Early morning the next day.

I opened my eyes and noticed that the window glass was covered in fine drops of rain. It was raining again. I counted with my fingers and realized that autumn was coming. This could very well be autumn’s first rainfall.

I swiped my phone. There was a text message sent one hour ago from Lin Yixin: “Back on campus. Went to a probability theory lecture in the morning. All is well!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I slept really well last night and didn’t seem to be worried about her.

I looked at the time. 8:30. Time to get up.

After I washed up, I saw Beiming Xue coming back with a big bag of cold drinks. She smiled at me. “You’re finally awake, Lu Chen!”

“Mn.”

I sat on the sofa and poured out a cup of warm water. “Lil Beiming, have you gotten used to living here yet?”

Beiming Xue nodded. “Aside from not understanding the Suzhou dialect, yes!”

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t really understand it either, haha!”

“Haha~” Beiming Xue put away the cold drinks, grabbed a tricolor cup, and sat down next to me, smiling. “Boss Lu Chen, something huge happened yesterday!”

“Oh? What happened?”

“Two guilds were established in Floating Ice City!”

“Ah?!” I was slightly startled. “Which two?”

“Gods of Destruction and Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls!”

“Oh…” I thought for a moment. I was the one who gave Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls their Hero’s Token so that wasn’t surprising, but I didn’t expect Dominating Heaven Blade to be this fast. They had been annihilated by us in Ancient Thunder Temple in the afternoon yet they actually got a Hero’s Token in the evening and established a guild!

Beiming Xue pretended to drink as she secretly looked at me with a smile. “Boss, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ Hero’s Token had something to do with you, right?”

“Don’t just assume things without any proof…”

Beiming Xue chuckled. “Really? But their current core is just Murong Mingyue and Hot Sun. Their guild leader, From Water, is still at a really low level. A group like that trying to obtain Hero’s Token would be a hellish task. You’re the only person in this world who would give them a Hero’s Token and you dare say it has nothing to do with you?”

I looked at the 19-year-old girl next to me in shock. My mouth curled into a smile. “Beiming, don’t be so smart. Be careful or else no one will want to marry you~”

“Why can’t I get married if I’m smart?”

“Generally speaking, a man wouldn’t want a woman that’s smarter than him. If he married a really smart woman, his remaining days would be intolerable.”

“Oh, really?” Beiming Xue gave me a fierce look. She suddenly asked, “Boss, is Lin Yixin smart enough? If she insists on marrying you, will you reject her?”

“Ah?”

I was stupefied. My thoughts jumbled as my mouth went dry. “Uh, if she was determined, it would be a shame to reject her…”

“Hmph, hmph~~ I look down on you, boss!” Beiming Xue said with a giggle.

“Beiming, what have you been busy with lately?” I asked.

“Oh, busy making money! Gui Guzi and I are in charge of farming high-level beast pelts, Mamate is in charge of crafting armor, and Du Thirteen is in charge of the sales channel. We’ve sold 17 Steel-grade leather armor pieces and 8 Steel-grade metal armor pieces in two days, making a total of 314 gold!”

Beiming Xue was visibly excited. It was the first sum of money she made herself so her being that happy was a matter of course. “I’ve talked it over with Gui Guzi and Du Thirteen, we’re going to get Mamate’s Armorsmithing to Rank 6 in a week so that he can start crafting Level 60 equipment. It’ll be super profitable in half a month!”

I nodded. “Not bad. Good luck. I’m also leveling right now. I’ll give all the extra pelts I get to you guys. Also, tell Du Thirteen that Mamate’s Armorsmithing is a decent source of gold. Give 40% of the profit to Mamate and split 40% with the rest of you. Add the remainder to the workshop’s operational funds.”

“Ah?”

Beiming Xue’s little mouth widened as she said in shock. “How can we do that? Boss, I heard that back when you were making consumables to earn money, you barely left any money for yourself. Most of it went to the workshop!”

I smiled. “That’s fine. As a single person, what do I need so much money for?”

Beiming Xue blinked at me. “Find someone to marry and buy a house?”

I clenched my fists. “Screw your house!”

“...”

……

Breakfast eaten, time to get online!

Swhoosh!

I appeared inside an inn in Floating Ice City. Not caring about anything else, I hastily opened my bag and sure enough, saw a glossy purple skill book in a corner!

Lin Yixin saw the book but didn’t say anything. Sigh, what a kind-hearted girl!

I took out the book and its properties came into view—

Thousand Mirage Slash: Propels several streams of sword aura. Deals 75% of basic attack damage. Damage increases with skill rank. Cooldown: 15 seconds. MP Cost: 50. Level Requirement: 50. Class Requirement: Melee. Skill Requirement: Sword-type weapon.

……

My eyes instantly turned red. This was an awesome skill!

I raised my hand and the skill book transformed into starlight that went into my body. An additional line appeared in my skill window—Thousand Mirage Slash I!

Thousand Mirage Slash I: Attack Range 1 yard. Attack power 75%. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 50 MP.

I rubbed my eyes and confirmed that its attack range really was only 1 yard. Fuck, isn’t this a melee skill?! Then again, its range would surely increase after ranking it up. This skill is bound to become godly at max rank!

When I learned the skill, I felt somewhat guilty. Lin Yixin should have a share of this Thousand Mirage Slash. Forget it, I’ll make it up to her in the future!

I checked my Level. 58. Very nice. I was in the Top 3 of Floating Ice City’s Heavenly Ranking—

NameLevelClassWind Fantasy59Light WandererBroken Halberd Sinks Into Sand58Undead SwordsmanDominating Heaven Blade57WarriorGui Guzi56Undead KnightPurple Marquis56WarriorBeiming Xue56Dark ArcherClear Perfume56ArcherDominating Warrior God55WarriorZi Chuanyu55Magic KnightLight Cloudmoon55Mage

……

Lin Yixin was still in the lead. I knew that once she finished listening to that pain in the ass probability lecture, she’d definitely rush to Level 60 in the afternoon and complete her third promotion!

Fruit Knife Goddess Wind Fantasy had already become crazy popular in Floating Ice City. It being a household name wouldn’t be too big of an exaggeration. She had her own guild that consisted of all sorts of experts. On top of that, she possessed extraordinary personal strength, virtue, and looks. This beauty was truly one of a kind. Retired master Hellfire even claimed on the forums: “Whoever gets this girl will get the world!”

When I thought about that, I shook my head. It’s best to not think about it too much. Lin Yixin might not even like me, and even if she did, I couldn’t tolerate her. She had the face of an angel but was a beautiful vixen on the inside. Her attractive and refined self absolutely could not be the gentle and gracefully restrained type. My heart wouldn’t be able to endure it if she was superior.

I took the Ghost Ice Soul and repaired my equipment, then bought more pots. It’s time to take a risk and go to a new map. I should also think about getting my Cooking to Rank 6. Everyone’s levels were swifting rising and it wasn’t feasible to rely on Rank 3 and 4 Magic Consumables to make money anymore. Only if I aimed for a high rank of Cooking could I stay ahead of my competition and reap a fortune.

I opened the skill menu and checked Cooking. I only needed a little more to reach Rank 6. The Rank 6 Magic Consumable was Steamed Fish Soup and its ingredients weren’t your ordinary ones—

Steamed Fish Soup. Requires: Fish Meat x25, Salt x10, Green Pepper x10, Garlic x10. Restores 600 MP.

……

Salt could be bought from an NPC, Green Peppers could be obtained at a low cost, and I still had a lot of extra Garlic. If I needed more, I could buy it as well. I was only missing Fish Meat. I still haven’t seen any foragers selling Fish Meat on the market so it seems like I have to go fetch it myself.

I thought about it for a moment. If there’s water, there’s fish. My common sense was too spectacular!

I opened the world map. Skimming over it for a while, I finally found a place with water inside Floating Ice City’s domain. It was in the distant south. A vast body of water covered more than 50% of the entire map. The China server was located in the middle of the world server’s three continents. More than 100 kilometers south of Frost Forest was the sea with spring blossoms, the place I needed!

I tapped the map and a thumbnail appeared. A line of words floated above it—Silverscale Coast!

Since there are fish scales in the name, there has to be Fish Meat too!

After confirming my destination, I packed my luggage and started my journey!

Walking out of the city, I saw a gathering of around 20 players with serious faces. They were all experts around Level 50 and a beautiful guild emblem appeared on their shoulders. The blood-colored longsword stood above their shoulders, cold and aesthetic. The designer of this logo had to be He Yi, because they were part of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls!

I saw the beautiful guild emblem, then looked at my obviously visible shoulder. I was filled with envy. When will Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ emblem appear on my arm?

The group of players stood with grave faces and in front of them was a beautiful Level 45 magic knight—From Water!

He Yi leveled really fast. Clad in heroic metal armor, her left arm was covered with a bracer and held a shield. It was the Elemental Barrier I had sold to her. The other hand wielded a shining longsword. It looked to be of the Dark Steel–grade. She walked to the front of the group.

“Is everyone here?” He Yi asked.

At the side, Xu Yang nodded. “All 25 are here, boss!”

He Yi smiled. “Alright, then get ready to set out! Today is our guild’s first campaign. Work hard to kill every mob in your way, walk with no fear!”

Twenty-five expert players instantly lifted their swords and yelled, “Yes, guild leader!”

He Yi nodded in satisfaction and smiled. “Since you all have your consumables and pots, we can move out!"

With great fanfare, the group left the city’s borders.