Chapter 11: The Crowd, Returning

On the way back to Sword Immortal City, Fu Chen explained to Qin Yumo about the issue of monster stealing. In the Perfect Continent, the ownership of a monster is not determined by who lands the final blow. On the contrary, it belongs to the first person who attacked the monster. Clearly, this world’s rules are designed to punish those who like to swoop in halfway and reap the rewards cheaply — making them “lose out by trying to steal a chicken and ending up with a handful of rice,” wasting effort and gaining nothing in the end. Of course, this is not absolute, but Fu Chen couldn’t reveal everything just yet.

Even so, Qin Yumo was visibly astonished. “How do you know all this?”

“Just a guess. Monsters stolen midway that died gave their loot to us; those intercepted earlier, I couldn’t pick up their items at all,” Fu Chen invented a logical explanation that didn’t arouse suspicion.

Recalling the expressions on the team’s faces earlier, Qin Yumo couldn’t help but chuckle. “They probably won’t follow us anymore, right? After such a shock.”

“If they still follow after that, I’d really have to admire him,” Fu Chen joked.

Back in Sword Immortal City, they handed in their tasks first to the southern tailor, then to the elder guard. The former rewarded them with “Cultivation 140, Spirit 70, 200 gold coins,” and added 1 reputation point. The latter gave slightly less: “Cultivation 120, Spirit 60, 180 gold coins,” plus 1 reputation point.

After submitting the tasks, Qin Yumo carefully scanned the heads of people around the city but saw no yellow tokens indicating new quests. She looked disappointed. “So, no more tasks? What do we do next?”

Without hesitation, Fu Chen replied, “Hunt monsters and level up, and meanwhile do the apothecary and blacksmith’s quests.”

Hearing this, Qin Yumo gave a puzzled look at his profile and fell silent, secretly wondering, “Is Hongchen deliberately toying with me?”

If he had known her thoughts, Fu Chen would have smiled and said, “Congratulations, you’ve uncovered the truth.”

The apothecary’s and blacksmith’s quest monsters were also not far from the pond where they had fought earlier, so they could complete them together before returning to the city. Considering not to let [Wasteland] lose the experience of being a newcomer, Fu Chen had deliberately arranged this little trial.

Despite that, Qin Yumo showed no dissatisfaction with Fu Chen’s arrangements and commands.

They first went to the spot where they had been leveling and took on the [Gravefire] quest. Before starting, Fu Chen suggested, “Let’s split up and fight separately. You should also experience fighting alone.”

“Okay!” Qin Yumo agreed without hesitation, separating about ten meters apart to fight on their own.

Watching her use magic skills to kill monsters almost instantly without danger or difficulty, Fu Chen then said, “Since the monsters are low level, you can switch back to the wooden sword and try some close combat.”

Currently, Qin Yumo had only learned one melee skill for wooden sword attacks — [Inch Force]. It was a fundamental skill for martial artists, and Fu Chen had nearly maxed it out in his previous life. So when he chose experience skills earlier, he had let Qin Yumo learn it.

Though just an experience skill, facing a level 3 Gravefire, it still delivered considerable damage. More importantly, close combat inevitably meant enduring monster counterattacks.

Upon entering the Perfect Continent, although death or limb loss didn’t occur, the body’s sensations upon being hit were exactly the same as in reality, indistinguishable.

Fu Chen’s purpose in having Qin Yumo fight up close was to let her experience and adapt to that feeling.

With Qin Yumo’s current attack power, defeating a level 3 Gravefire took about 20 seconds. During that time, the monster could strike back five or six times.

With Fu Chen constantly reminding and carefully guiding her beside her, Qin Yumo couldn’t fully dodge all attacks but managed to avoid vital hits as much as possible.

At first, she endured the pain with sheer willpower and fought normally. But bearing such pain continuously was exhausting, mentally draining.

After more than ten minutes, Qin Yumo couldn’t hold on any longer. Turning to Fu Chen, her shocked expression was impossible to hide.

“What exactly is Hongchen? How can he endure monster counterattacks and keep fighting for hours?”

Noticing her pause, Fu Chen glanced at the task progress and then smiled knowingly. “You can just call me when the task is done. Let’s go hunt some young tail scorpions.”

Hearing this, Qin Yumo thought she could rest while traveling and didn’t argue.

The level 2 young tail scorpions were located outside the Pengcheng Inn, neighboring the small carnivorous flower monsters.

The two hurried forward at full speed but were unexpectedly disrupted by the chaotic scene before them.

Ahead, the sight was a dense, surging crowd rushing about. The noisy, clamorous shouting resembled a bustling morning market.

“Damn it, can’t you guys stop stealing monsters?”

“Looking for a group! Anyone with a spot, please invite me!”

“Brothers, over here! Young tail scorpions have respawned!”

“Fuck, can those who finished fighting move aside? I haven’t touched a single monster for ages…”

Seeing this, Fu Chen knew their plan to seize an early advantage was over. Now, the method to officially enter the Perfect Continent had clearly spread.

The humans of Blue Star were fully embracing the fantastical civilization path of the Perfect Continent — thus beginning a new chapter.

Qin Yumo, unaware of his thoughts, sighed helplessly, “Looks like we can’t do the quests for now.”

“Let’s go somewhere farther to check things out,” Fu Chen proposed, suppressing his thoughts.

Then he led Qin Yumo eastward.

Half an hour later, they entered the territory of level 4 monsters, the [Wasteland Gravefire].

[Health 360/360; Level 4, Wasteland Gravefire; Fire element; Hit rate 87%, Evasion 6%]

After checking the monster’s stats, Fu Chen took the initiative to arrange their tactics.

“We don’t have a level advantage here. Let’s combine our magic skills to fight.”

“Got it!” Qin Yumo nodded decisively and began attacking.

Fu Chen smiled and cooperated by assisting her attacks.

Thus, they focused on killing monsters and leveling up there.

Killing level 4 monsters granted an average reward of “Cultivation 16, Spirit 10” per monster. The gold drops were also higher, and the chance of encountering experience skill scrolls increased.

About fifteen minutes later, Fu Chen’s cultivation level rose again, reaching level 5.

[Half Love Hongchen, Level 5

Cultivation: 4/1400.

Health: 90/90;

True Qi: 90/90;

Spirit: 476

Remaining points: 20;

Remaining talent points: 20.]

“Congratulations, you leveled up again!” Qin Yumo congratulated with a smile.

Then, puzzled, she looked at Fu Chen and asked, “Hongchen, did you hear any sounds just now?”

Fu Chen looked around and nodded, “Yeah, monster roars, the wind, and…”

“Not those. It’s a very familiar kind of music. Didn’t you hear it?” Qin Yumo pressed on.

Hearing this, Fu Chen understood immediately and smiled. “What time do you usually set your alarm for in the morning?”

Qin Yumo suddenly realized, “I set it for seven o’clock. No wonder it sounded familiar — it was my morning alarm.”

Thinking about their schedule for the day, she hesitated, “So, should we…”

Seeing this, Fu Chen smiled and suggested, “Seven o’clock is late already. Time to go back to work. See you next time?”

“Okay, see you next time!” Qin Yumo nodded with a smile, watching Fu Chen disappear before her eyes.