What kind of boss camps right at the dungeon entrance?

Dingcheng, on Great Xia's eastern border.

This was a city jointly garrisoned by the border forces of Great Xia and the Yagu Dynasty, where clashes and contests were an everyday occurrence.

After Great Xia took a small secret realm from the Yagu Dynasty-one the Crimson Emperor had handed over for free-the friction and competition between the two forces grew even fiercer.

"Quick! Hurry! Time for the final sprint!"

"Beautiful! Just barely broke that runty dragon's record! Collect all their stakes!"

"What's there to brag about when you're only a few seconds ahead? The Human Race really hasn't seen the world!"

"You bastards from the Other Races, fuck you..."

In central Dingcheng, Great Xia's border troops and the army of the Other Races crowded around a dungeon entrance, placing bets amid a heated uproar.

Wei Yuan drove Yi Tian over. Curious about the scene, Yi Tian asked:

"What's this...?"

"Apart from fighting, the border troops usually take turns speedrunning dungeons. It's another kind of contest."

With Wei Yuan's explanation, Yi Tian soon understood the rules:

Great Xia and the Yagu Dynasty took turns sending people into the dungeon to compete for the fastest clear, while both sides placed bets against each other.

Bettors on the winning side received a share of the losing side's stakes proportional to their wagers.

Like fighting, this direct comparison of combat strength was very common in cities garrisoned by both races.

The only unfortunate party was the dungeon itself, which the two races cleared over and over...

Wei Yuan gestured toward the dungeon. "Will this dungeon work for your purposes?"

"If not, I'll take you into the Yagu Continent. I can at least guarantee you'll get to run a dungeon."

The Yagu Continent lay on the other side of Dingcheng's Otherworld Passage and was the Yagu Dynasty's homeland.

Yi Tian immediately stopped him. "No need for that. This dungeon will do!"

His goal was simply to bring Alice close to the Yagu Dynasty. After that, he could leave her to her own devices.

The two got out of the car and walked over.

It was the Yagu Dynasty's turn to send someone on a speedrun, and Yi Tian recognized their chosen contestant: Yedela, the Half-Dragon from the previous medium secret realm.

Apparently, the Crimson Emperor had reassigned Yedela to the border troops after the failed contest for the secret realm.

"Boss!"

Yi Tian had barely approached when a hearty voice called out to him.

Wan Jiang jogged over, pleasantly surprised to see Yi Tian after so long. "Hello, sir! Commander Wei, you're here too..."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly. Yi Tian noticed Wan Jiang's epaulets; he had been promoted to squad leader.

"What, you're taking part in the dungeon races too?"

Wan Jiang chuckled. "Just for fun when I'm off duty."

As he spoke, Wan Jiang leaned close to Yi Tian's ear with a secretive air. "Boss, you'll never guess. I've gained an incredibly powerful ability..."

Yi Tian said casually, "Transcendent physique?"

Wan Jiang's eyes instantly went wide as saucers, stunned that his carefully hidden secret had been exposed with a single remark.

Yi Tian cleared his throat twice and patted him on the shoulder. "Not bad. Keep working hard."

With that, Yi Tian headed toward the betting area.

Wan Jiang remained behind with disbelief written all over his face. "The Boss really is the Boss. He can even spot my transcendent physique..."

"But he definitely won't guess that my transcendent physique can keep improving!"

"Yedela cleared it in eight minutes and thirty-five seconds! A new record!"

"Fuck..."

Soon, Yedela, the Yagu Dynasty's Half-Dragon, emerged from the dungeon, beating the previous contestant's time by over a minute.

The Yagu Dynasty won all the stakes Great Xia's border troops had wagered in the previous round.

"Great Xia, hurry up and send someone!"

"Come on!"

The two sides took turns in the dungeon race, and now it was Great Xia's turn.

Wan Jiang was already itching to go. "Boss, I'm up! Watch me crush that runty dragon!"

"No, let me."

Ignoring Wan Jiang's astonished look, Yi Tian walked straight to the dungeon entrance.

Great Xia's border troops froze. "Who's this guy? Which regiment is he from?"

The Yagu Dynasty's soldiers, however, started jeering. "They sent some green kid! Has Great Xia run out of people?"

Still, when they saw Yi Tian actually enter the dungeon, they didn't blindly place their bets...

After all, plenty of people concealed their strength these days. Great Xia's border troops had pulled that trick many times before, making the Other Races much more cautious.

As a result, only a handful of people bet on this round.

This was a level 35 dungeon, which posed practically no difficulty for Yi Tian.

But a speedrun wasn't his goal.

"Alice."

As his voice fell, Alice's alluring figure flashed over, draped in a black robe.

Now standing at 182 centimeters, she looked even more slender beneath the robe. Her eyes, gleaming gold and bearing eerie demonic pupils, brimmed with anticipation:

"Boss, is the prey here?"

"That's right. Before long, the Other Races will be lining up to come to you."

Yi Tian smiled. "And we're right near the Yagu Dynasty. There'll be plenty of them in the nearby dungeons!"

Bringing Alice here, close to the Yagu Dynasty, would help speed up the advancement of her monster template.

Dragonkin with naturally powerful bloodlines were the best nourishment for Alice's evolution.

Yi Tian instructed her, "Clear out this batch of dungeon monsters first. Keep the clear time to eight minutes and thirty seconds."

Alice nodded obediently, then began moving, controlling her Twelve-Wing Lightwheel Blades.

"Yi Tian cleared it in eight minutes and thirty seconds! A new record!"

"Tch, I thought he was hiding some real strength! He only beat it by five seconds?"

"What kind of lead is a few seconds? He just got lucky!"

"Hmph, I haven't even gone all out yet. Finishing in under seven minutes would be no problem!"

After seeing Yi Tian's clear time, the Yagu Dynasty's soldiers all dismissed it with contempt.

Yedela, the Half-Dragon who had spoken last, was already preparing to go again.

"Place your bets! Place your bets!"

This round, the Other Races were eager to wager.

Equipment, materials, money-anything of value could serve as a stake.

They knew Yedela's strength. A Half-Dragon selected to conquer a medium secret realm was naturally no ordinary fighter.

Great Xia's border troops knew that too, so almost none of them placed bets-except Yi Tian.

"Boss, you're betting on this too?"

Wan Jiang lowered his voice in confusion. Yi Tian had not only placed a bet, but a sizable one, tossing in a pile of equipment dropped during his earlier dungeon runs and drawing even more bettors from the Other Races.

Yi Tian merely smiled. "Just having some fun!"

Wei Yuan looked thoughtful. Suddenly remembering the Black-Robed Man Yi Tian had mentioned being inside the dungeon, he began to form a vague suspicion.

Yedela entered the dungeon.

Before entering, Yedela had also wagered a considerable amount of wealth. Going all out would make breaking the record effortless!

"Let's go... Huh?!"

The Half-Dragon had only just entered the dungeon and had yet to make out the surroundings.

Then Yedela spotted a black-robed figure standing nearby, twelve blades of light floating behind her. She looked eerie and dangerous.

Wait!

Why didn't I see this monster last time?

Before Yedela could finish thinking, Alice flashed forward, closing in at a speed nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye. Cold light flickered before Yedela's eyes!

"No! This is a boss! An incredibly powerful boss!"

A single exchange was enough to make the gap in strength painfully clear. The opponent's terrifying pressure nearly drowned Yedela like a surging tide.

Yedela's heart nearly burst. "Fuck! What kind of boss camps right at the dungeon entrance?!"