Volume One, Chapter 11: Obtaining the Violet Orchid and Entering the Secret Dungeon!
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Lin Yi stretched out his body, pushing his Lightness Technique to its absolute limit. His speed was now comparable to that of a phantom assassin.
With this, his ability to harass and restrain enemies on the battlefield would be greatly enhanced!
“Right!”
“There’s also the new skill I unlocked—Marsh Domain!”
Lin Yi slapped his forehead and hurriedly checked the details of his new skill.
[A marshland with a radius of fifty meters is generated ahead. Enemies trapped within it will be bound!]
[Their movement speed will also be reduced by 85% for five seconds!]
Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. Once an enemy stepped into the marsh, they would be almost completely immobilized.
Five seconds was more than enough time for him to unleash Arc Shock twice!
Lin Yi secretly rejoiced. “From now on, I’ll have far more confidence in team battles!”
Before he realized it, Lin Yi had already undergone a quiet transformation. He was no longer the inexperienced novice who had just entered the world.
Even among Black-Iron class holders, he could be considered a formidable expert!
Immediately afterward, Lin Yi opened his character interface.
[Level: LV10 (4,791/10,000)]
[Attributes: Strength 60, Spirit 140, Vitality 70, Agility 75]
[Health: 800]
[Mana: 1,650]
[…]
If Bai Jia saw Lin Yi’s status panel, she would probably feel utterly ashamed.
Every one of his skills had reached its maximum level and shone brilliantly. His equipment was entirely Black-Iron grade, with three Bronze items among them.
One had to understand that most Level Twelve and Thirteen class holders possessed only one or two pieces of Black-Iron equipment, while the rest still wore beginner gear.
That was precisely why they wandered through low-level wilderness zones such as the Village of Confusion, hoping to encounter elite monsters or lord monsters and obtain better equipment.
By comparison, Lin Yi’s setup was enough to make anyone green with envy!
After admiring it for a while, Lin Yi closed the panel, bent down, and began dissecting the Blood-Patterned Wolf King.
Bai Jia, knowing her place, wandered idly around the cave, not daring to entertain any improper thoughts.
The Blood-Patterned Wolf King’s pelt, claws, and fangs were all priceless, high-quality materials.
Lin Yi could truly be said to have struck it rich today.
Together with the equipment he had collected earlier, the total value of his spoils had reached 3.5 million!
Buying a Black-Iron Orb would naturally be no problem now.
After finishing with the Blood-Patterned Wolf King’s loot, Lin Yi was just about to call for Bai Jia to leave when her startled voice rang out.
“Lin Yi, come look!”
Lin Yi’s spirits lifted, and he hurried over.
The flame between his fingers suddenly expanded, illuminating the gloomy cavern.
Before Bai Jia stood two small plants swaying gently in the breeze, radiating a violet glow.
[Violet Orchid Grass: Contains vigorous life force. Ineffective on class holders.]
[When consumed by ordinary people, it can cure all illnesses and restore them to peak health!]
Once class holders awakened, their physical condition already reached its peak.
It would continue to strengthen as their levels increased, and powerful experts could even maintain their youthful appearance indefinitely.
Unless they suffered repeated and severe injuries, their bodies would never deteriorate.
Ordinary people, however, were not so fortunate. Illness remained a constant affliction in their lives.
A delighted light flickered in Lin Yi’s eyes. The Violet Orchid Grass could not have been more suitable as a gift for his mother.
“How about we take one each?”
After all, Bai Jia had discovered them, while he only needed one.
“Mm-hmm!”
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Bai Jia naturally had no objections. The two of them carefully picked the plants and sealed them in special bags.
“Look, there’s light over there!”
After the Violet Orchid Grass had been collected, the dirt on the stone wall suddenly crumbled away, revealing a trace of soft white light.
How could there be light in this dim cavern?
Lin Yi furrowed his brow slightly and said cautiously, “Step back.”
Bai Jia retreated while Lin Yi muttered an incantation under his breath. A gigantic fireball appeared in response.
In an instant, the cavern was as bright as day. The fireball slammed into the stone wall.
“Crash!”
Stone fragments rained down, and the white light grew increasingly intense.
Lin Yi followed up with another Fireball spell.
“Boom!”
The fragile stone wall finally collapsed, and a dense radiance burst forth.
The two of them instinctively turned toward the source of the light.
There, suspended in midair, was a vortex of light roughly two meters in diameter. It seemed to possess a powerful force of attraction.
Lin Yi and Bai Jia exchanged a glance, their delight plain to see.
“A dungeon realm!”
The experience available inside was incomparable to anything in the outside world.
Not only were there elite monsters and lord monsters, but clearing the dungeon successfully also yielded generous rewards.
Yet such places were extraordinarily dangerous.
For ordinary people who ventured inside recklessly, survival was often a matter of sheer luck.
Therefore, whenever news of a dungeon realm entrance leaked out, all the major forces would swarm toward it.
They regarded such places as priceless treasures and fought fiercely to claim them.
“Buzz…”
Holding his staff, Lin Yi lightly touched the white halo before him.
In an instant, a stream of information surged into his mind like a tide.
[Level Fifteen Black-Iron dungeon realm, one of the entrances to the Dark Altar. Difficulty: Hard.]
[Restricted to those below Level Twelve. A maximum of six people may enter as a party!]
A trace of astonishment flashed through Bai Jia’s eyes. This was a Hard-difficulty Black-Iron dungeon realm!
Dungeon realms were divided into five difficulty tiers: Normal, Adventure, Hard, King, and Hell.
The Hard tier was already an extremely challenging trial.
With Bai Jia’s former party, even a Normal dungeon realm would have been difficult to handle.
Lin Yi was equally shocked, but a burning light soon surged within his eyes. Hard difficulty meant greater value.
“How about we give it a try together?”
“Okay!”
Bai Jia gritted her teeth. Although she hesitated at first, she quickly steeled her resolve.
The scenes of Lin Yi fighting the Blood-Patterned Wolf King alone remained vivid in her mind, filling her with confidence in him.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave right now!”
Worried that someone else might seize the initiative, Lin Yi immediately stepped into the white halo. At once, he was surrounded by a dizzying sensation of swirling motion.
…
Elsewhere, in a hidden woodland on the Marsh Plains, explorers arrived one after another, gathering into a crowd.
At the center stood Cheng Muqing beside a middle-aged man.
All unrelated bystanders had been cleared from the area. No one dared approach, a clear demonstration of the Cheng family’s influence in River City.
At that moment, the two of them gazed expectantly at the white halo ahead.
The dungeon realm they had dreamed of had finally appeared!
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“The information from the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures really is reliable. That one million was money well spent!”
“With this dungeon realm, there should be no problem with the young lady advancing to become a Black-Iron class holder within a week.”
“She may even be able to go further!”
Ordinarily, when powerful experts took newcomers hunting, the experience penalty was extremely severe.
Inside a dungeon realm, however, the situation was greatly improved.
Cheng Muqing’s face was filled with excitement. Thinking that this opportunity might allow her to surpass Liu Wanqing, the corners of her lips curled into a smile.
As the daughters of two of River City’s four great families, the two had never stopped competing with each other.
The middle-aged man, however, wore a deeply furrowed brow.
“The Dark Altar? Restricted to six people below Level Twelve?”
Cheng Muqing froze, and soon afterward she received the system notification as well.
“No matter what, let’s go in and take a look first.”
“My father gave me a teleportation talisman, so our safety is assured.”
The middle-aged man nodded, then issued his orders.
“Lei He, Witch Zhi—you four will enter with the young lady!”
“Remember, this dungeon realm has another entrance.”
“If you encounter anyone else, your first priority is to protect the young lady’s safety!”
“Yes, Lord Cheng De!”
The four Level Twelve youths answered respectfully. Each had a different class, and their party composition was exceptionally balanced.
Several of them even possessed rare classes and formidable strength.
“Let’s go!”
Cheng Muqing waved her jade-like hand and stepped into the halo first.
A trace of worry crossed Cheng De’s eyes. In a deep voice, he ordered, “Keep a close watch on the surroundings. Do not let anyone approach this place!”
“Yes!”
…
Lin Yi, of course, had no idea that Cheng Muqing had also entered the same dungeon realm.
When he recovered from the dizziness and his feet settled firmly on the ground, he found himself in a gloomy, eerie forest. Ghostly flames drifted through the air, and the oppressive atmosphere was suffocating.
A timid person who came here might well be scared senseless.
Without realizing it, Bai Jia tightly grasped Lin Yi’s hand.
Her heart raced, and her cheeks flushed faintly. Embarrassed, she quickly let go.
Lin Yi smiled inwardly and checked the information log.
[You have entered the Dark Altar dungeon realm. Stop the ritual of the demon mage Cassio!]
“A demon mage?”
A glint flashed through Lin Yi’s eyes. If the lord monster was a mage-type creature, there was a good chance it would drop mage equipment.
He led Bai Jia forward, preparing to cross the eerie forest.
Black-Iron dungeon realms were limited in scale. Finding the lord monster was not difficult, provided they first cleared out the lesser monsters along the way.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
Strange sounds echoed through the forest, and Bai Jia instinctively tightened her grip on Lin Yi’s sleeve.
Lin Yi’s gaze sharpened. White Radiant Armor quietly spread across his entire body.
Immediately afterward, one skeletal knight after another came into view.
They wielded bone spears, with ghastly white flames burning in their eye sockets.
Mounted on skeletal warhorses, they looked especially sinister.
Once monsters reached Level Ten, their strength underwent a qualitative leap.
Lin Yi’s expression grew solemn.
The true trial had begun!
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