Xue Er felt a headache coming as she squeezed the bridge of her nose, making a frustrated scowl. “Damn that Blood Mask! How is he so powerful?!” She slammed her hand on the table, shattering the plastic table instantly.

The other members of her Humble Sage guild shivered slightly at the sight of her furious leader, but they could do nothing but watch her seethe. After a few deep breaths Xue Er felt the anger subside, replaced with annoyance as she stared at the large gate in front of her.

“Tch! Xin Chang! How long has he been in there?” Xue Er barked to one of her aides and a small, skinny teenager flinched grandly, replying in a terrified tone, “2 hours and 12 minutes Captain!” Xue Er breathed out a sigh, “He should be coming out anytime now.”

And she was exactly on point…

The gate flashed and turned white, the sign that a gate has been cleared. A hooded man with a demon mask stepped out, two swords dissipating into light particles as he walked past the frowning Xue Er. “Where’s the next one?”

Xue Er groaned inwardly and directed Han Ling to the fourth B rank dungeon of the day…

In a single day, 4 B-rank dungeons were cleared, 3 were soloed by a single man. Han Ling took 3 hours to clear the first, the next took 2 hours 35 minutes, and the third was fastest, 2 hours 12 minutes. There was only one word to describe the beast in human skin, monstrous…

And just like that China’s 15 B-rank gates were cleared only in the span of 4 days.

>>>

Inside a dessert, a cloud of sand exploded, two silhouettes blurred as the clash of metal sounded. Sparks flew inside the cloud of sand, blurry limbs flashed past, sword energy exploding outwards randomly.

A human appeared out of the cloud, closely followed by four yellow lizard-like beasts with electrified weapons in their hands. The human brandished two swords, one white and one black. A lizardman thrust its spear forward, aiming at the human’s heart with deadly accuracy, but a red sabre deflected the spear, making a loud clang.

As the lizardman with the spear staggered back, another two took his place, one holding a large two-handed blade while the other held a scimitar.

Both sides attacked and defended, Han Ling’s nine sabres sailed in the air, attempting to hit the annoying mage at the back, but the spear lizard deflecting every single one. Han Ling frowned inwardly, these beasts are really good, their teamwork is dangerous.

It was then, the mage at the back finished his chant, and a storm brewed over battle. Sparks flew as another sword was parried but a tri-ring sounded in Han Ling’s ear.

[You have been affected by Lighting Domain: Electric Grid. Reduce defence by 40%.]

At the same moment, a bolt of lighting crashed down on the spot where Han Ling was just a microsecond ago. His gaze lands on the chanting mage and he clicked his tongue. Han Ling activates [Red Burst] again, all nine sabres sailing straight for the mage. The spear lizard flicked the pole in his hand, his speed rising tremendously from the Electric Grid, deflecting 8 sabres in just a second.

But as it thrust its spear towards the final sabre, a cloud of blood exploded from the sabre, and formed the form of a human. The spear lizard flinched for a second, giving Han Ling all the time he needed to activate [Void Edge].

-1283

The spear lizard didn’t even realize the slash on his chest as he fell, Han Ling’s body blurred and he appeared in front of the mage, slashing from top to bottom, the mage’s health dropping by more than half.

-5990

With a yelp of pain, the mage frantically tried to heal himself, but could not due to the 20% chance to silence the enemy. Han Ling slashed twice more, effectively killing the annoying mage. Han Ling breathed in deeply before turning to the other three lizardman, a heavy pressure forcing down on the remaining lizardmen.

The three shuddered unconsciously, but they never saw the human flickering next to them.

[Void Sprint]

[Void Aura]

[Three-Fold Strike]

Three purple energy blades slashed outwards, cleaving all three stunned lizardmen in half.

-3890

-5896

-6832

Han Ling sighed as he gained the experience, picking up the weapons to sell later. With a goal on his mind he found the den of lizardmen. About a couple dozen lizardmen grabbed their weapons, surrounding the human with eyes filled with rage and hate.

Han Ling glanced at the group and his eyes landed on the leader of lizardmen, gazing fearfully at the human. A smile appeared on his face, but his eyes were cold and hard.

“Let’s finish this quickly…”

Han Ling raised a single hand and ushered a command that shook the ground.

[Void Domain: Silent Void]

A circle of black liquid spread out from Han Ling, surrounding the area in darkness. Panicked screams and cries echoed all around as not a single beast could use their skills. Han Ling grinned a wide grin and vanished into the dark.

Not long after… the sounds of death permeated the air…

>>>

The guild leader of Humble Sage, Qian Xun paced the outside of a large green gate, waiting for the good news. He was a tall middle-aged man with strong dark hair. He was one of the top players in China along with Xue Er and a few others, but they were nothing compared to the teen in the gate. He checked his wrist watch, the digits showing 11:23. Around 1 hour 50 minutes since Blood Mask entered…

WOOOM

Han Ling stepped out the gate, slightly ragged and bleeding but otherwise whole. Qian Xun gave the young man a bright smile before bowing respectfully, “It is an honour to meet you, Mr Blood Mask.” The bloody demon mask faced the middle-aged man before bowing in return.

Qian Xun… the humble sage. Famous for his superior martial arts as well as one of the top players of China in the future. With his powerful guild, he reached out to help countries that were overrun with monsters. If I remember correctly, he was also a pillar of mankind, respected by even the Holy Empire.

“This is a gift the Chinese government has awarded to the individual, Blood Mask. 1500 sovereigns for the clearance of 15 B-rank gates. As well as a gift from me.” Qian Xun took a parcel from his assistant. “This is a gift from Humble Sage to Blood Mask. Thank you for helping China in a confusing time. Also, the government has listened to your demands and has kept your achievements a secret just as you wanted.”

Qian Xun bowed again and left without another word.

Han Ling stared at the back of the man. A man like him is rare. Han Ling opened the parcel and smiled under the mask.

[Sword’s Heart (Rare)]

“I was not expecting China to be able to get things like this… but I’ll take it with gratitude.”

A cute girly voice sounded in Han Ling’s head, a hint of reproach in her voice. It was the sound of Obsidian Hollow after gaining the sword mind skill.

“I’ll deal with that later, for now, how many more levels till I obtain a void technique?”

Han Ling sighed and opened up his stats.

Han Ling (Void Prince)

Level: 41 (214,000/250,000 XP to level 42)

Forbidden Element: Void

Age: 15

Class: Swordsman (Lieutenant rank)

ATK: 349

DEF: 80

SPD: 378

ATK SPD: 268

Magic ATK: 73

Reflex: 46

Control: 30

Mana: 5324/6500

HP: 5000/5000

Free Basic Points: 10

Class Bonus: Swordsman

Swordsman buff: 1 handed sword attacks deal 15% more dmg.

Swordsman buff: 2 handed sword attacks deal 15% more dmg.

Swordsman buff: Gains ATK SPD attribute. Gains Magic Attack attribute. Gains Reflex attribute. Gains Control attribute.

Skill:

[Expand/Collapse]

Techniques:

[Expand/Collapse]

Equipment:

Obsidian Hollow. (Ghostly Gold Sword)

Dark Wrath Set (Rare): 6/6 pieces

Bloody Baron’s Blade. (Silent Silver Sword)

Mask of Dark (Serene Silver)

Coat of Night (Silent Silver)

Swift Wind boots (Serene Silver)

I would need another 19 levels to obtain my first True Void technique… well that’s a pain.

“For now, I’ll just get stronger.” Han Ling checked the date and sighed deeply. He stared into the night sky, watching the stars before disappearing in a purple light…