Three in a Row

Upgrade successful.

"Your squad level is: Level 3, 2100/6000".

"Squad Skill: Brutality upgraded to LV3, Critical Hit Rate +8% (up from 7%)."

"Squad Skill: Tether upgraded to LV3, Tether range increased to 150 meters, cooldown time reduced to 7 hours."

"Your squad has been granted a temporary member slot. Temporary members are identical to regular members in all aspects except for the inability to use Shared Storage Space. Joining a temporary member will deduct 10,000 Psionic Points. Thereafter, each time a temporary member enters the Spirit Realm with the squad, Psionic Points equal to the member's level * 1000 will be deducted."

After a series of notifications from the Spirit Realm Rules, Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief and then extended an invitation to Qiao Rui: "Senior, there are only temporary member slots available right now. I'll cover the Psionic Points you spend."

According to the information Bai Xiaowen had checked, the team would only be able to add new official members after reaching level 4.

Qiao Rui didn't mind, and smiled, "Joining a team with such great potential is an opportunity every support class dreams of. These Psionic Points are nothing."

Bai Xiaowen said, "A top-tier support like Qiao Rui can raise the team's ceiling. It's my honor to have her join us."

Li Shuyi hooked her slender finger around her ear. "Why do I get the feeling that you two are... just flattering each other?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Bai Xiaowen and Qiao Rui both laughed.

Bai Xiaowen said earnestly, "Shu Yi, this isn't just empty flattery. Before, our first reaction to seeing the lord was to run away... Now that we've accumulated so much strength, and with Senior Sister Qiao Rui joining us, our team can try to cause the lord some trouble."

Qiao Rui's Soul Melody is simply too powerful, reducing attributes by a percentage. It was after seeing this skill information that Bai Xiaowen decided he had to win Qiao Rui over.

Just how powerful is the ability to reduce attributes by a percentage? Just look at the S-Tier scroll, Withering Mist, to see.

However, the Withering Mist Scroll covers a fixed area; once an enemy escapes this kilometer-wide range, the Withering effect will disappear. But Qiao Rui's Soul Melody is something the enemy cannot escape, especially since it's a group debuff—it's simply invincible.

"Don't keep calling me 'senior sister,' I'm a few years older than you all, just call me 'older sister,'" Qiao Rui said.

"Sister Qiao." BY Li Shuyi.

"Sister Qiao." BY Bai Xiaowen.

The two readily agreed, but Qiao Rui let out a soft sigh without making it obvious.

In addition to the increase in squad experience, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi's combat experience bars also saw a significant jump.

Bai Xiaowen has already reached level 6 with 63% experience points. These two Elite Tier missions of S rank or higher—especially the SS-Tier Scavenger mission—gave him nearly 30% experience bonus!

As for Li Shuyi, due to the monster-killing contribution points, she received fewer experience points, but the quest experience was not reduced at all. In addition, the experience points required for Elite Tier are less than those for Hero Class, Li Shuyi's experience bar has risen to level 6, 85%!

What does this mean? Li Shuyi will soon reach level 7 and enter the ranks of Advanced Awakened.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Rui clicked her tongue in praise, "Your leveling speed is like a rocket! You're only freshmen in college, and you've already reached level 7. Many people wouldn't even dare to imagine that!"

"Sister Qiao, you'll see later. Xiao Wen is incredibly fierce when it comes to missions!" Li Shuyi exclaimed, looking like a devoted fan. "Basically, every time we explore the Spirit Realm, we have to do several Elite Tier missions, and even some Hero Quest... I didn't realize how demanding this kind of progress was before, but then I heard that Qi Ruifeng from Jiangnan University went to the Spirit Realm, did an A-Tier Elite Quest, and was quite pleased with himself. That's when I realized how strong Bai Xiaowen is."

Li Shuyi was a little wary of Qiao Rui joining the team—the reasons for which are self-evident—but she was mainly welcoming, because Qiao Rui, as Bai Xiaowen had said, did have the ability to raise the team's ceiling.

This also includes the factor that the Spirit Realm Rules encourage teamwork.

When awakened individuals enter the Spirit Realm in a team, the experience points gained from killing monsters are shared, but the experience points gained from completing quests are not reduced and are the same as those gained from completing quests solo.

Of course, in team mode, the excavation task automatically becomes a team task, and the difficulty will be reduced according to the number of players and their levels. However, the reduction is very small and is nothing compared to the huge advantages of teaming up.

Qiao Rui joining the team might seem like there's one more person to share resources, but in reality, the mission experience won't decrease; it will only increase—a three-person team is now capable of tackling more difficult missions.

The fact that a three-person team could challenge a lord was a qualitative leap. Just thinking about the Dark Gold Equipment she could acquire in the future filled Li Shuyi with joy.

Furthermore, Li Shuyi genuinely cared about Bai Xiaowen. Bai Xiaowen had irreconcilable conflicts with the Zhao Family of Taiwan, and the Super God Guild alone couldn't protect him. What was Qiao Rui's background? The granddaughter of a high-ranking official in the central government. With her protecting him, what did Bai Xiaowen have to fear from the Zhao Family?

[Voiceover: Bai Xiaowen: I'm not afraid at all...]

"Let's give our team a catchy name. There were only two of us before, so there wasn't much of a need for a name. But as the team grows bigger, it's time to come up with a good name," Li Shuyi said.

"Isn't the default Black Edge Squad fine?" Bai Xiaowen coughed.

"No, if we form a team using the Oath of Black Edge, does that mean we have to call ourselves the Black Edge Squad? If other teams also form teams using the Oath of Black Edge, do they have to call themselves the same as us?" Li Shuyi objected.

"Hmm... let me think... how about we call it Team Three-Three?"

Qiao Rui: "..."

Li Shuyi: "Alright, Xiao Wen can rest for a bit. Let me and Sister Qiao handle the naming."

At this moment, Li Shuyi thought of the two poor White Eagle named Yi-Yi and Er-Er, and the fear of being dominated by Bai Xiaowen's terrible naming skills...

After discussion between Qiao Rui and Li Shuyi, the team was finally named --

White Phoenix.

"Thank goodness, they didn't name her Phoenix directly," Bai Xiaowen thought to herself. Girls just love these fancy but impractical names.

"It has a symbolic meaning. Bai means you, Huang means me... and together we are a white phoenix. How beautiful is that?" Li Shuyi said.

"Okay." Survival instincts forced Bai Xiaowen to accept the team name unconditionally. It sounded better than "Black Edge"?

"Master," Delifa's voice rang out.

"Is it finished?" Bai Xiaowen was startled and turned around.

On the altar, Goliya was enveloped in layers of black mist, emanating a chilling aura. With each step closer to the altar, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The black mist seemed to writhe as if it were alive.