Monster Provocation

Xiao Wen took Xiao Ya and Liu Fang to a nearby food stall, ordered some dishes, and the three of them began eating at once.

While they ate, none of them mentioned what had just happened, as though it had been temporarily forgotten.

After dinner, Xiao Wen and Xiao Ya returned home. The moment they entered, the smile vanished completely from Xiao Ya's face. She stared coldly at Xiao Wen, waiting for an explanation.

Sensing his sister's gaze, Xiao Wen gave a helpless, bitter smile.

He naturally knew what his sister meant.

"Sis, it's just a small matter. It's nothing. I'll handle it, so don't worry."

Xiao Wen knew he could not avoid her questions, but he did not want to drag his sister into this matter.

To him, this matter could be either serious or trivial. As long as he was willing to reveal his identity, one phone call to the Flame Emperor would ensure that these people would not dare trouble him.

However...

The battle five years ago had been filled with far too many strange and bizarre things.

There were still many matters he needed to verify again, so he had to wait—for an opportunity, an opportunity to become stronger, to confront that person head-on and defeat him!

Hearing the certainty in Xiao Wen's voice, even though Xiao Ya still wanted to say something, she swallowed all her words.

"Alright, I believe you. I believe you'll handle all of this properly. I also hope you really can settle it all. It's getting late, so I'm going back to my room to rest."

After saying that, Xiao Ya returned to her room without another word, leaving Xiao Wen standing there alone with a slightly strange expression.

Shrugging, Xiao Wen quickly washed up and returned to his room. He lay down in the Gaming Pod and logged in.

After Xiao Wen entered the game, a message arrived in his mailbox. It was from Zhao Shengquan's Fist Overlord account.

"Hey! Kid Riddle, you're not being very fair. You dumped the mess on my brothers, then took two beauties out to eat and drink!"

Seeing the message, Xiao Wen smiled and replied, "The capable work harder. I've prepared a purple bow for you, big brother. I'm sure you'll be interested."

Sure enough, the instant he sent the reply, he received a satisfied response from Zhao Shengquan.

"You're too polite, too polite. Brother Riddle, why are you being so polite? Where's the purple bow? I'll have those two little brats of mine come pick it up later, and they can apologize to you while they're at it."

Xiao Wen had long since grown used to Zhao Shengquan's instant change in attitude. After chatting for a bit and agreeing on a location, they stopped talking.

Sending messages was free?

One silver coin per message!

Stretching, Xiao Wen opened the map and checked his current location. He was in the central region of Nightmare Forest, still quite far from its core.

Then he opened the quest list and took a look.

Temporary Quest—Preparations Before the Great Battle completed (65/0)

The number behind it represented the monsters Xiao Wen had killed during this period, as well as the Reputation Value he was about to receive.

Sixty-five Reputation Value. He still needed to work harder.

Let's see how lucky I am. If my luck is good, I'll push on a little longer. If it's bad, I'll go back, start a duel, and unseal the Duel Disk.

Xiao Wen's gaze fell upon the deck on the Duel Disk around his left hand.

His fingers lightly rested on the deck.

Draw!

Monster Card: Kuriboh

Kuriboh, 3 Stars; Dragon race/Wind

ATK: 1200; DET: 700

Description: A young golden dragon of the Dragon race. Its tiny body possesses tremendous power. Once it matures, it will gain the strength to churn rivers and overturn seas.

"Kuriboh? Three thousand six hundred attack power? Looks like I can stir up some trouble."

Seeing the card in his hand, Xiao Wen's eyes gleamed brightly.

He slammed Kuriboh onto the Duel Disk. Light flashed before him, accompanied by a young dragon's cry.

Roar!

A small golden dragon with little wings on its back and well-developed muscles appeared before Xiao Wen.

The instant Kuriboh appeared, the quiet woodland around them suddenly stirred.

Deep growls came from the distant forest, like those of tigers, wolves, and snakes.

The sounds rose and fell, seemingly trying to suppress Kuriboh's cry. Yet Kuriboh showed no fear. It let out another low roar, its shiny black eyes fixed ahead as a powerful aura faintly emerged from its body.

Kuriboh turned back to look at Xiao Wen, its eyes filled with a questioning expression.

"A battle between monsters? Interesting."

Xiao Wen muttered and drew out another card.

It was the Nightmare Seal Card, which Xiao Wen summoned as well.

"Then let's harvest everything along the way. Nightmare, conceal my presence," Xiao Wen said softly.

A cloud of black mist spread out from Nightmare and enveloped Xiao Wen like a thin protective net.

At the same time, Xiao Wen followed behind Kuriboh and ran forward.

Before long, Xiao Wen spotted a huge leopard lying ahead, surrounded by several smaller leopards.

Dark cloud-like patterns covered the leopards' bodies. Their eerie, deep-black eyes gleamed with bloodlust as they stared at Kuriboh and let out low growls.

Black Mist Cloud Leopard

Level: 12

Attack: 350

Defense: 200

Health: 2500

Agility: 50

Description: A race of cloud leopards that lives in Nightmare Forest. They possess incredible speed and can always capture prey in an instant before launching a deadly hunt.

Among the Black Mist Cloud Leopards, the enormous one at the center was undoubtedly an Elite-tier monster.

Roar!

Kuriboh let out a low roar and immediately charged forward. Its golden dragon claws clenched into fists and swung out, stirring up a burst of air as they struck at a Black Mist Cloud Leopard ahead.

The moment Kuriboh threw its punch, before the fist even arrived, its force had already pierced through the target. The Black Mist Cloud Leopard's health bar instantly dropped to zero.

Experience +2786.

Xiao Wen barely cared about the two thousand-plus experience points. Instead, he looked past the monsters toward the depths of the forest.

A powerful monster should have been dwelling there, and it was precisely that monster that had drawn Kuriboh forward.

Turning his gaze back to the Black Mist Cloud Leopards being utterly crushed by Kuriboh, he muttered, "Just pawns sent to test its strength? Looks like these guys are smarter than I imagined."

Muttering to himself, Xiao Wen continued forward. With every step he took, several Black Mist Cloud Leopards died and became his experience points.

By the time Xiao Wen passed through the Black Mist Cloud Leopard territory under Nightmare's protection, Kuriboh had wiped out every last one of them.

Ding! Warning: You have entered the vicinity of Nightmare Forest's core region. Danger lies ahead. Players level fifteen and above are advised to proceed in a party.