The Same Kind of Time Stop

"The Soul-Shaking Team is different from teams like ours taking part in the faction war. They were already an S-Class Team, and they're carrying out a promotion quest. By rights, we shouldn't get tangled up with them."

In the corner of an inn's main hall, a short-haired man with white hair sat around a square table with several others. He wiped down his pistol as he spoke to Lu Beiyun.

"A Reincarnator obtained the identity of a Scripture-Seeker, made it out of Chang'an without the Soul-Shaking Team's help, and even clashed with them. Do you know what that means?"

Lu Beiyun supported Xuerui, the Gu cultivator, while feeding her mental energy. A man named Baizhou was cleaning a massive bearskin, searing its black fur with an eerie green flame. The smell of scorched hair filled the inn.

Plenty of townsfolk sat nearby, yet none seemed to notice anything strange. No one so much as glanced their way, as though this were how things had always been.

"It means they're stronger than us," Lu Beiyun said. "Baimingsheng, it sounds like you're getting at something."

"Not just stronger. Their whole team has better luck than ours. What are we supposed to fight them with?" Baimingsheng pointed his gun at the bear, tiger, and bull heads laid out on the table. "Even with our best stroke of luck, all we managed was to pick off the monsters from the first ordeal and take their places. We've already finished the main quest."

"Kill one more team, earn enough points, and we can leave this team battle. Let them raise floods to the heavens and turn the world upside down."

"Think about it. If the Soul-Shaking Team could handle them easily, would they be letting other teams eat Tang Monk Meat? There's no need for