. They''d just reported to their guild leader and were now supported with resources, prepared to go as high as 50 gold per piece! "Lanlan, we have a hidden mission at the guild, so I can only allocate so many gold coins, my apologies." Violet, hearing the message from her communicator, frowned and reluctantly had to give up the fight. "Sold! Congratulations to the Slaughterworld Syndicate brothers for obtaining this batch of equipment at 40 gold coins apiece! Joyous indeed!" After closing his stall and spotting Violet looking dejected, Guan Ren was struck with an idea, saying, "You provide the funds, and I''ll provide the muscle. I''ll snatch the Boss right from Slaughterworld Syndicate¡¯s grasp for you. What do you say?" Chapter 7 - Secret of the ancient well "You... are you serious?" Violet, who had already been resigned to defeat, suddenly focused her gaze on Guan Ren. "Naturally. However, I need your people at Clear Rain Pavilion to cooperate with me." "Rest assured, if you help us secure this Boss, I am willing to offer 500 gold coins!" Violet stated. "Additionally, our Clear Rain Pavilion members will do their utmost to support you!" "We have half an hour before the monster besieges the town. I hope to get some materials in this time." Guan Ren shared the list of materials with Violet that he needed to complete Mayor Fang''s task. Violet, true to her guild¡¯s prestige, quickly gathered the materials Guan Ren required. Afterwards, Guan Ren received 500 gold coins from her, told the crowd to wait at the town entrance, and then dashed deeper into the town. "Elder sister, do you think he can really do it? A monster is about to besiege the city, and the Boss¡¯s health is sure to be greatly enhanced. We don¡¯t have enough quality gear, and snatching the Boss from the Slaughterworld Syndicate seems rather far-fetched, doesn¡¯t it?" "Let''s see. I sensed a strong confidence from him. Plus, you saw how he wiped out Slaughter Charge¡¯s squad by himself in the Boar Forest. I think he won''t disappoint us." Violet watched Guan Ren''s retreating back and analyzed. While all of Sunward Town''s players were busy preparing for the monster siege, Guan Ren hurriedly arrived at Mayor Fang¡¯s residence. Due to the impending monster siege, Mayor Fang had gone into hiding at home. Only Guan Ren, familiar with the Sunward Town''s layout, could locate the mayor. "Good day, Mr. Mayor, I have brought the materials you need!" Guan Ren burst into the house and, before the mayor could say anything, he threw the materials on the floor of the room. "This... young man! You are truly unbelievable! Bringing so much material... Take this as your reward!" Ding, the task was completed, and a reward claimed! A system notification sounded, and Guan Ren glowed with golden light, rising to level 4! "Could it be that completing tasks also allows me to avoid the effects of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment?" This revelation brought a fleeting joy to Guan Ren, who then turned his attention to the black sword in his hand. [Black Iron Longsword] Quality: Black Iron Attack +20, Strength +5, Agility +5, Attack Speed increased by 10% Level Required: 4 A Black Iron quality weapon and the first of its kind in Sunward Town now belonged to Guan Ren. "Mayor Fang, your illness seems rather serious...Isn''t there a complete cure?" Knowing the hidden plot from his past life, Guan Ren pocketed the sword and got straight to the point. "Ah, there is a way¡­ It''s just that the prescription for the cure is torn and tattered, I fear there¡¯s no hope¡­" "In that case, may I see the prescription? Perhaps I can be of some help!" Guan Ren quickly steered the conversation towards the direction he knew from his previous experience. "Ah, well, go ahead and take a look then!" Mayor Fang sighed, retrieved a worn little wooden box from under the bed, and opened it to reveal an ancient, torn prescription. "The other materials have been prepared; it''s just that a few key ingredients are missing from the prescription, and I have no idea what they might be." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. [Torn Prescription: A formula crafted by the Mystical Spirit Medicine King, intended to treat Mayor Fang''s illness. The prescription is now damaged.] This was it! His face lit with excitement, Guan Ren gazed intently at the torn prescription. In his past life, someone decrypted this recipe, earned Mayor Fang''s gratitude, and was taken as a disciple by the Mystical Spirit Medicine King, becoming a powerful being! This hidden quest, with a unique nature, could be triggered by any player in Sunward Town but would disappear once the prescription was deciphered. It was just over three hours since the server launched; no one else could''ve come so far so fast ¡ª except Guan Ren, who had dissected the mission blueprint. This time, the mystical healer was destined to be his! The prescription was missing two ingredients. One was with the potion shop owner in Sunward Town, and the other was with the Boar King, soon to attack the city! "I already have a lead; Mayor Fang, I¡¯ll bring the rest of the materials right away!" Leaving behind a statement, Guan Ren didn''t linger but turned and left. In the potion shop, Owner Wang was bustling with business thanks to the upcoming attack. The monster siege had players flocking to his shop to buy potions, keeping him grinning from ear to ear. "Owner Wang, I need something." Guan Ren pushed through the crowd to reach the counter. "No matter what you want, get in line!" Owner Wang waved his hand impatiently. If it weren''t for Guan Ren''s one charm point, he would''ve already chased him away. Thud! Guan Ren''s gaze darkened, and he slammed a bag of gold coins onto the counter. Inside the bag were a thousand gold coins! "Hahaha, my friend, please come to my private room for a discussion!" Owner Wang''s eyes widened with delight, and he pulled Guan Ren into a small room behind the potion shop. This was a thousand gold coins! Compared to such a sum, the business outside measured in copper coins was negligible. "Tell me, what do you want to buy?" Owner Wang inquired, certain the buyer knew his business well, to lay down such an amount. "Fire Spirit Fruit." Guan Ren cut to the chase. "A thousand gold coins; if it''s a deal, let''s trade." "Fire Spirit Fruit? This is a fine item, though for a thousand gold coins, it''s a bit..." "Goodbye then." Without wasting another word, Guan Ren stood up to leave. In his past life, Owner Wang had priced the Fire Spirit Fruit plainly at a thousand gold coins. Now trying to raise the price, Guan Ren was not going to be taken for a fool. "Wait! One thousand gold coins! Done!" Owner Wang hurriedly got up and held onto Guan Ren, his face filled with urgency. After obtaining the Fire Spirit Fruit, Guan Ren left the shop through the back door. Checking the gold coins he had left, he went to the ancient well near the town entrance. He kept a few gold coins for himself and threw the remaining three hundred into the well. This action stupefied all the players preparing for battle at the town''s entrance. "Damn, what''s gotten into this guy? Just throwing away so many gold coins like that? I would have taken them!" "Elder sister, look, it''s that kid!" A member of Violet''s group pointed out Guan Ren from a distance. Violet turned her eyes to him and, seeing his actions, couldn''t help frowning slightly. What in the world... is he doing? "Heh, interesting fellow." A man shrouded in a black robe, leaning by a tree near the well, glanced at Guan Ren momentarily before withdrawing his gaze with the hint of a smile. As for Guan Ren, he paid no mind to the other players, who looked at him as if he were a fool. He simply folded his hands, closed his eyes, and devoutly made a wish at the well. Sunward Town was an intriguing starter village. In his previous life, Guan Ren learned of many extraordinary stories associated with Sunward Town. This well was among them. It was a Well of Hope, supposedly crafted by the Goddess of Hope, its origins lost to time. But one fact was firmly established: currency wished into the well could grant a reward with a certain chance of success! The more gold coins offered, the richer the reward. However, the chance of success was slim. Unless you are the first to make a wish! The first person to make a wish at the well... was guaranteed to receive a reward. So, while the surrounding crowd settled in to enjoy a spectacle they expected to end in disappointment, a light enveloped Guan Ren, followed by a series of deafening system notifications for all players in attendance. [Ding, player ''Name Hidden'' has successfully triggered the well''s reward and received the Swift Wolf Armor Set!] [Ding, player ''Name Hidden'' has successfully triggered the well''s reward and received the passive skill ''Seasoned''!] [Ding, player...] ... "Damn, get out of my way! I want to make a wish too!" Chapter 8 - Swift Wolf Armor Set "Make way! This area is now exclusively for Slaughterworld Syndicate!" Near the ancient well in the distance, Slaughter Charge already surrounded the area, sweeping a menacing gaze over the surrounding players. "Why are you guys being so unreasonable? It''s just a game; why won''t you let us use this well?" "Why?" Slaughter Charge scoffed in response, "Because we''re strong enough to enforce it!" Saying so, the group brandished their weapons, looking imposing. Seeing this, the surrounding players couldn''t help but step back unconsciously. They were just a group of solo players. Even if they were to unite now, they might have the upper hand, but if they were met by the syndicate later, they would suffer consequences. Seeing the players angry but powerless, Violet''s brows furrowed slightly, trying to step forward and speak. "Hold on, let that fool play by himself, we have other matters to discuss." Guan Ren instinctively grabbed Violet''s hand to stop her, causing her to tremble slightly and quickly withdraw her hand, her face turning slightly chaotic. "Ah... sorry, I was just acting on impulse..." Guan Ren was embarrassed, realizing his behavior was inappropriate. "It''s fine..." Violet took a deep breath to calm down, saying so. This reaction from Violet surprised the female players around her. In the past, if any man dared to grab her hand directly, he would''ve been eradicated by her command! To move past the awkwardness, Guan Ren shifted the topic, strategizing for the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, at the other side, Slaughter Charge, who had taken over the well, stood beside it with a smug look, pouring out more than a hundred gold coins from a pouch. These were the leftover coins from buying equipment and supplies. Though not as many as Guan Ren''s, it was still half of what he had invested. Imitating Guan Ren, Slaughter Charge put his hands together, closed his eyes in earnest, and bowed solemnly to the well, wishing silently. The crowd around held their breath, watching Slaughter Charge at the well, waiting for the system notification following a successful wish. However, ten seconds passed, and nothing happened. One minute later, the well remained silent. "I don''t believe this!" Slaughter Charge''s forehead bulged with veins, his face turning ashen. That was more than a hundred gold coins! Were they just wasted? If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Could it be because the amount of gold was insufficient? He vaguely remembered Guan Ren dumping a lot of gold into the well! "Quick! Bring out your gold coins!" Slaughter Charge''s expression turned grim as he eyed his companions. They were stunned and instinctively protected their pockets. "Don''t dilly-dally! The coins will be on me! I''ll reimburse you later!" Slaughter Charge spoke impatiently, finally managing to collect gold coins from other members of Slaughterworld Syndicate. With 200 members contributing a gold coin each, they had even more than what Guan Ren had initially poured into the well! "This should work now, right?" Slaughter Charge muttered, dumping the coins into the well and continuing his fervent prayers. Ten minutes passed, and the silent well remained unresponsive. It turned out, all the gold coins Slaughter Charge poured into the well were wasted. "Look, this is what they say about karma. They took over the well, and now they''ve essentially thrown their money away." "Couldn''t agree more." "Serves them right, truly satisfying!" The onlooking solo players murmured amongst themselves, turning Slaughter Charge¡¯s face even greener. Glancing around, he saw Guan Ren smiling at him from a distance, and he immediately felt as if he had been schemed against, blaming all of his misfortunes on Guan Ren! "Wait for it, kid! I''m not done with you!" Slaughter Charge was steaming with frustration, all his rage directed at the smiling Guan Ren. Unbothered, Guan Ren simply turned to Violet and struck up a conversation, leaving Slaughter Charge to rage in vain. And there he was, Slaughter Charge, seething, his wasted effort equivalent to losing more than a month and a half of his salary. More than 300 gold coins! This meant that he had to spend about seventy thousand Sea-Blue Coins to cover this loss! And his monthly salary was only fifty thousand Sea-Blue Coins! Being outplayed like this, losing one and a half month''s salary in a blink, made Slaughter Charge incredibly frustrated, wishing he could dismantle Guan Ren on the spot. But he couldn''t! He mustn''t repeat his mistakes! There''s still a Boss fight to win, and a good performance might offset this loss, so he had to suppress his anger and remind himself to stay calm. "What exactly is going on?" Violet was curious. "Wishing at the ancient well is a chance-based event. Simply put, it''s a game of luck. For those who are cursed with bad luck, this well is an abyss." Guan Ren explained with a smile. Nodding in understanding, Violet recalled Guan Ren''s previous act by the well, her curiosity piqued. However, since he didn''t delve deeper, she didn''t press further. "With everything in place, we''re just waiting for the monster to siege now!" Guan Ren concluded, finally having a moment to check his rewards from the well''s wish. The three hundred gold coins resulted in five types of rewards: a set of Black Iron armor, a passive skill, a level up, 4 points in charm, and 1 point in luck. Now a level 5, Guan Ren''s charm reached 5 points. Adding the free attribute points from leveling up to level 4 and 5 to his luck, his luck value reached 15 points. [Effortless Mastery]: A passive skill that allows wearing equipment up to 5 levels higher than the user''s current level. This skill, combined with the Swift Wolf Armor Set, was a perfect match! [Swift Wolf Leather Armor: Black Iron quality, Defense +20, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%, Equipment Level: 10] [Swift Wolf Leggings: Black Iron quality, Defense +20, Agility +5, Strength +5, Movement Speed +5%, Equipment Level: 10] [Swift Wolf Boots: Black Iron quality, Defense +10, Agility +5, Strength +5, Movement Speed +10%, Equipment Level: 10] [Swift Wolf Mask: Black Iron quality, Attack +10, Defense +10, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%, Equipment Level: 10] [Swift Wolf Bracers: Black Iron quality, Attack +20, Agility +5, Strength +5, Attack Speed +5%, Equipment Level: 10] As a Black Iron Armor Set, its set attributes are naturally even stronger! Chapter 9 - Slaughtering the Slaughterworld Syndicate "Alright, let''s go according to the plan!" Guan Ren, with a slight smirk, took the lead towards Sunward Town. Violet and the others heard him and followed. "You just do as I say, and as for the people from Slaughterworld Syndicate, I won''t let them out!" Guan Ren stood directly at the entrance of the town, his gaze slightly deepened. The usual leveling up by killing monsters doesn''t apply to him. The fastest way for him to level up is only one, that is, to kill other players and plunder their experience points! And without a doubt, the two hundred players from Slaughterworld Syndicate have already been listed by Guan Ren for elimination. ¡¾Name: Officer Guan¡¿ Level: 5 Class: Non-combat Health: 550/550 Energy: 100/100 Attack: 60 (+70) Defense: 35 (+70) Attack Speed Bonus: 25% Movement Speed Bonus: 15% ¡ª¡ªCombat Attributes¡ª¡ª Strength: 60 Constitution: 35 Agility: 30 Intelligence: 0 Spirit: 0 ¡ª¡ªFixed Attributes¡ª¡ª Charm: 5 Luck: 15 ¡ª¡ªTalents¡ª¡ª Piercing, Blocking, Combo ¡ª¡ªSkills¡ª¡ª Expertise, Swift Wolf Dressed in full Black Iron armor, Guan Ren''s strength surged, making it easy to handle Slaughter Charge and others, who were at most level 4. Ordinary players rushed out of Sunward Town, but Slaughter Charge and his group, having been guarding next to the ancient well, ended up being left behind. However, this saved Guan Ren a lot of trouble, allowing him to directly block all the people from Slaughterworld Syndicate inside the town. Roar! A thunderous roar suddenly erupted, and at the end of the horizon, a cloud of yellow sand was lifted as a boar king, the size of a small mountain, led thousands of troops towards Sunward Town! "Try to get as much damage in as possible, leave the people from Slaughterworld Syndicate to me!" Guan Ren''s gaze deepened, reminding Violet. "Such arrogance!" At this moment, Slaughter Charge and his people arrived at the town entrance, and Guan Ren''s words fell right into his ears. "I don''t know about being arrogant, but your luck is really not that good." Guan Ren''s mouth curled up, a playful light flashing in his eyes. "You''re seeking death!" This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Slaughter Charge''s face darkened upon hearing this, how could he not hear that Guan Ren was mocking him for the incident by the ancient well! Because later, one of their team members couldn''t resist throwing a Sea-Blue Coin in there as well, and ended up getting an Ordinary quality equipment directly. This hit Slaughter Charge hard! And now, Guan Ren specifically used this to expose him, making it impossible for him to contain the rage in his heart. "Charge together! Kill this guy for me!" With one command, everyone charged out, attempting to take down Guan Ren directly. However, the entrance of the town was limited in width, only allowing ten people to rush out side by side at a time. This gave Guan Ren a perfect opportunity! Originally, the system provided a tenfold increase in attack speed and movement speed. Now, combined with the bonuses from his equipment, he stood alone at the gate, and with each swing of his sword, eye-catching damage numbers floated up from these people''s heads, and then, they all turned into a ball of white light and disappeared. For a moment, the exit of Sunward Town was enveloped in a thick white light. At the same time, pleasant system notification sounds rang in Guan Ren''s ears. ¡¾Ding, successfully killed a player! Successfully plundered 100 experience points, 1 point of strength attribute!¡¿ ¡¾Ding, successfully killed a player! Successfully plundered 50 experience points!¡¿ ¡¾Ding, successfully killed a player! ¡­¡­¡¿ ¡­¡­ A hundred people were taken down by Guan Ren in less than a minute. And the remaining hundred people from Slaughterworld Syndicate finally came to their senses at this moment, looking at Guan Ren with eyes full of fear, not daring to step forward any longer! Guan Ren saw this and couldn''t help but frown. It seems these people are not stupid, otherwise, if he had killed all two hundred people, he would have been able to level up to 7! Regrettably, he only leveled up to 6 now. Guan Ren''s prowess, like a bucket of cold water, was poured over Slaughter Charge''s head, making him come to a sudden realization. "Do you really have to oppose us, Slaughterworld Syndicate?" Knowing he was no match, Slaughter Charge brought up his guild behind him. "I''m just taking people''s money to eliminate disasters for them... If you have to blame someone, blame the people from Clear Rain Pavilion." Guan Ren clearly didn''t buy Slaughter Charge''s act, his gaze deepened, and he said lightly: "Of course, if you want to find discomfort, I''m willing to accompany you to the end!" "¡­¡­Hmph, we''ll see!" Slaughter Charge''s face darkened upon hearing this, reluctantly glanced at the boar king in the distance that was as big as a small mountain, waved his hand, and led his people to turn around and leave. "This matter... is not over yet!" Slaughter Charge''s eyes were venomous. Earlier in the boar forest, they were the ones who made the first move, so due to the protection mechanism, the system did not reveal Guan Ren''s related information, and since he had specifically hidden his identity information during the stall trading before, they had not been able to figure out Guan Ren''s details. But just now, Slaughter Charge was cautious, and when he ordered the charge, he disbanded the team! This allowed some of the Slaughterworld Syndicate members to be killed by Guan Ren before they could even make an attack judgment, thus obtaining the latter''s game name. "Officer Guan? You just wait!" It''s absolutely abnormal for a player to show such monstrous capabilities at the start of the game! Therefore, he must have used some means to have such strength! Slaughter Charge''s gaze sank, and a plan slowly emerged in his heart. ... On the other side, Guan Ren added the 2 free attribute points he got from leveling up to his luck value and turned towards the boar king. In the monster siege, the final reward is exchanged through points. Killing monsters and dealing damage to the Boss can all earn a certain amount of points. Of course, using points to exchange for rewards is just one aspect. Killing the Boss and monsters, there are still item drops! And compared to ordinary wilderness Bosses, the drop rate of the siege Boss is much higher, which is why in the previous life, many guilds fought bloodily over the siege Boss. ¡¾Boss: Jungle Boar King¡¿ Quality: Black Iron Level: 5 Introduction: The king of the boar forest, commanding an army of tens of thousands of wild boars! Health: 99430/100000 Energy: 9900/10000 Attack: 100 Defense: 60 Skills: Boar King Charge, Boar King Stomp, Boar King Roar. A hundred thousand points of health limit, truly worthy of being a siege Boss! If it were in the wilderness, the health limit of the Jungle Boar King would probably only be ten thousand points, but this siege directly enhanced its health value to ten times the original! As for the attack and defense attributes, they were also enhanced, doubled. Such formidable attributes, for the current novice village players, are nothing short of a nightmare! Because most people are only level 3 now, and they can''t even withstand a single hit from the Jungle Boar King! In addition, there are a group of wild boars rampaging around, disrupting the battlefield, so unless they keep dying and reviving to pile up the Boss, there is no other way. Because the game has been open for less than 4 hours now, players'' levels and equipment are still very poor. "Retreat quickly!" Guan Ren suddenly shouted to Violet in the distance. Because he saw the Jungle Boar King make a motion to lower its body. Chapter 10 - Blade of the Sovereign: The First Siege of Sunward Town "Is this boss too mighty?" The assembled crowd was in utter shock, foreseeing that at this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be long before every player in Sunward Town was slaughtered to level zero. The overwhelming might of the Jungle Boar King doused the fiery spirit of many a player in an instant, rendering them cautious and reluctant to engage. While the allure of rewards beckoned, few were ready to throw their lives away without cause. "Ah, the nature of people..." Guan Ren mused with a heavy heart, the memories of his past life surfacing. "What to do? No one''s willing to lead the charge, this won''t do at all!" Violet had already led her group to retreat, as the Jungle Boar King rampaged through the battlefield, indiscriminately claiming dozens of lives with every attack. "Pull me into the group," Guan Ren proposed. "But let me be clear, I have first pick of the Boss''s loot." "Agreed!" Violet nodded without hesitation. [Ding, ''Officer Guan'' has requested to join your team. Do you accept?] Officer Guan? Violet did a double-take, peering at Guan Ren anew, her heart pounding with a mixture of shock and awe. If her memory served her right, the emergence of the Jungle Boar King was tied to the man before her. Recalling his recent actions at the ancient well and his distribution of equipment, Violet couldn¡¯t help but admire this player known as "Officer Guan." Heaven''s Arrival players were numerous, yet to amass such an advantage single-handedly during the early game was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. "Remember to change the team name," Guan Ren reminded her. "Being the first to defeat it server-wide should rally quite a following for your guild, don¡¯t you think?" His confidence was astounding. Violet was momentarily taken aback. This boss had a staggering one hundred thousand health points! She had just witnessed its skill release, a momentary flash that could annihilate a swath of players! "What are you waiting for? Arm yourself, and follow me!" Guan Ren urged. The dynamics of a siege Boss differed from ordinary ones. The Jungle Boar King, upon slaying players, would gain experience points. Once it amassed enough, it would level up, regaining full health and enhanced attributes, making it an even more formidable foe. Therefore, it was imperative to defeat the Jungle Boar King as swiftly as possible. Delays would only disadvantage them more. "Okay..." Violet quickly complied, changing the team name to "Clear Rain Pavilion" and promptly followed suit. Meanwhile, inside Sunward Town, Slaughter Charge from the Slaughterworld Syndicate, upon receiving the news from his underlings, let a satisfied smile spread across his face. "Ha! Didn''t expect the Jungle Boar King to be this formidable. Since that''s the case, let''s stay put in the village. Let Officer Guan and that dame Violet try to digest this boss. I can''t wait to see how they get brought down to zero by the boss!" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Slaughter Charge''s underlings hailed his brilliant strategy, looking forward to a Sunward Town under their dominion once all competitors were reduced to naught. On the open plains outside Sunward Town, a figure clad in black armor ceaselessly executed sword strikes against the colossal silhouette of the Jungle Boar King. His movements were fluid and calculated, his attacks precise and debilitating, managing to overpower the beast temporarily! "Who the heck is this guy? Can''t be an NPC, can it? With that attack speed, that agility, that power... he''s too strong!" Speculations and whispers abounded amongst the onlooking crowd, marveling at Guan Ren''s prowess on the battlefield. "Big sister, he''s..." "He''s too powerful," Violet said, transfixed by Guan Ren''s silhouette. If Violet had been shocked by Guan Ren''s ability to single-handedly fend off Slaughter Charge''s gang before, his performance now completely shattered her understanding of the game! -90! -91! -92! -93! A string of red damage indicators floated above the Jungle Boar King''s head as Guan Ren, with a composed expression, capitalized on his equipment''s passive buffs and attack speed to achieve twelve strikes per second! Meaning, each second, he was dealing over 1000 points of damage to the Jungle Boar King! And with the "combo" gift, which added one point of damage with each successive hit, Guan Ren¡¯s inflicted harm was only growing more terrifying as time went on! Exhilarating! For Guan Ren, who was currently locked in battle, only this word could encapsulate his elation. Armed with tenfold attack speed alongside tenfold mobility, he was able to dodge the Boss''s assaults while continuously countering. Given the momentum, not even a million health points would prevent Guan Ren from grinding down the Boss! And his damage was relentlessly rising as time marched on! Ten seconds whizzed by, and Guan Ren''s damage per sword strike had escalated from an initial 90 to a whopping 200 points! At this rate, in another thirty seconds, providing his combo remained uninterrupted, he could single-handedly fell the Jungle Boar King with one hundred thousand health points! For Guan Ren, this was a bout of exhilarating combat. For the onlookers, it was a feast for the eyes! "No way, I¡¯ve got to record this and post it on Heaven''s Arrival''s official forum! This is too epic!" Some speculated about Guan Ren''s identity, pondering if he might be a hidden NPC harboring secret quests. Listening to the surrounding chatter, Violet, knowing the truth, could only smile wryly to herself. Where were they getting this hidden NPC idea from? This was a player! Violet eyed Guan Ren thoughtfully, silently vowing to recruit him to Clear Rain Pavilion at any cost. Failure was not an option, nor was making an enemy of such a prodigious player ¨C a nightmare to any opposition. With Guan Ren''s profound combat experience from his past life and the tenfold speed boost provided by the system, he was like a fish in water amongst the Jungle Boar King and its cohorts, his movements seamless, his strategy fluid. Death! With a decisive thrust, Guan Ren''s sword pierced the belly of the Jungle Boar King. Boom! A burst of light erupted as the Jungle Boar King¡¯s figure toppled. Loot scattered all around, and at the same time, a system alert rang across the skies of the region! [Ding, congratulations to Sunward Town''s ''Clear Rain Pavilion'' team for successfully slaying the Jungle Boar King, achieving the first-ever server-wide Boss besiegement victory of the newcomer''s village! Rewarding all members with a +2 level up, +10000 reputation, and a single Honorary Village Citizen Badge!] [Ding, Sunward Town has successfully repelled the assault of the Jungle Boar King. All participating players receive +1 level and +100 Reputation!] ... Chapter 11 - Unveiling the Champion of Sunward Town "Did I hear that right? People from Clear Rain Pavilion? And that guy is not an NPC?" "Damn! They must be cheating! I''m going to report them!" "The folks at Clear Rain Pavilion are so awesome! I want to join the Clear Rain Pavilion!" ... A cacophony of voices created a tumult outside Sunward Town. Violet and her companions quickly swapped into beginner armor sets, scattering and leaving the battlefield. "What?! They took down the Boss? How''s that possible? Wasn''t that Boss super strong with a hundred thousand hit points? How could it be slain in less than a minute?" Inside Sunward Town, Slaughter Charge was utterly baffled. "Here''s a video taken live. You might want to watch it." One of his underlings stepped forward, opening a link from the forum and playing the recording. "It''s him! Officer Guan!" Slaughter Charge''s gaze darkened as he spoke icily, "I didn''t have proof of him cheating and disturbing the game balance before. Now, with this video and eyewitness evidence, I have to get his account banned!" "But boss, we got a free level up out of this mess," someone piped up. "Hmph, did you not notice that everyone from Clear Rain Pavilion gained two levels?" Slaughter Charge frowned. Sunward Town only had one formidable foe to their Slaughterworld Syndicate, and now with the entirety of Clear Rain Pavilion leveling up twice, this was hardly good news for them, especially considering the rewards they got for killing the Boss. "I''ll go offline to deal with Officer Guan''s matter. You guys better speed up your leveling, got it?" "Yes, Boss!" "Hmph, Officer Guan? I''ll make sure you won''t get away with this!" With a dark scowl, Slaughter Charge logged off. ... At the same time, within a private room on the third floor of Sunward Town, sat a man and a woman who had just cooperated¡ªGuan Ren and Violet. The table before them was laden with a dazzling array of items and equipment. "Considering we hardly exerted ourselves in killing the Boss, these spoils of war should be distributed at your discretion." Violet glanced at the items piled on the table, visibly tempted. But the Jungle Boar King had indeed fallen to Guan Ren alone, and she felt somewhat out of place meddling with the distribution of the loot. Guan Ren looked at Violet with surprise. From his perspective, guilds were invariably profit-driven entities, and it was rare for someone like Violet to allow him to decide on the loot distribution, especially since she had paid for his services. After all, he was but a hired hand. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. But since she had made the offer, Guan Ren didn''t stand on ceremony. He picked up a softly glowing boar tusk and said, "I''ll just take this. As for the rest, if you guys can afford it, feel free to purchase them." Violet, shocked, realized that among the items were seven or eight pieces of Black Iron quality gear. He wanted none of them? "But... we don''t have that many gold coins," she frowned. The guild was currently investing heavily in a covert mission and couldn''t afford to buy all this equipment outright. "Transferring Sea-Blue Coins works as well." Guan Ren continued, "For all these items, I''ll charge you one million Sea-Blue Coins. That''s not expensive, right?" "Not at all! Give me your account, and I''ll transfer the money immediately!" Violet''s expression was one of excitement; gold coins were what Clear Rain Pavilion lacked, but Sea-Blue Coins they had plenty of! [Ding, your account ending in 6618 has received a transfer of 1,000,000 Sea-Blue Coins!] With the transaction of a million Sea-Blue Coins completed, Guan Ren stood up, greeted Violet, and stepped out of the room. [Ding, player ''Violet'' has sent you a friend request. Do you accept?] Guan Ren hesitated for a moment before clicking accept. He had a favorable impression of Violet, and having more friends would open more paths¡ªit was a good choice. "Remember to give priority to Clear Rain Pavilion for any future equipment sales. We''ll give you a fair price!" "Understood." After messaging Violet, Guan Ren did not head straight to Fang''s mansion to complete his mission. Instead, he quietly left Sunward Town and made his way to the Boar Forest. With the Jungle Boar King dead, there should be plenty of quality loot left in its den. And he wasn''t about to let these riches pass him by. Having ascended to level 8, Guan Ren was now ranked first in the Sunward Town level leaderboard. The recent battle had awarded him a whopping 10,000 Sunward Town points, and the experience of his Ultimate Acceleration System had increased to 50,000 points! Moreover, the Attribute Plunder triggered by slaying the Jungle Boar King had increased his Strength and Constitution by 10 points each, raising his overall attributes significantly. In addition to that, he was rewarded with a [Newcomer''s Village Honorary Citizen Badge]. [Newcomer''s Village Honorary Citizen Badge: A symbol of honor in the Newcomer''s Village, Base Attributes +20, Charm +5, Luck +2, and Experience Gain Speed Increased by 20%, Bound to: Officer Guan] Such badges only needed to be kept in the backpack to take effect, though they occupied a backpack slot. "I''ve arrived!" With the system¡¯s tenfold speed boost, Guan Ren quickly reached a gloomy cave deep within the Boar Forest. Taking out a pre-purchased torch from his backpack, he marched into the cave. [Ding, you have discovered the special scene ''Boar King¡¯s Den''!] As he delved deeper, the pungent smell grew stronger, but for the treasures within, Guan Ren could only tough it out. Before long, Guan Ren arrived at the endpoint of the cave¡ªa stone den lit up with flickering lights. At the entrance lay five robust wild boars. [Boar King¡¯s Guard (Elite): Entrusted with guarding the Boar King¡¯s Den, these wild boar elites are formidable. Life: 1500, Attack: 40, Defense: 30, Level: 6] To the average player, these Boar King¡¯s Guards might pose a challenge within the dark and narrow confines of the cave, but to Guan Ren, these creatures were utterly insignificant. With nimble steps, Guan Ren promptly dispatched the elite guards, collected the loot, and strode into the stone den. [Truffle Wine: Consuming increases base attributes by +1, up to 10 uses.] Good stuff! With a sharp gleam in his eye, Guan Ren promptly swept all the Truffle Wine from the den. [Jungle Ring: Bronze quality, Agility +10, Strength +10, Attack Speed +10%, Camouflage: Merges the bearer with the surrounding environment making them hard to detect, unable to move while camouflaged.] Bronze quality! A smile curled Guan Ren¡¯s lips as he put on the ring, enjoying the further enhancement of his attributes. He then scoured the entire stone den, yielding 100 gold coins, various potions, four pieces of Black Iron quality equipment, and several ordinary gear pieces. Chapter 12 - The Quest for the Billion Sea-Blue Coins "Ding, your account ending in 6618 has received a transfer of 1,000,000 Sea-Blue Coins!" Another million Sea-Blue Coins in the bag, and Guan Ren finally let out a sigh of relief. Although it was still a far cry from the billion Sea-Blue Coins needed, it was a good start for him now. In his previous life, his sister Gu Xiao Yun was afflicted with a rare disease that required a billion Sea-Blue Coins for a cure. Unfortunately, she couldn''t hold on long enough for Guan Ren to gather the funds, and passed away. Therefore, in this life, he was determined to be prepared, using his experience from his past life to quickly accumulate a billion Sea-Blue Coins to cure his sister''s illness! With only three months left, he had to hurry. Guan Ren frowned, his gaze becoming solemn. "What''s the matter? You seem troubled?" Having just acquired a new batch of high-quality goods, Violet was clearly in a good mood. However, sensing the slight melancholy in Guan Ren¡¯s aura, she couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly and asked. "It''s nothing. Just need you to keep an eye on the Slaughterworld Syndicate for me. If they make any moves, inform me immediately." "Don''t worry. You are now our partner at Clear Rain Pavilion. If they dare to mess around, I will be the first not to let them off!" "Thank you. I have other matters to attend to, so I''ll be leaving now." After saying goodbye, Guan Ren departed from the tavern. Watching his retreating figure, Violet¡¯s eyes dimmed, wondering why she sensed a hint of loneliness and desolation from Guan Ren, a feeling that should not belong to someone of his youthful age. ... "Mayor, I''ve found the other medicinal ingredients!" Guan Ren shouted as he entered Fang¡¯s estate. "Bang!" The door was kicked open, and Fang, with his white hair, appeared in the courtyard, his eyes shimmering with excitement as he looked at Guan Ren. "Are... are you serious?!" "True or not, you will know once you try these ingredients with the others!" Guan Ren smirked confidently. "Alright! Follow me!" Fang led the way into a study, where he moved a set of books rhythmically. Shortly after, the bookshelf slowly parted, revealing a deep tunnel. Quickly proceeding down the tunnel, they arrived at a sealed underground stone chamber. The chamber was spacious, with its walls embedded with fist-sized night pearls, brightly illuminating the entire space. At the center stood two half-human-high stone platforms, each about five meters in diameter. One platform held a purple-golden cauldron, and the other a blacksmith¡¯s forge. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Come with me." Fang motioned, leading Guan Ren to the platform with the purple-golden cauldron. With a clang, Fang opened the cauldron and took out several medicinal ingredients, placing them on the ground. "Give it a try." Guan Ren took out the Beast King¡¯s horn and Fire Spirit Fruit, combining them with the ingredients on the ground, followed by the ancient and tattered medicinal recipe. Hum¡ª A brown-yellow light radiated from the ancient recipe, instantly enveloping the ingredients on the ground. "It¡¯s correct! The recipe is correct! Hahaha..." Suddenly, Fang burst into joyous laughter, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. He had almost given up after so many years. Unexpectedly, this young man made a miracle happen by finding the correct ingredients! Now, as long as he could successfully refine the medicine, his great task would be complete! "My young friend, thank you!" Fang expressed his sincere gratitude: "This is your reward!" [Ding, congratulations on obtaining the hidden item "Fang''s Recommendation Letter"!] Despite being the only reward, it excited Guan Ren immensely! This was the key to the hidden profession ¡°Mystic Spirit Pharmacist¡±! With this letter, he could directly become an apprentice under the Mystic Spirit Medicine King! "Next, I''ll start refining the medicinal pill. Would you be willing to lend me a hand?" Fang¡¯s ensuing words stunned Guan Ren. What... the task has a sequel? He had read the guide before, and the task was supposed to end here! What was going on? No matter what, he had to continue since there was more to the task! He was already making a profit, and the rewards for the subsequent tasks could be even more generous! "Please instruct, I will do my utmost!" Guan Ren¡¯s face grew serious as he spoke. "Do you see that blacksmithing platform over there?" Fang lifted his withered hand, pointing to another high platform: "Go there, stoke the fire, and condense nine fire seeds for me." Guan Ren nodded and made his way to the other platform. "Remember, when fanning the flames, pay attention to the fire¡¯s direction and strength. Try to make it complement each other, or else you won''t be able to condense the fire seeds." Fang advised before starting to prepare the medicinal ingredients. This was Guan Ren''s first time hearing about condensing fire seeds. In his previous life, he was a skilled blacksmith, well-practiced, spending his days at the forge. The equipment he crafted was almost always of superior quality, making them highly sought after in the market. However, the idea of using a blacksmithing platform to condense fire seeds was completely new to him. Nonetheless, since Fang had asked, he had no choice but to dive into the task of condensing the fire seeds. But at the outset, Guan Ren encountered a painful failure! Despite his expertise, executing Fang¡¯s described technique of syncing the fanning with the fire''s strength proved exceedingly difficult! With his current control ability, he could only maintain this operation for a dozen or so consecutive times. As the fire grew stronger and the flames more unpredictable, achieving a perfect synergy was nearly impossible! "I didn¡¯t expect it to be so difficult!" Guan Ren''s eyes darkened, taken aback by the challenge. "If you can successfully match the fanning to the flames for thirty-six consecutive times, you can condense a fire seed." Fang glanced at Guan Ren''s progress, reminding him: "Using brute force to control the flames is not advisable. Try changing your approach; calm down, adapt to the rhythm of the flames, and feel their breath." Rhythm? Breath? Guan Ren frowned, mulling over this new concept. Fang''s words seemed to open a new door for him, leaving him shocked but filled with excitement. Failure! Try again! Failure! Try again! Chapter 13 - A Gamers Trial Guan Ren, absorbed in refining the essence of fire throughout the night, was oblivious to the tempest that had stormed the outside world. On the forums, the video post featuring Officer Guan standing resilient against a Boss soared past thirty million views, amplified by the whispers and machinations of the Slaughterworld Syndicate members. A wave of vitriol swelled within the forums against Officer Guan. "Damn it, he''s a cheater! And here I was, mistaking him for an NPC!" "Right? Clear Rain Pavilion claimed the first kill, but to associate with someone like this? Seems the guild isn''t much after all!" "Report him! He''s a cheater! If he''s not, I''ll live-stream fxxking a five-blade fan for apology!" ¡­ Inside a private room at the Sunward Town Inn, Violet was restless, frowning at the sight of Officer Guan''s name, conspicuously online but unresponsive to any messages. Where could he possibly be? Didn''t he know the magnitude of the news break? "Any sign of him yet?" "Nothing yet." A Clear Rain Pavilion member within the room spoke, "Sister Violet, do you think he might actually be..." "Impossible!" Violet stated with conviction, trusting her intuition. ... Outside in the wild plains near Sunward Town, a man closed his forum page, a sly smile betraying his thoughts. "This time, I''m curious to see how that kid will turn it around!" Slaughter Charge chuckled darkly, "The situation has escalated. If we just catch the officials'' attention and have them review Officer Guan''s data; once his cheating is confirmed, he''ll have no choice but to buzz off!" While the officials touted the Heaven''s Way System''s powerful capabilities, claiming it was infallible and devoid of any exploits, not all players were convinced. After all, "Heaven''s Arrival" was a game-changing masterpiece, and the understanding of the Heaven''s Way System that powered it wasn''t widespread. So, the initial official stance was taken with a pinch of salt, seen as mere exaggeration for promotional purposes; the true extent of the facts remained unclear. "But, Slaughter Charge, I have a question," a stocky man scratched his head, looking puzzled. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Ask away; I''m in a good mood today." "If... and I mean if, Officer Guan truly hasn''t cheated? Aren''t we inadvertently promoting him and boosting his fame by making such a big deal out of this video and forum post?" "Shut it if you can''t speak wisely," Slaughter Charge''s relatively good mood evaporated rapidly. "Do you think it''s reasonable for someone to achieve such a level of strength within just four hours of the game launch?" "No... it''s unreasonable." "Let me ask again then! A person smeared all over the forums who dares not speak, does that not scream guilt?" "Well..." "Listen to me, he must have cheated! And if not, henceforth, you can call me daddy!" ¡­ The stocky man''s face paled, his reply dying on his lips. He meant well with his reminder, never anticipating the scale of this uproar. ¡­ In a subterranean chamber, before an anvil, Guan Ren stood, drenched in sweat, as he admired the slowly rising flame in the furnace, akin to a golden firefly. His efforts throughout the night were not in vain; he had truly managed to refine the first essence of fire. "Well done! With this first success, the subsequent refinement should come with much more ease," Fang, who had been meditating beside him, stroked his beard, his eyes barely a slit. "You''re exhausted now. Take a rest." Acknowledging with a nod, Guan Ren massaged his sore arms and forehead, rising to his feet. Upon checking the time, he realized it was already 7 a.m. Time had slipped by unnoticed. Time to log off and check on Xiao Yun. With that thought, Guan Ren opted to log out. [ Ding! You are currently in a special scene and unable to log out. ] Hmm? "Town Chief, may I step out for a while?" "Certainly." Nodding at Fang''s consent, Guan Ren retraced his path through the tunnel back to Fang¡¯s study. [ Ding! You have new messages, please check! ] Over and over, the system alerts sounded like thunder striking his very being, almost too overwhelming. Hurriedly silencing the alerts, Guan Ren opened his chat interface with a puzzled look, confronting a barrage of insulting messages. "Cheating scum, come out and confess!" "Gaming with cheats? Deadbeat trash!" The relentless stream of abuse ignited a fire within Guan Ren. Just then, Violet''s avatar in his friends'' list shook with an incoming message: "The usual spot, hurry over!" With furrowed brows, Guan Ren was eager to learn what had transpired this very morning. ¡­ "This is what happened." Violet explained the overnight events to him within the private room of the inn, "I know someone at the official forums, maybe we could..." "No need, let them check all they want!" A cold smile curled on Guan Ren''s lips. "I''m eager to see what other tricks these Slaughterworld Syndicate members have up their sleeves!" The Ultimate Acceleration System had informed him, upon first logging into the game, that the emergence of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment was no random occurrence; in fact, it was a tool of balance meticulously forged by the Heaven''s Way System and bound to Guan Ren. As innocence prevails, Guan Ren feared not the crooked shadows. He then proceeded to open a forum post titled "I, Officer Guan, Have Not Cheated" and tagged the Heaven''s Way System to directly inspect his account. As he made his post, it beckoned immediate mass scrutiny. "Slaughterworld Syndicate wants to play dirty? Then I''ll use the traction they''ve generated to permanently establish the reputation of Officer Guan!" The Heaven''s Way System, a super AI intelligence, was something Guan Ren''s past life had not thoroughly fathomed, knowing only of its autonomous consciousness and formidable power! Sure enough, shortly after tagging the Heaven''s Way System, a reply came: "Account verification in progress, please wait..." "Pah, tagging the Heaven''s Way System? Don¡¯t tell me he''s running his own show on a secondary account?" "Laughable indeed. Hiding all night to come up with such a plan? The intellectual dilemma is real!" "Why not summon an official personnel from Heaven''s Arrival to testify if he''s claiming his innocence? Perhaps because the guilty mind fears?" Many mocked and jeered under his post, even Slaughter Charge couldn''t resist chiming in, "You cheater, still trying to clean your slate? Just wait for your ban! Ha-ha!" [ Ding! Your account has been temporarily banned for seven days due to illegal activities! Please visit the official forum for details. ] Chapter 14 - The Echo of Truth and the New Dawn of Heavens Arrival The resonant chimes of the system announcement echoed through the realms of Heaven''s Arrival, leaving every spectating player momentarily stunned. "This guy named Officer Guan...actually tagged the Heaven''s Way System? And the system''s autonomous function is just too amazing!" Faces aglow with disbelief, some even imitated Guan Ren, calling upon the Heaven''s Way System on the Heaven''s Arrival forums, seeking game strategies and even hidden quests for secret classes, hoping to find a loophole. But their attempts were met with a uniform response: "No comment." The existence of Heaven''s Arrival was but the tip of the iceberg exposing the powerful functions of the Heaven''s Way System. There were many more unimaginable aspects of it, and Guan Ren, having lived another life, was all too aware of this. The "Heaven''s Way" in the system''s name was not just for show. "These people from Slaughterworld Syndicate are no good at all! They actually tried to play dirty, we were almost used by them!" "Exactly, I had heard that this guild was nefarious and ruthless. Now it seems their reputation is well-earned!" "Serves Slaughter Charge right! A seven-day ban will leave him lagging behind everyone else! Hahahaha!" With the Heaven''s Way System vouching for Guan Ren''s innocence, the netizens who understood the truth quickly switched sides, casting blame upon Slaughterworld Syndicate. Being used as a pawn irked everyone, so the outpouring of ridicule now aimed at Slaughterworld Syndicate was fiercer than any previous barbs directed at Guan Ren! For a time, Slaughterworld Syndicate found themselves the subject of heated searches across the net, with everyone lambasting them, sending their upper echelons into utter disarray. Indeed, they had lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet. "Bring Slaughter Charge here. Make him apologize across the entire network, and then permanently expel him from the guild!" The guild president, Slaughter Nomad, logged off on the spot, his expression dark as thunder. He couldn''t contain the raging fury within him, for Slaughter Charge had gone behind his back to engage in such underhanded tactics, bungling the job, and even dragging him into it. He wished he could flay Slaughter Charge alive! Before long, a battered and bruised Slaughter Charge appeared on the forums, issuing an apologetic video. He confessed that out of spite for some past frictions, he had plotted this clumsy revenge against Officer Guan. In the conclusion of the video, Slaughter Nomad made an appearance, personally expelling Slaughter Charge from the guild and banning him permanently. With a significant sum spent to hire an army of online commenters, they just managed to quell the storm. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Cousin..." "Shut it! Are you a pig? You couldn''t even handle this?" "But..." Slaughter Charge, flush with shame, was at a loss for words. "Enough, this might be for the best," Slaughter Nomad stated. "Although you''re expelled from the guild, don''t worry. I will still provide you with resources to establish a new guild. Secretly cultivating some power could in fact be a boon to us." "Alright." "But remember one thing: don''t provoke Officer Guan again! You hear me?" Slaughter Nomad said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "With Heaven''s Arrival just launched, growing our power is critical. As for anything else, once our guild becomes strong in the game, dealing with one player will be as simple as reaching out and grabbing him, won''t it?" "Yes, I understand." "Good. Now go. Spend these days of your ban learning management techniques. I will send someone to deliver the material to you. Don''t give me any more headaches, okay?" "I got it, cousin." Slaughter Charge left the room. "Officer Guan?" Slaughter Nomad''s gaze deepened ever so slightly as he picked up his phone, dialed a number. "Find out the real-life information on this Officer Guan." "Understood." ¡­ [ Ding! Someone from the real-world is contacting you. Would you like to disconnect from the game? ] Within the private room, a prompt sounded next to Guan Ren. "Sorry, have to leave for a bit. Someone from reality is looking for me." With a hasty farewell, Guan Ren logged out. Upon disconnecting, the appetizing aroma of food wafted through the air, prompting Guan Ren to take a deep breath. "Brother, Sister Lin Ruo Xue brought us a lot of delicious food. Let''s eat quickly!" Guan Xiao Yun awaited Guan Ren''s awakening with impatient excitement. "Lin Ruo Xue? What brings her here?" "Am I not welcome?" Lin Ruo Xue asked with a smile, her eyes locked on Guan Ren. She was dressed in a white floral short-sleeved shirt and tight shorts, exuding youthful vibrancy. "Of course, you''re welcome!" Guan Ren quickly explained, "I was just surprised you came by yourself." "This morning, the doctor messaged me saying you''ve recovered from your injuries and could be discharged. So, I came over to take you both to my studio," Lin Ruo Xue explained with a beaming smile in her eyes, as bright as crescents. "My injuries... have healed?" Guan Ren uttered, finger brushing his chest, only to find the piercing pain replaced with a tingly numbness. Just over one night?! Guan Ren was puzzled, especially since he recalled from his previous life that such an injury had confined him to the hospital for nearly a month! What could this mean? Ripping off the bandage across his chest, he looked down. "This..." The previously stabbed wound over his heart had completely healed, leaving behind a faint scar, strangely shaped like a lightning bolt. The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment!? Guan Ren''s face changed instantly. He distinctly remembered that his character in the game bore an identical lightning scar over his chest, just like the one he now had in the real world! What was happening? Could it be... the virtual synchronization had already occurred to him? With a surge of willpower, Guan Ren focused his mind. "Open the attribute panel!" Swish! A holographic screen appeared before him, visible only to himself, listing his character''s information from the game. It was indeed so! Guan Ren thought to himself. In his past life, the synchronization between Heaven''s Arrival and the real world didn''t occur until mid-game, yet in this life, he had achieved it from the start! Could it be related to The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment? Or perhaps... it was due to the system? "What''s wrong?" inquired Lin Ruo Xue, a hint of concern in her gaze. "Nothing, just feeling a bit sentimental. Who would have thought such a serious injury could heal overnight." "I thought the same. The hospital director wanted you to stay a few more days for further testing, but I''ve refused," Lin Ruo Xue said with a gentle smile. "Thank you for that. Otherwise, I might have become their lab rat," Guan Ren replied, smiling faintly. "Compared to the way you bravely risked your life to save me that night, this is really nothing." Chapter 15 - Beginnings of a New Realm In Muyun City, at the Purple Forest Community. This was the most luxurious district in the entire Muyun City, with expansive luxury villas scattered throughout. Those who resided here were either extraordinarily wealthy or of noble status. Lin Ruo Xue''s studio was situated in Villa No.036. "Wow, this place is beautiful!" Guan Xiao Yun''s eyes shone brightly as she joyfully ran around the villa''s yard. "If you like it, that''s all that matters," Lin Ruo Xue said with a Caring smile upon seeing this. As for Guan Ren, he remained silent the whole way. It wasn''t that he was dissatisfied with the location of the studio but rather that he had confirmed his game attributes had fully synchronized with the real world! He distinctly felt that both his strength and speed had increased significantly compared to before he entered the game yesterday! Currently, his synchronization phase remained at attribute synchronization, possessing only the attributes of his game character in a state of no equipment. Skills and items had not yet had their effects mirrored in reality. Nevertheless, achieving attribute synchronization at the start of the game was unheard of in his past life. "What are you thinking about? Come help me carry things!" Lin Ruo Xue patted Guan Ren on the shoulder. "You want me to carry things when I''ve just been discharged from the hospital?" Guan Ren returned to reality, smiling wryly. "You''re the only man here, who else will do it if not you?" Lin Ruo Xue said with a pout. "Besides, the hospital told me you''ve fully recovered, so hurry up and help move stuff!" "Alright then," Guan Ren said, shrugging his shoulders and heading out to move things. Lin Ruo Xue had bought a lot along the way, enough to keep him busy for a while. After more than half an hour, Guan Ren finally moved everything into the villa. However, since Guan Ren''s attributes had completed the virtual synchronization, he didn''t feel tired in the slightest, not even breaking a sweat. As time progressed, Guan Ren''s attributes would grow stronger, and his real-world prowess would become increasingly formidable! "Alright, everyone, gather in the living room!" Lin Ruo Xue called out incessantly with a megaphone in the center of the living room. "Stop, stop, stop! Are you not letting people get a good night''s sleep?" The room on the second floor to the left opened first, and a woman dressed in a purple sling nightgown with curly hair, her half-sleepy eyes peered down from the hallway, leaning forwards with her full figure resting on the railing, looking displeasedly towards the downstairs living room. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Huh? Why did you bring a man over?" "He''s a new member of our studio, and so is she!" Lin Ruo Xue said, pulling Guan Xiao Yun to her side. "¡­!?" The curly-haired woman in purple was taken aback for a moment, then incredulously rubbed her eyes, staring at Lin Ruo Xue''s softly smiling face and exclaimed, "Ruo Xue, have you gone mad? Bringing over a minor is one thing, but a man too!? Are you serious?" "Of course, I''m serious," Lin Ruo Xue assured seriously. "What''s going on?" At this time, from the other rooms on the second floor of the villa, two other girls emerged, each with sleepy eyes. "Ruo Xue brought a man back! He''s joining the studio!" The woman with curly purple hair frowned, speaking out. "What!?" Sure enough, once the word was out, all the girls were shocked. ¡­ "Alright, do you all get the situation now?" "Fine, since he saved your life, we''ll reluctantly agree to let him join the studio," said the curly-haired woman in purple sleepwear, giving Guan Ren a nod, then turned to Lin Ruo Xue. "Aren''t you going to introduce him to everyone?" "Right, this is Guan Ren." "Officer Guan?" The curly-haired woman was puzzled: "Is he your boyfriend?" "What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Ruo Xue''s face turned red as she retorted, "It''s not the ''human'' person, but ''benevolent'' Ren! Guan Ren is his name! And this little sister here is Guan Xiao Yun, his sister!" "I see¡­" The woman with curly hair realized her mistake, and her gaze shifted to Guan Ren. "However, even so, I''ve got to warn you about one person. His name is Fang, and he''s an ardent suitor of Ruo Xue. The guys who''ve been close to her in the past haven''t ended well... So..." "Don''t worry, I can handle it." Guan Ren responded with a slight smile and an air of ease. The woman with curly hair was taken aback and sighed, "Well, good luck then." She''s warned every guy that appeared by Lin Ruo Xue''s side, and while the answers were mostly like Guan Ren''s, the outcomes¡­ "He will not succeed!" Lin Ruo Xue knitted her brows, declaring, "That''s also why I established the studio!" What''s the situation? Guan Ren felt puzzled, sensing there was more to the story than met the eye. Regarding Fang, he only knew that, in his past life, the former had betrayed humanity and was at odds with Lin Ruo Xue. As for the exact reasons, he was clueless. "Enough about that, let me introduce you two. This is our eldest sister, Ziyi, and our second sister, Liang Jing." Lin Ruo Xue pointed out to the curly-haired woman and the quiet, bespectacled girl with shoulder-length hair beside her. "Nice to meet you, eldest and second sister." "And this is Qin Feifei, the youngest of us four, so she''s our little sister!" "Nice to meet you too, little sister." Guan Ren nodded in greeting. "Hold on! Why do you get to call me little sister? I''m 19 years old, how old are you?" "Eighteen." Guan Ren touched his nose, given that he was indeed only eighteen years old. "Then you should call me ''Sister Feifei!''" "Okay... Sister Feifei." "That''s more like it!" Qin Feifei nodded in satisfaction, then turned her gentle gaze towards Guan Xiao Yun and asked, "Little sister Xiao Yun, how old are you this year?" "Ten... fifteen years old." "Don''t be afraid, you''ve got sister Feifei looking out for you here, no one will dare to bully you!" "Tha... thank you, Sister Feifei." "You''re welcome! As a sister, it''s what I should do," Feifei beamed with happiness. She had always been the youngest among the sisters, and now seeing someone younger than herself, Guan Xiao Yun naturally made her feel triumphant. At last, she too had become an elder sister! "Now that we''re all here, let''s have a meeting right here," Lin Ruo Xue suggested after exchanging pleasantries, ushering everyone to sit on the living room couch. "The game just launched yesterday, how did you all find it? What level did you reach?" "I made it to level 5, but I have to say, the loot drop rate in this game really sucks!" exclaimed Ziyi, frowning at the memory. "You''re amazing, big sister! I only got to level 4!" Qin Feifei''s eyes sparkled with admiration. "Level six," stated Liang Jing, adjusting her glasses, "I found a spot where monsters spawn frequently, so I leveled up a bit faster." "Umm... I... I''m only level 2," Guan Xiao Yun said shyly, feeling as if she had let the side down. "Don''t lose heart; once you''re out of Newcomer''s Village, I''ll take you leveling up!" Feifei offered comfortingly. "Thank you..." Xiao Yun muttered gratefully. Chapter 16 - The Birth of Unity Within The Studio In the living room, you could hear a pin drop. A trace of astonishment appeared on everyone''s faces. "Are... are you serious?" Ziyi was the first one to speak. If what Guan Ren had said was the truth, she might really start to see him in a new light. "It seems to be true." Liang Jing, who normally spoke little, suddenly said, "Moreover... if I''m not guessing wrongly, the game ID of Guan Ren we see before us should be ¡¾Officer Guan¡¿, right?" "What!?" Everyone was stunned by her words, looking at Guan Ren incredulously. "I had seen before I logged off, there are less than ten players in the Kyushu area who have reached level 8, and one of them has the ID ¡¾Officer Guan¡¿!" Liang Jing analyzed, "And his name is Guan Ren. If he isn''t lying, then that ID is the only one that fits his identity. So, I guess he isn''t lying and he is indeed the player currently making waves on the forums¡ªOfficer Guan!" "Is... is what the second sister said correct?" "Yes, her analysis is spot on. I am indeed Officer Guan," Guan Ren affirmed directly, his gaze turning to Liang Jing, "I did not expect you to guess my identity just from a sentence. Impressive!" "To stand out from a billion players is truly impressive," Liang Jing said gravely. "But this is good for our studio''s discovery. Don''t you think so, Xue''er?" Lin Ruo Xue nodded, still somewhat disbelieving that Guan Ren was actually the highly praised Officer Guan in the gaming forums! This seemed like something out of a dream in the game world. Could it be... he is the nobleman sent by the heavens to help me through this difficulty? From the night of the critical moment when he stood up to now joining the studio to become a rarity in Heaven''s Arrival. Could all this be destined by the heavens? "Xue''er?" Seeing Lin Ruo Xue in a daze, Ziyi showed a rare smile: "I take back what I said before. This time, you might really be able to do it!" "Absolutely." Liang Jing nodded. "Go, Sister Xue''er!" Qin Feifei cheerfully encouraged Lin Ruo Xue. "Thank you, everyone!" Lin Ruo Xue''s eyes brimmed with tears, her face full of gratitude. Without the help of these sisters, it might have been challenging to persevere alone, right? "What... exactly is going on?" Guan Ren was rather confused, unable to understand what these people were talking about. "It''s like this, Xue''er''s father betrothed her to Xiang Dong, but Xue''er disagreed and ran away from home. Then, one night, she almost got into trouble, which you already know." Ziyi explained solemnly, "That''s not all; her family also froze her bank cards before, hoping she would give in and come back willingly. But with us sisters around, how could we possibly let Xue''er be wronged? So, we''ve decided to gather together and form a studio to venture into Heaven''s Arrival, carving out achievements. That way, when we have the capital, we naturally won''t need to be constrained by others!" If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "So that''s it..." Guan Ren had an epiphany. He had interacted with Lin Ruo Xue in his past life as well, and she was entirely different from now. Moreover, he didn''t see her current sisters back then. Considering Lin Ruo Xue''s deep hatred for Xiang Dong, Guan Ren could guess some of the truths, but that was merely speculation; the actual details remained unclear to him. "Does this mean... I''m now the top fighter for our studio?" Guan Ren asked with a slight raise of his eyebrow. "Right, with your current popularity and strength, as long as our studio operates wisely, it will quickly get on the right track, eventually helping Xue''er fulfill her wish!" Ziyi nodded. "Okay, but don''t skimp on my salary." "Don''t worry, the studio will give you a 10% commission!" Liang Jing said. "Such a high percentage!?" Ziyi frowned at the news. "10% is not high, considering his current value, others might even offer 20%!" Liang Jing pushed her glasses up and stated. "Then let''s set it at 20%," Guan Ren suggested with a smirk. "You''re taking advantage of the situation!" Qin Feifei expressed her displeasure. Liang Jing''s expression darkened slightly, rare frustration appearing on her face. If not for her unnecessary comment, Guan Ren wouldn''t have caught them in a bind. But now¡­ "We each have our needs, to be honest, I''m also in dire need of money." Guan Ren sighed. Honestly, earning a billion Sea-Blue Coins in three months was challenging, but with the studio''s operation, it was a different story. This way, it was a win-win situation for both, earning even more money! For himself, aside from selling equipment and items, he could also get a share of the studio''s profits. For the studio, they could use him to expand their fame and manage the guild and various in-game industries, presenting vast business potential. Although a 20% commission seemed much, it was a win-win deal for both parties. "Let me say something." Lin Ruo Xue, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. While a 20% share may seem generous, for both parties involved, it is a surefire profitable deal. "Let me say something." Lin Ruo Xue, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned their attention towards her, waiting for her to speak. "For me, if it hadn''t been for Guan Ren showing up that night, I might have been dead. And for our studio, getting our name out there in the early stages of the game without Guan Ren would have been nearly impossible!" Lin Ruo Xue stated solemnly, "Thus, whether it be for me personally or for our studio, Guan Ren is a savior! Moreover, he just mentioned he is in dire need of money, so... I''ve decided to give him a 50% share, hoping my sisters can understand." With those words, the living room fell silent once again, everyone plunged into contemplation. Guan Ren was deeply moved. He hadn''t expected Lin Ruo Xue to make such a significant sacrifice. As for Ziyi and the others, their expressions were mixed. Naturally, they hoped their sister could benefit more, especially knowing the formidable forces behind Lin Ruo Xue''s arranged marriage. But since she herself had said so, as her sisters, they could only support her. "I agree, but it''s only profit sharing. To avoid any surprises, the studio''s share distribution can only give him up to 20%. That''s our final offer," Liang Jing said, pushing her glasses up. After all, they had to ensure the ownership of the studio remains with Lin Ruo Xue. Otherwise, if something unexpected were to happen in the future, all their hard work could be for naught. This was a preventive measure. "That''s fine, I only need the money," Guan Ren nodded, genuinely thanking Lin Ruo Xue. "Miss Xue, thank you for being willing to help me." "Just call me Ruo Xue. This matter is about mutual assistance; you don''t need to thank me." Lin Ruo Xue said with a soft smile, "Right?" "Yes," Guan Ren replied with a slight smile. "Rest assured, I''ll help you, Ruo Xue." "Mm." ¡­ Upon logging in again, Guan Ren added all the studio''s characters as friends and was added to a chat group. [Light Crimson Feifei] (Qin Feifei) exclaimed, "Wow, it''s really Officer Guan!" [Cool Breeze of the Early Night] (Liang Jing) chimed in with a simple, "Hmm." [Melody of Purple Clouds] (Ziyi) added, "Everyone, let''s push to hit level 10!" [Fluttering Snow] (Lin Ruo Xue) encouraged, "Keep it up, everyone!" [Delicate Luoyun] (Guan Xiao Yun) simply said, "Okay." [Officer Guan] (Guan Ren) commented, "...your names, they all have such poetic imagery." Guan Ren glanced at his somewhat out-of-place game ID, frowning. Fluttering Snow rallied, "Let''s level up quickly. We can''t afford to fall behind right from the start! If there''s anything you need help with, just ask. We''ll figure it out together." Light Crimson Feifei lamented, "I''m almost out of money for potions... Can someone help?" Melody of Purple Clouds responded, "I''m also running low, only one gold coin left, or I''d share some with you." Cool Breeze of the Early Night admitted, "I don¡¯t have any." Fluttering Snow sighed, "The early stage is too challenging. Gold is scarce, and our studio''s initial capital doesn''t allow us to buy gold in bulk. How about this, I''ll go round up some gold coins and distribute them among us." Guan Ren frowned slightly, saying, "No need, I have some gold coins here. Let me send you a red packet." Guan Ren took out twenty gold coins, chose the lucky red packet, and clicked the send button. Light Crimson Feifei gleefully said, "Guan Ren, you''re amazing! Sister loves you! Watch me draw the luckiest one!" However, three seconds later, Light Crimson Feifei was back in the chat: "What''s up with this red packet? I only got a handful of silver coins. Was it just one gold coin? You miser... Humph!" Chapter 17 - The Flames of Ascension Amidst the early stages of Heaven''s Arrival, the dilemma of a player''s fortune¡ªor the lack thereof¡ªbecomes apparent. With most adventurers boasting a mere 0 in luck, competing against someone like Guan Ren, who already sits at a fortunate 23 points, borders on the tragic. Left with no choice, Guan Ren crafts anew, sending forth a red packet filled with 20 Sea-Blue Coins into the digital abyss. This time, opting not to partake himself, his fellow adventurers find themselves richer by three to five coins each. "Ha ha, I''m flush again! Chat later, leveling calls! Roar!" Light Crimson Feifei exclaims with unfettered joy. "Once we''re offline, I''ll transfer you the market equivalent," promises Fluttering Snow. "There''s no need," Officer Guan interjects, "We''re all part of the same studio; aiding each other is but a given. I''ve got leveling to attend to. Let''s leave discussions for later." Exiting the chat, Guan Ren is left solitary in the private room, whilst Violet and the rest hurried off to grind levels. Venturing back from the tavern to the secrecy of Fang''s estate, Guan Ren is met with anticipation. "You''re here. The ingredients are prepared; all that''s missing is your spark." Fang''s eyes gleam with excitement upon seeing Guan Ren return. "Right away!" With a lift in spirit, Guan Ren finds himself back at the forge, focused entirely on the refinement of sparks. Armed with the success of his inaugural attempt, his progress leaps significantly. With bated breath and attuned senses, he captures the rhythm of the flame, achieving harmony in his technique. "Indeed, my eyes did not deceive me," Fang observes, stroking his beard with satisfaction as he watches Guan Ren''s diligent craftsmanship. Time flies, and within two hours¡­ "It''s done!" Guan Ren collapses onto the ground, breath heavy from exertion. The nine sparks required by Fang have been meticulously crafted. These are nine grains, each the size of a soybean, radiant with scarlet light, their fiery essence palpable, brimming with a wild aura. Bronze Tinder: Suitable for forging Bronze quality gear and tools. It also serves as a weapon, inflicting real damage upon foes. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "Well done. With this, my affliction can be fully cured," Fang declares, inserting the nine Bronze Tinders into the purple-marked cauldron before him. He sits in meditation, melding the sparks into a singular flame. Then, meticulously grinding the ingredients, he commences a solemn alchemy. "For the coming day, my focus lies solely on potion crafting. Feel free to wander; return this time tomorrow." Nodding, Guan Ren prepares to leave¡ªyet not before refining three additional sparks, consuming a half-hour more of his time. His delay in leveling, however, is soon apparent as other players gradually catch up. Checking the leaderboard finds another in Sunward Town reaching level 8, pressing Guan Ren to hasten his pace or forfeit the first to level 10 reward¡ªan outcome far from desirable. Now at level 8, the cumulative experience offered by Sunward Town''s tasks proves insufficient for reaching level 10. The most efficacious strategy for leveling now involves exploiting the Ultimate Acceleration System to steal experience through defeating other players in the wilderness. "Let the Slaughterworld Syndicate serve my ascent!" With a grin, Guan Ren sets his sights on an old rivalry, unbothered by the prospect of deepening their mutual enmity. Upon contacting Violet for the syndicate''s whereabouts, he rushes to their grinding spot with zeal. "Heh, filled with ambition, isn''t he?" A mysterious figure, shrouded in a vast cloak, chuckles as he watches Guan Ren depart from the ancient well. ¡­ Clearwind Plains¡ªnestled between Boar Forest and Blue Ox River¡ªserve as the prime leveling ground for players above level 5 from Sunward Town, packed with wolf packs and plentiful monster resources. "Let''s push through, aiming to rally with the main force beyond Sunward Town!" the division of Slaughterworld, now leaderless with Slaughter Charge''s temporary ban, perseveres despite a gloom. "Think Officer Guan will come knocking for a reckoning?" Silence follows. "Unlikely. Amid the game''s infancy, swift leveling reigns supreme; he''s got better concerns than us." "Right, with Charge''s ban and his forum apology, Guan''s probably appeased by now," the group consensually relaxes, organizing themselves to efficiently fell the wolves surrounding. Suddenly, a peculiar scent raises alarm amongst them, "Do you catch that... scorched smell?" As confusion sets, all eyes draw skyward¡ªto a bead of golden-red descending rapidly among them. Boom! An explosive roar follows as the engulfing flames claim every last one of Slaughterworld there, their demise swift. [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations, you''ve earned 500 experience points!] [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations, you''ve earned 400 experience points!] [Ding, plunder successful! Congratulations, you''ve earned 600 experience points!] With each system prompt, the total experience surges by over a hundred thousand points, showcasing the Bronze Tinder''s devastating might. Guan Ren, witnessing the inferno''s devastation, marvels at the potential unleashed. Having explored the Bronze Tinder''s capabilities, he acknowledges its formidable 2000 damage points and extensive coverage¡ªtruly a weapon of assault. With his current level now at 9 and the promise of further growth within reach, only one thing remains uncertain: Why has his experience been locked at 99% towards level 10? Chapter 18 - The Cursed Heir and the Time-Halted Town "If you don''t want to be trapped here forever, come find me. I can help you break free from your shackles, you young man cursed by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment." The voice fell once more, laden with a hint of weariness. "Who are you!?" Guan Ren called out loudly, but the only response was a lasting silence. Was there actually someone else aware that he was cursed by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment? Guan Ren''s brows furrowed tightly, and he sighed deeply. At this moment, though unaware of the identity of the other party, as they had mentioned, if he wished not to be forever confined to Sunward Town, seeking their help was imperative! Perhaps, this could even grant him more insights about The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. To him, this might not be a bad occurrence after all! Furthermore, from the conversation, it wasn''t hard for him to deduce that his current situation of being locked at level 9, 99% was probably caused by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment! Let come what may. He was determined to uncover the truth behind all this! With a resolute glint flashing through his eyes, Guan Ren turned and walked towards the direction of Sunward Town. ¡­ "Heh heh, young man, you''ve finally arrived." Just as Guan Ren stepped into Sunward Town, a mysterious figure in a black cloak standing beside the old well at the town''s entrance suddenly stood up. With a wave of his hand, a mysterious energy surged skywards, enshrouding the entirety of Sunward Town in an instant. "This is..." Guan Ren glanced around in surprise, noticing the space around him twist under the sway of this mysterious force. A multicolored spiral pattern filled the surroundings, seemingly freezing time itself. He could clearly see that all players around him had entered into a state of complete immobility. "Do not be alarmed; I have merely reverted Sunward Town to its original state," the mysterious figure in the black cloak stated calmly. "This place was always meant to be a City of Time Confinement!" "Who are you? What business do you have bringing me here?" Guan Ren''s brow furrowed even deeper, his mind on high alert. "Who am I? It''s been so many years; even I have forgotten..." The mysterious figure slowly shook his head and continued, "But a million years ago, I remember people called me the Heavenly Emperor!" The Heavenly Emperor!? This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Guan Ren inhaled sharply. In his previous life, the name of the Heavenly Emperor was enormously revered. The new expansion pack that came with the third update of Heaven''s Arrival, revolving around the Catastrophe of Havoc, had this figure at its core! A million years ago, when the Demon Clan invaded the human realm, the Heavenly Gods Clan lent their aid. The ensuing battle between gods and demons lasted over a century, leaving both sides greatly weakened and eventually retreating from the world of Heaven''s Arrival, hence bestowing a million years of peace upon it. And the Heavenly Emperor had been the leader of the divine forces! Unbelievably, this NPC from his last life, once scorned by countless players as ''useless and misleading,'' bore such an unknown identity! "Now''s not the time for introductions." The Heavenly Emperor spoke solemnly. "That you''ve been cursed by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment shows a deep connection between us." With that, he extended his palm. Hum¡ª A bizarre wave of energy surged, and a lightning-shaped mark radiating red light appeared in his hand. "Is this... The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment?" Guan Ren was astounded. The lightning mark in the Heavenly Emperor''s hand was identical to The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment fused into his own heart! The only difference lay in the mysterious runes on The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment; the Heavenly Emperor''s possessed seven differently colored, lightning-shaped mystical runes, unlike his own, which had spaces for just seven lightning bolts and sun, moon, and star-shaped crevices but no implanted runes. "You guessed right. Like you, I too am cursed by The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment," the Heavenly Emperor declared solemnly. "However, unlike you, I have already fully refined The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. Thus, for me now, it is no longer a shackle but a weapon." "...How can it be refined?" "Good question!" A hint of a smile flitted across the Heavenly Emperor''s eyes as he explained, "The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment restricts your power growth, preventing you from cultivating like ordinary people. But, as you progressively refine it, its limitations on your power will change. And when you have wholly refined it, your strength will be transformed." "The only way to refine The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment is to seek the Heavenly Mysterious Energy to condense Heavenly Mysterious Runes, forming the soul of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment." He continued, "If you complete it with a soul formed of Heavenly Mysterious Runes, you can ultimately fully refine The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment and gain control over its power." "However, as simple as it sounds, performing it is exceptionally challenging." He added, "You see, my Heart of Heaven''s Punishment has seven marks, each embedded with the Heavenly Mysterious Runes of seven colors: yellow, orange, red, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The yellow requires one Heavenly Mysterious Energy to condense, the orange ten, the red one hundred, and so on. Since Heavenly Mysterious Energy is a rare existence between heaven and earth, fully refining The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment is not a simple task!" Guan Ren nodded, understanding now that his level was restricted due to the influence of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. To break through this limitation, he needed to find a piece of Heavenly Mysterious Energy, condense it into a yellow Heavenly Mysterious Rune, and then implant it into the groove on The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. Of course, that was just for breaching the level 10 restriction. To break through level 20, he would need the orange Heavenly Mysterious Rune, for level 30, the red Rune, and so on. According to the Heavenly Emperor, it was after level 70 that he had fully refined The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment and embarked on a journey toward the pinnacle of power. But for Guan Ren, besides the seven Heavenly Mysterious Rune lightning bolts crevices, his Heart of Heaven''s Punishment had three more crevices shaped like the sun, moon, and stars. So even past level 70, he would still be unable to fully refine The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment. As for how to condense the sun, moon, and stars'' marks, he did not know, nor did he ask. For him at this moment, knowing this much was sufficient. Ambition beyond his reach was unnecessary; solidly improving his strength step by step was the true path to power. Chapter 19 - Heavenly Mystery Token The Catastrophe Clan? Guan Ren was taken aback when he heard this. If he remembered correctly, the first monsters to invade the real world in his previous life were the Army of Catastrophe! At the same time, the Catastrophe Clan was also the main opponent players faced in the first expansion pack of Heaven''s Arrival. "Sunward Town, actually, was one of the seven ancient towns in times long past, once thriving in its heyday. However, as time passed, it has fallen into decline." The Heavenly Emperor said with a bitter smile, "The original Sunward Town was a movable town, floating in mid-air, chasing the sun every day without nightfall. That''s the origin of its name." Is that so? Guan Ren was startled, unaware of such history surrounding Sunward Town. "However, the Catastrophe Clan suddenly appeared later, destroying all the ancient towns, causing them to lose their respective functions, and Sunward Town was among them." The Heavenly Emperor said solemnly, "Now, after thousands of years, the ancient towns have gradually become desolate, but their foundations still exist. In fact, beneath Sunward Town, at the core of its energy, there remain three strands of Heavenly Mystery energy. You just need to successfully obtain them, and you can refine the power of a layer of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment, thereby temporarily freeing yourself from the current constraints of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment on your power." "How do I reach the underground?" Guan Ren asked, frowning. "Don''t rush, to get close to the energy core underground, you must break the seal left here by the Catastrophe Clan once." The Heavenly Emperor stated, "Now, after thousands of years, the original seal is not very strong, and next, you just need to head to the monster lairs around Sunward Town, find the monsters infected by the Catastrophe demonic energy, collect five strands of Catastrophe demonic energy from them, and you can use the demonic energy to easily break the seal and reach the deep underground where the energy core is placed." Hearing this, Guan Ren slowly nodded. It seemed he needed to beat up the strong Bosses around Sunward Town one by one? But this was exactly what he wanted. Although he was only one step away from reaching level 10, the experience required for upgrading the Ultimate Acceleration System to level 3 was still a distance away. If he could hunt down some Bosses next, he would gain quite a bit of experience. Once the system upgraded, he would gain new ability enhancements, which would significantly boost his strength. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Thank you." Guan Ren said sincerely. "You don''t need to thank me. In doing this, I''m also helping myself." The Heavenly Emperor said with a faint smile, "I have a premonition that in the not-too-distant future, the Gods and Demons Clan will surely make a comeback. At that time, if we can have your assistance, I believe our chances of winning will be much higher." "Here, take this token. It can help you explore the Heavenly Mystery energy within a hundred miles. With it, I believe your journey will be much more convenient." The Heavenly Emperor pulled out a token emitting a faint purple glow from within his robe and handed it to Guan Ren. "Good luck!" With a slight smile, the Heavenly Emperor tapped his hood, his body becoming a shadow and gradually dissolving into the air. Whoosh¡ª As the Heavenly Emperor disappeared, the distorted space around finally returned to normal. The bustling of players in the town made Guan Ren feel somewhat surreal. ¡¾Heavenly Mystery Token (Lv0): A token crafted by the Heavenly Emperor using Heavenly Mystery energy, it can locate Heavenly Mystery energy within a hundred miles. Basic attributes +100, Luck +5, Charm +5. Wearing requirements: The Host of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment, Upgrade condition: For each Heavenly Mystery rune refined, level +1.¡¿ An upgradable token! Guan Ren focused his gaze, utterly shocked. These tokens, similar to medals, only require occupying a single backpack space to provide players with the attributes they add. The value of upgradable tokens is evident. Although the Heavenly Mystery Token is only level 0, it provides significant attribute bonuses. It''s hard to imagine what the attributes would be like after it upgrades! Quickly putting the token into his backpack, Guan Ren''s attributes received a substantial boost. ¡¾Name: Officer Guan¡¿ Level: 9 (99.9%) Profession: Non-combatant, Life: 1850/1850 Energy: 1300/1300 Attack Power: 190 (+70) Defense: 165 (+70) Attack Speed Bonus: 25% Movement Speed Bonus: 15% ¡ª¡ªCombat Attributes¡ª¡ª Strength: 190 Constitution: 165 Agility: 150 Intelligence: 120 Spirit: 120 ¡ª¡ªFixed Attributes¡ª¡ª Charm: 15 Luck: 30 ¡ª¡ªTalents¡ª¡ª Pierce, Block, Combo ¡ª¡ªSkills¡ª¡ª Expertise, Swift Wolf A 100-point base attribute boost caused his attributes to surge suddenly. Apart from the increase in his physique, his speed also got a significant boost! In Heaven''s Arrival, every 20 points of agility increases the player''s attack, movement speed, and critical hit chance by 1%. Now, with a total of 150 points in agility, although the increase isn''t massive, combined with the system''s acceleration abilities, it''s a whole different story. With the bonuses from his equipment and the system, his maximum attack speed per second could reach 14 hits! This is a terrifying number! "Next, it''s time to hunt down Bosses!" Guan Ren''s mouth curved into a smirk. The rudeness of monsters outside Sunward Town was fundamentally due to the influence of Catastrophe demonic energy. Therefore, if he wanted to collect Catastrophe demonic energy, high-level, high-quality Bosses were undoubtedly the first choice. Considering that Sunward Town is a newcomer''s village, logically, the maximum level of monsters here wouldn''t exceed level 10, while the maximum level for Bosses wouldn''t surpass level 15. After purchasing a monster distribution map from the general goods store, Guan Ren briefly scanned it and finally locked his gaze on one location¡ªShadowy Woods. This area is a level 10 zone, the highest level wild monster area among all surrounding areas of Sunward Town, and also the most severely polluted by Catastrophe demonic energy. Three types of monsters are distributed here: Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, Shadowy Demon Cats, and Venomous Wild Wolves. This time, Guan Ren was personally heading to this terrifying area to find the five strands of Catastrophe demonic energy needed to open the seal beneath Sunward Town! Chapter 20 - Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods The Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods, shrouded in noxious vapors all year round, combined with dense forests, caused the entire region to be dim and dismal, severely obstructing visibility. [Ding, you have reached the Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods. Affected by the miasma of the woods, Health Points are decreasing by 1 point every second!] Under normal circumstances, an ordinary player at level 10, supported by equipment, would have a health pool of about 200 points. With a loss of 1 health point per second, an ordinary player could only remain within the Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods for about three minutes. This meant that ordinary players entering the Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods must prepare enough health potions to ensure sustainability and not meet an untimely demise like a frog boiled in warm water. However, things were different for Guan Ren. Among the three initial talents he possessed in the game was [Block], which automatically negated 20 points of any damage, making the miasma''s life-draining effect inconsequential for him. Guan Ren charged headfirst into the Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods, aiming straight for the region marked on the map where the Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers congregated. Shortly after, the dense forest became slightly sparse, and the trees grew taller and straighter. Shuffling noises¡­ In the area ahead, thick with miasma, a group of sturdy-rooted Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, two meters in size, roamed aimlessly. Their gaping maws revealed uneven, sharp fangs gleaming sinisterly in the distance. Drip-drop. Viscous saliva fell to the ground, corroding the turf and releasing a puff of green smoke that merged into the surrounding miasma. [Ding, you have entered the dense region of the Man-Eating Flowers. The concentration of miasma has increased, and your Health Points decrease by 3 points every second!] For an ordinary player under these conditions, even without the attacks of the man-eating flowers, just the miasma alone could only be borne for a minute without supplies. But for Guan Ren, a mere 3 points of damage per second due to miasma was hardly a concern. Snap. Guan Ren accidentally stepped on a twig. In the silence of the dense woods, it distinctly echoed. "Roar!" Sure enough, the rustling attracted not too far off; three Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, their roar following a startled scream, bared their maws and lunged at Guan Ren! [Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flower: A man-eating flower infected by the miasma of catastrophe, ferocious by nature. Level: 10, Health: 480, Attack: 50, Defense: 30, Skills: Rend, Bloodsuck.] Seeing the attributes of the Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, Guan Ren smirked. His offensive and defensive attributes were now well over 200 points, making these Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers no match for him. Wielding the Black Iron longsword, Guan Ren, with refined expertise, closed the gap and raised his hands, unleashing blurred sword shadows. Fourteen strikes in a second, and in less than half a second, all three Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers met their demise. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. From the three Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, he looted three Silver Coins, a bottle of ordinary-grade healing potion, and a pair of ordinary-quality greaves, promptly collecting them and strutted forward to the gathering area of the Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers. With swift execution like cutting through the chaos, fourteen strikes per second. Combined with a ten-fold increase in his movement speed, his monster-killing efficiency was unprecedentedly fast! In less than ten minutes, he had slain over three hundred Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers in the vicinity! In total, five Gold Coins, a set of ordinary-grade healing potions (one hundred bottles), and ten pieces of ordinary-quality equipment. Guan Ren picked everything up, and his backpack was on the verge of overflowing once again. Twenty slots in the backpack proved insufficient. It seemed that he must hurry to spend money to upgrade and expand the capacity of his backpack. Otherwise, given his killing speed and luck, his bag''s space would soon be overwhelmed! It''s worth mentioning that, with over three hundred Man-Eating Flowers slain and with the aid of the Ultimate Acceleration System, Guan Ren''s strength, agility, and stamina attributes each increased by 5 points, resulting in a slight boost in his power. Moving on, Guan Ren traversed the miasma-wreathed zone. Ahead in the distance, a valley enshrouded in a thick miasmic atmosphere came into view, with the pungent scent of blood spreading around, nauseatingly potent. [Ding, you have entered the den of the Bloodbloom Monarch, affected by the bloody miasma, your Health Points decrease by 5 points every second!] Roar!!! As he entered the valley, a deafening roar erupted suddenly. Focusing his gaze, he saw under the thick blood-stench of the valley, a gargantuan Man-Eating Flower, the size of a two-story building, charging toward Guan Ren¡¯s direction! [Bloodbloom Monarch (Black Iron-level Boss): A man-eating flower monarch severely affected by the miasma of catastrophe. Health: 24000, Attack: 100, Defense: 60, Skills: Bloodthirsty Rend, Bloodsuck, Thorns Pierce, Bloody Miasma.] Black Iron-level Boss? Guan Ren inwardly praised. Field bosses, when vanquished, would drop equipment of their corresponding levels. To him, the Bloodbloom Monarch ahead was not a headache but a Black Iron-quality equipment ready for the taking! How many items would it drop? Guan Ren was filled with anticipation. Compared to the ordinary Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flowers, the Bloodbloom Monarch''s health was fifty times greater, and its attack and defense attributes had doubled, not to mention several more powerful skills. But to Guan Ren, these attributes were hardly intimidating! Let the battle commence! A single sword strike dealt over two hundred damage points! Combined with Guan Ren''s incredibly high attack speed and chain-hit talent, his damage output rapidly increased over time! "Roar!!!" The Bloodbloom Monarch, beaten back with each strike, could not hold back a furious roar, unleashing its skills. A vast swath of bloody aura burst forth from the Bloodbloom Monarch¡¯s mouth, enveloping the entire valley, obscuring the view, and shrouding itself in the blood mist. [Ding, affected by the Bloody Miasma skill, Health Points are reduced by 50 points every second for 10 seconds!] As the system notification sounded, Guan Ren finally saw a 30 point damage number appear above his head. It was a wide-range skill that covered the entire valley. Affected by the [Bloody Miasma], Guan Ren''s movements were slightly slowed compared to before. "If a group of ordinary players encountered this skill, they would probably get wiped out, wouldn''t they?" Guan Ren thought, as he considered the 50 points per second life drain. Without solid equipment or sufficient supplies, no one could withstand it for 10 seconds! However, with nearly 2000 health points, such an attack was negligible for him. Whoosh! Suddenly, sharp winds cut through the blood mist, assailing him from all directions. Like blades, thorns conducted indiscriminate piercing attacks throughout the valley! [Thorns Pierce: Summons thorns for a triple piercing attack, dealing 100%, 150%, and 200% true physical damage respectively to targets within range.] -80! -130! -180! Three numbers floated up, and nearly 400 points were deducted from Guan Ren''s health pool! "Interesting," Guan Ren muttered, his gaze turning sharp as he became more focussed. Listening intently, he quickly located the Bloodbloom Monarch and struck precisely. Swoosh! With a thrust of his sword, the Bloodbloom Monarch was critically hit, its skill forcefully interrupted. The blood mist slowly dissipated, exposing the Bloodbloom Monarch once again before Guan Ren. Seizing the moment, Guan Ren¡¯s Black Iron longsword, like a ferocious gale, swept forth, overwhelming the Bloodbloom Monarch step by step and finally vanquishing it. Boom! The Boss exploded, spewing loot all over the ground, and at the same time, a pleasant system notification rang in Guan Ren''s ears. [Ding, congratulations to the player for the first kill of a field Black Iron-level Boss, awarded 5 free attribute points and 2000 Reputation!] Chapter 21 - Guan Rens System Ascends to New Heights Guan Ren was stunned. For the system soul-bound to him had ascended to level 3, unlocking brand-new functions! [Ultimate Acceleration System] Level: 3 Plunder: Capable of plundering all things. Currently unlocked: Attribute Plunder, Experience Plunder, Skill Plunder. Acceleration: Can accelerate all things. Currently unlocked: Tenfold Attack Speed, Tenfold Movement Speed, Tenfold Casting Speed. Experience: 0/1000000 With the system now at level 3, the required experience for upgrading had multiplied tenfold again. However, the capabilities of Plunder and Acceleration had each gained an additional feature. Guan Ren''s gaze shifted to the words [Skill Plunder], and the detailed method of operation immediately surfaced in his mind. [Skill Plunder: Slaying enemies (players and monsters) has a very low chance of plundering a skill from the enemy. Plundered skills can be refined into skill points, used to strengthen other skills. Note: Slaying Boss-level monsters significantly increases the success rate of plundering!] Then, Guan Ren turned his attention to [Tenfold Casting Speed], and his face showed a look of shock. [Tenfold Casting Speed: Increases casting speed tenfold and simultaneously increases skill cooldown rate by tenfold!] This added acceleration effect was incredibly powerful! In the world of Heaven''s Arrival, skills are of two types: those without a cooldown and those with a cooldown. Aside from a very small number of instant-cast skills, most skills require some casting time. Take the most basic [Fireball] for example - it''s a no-cooldown skill, but under normal circumstances, it takes about a second to cast a fireball. But Guan Ren was different; with the tenfold casting acceleration effect, he could genuinely unleash ten fireballs in a second, becoming a true bombardment machine. Even for skills with cooldowns, the tenfold cooldown rate enhancement allowed him to reset his skills much faster, creating more opportunities for attack! Take the skill he had just plundered from the Bloodbloom Monarch as a typical example. [Thorns Puncture: Summons thorns to carry out a three-phase piercing attack, each dealing 100%, 150%, 200% of physical true damage to targets within the area. Cooldown: 10 minutes.] A cooldown of 10 minutes, under the influence of the enhanced cooldown rate, is reduced to one-tenth of the original, meaning just one minute of skill cooldown. This undoubtedly greatly enhances the cost-effectiveness of the skill. As the game progresses to the later stages, the cooldown times of some powerful skills can even reach several days. At that time, the effect of the cooldown rate enhancement becomes particularly apparent! This was only a level 3 system, and the bonuses it provided were already so sharp. If the level were to rise even higher, wouldn''t it be even more defying of the heavens? You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Looking at the newly added system features, Guan Ren was very excited, even eager to upgrade the system to level 4, to see what kind of surprises the system would bring after the upgrade. However, this was just wishful thinking, as upgrading to a level 4 system required one million experience points, which was quite challenging for the current Guan Ren. What if he couldn''t change his job to a combat profession? With the assistance of the Ultimate Acceleration System, his freedom was even higher! Not enough attribute points? Plunder from monsters! Can''t learn skills? Plunder as usual! In addition, with the improvement of various acceleration effects, his overall strength was unknowable how many times stronger than other players! To him, the world of Heaven''s Arrival had now become a game of endless grinding. Need something? Just grind for it! No-fuss, no muss! And as for Guan Ren, the constraints of levels had diminished considerably. Apart from the level restrictions on equipment, there were probably only the level restrictions of some dungeons and maps that would somewhat affect him. As for skills and attributes, there was no need to consider these at all! Having successfully killed the Bloodbloom Monarch, he had obtained a total of six pieces of ordinary-quality equipment and two pieces of Black Iron-quality equipment. Unable to carry so much in his backpack, Guan Ren had no choice but to open his friends¡¯ list and enter the discussion group. Officer Guan: I have a batch of equipment here, anyone interested? Light Crimson Feifei: I want! I want! Cool Breeze of the Early Night: Stats. Fluttering Snow: Got equipment? That''s great! Officer Guan: [Bloodthirsty Vine Armor (Black Iron)], [Vine Greaves (Ordinary)], [Vine Running Shoes (Ordinary)]... Light Crimson Feifei: Black Iron quality! For me! I want it! Cool Breeze of the Early Night: Look closely, level 10 equipment, we can''t wear those. Light Crimson Feifei: Then I''ll hold onto it, and put it on at level 10! Fluttering Snow: Forget it, by the time we reach level 10, the value of this equipment will have depreciated. Better to sell them now. Melody of Purple Clouds: Right, you sell them. When the time comes and there''s suitable equipment, let us know. Officer Guan: Okay. After closing the chat window, Guan Ren then contacted Violet and mailed the equipment he didn''t need through the in-game mail system, spending a total of 2 Gold Coins on mailing fees. Subsequently, Guan Ren''s account had an additional one million Sea-Blue Coins. [Bloodsucking Ring (Black Iron): A ring with a bloodsucking effect, attacks come with a 10% bloodsucking effect.] This piece of equipment was one of the two Black Iron-quality equipment dropped by the Bloodbloom Monarch. He sold the Bloodthirsty Vine Armor to Violet, but he kept the ring for his own use. Additionally, Guan Ren distributed all ten Gold Coins dropped by the Bloodbloom Monarch in the group chat via a red packet. After all, during the early game, everyone in the studio was short on money. Hence, these coins could greatly assist Lin Ruo Xue and others to ensure their growth in the early stages, which was highly constructive for the overall development of the studio. Now, being a shareholder of the studio himself, he wanted the studio to get on the right track for making money, and the necessary initial investment was indispensable. Officer Guan: Everyone, keep it up! After dispersing the red packet and offering words of encouragement, Guan Ren closed the chat window. [Deadly Poison Potion: Apply it to a weapon to add 50 points of poison damage, lasting for 60 seconds.] [Bloodthirsty Man-Eating Flower Seed: Use it to summon the Bloodbloom Monarch to join the battle, lasting for 30 minutes.] These were the other two items dropped by the Bloodbloom Monarch¡ªthree bottles of the potion and just one seed. Of course, these were not the objective of Guan Ren''s venture into the Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods. Standing by the corpse of the Bloodbloom Monarch, Guan Ren continuously swung his sword, chopping the body into countless pieces. A violet-black aura was revealed among these fragments. [Catastrophe Miasma: A miasma used by The Catastrophe Clan to control others.] Chapter 22 - The Secret of Sunward Town Less than an hour had elapsed when Guan Ren dispatched both the Venomous Wolf King and the Shadow Cat Fiend King, gathering a pile of spoils for his triumph. After dealing with the spoils, Guan Ren''s account balance had reached a staggering 5 million Sea-Blue Coins. In addition, he had plundered some attributes and skills from the two Bosses. [Shadow Assault: Instantaneously boosts movement speed by 100%, the next normal attack is increased by 100% and includes a knockback effect. Skill cooldown: 1 minute.] [Summon Poison Wolves: Summons three poison wolves to aid in battle, their level comparable to the user and attributes at 30% of the summoner''s own attribute panel. Duration: 100 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.] With two skills acquired, added to the earlier Thorns Puncture, the three Bosses had collectively provided him three skills. At the same time, the Shadow Cat Fiend King and the Venomous Wolf King each offered two streams of Catastrophe Miasma. Combined with the one collected earlier from the Bloodbloom Monarch, Guan Ren now had gathered five strands of Catastrophe Miasma. Opening his backpack, he took out the Heavenly Mystery Token and held it tightly in his hand. A hum¡­ A mysterious flow of energy surged from the depths of Guan Ren''s heart, and within his mind''s eye, with closed eyes, three faint yellow miasmic formations shone brightly. This was... the Heavenly Mystery Essence! He snapped open his eyes, directing his gaze upon the map. There, three faint lights emerged among a thicket of wild grass behind Sunward Town. That must be the entrance. Guan Ren¡¯s gaze sharpened, his hands clenched tight. He was on the brink of acquiring the Heavenly Mystery Essence, ready to assimilate the power of the first Heavenly Mystery Rune! Once done, the shackles of his level would be shattered, allowing him to ride the wave of accumulated experience straight to level 10! A smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, Guan Ren hastily set out toward the marked direction on the map. By now, many avid level-rushers had reached level 9, a fact that bore heavily on him. In the southwest corner of Sunward Town lay an abandoned courtyard, overgrown and devoid of life. The wild grass was overgrown, taller than a man and dense, obstructing the view. But fortunately, with the dual assurances of the map and the Heavenly Mystery Token, Guan Ren quickly arrived above the exact location of the three strands of Heavenly Mystery Essence. There, an ancient well stood, marked by time, starkly contrasting against the one at the mouth of Sunward Town. This well was clearly dilapidated and long abandoned. A glance downward revealed an abyss that seemed bottomless. Stolen story; please report. According to the map, the three strands of Heavenly Mystery Essence should be located in a space beneath the well. To be cautious, however, he did not immediately jump down. Instead, he returned to a general store in town to purchase several bundles of rope and torches before folding back to the well. Having secured a sturdy knot around the rim of the well, Guan Ren began his descent along the rope. Whenever a length of rope ended, he would take out a new bundle to attach and continue downwards. [Ding, hypoxic environment detected, breathing is difficult, 1 health point lost per second!] The system alert sounded, and the torch in Guan Ren''s hand extinguished due to the lack of oxygen. He was left to descend in utter darkness. [Ding, hypoxic environment detected, breathing is difficult, 2 health points lost per second!] [Ding, ...] He continued his plunge until, having used up ten bundles of a hundred-meter ropes, his health depletion rate increased to 20 points per second, perfectly balanced by the damage his Block Talent could absorb. Looking downward, a faint red glow appeared at the terminus of the darkness. He concentrated his gaze and there it was¡ªa door! This had to be it. Guan Ren estimated the distance, gritted his teeth, and then let go of the rope, allowing his body to fall. The whistle of the wind rang past his ears as he plummeted at high speed. Thud! With a muffled sound, a -300 damage number floated over Guan Ren''s head. Though in the game, the sensation of pain was only a tenth of that in the real world, the descent from such a height still inflicted a grimace-worthy pain. From the height of thirty stories, it was fortunate that in-game attributes provided the necessary support; had it been the real world, with only personal attributes to cushion the fall, he might have found himself in a hospital bed for a considerable time. Brushing off the mud, Guan Ren stood up and downed a potion, boosting his health back up. After slaying all three Bosses within Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods, the cap on his health had reached an impressive 2200 points, making a fall damage of 300 points seem trifling. [Sealed Door: Sealed by the Army of Catastrophe, it requires the expenditure of five Catastrophe Miasma to unlock. Health points: 1,000,000, Defense: 1000.] With such high health and defense, it was evident that forcing the seal open was impractical. Therefore, Guan Ren promptly fetched the glass bottle containing five strands of Catastrophe Miasma and hurled it directly toward the crimson-glowing door. With a clang, the bottle shattered, and the five streams of Catastrophe Miasma settled onto the door, now devoid of its red glow. Sizzling sounds filled the air¡­ A purple smoke began to rise, the red light upon the door gradually dissipated, and after about five minutes, the seal was completely broken. Creak¡­ Guan Ren pushed the door open, and before him lay an expansive space. In this space was a massive contraption, the size of a mountain, composed of innumerable gears interlocking and occupying much of the vast subterranean expanse. For reasons unknown, this machinery lay as still as death, motionless. It dawned on Guan Ren then; this matched the accounts of the Heavenly Emperor about the Seven Ancient Towns from lore. Here was very likely to be the apparatus that powered the flight of the entire Sunward Town. One could only imagine the transformation Sunward Town would undergo if these devices were to be reactivated! Could it actually become a floating town in the skies? Humming resonated¡­ A familiar pulse of energy permeated the air as the Heavenly Mystery Token in Guan Ren''s backpack flared with light, and at the same time, The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment within him stirred to life. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Three light yellow miasmic breaths erupted from deep within the colossal mechanism, eventually hovering in mid-air, radiating a subtle energy pulse. Heavenly Mystery Essence! Guan Ren''s spirit soared. With just one of those strands, he could complete the refinement of the first Heavenly Mystery Rune, liberating himself from The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment''s current level restraints! Filled with excitement, Guan Ren quickly advanced. For him, the Heavenly Mystery Essence was tantalizingly within reach! "Heh heh heh... Human runt, you have trespassed!" Yet, just at that moment, a sinister laughter echoed, halting Guan Ren''s strides as he braced for confrontation. The overbearing presence demanded his full alert. Rustle¡­ Behind him, the purple smoke that had bloomed when unlocking the door''s seal with Catastrophe Miasma unexpectedly flooded the chamber, bypassing Guan Ren and coalescing ahead, settling not far in front of him on open ground. [Essence of Turmoil ¡¤ Atropos''s Doppelg?nger] Quality: Gold-level Boss Level: 20 Health Points: 200,000 Chapter 23 - The Essence of Chaos It was [The Essence of Chaos] from the Army of Catastrophe! Guan Ren''s gaze darkened as he looked towards the Boss standing before him, surprised in his heart. Though it was merely an avatar, it still possessed the strength of a level 20 Gold Boss! "Hehehe, it seems that leaving a soul essence here was the right choice after all. Sure enough, some ants have stumbled upon good fortune to appear here!" The Essence of Chaos chuckled sinisterly, its eerie blue eyes emitting a cold light: "The power provided by the five Catastrophe Miasmas, although limited, seems a bit overkill to deal with you!" Upon hearing this, Guan Ren frowned. In his previous life, when the Army of Catastrophe launched a massive invasion on Heaven''s Arrival continent, the army''s total strength reached five million! All of them were formidable elites. Among the vast numbers of the Army of Catastrophe, there emerged some generals with overwhelming strength, and The Essence of Chaos was one of these powerful generals. Though what stood before Guan Ren now was merely an avatar, it was still not to be underestimated! Summon Poison Wolves! Guan Ren''s gaze intensified, opting to strike first. In a flash of light, three level 9 elite poison wolves appeared in front of Guan Ren. Meanwhile, his skill went into cooldown, but under the influence of the Ultimate Acceleration System, the original one-minute cooldown was reduced to a mere six seconds! [Poison Wolf (Elite) LV9: Attacks carry poison, ferociously unparalleled. Health: 600, Attack: 60, Defense: 50, Skills: Charge, Bite, Venomous] The elites were present, but their attributes couldn''t compare to the Boss''s. However, these poison wolves'' attributes were based on Guan Ren''s base attributes, constituting 30% of his own, meaning theoretically, the stronger he became, the stronger the poison wolves he summoned would become! "Hehehe... Accept the judgment of chaos!" The Essence of Chaos laughed lowly, and a grey mist spread out, settling on the three poison wolves. [Ding, affected by the "Chaos" skill, the poison wolves enter a state of confusion, indiscriminately attacking surrounding targets, duration ten seconds!] For a moment, the three poison wolves instantly clashed with each other, with -10 damage numbers continuously floating above them! However, this wasn''t the most important part, as Guan Ren discovered that these poison wolves'' attack speed was incredibly fast! In one second, seven to eight attacks were launched! "Unexpected... The Ultimate Acceleration System''s effect can also apply to summoned creatures! This is... awesome!" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Guan Ren''s eyes darkened, his heart stirred. Could it mean that he could establish a formidable monster legion? Bang bang bang! The Essence of Chaos raised its hand, and three pale purple orbs of light fell onto each of the poison wolves. Under the absolute overpowering strength, the three poison wolves turned into white light and perished. [The Essence of Chaos ¡¤ Avatar of Atropos] Quality: Gold-Level Boss Level: 20 Health: 200,000 Energy: 100,000 Attack: 450 Defense: 350 Skills: Chaos, Weakness, Corrosion, Abyssal Nightmare With such a panel, if it were in front of other players now, they would probably have despaired, right? Even for Guan Ren himself, facing the Essence of Chaos made his breathing become heavy. Despite his previous life''s combat experience and his current powerful attribute panel, he still wasn''t entirely sure he could defeat The Essence of Chaos! Because as it stood, his attack strength simply couldn''t break through the opponent''s defense! To successfully inflict real damage on The Essence of Chaos, besides relying on the innate [Penetration] that provided 20 points of true damage, it was necessary to stack the added damage of [Combo Hits], and after a hundred hits, gradually accumulate damage to it! But obviously, as a Gold Boss and one of the generals of the Army of Catastrophe, with its own rich combat experience, it definitely wouldn''t let Guan Ren succeed easily! After all, it wasn''t just a sitting duck. Moreover, it was strong on its own! "Kid, prepare to be crushed by the power of catastrophe!" The Essence of Chaos''s icy blue pupils suddenly flashed with cold light, and a brown-yellow spiral energy beam descended from the sky, landing on Guan Ren! [Ding, you are affected by the "Weakness" skill, all attributes reduced by 50%, duration 30 seconds!] "Damn it!" Guan Ren frowned, cursing silently in his heart. This Essence of Chaos, in his previous life, was famously troublesome in group battles within the Army of Catastrophe, as though his attack and burst were somewhat lacking compared to other catastrophe generals, his skills were a huge headache! Unlike some ordinary skills that could be dodged, The Essence of Chaos''s skills were all targeted, ensuring a 100% hit rate on the target! Moreover, his skills could significantly weaken one''s strength, making him an incredibly troublesome existence in group battles! With his attributes instantly halved, Guan Ren''s attack power also fell to just over a hundred, meaning he now needed to combo over 200 times to break through the defense! That is, he needed to continuously hit The Essence of Chaos for about fifteen seconds straight while ensuring he wasn''t hit by any of the opponent''s attacks! Given most of The Essence of Chaos''s skills were targeted, this was nearly impossible! Meaning, Guan Ren could only rely on the pitiful 20 points of penetration damage provided by his talent to slowly chip away! Facing The Essence of Chaos with a whopping two hundred thousand health points, it would require ten thousand attacks to accomplish! Fortunately, the duration of weakness was only half a minute, and if he remembered correctly, the cooldown for Weakness was five minutes, meaning, as long as he survived this period, his situation would be much better! "Hehehe... Die in agony!" The Essence of Chaos raised its hands, and a green light once again fell on Guan Ren. [Ding, affected by the "Corrosion" skill, health decreases by 100 points per second, duration 5 seconds!] Damn it! Another targeted skill! Guan Ren was distressed; the corrosion skill was The Essence of Chaos''s main offensive capability, with a cooldown of 10 seconds, a very troublesome skill! Moreover, given Guan Ren''s health was just over a thousand, if not replenished in time, it would only take two Corrosion skills to whittle him down to a sliver of health! However, fortunately, the normal attacks released by The Essence of Chaos, the grey magical orbs, were non-targeted, allowing Guan Ren to dodge directly with his agility. Otherwise, he really wouldn''t have the slightest chance to turn the tables! 20 points of damage is still damage! Rather than waiting to die, it''s better to strike first! With this thought, Guan Ren no longer hesitated and took the initiative! Summon Poison Wolves! Three elite poison wolves appeared, and under Guan Ren''s control, they charged towards The Essence of Chaos from three different directions. For Guan Ren at this moment, the six-second cooldown of poison wolves summoning could not be wasted. Although their attributes couldn''t inflict any substantial damage on the Boss, they could block its movement, providing Guan Ren a more comfortable position to effectively output! Chapter 24 - This... is an instant kill? Guan Ren¡¯s gaze grew heavy as he drew his sword and advanced. Swish, swish, swish! In the blink of an eye, his sword danced like the wind, and a series of damage numbers floated above The Essence of Chaos''s head. Though the numbers weren''t high, merely twenty points each, the dozen or so hits quickly added up to over two hundred points of damage! "Damn it, cursed human ant!" The Essence of Chaos was frantic, it had not expected this human, seen as nothing but an ant, to rise up in defiance rather than flee before its overwhelming might. What was worse, the human managed to inflict harm on its body! The damage was negligible compared to its twenty thousand health, but it was infuriating nonetheless. Chaos! Cornered by three poison wolves, The Essence of Chaos¡¯s eyes darkened as it released its Chaos skill once more, attempting to make them turn on each other! But Guan Ren, ever vigilant on the offensive, had been waiting for just this moment! As The Essence of Chaos raised its hand to unleash its skill, Guan Ren''s body dropped slightly, channeling power through his waist and exploding forward with a bow step in a sudden charge! [Shadow Assault: Movement speed instantly increases by 100%, the next normal attack enhanced by 100%, and comes with a knockback effect, cooldown: 1 minute.] Bang! -20! Struck hard, The Essence of Chaos was sent reeling uncontrollably, its skill casting mercilessly interrupted by Guan Ren! Then, seizing the moment before the Boss could react, Guan Ren led another charge of poison wolves to hold its position, while he spearheaded the assault, his strikes falling like torrential rain. -20! -20! -20!... "Ah, infuriating pest!" The Essence of Chaos, enraged at being toyed with repeatedly by a mere human, blasted the pursuing poison wolves with three grey orbs of light! -400! -400! -400! Alas, with the poison wolves possessing a life limit of 600 points, they weren''t instantly slain by The Essence of Chaos¡¯s normal attack. Thus, its movements were still obstructed! Taking advantage of this, Guan Ren kept attacking, his sword moves creating constant damage on the boss. In just five seconds, The Essence of Chaos lost a thousand health points to Guan Ren''s relentless assault! At this rate, it would take no more than twenty minutes to bring down the Boss if nothing went afoul. Bang, bang, bang! The Essence of Chaos let out a furious roar, releasing another three orbs of grey light, impacting against the trio of poison wolves. Swish, swish, swish! Three pillars of white light shone; the poison wolves perished. But with the Ultimate Acceleration System in effect, the Summon Poison Wolves'' cooldown had just finished. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Summon Poison Wolves! Guan Ren''s expression intensified, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he locked onto the position where the trio of wolves had previously held the line, and he promptly released his skill. The poison wolves were summoned once more to their original spots, continuing to obstruct The Essence of Chaos as Guan Ren''s blade fell swiftly and fiercely. "Although I am at a disadvantage in terms of attributes, I can still prevail with skill!" A bright light flashed deep in Guan Ren''s eyes. He was no novice to this life; before his demise, he was the top swordsman in the Northern Desolate Territory! Had it not been for a treacherous plot, his life would have never been taken. The wealth of combat experience accrued from his past life was now finding its purpose at this critical juncture! After all, the foes he''d faced before posed no real threat, requiring no effort more than blind swipes to defeat. But the current Essence of Chaos would consume all his lifelines if he dared fight with closed eyes! In duels with the mighty, the combination of skills and the timing of strikes must be meticulous ¡ª mindless output could be easily exploited by an opponent to engineer a swift defeat! Thanks to his momentary dominance, The Essence of Chaos was in a dire state, yet this had also spurred it to shed its contempt for Guan Ren and to steel itself for a true confrontation! If The Essence of Chaos failed to take things seriously now, it would surely be ground down by Guan Ren''s persistent assault! This, it believed without a doubt. Nothing else mattered; in Guan Ren''s constant calm and composure, The Essence of Chaos saw the battle qualities of a top fighter ¡ª someone able to maintain focus and a cool head even under complete advantage. "You¡¯ve been underestimated, lad!" The Essence of Chaos''s eyes sank, its massive maw unfolding into a cruel smirk: "But slaughtering human geniuses is ever so exhilarating!" Nightmare Descends! Buzz¡­ An eerie energy fluctuation centered around The Essence of Chaos burst forth instantaneously. A rich purple miasma spread outwards, instantly slaying the encircling wolves. As the purple aura dissipated, the form of The Essence of Chaos, once over three meters tall, shrank to that of an average human. The rich purple energy morphed into solid armor, enshrouding its frame ¡ª an imposing sight, indeed! "Young one, I¡¯ve gotten serious." The mocking sneer of The Essence of Chaos echoed, as it harnessed part of the purple energy aura around it into armor. The rest transformed the battlefield, ensconcing the surrounding area to its benefit! [Ding, The Essence of Chaos has cast ''Nightmare Descends.'' It gains a 30% boost in its offensive and defensive attributes, and the surrounding area is influenced, turning into the Domain of Chaos, inflicting a negative status every ten seconds on enemies for ten seconds!] [Ding, You''ve entered a poisoned state, losing 50 health points per second for ten seconds!] At the alert, Guan Ren¡¯s focus deepened. He swiftly gulped down a health potion and a detoxifying potion, slowly restoring his health. Nightmare Descends! It had come to this! A gleam of pleasure flickered in Guan Ren''s eyes. Normally, defeating The Essence of Chaos would take considerable time and risk during ability cooldowns. But the release of its ultimate skill, ''Nightmare Descends,'' was a significant game-changer for Guan Ren! In his previous life, The Essence of Chaos, though formidable and feared for disrupting group battles, had one fatal weakness ¡ª a fear of fire elements! The surrounding purple Miasma of Chaos was flammable and explosive! Had The Essence of Chaos not released ''Nightmare Descends,'' Guan Ren could still avoid damage by darting away. But now ''Nightmare Descends'' had turned a vast area into the Domain of Chaos, permeated with the explosive miasma. Any spark would trigger a fierce explosion! Plus, Guan Ren carried two Bronze Tinders capable of real damage. If ignited amid the amplified chaos miasma, they would undoubtedly wreak havoc on The Essence of Chaos¡¯s corporeal form! As the moment ripened, Guan Ren paused no further. He burst towards the edge of the Domain of Chaos, intent to detonate the charged zone without catching himself in the blast! "Think you can escape? Think again!" The Essence of Chaos, noticing Guan Ren''s retreat, twisted its mouth into a cold smile and pursued. Thorns Puncture! Guan Ren''s eyes narrowed as he instantly activated his skill! Countless thorns, gleaming with black light, materialized from nothingness and rapidly arose from the ground, thrusting in from all directions towards the relentless pursuit of The Essence of Chaos! -106! -153! -212! Three instances of true damage floated above The Essence of Chaos''s head, and its path forward was barricaded by the entwined thorns! The tenfold increase in Guan Ren''s speed allowed him to swiftly exit the reach of the chaos aura. "Let¡¯s go!" Without a backward glance, Guan Ren retrieved the last two Bronze Tinders from his possession, tossing them high and flinging them towards the purple mists of the Domain of Chaos! On the run! He bolted for the door, slamming it shut behind him. Inside the Domain, The Essence of Chaos, having just torn through the maze of thorns, was met with a pair of Bronze Tinders landing at its feet before it could take another step. "What is this¡­" A spark arose, followed by a furious dragon-like blaze that burst skyward, igniting the omnipresent chaos miasma. In the blink of an eye, the entire Domain of Chaos became a sea of flames! Chapter 25 - Topic! Guan Ren¡¯s exploits in the game had the community buzzing with excitement. "Who on Earth is Officer Guan? How can someone be so fiercely competent? Racking up first kills on bosses, and it''s insanely thrilling!" "The stakes are even higher this time! A Gold-class Boss, and it''s only been a day since the server launch! How did he do it?" Players toiling away at their grind were thoroughly befuddled by the system announcement. "This fellow Officer Guan is indeed hogging the limelight in the game!" In an unassuming town, a man dressed in a white robe waved his folding fan and remarked casually to Elder Feng, a hunched figure in gray, "Tell me, Elder Feng, between this person and me, who is the stronger?" "In the real world, you''d win hands down. In the game... it''s hard to say!" Elder Feng frowned deeply and responded in a somber tone. The man''s eyes twinkled with interest. "Well, now I am quite looking forward to it." His gaming adventure was a mere consequence of Elder Feng''s encouragement. As per Elder Feng''s claims, the holographic game "Heaven''s Arrival" could considerably bolster his actual strength. Yet, he found the monsters in Newcomer''s Village utterly unengaging, which had him skipping about the game simply for casual amusement rather than leveling up, a pursuit that scarcely piqued his interest. "I''m off to level up," the man in white announced, making a firm decision. "You¡¯ve finally seen the light?" Elder Feng asked, chuckling. "I caught a clip of that Officer Guan soloing a siege boss... and, well... it''s rather impressive." The man smiled slightly, swapping his fan for a long sword, and strode towards the village outskirts. Elder Feng watched the man''s retreating figure, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. The young prodigy was finally taking a shine to the game, sparing the real world from his usual upheaval. "This is for the best, two birds with one stone." Elder Feng smirked to himself and followed suit. ¡­ [Ding, you have new messages. Would you like to check them?] [Ding, you have new messages. Would you like to check them?] [Ding...] The continuous system notifications were giving Guan Ren a headache ¨C they were even more relentless than the Gold Boss. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Blocking all messages from strangers, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. To promote his studio, Guan Ren needed to make a name for himself; thus, he didn''t typically hide his character name, except for special reasons. However, his first kill on the Gold Boss had ignited a maelstrom of messages, rocketing his private inbox to 999+ within a minute of the announcement. Agencies offered collaborations, guilds sent out invitations, streaming platforms pitched contracts¡­ A plethora of messages came flooding in. Fluttering Snow: Congratulations! Light Crimson Feifei: Amazing, little brother Guan Ren! Delicate Luoyun: You were splendid, big brother! Amid the flood of congratulations filling the studio¡¯s chat, Guan Ren felt slightly overwhelmed. Honestly, he hadn''t anticipated defeating the boss so swiftly. After sending out a red packet, he pushed open the door and stepped back into the vast space. A thick cloud of smoke assaulted his senses. "Cough, cough... it''s suffocating." Guan Ren frowned, waiting for the smoke to dissipate before stepping back onto the battlefield. What the... everything¡¯s gone?? Staring blankly at the barren ground, Guan Ren couldn''t grasp what had happened. What a rip-off! The loot''s been destroyed by that last explosion! He felt a bitter taste in his mouth. This was the first kill on a Gold Boss, which should''ve meant a treasure trove of a haul! Now, two Bronze Tinders later, all was lost. To make matters worse, since he used items to beat the boss, the Ultimate Acceleration System''s plunder feature didn''t kick in. Hence, aside from the first-kill rewards, Guan Ren got zilch! "What¡¯s the sense in all this?" He felt a desire to weep. Those spoils, even if not for his use, could have netted him a tidy sum, especially given his high luck stat. He was certain to have missed out significantly! Regrets aside, there was nothing Guan Ren could do but ruefully assess the additional hundred gold coins and the solitary suit of Gold Armor that now glimmered inside his bag. [Gold Armor: Luxurious and high-status armor crafted with Gold enchantments. Quality: Gold, Attributes: Health +2000, Stamina +1000, Defense +200, Base Attributes +30, Gold War Song: Active skill that enhances state, increasing attack by +500, defense by +500, duration 60 seconds, cooldown 5 hours, Equipment level: 20] Excellent equipment, indeed, but he''d have to reach level 20 before equipping it. Despite the Expertise skill lowering the equipment level requirement by five, it would still be a wait until level 15. Recollecting his composure, Guan Ren walked deeper into the space he''s come to collect the Heavenly Mystery Essence. Looking up at the three strands of faint yellow essence hovering midair, Guan Ren reached out and grasped. Whoosh! The touch sent a warm sensation coursing up his arm before spreading throughout his body. The Heavenly Mystery Essence slowly infused into Guan Ren''s body, and after half an hour passed¡­ [Ding, Congratulations to the player for successfully refining the Heavenly Mystery Essence, unlocking the first rune of The Heart of Heaven''s Punishment and temporarily lifting the level lock!] [Ding, Health +1000, Stamina +1000, Base Attributes +100, Fixed Attributes +10!] A surge of inexplicable power passed over him, prompting an involuntary groan of satisfaction. [Ding, Congratulations on reaching Level 10!] [World Announcement: Player Officer Guan has reached Level 10! As the first player in the Jiuzhou region to do so, rewarded with 3000 Reputation points, 10 free attribute points, 100 gold coins, and the talent: Ambidexterity!] Once again, the world announcement shook the forum ¨C yet another piece of breaking news featuring Officer Guan. In less than a day since the server went live, the entire narrative of Heaven''s Arrival in the Jiuzhou region had been monopolized by Officer Guan''s explosive actions. Four world announcements in a day, all about Officer Guan! This drove many players ecstatic. "Don''t anyone dare stop me! Starting today, Officer Guan is my idol!" "Does anybody know which guild Officer Guan is with? I gotta join him. He''s too awesome!" ... Chapter 26 - Hidden Main Quest! "Left and Right Combat: Both hands can wield different weapons, performing unobstructed attack maneuvers." With this talent, Guan Ren could seamlessly slash with a blade in one hand while casting spells with the other, unleashing crossed firepower without the slightest discrepancy. Simply put, he could dual-wield weapons and enjoy tenfold attack speed bonuses provided by the system! This meant, with this talent, his attack speed was effectively doubled ¨C an enormous boon for Guan Ren! Of course, the advantages of the Left and Right Combat talent were much more profound than it seemed on the surface. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have stood out amongst the myriad of top-tier talents from his past life. Aside from the talent, Guan Ren''s greatest gain was a significant increase in attributes. After the attribute enhancement from refining the Heavenly Mystery Essence and the allocation of system-rewarded free attribute points, his attribute panel became even more formidable. ¡¾Name: Officer Guan¡¿ Level: 10 Class: Non-Combat Health: 3100/3100 Stamina: 2300/2300 Attack: 310 (+70) Defense: 290 (+70) Attack Speed Bonus: 25% Movement Speed Bonus: 15% ¡ª¡ªBase Attributes¡ª¡ª Strength: 310 Constitution: 290 Agility: 270 Intelligence: 220 Spirit: 220 ¡ª¡ªFixed Attributes¡ª¡ª Charm: 25 Luck: 60 ¡ª¡ªTalents¡ª¡ª Left and Right Combat, Penetration, Block, Combo ¡ª¡ªSkills¡ª¡ª Expertise, Swift Wolf, Thorns Puncture, Shadow Assault, Summon Poison Wolves Such attributes could rival some bosses. "Finally all set." Guan Ren exhaled, ready to leave this space. At this juncture, the previously stationary colossal drive mechanism suddenly lit up with a faint blue light. Ultimately, its gears began to turn, emitting a squeaky mechanical sound. "Adventurer, thank you for releasing me from the Army of Catastrophe''s seal!" A mechanical voice echoed slowly through the space: "My name is Sunward. I am the core drive of this town, but it''s been so long, my energy has nearly depleted, and I am unable to maintain the device. I hope you can assist me!" [Ding, you''ve triggered the hidden main quest ''Revival of the Seven Ancient Towns''! Would you like to accept?] A system notification bell unexpectedly rang, catching Guan Ren off guard. Revival of the Seven Ancient Towns? And a hidden main quest, at that? Accept! Without hesitation, Guan Ren chose to accept the quest. A hidden main quest, while extremely challenging, offers substantial rewards; a quest every player aspires to encounter. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Don''t worry, tell me what you need help with, and I''ll do my utmost to assist you!" "Thank you for your kindness. I am currently semi-awake and need a substantial amount of energy to fully recover, so I hope you can help me collect enough driving energy!" [Ding, the first part of the quest ''Revival of the Seven Ancient Towns'' has been unlocked!] [Revival of the Seven Ancient Towns (Main Quest, Unique Hidden)] [Quest Description: As the Catastrophe Corps re-emerges, the seven ancient towns that have slumbered for millennia need to be awakened to confront the approaching army of the Army of Catastrophe. As the chosen one by the spirits of the ancient towns, it is your duty to shoulder the responsibility of reviving the Seven Ancient Towns. The quest has seven parts, currently at part one.] [First Part Quest Requirements: Replenish Sunward''s spirit with sufficient energy to restart the drive device of Sunward Town, Quest Deadline: One month, Reward: Unknown, Failure Penalty: Base Attributes reduced by 50%] A month is neither long nor short. "What do you need to regain energy?" "Any items that can provide energy will do." "That''s a broad range, isn''t it?" Guan Ren frowned upon hearing this. "Worry not. Once I''ve accumulated a certain amount of energy, I''ll be able to draw from the sun''s energy through the drive device and become self-sufficient." Sunward''s spirit continued, "So, you just need to collect enough energy to start the drive device." "And how much energy in total do you need?" "One million energy units." "And what does that equate to?" "Taking the tinder you''ve used before, for example, such a tinder provides about 100 energy units." "¡­" Guan Ren''s mouth twitched at that statement. In other words, does it not mean he would need ten thousand Bronze Tinders to complete the quest? Considering his rate of refining one Bronze Tinder every ten minutes, a total of ten thousand would require a full hundred thousand minutes of concentrated effort! What does that equate to? Without eating, drinking, sleeping, and always maintaining peak condition, it would take 70 days to complete this volume of work! That''s more than twice the mission''s one-month deadline! "Of course, that''s just a comparison. If you have other equipment or items, you can refine them to restore my energy units." Sunward''s spirit added casually, "Theoretically, starting from Black Iron quality, the energy units I receive will increase with each tier of equipment quality. Typically, Black Iron can replenish about 10 energy units, Bronze 100 units, Silver 500 units, Gold 5000 units, Amethyst 50,000 units, Obsidian 500,000 units, and Faeries quality can replenish my energy fully. So you see, you have plenty of options." "¡­" Guan Ren''s twitched again. Considering the finest quality Gold gear he had, it would require 200 pieces to accumulate enough energy for Sunward Town''s drive device to operate autonomously! What does this entail? Currently, Gold quality equipment commands an astronomical price in the market; even a single piece could fetch ten million Sea-Blue Coins. And 200 pieces of Gold quality gear would sum up to a staggering two billion Sea-Blue Coins! Who could withstand such a cost? "The energy generated by the tinder explosion was only temporary, allowing me to awaken. Now as my energy is drained, I must fall into slumber again. Take this transmission token; it''ll let you teleport here anytime¡­" Sunward''s spirit''s voice faded away, ultimately dissipating within the space as the soft blue light on the giant drive device vanished. Clank. A vintage token fell to the ground in front of Guan Ren. [Sunward Token: The core token of Sunward Town, use to teleport to the secret underground space of Sunward Town.] "Sigh, nothing to do but to take it step by step." Guan Ren chuckled wryly and pocketed the token. After all, it''s a hidden main quest; it should be inherently challenging, or it wouldn''t quite make sense. On the other hand, the higher the difficulty in the game, the richer the rewards. Given that, the rewards of this Revival of the Seven Ancient Towns quest must be extraordinarily generous! However, as Guan Ren steeled his resolve and began to refine the Bronze Tinders, an incredible discovery sent him into an ecstatic frenzy. "This... it can actually work this way!?" Chapter 27 - Crazy Tinder! In the covert chamber upon the stone platform, Guan Ren stood with a look of disbelief flitting across his face. Under his watch, the rhythm of the dancing flames became incredibly regular and stable, which greatly facilitated his task of refining the tinders! This¡­ A surge of excitement flickered through Guan Ren''s eyes as his hands worked in harmony, his focus entirely on refining the tinders. In just one minute, he managed to refine a Bronze Tinder! Before this, it took him a whole ten minutes to refine a single Bronze Tinder! But now, his speed of refining tinders had increased tenfold! Wait... tenfold? Guan Ren''s gaze darkened as he speculated if this speed was due to¡­ [Indeed, the host''s accelerated tinder refining is thanks to the system''s acceleration feature.] The system responded at this moment, confirming Guan Ren''s suspicions. "What a powerful feature; I never thought skill acceleration could also speed up my tinder refining!" A shock went through Guan Ren, but this was undoubtedly good news for him! Reviving Sunward Town required a million energy units. If he could refine a Bronze Tinder per minute, there was a great chance to complete the month-long task! If he used only Bronze Tinders to complete the task, he''d need ten thousand. With his current speed, without rest, he would need an entire week. The workload was still daunting but compared to the insurmountably long two months, it was now much more manageable. With a clear direction, Guan Ren¡¯s once heavy heart felt considerably lighter. As time ticked away while he focused on refining tinders, two hours passed by, and he amassed over a hundred Bronze Tinders. [Bronze Tinder: Can be used to craft Bronze-quality equipment and tools or as a weapon to inflict real damage on enemies. Attributes: Inflicts a one-time true damage of 2000 points to enemies within range, then affixes a burning damage of 100 points per second to enemies within the flame area, lasting 30 seconds.] As Guan Ren continued to refine Bronze Tinders, its attributes became wholly apparent. Theoretically, relying solely on the full potential damage of a Bronze Tinder should equate to 5000 points. Of course, a stringent condition must be met¡ªkeeping the enemy engulfed in flames for the full duration of 30 seconds; otherwise, the moment the enemy steps out of the flame''s radius, the burning damage ceases. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The ability to eliminate The Essence of Chaos so swiftly was mostly due to the horrifying damage caused by the catastrophic blast rather than the flames alone. After two hours of intense tinder refining, Guan Ren felt mentally exhausted. Focusing required tremendous concentration without the slightest lapse, so he decisively ceased his efforts. "Young man, it seems you¡¯ve almost mastered the technique of refining tinders," Fang commented, sparing a glance at Guan Ren and speaking out. "Not bad, but I can only maintain for two hours tops before my mental state begins to falter." "That''s easy to address. Just work on improving your mental attributes and these problems will naturally resolve themselves." Mental attributes? Guan Ren blinked, suddenly understanding. He¡¯d nearly forgotten about that attribute. In the game, there were five basic attributes: strength, constitution, agility, intelligence, and spirit. Of these, the most enigmatic was spirit. Even for Guan Ren, who had lived through this world twice, spirit remained an ambiguous attribute. After all, spirit encompassed a variety of functionalities; for instance, improving mental tenacity could reduce the influence of control skills or even render oneself immune to control effects. But that''s just one aspect of the spirit attribute; there were many other unknown effects left to discover. Exiting the chamber, Guan Ren entered Sunward Tavern. "I''ve received word that the Slaughterworld Syndicate has started probing into your identity in the real world." Violet frowned before speaking, "If needed... I can help obscure your personal information." Guan Ren furrowed his brows at this and nodded slowly, "It seems the Slaughterworld Syndicate''s apology was merely perfunctory. Since that''s the case, I need to make some preparatory measures." "If you''re available tonight, come to the Violet Pavilion in Muyun City. We can discuss the details there. Don¡¯t forget to bring your ID." "Will dinner be covered?" "Absolutely!" Violet chuckled upon hearing his response. Despite the investigation into his identity, she didn¡¯t detect the slightest hint of panic in Guan Ren. This was the first time she encountered such a person. After all, there had been financial transactions between them before. She was quite aware of Guan Ren''s real-world identity. Orphaned, with only a sister to call family, and working on construction sites to earn their living before entering Heaven''s Arrival, there was nothing noteworthy aside from that. Yet somehow, Violet always sensed a peculiar charm about the young man before her, a feeling that was indescribable. "Alright, I''m logging off to get ready!" Without another word, Guan Ren immediately logged off. "This..." Violet was left somewhat flustered. The Violet Pavilion was a venue for high society mingling, with strict requirements for entry. She¡¯d yet to send an electronic invitation to Guan Ren before he hurriedly logged off, prompting a wry smile to spread across her lips. "What an impatient one..." Shaking her head, she logged off as well. After exiting the game, Guan Ren entered the living room, his nose wrinkling at the burnt aroma coming from the kitchen. "Are you concocting some sort of dark cuisine?" Standing at the kitchen doorway, Guan Ren''s lips twitched as he watched a clumsy silhouette amidst the smoke-filled kitchen scramble about. "I...I just wanted to make a feast for everyone, I didn''t expect..." Lin Ruo Xue bowed her head, a smudge of black across her petite nose, her small hands tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, presenting an irresistibly amusing sight. "It''s okay, no rush. After all, Rome wasn''t built in a day. There''s plenty of time to slowly learn." Guan Ren said, "As for dinner tonight, we''ve already got a place in mind. Can you quickly gather everyone? Let''s get ready and head out." "Where are we going?" "The Violet Pavilion."