First Arrival in the Abyss (5), The Humiliation of the Reborn Empress

As Jiang Yuan's thoughts drifted, a wooden club suddenly struck his leg.

He looked down.

Several green, pointed-eared creatures half his height stood beside him, clutching wooden clubs and emitting strange noises.

"×&%￥#@... (Damned human)"

"%!$# ... (Go to hell)"

Even without using an appraisal skill, Jiang Yuan recognized these monsters.

[Abyssal Beast]: Goblin.

[Grade]: Common.

[Level]: LV4.

[Skill]: Conceal Presence.

[Evaluation]: Tough skin, low attack power, low-level vile Abyssal creatures that dwell in dark underground nests. They enjoy concealing their presence to ambush sleeping or incapacitated enemies.

"Lurking nearby, waiting for us to exhaust each other so you could swoop in for a sneak attack? Truly despicable creatures."

Jiang Yuan sneered.

"%!$# ... (Go to hell)"

The few goblins, wielding wooden clubs or daggers, shrieked as they lunged at him.

"Experience delivered to my doorstep; it would be a waste not to take it."

With a thought from Jiang Yuan, a black-red spark appeared before him. The surrounding temperature soared instantly, and the ice melted rapidly.

Before the goblins could react, their bodies suddenly ignited like torches, and in less than two seconds, they were burned until not even ash remained.

[Ding, you killed a LV3 Goblin, EXP +30]

[Ding, you killed a LV4 Goblin, EXP +40]

[Ding, you killed a LV5 Goblin, EXP +50]

[Ding, your level has increased. Current level: LV6. All attributes +10, gained 10 free attribute points.]

Night fell over the Abyss, and a blood moon appeared in the sky.

A campfire stood out prominently on the pitch-black land; under normal circumstances, it would undoubtedly attract all sorts of fierce beasts to attack.

Therefore, ordinary hunters would never dare to light a campfire at night. Even if some guilds lit fires for illumination, they would arrange guards or carry items imbued with the pressure of high-level beasts to prevent sudden attacks.

Or, there was another way.

That was to wipe out all the beasts in the vicinity, so there would be no need to worry about them suddenly appearing to attack while you were eating or sleeping.

That was exactly what Jiang Yuan had done, which was why the area around the campfire was littered with the corpses of various beasts.

After Jiang Yuan finished his nineteenth grilled rib of a first-order Iron-Skin Pig, Lin Qingyan suddenly opened her eyes and sat up from the ground.

"You're awake?"

Jiang Yuan, his mouth covered in grease, reached for the twentieth rib.

Turning to see him, the memories of her defeat resurfaced in her mind.

Lin Qingyan couldn't help but grit her teeth and clench her fists, wisps of cold air radiating from her body.

"Still want to fight?"

Jiang Yuan ate his rib without looking up. "I advise you to rest. If you overexert yourself any further, your innate origin will be affected."

"...Hmph, don't lump me in with those ordinary people."

As she spoke, Lin Qingyan activated her primary talent. A Healing Aura appeared behind her, its warm light bathing her entire body.

She quickly returned to her peak state.

But after recovering, she chose not to fight again.

Fighting again would only result in another defeat.

She checked her clothes and looked at Jiang Yuan with a strange, suspicious gaze, as if looking at a criminal. "You didn't do anything strange to me while I was unconscious, did you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. How could I be that kind of person?"

"I'll know if you did just by looking." Lin Qingyan pulled up her interface and opened the camera log. "I turned on the camera before the fight. After I passed out, the camera would have only been locked onto me."

Jiang Yuan nearly choked.

"That's a hell of a move..."

"You seem very nervous."

"H-how could I be? Haha..."

When Lin Qingyan saw the footage of herself falling into Jiang Yuan's arms after losing consciousness, a flush of unnatural red couldn't help but flash across her small face.

Jiang Yuan took the opportunity to say, "That was your own doing, not mine..."

"Shut up!" she snapped, flushed with shame and anger.

She continued watching what happened next.

Lin Qingyan's beautiful face darkened instantly, and she sneered at Jiang Yuan, "Is my face fun to play with?"

"Uh... the, the texture was quite nice."

Jiang Yuan awkwardly turned his head away.

"You dare say that!"

Lin Qingyan was incensed.

"Next time, next time I will definitely slaughter you!!"

She kept watching.

In the footage, she saw Jiang Yuan carrying her on his back to slay ferocious beasts. With every movement and leap, Lin Qingyan on his back would briefly separate from him before slamming back against him, especially in the chest area.

The more Lin Qingyan watched, the more uncomfortable she felt in her chest, and her face couldn't help but turn burning red.

This bastard, didn't he know how to put her down?

Wasn't he afraid that her, her assets would be flattened?

"There was no other way. I was afraid you'd be eaten by the beasts if I didn't take you with me..." Jiang Yuan explained.

"Don't talk to me! Shameless! Despicable! Brazen!!"

Lin Qingyan sat cross-legged on the ground, huffing in anger. She reached out, grabbed a piece of grilled steak, and began devouring it without a care for her image as the school beauty.

Every time she recalled the image of herself pressed against his back, she felt a suffocating tightness in her chest. No wonder she had felt such intense discomfort after waking up.

She had suffered nothing but humiliation in this defeat!!

This bastard.

She really shouldn't have teamed up with him!

Once she finished this meal, she would part ways with him and get as far away as possible!!

But before that...

Lin Qingyan couldn't help but ask Jiang Yuan a question that had been bothering her for a long time.

"What exactly is your class?"

Jiang Yuan, who was busy gorging himself, looked up and said quite naturally, "An assassin."

Lin Qingyan nearly choked, her chest heaving violently beneath her hoodie, which caught Jiang Yuan's wandering gaze.

"Do you take me for a fool? What kind of assassin is like that?"

Facing the interrogation of the stunning school beauty, Jiang Yuan merely glanced at her sideways and said indifferently:

"The loser has no right to ask questions."

Lin Qingyan was rendered speechless, grinding her teeth in fury as her chest continued to heave.

She turned her head away, making up her mind.

If I say another word to him, I'm not Empress Qingyan, I'm a dog!

The two went their separate ways, parting on bad terms.

Jiang Yuan was actually happy to hunt monsters alone, without having to worry about anyone stealing his experience.

Time flew by as he searched for monsters, killed them, and leveled up.

Soon, the third day since entering the Abyss arrived.