Long Teng Tian Xia

Wielding his Novice Iron Sword, Ye Luo attacked the Demonic Mountain Antelopes one at a time. This posed little pressure for him. Although his health dropped quickly, his life was never in danger. Once his health fell below 30 to 40 points, he would leave combat, relying on the dual recovery from Soul Crystals and Steamed Buns while searching for herbs to gather. It was quite efficient.

Time passed amid slaughtering Demonic Mountain Antelopes and gathering herbs. More than twenty minutes went by before long.

Aunt Li had asked Ye Luo to obtain 100 bundles of wool. Fortunately, like Toad Skin, this quest item was guaranteed to drop. After killing Mountain Antelopes for so long, he had collected quite a lot, and he had also gathered enough Tier 3 herbs. He was now only short a little over ten Tier 4 herbs.

Ding~!

System Notification: Congratulations to Long Teng Tian Xia for becoming the first player on the China Server to complete the Apprentice class advancement quest and successfully take up a post. The system has specially awarded him the Hidden Profession—Blazing Swordsman, 10 Gold Coins, one Blazing Sword, and 100 Reputation.

Suddenly, a server-wide system notification rang out, echoing through the air for a long while.

"Oh, someone already reached Level 10 and completed their class advancement quest?" Ye Luo murmured in surprise. "A Hidden Profession, Blazing Swordsman—it sounds incredibly powerful. More importantly, he got 10 Gold Coins. Doesn't that mean he'll never have to worry about class advancement or learning skills again?"

During the early stages of the game, 10 Gold Coins were undoubtedly an astronomical sum, enough to accomplish many things.

Ding~!

System Notification (China Server): Congratulations to Long Teng Tian Xia for becoming an Apprentice Blazing Swordsman, successfully triggering the China Server Level Rankings. The China Level Rankings are now open. Players may view them through the server system.

Ding~!

System Notification (China Server): Congratulations to Long Teng Tian Xia for obtaining the Bronze Grade equipment Blazing Sword, successfully triggering the China Server Equipment Rankings. The China Equipment Rankings are now open. Players may view them through the server system.

Ding~!

System Notification (China Server): Congratulations to Long Teng Tian Xia for reaching 100 Reputation, successfully triggering the China Server Reputation Rankings. The China Reputation Rankings are now open. Players may view them through the server system.

Three consecutive system notifications opened the Level, Equipment, and Reputation Rankings. Ye Luo checked them and found that Long Teng Tian Xia was the only person on all three lists. Ye Luo himself had 10 Reputation but had not made the list, which was rather strange.

"Long Teng Tian Xia is famous now. Not only did he take up an incredibly powerful Hidden Profession, he also got a Blazing Sword. If he ever raised a call, I'm afraid hundreds would answer," Ye Luo muttered. Then he guessed, "As for why my 10 Reputation didn't get me onto the Reputation Rankings, the minimum threshold is probably 100 Reputation."

After examining the three rankings, Ye Luo quickly understood a few things. Only players who had successfully advanced at Level 10 were eligible for the Level Rankings, while the minimum requirement for the Equipment Rankings was Bronze Grade equipment. Clearly, at this early stage of the game, only Long Teng Tian Xia possessed the Blazing Sword.

There was not much to examine on the Level Rankings or Reputation Rankings, but Ye Luo was rather interested in the Equipment Rankings. He opened the list and checked the Blazing Sword's attributes, immediately gasping in shock.

Blazing Sword (Weapon · Spirit Artifact—Bronze Grade)

Physical Attack: 40–45

Strength: +15

Trait: Each attack additionally deals 10 Fire damage

Attack Interval: 2 seconds

Equipment Durability: 150/150

Additional Trait: Bound to player Long Teng Tian Xia; cannot be dropped or traded

Additional Trait: Can increase in grade

Additional Trait: Can level up with its owner; current level: 10

Required Level: Level 10

Powerful—extremely powerful. That was Ye Luo's only thought. Its 40 to 45 damage was greater than the total attack bonus from all his equipment combined. The sword also added 15 Strength and had a weapon trait. By a simple calculation, this weapon dealt over 70 damage. A single weapon was stronger than all of Ye Luo's attack power combined.

"So this is Bronze Grade equipment. It really is powerful," Ye Luo muttered. He now longed even more for his Bronze Grade cloak.

What Ye Luo did not know was that ordinary Bronze Grade equipment was not nearly this powerful. Usually, aside from basic attributes, it would only have one additional combat attribute. This Blazing Sword had two, as well as other traits, because it was a Spirit Artifact. More importantly, it was an exclusive Spirit Artifact, which was why it was so powerful.

Before long, Ye Luo also noticed the words "Spirit Artifact." Curious, he asked the system and learned that this was the Heavenly Tribulation Game's term for equipment capable of increasing in grade. Equipment that could generally increase in grade possessed spirituality, which was why it was called a Spirit Artifact.

"So that's how it is." Ye Luo finally understood. He muttered to himself, "The Blazing Sword is already this powerful at Bronze Grade. What will it be like after it levels up?"

Perhaps to keep the players' information confidential, Ye Luo could not inspect the Blazing Sword's upgrade method, which left him somewhat disappointed.

"That makes sense. If other players knew how to upgrade the Blazing Sword or what materials it required, they could deliberately interfere. It's normal not to reveal it." Ye Luo understood this well, though he still felt a faint trace of envy. "I want a Spirit Artifact that can level up too. It's so powerful..."

With those thoughts in mind, Ye Luo continued killing Demonic Mountain Antelopes and gathering herbs. After all, he knew that only by completing the quest and taking up the alchemist profession as soon as possible could he lay a solid foundation for killing bosses. Alternatively, completing difficult quests might give him a chance to obtain powerful equipment.

Over the next few minutes, two more system notifications sounded in succession. This time, they were not about Long Teng Tian Xia. Two more people had completed their class advancement quests and successfully taken up professions. However, neither received a Hidden Profession. They only obtained two ordinary pieces of equipment, allowing Ye Luo to understand the attributes of Bronze Grade equipment.

"Tsk, tsk. The second and third players to take up professions received far worse rewards. They only got ordinary Bronze Grade equipment." As Ye Luo checked the equipment attributes on the rankings, he said, "Although these two items are also Bronze Grade, their attributes are worlds apart from the Blazing Sword's. Spirit Artifacts seem to be especially powerful."

"The equipment Uncle Zhang is making for me should only be ordinary Bronze Grade equipment." Ye Luo felt somewhat disappointed at the thought. Then he glanced at his quest log. "I wonder how this Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission was triggered. After successfully completing it, will I obtain a powerful Hidden Profession or powerful equipment?"

Time drifted by. In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Ye Luo finally gathered enough Tier 4 herbs and completed the Collect Wool quest Aunt Li had given him. It was time to return and hand in his quests.

Having killed Demonic Mountain Antelopes above his level for so long, the abundant experience had raised Ye Luo to Level 6, 30%. He still allocated all his points to Strength. His basic attributes were now as follows:

Ye Luo Zhi Qiu (Apprentice Warrior)

Race: Human Race Battle Soul

Level: Level 6

Health: 170

Mana: 170

Physical Attack: 63–67

Magic Attack: 7–7

Defense: 28–31

Strength: 43

Agility: 7

Constitution: 7

Intelligence: 7

Luck: 0

Reputation: 10

Supported by several pieces of equipment, Ye Luo's attack and defense were both high. At the very least, they were no worse than those of players at the same level. His health was somewhat lacking, but once he took up the alchemist profession, he would have powerful recovery methods. He could manage for now.

After killing so many Demonic Mountain Antelopes, Ye Luo had obtained more than 10 Silver Coins. Besides the 100 bundles of wool required for the quest, he had also obtained plenty of antelope meat. Based on his experience, selling it to the inn would earn him quite a few more Silver Coins. This was enough to cover the cost of the equipment Tailor Zhang was making for him.

Ye Luo was quite satisfied with these gains. His only regret was that after killing so many monsters, he had not obtained a single piece of equipment.

Not counting the cloak Tailor Zhang was about to make, he still lacked a ring and a necklace. Furthermore, the attributes of his Novice Iron Sword and Novice Clothes were far too poor and needed replacing.

"The drop rate in Heavenly Tribulation is way too low," Ye Luo grumbled, then headed toward Novice Village.

If other players heard that, and knew Ye Luo was only one ring and one necklace away from having a full set of equipment, they would probably curse him bloody.

As he walked, Ye Luo suddenly caught sight of a female player in the distance. What drew his attention was not her curvaceous figure, nor was it an exceptionally beautiful face. More precisely, he could not see her face at all. She wore a veil, revealing only a pair of eyes as bright as the full moon.

The reason this woman drew Ye Luo's attention was because someone stood beside her—an NPC. The two were constantly talking about something.

Out in the wilderness, a player conversing with an NPC was an obvious sign that a quest was available. It was even highly likely to be some kind of hidden quest. That was the real reason Ye Luo was interested.

Ye Luo noticed it, and so did the other players. They grew excited and rushed toward the NPC, but when they came within twenty or thirty meters, they could go no farther. A massive barrier had appeared, preventing everyone from disturbing them.

The barrier's defense was astonishing. Dozens of players attacked it without causing even the slightest ripple. Breaking it would be harder than scaling the heavens.

"Yan Hua Yi Leng." Ye Luo saw the female player's name above her head and muttered, "It seems she has encountered her own opportunity as well. I wonder whether this NPC is the trigger for the Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission."

With that thought, Ye Luo also walked toward the barrier. He kept an eye on his system notifications as he approached, but even when he reached the barrier's edge, nothing unusual happened. He sighed. "It seems the Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission can't be triggered by this person."

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Ye Luo was about to leave. Yet just as he turned away, he saw the female player glance at him. Their gazes met and lingered for two seconds. The woman was visibly stunned for a moment, clearly recognizing Ye Luo, but she soon paid him no more attention and turned back to continue speaking with the NPC.

This woman had seen Ye Luo before. She was the female player who had paused to watch when Ye Luo killed the Toad King.

Of course, Ye Luo knew none of this. Even if he had, he would not have acted differently. Since the Heavenly Tribulation quest had not been triggered, he did not linger. He turned and headed for Novice Village, intending to hand in his quests and take up the alchemist profession as soon as possible.