Until the game was shut down, Nie Yan still couldn’t complete the task of killing the Headless Horseman. He wondered whether he had to die to leave this map or whether the temple in the center of the Illusory Realm was the key to exiting. Entering the temple might be the way out, but with his current strength, attempting it would be tantamount to suicide.
As soon as Nie Yan logged out, his phone rang.
“Hey, finally got through! What the hell are you up to? Why didn’t you respond when I messaged you in the game?” Tang Yao hurriedly asked.
“I ran into a bit of trouble and accidentally entered a dimensional map.”
“No wonder you haven’t come out. Is it dangerous?”
“I can’t get out for now, but there’s no danger.”
“Good. Your red name hasn’t worn off yet. If you die, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
“Po Tian has already reached level 17. He’s determined to catch up with me by leveling up aggressively.”
“He’s leveling pretty fast, but he still can’t catch up with you, right?”
“He can’t catch up for now, but it might be hard to say in a few days. Without the Arcane Sprite, leveling up is really difficult.” Tang Yao said with a sense of frustration. Po Tian was too strong; without the Arcane Sprite, his leveling speed would significantly slow down, and he might eventually be overtaken.
Nie Yan asked, “Haven’t you found the Murderer Medal yet?”
Tang Yao replied regretfully, “No.”
Nie Yan frowned slightly. Tang Yao’s red name status was already severe enough, so not obtaining the Murderer Medal could only be attributed to his bad luck. “Keep going. Even if Po Tian overtakes you, it won’t make much difference. After all, he’s the guild leader of Triumph Empire. Even if he surpasses us, we can catch up later.”
Tang Yao’s expression turned resolute as he clenched his teeth. “No matter what, I won’t give Po Tian any chance. I won’t let him take the first place by any means! One day, I’ll make him taste bitterness. A gentleman never forgets revenge.” Tang Yao still harbored resentment for being cornered by Po Tian.
This reminded Nie Yan of an incident from their childhood when Nie Yan and Tang Yao were beaten up at the school gate. The determined Tang Yao found that person later and beat him back, after which the bully never dared to bother them again. In school, teachers would teach you to respond to grievances with virtue, but Tang Yao’s father had always told him that responding to grievances with virtue was wrong. If you suffered a loss, you should get it back with your ability! What the teacher taught was about being a good person, while what his father taught was about survival. Neither was right or wrong, because there is no absolute right or wrong in this world.
Therefore, at his core, Tang Yao was someone who never let grievances go, though only against his enemies.
“We should be able to stay ahead before the Scale Frogs reach level 25. Let me get out first,” Nie Yan said, as there were many things he couldn’t do in that quest map.
“Alright, try to get out as soon as possible. I think I need to reach at least level 23 or 24, maybe even higher, to clear my red name,” Tang Yao thought.
“If you level up fast, you might need to reach level 26 or 27,” Nie Yan estimated. With nearly a hundred kills, this red name was indeed hard to remove. In the early stages, few players reached such a level. In the later stages, when mages’ area attacks became powerful, hundreds of people could be killed in a single siege battle, and their red names would generally not be cleared, remaining in a red name state. As long as their respect value was sufficient, they could walk freely in cities.
After chatting with Tang Yao, Nie Yan hung up the phone. Another day had passed.
Logging back into the game, after completing quest progress 3, Nie Yan received the title of Advanced Undead Hunter, along with +5 respect value in human nations. Although the reward was good, killing Headless Horsemen every day had nearly driven Nie Yan crazy.
Unfortunately, Nie Yan received a new task.
System: Quest Progress 4, Kill Headless Horsemen, Quantity 0/6000.
Looking at the Headless Horsemen every day almost drove Nie Yan to the brink of collapse.
He couldn’t just die and go back, right? If it were an ordinary player, they definitely wouldn’t do this task anymore. Here, they couldn’t even level up. Dying and returning would allow them to continue leveling up and regain their levels.
But Nie Yan couldn’t die. If he did, he might lose both the Courage Chapter and the Freedom Chapter.
Nie Yan had Tang Yao relay matters outside, and everything was developing smoothly, so there was nothing to worry about.
After two more days, Nie Yan finally completed quest progress 4 and received the title of Beginner Demon Hunter. He looked at the status attributes of the Beginner Demon Hunter title.
+8 respect value in all human nations, -10% attributes for all dark creatures within 5 yards.
A terrifying status!
Not to mention the respect value, the 10% reduction in all dark creatures’ attributes within a 5-yard radius, similar to an aura, was extremely powerful.
Two days for the Beginner Demon Hunter title would be very beneficial for future development.
However, even though the Beginner Demon Hunter title was strong, Nie Yan was speechless because he received quest progress 5, which required killing 12,000 Headless Horsemen. With the Beginner Demon Hunter title, Nie Yan’s speed in killing Headless Horsemen increased slightly, but 12,000 Headless Horsemen was no small number. If he were killing ordinary level 30 monsters, he could level up from 17 to 25!
Looking at the level leaderboard, Tang Yao was level 23, Po Tian was level 22, and others on the leaderboard were around level 20, while Nie Yan was still only level 17.
Even though he couldn’t level up, Nie Yan had to continue this task. Once he got out, catching up with the others on the leaderboard would be quick.
In these days, Nie Yan lingered many times at the temple’s entrance, almost unable to resist the urge to enter the temple a few times. Even dying would be better than wasting time here. But later, reason made him hold back.
Logging out of the game and removing the VR headset, Nie Yan was bored out of his mind from continuously grinding Headless Horsemen for these days.
“Why haven’t you come out yet?” Tang Yao asked in confusion.
“Don’t mention it. I think I still need a long time to get out,” Nie Yan said gloomily. The time required for this task had exceeded his expectations.
“What kind of task takes so long?” Tang Yao asked in surprise.
“It’s just constantly grinding Headless Horsemen, some undead monsters,” Nie Yan replied. He didn’t know how to get out and could only try to finish this grinding task first. “How’s the situation outside?”
“The situation outside is going quite well. Guo Huai mentioned that he has already received the funds from Star Pharmacy and purchased 16 plots of land across seven cities—all the ones you specified. Some plots were snatched up, so we had no choice but to let them go. The guild has successfully upgraded to a level 2 guild. And that elite team—where on earth did you find such incredible people? They cleared ten dungeons in just two days, many of which were expert-level, at least master-level. Rumor has it they even cleared the Medusa Nest this afternoon. My god, are they actual deities?” Tang Yao rolled his eyes, utterly stunned by Cui Can Dao Guang and Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zai.
Nie Yan smiled slightly and said, “This is within my expectations.” Cui Can Dao Guang and Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zai already had the gear, and their skills were unquestionably top-notch. The energy released by this group of people working together was considerable.
Tang Yao began to talk to Nie Yan about some guild matters. Cui Can Dao Guang and others nearly crazily cleared various dungeons, and this news was to be posted in the guild affairs. The result was predictable; it directly stunned the players in the guild. Clearing ten master and expert-level dungeons in two days, what a concept!
Most of the equipment obtained by Cui Can Dao Guang and others was unusable for them, so they left it to the secondary teams in the guild, such as the Yu Lan team and teams formed by Guo Huai selecting capable players. These secondary teams also developed rapidly.
From its inception, the Bull Man Tribe rapidly expanded. Although still in its early stages, the rudimentary structure of the guild warehouse was already taking shape, backed by the support of Star Pharmacy. Coupled with the outstanding performances of members like Cui Can Dao Guang and Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zai, players gained a deeper understanding of the Bull Man Tribe’s future potential. Enthusiastic new recruits eagerly invited their friends to join, leading to another surge in membership when the guild leveled up to tier 2.
Bull Man Tribe showed strong momentum and began cooperating with Holy Roman Empire, which made Triumph and Bright Holy Flame feel extremely uneasy, leading to friction.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, several Bull Man Tribe members were sent back by some Triumph members while leveling in the wild. Those Triumph players were shouting that they would wipe out the Bull Man Tribe guild sooner or later.
On the 4th, Bull Man Tribe players across various regions were harassed. By evening, over sixty had died.
On the 5th, the harassment continued, accumulating over a hundred deaths.
A wave of resentment rose within Bull Man Tribe, temporarily calmed by Guo Huai. Triumph was powerful, being the top guild in Carol City. Bull Man Tribe was not yet strong enough to provoke a large-scale guild war, which would certainly put them at a disadvantage. Holy Roman Empire, considering its own interests, might not necessarily support them. Guo Huai advised the players to endure for now until Bull Man Tribe grew stronger. He suggested that those leveling in the wild should not display their guild emblems. However, some players with a strong sense of belonging to Bull Man Tribe still displayed their guild emblems while leveling in the wild, resulting in being ambushed by Triumph players, though they managed to take down a few Triumph members.
The frequent conflicts gave a sense of an impending storm. Triumph and Bright Holy Flame were probably already impatient. If they seized the opportunity, they would definitely not miss the chance to deliver a fatal blow to Bull Man Tribe.
But Nie Yan could only stay in that quest map, grinding Headless Horsemen furiously, gaining no experience, unable to clear his red name, and only able to obtain some drops for comfort.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage