I didn’t know how long I slept for. Voices traveled in from outside the door. It sounded like Xu Yang was having a talk with our players—

Xu Yang: “What are your dreams?”

Player A: “I want a pretty girlfriend, one that’s gentle and sensible.”

Player B: “I want to turn this base into an internet cafe. I’ll be the boss!”

Xu Yang: “Scram!”

Player C: “I want to smoothly pass CET-4 so I can graduate."

Xu Yang: “...”

Player D took a long time to think about it before he answered, “Have safe sex without incident for a year.”

Xu Yang’s response was drawn out. “Daaaaaaamn…”

……

I checked the time. It was 1 pm, still an hour before the Devil Spirit Hall map opens!

I turned myself over, got up, and quickly washed up. After tossing on some clothes, I rushed out the door.

I madly dashed downstairs and ordered a quick meal from a cafe. I shoved it down at the speed of light and went back up!

My phone suddenly rang while I was in the elevator. Lin Yixin’s number showed on the screen—

“Hello? What’s up Yiyi?” I was a little nervous. This girl wasn’t here to scold me for harassing her last night with my text, right?

Fortunately, she didn’t mention it.

“Lu Chen, have you heard the news about the Devil Spirit Hall?”

“What news?”

“Seriously? You just woke up?” She was speechless. “The Holy Temple’s stuffed to the brim. A huge crowd of third-promotion players are in there waiting for space. I bet there are thousands of people there and I have a feeling that they’ll start killing each other before the map’s even opened.”

I asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Lin Yixin answered, “Use force. I’ve already gathered Purple Marquis, Qingqing, and Shadow Chanel. We’re about to kill our way in and fight for a good spot in the Spirit Hall plaza. We want at least one or two of us going in!”

I took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m getting on too. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is probably going to be there too.”

“Yeah, then… if we’re lucky, we’ll meet again in Spirit Hall!”

“Alright!”

I hung up. Time to get on!

Swhoosh!

The scene before me flashed and then I saw a sliver of dusky light from the curtain of my tent. The noisy sounds of players yelling at one another came from outside—

“Shit! Which shameless bastard put up a tent here? Fuck, you could do that…”

“That’s nothing, I’ve been in line since midnight. It wasn’t easy! Fuck, you’re cutting in line! Die!”

“Scram! Eat my Blazing Slash!”

“Get out of here, taste my Whirlwind Slash!”

……

It was exactly as Lin Yixin had anticipated. A killing spree was happening before Devil Spirit Hall was even opened.

Maintaining my not-entirely-online state, I sat at the edge of the tent and looked at the hustle and bustle outside with a grin on my face.

A player was invulnerable inside a tent so the guys outside couldn’t do anything to me. Tsk tsk. This wasn’t too bad. There was still half an hour before the Devil Spirit Hall opened. I’ll just wait here until then and charge out at 2 pm, all the way to the 9th floor and get the Divine Martial Token after killing the boss!

This Divine Martial Token was extremely important to everyone. After all, Rank 2 guilds needed a huge amount of experience to reach Rank 3. It would take at least half a month to get there, which meant that the Divine Martial Token would allow guilds to be half a month ahead in development. They would be able to recruit another 1000 elites for a total of 2000 players. Only players inside the guild could be relied on since members outside that haven’t joined the guild yet had limited loyalty.

The one who obtained the Divine Martial Token would also steal the initiative in Floating Ice City. For that reason, all big guilds assembled to get a Divine Martial Token.

Beep!

Murong Mingyue sent me a message: “Lu Chen, you’re finally online. Eve and I have formed a party outside but we can’t squeeze in. What do we do?”

I immediately sent a party join request and heard a beep soon after. When I joined the party, I saw that the leader was He Yi and the party members were Xu Yang, Gui Guzi, Beiming Xue, Chaos Moon, Moonlight Stone, and some others. It was an assembly of 10 of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ top experts!

Gui Guzi said, “Boss is here!”

Beiming Xue was surprised. “OMG, why… why does the map say that boss is inside the Spirit Hall plaza?”

I answered shyly, “About that… I set up a tent in the Spirit Hall plaza before logging off last night…”

“OMG…” Murong Mingyue giggled. “You’ve even thought of this idea. You’re something else alright, so shameless… What should we do next? Charge in together?”

He Yi laughed softly. “We don’t need to be that anxious.”

“Why not?” Murong Mingyue asked.

“Simple. In a little while, five minutes before the Devil Spirit Hall is about to open, the players outside will definitely go nuts and chaos will ensue. We don’t need to be anxious. Let’s stand by a corner and gun straight for the Spirit Hall plaza in the final minute.”

I couldn’t help but praise her. “Smart!”

He Yi smiled. “You’re flattering me~”

Gui Guzi voiced out, “I’m also in favor of this. Charging in too early will only result in meaningless casualties!”

Beiming Xue laughed lightly. “Look guys, isn’t that Mad Dragon? Wah, they’ve brought along a hundred-man team. Does Roaming Dragon want to wash the Spirit Hall plaza in blood?”

Murong Mingyue: “Look to the west. Flower Room also has a ton of people. Our traitors Spring Mud, Night Sorrow, and Moon Shadow are there too~~”

He Yi said calmly, “Keep a low profile and observe the situation.”

“Mn!”

……

He Yi’s plan was wise. Even though more men meant more manpower, in this half an hour before the opening of the Devil Spirit Hall, this place was absolute hell. So what if Mad Dragon formed a hundred-man team? Once they enter the plaza, they’d get drowned in the spit of the solo players there. It was better to bring out the fewest and most elite members possible. Only then would the losses suffered not be that great, with the greatest chance of success too.

Lin Yixin was also a smart person. She only formed a ten-man team. If they were able to get in, good. If not, they’d enjoy the show.

……

A fight was already underway outside the tent. Two factions were duking it out. The area was littered with the glows of Ice Dragon Howls, Blazes, and Ice Rays. Everyone here was a third-promotion player so the scenery was exceptionally gorgeous. Bards played tunes like Valor and Homecoming on their zithers, giving their melee players additional buffs.

Bang!

With a spark of Blaze, a random warrior fell to the ground. Before the killer had yet to feel proud of himself, he instantly died beneath two Ice Dragon Howls!

At the rear, several people were shouting, “Fuck, that kid dashed straight to the guard’s side. Let’s go everyone, kill him! Get ready to snatch some equipment!”

Boom boom boom!

In a barrage of Magic Missiles and Volleys, the two NPC guards at the side were already engulfed in a sea of fire. The funny thing was that those two NPC uncles still kept calm and chatted about the weather with cigarettes in their mouths—

“Hi, Snake. Let’s head to the tavern in the western city for some ale after we finish our shift in this damned place. I heard that the girls in Red River Basin have skin as smooth as silk. They cost 10 gold a night, what do you say?” the vulgar uncle said with a laugh.

The other NPC guard curled his lips. “Our monthly salary is only 1 gold. Isn’t that almost a year’s worth of wage? Tiger, you sure you wanna do that?”

The uncle answered with a determined look, “What’s gold in the face of women? You’d better listen to me or else you’ll regret it once you’re old. You’ll regret not climbing into that woman's ivory bed!”

“Alright, Tiger. You sure are the light of my night life. We’ll head there right away after our post, partner. I can’t wait!”

“Alrighty!”

……

I was speechless. Why were these game producers so obscene? These lines, mhmm, they’re admirable if I listen to them but a minor wouldn’t feel the same!

Pandemonium broke out in the world outside my tent. Huge groups of players rushed in and huge groups of players died, dropping all sorts of equipment. There were Bronze-grade, Steel-grade, Dark Steel–grade, and even some Silver-grade items on the floor, turning the crowd’s eyes red. Everyone forgot the basic human principles of morality and civilization, greed and desire distorting their minds. The sound of multiple people yelling soon followed. “Fuck! There’s a Silver-grade bow, fuck, that’s mine! That’s mine. Fuck, who stabbed my ass with their sword, I’ll kill ya!”

In the end, a Silver-grade bow triggered a massacre. Several hundred players entered a slaughterfest and were cut down like wheat on a farm.

At this time, the sound of a bell rang in my ears—

Ding!

System Notice: Your tent’s remaining duration is up, please cancel your tent state immediately!

……

A countdown screen then appeared. My tent had 10 seconds left before it disappeared!

Fuck!

My scalp went numb. I was sitting right next to the guard uncle, which was also right at the center of the concentrated firepower. I would die tragically the moment my tent disappeared. I might even get instantly killed by those Ice Dragon Howls!

I had to remain steadfast at this critical juncture or else I’d die!

I kept my cool and drew the Ghost Ice Soul. I charged out the instant I canceled the tent’s effects. A dagger-wielding assassin welcomed me with a glistening Cold Blade!

“Die!”

I thrust my sharp, cold sword forward. Blood gushed out from the assassin’s chest as my sword penetrated his chest. It was an instant kill. The best items on his body were Dark Steel–grade so it was impossible for him to withstand a single blow from the Ghost Ice Soul!

Up ahead, a group of players shouted, “Another one’s appeared, go! Kill him!”

As if they had gone mad, these players couldn’t distinguish friend or foe. The moment they saw an expert, they wanted him dead. After all, if an expert died, they would drop their equipment. A Silver-grade equipment was worth a small fortune.

“Heh!”

A confident smile rose on my face. I raised the Ghost Ice Soul high in the air. Sword light flashed, and it appeared—Rank 7 Thousand Mirage Slash!

Clang!

The tip of my sword transformed into seven beams of bright sword energy that covered the sky before plunging down!

Boom!

A series of damage numbers flew up as several players died under my skill. Only a few melee players had some HP left but they all ran away in panic.

I retreated to a corner, revealed my name, and coldly looked at the crowd.

……

“Fuck! It’s him… it’s Broken Halberd Sinks into Sand, the legendary Unkillable War God…”

The group finally recovered a thread of reason. No one dared to go up again. After receiving the reward from the beastmen tribe’s quest, I was already Level 71 with three Dark Gold–grade pieces of defensive equipment. They all knew that none of them were a match for me, so no one ran at me.

Of course, the main reason was prestige!

In all of Floating Ice City, there were only two people who could awe the populace by flashing their name. One was me, and the other Lin Yixin!