Killing the Bamboo Viper

Ye Luo hadn't expected the Heavenly Alliance to cause such a stir, even issuing a warrant for his arrest across the entire online gaming world. He wasn't afraid of this, but he was a little worried that leveling up would become more troublesome in the future. He was quite grateful for the support from the Misty Pavilion and the Fine Wine Family, and planned to thank them properly when he had the chance.

While on the road, he checked the game's official website and forums. As expected, the Heavenly Alliance's warrant for him was at the top. The statement was grand and impassioned, first claiming that the Heavenly Alliance had turned over a new leaf after entering the game Heavenly Tribulation, and was working to maintain the game's stable development. Then, it accused Ye Luo of bullying the weak with his equipment and level, calling his actions outrageous.

Below the statement, many fake accounts strongly supported the Heavenly Alliance's warrant for Ye Luo, claiming it was to eliminate a menace from the online gaming world and purify the game environment, all under the guise of noble intentions.

However, more people accused the Heavenly Alliance of being the villain who cried wolf first, with some even calling them despicable and shameless.

Among these comments, Ye Luo also saw people identifying themselves as members of the Misty Pavilion and the Fine Wine Family. Most of them were quite supportive of him, saying that killing those scum from the Heavenly Alliance was the true way to eliminate a menace from the online gaming world.

What followed was a verbal war between the two sides, a fierce and lively exchange of insults.

Smiling, Ye Luo closed the forum. He and Yan Hua Yi Leng had arrived in the swamp and saw Bamboo Viper's stats:

[Bamboo Viper] (Normal Monster)

Level: 20

Physical Attack: 90—100

Defense: 190

HP: 5000

Skill: [Snake Venom Assault]

Description: A common monster in Novice Village, extremely cunning and skilled in poison attacks, making it quite troublesome.

[Snake Venom Assault]: Bamboo Viper's attacks are infused with 20 points of poison damage, and it also increases its own poison resistance by 30%.

Compared to monsters of level ten or so, level 20 monsters had a significant increase in stats. Moreover, even ordinary monsters possessed poison attacks, which was quite troublesome for players.

However, Ye Luo and the others didn't care. After taking the Detoxification Pill, they were not only immune to the miasma but also completely unaffected by Bamboo Viper's [Snake Venom Assault].

After luring one over, Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng faced no pressure, even when dealing with five or six at once. After all, under Yan Hua Yi Leng's [Ice Spirit Power], these poisonous snakes were slowed down, making them considerably slower than the two of them.

Since facing multiple Bamboo Vipers simultaneously posed no danger, Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng increased their monster-killing pace.

With an [Ice Spirit*Myriad Arrows], energy arrows rained down from the sky. The Bamboo Vipers caught in the area had damage numbers of around 400+ appear above their heads. Most importantly, under the influence of the Ice Spirit Power, these Bamboo Vipers were covered in a layer of ice crystals, significantly reducing their speed.

Taking two steps forward, Ye Luo unleashed a combination attack of [Slash] + normal attack + [Combo Attack]. Instantly, the Bamboo Viper lost over 1500 HP. Ye Luo didn't bother with it anymore and instead used [Soul Shocking Slash] on another Bamboo Viper.

A massive sword shadow appeared, accompanied by a faint, earth-shattering sword hum that sent shivers down one's spine, exuding immense power.

Indeed, it sent shivers down one's spine. At the very least, the Bamboo Viper that was attacked was stunned in place, also suffering from a dizziness status effect.

"Tsk, this skill is quite useful. It has a strong presence and feels very smooth to use," Ye Luo exclaimed. As he spoke, he swung his Novice Iron Sword at another Bamboo Viper.

Yan Hua Yi Leng was also busy, her energy arrows whistling through the air. The Bamboo Vipers that were hit not only slowed down but were also affected by the Jade Poison Bead's effect, with damage numbers of over 20 continuously appearing.

Although these Bamboo Vipers had 30% resistance, the Jade Poison Bead's poison damage was high. Especially when it poisoned the snakes, the damage over time was also significant, comparable to a small area-of-effect skill.

Not long after, this batch of poisonous snakes turned into experience points for Ye Luo and the two to absorb, and then another batch was lured over.

Killing monsters four levels higher than them, and doing so in groups, Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng's experience bars grew rapidly. It was estimated that they would level up to 17 soon, and within the day, they would successfully reach level 20.

"Yan Hua, why do I feel like the slowing effect on these snakes isn't very strong?" Ye Luo suddenly realized this and asked in confusion. "After you leveled up to 15, you gained three skill points. Combined with the first kill bonus from the Wolf King, the first kill bonus from the two difficult dungeons, and the record-breaking bonus, you have a total of six skill points, enough to upgrade your skills to the highest level."

Player skills also had levels, ranging from Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster. Currently, these were the only levels, and it was unknown if there were any higher. Upgrading a Novice skill to the highest level only required 5 skill points. This meant that Yan Hua Yi Leng could upgrade her only upgradeable passive skill, [Ice Spirit Power], to Grandmaster level.

Based on Ye Luo's current observations, each level increase in the [Ice Spirit Power] skill would add 10 points of ice damage and a 5% slow to the target. Grandmaster level [Ice Spirit Power] could slow targets by 30%. However, the slowing effect on these snakes was far from that level, which was why he was confused.

"After the skill reached the Expert level, it could no longer be upgraded. The system prompted me that my tier was insufficient. I will only be able to upgrade it further after the third job change at level 120," Yan Hua Yi Leng explained calmly.

"Uh, there's such a restriction? That's really troublesome," Ye Luo said, slightly taken aback, then forced a smile. "Doesn't this mean you still have 3 skill points left? But that's much better than me. At least I haven't used any of my 6 skill points."

"Based on my guess, the effects will significantly improve after the skill reaches the Expert level, so these restrictions are quite normal," Yan Hua Yi Leng said, her tone as calm as ever. "As for the remaining skill points, they will be used eventually. Perhaps you'll even find yourself short of skill points later."

Not dwelling on it, Ye Luo continued to kill monsters at a high intensity.

Besides the high experience points, Bamboo Vipers also dropped a good amount of money. Moreover, they were highly poisonous monsters. Under the influence of the Jade Poison Bead's potent poison, they would condense into Jade Poison Bead Shards, which Ye Luo and the other were quite excited about.

However, it was unclear if it was because Bamboo Vipers had strong resistance to potent poison, but the drop rate for Jade Poison Bead Shards was not high, much lower than Demonized Scorpions. It often took over ten of them to drop one, which dashed Ye Luo's plan to quickly upgrade the Jade Poison Bead to Tier 4.

"Sigh, it seems like to upgrade the Jade Poison Bead, I still need to kill highly poisonous bosses," Ye Luo sighed, then scanned his surroundings. "The game has been running for over a day, and only Yan Hua and I have come to the Poisonous Swamp. There should be a boss here, right?"

Recalling that high-level bosses not only had a chance to drop high-tier Jade Poison Bead Shards but also high-level equipment, Ye Luo's killing became even more enthusiastic.

After killing several Bamboo Vipers, Ye Luo also obtained the snake gall needed for Aunt Li's quest, and also obtained several portions of Bamboo Viper Venom. Then, he finally refined the [Rotten Skin Powder]. After applying it to their weapons according to the instructions, their weapons were stained with a greenish color, and attacking Bamboo Vipers also inflicted the effect of poison assault.

With the dual potent poison effects of the Jade Poison Bead and [Rotten Skin Powder], Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng's monster-killing speed increased.

"The effect of [Rotten Skin Powder] is very good, especially against targets without poison resistance," Yan Hua Yi Leng said, then changed the subject. "I still don't know what the effect of mutated Rotten Skin Powder is. It should be even more powerful, but unfortunately, none of the portions you've refined so far have shown a mutation effect."

"The Purple Gold Medicine Cauldron only has a 3% mutation chance, which isn't high. At least dozens of refinements are needed to potentially get a mutation," Ye Luo said. Despite saying this, he was also somewhat looking forward to what the mutated Rotten Skin Powder would be like.

An hour later, Ye Luo's body flashed with white light. He finally reached level 17. Shortly after, Yan Hua Yi Leng also leveled up. Their strength increased slightly, and they killed Bamboo Vipers even faster, obtaining more Bamboo Viper Venom.

"Yan Hua, at our current leveling speed, we might reach level 20 before you go to sleep," Ye Luo suddenly said. He looked at Yan Hua Yi Leng. "Should we lock our experience bars when we're close to level 20? After all, once we reach level 20, we won't be able to enter the Demon Ant Calamity dungeon anymore."

"No need," Yan Hua Yi Leng replied calmly. Seeing Ye Luo's confusion, she asked, "Do you still need the set equipment that drops in the dungeon?"

"Uh, I've already completed the set, so I don't need it. As for you, you wouldn't give up the Flying Snow Robe, and there's no need for you to enter that dungeon again," Ye Luo said, then gave a wry smile. "We don't really need equipment, but the Male Ant and Queen Ant can drop Jade Poison Bead Shards. If we're lucky and get a Tier 2 one, it will save us a lot of trouble."

"You also said that's only if we're lucky. Based on our experiences and Sister Feng's dungeon runs, the probability isn't very high. It takes seven or eight runs of killing the Queen Ant to drop one or two Jade Poison Bead Shards," Yan Hua Yi Leng said, then changed her tone. "Although the attributes will be stronger after upgrading the Jade Poison Bead to Tier 4, it's better to quickly increase our levels and kill more high-level monsters to obtain more powerful equipment rather than wasting time. That's the right way to go."

"Also, the Tier 3 Jade Poison Bead is completely sufficient for us to kill monsters now, even if we encounter a level 20 boss," Yan Hua Yi Leng added.

After a moment of thought, Ye Luo understood. Killing a boss around level 20 would yield more benefits than killing those Ant Queens. He nodded, "Hmm, I understand. Let's continue leveling up quickly."

As he said this, Ye Luo began to check the level rankings. He found that all the players on the current level rankings were level 19, and Long Teng Tian Xia had even reached level 20, which made him feel some pressure.

"Ding~!"

System Notification (China): Congratulations to Dongfang Mingzhu for completing the Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission. She has successfully taken on the hidden profession of the Mage class – the Ice and Snow Mage. This announcement serves as a special reward, granting her a general skill book, 1 skill point, and 100 reputation points.

Suddenly, a system notification sounded, echoing throughout the entire China server.

For the fastest, error-free novel updates, please visit and bookmark this site to read the latest novels! ( )