XMTL

Cheng Yang squinted excitedly and in the distance, saw some golf ball sized blue gems further ahead.

Cheng Yang’s anticipation was building. He had earned more than a thousand Experience Fragment just using the Low-Grade gems but, these were clearly must better. How much would he make if he grabbed one of those?

As Cheng Yang rushed forward to grab the gem, a shrill squeak echoed through the cave. It was precisely the same cry as the Rotoskr he had killed outside!

“Dammit! I forgot there were monsters in here!” Cheng Yang thought to himself, running back towards the cavern where he first found the Experience Gems.

Sure enough, before he could even make it ten steps, a pair of reflective orbs appeared from around a corner behind him. Cheng Yang’s spirit fell into the gutter when he got a clear view of the massive rodent that was even bigger than the ones he had fought before.

If the Rotoskr from earlier were around the same size as a leopard, the one behind him was the size of a black bear. When it ran, the ground trembled.

As the looming figure approached him, Cheng Yang knew the situation wasn’t in his favor. In an attempt to create distance, Cheng Yang began casting Hibernation Chill on the Rotoskr and fled. Although the Cast Time was less than a second, when the blast of cold air fired, there was only a ten-meter gap between the two.

Fortunately, Hibernation Chill had a 100% chance of freezing the opponent so that giant monster nearly froze solid.

Cheng Yang didn’t dare to stick around any longer. As he sprinted back to the safety of the open sky, he fired an Icicle Blast into the Rotoskr’s head.

However, at the same time, the slow effect of Hibernation Chill wore off. That is to say; it had broken free from the debuff after only half the time had passed!

Taking into account that even when slowed the monster was able to travel ten meters, Cheng Yang was able to guess that the Rotoskr in front of him was a Pinnacle-Grade monster with an Innate Ability that helped it ignore debuffs.

Cheng Yang had experience killing Pinnacle-Grade monsters, but that was only in the Blood Soaked Cathedral where he was able to attack the Boss from the top of the tree safely. Here, however, not only had he lost his terrain advantage, he was actually at a disadvantage!

In the blink of an eye, another Icicle Blast hit the Rotoskr. Although it hit, just the tip was able to pierce through while the rest shattered on its tough hide. Unfortunately, Cheng Yang wasn’t lucky enough for the freeze debuff to activate.

By that time, the Rotoskr was only twenty meters away.

Quickly making some calculations based off of information in his past life, Cheng Yang tried to guess the stats of the monster. The Rotoskr’s Magic Defense would be at most 16 with a Health of 280. Thus, each of his shots would deal around 50.5 damage, and he would need to hit the monster six times to kill it.

He’d already hit twice, and there was only one more chance to attack before the Rotoskr reached him.

Once the monster caught up, both parties would only need to land three attacks, but how would he land the other needed attacks? Right now, his only advantage over the monster was that he had potions; otherwise, it was far more likely for him to die.

Moreover, this was just to kill a single Pinnacle-Grade Rotoskr. Who knows how many more at that level were crawling through these stone tunnels.

If it weren’t for the Experience Gems, he’d be taking a pretty significant loss. The only other benefits to killing this Rotoskr would only give him eight Experience Fragment after all.

From now on, there was no need for planning and schemes; he just had to fight slightly better than his opponent.

Cheng Yang sent the final attack he could before the enemy reached him flying. Now Cheng Yang’s good times were at an end.

Letting the ice shatter on its skin, the Rotoskr swiped at Cheng Yang with its claws. Tearing flesh and slamming Cheng Yang into the ground.

“So fucking strong!” Cheng Yang rolled away from the monster and kicked to his feet.

Without letting Cheng Yang take the time to attack, the Rotoskr had immediately kicked off the ground with its powerful back legs after its first attack.

Cheng Yang watched the wall of flesh move forwards, its other clawed hand aiming for his neck. Although Cheng Yang knew that only Mature monsters would have attributes applied to their attacks, after making so many mistakes in this life, he decided to play it safe. Instead of trying to duck, Cheng Yang used the fraction of a second he had to hop into the air lightly. His honed dexterity allowed him to avoid a potentially fatal decapitation blow, allowing the sharp claws to pierce his chest instead.

The Rotoskr tossed Cheng Yang into a cavern, making Cheng Yang the star of a trapeze. He flew a full fifteen meters away before hitting the cavern wall with a sickening crack. His ribs had cracked and the pain of a pierced lung wracked Cheng Yang’s body. This Pinnacle-Grade asshole was really irritating!

A bloody streak ran down from Cheng Yang’s mouth. That attack had dealt a total of forty damage, the most he had ever suffered from a single attack, and now he only had twenty Health left.

If the Rotoskr hit him again, Cheng Yang would be paying a visit to King Yan. As for whether he might reincarnate again? Cheng Yang hadn’t even considered it.

“Damn. Two more….” Cheng Yang murmured firing the Icicle Blast he had charged while flying through the air. Letting the attack land, the Rotoskr charged forwards, jaws wide open.

At the same time, Cheng Yang drank a Health Recovery Potion with one hand and began casting with the other.

Suddenly, the Rotoskr used Acceleration Burst, turning into a blur of flesh and death. Cheng Yang’s heart dropped, the potion hadn’t had time to reach his stomach yet!

With mere meters between them, Cheng Yang fired an Icicle Blast into the Rotoskr’s open mouth. The moment it hit, shards of ice started to cover the monster, and when it finally slid into Cheng Yang, it was completely frozen.

It was the freeze debuff! Although its claws hit Cheng Yang, the god’s rules didn’t recognize it as an attack! In the single second, he had bought himself, Cheng Yang was able to move outside its immediate attack range, and the potion healed him enough to survive another hit before dying.

With a smile, Cheng Yang cast Icicle Blast the Rotoskr right as it was thawing. He didn’t need to even try for this shot. If he missed a stationary target, what was the point of the experience from his past life?

With an angry squeak, the monster desperately tried to reach Cheng Yang.

Cheng Yang gazed coldly at the approaching rodent, the tip of his stave glowing with blue light as ice condensed on the tip. With a flash, it drove itself into the Rotoskr’s flank. The monster’s legs fumbled as it crashed to the ground, with eyes that were unwilling to close.

Staring at the ceiling, Cheng Yang basked in the warmth of living. If not for his luck, he would be the one lying on the ground.

Watching the blood pour out of the giant rodent, Cheng Yang reflected on his actions.

Ever since he was reborn, Cheng Yang had felt a sense of superiority to the people of the past. Not only was he was the most knowledgeable and skilled person but had become the strongest as well. Despite being ordinary cannon fodder in his past life, Cheng Yang had grown arrogant.

However, the last few big fights he had been in had shocked him out of that mindset. It didn’t matter how skilled or knowledgeable he was if he died. Being better than other humans wasn’t important; he needed to be better than the monsters threatening his life.

Over the past few days, he may have killed thousands of monster, but all of them were high-Grade or below; existences that couldn’t compare to him. Just like when fighting the Imperator Sarcosucus the other day, Cheng Yang had made too many mistakes in this fight. Twice now, he had been outplayed by what he considered to be brainless beasts, and both times he had only survived by relying on luck.

In the future, he would have to live up to the power he had obtained and stop underestimating monsters. Otherwise, he’d be throwing his second chance away.

Cheng Yang finally took a good look at the Rotoskr’s corpse. It was a shame his Profession didn’t allow him to obtain animal skins. Monsters that had reached Pinnacle Grade were a trove of resources that crafters could turn into Black Iron quality equipment.

With a final glance at the corpse, Cheng Yang went to retrieve the treasure that had gotten him into this mess.

This time, Cheng Yang moved more cautiously. If he hadn’t let his greed blind his sense, there was no way such a massive creature would have been able to sneak up on him. Cheng Yang wouldn’t make that mistake again.

He would go back to where he found the blue Experienc Gem then carefully observe the situation. Only if it was safe would he try to obtain it.

Near the end of his journey, he would take a full minute to move ten meters. He wasn’t confident in beating another Pinnacle-Grade Rotoskr, and there was a high chance that more than one might appear so he couldn’t take any risks.

Finally, after listening carefully, Cheng Yang snuck forwards and grabbed the blue Experience Gem.

Thanks to the gods’ rules, Cheng Yang didn’t need to wait until he got back to the village to identify the gem. When they transformed the world, the gods had been generous enough to allow humans to learn about an object just by touching it. Even so, humanities knowledge about the world was surface level at best.

The moment Cheng yang picked up the gem, a system pane had popped up in front of him.

Standard Grade Experience Gem
When crushed or sacrificed to a Territory Altar, gives one thousand Experience Fragments

Quality: Slag

Just like he thought, it was a higher grade Experience Gem! Moreover, that one level increased the amount stored inside a hundredfold. Just thinking about it excited Cheng Yang to no end.

If this pattern continued wouldn’t a High-Grade stone have one hundred thousand Experience Fragments!?

Calming himself down, Cheng Yang observed the situation. Just from where he was, there were dozens of Low-Grade gems and three Standard-Grade ones. It was a very tempting opportunity.

If he were able to obtain those three Standard-Grade gems, he could level up the village a day earlier than planned. Moreover, those Low-Grade gems would be useful for his training.

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

As if to confirm Cheng Yang’s guess, as soon as he killed the second Rotoskr, a third appeared.

Cheng Yang was starting to panic. If this was their nest, then there was an entire horde of Late Grade monster burrowed inside the rocks around him. Although he was powerful compared to the other humans, he’d met, that many high-level monsters would grind his bones to dust.

Cheng Yang attacked the Rotoskr and retreated. When it died, Cheng Yang noticed another Rotoskr, and it noticed him. Moments later, their battle started.

Having picked up on the pattern, Cheng Yang came to a realization. These monster were probably related to the treasure!

Since that was the case, retreating was useless. Kicking off the ground, Cheng Yang shot an Icicle Blast at the monster in front of him and searched for a narrow cave to fight inside.

The terrain here was advantageous for battling large groups alone as long as the cave you selected was strong enough. However, before Cheng Yang could find the right cave, the Rotoskr that had been attacking him stopped. Instead of chasing Cheng Yang, it ran back just in time to meet up with another Rotoskr that crawled out of the cave. Those two gigantic creatures climbed up the rocky spires nearby, guarding the entrance to their nest.

“Sure enough, there’s something important in there.” Cheng Yang knew a monster wouldn’t give up on prey to guard their nest.

Cheng Yang swirled around and without looking at the cave, approached it.

As Cheng Yang closed the distance between himself and the two monsters, they let out a shrill warning cry. Within a few seconds, another pair of Rotoskr crawled out of the cave.

Just like the three Cheng Yang had just killed, all four were High-Grade monsters. It was a fighting force strong enough to overwhelm the entire Cloud City military.

Cheng Yang slowly moved forwards, testing to see how close he could get before they attacked.

80 meters…

60 meters…

50 meters…

With every step, the Rotoskr would screech at him. Their shrill voices making his head ring.

Unafraid, Cheng Yang pressed forwards. Once he entered the ten-meter range, the Rotoskr couldn’t hold back their fury. Using their sturdy hind legs, they jumped down from their spires onto him.

Cheng Yang had prepared for this moment. As their bodies hit the ground, the already injured one slammed into an Icicle Blast instead.

With a thud, the mouse hit the ground, impaling itself further on the icy spear. Letting out a final squeak, it died.

Cheng Yang’s fire another Icicle Blast behind him as he tried to get far enough away that the Rotoskr would retreat. Luckily his attack froze one of the remaining three monsters.

With speed nearly double that of the Rotoskr, Cheng Yang had a decent lead when he used his skill, but once a monster reached High-Grade, they would gain a skill too. With a shrill cry, one of the Rotoskr used their signature skill, Acceleration Burst.

The monster shot forwards like a bullet instantly overturned Cheng Yang’s speed advantage. Unable to dodge, the sharp front claws of the Rotoskr flayed Cheng Yang’s back. Cheng Yang was flung forwards like a ragdoll by the mighty thrust as he lost six Health. This was the attack of a High-Grade monster! Not even Cheng Yang would be able to walk away unscathed!

Although the injuries on his back hurt, Cheng Yang powered through the pain.

Using the momentum to gain a lead, Cheng Yang dodged around a pillar while smashing an Icicle Blast into the Rotoskr that hadn’t attacked him.

While dashing forwards, Cheng Yang killed another Rotoskr. Once he was two hundred meters away from the nest, the last two monsters turned tail and ran.

“How predictable.” Cheng Yang sneered as he sat down to Meditate. Once his Health had recovered, Cheng Yang attacked the monsters again.

This time, no one answered their warning cries.

Despite killing the two Rotoskr with ease, Cheng Yang was upset. If the monsters weren’t going to come outside, did that mean he would need to enter the cave to get the treasure?

Cheng Yang gazed into the inky darkness of the cave and when he had gathered enough courage, stepped inside.

For the first ten meters or so, the light from outside was enough to illuminate the path in front of him. However, Cheng Yang needed to use the walls as guidance as he went further in.

As he walked further down the tunnel, Cheng Yang’s heart beat faster and faster. If he were in a well-lit environment, Cheng Yang would be able to face seven or eight Rotoskr without fear. In the dark, however, he’d just become a punching bag for the Rotoskr since they were adapted to fighting without light.

Even so, it wasn’t in Cheng Yang’s nature to back out now. He had a few Health Recovery Potions left so he would be able to survive long enough to escape at least.

After nearly a minute of walking, Cheng Yang saw a faint light in front of him. There was a small cavern in front of him filled with a soft, fluorescent white glow.

“These are…” Cheng Yang was stunned.

Once he was sure there weren’t any monster in the cavern, Cheng Yang sprinted forwards. Once he got a clear view of the objects peppering the cavern walls, ecstasy filled his heart.

“How is this possible? Why are there so many?” Cheng Yang rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Sticking out of the wall were tens of hundreds of Experience Gems. As the name implied, Experience Gems were made from compressed Experience Fragments. As for how many were in each gem, it depended on the grade.

Cheng Yang had seen a photo of one once on the Tavern’s forum. The images posted and these gems looked precisely the same. Moreover, they were all rated as Low-Grade Slag and only contained ten Experience Fragments.

Up until the point where Cheng Yang died, no one had found a sizeable and high-quality Experience Gem mine.

In comparison, it had only been ten days in this life, and Cheng Yang had already found an unbelievably rich Experienc Gem mine. How could he not be excited? The only problem was, he didn’t have any way to get the gems!

Even if he had the Miner Profession, the fact that he didn’t have a way to get back to the mine was a damper on his mood.

Moreover, how many gems would a Low-Grade Miner even be able to obtain in five hours? Would they even be able to mine Experience Gems of this grade? If they weren’t, they would be useless rocks since gods rules dictated that gems had to be extracted before they can be used.

When faced with the harsh reality, Cheng Yang’s excitement died.

Without thinking, Cheng Yang turned away from the brilliantly shining wall. Just as he was about to leave, Cheng Yang spotted a dim light on the ground. Looking closer, he realized it was a Low-Grade Experience Gem.

Looking around, Cheng Yang noticed that there were several of these gems scattered around the floor of the cavern. However, if there weren’t that many, it wouldn’t be worth the danger of moving around in the Rotoskr nest.

Picking up the pea-sized gem, Cheng Yang shattered it in his hand. A stream of light flowed out and into his body as the gem turned to dust. Once the process was over, Cheng Yang had gained ten Experience Fragments.

Cheng Yang had learned how to use Experience Gems in his past life, but this was his first time doing it. The process was much gentler than killing a monster and made Cheng Yang feel warm when the light entered him.

Glancing around the room, Cheng Yang was able to see about twenty loose Experience Gems. In other words, he saw two hundred free Experience Fragments.

Without hesitation, Cheng Yang rushed around the cavern, picking up the gems and absorbing them one by one.

Unable to resist his greed, Cheng Yang traveled deeper into the cave complex, picking up Experience Gems as he did.

At this point, Cheng Yang was confident that this was the treasure hidden behind the Mystery Gate. The only question was, why were there so many loose gems? Maybe the mine was being used right before it was transported to Earth? Perhaps this was a reward the gods had arranged for the first person to discover the mine?

Although Cheng Yang wasn’t sure what the actual reason was, it didn’t matter to him. He was looking forward to accumulating a hundred thousand Experience Fragments so he could unlock the next level of training speed, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Not only that but when the time came, he could use the Experience Fragments he would gain today to level up the village.

Cheng Yang found one Experience Gem every meter he walked, so after traveling for a hundred meters, he earned a thousand Experience Fragments!

As he went further in, Cheng Yang noticed the gems on the walls were getting bigger, and instead of glowing with white light, they were blue.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that those were Experience Gems of a higher grade!

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

Cheng Yang immediately refused his request, saying, “Absolutely not. If you died, the territory would suffer a huge loss.”

Zhao Chuan wanted to argue with his lord, but only let out a sigh and left to go find a soldier up to Cheng Yang’s standards.

After a while, Zhao Chuan returned with a twenty-nine-year-old man in tow. Since he became a soldier after Zhao Chuan became a general, Cheng Yang didn’t recognize him.

Zhao Chuan introduced him, “My Lord, this is my subordinate Wang Cheng. He has agreed to help you in exchange for a favor.”

Cheng Yang nodded and addressed the soldier, “Do you understand the risks associated with what I’m asking?”

“I know that I will most likely die but how can that be considered a risk? Since that damn earthquake, every hour I’ve lived has been a struggle. Instead of dying in vain, I’d rather my life create value for my family. My Lord, I hope that after this you’ll allow them to stay in a house in the Inner City even after I am long dead,” Wang Cheng replied with a resolute expression.

Cheng Yang’s eyes flashed with profound respect. People with this kind of mindset were rare to find after the apocalypse. Although most people knew that their lives would be a constant struggle to live, how many people could genuinely embrace death?

“I give you my word that I will fulfill your request.” Cheng Yang said without hesitation.

Unable to stay silent, Zhao Chaun interjected, “My Lord, of this task will be as dangerous as you say it is perhaps you shouldn’t-“

“I know what I’m doing,” Cheng Yang cut him off. “I have a territory filled with tens of thousands of citizens who rely on me, so I don’t plan on dying any time soon. “

With a nod, Zhao Chuan gave up on persuading Cheng Yang not to risk his life.

A few minutes later, Cheng Yang left the village with Wang Cheng.

Ten minutes later, once the pair had reached the Mystery Gate, Cheng Yang thoroughly explained what the portal was.

“Now that you understand, here’s what I want you to do. Enter the Mystery Gate for me. Unless you’re attacked and killed immediately, there’s a chance you’ll survive so long as you find a good hiding spot. If you’re not dead, I’ll follow you inside and tell you what to do next.”

“Don’t worry my Lord. Although I would prefer to live, I am not afraid of death.” After saying that, Wang Cheng entered the portal with a steely resolve.

Once Wang Cheng disappeared, Cheng Yang sprinted back to Phoenix Village. He rushed straight towards the center until he arrived in front of the Warrior statue. Cheng Yang quickly checked the system pane. When he saw that the number of warriors hadn’t decreased, he felt relieved.

This meant Wang Cheng was still alive, and the Mystery Gate didn’t lead to a quick death. Unfortunately, Cheng Yang had no other way of checking to see of the Mystery Gate was safe to use. Although this method required him to sacrifice someone, it was the only way to guarantee that he wouldn’t die needlessly.

After another sprint, Cheng Yang found himself standing in front of the Mystery Gate once again. After taking a deep breath, he stepped inside.

Suddenly Cheng Yang was falling from an unimaginable height. His weightless body was tumbling into the void. With a violent shake, his momentum stopped, and he nearly blacked out. He found himself standing in a dense stone forest when he recovered.

“Is this the Yunnan province?” Cheng Yang wondered, staring at the stony trees that surrounded him. That was the only place in the world with a stone forest this big before the apocalypse, but he wasn’t sure this was the same place. After all, the gods had changed the geographic landscape entirely a few days ago. For all he knew, this was a desert in the past.

All of a sudden, a head popped out from a crack in the stone followed by a waving hand.

Even from a distance, Cheng Yang was able to recognize Wang Cheng.

Cheng Yang walked over to meet the soldier. “Nice spot. You’d be able to stay hidden here for days.”

“Yep, I got pretty lucky I’d say. After all, I finished your high-risk mission safe and sound. What do I need to do next?” Wang Cheng asked.

“You’ve done everything I need you too. Just stay hidden until the timer runs out and we get teleported back.”

When they passed through the Mystery Gate, both men were alerted by the system that there were just over five hours until the gate closed. On their system pane, a countdown had appeared that currently read 5:03:42. Cheng Yang estimated that the timer started at seven hours since the god’s messenger had made an announcement about two hours ago.

Wang Cheng didn’t even consider offering to help. His Lord’s strength was well known, so there was no reason for him to risk his life if Cheng Yang didn’t ask him too.

“Do you know where we are?” Cheng Yang asked while looking around.

“I’m not sure, but we’re definitely overseas right now.” Wang Cheng replied.

“Really? Why do you think so?”

“Look at the sun. It was getting close to setting back home but its early morning here.”

When he glanced up at the sun, Cheng Yang realized he had been far too unobservant. “Stay here. I’m going to go explore.”

“Stay safe, my Lord.” Wang Cheng gave Cheng Yang a heartfelt blessing. Not only had Cheng Yang developed Phoenix Village to the heights it was now, but it was also inevitable that if he died, the village would collapse.

Cheng Yang nodded. After Wang Cheng hid, he picked a direction to start moving in.

After walking less than ten steps, Cheng Yang felt a magical vibration that made his knees quake. Although there was nothing around, he quickly found a place to hide.

A few seconds later, a massive flying figure split the sky in half. As it flew past trees were uprooted, and a high pitched whistling could be heard as the wind whipped through the stones.

“Damn! What is that?” Cheng Yang thought to himself, his face white with fear.

Even from thousands of meters in the air, it had enormous presence. With a length in the hundreds of meters, it was enough to put any old-world aircraft to shame. Similar to a western dragon, the massive beast danced through the air as it flew.

Was it a monster or an Ascendant? Cheng Yang couldn’t tell. According to theories from his past life, when animals became Ascendants, they would mutate slightly. However, it should have been impossible for any animal on Earth to mutate into a dragon. It was even more implausible that the creature was a monster. If monsters that powerful had started spawning on the tenth day of the apocalypse in his last life, humanity wouldn’t even have lasted until the end of the second week.

Although Cheng Yang didn’t know what level the dragon was, it was definitely a higher level than a Mature or Exalted monster. It might have even reached the fifth or sixth stage of evolution, if those levels existed.

Even after the dragon was long gone, Cheng Yang wasn’t able to determine what it was.

With a wan smile, Cheng Yang wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead and continued exploring.

Although he had been careful before, his actions now were made with the utmost caution. There was a high chance that every single creature living in this area rivaled the dragon in power.

More importantly, where was the treasure? Although Cheng Yang had the memories from his past life to help him, no one had ever visited a stone forest. Humanities expansion outwards had been slow to non-existent, so it would probably have been decades before a human visited this area without a Mystery Gate.

Although he had tried to walk North, the winding paths of the stone forest forced him to travel in winding circles. It was far to easy to get lost in the forest’s dead ends, several forks, and twisted paths. If not for the rules of the Mystery Gate, Cheng Yang wouldn’t have dared to try and explore the forest.

Suddenly, a leopard sized rodent―a Rotoskr―sprang out from inside a hole in front of him. Cheng Yang was no stranger to having giant monsters suddenly appear, and he certainly wasn’t a stranger to killing them.

Rushing forwards, Cheng Yang greeted the six-legged rat with a frosty shard of ice.

Unable to dodge the Icicle Blast, the Rotoskr let out a grating squeak as it was hit in the chest.

However, it didn’t die. As a High-Grade Immature monster, this random mob would be able to go toe to toe with Cheng Yang if he wasn’t wearing any equipment.

Even so, Cheng Yang’s Movement Speed was higher, and he was a ranged fighter. The monster never stood a chance.

As Cheng Yang’s second attack hit, the Rotoskr collapse.

Just as Cheng Yang had relaxed, another Rotoskr jumped out of the same hole.

“Damn it! Is that a colony?” Cheng Yang cursed his luck as an Icicle Blast charged on the tip of his stave.

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

When Cheng Yang approached the class change statues, he could see Lau Hui walking towards him from a distance. Judging from his expression, something terrible must have happened.

“Hey Ox, what happened?” Cheng Yang asked.

“Our team suffered some casualties earlier, my Lord,” Lau Hui said bitterly.

Cheng Yang frowned. “What happened? I ordered you not to stray too far from the walls, didn’t I?”

Lau Hui shook his head. “We were only two kilometers from the gates and had just finished clearing the area when the gods made their announcement. Right after, two High-Grade monsters spawned right next to us! They attacked the same person simultaneously. We were powerless to save her.”

Cheng Yang looked at him, shocked. Events like that were extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that Cheng Yang hadn’t bothered to mention that they were possible.

After the first evolution, the chance of a High-Grade Monsters spawning in the wilderness was practically non-existent. Since soldiers regularly cleared the monsters around Phoenix Village, a Standard-Grade monster spawning was already a one in a million event. For two High-Grade monsters to spawn right next to each other was just inconceivable!

Lau Hui had been too busy to concern himself with what the appearance of those two monsters meant, but Cheng Yang knew that, in this world, whenever something unusual happened there was a treasure to be found. Several people in his past life had proven that abnormalities in the spawning mechanics were one hundred percent guaranteed to generate something interesting. If you weren’t able to find it, it wasn’t that the treasure didn’t exist, but instead, you were too unlucky or incompetent to find it.

“Where did you get attacked?” Cheng Yang asked immediately.

“Two kilometers past the south gate in a sort of southeastern direction.” Lau Hui said, unsure why Cheng Yang wanted to know since the monsters were already dead. “There’s a hill nearby so it should be easy to find.”

Cheng Yang was very familiar with the terrain surrounding Phoenix Village and was able to figure out what hill his friend was talking about.
“Ox, settle these people into the village while I go investigate.” Chang Yang said.

Lau Hui glanced behind Cheng Yang to take a look at the people he had brought with him. When he saw Liu Wei, he was surprised. “My Lord, you actually managed to find her friend.”

“I was lucky. When we arrived, Liu Wei was already in the safe zone.” Cheng Yang said casually before leaving.

At the same time, Liu Wei recognized Lau Hui. As Pang Sun’s best friend, she had already met Lau Hui even though they hadn’t been dating for very long. The only reason she didn’t take the initiative to greet him was her fear of Cheng Yang.

Once Cheng Yang was out of earshot, Liu Wei wasn’t able to hold back her curiosity. “Lau Hui, why are you here? What about Pang Sun? Where is she?”

Lau Hui didn’t answer immediately. Turning to Ma Tao, he asked, “Soldier, are these your family members?”

Ma Tao nodded, “Yes, General Lau.”

Although Ma Tao wasn’t in Lau Hui’s battalion, who wouldn’t recognize the five generals of Phoenix Village?

“Since they’re family they’re allowed to stay here in the Inner Village. Why don’t you go help them settle into your home? As for allowing them to become Professionals, I’m sure our Lord will consider it.”

“Thank you, General Lau.” Ma Tao quickly led his family members towards one of the Standard-Grade Meditation Halls.

Turning back to Liu Wei, he gave her a friendly greeting. “Liu Wei, welcome to Phoenix Village. I hope that you’ll soon be able just to call it home. Right now Pang Sun is buying some things from the Alchemy Tower, but she’ll be back soon.”

For a few moments, all Liu Wei could do was watch as Ma Tao and his family disappeared. “Ox… Are you a general? General of what?”

“General in the village’s army of course.” Lau Hui said with a smile. “I’m the commander of one of the village’s five brigades.”

Before the apocalypse, Liu Wei knew that Lau Hui was just an ordinary college student. Now, however, he had one of the most important job in this settlement. Even if she was proud and arrogant, she shouldn’t have been so casual with him. She was the literal dirt underneath her feet compared to him!

Noticing her anxiety, Lau Hui said “Don’t worry, it’s not what you think. Don’t tell anyone this, but the only reason I was able to become a general was my friendship with the Lord. We were roommates in college before the apocalypse, so he helped me out a little.”

Liu Wei’s eyes widened. “You’re saying the person who brought me here was our classmate? This…”

“Isn’t it incredible? I also felt that it was pretty unbelievable but since that earthquake struck, what hasn’t been unbelievable?”

“That’s true.” Liu Wei said with a wry smile.

“Don’t reminisce on the past too much. Life here in Phoenix Village will be better than in Cloud City, but it still can’t compare to our lives before the apocalypse.” After giving her some advice, Lau Hui greeted the two other people Cheng Yang had brought. He didn’t understand why Cheng Yang had brought these people to Phoenix Village, but since he was asked to entertain them, he would do a good job.

When Cheng Yang left the village, it was already dark. All he wanted was to find that treasure and couldn’t care less about the light levels.

A few minutes later, when Cheng Yang reached the hill, he wasn’t able to find anything abnormal. Except for the occasional monster, the woodland scenery was peaceful.

Even so, Cheng Yang didn’t give up. If it was hard to find that just meant it was valuable!

Since he couldn’t rely on his eyes, Cheng Yang would have to use the passive energy fluctuation created by the anomaly. When the gods transformed the world, everything began to emit magical energy. The more useful and powerful an item, person or monster was, the more apparent they were.

After more than ten minutes of fruitless searching, Cheng Yang grew anxious. The opportunity might have already passed, and any valuables had already disappeared. Concentrating more intensely, Cheng Yang let his perception sweep past the grass and trees, searching for anything unusual.

A few minutes later, Cheng Yang felt a sudden burst of energy fluctuations.

Cheng Yang quickly rushed forwards, clawing his way through the overgrown grass until he found himself in front of a shimmering screen of light. The portal was nearly horizontal with the ground and had an aura that caused his heart to stop for a moment.

“An instance dungeon?” Cheng Yang muttered with confusion.

After a moment, Cheng Yang realized that the gray oval on the ground was actually a Mystery Dungeon. Unlike instance dungeons which were permanent structures, Mystery Gate’s appeared and disappeared randomly.

The other significant differences were that the Mystery Gate didn’t have a limit to the number of people who could enter. Instead, each Mystery Gate would only exist for a brief time before expelling anyone inside.

The final difference was that Mystery Gate’s would lead to somewhere on Earth instead of a different dimension. This meant it was possible to get lucky after entering a Mystery Gate. For most people, earning something from an instance dungeon was hard. If they were unlucky, the dungeon might not even have a single piece of decent equipment in it. However, Mystery Gates were guaranteed to have something valuable on the other side.

Of course, nothing in this new world was free. Even if someone wanted to rely on their luck, a certain level of strength would still be needed.

Although Cheng Yang wanted to try his luck, he was conflicted. It was entirely possible that on the other side of the Mystery Gate was a monster or Ascendant powerful beyond imagination. Even as the strongest human on Earth, he wouldn’t be able to resist in the slightest.

Once you entered a Mystery Gate, there was nowhere to run. You needed to stay where you were transported until time ran out. Only nine Mystery Gate’s were reported in his past life. Of which, only three were successfully explored. As for the others, no one who entered returned.

Of the three where people returned, most who entered died trying to obtain the fabulous treasures they found.

As rare and valuable as they were, Mystery Gate’s were incredibly risky to enter.

In his mind, he chided his cowardice. Go in, damn it. You’ve died once already. What’s there to be afraid of?

With his decision made, Cheng Yang returned to Phoenix Village to prepare.

After buying a large number of potions from the Alchemy Tower, he passed down an order for Zhao Chuan to come to find him.

Ever since being rescued by Cheng Yang in Huimin, Zhao Chaun had always revered him. After being made a general, that feeling had turned into loyalty.

Noticing this, Cheng Yang decided that Zhao Chuan was the perfect person for a task he had in mind.

“My Lord, why did you call for me?” Zhao Chuan asked when he entered Cheng Yang’s house.

“Zhao Chuan, I need you to find a soldier that is willing to give his life to me. Although that soldier might survive, the probability of dying is quite high. Make sure to mention that I’ll reward them handsomely if they survive.”

“My Lord, let me do it.” Zhao Chuan fervently replied.

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

Less than three seconds after the voice stopped talking, the entire world was shrouded in an incomparably bright light.

All of humanity felt a tingling sensation in their eyes as their vision went black. Their bodies seemed to be floating and they were unable to perceive what was around them.

After what seemed like hours, the light dissipated and everyone’s sight gradually returned to normal.

For the people outside the safe zones there wasn’t an obvious difference, but for those that were something major had happened.

Previously, the safe zone had a few buildings in the center but was otherwise filled with rubble. Now, all of the ruins had been replaced with rows upon rows of residential buildings. Not only that, but the area covered by the barrier had expanded by four or five times, covering an area of ten square kilometers.

The houses were arranged in rings. those closest to the class change statues were luxurious villas. Behind those were antique style family homes followed by three story lofts and finally wooden high rises that stretched all the way to the edge of the barrier.

Most people weren’t able to immediately understand what had happened but it only took a few minutes for them to realize what these were. Those building were the gods reward for humanity.

That’s when, similar to when they first entered the safe zone, information flooded into their minds. They were able to understand what those buildings were and how to use them.

These buildings were similar to the Meditation Halls in Phoenix Village as they allowed Professionals to train more efficiently. However, the difference between the two is that you needed to pay to use the ones in the safe zone. This could be done either by paying a monthly rental fee or by purchasing the property.

Obviously, the villas near the center of the city provided the highest bonuses but they had price tags to match. Just to rent one of those villas you needed to pay an outrageous 100,000 Experience Fragments every month. As for the purchasing price, no one even dared to think about it.

Originally, Yuan Jianzhe had considered himself the richest person in Cloud City but when he learned the rental fee for just the high rise apartment, he realized he was a poor man. A very poor man.

However, no one could ignore the benefits renting a place to live would bring.

Although it might seem cheaper to just spend ten Experience Fragments and double your training speed for an hour, the prices were deceptively high. The villas near the center fit ten people and only required a single monthly payment that could be shared. This meant that ten people could enjoy the benefits of Meditating in a villa for just over three hundred Experience Fragments a day. Once everyone got used to their skills, it would be possible for people like Yuan Jianzhe to spend that much every day.

Not to mention, renting a place to live gave them more than just a place to train. It was a place to live and a symbol of their social standing.

Compared to the villas, the one family homes were much cheaper, with rent fees ranging from five thousand to ten thousand a month. Those buildings actually provided the same bonus as the villas, a 50% increase, but could accommodate less people. The most expensive could fit five while the cheaper could only fit two.

The lofts fit one person for a monthly fee of one thousand Experience Fragments a month.

Finally, the high rise buildings could be rented either monthly or daily at the rate of ten Experience Fragments per person per day no matter how many people were squeezed into the apartments and suites.

The cheapest housing in the entire safe zone was the dormitory housing. Although it was just a room with eight beds, it was a measly two Experience Fragments per person to stay the night and experience a 10% training buff.

It could be seen that when they designed this new city, the gods valued those at the lowest end of society. As long as someone were to perform a class change ceremony and kill monsters, they would be able to give their family a home, or live in an apartment with their friends.

Other than the residential buildings, several new shops had appeared in prominent location to make the safe zones feel more like a city.

There were copies of the already existing shops like the Alchemy tower as well as new building such as the Adventurers Guild, the Trial Hall and a few Taverns.

Of those buildings, the Tavern was the most magical. Of all the buildings that would be unlocked when Phoenix Village leveled up, Cheng Yang was most excited about the Tavern. It wasn’t just a place for drinking and recreation, it also allowed humanity to communicate with each other again.

As long as you ordered a drink, the bartender would allow you to sit down somewhere. Once you did, a virtual screen would pop up. It acted as a conduit to a forum that included every human on Earth.

This forum was why Cheng Yang knew so much about the situation in other countries and how humanity discovered that the apocalypse had been a global crisis.

“My Lord, what just happened?” Ma Tao had fallen down when the light had appeared and the other’s hadn’t done much better.

“Didn’t you heard why the messenger of the gods said?” Cheng Yang shrugged, “I don’t know specifically what happened but it was probably something good.”

“He mentioned a reward…” Zhou Jie murmured, “Wait! Why do I have a system pane? Isn’t that only for Professionals?”

For a glorious moment, Zhou Jie thought that the gods made everyone a Professional but they weren’t so generous. His new system pane was incredibly simple.

Zhou Jie
No Affiliation
Class: None
Experience Fragments: 0

The biggest reward that the gods bestowed upon humanity today wasn’t actually the cities that were built in the safe zones. The truly important change was that even ordinary people could now collect Experience Fragments.

From now on, as long as they were brave, ordinary people could gather the funds needed for a class change ceremony on their own. Monsters were horrifyingly strong compared with a single ordinary person but what about ten ordinary people? Twenty of them? In the end, monsters were unintelligent beasts so with some planning and courage ordinary people could kill them.

As long as they were able to collect ten Experience Fragments, no one could stop them from becoming a Professional.

“Don’t worry about the god’s reward.” Cheng Yang reassured the six refugees he had brought with him, “I was already going to allow you to perform a class change ceremony.”

All it took was that one sentence to calm them down. To them, Cheng Yang represented a golden opportunity. How many people in the safe zone were selling they had in order to become a Professional? How much more would they sacrifice to gain political power too? Obedience was a much more reasonable price to pay.

Then, Cheng Yang urged them to speed up so that they would be able to reach Phoenix Village before nightfall.

The final part of the reward humanity was given was an increasingly hostile environment. All around the world, monsters underwent a mass evolution. Although it only affected a small portion of all monsters, that mass evolution had made Standard-Grade Immature monsters commonplace.

Fortunately, before he left that morning, Cheng Yang had ordered his generals not to venture too far from the village walls. Hopefully this allowed them to avoid any unforeseen disaster.

When Liu Wei and the others saw the tall walls of Phoenix Village, they were shocked. It seemed to magnificent for humans to have built in just a few short days.

Cheng Yang ignored their questions. After all, if they weren’t able to understand the ins and outs of the village in a day or two someone else would tell them.

Using his authority, Cheng Yang slowly opened the village gates and brought his guests into the Inner Village.

When Zhou Jie and the other saw the numerous refugees living outside in Phoenix Village, it seemed like this place was the same as the Cloud City safe zone. However, once you looked more carefully, there was one crucial difference.

The refugees were smiling.

Not all of them were but those that didn’t were the exception.

In Cloud City it was common to see people sell their bodies in public for a piece of bread but not here. Consistent meals had given these people the confidence to live as members of a civilized society.

Once Cheng Yang’s group passed through the Outer Village, they were greeted by an even more amazing sight. Every person in the Inner Village was a Professional. To them, it was clear from a single glance which side was stronger between the Cloud City safe zone and Phoenix Village.

They didn’t even know if all the people here represented the total fighting strength of Phoenix Village!

Last Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

Cheng Yang swaggered through the city while being escorted by Yuan Jianzhe.

This was a situation that none of the safe zone residents had seen before.

Along the way, the army commander amicably chatted with Cheng Yang, trying to probe him for information.

When Cheng Yang finally passed through the barrier without revealing anything, Yuan Jianzhe was gloomy.

These last few days he had believed himself to be the most powerful person in the city. Even though the shop managers were clearly far more powerful than he was, since they couldn’t leave the shops, Yuan Jianzhe was able to ignore their existence.

Today’s events had shattered that illusion. That NPC, that man? Where did he come from? This world or the one the NPC’s came from?

These problems plagued Yuan Jianzhe’s heart and he was eager to find answers.

“Commander, are we just going to let them go?” Sita Fu asked.

Yuan Jianzhe motioned to a man behind him, “Old Ho, send some members from your Citizen’s Defense Militia to intercept them. Fu, follow behind them secretly to observe their reaction.”

Lao Ho, the former deputy mayor used to be on the same level as Yuan Jianzhe but now he could only obey him like a lackey. After the apocalypse, Yuan Jianzhe’s authority experience massive growth.

Neither person dared to disobey his commands and promptly acted to follow them.

As Cheng Yang and the others walked back to Phoenix Village, Ma Tao was listening to his loved ones experiences during the apocalypse. Just like with any family, the end of the world drastically changed their lives.

The other three people just followed them nervously. Up until now they hadn’t been able to determine why Cheng Yang had brought them. Although Ma Tao had been talking with his family, they weren’t able to join the conversation.

They knew their fate was being controlled by the man leading their group if only because he was able to pressure Yuan Jianzhe into handing them over. Unless he was strong enough to do so, there was no way he would have been able to bargain with the military commander.

“Um, excuse me sir…” Zhou Jie couldn’t stand the depressing atmosphere and took the initiative to greet Cheng Yang.

“You don’t need to call me sir, I’m younger than you. Just Cheng Yang or my Lord is fine.”

Ma Tao stopped the six refugees when he heard Zhou Jie start talking, “This is the Lord of Phoenix Village and if you want to live there I suggest you address him as My Lord and not by his name.”

“Phoenix Village?” Zhou Jie asked in confusion, “I’ve never heard of a city with that name near here.”

“After the apocalypse we built a village where Phoenix Slope used to be so naturally we called it Phoenix Village.” Cheng Yang explained. “If you want to become a citizen of mine I will grant you the right to become a Professional but in exchange you must promise to become a government official and obey my commands.”

Zhou Jie was overjoyed by those terms. He would be able to gain both literal and political power at the same time? Phoenix Village couldn’t be in a worse state than Cloud City so what did he have to lose?

Cheng Yang grinned but didn’t elaborate.

“My Lord, can you tell us why you came to find us?” Liu Wei asked at that time.

When Cheng Yang stopped and looked back at her she tensed up. Hopefully she hadn’t escaped a pack of wolves to enter a tiger’s den.

Right before Yuan Jianzhe’s subordinates found her, she had been apprehended by the captain of the Red Cloud Militia. He wanted her to prostitute herself to him in exchange for a position in his militia. Although these were rather generous conditions, she had refused to sacrifice her dignity. If Cheng Yang hadn’t taken her away from the safe zone, the Red Cloud Militia captain would have made living there difficult for her.

“Someone asked me to save you.” Cheng Yang replied bluntly, “You should know her, Pang Sun.”

“Pang Sun? How was she…” Liu Wei exclaimed.

“She’s dating one of my good friends.” Cheng Yang explained.

Liu Wei relaxed after hearing that. If Pang Sun trusted this man to find her, he was probably safe to be with.

Suddenly, a pair of militia members approached the group.

One of them walked over to Cheng Yang and said: “Whew, isn’t she hot? How are you? Why don’t you let us take that pretty lady somewhere nice?”

“Shut your damn mouth.” Liu Wei snapped at him.

Whew… this one is feisty! I like that in a woman.” The man laughed lewdly.

Cheng Yang tilted his head and sneered. It seemed like Yuan Jianzhe didn’t respect him in the slightest, they’d only traveled half a kilometer from the barrier but someone had already jumped out to cause trouble for him. If claimed he wasn’t behind this not even a child would believe him.

What a shame these people were too quick to try and test him. If they just waited a while longer and watched him slaughter a monster horde neither of these messengers would have to die.

“If you want to leave there’s still a little time.” Cheng Yang said coldly, “Otherwise, I don’t mind killing you both.”

Cheng Yang’s vicious words shut up the man in front of him but he quickly recovered. He was acting under the orders of the military commander Yuan Jianzhe and this was his domain. Why would he be afraid of a single man even if he was a Professional?

“You want to kill us huh?” The lewd man asked, “If you’re not careful I’m going to-“

Cheng Yang didn’t even have the patience to let him finish. As soon as his Icicle Blast’s cast time was over, he sent it flying into the man’s chest. His voice went quiet and his life ebbed, but the look of arrogance in his eyes didn’t even have time to get replaced with shock.

Cheng Yang didn’t regret his actions in the slightest. He knew many of the original militia members and this one would have just harmed people if left alive.

“How dare you kill him?” The other militia member was panicking, he couldn’t understand how his partner died. He didn’t even recognize the skill Cheng Yang had used.

“Stop talking or I’ll kill you too. Now scurry back to your master and let him know that I’m not someone he can afford to offend.”

Cheng Yang cold attitude scared the militia member, the six refugees and even Ma Tao. Not one of the could help but let fear creep into their hearts when they looked at him.

The militia member swallowed his words and ran.

“Well, let’s go.” Cheng Yang turned around with a laugh. The look of his face was one of someone telling off a child, not someone who killed a man.

The six refugees had a complex expression on their faces but still obediently followed after him.

A couple hundred meters later, Cheng Yang slaughtered a monster horde.

The scene of him insta-killing monster after monster was almost more frightening for Zhou Jie and the others than when he committed murder. None of them could forget the insurmountable power of a monster horde and yet, Cheng Yang was tearing through them as if they were made of paper.

After exterminating the forty plus monsters in the horde, Cheng Yang turned around to stare at pile of rubble. Shortly after, his group left the area.

A few minutes later, two soldiers crawled out from under the rubble. Their hands were shaking and their eyes were filled with fear. Their imaginations couldn’t help but think of a scenario where Cheng Yang wasn’t killing monsters but their allies instead.

“Quickly, we need to report this to the commander! This man… this monster definitely isn’t from Earth.” One of them said in horror.

The duo was only able to calm down once they had safely reached the safe zone barrier.

Yuan Jianzhe had been waiting right inside the barrier for the last half hour and when he saw his subordinates faces, he knew he was about to receive bad news. He had already heard the story of the militia members Cheng Yang had threatened and was in a fowl mood.

“Commander, that monster he… he wiped out a horde of more than forty monsters all on his own.” The soldier quickly reported.

The commander frowned, “Why did you ignore my orders? You should have kept following him.”

“I’m sorry commander but we were discovered.” The soldier admitted with a bitter expression, “If we had kept following him I’m afraid he would have killed us. Since this news was important on its own we retreated. We will accept out punishment commander.”

　As Yuan Jianzhe thought about what punishment to administer, a loud voice boomed down from the heavens.

“Pitiful ants, congratulations! Today marks the tenth day of your pathetic struggles. Your hard work has pleased the gods and as such they have decided to bestow upon you a reward! They do very much hope you will enjoy it.”

It was that voice again!

It was a voice that every human on Earth remembered since it had announced the end of their peaceful lives.

What horrors had that voice announced this time?

It claimed to be rewarding them but who would believe that? Last time it had promised them the next stage in human evolution but instead nearly half of the population died!

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

“I can agree to your first condition but the second is out of the question.” Cheng Yang countered, unwilling to give the manager the initiative, “Most of the potions I make will be used to satisfy my own needs, you can buy the leftovers. Moreover, I can only give you some of the Mana Recovery Potions and Health Recovery Potions I refine.”

The manager’s eyes filled with crocodile tears. “That’s far too little, what about just fifty percent?”

“I can’t do fifty percent but I’m feeling generous so I’ll sell you twenty percent of what I make every day.” Cheng Yang smiled mockingly. In a seller’s market what room did this manager have to negotiate?

The boss almost started to really cry. Twenty percent was still six potions but compared to the thirty he made a day that was far too little!

“You know,” Cheng Yang said, throwing the manager a carrot now that he had used the stick, “If I’m in a good mood I’ll give you a few more potions that day. Of course, if you want to pay more I can agree to give you more right now.”

The manager saw Cheng Yang’s wicked smile and sighed. He’d always thought of himself as a sly person but he’d been dancing on Cheng Yang’s palm this whole time.

Even though he had realized this what could the manager do? Cheng Yang already knew how valuable his potions were so if he didn’t buy them someones else would.

The dejected manager conjured a contract and allowed Cheng Yang to sign it. As a contract made using gods rules, the terms were inviolable. If either party were to violate the agreement, they would be killed by god.

Of course, before signing, Cheng Yang forced the manager to add a time period of one year to the contract. He planned to live for a long time and didn’t want to be tied to such an insignificant NPC forever.

As for how Cheng Yang was going to deliver the potions, the manager was able to provide him with a time saving solution. Since there was an Alchemy Tower in Phoenix Village Cheng Yang could just deliver the potions to that manager. She would then be able to deliver them to the manager in the Cloud City safe zone.

When the manager signed the contract, Cheng Yang was able to learn his name: Zhao Yi.

Seeing his name, Cheng Yang wanted to vomit. No wonder this guy was so greedy, he should have been named Zhao Yi instead.

TL Note: The manager’s real name literally translates as “To surpass one hundred million” and the manager’s suggested name literally translates as “One hundred million trillion”

“Mr. Zhao, I have a question.” Cheng Yang tucked his copy of the contract inside a bag, “Since you were able to tell how valuable my potions were, the manager for the Alchemy Tower in my territory should have as well, right? Why didn’t she offer to buy them from me?”

“That’s because your territory is still a village. The shop managers in villages do not have the authority to purchase good from residents of this realm. To compensate, god granted them the ability to bestow Professions. Not only that, but god also directly controls what they sell so sometimes really special items can appear in their stores!”

Zhao Yi was nearly drooling with jealousy when he talked about the territory shop managers. However, unless the manager had the power to fight god there was nothing he could do to change his station.

“Now, Mr. Cheng, if you wouldn’t mind giving me today’s potions…” Zhao Yi reminded politely.

Cheng Yang smiled and handed the manager six potions. “Twenty percent, as agreed.”

Zhao Yi sighed. When saw Cheng Yang refining potions he had planned to obtain all thirty of them. Who knew it was going to turn out like this?

With a flick of Zhao Yi’s finger, he transferred the payment to Cheng Yang.

When Cheng Yang checked the transfer he was overjoyed. The manager had sent him 180 Experience Fragments instead of 120! He had forgotten that everything was more expensive in the safe zones.

“If you raise the price a little, I’ll sell you the rest of the potions I made today.” Cheng Yang said, waving a potions in front of Zhao Yi’s face.

Zhao Yi nearly started to cry again. “Forty Experience Fragments each is the highest I can go.”

For Cheng Yang, thirteen times the original price was very satisfying. Although he felt bad about forcing the manager into a corner like this, what use did an NPC have for money?

When Zhao Yi bought the remaining potions he was fairly happy but didn’t dare to show it. If he wasn’t able to keep a poker face that demon Cheng Yang would try and raise the price again. Although he was a crafty merchant, in front of Cheng Yang he was more like a piggy bank.

Even so, he wasn’t a complete moron. Although he told Cheng Yang that certain instance dungeons would restrict potion use, the reality was that all Hell Difficulty instances would. Since the Hell Difficulty instances were the most cost efficient, Cheng Yang’s potions would likely be worth far more than what Zhao Yi paid.

As the two were finalizing their business deal, footsteps could be heard outside the shop. Eight people entered the shop but not a single one of the people Cheng yang wanted to find was among them.

Standing in front was a middle aged man that looked to be about forty. A Warrior’s sword was hanging at his waist, in striking contract to his commander’s uniform. This was Yuan Jianzhe, commander of the People’s Liberation Army of Cloud City and the highest authority in the safe zone.

“Commander, this is the NPC who issued the quest.” Sita Fu pointed at Cheng Yang from behind Yuan Jianzhe.

At this point, Cheng Yang was able to confirm that his plan had worked. Since he had operated out of one of the shops, the military thought he was an NPC.

Yuan Jianzhe walked up to Cheng Yang, standing just a foot away. “Tell me, why did you want us to find those people?”

“Does that mean you found them?” Cheng Yang ignored the commanders question.

“I have but I will ask you again. Why did you want us to find those people? If you plan to harm them I’m afraid I can’t give them to you.” Yuan Jianzhe was unphased by Cheng Yang’s rude attitude.

Cheng Yang felt this performance was rather dry. He knew the commander had strong morals as compared to most people but he knew what Yuan Jianzhe would become. Although he would never sacrifice a large number of civilians for his own benefit, when tens of civilians were dying every day why would he care about a mere half dozen. Especially when he had something to gain. If he were able to get his hands on the necklace Cheng Yang had shown Sita Fu his position as the leader of Cloud City would be more secure.

Still, Cheng Yang humored him. “Rest assured, no harm will come to those people.”

Sure enough, after hearing Cheng Yang’s promise, Yuan Jianzhe was satisfied. If he were truly worried about those people’s safety he wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

Yuan Jianzhe turned towards Sita Fu, “Bring them in.”

“Yes sir.” Sita Fu opened the door to the shop and six people were escorted in by a group of soldiers.

The people Cheng Yang had been looking for glanced around nervously. They had no idea what fate had in store for them.

When they entered the Alchemy Tower, three of them let out yelps of joy when they saw Ma Tao behind Cheng Yang.

“Little Ma?”

“Tao….”

Those three people tried to run over to Ma Tao but were held back by the soldiers. Until Yuan Jianzhe allowed it, those soldiers wouldn’t allow Cheng Yang or Ma Tao near the people they had gathered.

“Mom, dad, Little Bell, don’t worry.” Ma Tao said, tearing up.

It would seem that the three people Ma Tao was looking for were the right ones, but what about the others? Cheng Yang glanced behind Yuan Jianzhe to check for the people he was looking for. Zhou Jie was standing with a somber expression and next to him was a relatively handsome twenty four year old woman, Wang Lu.

Behind those two was a young woman that, even when covered in grime, was still quite beautiful. Although she seemed weak, her eyes were like those of a vicious beast.

“These were the people you’re looking for?” Yuan Jianzhe scowled at Ma Tao.

Yuan Jianzhe had already been suspicious about Sita Fu’s claim that these people were NPCs but now he was certain they weren’t. What kind of NPC would have family members on Earth?

“They are. Thank you for being so efficient.” Cheng Yang smiled, “I only really wanted those three in the back, the other’s are my servant’s family. Since you have found them, here is your promised rewards.” Cheng Yang handed Yuan Jianzhe two pieces of Green Bronze equipment and the Black Iron necklace.

Cheng Yang wasn’t afraid of the soldiers in front of him but he still didn’t want to have to fight his way out of the city was six ordinary people.

Before receiving the necklace, Yuan Jianzhe had planned to detain Cheng Yang. However, he knew what the unexpected necklace implied. Cheng Yang was asking him to forget everything that had happened today. Although he wanted to question Cheng Yang, he didn’t want to touch the bottom line of someone who had so much equipment.

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter

Walking over to a small wooden bench, Cheng Yang took off his cloak and sat down. Imitating his Lord, Ma Tao did the same.

Even so, Ma Tao felt that this plan was even worse than the first one! How was this going to help them find his family? In the end, he decided to trust Cheng Yang and give his plan time to work.

It only took ten minutes for Cheng Yang to put his plan into action. A man wearing a military uniform had just entered the Alchemy Tower. He wasn’t just a soldier but also one of Yuan Jianzhe’s trusted aides, Sita Fu. He was one of the few people with the authorization to buy things on behalf of the military from the shops in the safe zone.

When Sita Fu entered the store, he nearly jumped in shock. He’s made over a hundred visits to the various stores in the safe zone and every time the manager was alone. Whenever he saw another person enter the store, they would be thrown out seconds later.

This time there were two unknown people, both of which obviously were Professionals. Judging by the fact that they were both wearing eye catching pieces of equipment, Sita Fu reached the conclusion that these people were also NPCs like the manager. Otherwise, with the manager’s temper, those two would be lying on their faces outside the shop.

Just as Sita Fu decided to ignore the new NPCs, Cheng Yang walked over to him and said, “Brave warrior, I have a wonderful piece of equipment for you if you’re interested.”

“Equipment?” Sita Fu asked in a disinterest voice. He had seen plenty of equipment for sale but none of it could catch his eye. It was all overpriced junk that only increased a stat by one. The army had a hard enough time getting enough Experience Fragments to buy food and medicine for the civilians, how could they have enough to spare on trashy equipment?

“Yes, equipment and of a very high quality.” Cheng Yang said energetically, bringing out a necklace and handing it to Sita Fu.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Sita Fu took the necklace.

“Black Iron necklace? Adds two to the Physical Attack stat and one to Physical Defense? This is…” Sita Fu was startled by how good the equipment was.

This necklace was enough to make Sita Fu reconsider his opinion on equipment. The Silversmithy only had low grade and crude jewelry that paled in comparison to this one necklace. However, how could such a good piece of equipment be cheap? Although he had a large amount of Experience Fragments on him now, it was for purchasing medication for the sick. He didn’t dare to misuse those funds.

“Is this necklace for sale?” Sita Fu finally asked after some hesitation.

“I’m sorry but I can’t sell this to you.” Cheng Yang said sadly, “but if you were willing to do a small favor for me I’ll gift this necklace to you.”

“An NPC quest?” Sita Fu wondered. The way that NPC was talking really made it seem like a quest. He showed off a great necklace and refused to sell it but was willing to give it to him if he completed a task. This was definitely a quest!

“Absolutely, what do you need me to do?” Sita Fu asked, his heart racing with excitement.

“I’m looking for a few people and need your help finding them. If it’s too difficult to complete on your own you can ask someone else to help you. As long as you find them on your own this wonderful necklace is yours but if you ask others for help I’ll give you two pieces of equipment of lesser quality.”

“Who are you looking for?”

Seeing this Cheng Yang chuckled to himself. It was obvious to him what this soldier was thinking but there was no way he’d let him take earn a piece of Black Iron equipment.

“I need you to find the Ma Xiangnan couple and their daughter in law Xiao Ling, Liu Wei, Wang Lu, and Zhou Jie…” Cheng Yang said before describing their appearances.

Hearing how many people he needed to find, Sita Fu knew the necklace he had seen was out of his reach. “I’m going to go ask my commander for help. Should we bring them here when we find them?”

“Please do. Once I see all six here I’ll give you your reward.” Cheng Yang smiled.

Sita Fu quickly bought what he came for and left.

After the soldier left, Ma Tao asked: “Are Wang Lu and Zhou Jie your friends?”

“No.” Cheng Yang replied pulling out his alchemy tools, “They are talented people who can be useful to Phoenix Village.”

Since he would have to wait a long time for the military to find the people he needed, Cheng Yang planned to refine his potions for the day.

Having leveled up his Profession to Standard-Grade, Cheng Yang was now able to attempt to make a potion forty times. In addition, his success rate was around seventy five percent after his Refine skill had leveled up.

This allowed him to make thirty potions with the forty Energy he had. When he was finished, his Profession was five percent closer to leveling up today. Extrapolating from that number, he would need to refine six hundred potions and twenty days to become a High-Grade Alchemist.

When Cheng Yang finished, he turned around to find the manager staring at him with greedy eyes. His appearance was that of someone who had discovered something amazing.

“You’re an Alchemist right? Do you have a Profession Talent?” the manager asked.

Cheng Yang frowned, why was the manager acting like this? The Alchemy Tower manager in Phoenix Village hadn’t acted like that when he earned his Alchemy Profession.

“I have one, yes. Is that odd?” Cheng Yang asked.

“Is that odd! This is a Profession Talent we’re talking about! Do you know what they represent?” The manager shouted in exasperation.

“All I know is that my potions are twice as effective as normal.” Cheng Yang snapped, “Why, can you not do that?”

“You…” The manager forced himself to calm down. “I cannot. However, you can so I wonder, would you be willing to make a deal with me?”

“What kind of deal?”

“It’s simple, I’ll buy any potions you make for three times the price of a normal one.”

Just as Cheng Yang was about to agree, he suddenly he remembered something: if there was a motive, there was profit to be had. Since this guy was willing to buy his potions that meant he was confident in selling them. This meant that his potions were worth far more than just three times the ordinary price.

“I’m sorry but I can’t accept.” Cheng Yang acted apologetic, “I can’t just take advantage of you, it’ll make me feel bad.”

“Don’t worry about me, you’re a talent worth nurturing.” The manager said with great sorrow, “I want you to mature as soon as possible so don’t worry about the terms being unfavorable. If there’s nothing else just sign here.”

“Absolutely not. When I was transferred, the manager in my village didn’t seem to care about my Profession Talent so how could it be profitable? If you buy it for three times the normal price I’m afraid you’ll go out of business. Unless you can prove you won’t suffer a loss I refuse to sell my potions to you.”

“If I tell you why I’m so confident will you promise to sell me your potions?”

“Of course.”

If a sly person like Liu Hau were here, he would instantly see through Cheng Yang’s façade. Unfortunately for the manager, Cheng Yang had completely fooled him.

“I trust you’ve noticed how beneficial potions are right?” The manager whispered to Cheng Yang, “However, there are several places where their use is limited. Some instance dungeons will only let you use a certain number of potions and others restrict you to using Standard or Low Grade potions. So, do you see why I’m so confident?”

“Oh? So they were so valuable?” Cheng Yang smirked, “In that case isn’t three times the price far too low”

“Didn’t you promise to sell?” The manager said with a sour expression, “How can you-“

“I promised that I would sell them, not what the price would be. Since these potions are so valuable doesn’t ten times the normal price sound much more reasonable?”

“That price is far too high!” The manager said after a moment of speechlessness. “Although it might sell the profit margin will only be slightly better than a normal potion! Isn’t that too unprofitable?”

“Why would I care how much profit you make?” Cheng Yang asked shamelessly, “All I care about is how much profit I’ll make. If you don’t want to buy them for that price don’t try and claim I broke my promise!”

Cheng Yang’s declaration shocked the manager. “If you promise to sell your potions in this safe zone then I’ll buy them at ten times the normal price.” He grunted through gritted teeth. “You also need to provide me with eighty percent of the potions you make every day. Now please just sign the contract.”

Last Chapter| Index | Next Chapter