On the other side of Qingcheng.
Accompanied by Wei Yuan's secretary, Ning Jing said goodbye to her grandparents and left her family a month's salary she had received in advance.
Wei Yuan's female secretary also assigned personnel to secretly protect Ning Jing's grandparents.
Afterward, the secretary drove Ning Jing along a secluded mountain trail.
As a Legendary Scholar, Ning Jing arrived at the only Ancient Civilization Research Institute in East China!
This institute brought together East China's scientific research talent, and its purpose was to find and decipher the ruins of Otherworld civilizations!
This was the place Wei Yuan had arranged for Ning Jing.
"So many stone tablets from the civilizations of Other Races!"
As she entered the institute, Ning Jing's eyes lit up with excitement!
Many Other Races used stone tablets to record their civilizations or secret knowledge. These tablets had survived countless upheavals to reach the present day, and Ning Jing found them particularly fascinating.
"Welcome, Ning Jing!"
Professors and researchers in white lab coats came out to greet her.
The institute's director welcomed her warmly. Wei Yuan had told him early that morning that she was a Legendary Scholar!
Across all of Blue Star, even the strongest Scholars were only Epic.
This was the first time a Legendary Scholar had appeared!
She would play a vital role in East China's ongoing excavation of Ancient Ruins!
"Hello." Ning Jing greeted him politely, her gaze drifting toward a stone tablet on a distant laboratory bench.
"Could that be one of the legendary Ruins Stone Tablets?"
The director had intended to exchange a few pleasantries, but seeing how captivated Ning Jing was, he went straight to the point.
"That's right. This tablet holds clues to a ruin near East China!"
"Once we decipher the clues on it, we'll learn the location and contents of these Ancient Ruins."
"Unfortunately, our deciphering progress has been far too slow, and the contents are far too complex..."
Ning Jing's eyes brightened. "May I give it a try?"
"Of course!" That was exactly what the director had hoped for.
"What we've deciphered so far only proves that the tablet is connected to the Yagu Dynasty."
"It seems to concern the Dragon Race or dragonkin..."
He led Ning Jing over to the Ruins Stone Tablet. Its surface was mottled with age, yet showed little wear. It had been very well preserved.
Symbols that seemed almost alive and inscrutable characters shimmered across its deep gray-brown surface.
Ning Jing held her breath and concentrated, her eyes intensely focused.
[Absolute Focus]!
Even with a Legendary Scholar's deciphering ability, she found this tablet somewhat difficult. Clearly, this Ruins Stone Tablet ranked among the most challenging of its kind.
"I can't decipher it completely just yet. I'll need a little time." Ning Jing looked apologetic.
Yet the director and researchers exchanged looks at her words, momentarily bewildered...
Did she think a Ruins Stone Tablet could be deciphered with a single glance?
Any research institute in any country would need at least two months to decipher a single Ruins Stone Tablet!
"It's all right..." The director was about to offer a few reassuring words.
Then Ning Jing continued, "But I've deciphered three passages."
The director and every researcher: "???"
Was she serious?
Everyone's attention immediately snapped to Ning Jing as she spoke.
Ning Jing pointed to a particular line on the tablet and said earnestly:
"The forbidden land of the Dragon Ancestor's Secret Realm... the betrayed dragon of world destruction..."
Before she had even finished, every researcher, including the director, was stunned. Several of those words matched their own translations perfectly!
She really had deciphered it!
But she wasn't finished. Her finger moved slowly across the tablet, her gaze utterly focused as her lips moved:
"The Black Emperor, Nid... hogg!"
The next day, at Green Mountain Apartments.
Yi Tian got up, washed, and went downstairs to the apartment cafeteria for breakfast as usual. Not only was the food delicious, but most importantly, it was free. That was hard to turn down.
After promoting Bai Qiu Li yesterday, he had also shared in the enormous attribute increases granted by the Frostmoon Sword Venerable class, along with Heaven-Rending Sword Domain, a divine-tier skill devoted purely to offense.
Compared with Ye Xiu's Freelancer class, Bai Qiu Li's current Frostmoon Sword Venerable class specialized in offense. She truly was like a razor-sharp sword, and now ranked first among his employees in combat strength.
As for the other outstanding employee slot...
Yi Tian intended to think it over, so he had not used it yet.
Still, if it could upgrade class quality, he was quite eager to see what would happen when Ye Xiu's divine-tier Freelancer class advanced.
After spending 20 on Bai Qiu Li, he had 89.3 in funds left. Adding the 6 points from yesterday's log settlement brought his balance to 95.3.
There was a reason he kept such a large reserve.
Yi Tian still couldn't forget the Black-Robed Man. That was special talent!
So he had kept more than 60 in funds on hand. Unfortunately, he had never encountered him again.
Today, Yi Tian planned to keep trying his luck in the dungeons.
Just then, however, Wei Yuan suddenly called.
Yi Tian answered, "Hello?"
"What!"
"The Black-Robed Man appeared!"
Unable to contain his delight, Yi Tian immediately put down the fried dough stick in his hand.
Two minutes later, Yi Tian arrived at Wei Yuan's office and learned what had happened.
"Yesterday, you asked me to post a bounty with the military. Today, someone encountered that monster you mentioned in a dungeon."
"Dressed in a black robe, unlike an ordinary dungeon monster, fast, with unpredictable movements..."
Wei Yuan relayed the report to Yi Tian. "Doesn't that match your description?"
"That's right!"
Yi Tian's eyes burned with eagerness. "Where is he now?"
Wei Yuan said, "The Qingcheng Garrison Army spotted him in the level 35 Wildwood. They didn't engage him and left immediately to report it."
"Great!"
Yi Tian grew excited, marveling at how much easier things were when you had help.
Searching alone was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Wei Yuan had posted a bounty and mobilized the entire army. That made it far simpler.
With that, Yi Tian thanked Wei Yuan and immediately set off for the Dungeon Center!
The level 35 dungeon, Wildwood.
A blazing sun hung overhead, and tall, thick trees cast long stretches of shade.
Yi Tian entered the dungeon alone, feeling a little apprehensive.
"He hasn't run off, has he?"
He slowly walked forward, but the automatic résumé detection alert never sounded, leaving him increasingly frustrated.
Only after a long while did he see a monster's corpse bearing wounds from a sharp blade...
In theory, a fresh dungeon should never contain a recently killed monster.
[Ding! Talent with "special" potential detected nearby!]
"Just as I thought!"
Yi Tian's eyes blazed, and a smile curled across his lips.
"Deathmatch Prison, activate!"
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