Players relied on the achievement system for their first through ninth class advancements, and even their Legendary class advancement.
Achievement Breakthroughs varied in difficulty. An easy one, such as "Powerful Strength," only required killing 1,000 level 10 wild monsters, while a difficult one, such as "Will of Transcendence," required killing a level 40 target once at level 10.
The difference in difficulty was like heaven and earth.
But the harder an achievement was, the greater the benefits upon completing it.
First, the drop rate from grinding monsters would increase invisibly with the achievement's difficulty. The ten thousand years of the Online Game Era had long since verified this.
Another benefit was a chance to increase a class's star rank.
As mentioned earlier, the highest star rank was three stars, but that was the naturally occurring limit. Above three stars, there were still four stars, five stars, and even nine stars.
But breaking through the three-star limit was only possible through Achievement Breakthroughs.
In other words, the harder the achievement, the greater the chance of increasing a class's star rank.
Zhou Heng examined the six achievement difficulties and waited silently.
Sure enough, Fate Hints appeared on his retinas.
[Whether an achievement is easy or difficult will directly affect how far your destiny ultimately takes you. You must secure a good path for your future.] [Fate offers you hints.] [Fate Hint 1: If you want a future beyond the reach of ordinary people and hope to attain eternal life, only the highest achievement leap will suit you. Choose it. You surely have confidence in succeeding.] [Fate Hint 2: Choose any one from one to five. With your strength, you can certainly complete it easily; it is only a matter of time. But... is there any need?]
Zhou Heng had intended to take a chance on the Achievement Breakthrough "Will of Transcendence" from the beginning. Now, with the added assurance of the Fate Hints, he had no further concerns and selected the achievement "Will of Transcendence" directly.
[You selected the achievement "Will of Transcendence."] [Once you kill a level 40 player, you can undergo your first class advancement.]
"Next, I just have to kill a level 40 player once!"
Closing the first class advancement quest, Zhou Heng looked at the few remaining Deepwater Flood Dragon Worms, took a deep breath, and began grinding monsters furiously.
Meanwhile, Black Bear Ba logged into the world of Boundless Endless. He was still inside Deepwater Cave.
He immediately tried contacting Zhou Heng through the walkie-talkie, but found that he could not reach him no matter what.
After several attempts, Black Bear Ba's expression darkened.
"That guy couldn't have noticed something, could he?"
"No, impossible! He's just a greenhorn new player. There's no way he could have thought through everything in Boundless Endless."
"So he must be grinding monsters and forgot to check his backpack!"
After considering it briefly, Black Bear Ba decided to take a two-pronged approach.
While continuing to contact Zhou Heng, he explored Deepwater Cave to see if he could find him as quickly as possible.
Time flew by, and the morning of the fifth day arrived.
Even after searching all night, Black Bear Ba still had not managed to contact Zhou Heng. His expression was so grim it looked ready to drip water.
"Sir, Zhou Heng must still be in Deepwater Cave. There's no other exit here."
"Trust me, I'll definitely be able to contact him."
"Yes, yes, of course. Sir, head straight into Deepwater Cave when you arrive."
After ending the call, Black Bear Ba's face was filled with horror.
He knew the longevity Su Family would deal ruthlessly with Zhou Heng, but he had never expected them to go this far and send a level 70 Sealer directly.
A Sealer's skills and talents were all related to sealing. Among major powers, this class was considered a nuclear weapon-a class that had to be well protected.
That was because once they acted, they would seal a certain area, making skills unusable, for example, or preventing the use of equipment, and so on.
"Zhou Heng, where the hell are you?! Damn it, you haven't really escaped, have you? If you have, I'm finished!"
Uncontrollable anxiety appeared on Black Bear Ba's face. He could not help searching faster, calling Zhou Heng's walkie-talkie from time to time.
Inside the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm Secret Realm, Zhou Heng cut off the last Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm's head, finishing them all off.
There had been 15,000 Deepwater Flood Dragon Worms in the entire Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm Secret Realm. Altogether, they had dropped 100 first class advancement certificates for him, not counting the one he had used, along with a number of ordinary and fine-quality level 10 pieces of equipment. In addition, there were over 9,000 copper coins.
Including all the money he had obtained earlier, Zhou Heng now had gold coins ×3, silver coins ×3,002, and copper coins ×50,000.
[You completed the challenge: kill level 10 wild monsters, 1,000/1,000.] [All-Element Attributes Reduction takes effect.] Water damage reduction +50 Fire damage reduction +50 Wind damage reduction +50 Lightning damage reduction +50 Ice damage reduction +50 Wood damage reduction +50 Light damage reduction +50 Dark damage reduction +50
Seeing his All-Element Attributes Reduction instantly soar to 50, Zhou Heng could not stop a smile from spreading across his face.
With these 50 points of All-Element Attributes Reduction, he reckoned many magical attacks would no longer affect him.
"Next is the Elegant Ancient Flute mentioned in the Fate Hint."
Taking out the Elegant Ancient Flute, Zhou Heng strode deeper into the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm Secret Realm.
He walked for a full quarter of an hour.
Only when he stood at the end of the secret realm did Zhou Heng see what was special about this place.
There stood a massive statue approximately six meters tall. The reason a six-meter statue qualified as massive was that it was seated.
It was a statue of a man whose full appearance was obscured. His long, fine hair trailed into the flower bed behind him and half covered his face. He held a flute to his lips as though playing it.
While Zhou Heng examined the statue, the Elegant Ancient Flute in his hand suddenly glowed faintly and began trembling slightly.
The next second, the Elegant Ancient Flute slipped free of Zhou Heng's grasp and floated toward the statue's flute. It actually replaced the carved stone flute, resting against the statue's lips and producing a faint, low sound.
Soon, the faint sound turned into an elegant flute melody that echoed throughout the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm Secret Realm.
The flute's notes were lilting and low, with an indescribable sense of lingering on and on...
Listening to the flute, Zhou Heng forgot the Longevity Family hunting him and Black Bear Ba searching for him, entering a state of self-forgetfulness.
"You still haven't found him?"
The level 70 Sealer Wang Lu was only forty, a Young Man, youthful and handsome, and wore an exquisite crimson mage robe.
He walked up to Black Bear Ba and stared at him, his figure cold.
Black Bear Ba trembled in fear. Although he was level 50, he still could not stop feeling terrified when facing a rare class on the level of a Sealer, deeply afraid that a careless mistake would offend the man and get him killed.
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know whether Zhou Heng has noticed something, but he hasn't been answering the walkie-talkie."
Wang Lu glanced at the walkie-talkie in Black Bear Ba's hand, a flicker of contempt passing through his eyes.
No wonder he could only become a branch vice president in a backwater like this. Even a dog wouldn't use something like a walkie-talkie.
"Enough. I'll handle it!"
"You just stay put!"
As he spoke, under Black Bear Ba's terrified gaze, Wang Lu struck out with a ray of light, sealing Black Bear Ba inside a box of light in his palm.
Tossing the sealed light box into his backpack, Wang Lu took out a banner and planted it at his feet.
"Name: Zhou Heng!"
"Search location: Deepwater Cave!"
"Activate!"
The next second, the banner glowed faintly, releasing countless light-element sprites that spread throughout Deepwater Cave with the banner at their center...
Before you continue