Chapter 11

The first-kill bag yielded three pieces of gear, all of which were level 10 Blue-tier equipment. Xiao Yu checked their stats:

[Azure-Blue Robe] (Blue-tier) Level: 10 Class: General External Defense: 40 Internal Defense: 40 Weight: 6 Durability: 90/90 Bonus Stats: Qi & Blood +160 Internal Energy +80 ……

[Azure-Blue Helmet] (Blue-tier) Level: 10 Class: General External Defense: 12 Internal Defense: 12 Weight: 6 Durability: 90/90 Bonus Stats: Qi & Blood +50 Internal Energy +30 ……

[Azure-Blue Boots] (Blue-tier) Level: 10 Class: General External Defense: 16 Internal Defense: 16 Weight: 6 Durability: 90/90 Bonus Stats: Dodge +5 Stamina +10 ……

None of these three equipment pieces had class restrictions, so he could equip them immediately. As for the two inventory expansion stones, they were extremely rare finds with an appallingly low drop rate.

After opening both chests, Xiao Yu directly advanced to level 14. He replaced all his old equipment, allocated all his stat points into internal martial arts, and checked his character stats, feeling quite satisfied.

ID: [Ceng Jing Shu Guang] Level: 14 Class: Witchcraft Poison Master (East Continent, Tier 2) Health: 627/627 Internal Energy: 1414/1414 Stamina: 110/110 External Attack: 42-80 Internal Attack: 80-277 External Defense: 68 Internal Defense: 159 Dodge: 19 Hit: 35 Critical: 2.3 Attack Speed: 3 ……

For a level 14 Witchcraft Poison Master, having over 250 internal energy put him among the top tier across the entire server. Checking the level leaderboard, Ceng Jing Shu Guang had broken into the top 100, ranking 77th, while the number one player, Falling Feather Dancing Queen, had already reached level 19!

After equipping his new gear, Xiao Yu crushed the inventory expansion stones. His original 80-slot inventory instantly doubled in capacity to 160 slots.

At this moment, Bai Susu walked over.

"I didn't expect Junior Brother to reach level 10 so quickly. When Senior Sister left the sect, I happened to carry a few skill books with me. Seeing how diligent and ambitious Junior Brother is, I'll give them to you..." With that, Bai Susu produced several small booklets from her person.

Xiao Yu quickly reached out to take them, his gaze sweeping across the covers. They were precisely the skills available for cultivation at level 10 Poison: [Venom Gu Technique], [Blood Gu Technique], [Silken Thread Net], and [Frog Jump].

As the designer of the Witchcraft Poison Master class, Xiao Yu was more than familiar with its skills. However, standing in a player's shoes now, he couldn't help examining them one by one.

[Venom Gu Technique]: Wuling Sect poison-type offensive Gu technique that consumes various poison-type Gu insects to inflict prolonged Gu poison damage on the target. Level: 1 Mastery: 1/100 Skill cooldown: 3 seconds Consumes one [Venom Gu] to inflict Gu poison damage on the target, causing them to lose 10 health points every three seconds for 120 seconds. The Gu poison damage scales with the player's attack power and ignores target defense.

[Blood Gu Technique]: Wuling Sect blood-type offensive Gu technique that consumes various blood-type Gu insects to drain health from bleeding targets. Level: 1 Mastery: 1/100 Skill cooldown: 3 seconds Attaches one [Blood Gu] within the target. When the target is in a 'Bleeding' state, it drains 20 health points per second. The Gu insect survives for 120 seconds.

[Silken Thread Net]: Generates a spider web at a designated location, slowing the target's movement speed and preventing the use of Qinggong. Level: 1 Mastery: 1/100 Skill cooldown: 30 seconds Creates a spider web at the designated location, reducing enemies' movement speed within the web by 40% and disabling Qinggong. The spider web lasts for 60 seconds, with a casting time of 1 second.

[Frog Jump]: Basic Qinggong movement technique. Consumes stamina when used, channeling internal energy into both legs to leap forward. Capable of crossing ditches, jumping rivers, vaulting houses, and scaling walls, covering a distance of 10 meters and a height of 5 meters.

After learning the skills, Xiao Yu noticed that the toxic bugs in the Stagnant Water Pool had somehow returned to their former bustling state. He took out the [Ebony King Cauldron], intending to harvest a few more, but Bai Susu hastily stepped forward to stop him.

"I'm begging you, we're fellow sect apprentices, so please don't snatch meals from everyone else, alright?" Bai Susu said with tearful eyes, looking thoroughly pitiful.

Xiao Yu smiled awkwardly. "Never mind then. I just wanted to test if this cauldron still works properly..."

"It works! It works! It works better than any cauldron!" Bai Susu blurted out quickly.

Putting the [Ebony King Cauldron] away, Xiao Yu looked at the dozens of cauldrons scattered on the ground, which turned out to be entirely [Red Wood Cauldrons]. He couldn't help sighing inwardly that heaven was treating him too well; all these dozens of [Red Wood Cauldrons] combined couldn't absorb venomous insects as fast as his single cauldron. It seemed that in future sect battles, the Wuling Sect's prospects looked rather grim.

"Since that's the case, I won't compete with them. I wonder if Senior Sister has anything else you need my help with? For instance, delivering a message to some admirer or something? Junior Brother will definitely not shirk from duty!"

Bai Susu blushed. "Junior Brother, stop making fun of me. It's just that not long ago, my sect was besieged by major sects, and our ancestral foundation was destroyed. Right now, the sect elders are planning to rebuild, but with eight or nine out of ten disciples having been killed, how easy could rebuilding possibly be..."

Xiao Yu felt his heart skip a beat at Bai Susu's words. With the Wuling Sect's lair wiped out, the walls had undoubtedly collapsed and the gates smashed. Judging by what Bai Susu meant, was she asking him to help dig trenches, haul dirt, and mix cement to rebuild walls and houses? That was the kind of heavy physical labor only great migrant worker brothers could pull off.

"So, Senior Sister's meaning... is she asking me to put out advertisements for the sect, do some publicity all around, and recruit more disciples for the elders?"

"No, no, that's not necessary."

"Since it's not necessary, can Senior Sister just speak plainly? Stop beating around the bush, won't you?"

Bai Susu sighed. "After our sect was destroyed, our Sect Master [Lan Shangping] went missing. Recently, someone mistakenly entered the [Spider Cave] and apparently caught a glimpse of the Sect Master's shadow there. I wonder if Junior Brother could go investigate on my behalf?"

Spider Cave? Wasn't that the level 10 dungeon in the Novice Village?

There were many dungeons in God Tribulation, but not every player could simply walk in. Without receiving a special quest or dropping the key to unlock the dungeon, you wouldn't have the right to lead a party inside even if you played until you died.

In other words, if you wanted to enter a dungeon, you either needed the authority to open it or had to be partied with someone who had that authority; otherwise, even if you dug a hole into the earth, you wouldn't be able to tunnel in.

"Willing! Of course I'm willing!"

Xiao Yu nodded quickly. Materials dropped in dungeons were essential endgame items required for crafting divine artifacts and upgrading gear. Even if he didn't use them, selling what he farmed to major guilds would definitely net him a windfall!

Although the Spider Cave was only a level 10 dungeon, the monsters inside granted much higher experience than those outside, and clearing a dungeon earned server-wide announcements. From the current situation, it seemed no one had cleared it yet. If he could manage to break a record, there might even be unexpected rewards.

At this moment, Li Yunlong also walked over: "If the young hero can extract a drop of venom from the [Venomous Spider King] in the Spider Cave and bring it back, I, Li Yunlong, will richly reward you!"

Ding! System prompt: Do you accept the quest to investigate the [Spider Cave]?

Ding! System prompt: Are you willing to help Li Yunlong retrieve a drop of venom from the [Venomous Spider King]?

At this, Xiao Yu's mood truly soared. After accepting the quest, he headed straight for the potion shop; after fighting monsters and engaging in PK in the Wild Boar Forest, his supplies were running dangerously low.

After purchasing potions, he ran to the warehouse to store the items he didn't need in his inventory. Only then did he remember those skill experience books.

Between completing quests and opening chests, Xiao Yu already had 7 skill experience books in his bag. His Wind-Breaking Claw and Mad Gu had reached level 2 during his trip to the Wild Boar Forest, but other skills weren't so easy to level up—especially passive skills like [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill] and [Gu Taming Secret Recipe], which could only be leveled using skill books.

Each primary skill experience book only added 100 points of experience. After a brief internal struggle, Xiao Yu used one book each on [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill] and [Gu Taming Secret Recipe], storing the remaining five in the warehouse.

Checking these two skills now, they had already changed.

[Blood Cauldron Divine Skill]: Wuling Sect secret technique. Level: 2 Mastery: 1/1000 Gu Mother production speed increased by 15%. Gu Mother lifespan consumption reduced by 15% during production. Max Health increased by 15%. Max Internal Energy increased by 15%. Unlocks Soul-Capture Sect primary manual skill: [As Maggots to Bone].

Furthermore, upgrading the [Gu Taming Secret Recipe] granted the Poison Master a new Gu-casting method: commanding Gu insects to fly in a straight line to attack targets!

He could finally use ranged Gu attacks! If he ran into someone for a PK now, coupled with his newly learned skills, let alone fighting two people, fighting two and a half wouldn't be a problem at all!

Closing the warehouse, Xiao Yu sprinted toward the entrance of the [Spider Cave] dungeon. He had only run a few steps when he received a message from Xiao Yueya.

"Someone is killing me! Save me!"

"Where? Coordinates!" Xiao Yu replied casually.

All sorts of weirdos played games. Killing and looting, robbing and violating people in-game was completely normal; men died for wealth just as birds died for food. Gear and money were the root causes of the vast majority of PKs in games, while the remaining small fraction consisted of bullies who were either full and bored out of their minds, relying on numbers or superior gear and high skill to push people around.

The reason? You didn't even need to ask; asking for a reason made you look weak in momentum. True powerhouses always spoke with the edge of a blade.

When a friend asked for help, you only needed to answer whether you were going or not, whether you would help or not, whether you were free or not. As for reasons and causes—those verbal squabbles—even if Xiao Yu were bored to death, he wouldn't bother meddling in them.

Therefore, upon receiving Xiao Yueya's cry for help, Xiao Yu didn't even ask why she was being attacked or how many opponents there were; he asked straight for the coordinates.

Damn it, someone dares to touch my woman, they're tired of living. Xiao Yu started amusing himself.

"[Mine Ruins], X3349, Y1320."

"Mine?" Seeing the message Xiao Yueya sent, Xiao Yu couldn't help freezing for a moment.

The Mine Ruins was the only low-level map near the Novice Village where players could mine and level up simultaneously. Calling it a low-level map was relative; now that the game had just launched, players reaching level 10 and above were few and far between. To the vast majority, the level 14–18 Miner Zombies inside certainly couldn't be considered low-level. Although these zombies moved relatively slowly and their attack frequency and power weren't very high, the problem was that all the monsters in this map spawned randomly at extremely fast rates, and their population was several times denser than other wilderness maps. Leveling inside without paying attention would land you in a besieged predicament.

Unless you had enough people in a party to advance using a "carpet-cleaning" monster-clear method, running there to level up with level suppression and gear gaps was absolute idiocy that wasted effort, time, and money. Dying even once would make you lose the shirt off your back.

"What level are you? How did you get in there?" Xiao Yu quickly selected the nearest route. He was far too familiar with the map here.

"Doing a quest, hurry up, I'm going to die!!!"

"Yeah, running."

Seeing the three exclamation marks sent by Xiao Yueya, Xiao Yu knew time was of the essence. To save time, he even employed his newly learned skill, [Frog Jump].

This toad-like jumping movement technique looked extremely comical, accompanied by a crisp frog croak every time it was used, but it was genuinely fast, though the distance was a bit short. Ceng Jing Shu Guang was wearing a Black Mist Cloak that hid his name and level. When he arrived outside the village, before he could bounce many times, he drew a crowd of onlookers.

"What the fuck, why is this toad black?" "That's not a toad, that's a frog, it jumps so far." "Huh, why can't I hit him? Is that a person?" "Seems like it, that outfit looks so cool, I'm gonna go get one later." "Which class has Toad Kung Fu? I'm changing classes..." ……

Along the way, Xiao Yu ran while reading the spectators' wisecracks, unknowingly arriving at the [Mine Ruins].

As soon as he entered the mine, he saw rows of players holding pickaxes, as if they had planned it beforehand, standing shoulder to shoulder. Their pickaxes flashed up and down, and piles of grayish-white soil flew everywhere under the impact of the tools, filling the already dim and oppressive mine with dust and haze, creating a foul atmosphere.

Upon entering the mine, Xiao Yu first confirmed his coordinates. The mine map had many branching paths; once you took a wrong turn, you could forget about finding your destination unless you turned back and reran it.

"Are you here?????" Xiao Yueya sent another message.

"Right away!"

Based on the coordinates, Xiao Yu quickly determined Xiao Yueya's general location. However, the mine map prohibited the use of any movement techniques. Xiao Yu wanted to perform a Frog Jump, but only managed a "Croak"—he didn't jump, but the sound was quite loud. Several mining players couldn't help turning their heads back, seemingly curious about the sudden noise.

Miner Zombies spawned rapidly. Xiao Yu had barely run a few steps when at least seven or eight zombies suddenly spawned ahead. Their gloomy, low roars sounded exceptionally piercing against the echoes of the mine. Flipping out a Wind-Breaking Claw, Xiao Yu skirted around the zombies and charged deeper inside.

Xiao Yueya's location wasn't far from the entrance. From afar, Xiao Yu could already see the messages Xiao Yueya typed in the nearby channel. Conversing with her was a player named Hua Feihua.

Xiao Yueya: "I told you to move! Did you fucking hear me?" Hua Feihua: "Marry me. As long as you agree to marry me, I'll move." Xiao Yueya: "Marry your mother's head, get lost right now! I've already called for people!" Hua Feihua: "Call away, who's afraid of who? I have the right to pursue love, not even the Jade Emperor can interfere! Darling, come on, give me a kiss..." Xiao Yueya: "Get lost!!!!!!!!!" ……

So that was it. After reading just a few lines, Xiao Yu understood what was going on—she was being hit on by a griefing molestor.

Taking a few quick steps over, Xiao Yu saw that in a dead end, Xiao Yueya's body was being blocked by a guy holding a long spear and wearing only a pair of shorts. This fellow stood in a spot that only allowed one person to pass, leading to a dead-end ravine-like crevice. Xiao Yueya stood inside, angrily cursing.

"I'm here, where is the guy killing you?" Xiao Yu used Frog Jump again, and the crisp, pleasant frog croak made the fellow named Hua Feihua turn around as well.

"Right across from me, blocking my way and refusing to move. Why can't people walk through each other in this broken game map? It pisses me off, my quest time is almost up!!" Xiao Yueya hurriedly replied to Xiao Yu's message, while continuing to curse Hua Feihua on the public channel.

"My hubby is here, get lost right away!" Seeing Ceng Jing Shu Guang run over, Xiao Yueya posted in the public channel.

"Your hubby? Just him?" Hua Feihua cast a disdainful look.

"What's the situation?" Xiao Yu also broadcasted using nearby chat.

Always assuming Xiao Yueya was being hunted down, Xiao Yu hadn't asked much along the way, fearing she might accidentally die while typing. But upon arriving here, he realized the situation was somewhat different from what he had imagined. If they said women's words couldn't be trusted lightly, Xiao Yu felt he had been scammed again; hunting was hunting, harassment was harassment, why exaggerate?

"You're her hubby? Nice outfit, pretty cool." Hua Feihua remained standing in place, showing no intention of making way.

"Move aside, I don't want to kill you, croak..." Xiao Yu used Frog Jump again. Skill upgrades in the game required mastery, and Xiao Yu discovered that even if he couldn't jump, skill mastery would still increase. Each Frog Jump consumed five stamina points; running all the way here, Ceng Jing Shu Guang's stamina had long since emptied, and having just recovered five points, he immediately used it.

"Kill me? Then make a move. I'll strip naked for you to kill, come on, come get me..." Speaking of which, Hua Feihua put away his long spear, spread his hands wide, and struck a rogue's pose.

This was a scumbag player! Xiao Yu quickly formed a judgment in his mind.

"Fine, I'll get you."

Checking his own karma value, Xiao Yu began switching to combat mode. To deal with such scumbag players, the best method was to take action directly without reasoning with them, because acting shamelessly was such players' specialty. Arguing with them would never yield any results.

"Venom Gu Technique!" "Blood Gu Technique!"

Saying it was time to act, Xiao Yu raised his hand and cast the two newly learned debuff Gu techniques, followed immediately by a [Wind-Breaking Claw] and a [Mad Gu].

Hua Feihua hadn't expected his opponent to resort to violence so casually. When he saw two crystalline little bugs—one red and one green—suddenly appear on his body, and received a system prompt that he had entered a 'Bleeding' state, he quickly flashed his gear onto his body, clicked a health potion, and summoned his warhorse.

"Another blood tank." Xiao Yu felt that ever since entering the game, he was bound to tangle with the Great Spear Sect. This guy being able to summon a warhorse meant his level had already surpassed level 10; it seemed this was going to be another war of attrition.

"Bro, you're really attacking? What's your class?" Suited up in armor and mounted on his warhorse, Hua Feihua didn't immediately retaliate, still standing his ground.

"Witchcraft Poison Master." Seeing that his opponent hadn't counterattacked, Xiao Yu felt a bit embarrassed; fighting such players lowered one's status.

"Witchcraft Poison Master? Internal energy class, right? Didn't you know the Great Spear Sect hard-counters you?" This guy really started chattering unhurriedly.

Normally, Xiao Yu would have liked to chat with him, but right now he simply didn't have the time.

Xiao Yu: "Whether it counters me or not, I don't know, but today you're dead for sure."

Hua Feihua: "Haha, then let's try it. If you can kill me, me and my wife Xiao Yueyue will take you as our master..."

"Get lost, who's your wife?!" Xiao Yueya cursed angrily. "Hurry up and help me kill him!"