Guyue Continent, Binli City.
Zhang Shou squatted in the grass outside the city walls, keeping a wary eye on several class-users in the distance.
Aside from the Rain Continent, where entrants referred to themselves as "players," people on almost all other continents called themselves "class-users." After all, the word "player" carried far too frivolous an air.
"Sword Immortal... Sword Immortal... Why couldn't I be a Sword Immortal?"
Zhang Shou stared resentfully at the class-users with swords slung across their backs, muttering under his breath.
He had finally gotten a chance to start fresh, an opportunity to begin all over again. As long as he grinded to Level 250, he could become an exalted Mighty One—and a Mighty One specialized in swordsmanship was a Sword Immortal of Sword Immortals.
Yet when it came down to it, his class turned out to be Chiman Strongman, a pure melee brawler. In the past, he had at least been a support healer, a noble lord of magic! Now he had to swing his own fists and trade blows face-to-face with enemies.
It was tragic.
Utterly tragic.
To make matters worse, just yesterday he had offended someone after refusing to sit by while someone stole his mob.
Who could have guessed the guy had an entire legion backing him? Now he was a hunted dog throughout Binli City. If his class hadn't made him thick-skinned and loaded with HP, he would probably be back aboard the Aska by now.
"I wonder how Salty Fish and the others are doing," Zhang Shou mumbled with a helpless sigh.
A moment later, a roar erupted behind him: "That idiot is over here! Hurry!"
"Holy crap! Aren't people supposed to overlook what's right under their noses? Isn't the most dangerous place supposed to be the safest?" Zhang Shou's face fell, and he bolted. Sure enough, several pursuers were hot on his heels.
A triangle-headed class-user, buoyed by a passive speed skill, swiftly closed the distance and sneered, "Stop running, dead fatty! You crossed our Chuan Legion—even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you're dead!"
"First, I'm not a dead fatty. Second, the Chuan Legion isn't worth shit!"
Zhang Shou glared at the triangle-head, his hand instantly clamping around the pursuer's throat as he spoke through gritted teeth.
In the next breath, he activated his skill Great Thrusting Hand. His other hand stabbed into the triangle-head dozens of times in rapid succession before tossing the fellow aside and picking up even more speed.
Having been running at high velocity, the discarded triangle-head tumbled across the ground and bowled straight into another class-user rushing up behind him.
The other pursuers with ranged skills gritted their teeth and retaliated.
"You want your grandpa dead? Try again in your next life!"
Zhang Shou took quite a few hits, but he was still bursting with vitality as he laughed loudly and plunged into the dense forest.
Half an hour later, he was tucked away in a cave beneath a cliff, grimacing as he tended to his wounds, cursing the class-users who had hunted him all the while.
Once his injuries were patched up, he opened his status panel to take a look.
He had managed to scavenge a few kills along the way, finishing off several monsters wounded by other class-users, yet he still hadn't leveled up.
[Name: Zhang Shou]
[Level: 30]
[Class: Chiman Strongman]
[Skills:]
[Chiman Body: Physical defense is drastically increased, vitality increased by 200%, and all incoming damage reduced by 10% when attacked.]
[Coiling Dragon Tendons: Strength increased by 200% and grants Chi Force. Expending Chi Force can manifest a Chi Soul, drastically increasing physical defense and soul defense.]
[Unstoppable: Consumes Chi Force while sprinting to gain progressively higher speed. The longer the sprint lasts, the greater the impact damage dealt.]
[Great Thrusting Hand: Consumes Chi Force to turn the hand into a razor-sharp blade capable of rapidly piercing targets. If used simultaneously with Unstoppable, its power doubles.]
If not for being hunted down by the Chuan Legion, Zhang Shou felt certain he would have reached Level 31 by now.
The mere thought of that bastard Chen Chuan made his teeth itch with rage.
Stealing someone's mob was bad enough, but forbidding them to fight back?
Just wait until he got his chance.
If he didn't settle this score, his name wasn't Zhang Shou.
After resting a bit, he pulled a steamed bun from his backpack, opened the livestream interface, and looked for some mealtime entertainment.
The buns didn't taste bad on their own, but he had been eating them for practically every meal lately. Without a good video to distract him, he honestly wasn't sure he could choke them down anymore.
He flipped through a few pages of streams when his eyes suddenly went wide. Staring at Yu Xian in one of the broadcast rooms, he blurted out, "Holy shit... Salty Fish?!"
He couldn't believe his eyes.
He was only Level 30, yet Yu Xian was already Level 50?
That was insane!
……
Suo Continent, Xingdian City.
Cheng Pi and Jin Sheng were grinding monsters together. The two had been quite lucky; upon entering the Zhen Realm, they had been assigned to the same starter village and had stuck together ever since.
Cheng Pi's class was Stone Giant. His current four skills were all transformation abilities, allowing him to morph into various stone giants for combat.
Outside the Zhen Realm, he had always relied on speed to gain the upper hand. Who could have imagined that once inside, he would turn into a clumsy, colossal stone giant?
Jin Sheng, on the other hand, held the Shining Spirit Wizard class, which allowed him to control various spirit summons in battle.
For the most part, their grinding relied on Jin Sheng directing his spirits to attack while Cheng Pi transformed into a boulder-clad stone giant to keep him safe.
"Ether, we're leaving Xingdian City tomorrow," Jin Sheng said solemnly after the last monster collapsed.
Lately, the Wanjun Legion of Xingdian City had extended an olive branch multiple times, trying to recruit them into their ranks. However, neither of them liked the legion's conduct, so they had merely brushed them off with noncommittal promises to "think about it."
"Has Wanjun reached the limit of his patience?" Cheng Pi asked, immediately catching on.
Jin Sheng nodded. "Yeah. Wanjun was never a broad-minded character to begin with. Being patient for a week is about all he can manage. If we don't leave, they'll probably make a move."
"If we're leaving, we're leaving," Cheng Pi said with a grin. "Still... how about we teach them an unforgettable lesson tonight?"
Jin Sheng narrowed his eyes. He wasn't the type to swallow bullying without fighting back. After a moment's thought, a smile crossed his face. "Hit them and run."
In truth, he placed immense value on this opportunity in the Zhen Realm.
After all, when he first woke from his coma, he had briefly wondered if he had transmigrated to an entirely different world.
Say what?
Yu Xian killed Edward, the Blood Clan Progenitor?
Say what?
Yu Xian saved the world?
Say what?
Yu Xian saved the world twice?
Say what?
Yu Xian had already ventured beyond Earth?
Say what?
Yu Xian was now a prominent figure feared by countless Abyss factions?
In short, the entire world had become unrecognizable. Huaxia had transformed into a grotto-heaven existing independently outside Earth; even if Earth exploded, Huaxia would remain untouched.
Earth had established diplomatic relations with Crescent Bay, and aliens were walking all over the place.
Jin Sheng had originally turned a misfortune into a blessing, gaining a modest boost in strength, but facing an utterly alien world had made it difficult for him to adjust.
Fortunately, though Yu Xian had grown far more powerful, one thing remained unchanged: his loyalty and devotion to his friends.
At Yu Xian's invitation, he had entered this miraculous world. As long as he reached Level 250, he could become a genuine top-tier powerhouse rather than merely the self-important Dragon-ranks of Earth's past.
"Hey, the boss started a livestream!"
Cheng Pi cried out in surprise, then looked sheepishly at Jin Sheng.
His job was to protect Jin Sheng, a fragile mage, yet here he was, sneaking peeks at a livestream—slacking off on the job.
Chapter 488