An Adventure Begins, and Other Players' Chain of Quests

So Gao Linzhi made a decision: to secretly follow the three boys to the arena.

If you go there rashly, that Black Madman, being a villain of the Stealthy Cultivation Genre, will definitely not meet you.

They might even just stay far away.

Given the other party's personality, they definitely wouldn't want to compete against someone like me who doesn't know their background.

The difficulty this time lies not in defeating the enemy, but in finding the enemy.

Trying to provoke or insult the other party with words will definitely not work.

On the contrary, the Black Madman would only suspect that this person might have some hidden tricks up their sleeve, and would then hide them even more deeply.

Gao Linzhi is now fully capable of killing this Black Madman.

However, it is essential to ensure that the other party is showing their true form and to prevent them from escaping.

Therefore, Gao Linzhi came up with a simple plan.

That is to get these three young men and women all the way to the finals.

Once they reach the finals, the Black Madman will appear and kill or Enslavement the three of them during the awards ceremony.

Gao Linzhi will then be able to take the opportunity to kill him.

However, if we want them to make it to the finals, we need to create a little miracle for them.

Just as Gao Linzhi was about to give them something, three more players suddenly appeared in an open space not far away.

They had IDs above their heads like "Free and Unfettered in the Heavens," "Free and Unfettered on Earth," and "Free and Unfettered in the Mountains"...

The three players also spotted the three young people at a glance.

As soon as they appeared, they immediately disappeared.

However, Gao Linzhi's stealth skills are even more impressive.

The three of them then could no longer see Gao Linzhi.

Moreover, the ideas of these three people happen to be very similar to those of Gao Linzhi.

Gao Linzhi overheard the three of them following the three young men and having a secret conversation.

"The system's mission is to find out the true identity of the Black Madman. This mission is at level 75 difficulty, so everyone needs to be extremely careful," said Xiaoyao Tianshang.

"We're only level 45, can we manage?" Xiaoyao Dixia.

"Don't worry, according to the information we've gathered, this Black Madman is very cautious and won't dare to make a move easily," Xiaoyao Shanzhong reassured him.

"As long as we pretend to be very powerful, he won't dare to offend us rashly."

"Besides, we're players; we have Revival Stone, and we can force ourselves offline."

"This task may seem difficult, but compared to other high-level tasks, it's actually quite achievable."

"The mission only requires us to discover its true form, not to attack it."

Upon hearing this, Gao Linzhi's heart stirred.

He immediately realized that the Game System was secretly coordinating with him.

For example, if Gao Linzhi is going to hunt down the Black Madman, after the Game System detects this and evaluates it, it will determine that this will help weaken the original power of the Skyfall World, and will automatically generate a series of related high-level tasks.

He continued to follow the three and listen.

Xiaoyao Shanzhong continued, "It's said that those who received similar tasks before had a completion rate as high as 5%."

"Keep in mind, this is a level 75 quest reward; a 5% completion rate is already quite high."

"We're only level 45 right now. If we can get the level 75 reward ahead of time, it'll be enough to give us a huge boost."

Gao Linzhi nodded.

This is a common tactic used in online games.

Low-level players, by using certain skills, game items, or game mechanics, can fight high-level monsters and complete high-level quests at extremely low levels.

For example, the "rebound skill".

The healer uses a counterattack skill to fight super high-level monsters.

The harder the monster attacks you, the more damage it will reflect back at you.

As long as you have enough health and healing, you can farm low-level monsters.

You can kill monsters that are over level 60 when you're only a dozen or so.

This allows you to gain a huge amount of experience at once and level up quickly.

This kind of tactic is generally not prohibited in games.

Because this kind of strategy is relatively difficult to implement, it serves as a challenge and goal for players.

This encourages players to keep playing.

Upon hearing this, the other two nodded in agreement.

They are now brimming with confidence, feeling they have nothing to fear from that Black Madman.

At this moment, Xiaoyao Tianshang, pointing at the three people in front, said:

"I just heard them talking; these three are going to participate in the gladiatorial competition."

"We can make good use of them."

"That's right, I heard that too. This combination of two men and one woman is definitely suitable for unleashing combat power."

Great minds think alike.

They had the same idea as Gao Linzhi.

Gao Linzhi then decided to use the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

All he needed to do was prepare for the battle and wait for the six men to lure out the true form of the Black Madman.

The seven of them then continued on their journey.

The three boys, however, walked faster and faster.

They were unaware that four people were following them.

The four people also followed them along the way.

About an hour later, they arrived at a large city nearby.

This great city had very high walls, over twenty meters high.

Gao Linzhi knew that this was to protect against wild beasts and monsters.

It's not about guarding against monsters; most monsters can easily pass through walls.

This big city appears quite prosperous on the surface.

It seems that the evil of the Black Madman is indeed not the chaotic type.

At the city gate, crowds surged and flowed in an endless stream.

But who could have known that so much evil was hidden behind this?

Near the city gate, along the city wall, there were many stalls.

The vendors were there, chatting and laughing with the customers, haggling over prices.

Come again next time!

"Hey buddy, come quick!"

They were unaware that they were living under the shadow of a terrible demon.

This is what is known as lawful evil.

As long as you follow his rules, you can barely, or even survive quite well.

If you're smart, you can live a good life.

However, once you violate its rules, once you cross its killing line, you will immediately suffer a gruesome death.

And at this time...

The three young people were drawn to the bustling stalls.

They came from a small village and had always been training; they had never seen such a bustling place before.

Various vendors' calls filled the air.

"Come and see! Fresh lotus roots!"

"Fresh fish, just caught! Look at this big carp, it weighs a full ten pounds!"

"These two young gentlemen, these flowers were just picked this morning, would you like to buy a few?"

A little girl holding a flower basket set her sights on three teenagers.

The two boys were clearly at a loss.

But they were soon drawn to the flowers in front of them.

Although they could tell at a glance that it was picked from the wild.

In a large basket, there was a large bunch of colorful wildflowers.

They come in various sizes, their colors aren't very vibrant, and the taste is, needless to say, awful.

Zhang Xiaoshan immediately chose to buy a bouquet of flowers.

Not to be outdone, Li Si also bought flowers.

"Xiao Mei, this is for you."

Me too.

Xiao Mei beamed with joy, actually accepting flowers from both of them at the same time.

Goodness!

There were three players; it was obvious something was going on.

"That's great. Only women can stimulate their passion and make them act hot."

"Brothers turned against each other over a woman; one was righteous, the other turned to the dark side, and the one who turned to the dark side was recruited by Black Madman..."

"Alright, I know how to make up the plot now."

And at this time...

Gao Linzhi's operation has begun.

He had previously decided to give the three people some extraordinary adventures so that they could fight their way to the finals.

He decided to give the other party some game items as a boost.

This game item is for increasing physical constitution.

Each person can only use the last one.

He had already eaten.

Now that we're not adding any more, we can use this money to strengthen the foundation of these three individuals.

After buying the flowers, these three people immediately knew how to spend their money.

They carried the travel expenses collected by the entire village.

They are quite wealthy.

A large bouquet of flowers costs only five Copper Coins.

A fish sells for only ten Copper Coins.

They didn't rush into the city to participate in the competition; instead, they strolled around the stalls outside the city first.

The vibrancy of the place attracted them.

In addition, the selection competition will not be held for several more days.

And so, the three of them looked at one stall after another.

Fishmongers, wine sellers, pottery sellers, mobile phone sellers...

Yes, Gao Linzhi actually saw that they were selling mobile phones.

Of course it can't be used.

It looks like a lump of iron.

"This is something from outer space. It's said that if you add lightning to it, you can make it light up."

Even if it doesn't light up, this thing can still be used as a mirror.

"Only 50 coins will do!" the stall owner said, trying his best to sell.

Wow, I got these from a used phone recycling center, 50 yuan each, right?

And indeed, each of the three people bought a mobile phone.

They had naturally heard of the players.

The players are very rich.

This is the shared impression the three people have of the player.

After buying the phones and looking at them for a while, they stopped directly at one of the stalls.

It was a fruit stall.

The bright red fruit exudes a delicate fragrance and sweetness.

It looks so appetizing.

"This is called Fragrant Fruit; it's sweet and crunchy, and incredibly delicious."

"Come try a few, it's free." The stall owner was very enthusiastic.

The three boys did indeed try one.

"It's really delicious."

They immediately decided to buy it.

"One copper coin per pound."

Hearing that it was so cheap, they bought more than ten kilograms.

Gao Linzhi smiled slightly and directly mixed fifteen items that could improve physical fitness into the mix, disguising them as fruits.

The three then ate as they walked.

When Zhang Xiaoshan ate a seemingly ordinary Fragrant Fruit, he immediately felt a warm current flow through his body.

It originates from the dantian and travels directly to the chest and forehead.

Suddenly, he felt that his previous bottleneck had been naturally broken through.

He felt that his strength, speed, and reaction time had all increased significantly.

His eyes flickered, and he looked down at the Fragrant Fruit in his hand.

He knew it must have been this thing that caused it.

This must be what the elders often refer to as Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

He had heard that some people were lucky enough to eat certain fruits in the wild, which would cleanse their marrow and greatly improve their physical condition.

He didn't make a fuss about it, but kept his expression calm.

Gao Linzhi nodded upon seeing this.

As expected, those who can master martial arts are not truly fools.

They all have a certain degree of shrewdness.

The reason people get scammed is mainly due to information asymmetry, not because they are stupid.

After Zhang Xiaoshan tasted this special Fragrant Fruit, an idea came to him.

I bought all the fruit from that stall owner.

However, he did not do so immediately.

He was just pretending to do the work voluntarily.

"Let me take it."

"You guys go ahead and shop."

The other two clearly hadn't figured out his true intentions.

Zhang Xiaoshan didn't intend to let anyone else know about this.

He ate as he walked.

The next fruit gave him another wave of warmth.

The next one is the same.

After eating these three fruits, he found that he no longer felt the warm current when he ate any more.

Clearly, he understood.

It seems this fruit can only be eaten three times.

He immediately abandoned the idea of buying the fruit.

Doing that would only expose yourself.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaoshan secretly selected some of the fruit.

Then, while Li Si was haggling with a stall owner, he called Xiao Mei aside.

"Xiao Mei, I've just discovered that this is a special kind of fruit."

"After eating it, your strength will greatly increase."

"I found it, and then I thought of you," Zhang Xiaoshan said, handing the Fragrant Fruit from the basket to Xiao Mei.

"Really?" Xiao Mei asked, somewhat doubtful.

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"

"Hurry up and eat, don't waste time," Zhang Xiaoshan urged as he saw Li Si approaching.

Xiao Mei ate it with some skepticism.

Then I realized I didn't feel anything at all.

"I don't feel anything?" Xiao Mei was a little unhappy, thinking that Zhang Xiaoshan was lying to her.

"Oh, then I chose the wrong one. You can have another one." Zhang Xiaoshan picked out another one.

Fortunately, the two were lucky; this time it was for real.

Xiao Mei felt a warm current appear.

"You've definitely gained a lot of strength," Xiao Mei said with delight.

"Keep taking it; it won't have any effect until you take the third one."

At this moment, Li Si finally finished buying what he had bought: a Short Sword.

What are you doing?

"Zhang Xiaoshan, you bastard, don't you dare bother Xiao Mei while I'm gone!"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Zhang Xiaoshan felt confident, believing he now had a private secret with Xiao Mei.

"Asshole!"

"Alright, you two, let's go into town and settle down, then go check out the competition venue."

"Okay," the two agreed.

At this very moment.

In the center of the city's arena, the scorching sun was burning the earth.

An iron gate on the east side suddenly rose with a roar.

A burly man stepped forward, clad in Bronze Scale Armor, with a leather shield strapped to his left arm and a Short Sword in his right hand.

The sword was wide and short, designed specifically for close-quarters combat.

The helmet covered most of his face, revealing only an old scar on his chin.

His opponent appeared from the west.

This is a giant nearly three meters tall.

He wore no armor, his upper body was bare, and his skin was covered in grease, which gleamed bronze in the sunlight.

He chose to hold a Long-handled Battle Axe, its blade as wide as a fan.

Her hair was braided into small plaits and tied up with iron rings.

Every step he took made the earth tremble.

"Gentlemen, these are two true powerhouses!"

"They just defeated ten opponents to get here!"

"Let's cheer for them now!"

"When they win 108 consecutive matches, they will be summoned by the gods and become a distinguished island lord!"

"Just like our island lord!"

"Oh!"

The audience immediately erupted in enthusiastic cheers.