Venomfang Priest's Robe (2-in-1)

"You've already reached level 6?"

The Old Demon was taken aback. "You've only been an Awakened for a year. This leveling speed... compared to you, I've wasted over thirty years of my life. Hero Class should require even more experience points."

Bai Xiaowen smiled but didn't explain anything.

This is actually quite normal. An awakened being like the Old Demon only goes to the Spirit Realm two or three times a year. How many times did Bai Xiaowen go this year?

Not to mention that every time Bai Xiaowen goes to the Spirit Realm, he can uncover missions that are extremely difficult and have very generous rewards. The harvest from one trip to the Spirit Realm is equivalent to that of ten or eight trips for others... You know, Qi Ruifeng could brag for a long time about completing an A-Tier Elite Quest in the Inca Plane World.

People often say that diligence can make up for lack of talent, but a diligent genius is someone that ordinary people can never catch up to.

After killing Tiya, Bai Xiaowen and his companion did some cleanup work, killing the small rattlesnakes that had been attracted to the cave by Tiya's flute music.

After this battle, the Butcher's maximum bonus Life Value increased to over 150 points.

The Black Soul Stone has reached level 5 with a growth rate of 877/2000 and currently possesses 912 Soul Essence. Since returning from the Black Tide Plane, Bai Xiaowen has been busy with affairs on Earth and hasn't killed many bosses or Elite Tier.

After eliminating Tiya, the only remaining threats in Venomous Snake Valley were some level 1 Desert Rattlesnake, and perhaps a few Elite Tier level 1 ones. Bai Xiaowen controlled the Butcher, who, along with two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, scoured the valley on their own, while he opened Tiya's treasure chest.

The battle rating for defeating the Snake Shepherd Priest Tiya is A-Tier, and you have three chances to draw loot. Bai Xiaowen felt this rating was a bit high... He only got an A-Tier rating for killing an 8th-level Boss Tier before.

"Perhaps it's because Tiya's identity is special..." Bai Xiaowen thought of the other party's universal Advanced Boss skill "Edjo's Gift," which had reached level 2, making it more powerful than a typical level 7 Boss Tier.

Fourteen golden cards appeared before Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen selected the first one.

"You have obtained the item: The Snake Herder's Bone Flute."

[The Snake Herder's Bone Flute: A-Tier item. When used, it inflicts a soothing effect on all snake-like creatures within a medium radius (Spirit * 10, unit: meters), causing them to regard you as an ally for 10 minutes. Disappears after use.]

This is a tool with a relatively narrow range of applications, effective only against snakes, and it is completely incomparable to the A-Tier tool, the Deception Talisman, that Bai Xiaowen obtained before.

However, the Bone Whistle has a group-soothing effect and lasts much longer than the Deception Talisman, which is an advantage.

Bai Xiaowen drew the second item, which was a "damaged statue" with no description or notes, only four simple words: special item.

Bai Xiaowen looked at the statue over and over again.

The statue is a monster with a human body and a snake's head, with intricate patterns carved on its surface, though much of it has worn away.

Bai Xiaowen shook the statue, carefully sensed it, and said with certainty, "This statue is just a storage container. There's something inside."

With a snap, Bai Xiaowen smashed the statue. A tattered, yellowed piece of paper fluttered down.

Bai Xiaowen copied it from a distance and received the yellowed page.

The paper felt rough to the touch, like some kind of plant fiber.

The Spirit Realm Rules notification reads, "You have obtained a special item: the Mysterious Contract."

"This is paper made from papyrus."

The Old Demon, having lived a long and knowledgeable life, made a judgment after touching the paper. "This kind of paper is generally used in the worlds of Ancient Egypt, Arabia, and Ancient Greece. Historically, it predates papermaking technology in ancient China by a great deal."

Bai Xiaowen was more interested in the message on the papyrus; information preserved in this way must be considered important intelligence.

On the papyrus, there were some simple lines drawn, which looked like a map, but were not quite. Next to the different lines, there were also some incomprehensible symbols.

"It feels like some kind of ancient script. I need to do some research when I get back."

Bai Xiaowen stored the special item, the Mysterious Contract, in his Storage Space, then drew cards one last time. He laughed and said, "Not even high-level bosses drop Gold Equipment, that's a bit too stingy... Hmm?!"

Prompt message:

"You have obtained a green item: the Venomfang Priest's Robe."

"Green equipment? A set piece?!" Bai Xiaowen's mouth gaped open in surprise. He quickly checked the equipment's attributes.

[The Venomfang Priest's Robe (Bind on Pickup)]

[Equipment Quality: Set (Green)]

[Equipment Slot: Top]

[Equipment Requirements: Base Strength 20, Base Agility 20]

[Attributes: Constitution +3, Spirit +3, Magic Resistance +8]

[Additional Skills: None]

[Durability: 37/40]

[Note: Edjo's priests will never betray you.]

Old Demon was also a bit surprised; the drop rate for a set piece was extremely low. He leaned closer to take a look. "It's a pity, with just this one piece, we can't see what the set bonus attributes are like... Usually, you need at least two pieces to see the first bonus attribute appear."

Bai Xiaowen laughed happily, "Anyway, it's a good thing that a set has been released... Now that we have the first one, how far away can the second one be?"

Old Demon shrugged. "Let's not even talk about whether you can get another green set piece. Even if you do, the chances of it matching this one are extremely slim... I think you should prepare your Psionic Points and focus on buying it."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "This set is clearly related to the god Edjo; perhaps it's dropped by his priests. That greatly narrows down the possibilities, doesn't it?"

After a pause, Bai Xiaowen added, "Old Demon Yao, although the official intelligence regarding Venomous Snake Valley was wrong this time, let's not make a fuss about it. Anyway, I benefited, so it's better to keep quiet and make my fortune."

The Old Demon nodded knowingly. "I won't tell."

After opening the treasure chest, Bai Xiaowen continued to direct Fatty and the two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, spending an afternoon clearing out the remaining snakes in Venomous Snake Valley.

Fatty's maximum Life Value increased by over 200 points, an astonishing efficiency. This was mainly due to intelligence, allowing Bai Xiaowen to directly attack these densely packed monster gathering points, saving a lot of time and effort, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Afterwards, Bai Xiaowen and Old Demon drove back, deliberately slowing down. Along the way, they encountered some lone mutated beasts, and sent Butcher to kill them.

After a slow and drawn-out march, it wasn't until noon on the second day that the Butcher's maximum Life Value was fully stacked, making him a true Roshan with 600 Life Value points. In terms of survivability, the Butcher is definitely stronger than many Elite Tier tank-type classes.

However, the Butcher's large size also has its disadvantages. Unlike tank-type awakened beings, who can effectively shield themselves with shields or dodge attacks and skills by moving around, the Butcher is not as large as other awakened beings.

Back in Jinghai Base City, after turning in the quest at the Guild Building, Bai Xiaowen called Li Shuyi and then entered the guild's database to search for information about "Edjo".

Edjo, the Snake God, was a deity worshipped by the Ancient Egypt, and was considered a benevolent god. She Sanctuary the Nile Delta region, which was the "Lower Egypt" kingdom before the unification of Egypt. Edjo's status in the faith gradually changed after Menes, the ruler of "Upper Egypt," unified Egypt, and was replaced by the divine bull Serapis.

The text recorded on that papyrus is not difficult to decipher in the Psychic Energy Era where internet information is readily available.

Bai Xiaowen first determined that this was a cursive script (Hieratic Script) of Ancient Egypt hieroglyphs, and then, by comparing images, derived the three names recorded on the map:

Moaitaihe, Ahmose, Tiya.

Besides these three names, there are some scattered characters, which, after interpretation and paraphrasing, translate to "the Silent Tongue".

"This Mysterious Contract, as a special item, might act as a locator during my next exploration of the Spirit Realm, allowing me to enter the Ancient Egypt Plane from which Tiya comes. If I can find this organization called the Silent Tongue, perhaps I can obtain clues about the pieces of the Edjo set."

However, Bai Xiaowen does not plan to venture into the Spirit Realm in the near future. His current plan is to use the month or so of the CUAA National Championship to hone his Battle Specialty and skills. Once the National Championship is over and his skills and specialties are sufficiently developed, then he can think about going to the Spirit Realm.

Of course, in his spare time, Bai Xiaowen could also start collecting some historical materials about Ancient Egypt, which was a huge undertaking. In his General Knowledge Course, he learned about world history, and that Ancient Egypt had a very long history, which began around 4000 BC and spanned six thousand years, making it even older than ancient China.

Take Menes, the first unifying emperor of Ancient Egypt, for example. He completed the unification around 3100 BC, while the Five Emperors era of ancient China had not yet begun at this time.

Unfortunately, the orthodox civilization of Ancient Egypt ended in 640 AD. Arabia rule changed everything, including language, writing, and even beliefs... Until modern times, Ancient Egyptian Civilization had been replaced by Arabia civilization. This is different from the inclusiveness and integration of ancient China. Although the Central Plains were also conquered and ruled by foreign tribes, the inheritance of the "orthodox tradition" of ancient China civilization never changed.

This also resulted in a scarcity of historical documents from Ancient Egypt, and a low level of public awareness of its various Hero Tier.

The various timelines modeled after Ancient Egypt are not as difficult to create as the Ancient China Plane.

Returning from the Wilderness Zone, Bai Xiaowen's life returned to its familiar rhythm. Training with the University Team members, streaming solo queue games, making potions to increase proficiency... there was also feeding the Juvenile Eagle Yi-Yi Yi and Er-Er, and organizing Ancient Egypt materials, etc., busy and fulfilling.

Another weekend has arrived, and the second round of the knockout stage has finally begun.

Bai Xiaowen and the University Team members arrived at the Awakened Association, took a teleportation array, and rushed to Quancheng Base City, the location of Shandong University.

This match garnered significant attention, even surpassing the first round. Shandong University, a veteran of the top eight, is by no means a weak team, while Jinghai University emerged as a dark horse, sweeping aside Wannan University to advance. The clash between these two teams undoubtedly attracted even more attention.

However, both teams kept a low profile before the match. When the captains were interviewed, they were both quite humble and did not make any harsh statements.

This undoubtedly disappointed the media, which loves to stir up trouble. However, at this moment, someone jumped out—or rather, was dug out by the media—and stirred up a wave of controversy.

"Jinghai University is no threat at all. Shandong University is not comparable to those in Southern Anhui or Jiangnan. We know Bai Xiaowen's three tricks very well, and it won't be difficult to restrain him! Shandong University students, rest assured, we will deliver a resounding victory to you on our home turf!"

Reporter: Yu Yiguang, works for Jinghai Youth Daily.

Interviewee: Zhang Yubin, main shooter for Shandong University.

Soon, reporters took the report to the hotel where Jinghai University were staying, asking for their opinion...

Sure enough, some restless young people were stirred up again.

Chen Guowei: "Well, I'm just a substitute, so I don't really have a say... If you insist, I'd say we're the ones who won. The captain instructed us to give them some face, which is why I held back. Since they're so ungrateful, let's give them a good beating! I'm not good at slapping faces, but the captain is..."

"Wait, let me add one more thing, Zhang Yubin, you big bastard--"

The last sentence was ruthlessly cut off.

Bai Xiaowen couldn't help but laugh when she saw Chen Guowei's interview.

Before entering the auditorium of the competition venue, another reporter came to Bai Xiaowen to stir things up, but he maintained the same tone as before: he was confident in his own strength, but of course, his opponent was also very strong, and the outcome would only be known after the match.

At this moment, in the home team's players' lounge, Zhang Yubin was being criticized by the team.

Shi Haiyan: "Boss Great Ming said to keep a low profile! How could you make such a statement?"

Mi Yuan: "Now everyone's under pressure... If we lose, we'll really be embarrassed."

A tall girl with long legs flicked her hair and said, "It's okay, we're all very low-key. Even if we lose, the one who will be most embarrassed is Junior Zhang..." This tall girl was named Yu Ting, Elite Tier spellcaster.

Zhang Yubin's face darkened. "You guys are so discouraged..." He looked at Bao Yiming pleadingly, "Boss..."

Bao Yiming's expression wasn't good either, but with the big battle imminent, he couldn't say anything discouraging and cause morale to plummet. He coughed and said, "Well... that's enough for now. Yubin, you play well later. As long as we don't get a really bad match mode, our chances of winning are pretty good."

After a pause, Bao Yiming continued, "Actually, I've wanted to compete with Bai Xiaowen for a long time... I was quite annoyed when he beat me at the Dead Spirit Lake last time, and he even dared to show off his relationship to me..."

The bell rang.

"Alright everyone, the second round of the CUAA National Championship is about to begin. I am your host for this round Yun Xiaozhu. Now, please welcome both teams to the stage!"

Goodnight, everyone...