1590

"Really? Is it really gone?" Lin Yixin exclaimed in joy.

"Yeah."

I could barely control myself as I nodded. "It’s all thanks to the suppressant. Thank the heavens! Assuming this continues, our dream of conquering the second WEL as well isn’t a pipedream anymore! Hell yeah!"

Lin Yixin pouted. "Oh nyooo, I was thinking that Snowy Cathaya finally had a shot at becoming the champion of the WEL, but now…"

"So what? What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours…"

"Smooth talker…"

"Heh. Shall we go? Party me and share your map screen. Don’t forget to mark the coordinates of the Immortal Cloud Ice Cave for me!"

"Yeah!"

……

After Lin Yixin added me to her party, she activated Bombshell and increased all stats of us both by 80%. With the Hunter Card, my total HP easily surpassed the 11 million mark. Unless we ran into a proper Divine Rank boss, there was no one in the world that could one-shot me. Also, Profound Armor and the 50% lifesteal of the Xuanyuan Sword should give me enough power to kill any boss that existed in the Human Realms.

Thud!

We took off into the sky and shot into the clouds in no time. Shocked, the players around the eastern bridge immediately began gossiping among themselves.

A young archer said while looking at the sky, "I knew it! I knew that they were divine players from their formidable auras! In fact, that gorgeous lady could only be the Fruit Knife Goddess herself! It has to be!"

A berserker carrying a battle axe said, "That guy and the sword he was wielding looked pretty familiar as well. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, that was Lu Chen and the Xuanyuan Sword. Who was the fucker who said that our Little Heavenly King was gravely ill again? He obviously looks as fine as rain! The next time someone slanders my idol, I’m going to plunge my axe right up their asses!"

An aged herbalist stroked his beard while sighing, "A perfect couple, huh. I’m so envious…"

……

Immortal Cloud Ice Cave was a leveling ground situated at the border of the Chaotic 27. All kinds of players were gathered at this place including players from Wind City, Vanished God City, the Chaotic 27, and the Northern Alliance. However, the number of grinders on this map was lower than one might expect. It was because the mobs here were at least Level 320 and far beyond the capabilities of the average player.

About 40 minutes of flight later, we descended from the clouds and saw a range of glaciers connecting Barren Frost Snow Region and Dragonbone Mountain Range together. I could see parties of players making their way toward the higher-level maps, or killing the mobs in the valleys of Dragonbone Mountain Range. Nearly everyone was Level 255—anyone below this was unlikely to have made it this far anyway.

"Should we head down?" Lin Yixin asked.

I nodded and dove downward. As Lin Yixin and I landed on a field of ice, a brawny Ice Bear appeared in front of us. It was a Level 315 fiend-rank mob with incredibly high Attack. The generic Level 255 metal-armor player would receive at least 200k damage from any of its attacks.

I stepped forward and stabbed the Ice Bear right in the stomach!

Bang!

Blood erupted from its wound, and a 9-million damage number rose from its head. Considering that my base damage against the mob was over 4 million, I was certain that I had scored the maximum damage roll. The upper bound of my Attack was 80k+, and lower bound, around 60k. The difference between my minimum and maximum damage roll was quite huge.

But back to the present. The one attack had deleted over 90% of the mob’s HP. It would be dead after another attack from Lin Yixin, which quickly followed.

"Roar…"

The Ice Bear slowly collapsed on the ice and died. However, its blood barely flowed before it became a red crystal around its dead body. This place was so cold that even the sunlight reflected off the ice felt chilly.

"Let’s go…" I said while slowly making my way forward. Immortal Cloud Ice Cave was just several hundred meters ahead of us. Since we had never been there before, we still have to find the cave’s entrance.

Suddenly, my pretty little girlfriend asked, "There’s a group of Argentinian players over there, Little Cheat. Their levels look pretty high too. Should we avoid them?"

"It’s fine. Their goal is the Ice Bears, and ours is Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. There shouldn’t be any reason for us to clash." I shot them a glance before adding, "Also, it’s just a 20-man party. Either one of us could take them out easy peasy."

"Would you like to reveal our IDs and scare them away?" Lin Yixin asked.

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. Did you forget that Ancient Sword killed over 6 million of their cavalrymen at Falling Goose Valley? To say that they loathe us would be an understatement. If they recognize who I am, I guarantee that our trip to Immortal Cloud Ice Cave will be a rocky one."

Lin Yixin giggled as she checked out both of our levels. "You’re Level 275 and I’m Level 262, so they shouldn’t be able to see our levels. Let’s go. If they must annoy us, then we’ll take them out!"

"Yes."

……

We both released our pets to patrol the area as we explored our way toward Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. We grew closer and closer until the map was right beneath our feet. However, the entrance was still nowhere to be seen.

"Did the forum post mention how to enter the ice cave, Yiyi?" I asked.

She shook her head. "They said that there is no one sure path to enter Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. The first player to enter the map was a Chaotic 27 player. He was gathering Snow Lotuses when Lin Na was coming to the Human Realms to fight us back then. His emergence caused an earthquake that shattered the mountains. Miraculously, the player survived the fall and discovered that he was in a map called Immortal Cloud Ice Cave, and that it was littered with the Rank 15 herb, Immortal Cloud Grass. It is said that the herb doesn’t exist anywhere else. Unfortunately for that player, his Herbalism was only Rank 13. This is why there hasn’t been a Rank 15 Health Potion created yet."

"Tsk tsk, sounds like we’re about to hit the jackpot then. You will definitely be the first person to create a Rank 15 potion, and even if you aren’t, we aren’t leaving this place empty-handed."

"Yeah."

"Wait…" I suddenly broke into a grin. "I see 3 assassins moving toward us from the southeast direction. They are all Level 255 and Argentinian. I’m fairly sure they’re gunning for us."

"What do we do?"

"What else? We take them out and continue searching for the entrance to Immortal Cloud Ice Cave."

"Okay…"

The assassins thought they were being stealthy, but I could see them as clear as day with Dark Pupils. "Be careful. I’ll handle the assassins, so focus on taking out that 27-man party moving toward us from the right. I see 9 cavalrymen and many archers on the move. They’re probably planning to ambush us at the same time, but we’re going to catch them first. I’m going!"

Swhoosh!

I abruptly sped up and thrust my sword forward. One of the assassins was one-shot before he could even react. Then, I fired an Ancient Seal that dealt over 7 million damage and took out another assassin. The third assassin saw this and turned as pale as a sheet. "Shit! He found us out already?!"

By the time he looked up, I was already right in front of him. He hurriedly thrust his left dagger forward!

I was faster than him though. I placed my shield in front of his dagger and prevented him from finishing even a basic attack. Then, I stabbed him through the chest and dealt a massive amount of damage—

4,918,771!

All three assassins were dead just like that. They had dropped a ton of potions, cards and some equipment, but I paid the drops no heed and instead sped to where Lin Yixin was battling the rest of the Argentinian party.

The Fruit Knife Goddess danced across the field of ice and spilled her enemy’s blood like a butterfly. She didn’t use her Divine Armament’s special effect or even Ice Flame Slash. All she did was stab the metal-armor players with Barrier Breaks and dodge the ranged players’ attacks with good erratic movement and good positioning.

No one expert truly shared the same beginnings as another. Some people were born with great talent and were able to become peak experts with just a small amount of experience. Lin Fan and Shusheng were two such players. People like Candlelight Shadow rose via overcoming one adversary after another until they finally hit the peak. And finally, people like Lin Yixin who reached the peak via continuous learning and sparring. Lin Yixin hadn’t risen to stardom in a single day, but I could confidently say that her skills now rivaled that of Lin Fan and Shusheng. It was impossible to say if she could surpass that though. A player’s peak lasted a year or two at most. Once they had passed that point of no return, there was no point trying to compare them to others experts of the same apex level.

Crack!

The Xuanyuan Sword’s blade was near translucent and glazed gold[1] in color. It remained untarnished even as I stabbed it through an archer’s chest and tossed the body aside. I then one-shot a magic knight with Universe Break to relieve some of the burden on Lin Yixin’s shoulders.

At the distance, a deathly pale Argentinian player wielding an axe shouted, "I’ve got confirmation that the player who killed Four is the monster who slaughtered our 6-million cavalry at Falling Goose Valley, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand! Stun him with Shock Arrow! Do everything you can to kill him! We will not rest until the devil is dead!"

I simply kept quiet and continued the slaughter. From the moment we began fighting, I knew there was little to no chance that the Argentinian players wouldn’t realize who I was. It was even less likely that they would forget past enmities or that I had annihilated their army. From now on, I should expect to be attacked by the Chaotic 27 the moment they saw me. Oh well. Better me than the entire China server, I suppose.

……

The Xuanyuan Sword blitzed across the air like lightning. It took a life nearly every time I swung it. My Rising Cloud wasn’t even touching the floor as I zigzagged through the players. Just a couple of dashes later, the Level 255 berserker who had shouted earlier was the only one still alive in his party. Coincidentally, he was also the party leader.

"We will never let you go, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand. Just wait for our revenge to catch up to you!"

"Heh!"

I merely chuckled and swung my sword at him. At the same time, Lin Yixin swung hers from a different angle. Our swords connected to form a storm that would cut through anything. it was of course our Intercourse skill.

11,377,739!

Our combined attack dealt over 10 million damage, and the guy only had 7 million HP. He dropped to the ground and died, just like that.

……

I stepped over a pile of potions and stared at the translucent ice beneath our boots. "Yiyi, I think we don’t need to find an entrance. We can just make one ourselves."

Lin Yixin picked up a pair of wristguards and nodded. "Yes, the Mountain Crush effect of your sword should do just fine. Also, I can now confirm that your brain lag has definitely disappeared, hehe!"

1. T/N: but the author also refers to it as a blue blade, so whatever ☜

"Really? Is it really gone?" Lin Yixin exclaimed in joy.

"Yeah."

I could barely control myself as I nodded. "It’s all thanks to the suppressant. Thank the heavens! Assuming this continues, our dream of conquering the second WEL as well isn’t a pipedream anymore! Hell yeah!"

Lin Yixin pouted. "Oh nyooo, I was thinking that Snowy Cathaya finally had a shot at becoming the champion of the WEL, but now…"

"So what? What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours…"

"Smooth talker…"

"Heh. Shall we go? Party me and share your map screen. Don’t forget to mark the coordinates of the Immortal Cloud Ice Cave for me!"

"Yeah!"

……

After Lin Yixin added me to her party, she activated Bombshell and increased all stats of us both by 80%. With the Hunter Card, my total HP easily surpassed the 11 million mark. Unless we ran into a proper Divine Rank boss, there was no one in the world that could one-shot me. Also, Profound Armor and the 50% lifesteal of the Xuanyuan Sword should give me enough power to kill any boss that existed in the Human Realms.

Thud!

We took off into the sky and shot into the clouds in no time. Shocked, the players around the eastern bridge immediately began gossiping among themselves.

A young archer said while looking at the sky, "I knew it! I knew that they were divine players from their formidable auras! In fact, that gorgeous lady could only be the Fruit Knife Goddess herself! It has to be!"

A berserker carrying a battle axe said, "That guy and the sword he was wielding looked pretty familiar as well. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, that was Lu Chen and the Xuanyuan Sword. Who was the fucker who said that our Little Heavenly King was gravely ill again? He obviously looks as fine as rain! The next time someone slanders my idol, I’m going to plunge my axe right up their asses!"

An aged herbalist stroked his beard while sighing, "A perfect couple, huh. I’m so envious…"

……

Immortal Cloud Ice Cave was a leveling ground situated at the border of the Chaotic 27. All kinds of players were gathered at this place including players from Wind City, Vanished God City, the Chaotic 27, and the Northern Alliance. However, the number of grinders on this map was lower than one might expect. It was because the mobs here were at least Level 320 and far beyond the capabilities of the average player.

About 40 minutes of flight later, we descended from the clouds and saw a range of glaciers connecting Barren Frost Snow Region and Dragonbone Mountain Range together. I could see parties of players making their way toward the higher-level maps, or killing the mobs in the valleys of Dragonbone Mountain Range. Nearly everyone was Level 255—anyone below this was unlikely to have made it this far anyway.

"Should we head down?" Lin Yixin asked.

I nodded and dove downward. As Lin Yixin and I landed on a field of ice, a brawny Ice Bear appeared in front of us. It was a Level 315 fiend-rank mob with incredibly high Attack. The generic Level 255 metal-armor player would receive at least 200k damage from any of its attacks.

I stepped forward and stabbed the Ice Bear right in the stomach!

Bang!

Blood erupted from its wound, and a 9-million damage number rose from its head. Considering that my base damage against the mob was over 4 million, I was certain that I had scored the maximum damage roll. The upper bound of my Attack was 80k+, and lower bound, around 60k. The difference between my minimum and maximum damage roll was quite huge.

But back to the present. The one attack had deleted over 90% of the mob’s HP. It would be dead after another attack from Lin Yixin, which quickly followed.

"Roar…"

The Ice Bear slowly collapsed on the ice and died. However, its blood barely flowed before it became a red crystal around its dead body. This place was so cold that even the sunlight reflected off the ice felt chilly.

"Let’s go…" I said while slowly making my way forward. Immortal Cloud Ice Cave was just several hundred meters ahead of us. Since we had never been there before, we still have to find the cave’s entrance.

Suddenly, my pretty little girlfriend asked, "There’s a group of Argentinian players over there, Little Cheat. Their levels look pretty high too. Should we avoid them?"

"It’s fine. Their goal is the Ice Bears, and ours is Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. There shouldn’t be any reason for us to clash." I shot them a glance before adding, "Also, it’s just a 20-man party. Either one of us could take them out easy peasy."

"Would you like to reveal our IDs and scare them away?" Lin Yixin asked.

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. Did you forget that Ancient Sword killed over 6 million of their cavalrymen at Falling Goose Valley? To say that they loathe us would be an understatement. If they recognize who I am, I guarantee that our trip to Immortal Cloud Ice Cave will be a rocky one."

Lin Yixin giggled as she checked out both of our levels. "You’re Level 275 and I’m Level 262, so they shouldn’t be able to see our levels. Let’s go. If they must annoy us, then we’ll take them out!"

"Yes."

……

We both released our pets to patrol the area as we explored our way toward Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. We grew closer and closer until the map was right beneath our feet. However, the entrance was still nowhere to be seen.

"Did the forum post mention how to enter the ice cave, Yiyi?" I asked.

She shook her head. "They said that there is no one sure path to enter Immortal Cloud Ice Cave. The first player to enter the map was a Chaotic 27 player. He was gathering Snow Lotuses when Lin Na was coming to the Human Realms to fight us back then. His emergence caused an earthquake that shattered the mountains. Miraculously, the player survived the fall and discovered that he was in a map called Immortal Cloud Ice Cave, and that it was littered with the Rank 15 herb, Immortal Cloud Grass. It is said that the herb doesn’t exist anywhere else. Unfortunately for that player, his Herbalism was only Rank 13. This is why there hasn’t been a Rank 15 Health Potion created yet."

"Tsk tsk, sounds like we’re about to hit the jackpot then. You will definitely be the first person to create a Rank 15 potion, and even if you aren’t, we aren’t leaving this place empty-handed."

"Yeah."

"Wait…" I suddenly broke into a grin. "I see 3 assassins moving toward us from the southeast direction. They are all Level 255 and Argentinian. I’m fairly sure they’re gunning for us."

"What do we do?"

"What else? We take them out and continue searching for the entrance to Immortal Cloud Ice Cave."

"Okay…"

The assassins thought they were being stealthy, but I could see them as clear as day with Dark Pupils. "Be careful. I’ll handle the assassins, so focus on taking out that 27-man party moving toward us from the right. I see 9 cavalrymen and many archers on the move. They’re probably planning to ambush us at the same time, but we’re going to catch them first. I’m going!"

Swhoosh!

I abruptly sped up and thrust my sword forward. One of the assassins was one-shot before he could even react. Then, I fired an Ancient Seal that dealt over 7 million damage and took out another assassin. The third assassin saw this and turned as pale as a sheet. "Shit! He found us out already?!"

By the time he looked up, I was already right in front of him. He hurriedly thrust his left dagger forward!

I was faster than him though. I placed my shield in front of his dagger and prevented him from finishing even a basic attack. Then, I stabbed him through the chest and dealt a massive amount of damage—

4,918,771!

All three assassins were dead just like that. They had dropped a ton of potions, cards and some equipment, but I paid the drops no heed and instead sped to where Lin Yixin was battling the rest of the Argentinian party.

The Fruit Knife Goddess danced across the field of ice and spilled her enemy’s blood like a butterfly. She didn’t use her Divine Armament’s special effect or even Ice Flame Slash. All she did was stab the metal-armor players with Barrier Breaks and dodge the ranged players’ attacks with good erratic movement and good positioning.

No one expert truly shared the same beginnings as another. Some people were born with great talent and were able to become peak experts with just a small amount of experience. Lin Fan and Shusheng were two such players. People like Candlelight Shadow rose via overcoming one adversary after another until they finally hit the peak. And finally, people like Lin Yixin who reached the peak via continuous learning and sparring. Lin Yixin hadn’t risen to stardom in a single day, but I could confidently say that her skills now rivaled that of Lin Fan and Shusheng. It was impossible to say if she could surpass that though. A player’s peak lasted a year or two at most. Once they had passed that point of no return, there was no point trying to compare them to others experts of the same apex level.

Crack!

The Xuanyuan Sword’s blade was near translucent and glazed gold[1] in color. It remained untarnished even as I stabbed it through an archer’s chest and tossed the body aside. I then one-shot a magic knight with Universe Break to relieve some of the burden on Lin Yixin’s shoulders.

At the distance, a deathly pale Argentinian player wielding an axe shouted, "I’ve got confirmation that the player who killed Four is the monster who slaughtered our 6-million cavalry at Falling Goose Valley, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand! Stun him with Shock Arrow! Do everything you can to kill him! We will not rest until the devil is dead!"

I simply kept quiet and continued the slaughter. From the moment we began fighting, I knew there was little to no chance that the Argentinian players wouldn’t realize who I was. It was even less likely that they would forget past enmities or that I had annihilated their army. From now on, I should expect to be attacked by the Chaotic 27 the moment they saw me. Oh well. Better me than the entire China server, I suppose.

……

The Xuanyuan Sword blitzed across the air like lightning. It took a life nearly every time I swung it. My Rising Cloud wasn’t even touching the floor as I zigzagged through the players. Just a couple of dashes later, the Level 255 berserker who had shouted earlier was the only one still alive in his party. Coincidentally, he was also the party leader.

"We will never let you go, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand. Just wait for our revenge to catch up to you!"

"Heh!"

I merely chuckled and swung my sword at him. At the same time, Lin Yixin swung hers from a different angle. Our swords connected to form a storm that would cut through anything. it was of course our Intercourse skill.

11,377,739!

Our combined attack dealt over 10 million damage, and the guy only had 7 million HP. He dropped to the ground and died, just like that.

……

I stepped over a pile of potions and stared at the translucent ice beneath our boots. "Yiyi, I think we don’t need to find an entrance. We can just make one ourselves."

Lin Yixin picked up a pair of wristguards and nodded. "Yes, the Mountain Crush effect of your sword should do just fine. Also, I can now confirm that your brain lag has definitely disappeared, hehe!"

1. T/N: but the author also refers to it as a blue blade, so whatever ☜