Behind the Black Tower, where the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder, everyone held their breath, staring at the number pointing to the 70th floor, all hoping Bai Qiu could clear it.
Unfortunately, as a flash of light appeared at the Tower’s entrance, Bai Qiu stepped out with a calm, unhurried stride.
Hidden beneath his Stealth Cloak and Skyward Battle Armor, his face couldn’t be seen, nor could anyone tell what mood he was in.
The surrounding players instinctively parted to make way for him.
His Stealth Cloak had a few tears, and his armor showed some wear, but overall the damage wasn’t severe—nothing too difficult to repair.
“Boss Bai Qiu, what kind of monster is on the 70th floor? Is it really that hard?” a young man couldn’t help but ask.
His question was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring waves.
The gathered crowd began asking questions one after another, hoping Bai Qiu would clear up their doubts.
Bai Qiu stopped walking, and the noisy chatter gradually quieted.
He stood there for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
Then he said calmly, “Starting from the 50th floor, monsters with at least B- rank in a single attribute begin to appear. Every five floors, the difficulty increases significantly.”
“They are real living beings—you can kill them, or you can tame them. As for how strong they are, you’ll have to climb and see for yourselves.”
With that, Bai Qiu leapt upward in a single bound, jumping straight onto the Black Tower and disappearing from everyone’s sight.
“Sigh… Boss is giving us too much credit. Climb to the 50th floor ourselves? Last week I got stuck by two wyvern lords—I still don’t even know how I’m getting past them this week!” one player lamented.
The surrounding crowd quickly fell into discussion.
There were quite a few people who could defeat a King-tier monster of the same level one-on-one.
But fighting multiple at once in a confined space was a completely different story.
Even for the top three players in Zone 2243— Aside from the mutated Huang Qi, both Zhao Daqiang and Ning Xingxue had been overwhelmed and killed by multiple King-tier monsters due to the lack of space and time to prepare.
…
Bai Qiu made a trip to the tailor shop and the blacksmith, repairing his damaged equipment.
The Wind-Hiding Barrier Pearl was a special item—it could conceal appearance.
Worn on the body, it granted invisibility.
Attached to a weapon, it could hide the weapon itself, making it impossible for others to determine its type, length, or even its class.
He had spent nearly 24 hours inside the Tower.
Only after being reminded by other players did he realize that today’s system log had dropped something major.
System Log:
[Shattered Celestial Realm — Kaleva Divine Temple is about to open. Players level 20 and above will receive a ticket in their mailbox to travel to the initial island of the Shattered Celestial Realm.]
[Use of the ticket is optional. Players are encouraged to participate and grow stronger quickly. Killing monsters in the Shattered Celestial Realm grants triple experience. Experience reduction for killing lower-level monsters is reduced by 50%, while bonus experience for defeating higher-level monsters is increased by 50%.]
[Shattered Celestial Realm — Kaleva Divine Temple Opening Countdown: 6 days 7 hours 12 minutes 51 seconds]
[Note: Tickets can be used after the countdown ends. If unused within 24 hours, they will be considered forfeited and reclaimed by the system. The Shattered Celestial Realm will remain open for 30 days. Once the duration ends, all surviving players will be automatically returned to the location where they used the ticket.]
Entering the Shattered Celestial Realm meant spending thirty days there—effectively giving up four weeks’ worth of Tower ranking rewards.
But Bai Qiu believed that since this was an opportunity provided by the system for higher-level players, the potential gains would far surpass anything available within the safe zone.
Moreover, he had already experienced firsthand how difficult leveling had become.
Leaving aside the fact that most wild monsters had already been cleared out by groups of players, even with his title bonuses, grinding monsters for experience had become extremely inefficient.
By his own estimate, even if he farmed nonstop without caring about reputation, he might not gain a single level in seven days.
Unless he could constantly find places like that rare hotspot he once encountered—filled with wyverns and dozens of Monarch-tier monsters—then maybe staying in the overworld would be worth considering.
But that was impossible.
He had only found that place thanks to the Fragment Map of Mountains and Rivers.
In the currently accessible regions, it only took a bit of searching for players to locate any area with dense monster populations.
At his current level, if Bai Qiu wanted to level up quickly, he had only two options—either solo-clear high-level secret realms like the asteroid ore vein, or use the ticket to head to the Shattered Celestial Realm.
That said, it actually wasn’t a bad idea.
He was level 33 himself, A Yuan and the Black Crystal Mutated Rock Turtle were level 30 and 31 respectively, Zhang Shiyao was just over level 31, and even Xiao Jin could be brought along to train in the Shattered Celestial Realm.
As for solo speed-clearing high-level dungeons?
Maybe if he stacked his pillow a little higher at night, he’d dream about it.
Still, no harm in dreaming.
But none of that was the priority right now.
The most important thing was to introduce everyone to the turtle—and give it a name.
Returning to the villa, he found an open space and summoned the Black Crystal Mutated Rock Turtle.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed.
“Uh-oh…” Bai Qiu suddenly remembered—the turtle’s weight wasn’t something an ordinary floor could handle.
But it was already too late.
The turtle’s four legs—and even the underside of its shell—had sunk deep into the ground.
While chewing on Adamant Rock, it stretched its head out and looked at Bai Qiu in confusion.
Notably, its loyalty toward Bai Qiu had increased by 15 points, and its affinity by 10.
This was all because, back on the 55th floor, Bai Qiu had shattered a large amount of Adamant Rock using the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear—and stored it all in the turtle’s contract space.
In other words, it no longer needed to stomp on rocks to eat.
It could just pick up the prepared Adamant Rock and chew away—eat until full, sleep, then wake up and eat again.
Life couldn’t be more comfortable.
This made it even more convinced that following Bai Qiu was the right choice.
As for freedom? It didn’t really matter.
Even if it were free, it couldn’t go very far anyway.
Wang Shiyun and Feng Yuling rushed over upon hearing the noise.
A Yuan also looked at the turtle curiously—it seemed like half its body had suddenly emerged from the ground.
Unluckily, Zhang Shiyao was there too.
Bai Qiu felt a bit awkward, cleared his throat, and said:
“Uh… this is our new member. Its formal name is the Black Crystal Mutated Rock Turtle. I’d like everyone to help come up with a nickname for it.”
With that, everyone’s attention shifted, and they began brainstorming a suitable nickname.
In the end, they decided to call it A Yan—similar in pronunciation to A Yuan, and fitting for its name and appearance.
A Yuan was very curious about this new companion and let out a couple of questioning calls.
A Yan responded in kind, and just like that, the two big creatures started “chatting” with each other…
— The end of the Chapter–
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