Oh, it’s Wang Dongliang’s classmate!

Hugging the Heaven-stealing Sword, I leaned against an ice wall and continued enjoying the show.

……

Shangguan Wan’er turned bright red as she shot at Profound Puff a glare. First, she released her pet to keep most of the mobs from reaching her. Then, she used Trap on one Ice Urchin Devil to immobilize it for a short period of time.

Shangguan Wan’er’s techniques and tactics were clearly well-honed. Immediately after she immobilized the first mob, she used Gouge on the second mob to stun it and buy herself more time. Then, she moved onto the third mob and dished out a series of dizzying combos in an attempt to kill it. Even a single kill was a small victory considering the situation.

Profound Puff realized he couldn’t do anything any longer when he saw how calm Shangguan Wan’er was fighting despite the grave danger she was in. He rushed toward them and launched two healing spells on Pillar of the Nation and Shangguan Wan’er respectively, healing them instantly—

+2874!

+3103!

I thought that it might be the case, but this guy was even stronger than the female priest who had died just now. The pervert wasn’t a useless pervert after all.

Pillar of the Nation came back and joined Shangguan Wan’er’s efforts to kill the Ice Urchin Devil. At the same time, he looked at Profound Puff and said, “Fuck, it really is you! It’s been half a year since we saw each other. Why didn’t you tell me that you’re playing Heavenblessed? And are you still dating that rich lady who let you stay in her villa and drive her Camry?”

Profound Puff shook his head with a forlorn expression. “Let’s not reminisce about the past, shall we? She’s gone.”

“What do you mean, is she dead or something?”

“No, she’s been detained on suspicions of certain violations of the law...”

“Fuck…”

……

A while later, Pillar of the Nation invited Profound Puff to join his guild. “Say, would you like to join me? With you by my side, it’s only a matter of time before we make Hegemon Palace the sun of Sky City!”

Profound Puff hummed. “What can you offer me if I join you?”

He glanced at Shangguan Wan’er when he said this.

The assassin sensed his meaningful gaze and shivered visibly. “Do NOT drag me into this, or I’ll kill you both right now!”

Trembling at the threat, Profound Puff said, “Dongliang, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but you made an enemy out of Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand for the guild leader of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, didn’t you? It’s just too risky to join Hegemon Palace right now. I don’t want to go up against a super expert like him…”

Wang Dongliang sneered. “You’re not telling me that you’re scared, are you? Where did the guy who braved the female toilet with me go to? Where is the fearless Zhao Yufeng I used to know?”

Wang Dongliang then shot Shangguan Wan’er a glance before lowering his voice, “Cowards are the first to go when Wan’er chooses her men…”

Profound Puff answered immediately, “I’ll join, please accept me into Hegemon Palace immediately!”

Just like that, the high-level priest Profound Puff was added into Hegemon Palace. I snorted a little as I watched them from above. It looks like the best players of Hegemon Palace will be welcoming some new blood.

……

Pillar of the Nation laughed happily. “I was thinking that our main party for Who Will Rise is lacking a top-tier priest, so your timely appearance is most welcomed, Puff. I have no doubt that you’ll become the best priest in Hegemon Palace. Let’s apply for the tournament after we’re finished grinding, shall we?”

“Mn.” Profound Puff nodded.

Pillar of the Nation added, “By the way, why are you here? You’re a priest with barely any offensive power at all. Any one of these mobs can kill you like nothing.”

Profound Puff replied, “Sigh, it’s a long story. I have this quest that requires me to gather a kind of herb called the ‘Heart Orchid Grass’, and it’s said to grow in Cold Ice Canyon. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it despite searching for almost a day, and since I’m alone I had no choice but to skirt the foot of the mountains to avoid the mobs. In fact I was almost killed by the Ice Soul Giants in the ice caves to the southwest not long ago. If I wasn’t fleet-footed, I would’ve…”

This caught my attention immediately. There were Ice Soul Giants in the ice caves to the southwest? Haha! Who would’ve thought that Hegemon Palace would be the one to help me in my search? Thank you, oh perverted priest!

I straightened myself and quietly left the area. I supposed I could kill Profound Puff, Pillar of the Nation, and Shangguan Wan’er, but it would achieve nothing. I never took part in pointless battles unless I had no other choice.

Hegemon Palace never knew I was in the area until I left completely. Under the cover of wind and snow, I ran toward the location Profound Puff had mentioned. On the way, I made sure to move along the edge of the zone to avoid the mobs. Although the shadow-rank mobs were worth a lot of experience, it would be even better to collect both experience and materials in one go!

About ten minutes later, a deep blue zone appeared in my mini map just in front of me. I also saw a cave entrance about a meter tall right at the foot of an icy mountain.

I stopped in front of the cave and looked down. The cave was slanted downward, and I could see a ray of light peeking out of the darkness. This is it!

I bent down a little and entered the cave. It was at this moment disaster struck. The floor was much more slippery than I imagined, and before I knew it I was sliding down into the darkness at an incredible speed. This wasn’t a cave, this was an ice slide!

I used the Heaven-stealing Sword’s light to illuminate the path in front of me, and saw a ton of sharp, pointy icicles blocking the way! Blood draining from my face, I tried to withdraw into myself as much as possible while holding the Heaven-stealing Sword in front of me, hoping that it would be enough to protect me from the murderous obstacles. The good news was that my Spirit-grade weapon easily cut through the icicles and saved me from being skewered to death.

The bad news was that this was definitely not the ice cave Profound Puff had mentioned earlier. I must’ve gotten the wrong entrance!

Whoosh!

But that wasn’t the end of my troubles. The moment I rounded a corner, I was immediately greeted by the sight of a frozen wall. My heart turned into ice in an instant. Shit! I’ll smash myself into a pancake if I slide into that wall at this speed!

But I had no time to react. The Heaven-stealing Sword crashed into the icy wall, but to my surprise it was thinner than I expected. Before I knew it, I had burst through the wall and was falling through the air!

Boom!

I hit the floor hard. As I struggled to my feet while a wave of disorientation gripped me, a melodious ding entered my ears—

Ding~!

System Notice: You have entered the map “Ice Soul Cave”!

……

I patted my knees a little and looked around. Did I accidentally stumble into the right location after all?

It sure looked like it. The minimap showed a complex underground maze, and not far away from me I spotted a three-meter tall giant lumbering across an icy corridor. Its skin somehow looked like rock and ice at the same time, and every time it moved the ground quaked a little in response. Its stats appeared when the giant got close enough to me—

Ice Soul Giant (Shadow)

Level: 130

Attack: 1380~1550

Defense: 1600

HP: 80000

Skills: Crush, Desperate Gambit, Ice Stone Skin

Introduction: Ice Soul Cave lies in Cold Ice Canyon, one of the coldest and darkest places in the entire continent. Ice Soul Cave is filled with violent energy, and its inhabitants, the Ice Soul Giants, are blinded by hatred after being led down a dark path by the forces of evil. They view all living beings as their mortal enemies, and they swore to destroy all the races so that they and the undead are the only ones left to rule the world.

……

I couldn’t help but gasp when I saw the mob’s stats. Its Attack was powerful enough, but its Defense was even higher than that! Sitting at 1600 Defense, it was tougher than even the toughest magic knight in the game right now. Even Gui Guzi—not including the Spirit-grade shield he recently got since he had yet to reach Level 105—only had around 1400 Defense.

Well, this was the mob I had come all the way there to kill, so it was time for action! Since it was a Level 130 shadow-rank mob, both its drop rate and experience yield should be pretty good!

I locked onto the Ice Soul Giant and activated Charge!

Whoosh!

I hit the mob like a lightning bolt. I was only as tall as the Ice Soul Giant’s armpit, but that didn’t stop me from dropping my combo on its stomach. The mob shuddered again and again as the Heaven-stealing Sword ripped into its body. It was the natural result since I had activated Martial God!

Bang bang bang!

2984!

3792!

2011!

……

Ice Ray dealt almost 3000 damage, and Desperate Gambit, almost 3800 damage. My basic attack did only 2000 damage though.

“Roar roar!”

Roaring like furious thunder, the Ice Soul Giant raised its legs and tried to squash me beneath its feet. It was Crush, the skill that ignored 20% of the target’s Defense. The good news was that it was only as strong as a basic attack!

1844!

Ow! I took two steps backward and summoned the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf to assist me. Then, I charged the mob again and swung my weapon at its torso repeatedly, deleting almost 5000 HP from its health bar and leeching over 700 HP.

The battle lasted only 30 seconds or so, but it was a fierce battle. Despite dodging and parrying most of its attacks, it was still powerful enough to delete around 100% of my HP. This was where Regeneration of the Undead came in handy. At Rank 10 I recovered 2% health per second, meaning that I recovered exactly 60% health in 30 seconds, not to mention I also had Tenacity of the Dead and a ton of HP potions. Cost-wise, it looked like I had to use one Rank 7 Health Potion per every Ice Soul Giant I killed!

I checked my bag and saw exactly 50 stacks or 5000 Rank 7 Health Potions, more than enough to last me a very, very long time. Moreover, the Heaven-stealing Sword had lifesteal and very high durability, so I could grind even longer before I had to return to restock and repair my equipment. A protracted battle definitely wasn’t out of the question!

Boom!

I unleashed Thousand Ice Slash and killed my first Ice Soul Giant. Unfortunately, the mob didn’t give me anything besides a thicker chunk of experience than usual.

Goddammit. Next!

……

I was a tenacious and patient bastard, so I had no problem grinding mobs alone for a very, very long time. In battle, I did my best to avoid getting hit by the Ice Soul Giant by dodging or blocking via my pet. I didn’t want to be forced to return to the city because I ran out of equipment durability, not to mention that the Level 107 Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf’s HP regeneration was as powerful as mine. It would be a waste not to use it as a meatshield!

However, I didn’t get a single piece of Ice Soul Steel despite grinding for nearly an hour. I must’ve killed at least fifty—maybe even a hundred—Ice Soul Giants already, but I still couldn’t find what I was looking for. At this point, I was starting to think that the Ice Soul Giants couldn’t drop Ice Soul Steel. Even Death Plunder hadn’t given me any pleasant surprises thus far.

Or maybe I was being too hasty. When I walked to a freshly killed Ice Soul Giant and used Death Plunder as usual, I was rewarded with a melodious ding—

Ding~!

System Notice: Congratulations, you have found “Ice Soul Steel” x1!

……

Fuck! Finally, I found my first Ice Soul Steel after all that hard work!

At the same time, I was gripped by a sense of overwhelming joy. The fact that I had found the last material necessary to create the Ice Soul Barrier meant that my plan wasn’t a pipe dream anymore. Xu Yang would collect the Soulstones, the Cyanfire Gems could be bought, and the Ice Soul Steel—also the hardest material to find out all three materials—could be farmed from the Ice Soul Giants. That settles it. I would try to gather 100 pieces of Ice Soul Steel and forge the Ice Soul Barrier for He Yi before the Who Will Rise tournament began!