There was no way around it.
No matter how he racked his brain, there was nothing he could do.
The Nether Armor King had reached a level of power where sheer might could crush any degree of skill.
Whether it was human-wave tactics or flashy, eccentric abilities, before the Nether Armor King, they were nothing more than petty parlor tricks, wholly inadequate to defeat it.
Unless top-tier experts were willing to fight the Nether Armor King—and not just one, but a great many.
The first person Yu Xian thought of was Gong Yinhu, but the problem was that he couldn't be sure whether Gong Yinhu was even in the labyrinth.
Besides, Gong Yinhu merely possessed high fame. The Zhen Realm harbored plenty of low-profile masters who were completely unknown, barely even taking part in events as they quietly cultivated in seclusion.
If those big shots were willing to step up, they could probably fight the Nether Armor King one-on-one.
The catch was that those experts were all crafty loafers who wouldn't take risks under normal circumstances. They were already on the verge of shattering the void; why would they risk restarting from scratch just to gamble their lives against the Nether Armor King?
When power fell short, having a clever mind was utterly useless.
Yu Xian sighed. He truly had no way forward now; he had exhausted all his tricks.
After a moment's thought, he opened the Class Information Exchange Forum. He decided to broadcast Mai Zi's deeds far and wide; he had nothing better to do anyway, and he couldn't let Mai Zi sacrifice himself in total obscurity.
At the very least, everyone deserved to know that a fool had once stood his ground for their sakes, buying time for them all.
At first, he simply used plain, straightforward prose to recount what had happened. But as he wrote, his blood began to pump. Inspiration surged like a torrential flood, and what was supposed to be a commemorative essay for Mai Zi turned into a blistering call to arms.
"To flee now is death; to resist is death! Do you all want to stay cowards to the very end, or will you raise the blades in your hands and land a vicious blow on the Nether Armor King?"
"If there is nowhere to run, then run no more! Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!"
Yu Xian typed away with manic fervor. Scanning the draft at lightning speed to ensure there were no typos, he tapped send.
Once he posted it, he collapsed flat on his back like a salted fish. Having poured every drop of his passion into those words, he now felt completely burnt out.
...
...
Tong Wozhen wandered aimlessly through the labyrinth, browsing gossip on the Class Information Exchange Forum.
Like someone hopelessly addicted to their phone, he couldn't walk without reading something, feeling thoroughly uneasy otherwise.
The event labyrinth was exceedingly vast.
Though the Nether Armor King seemed to be kicking up quite a commotion, the area it actually affected was limited. It would take at least two or three days before it posed a genuine threat to all the class users across the entire labyrinth.
Just then, Tong Wozhen spotted a thread titled *In Memory of My Friend, Mai Zi*.
He was slightly surprised, for Mai Zi was his friend as well. The two had gotten along quite well, occasionally teaming up for quests when they crossed paths—though in truth, Mai Zi had mostly hitched a ride on his quests, offering a bit of healing at most.
Opening the post, Tong Wozhen skimmed through it. The more he read, the more agitated he grew, until finally he closed the forum.
"Just as I thought. I always said bleeding hearts never come to a good end."
"An idiot is an idiot. Dying without a shred of value."
Taking a deep breath, Tong Wozhen began muttering curses under his breath. Yet as he cursed, his mind drifted back to when he had been grievously wounded by a Great Dao True Beast. A beam of green light had descended from the sky, pulling him straight back from death's door.
Back then, Mai Zi's smile had shone like the sun, radiantly warm.
"'To flee now is death; to resist is death'?"
"That's only because you're too weak. As long as one is strong enough, a mere Nether Armor King..."
Tong Wozhen murmured coldly, then continued walking forward, unwilling to waste time on pointless matters.
Yet after a few paces, he halted abruptly. Standing rooted to the spot for a long while, he suddenly spun around and began retracing his steps, swearing up a storm.
"If you're going to die, why make it look so cool?"
"Stealing my thunder like that."
Tong Wozhen grumbled all the way, his pace quickening until he transformed into a streak of black light and vanished.
Meanwhile, countless people had seen Yu Xian's post. After all, Mai Zi was renowned across the Baihe Continent as the savior of commoners, and even those who weren't ordinary folks had heard of him.
Those class users who had once received Mai Zi's help, or who held deep admiration for him, cracked their knuckles upon learning of the situation, preparing to avenge him.
Moreover, Yu Xian's parting words struck a nerve with many class users.
To flee now was death; to resist was death.
Failing to find three treasure chests within three days meant death—that was no joke. And with the Nether Armor King on the loose, not only would people die, but far more would perish.
With his summoned beasts mingling among the crowd, Yu Xian had truly never anticipated that so many class users would resolve to fight.
*Could this actually be winnable?*
Spotting several high-tier class users, Yu Xian couldn't help thinking.
"You lot are moving too slowly."
"If you're not even keen to march to your deaths, what can you possibly achieve?"
Just then, a gruff voice echoed from the rear of the crowd.
A bare-chested burly man shoved aside the surrounding class users, striding forward with broad steps.
He moved at tremendous speed. When the people around him saw him arrive, they fell into step behind him one after another, as if having suddenly found their pillar of support.
The man didn't seem surprised in the least, acting as though this were only natural. He carried the imposing aura of a natural leader, especially with the dragon tattoo on his back shimmering faintly, looking as though it could tear free at any moment to soar into the sky.
"Why is Chi Feihong on the Baihe Continent?"
Yu Xian was quite astonished upon seeing the burly man, for Chi Feihong was not from the Baihe Continent at all—he belonged to the Guyue Continent.
How could a class user from the Guyue Continent appear in the Baihe Continent's event labyrinth?
It was utterly bizarre.
Still, this was a great development. Chi Feihong was, after all, the number-one meat tank of the Guyue Continent.
Indestructible Vajra—Chi Feihong.
The guy's biggest quirk was his fondness for flaunting his defense.
His most famous exploit involved gathering several thousand boss monsters, sitting in their midst, and letting them attack him at will. He took their beating for a full week without suffering a scratch.
Even back then, he had shaken the Guyue Continent with his renown. Later, he sparred with countless powerhouses and top experts, and not a single one managed to breach his defenses. In the end, even if he couldn't defeat an enemy, his invulnerable defense allowed him to fight them to a draw.
In truth, the reason Chi Feihong had come to the Baihe Continent was specifically to seek out Yu Xian.
He refused to accept it. What did it matter if Yu Xian had countless summoned beasts? Could they even scratch him?
The Zhen Realm's future number-one powerhouse?
He didn't buy it.
So he had set out to spar with Yu Xian, eager to see if all of Yu Xian's summons attacking together could inflict any damage on him.
Except, right after arriving on the Baihe Continent and before he could make a move, he had been teleported straight into the event labyrinth.
"Today is truly a good day."
Chi Feihong strode at the very front, his eyes burning with battle intent.
Scoring a free entry into an event was a huge win. Getting to trade blows with an even stronger powerhouse was a massive windfall.
He couldn't be more pleased with everything that had unfolded today.
Chapter 548