Instance Opens

Following Yan Hua Yi Leng's analysis, Ye Luo had struck both the first and final blows. As a result, they obtained a second Jade Poison Bead fragment, leaving him thrilled.

Thinking of something, Ye Luo removed the Jade Poison Bead and traded it to Yan Hua Yi Leng. "You're ranged and better suited to luring monsters. You should use this Poison Bead. It'll greatly improve our efficiency at killing monsters."

Yan Hua Yi Leng was intelligent as well and quickly understood the reasoning. Without standing on ceremony, she accepted it and equipped it, after which the two continued killing Demonized Scorpions.

Time slowly passed as they killed monsters, and an hour or two went by in the blink of an eye.

Over that time, Ye Luo and his group killed several hundred, nearly a thousand Demonized Scorpions, and obtained quite a few Jade Poison Bead fragments.

What disappointed them somewhat was that, based on their analysis, killing those scorpions did not guarantee a Jade Poison Bead fragment. Only one dropped for every four or five scorpions killed, and after killing so many, they had obtained just over 190 fragments.

After gathering 100 fragments, Ye Luo combined them into a Jade Poison Bead and equipped one himself. This way, neither of them needed to worry about who landed the first or final strike, and they could simply attack freely.

Killing monsters above his level, coupled with the experience bonus, brought Ye Luo to Level 12, once again increasing all his attributes. Then, suddenly recalling something, he looked at Yan Hua Yi Leng. "Yan Hua, I remember you also reached Level 11 when we killed the Wolf King. We split the experience evenly, so why did I level up while you didn't?"

"Hidden Professions require twice as much experience to level up as ordinary classes," Yan Hua Yi Leng said calmly. Seeing Ye Luo's shocked expression, she explained, "Hidden Professions are so powerful that they can even kill monsters many levels above them. Naturally, leveling up is harder than for other classes. Otherwise, wouldn't that seriously upset the game's balance?"

"Mm, that makes sense." Ye Luo nodded, then changed his tone. "Then we can't divide our experience like this anymore. Set it to two-thirds for you and one-third for me. That way, our levels can stay even."

Without waiting for Yan Hua Yi Leng to speak, he continued, "Only if our levels are the same are we best suited to level together. For example, we can both receive the experience bonus, and neither of us will be suppressed because the gap between our level and the monsters' is too large."

Killing monsters above one's level granted bonus experience, but it also suppressed one's attributes. More terrifying still was rank suppression.

According to information released by the Heavenly Tribulation Game officials, fighting monsters five levels higher suppressed a player's All Attributes by 5%. Fighting monsters ten levels higher resulted in 10% suppression, and so on.

"Alright." Yan Hua Yi Leng did not refuse. She quickly adjusted the experience distribution in the party interface.

Although he received less experience, Ye Luo still leveled quickly because they were fighting monsters above their level. What disappointed them somewhat was that they had not obtained a single piece of equipment after killing monsters for so long. However, Ye Luo luckily obtained a Detoxification Pill recipe:

Detoxification Pill (Tier 2)

Required medicinal herbs: 2 Cassia Seeds, 1 Ox Gallstone.

Pill effect: After consumption, grants immunity to intermediate poison attacks and certain potent poisonous miasmas.

Duration: Half an hour.

Usage restriction: Cannot be stacked.

The Detoxification Pill was a Tier 2 pill, slightly more effective than the Minor Detoxification Pill. However, Ye Luo only had some Cassia Seeds left over from the last time he gave some to Doctor Hua, while he did not have a single Ox Gallstone. He had no idea which monsters dropped them.

When she saw the Detoxification Pill's properties, Yan Hua Yi Leng was slightly surprised. "I didn't expect there to be antidote pills as well."

"When I killed the Toad King, the Detoxification Pill was a huge help. Otherwise, I couldn't have killed the Toad King at all." Recalling something, Ye Luo added, "Yan Hua, in a day or two, we'll reach Levels 17 or 18. By then, we can head to the west gate of the Novice Village. That place is filled with miasma and venomous snakes. We won't get by without preparing Detoxification Pills."

"You're the alchemist, so I'll leave this task to you," Yan Hua Yi Leng said flatly. Seeing Ye Luo's helplessly amused expression, she paused slightly. At last, a trace of emotion entered her voice. "What? Is there a problem?"

If Sister Feng, whom Yan Hua Yi Leng and Zhi Yue spoke of, knew that Yan Hua Yi Leng would reveal doubtful emotions toward someone she had known for only half a day, she would surely be greatly shocked. After all, she knew just how cold Yan Hua Yi Leng was toward others.

"Of course there's a problem. I know where to find Cassia Seeds, and I even have some in my backpack, but I don't know where to get Ox Gallstones," Ye Luo admitted honestly.

"Judging by the name, they should drop from bovine monsters," Yan Hua Yi Leng said. Then, thinking of something, she continued, "There's no rush. We still need some time before reaching Levels 17 or 18. Later, I'll ask Sister Feng and the others for a monster distribution map of the Novice Village. Then obtaining Ox Gallstones will be easy."

"Oh, right. Misty Pavilion has so many people, so you probably have your own assassin teams. It shouldn't be hard to scout out monster distributions." Ye Luo nodded and sighed softly. "Major guilds really are nice. You can easily obtain so much information. It's very convenient."

"What, do you want to join a guild?" Yan Hua Yi Leng asked before extending an invitation. "You can join Misty Pavilion. You can even join the studio we're in..."

"Would that be appropriate? Night Rain Misty said that Misty Pavilion rarely recruits male players." Recalling his hatred, Ye Luo shook his head. "Besides, I..."

"If I step forward, Sister Feng should agree," Yan Hua Yi Leng interrupted. Seeing Ye Luo's puzzled expression, she continued, "Misty Pavilion ranks ninth among the nation's guilds, but we've been unable to advance any further. The main reason is that Misty Pavilion consists entirely of female players. Although we have plenty of members, they are women after all, and most of them aren't as good at games as men. I have to admit that."

"Also, we have too few top-tier experts. There are only two of us on the Celebrity Ranking, Sister Feng and me, and I don't specialize in combat," Yan Hua Yi Leng continued. "So if Misty Pavilion wants to go further, we must transform. Recruiting some male players is inevitable."

"You're skilled and have the potential to become a top-tier expert. I think Sister Feng would be very willing to invite you to join," Yan Hua Yi Leng added, then looked at Ye Luo. "Of course, that still depends on whether you agree."

"Let me think about it." Ye Luo pondered for a long while before giving a soft laugh. "At the very least, I should become a first-rate expert before discussing it. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare shamelessly join you. But I hope you can recruit Yue Er and take good care of her."

Yan Hua Yi Leng nodded and did not dwell on the matter. Looking at Ye Luo, she asked, "How many Jade Poison Bead fragments have we obtained?"

"198. We only need 2 more to form a third Jade Poison Bead. Then we can upgrade the Jade Poison Beads to Tier 2." Mentioning the Jade Poison Beads, Ye Luo grew faintly excited.

"After combining the third bead, don't upgrade them yet. Wait until we obtain another one," Yan Hua Yi Leng said. Seeing Ye Luo's thoughtful expression, she nodded. "That's right. This way, we won't need to care about who gets the first or final strike, and our efficiency will be higher."

"Understood." Ye Luo nodded, then checked the time through the game system. "Yan Hua, what time do you usually rest, and when do you log back in? Let's coordinate our schedules."

"Technology is advanced now. Linking one's consciousness to virtual online games can provide some rest, and we're professional players besides, so we rest relatively little—only six hours a day," Yan Hua Yi Leng said. "We usually rest at midnight and get up at six in the morning. We spend half an hour or so handling miscellaneous matters and eating, then log into the game at seven almost every day."

"I see." Ye Luo nodded. "It's already ten-thirty at night, so you'll be resting soon. Let's keep killing monsters. I'll meet up with you on time tomorrow."

"Today is the game's first day, so perhaps many players will pull all-nighters. But Sister Feng won't let us sisters stay up all night. She said that only proper rest lets us play games better, and it's healthier too." Yan Hua Yi Leng suddenly looked at Ye Luo meaningfully.

Knowing that Yan Hua Yi Leng had seen through his little plan, Ye Luo waved a hand. "I won't pull an all-nighter. I'll just play one more hour and take care of that Toad King. In real life, I only sleep five hours a day. It's been a habit for more than ten years."

Without trying to persuade him, Yan Hua Yi Leng said calmly, "As long as you can maintain peak condition. Just don't get sleepy while partying with me and affect your performance."

Completely helpless in the face of Yan Hua Yi Leng's cold personality, Ye Luo nodded. "Don't worry. There won't be any problems."

**Ding~!**

System Announcement (China): Congratulations to player Yi Nian Cheng Mo for successfully rescuing the Heavenly Tribulation Messenger's incarnation from the Glazed Ant Queen, successfully triggering the instance system. The Level 10 instance, Demon Ant Calamity, will officially open at noon tomorrow. At that time, every player who has successfully completed their First Advancement and is below Level 20 may form a party and accept the Instance Mission from the Heavenly Tribulation Messenger at the North Gate of the Novice Village to enter the instance.

**Ding~!**

System Announcement (China): Congratulations to player Yi Nian Cheng Mo for successfully opening an instance. He is specially awarded one General Skill Book, 1 Skill Point, and 100 Reputation.

...

The system announcement rang throughout the entire China Server three times in succession, causing a huge uproar.

"Yi Nian Cheng Mo, an expert on the Celebrity Ranking. I didn't expect him to trigger the instance system so early. It seems the players have received a blessing," Yan Hua Yi Leng murmured. Then she looked at Ye Luo. "Ye Luo, be online at noon tomorrow. The two of us will enter the instance together. The first team to clear it will receive unexpected benefits."

Seeing Yan Hua Yi Leng so serious, Ye Luo nodded. "Don't worry. I'll definitely be online then."

After receiving Ye Luo's assurance, Yan Hua Yi Leng nodded. She muttered to herself, "Noon tomorrow... By then, both your cloak and mine will be finished. If nothing unexpected happens, you'll have a Tier 2 Jade Poison Bead, and so will I. Our overall strength will be quite high, so it's not impossible for us to get the first clear."

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