Chapter Twenty-Six: The Worn-Out Novice Iron Sword

"Equip!"
Bathed in the radiant light of leveling up, Huang Yunshuo’s heart leapt with joy and excitement. He had been itching to throw away the useless Beginner’s Wooden Club for some time; with its meager 1-2 attack, it was now nothing but a hindrance given his stats. He eagerly picked up the Rusty Iron Sword to examine it.

Worn Beginner’s Iron Sword, Level 10
Attack: 6-8

Huang Yunshuo realized he still favored equipment with a single stat—because that one stat would always be brutally high! Passing the Beginner’s Wooden Club to Qingqing Ziqing, he gripped the Iron Sword, and instantly his attack jumped to 27-30.

He’d broken past 30—what an explosive increase!

"Now this feels right," Huang Yunshuo murmured in satisfaction, half-closing his eyes. This instance had truly been worthwhile.

Low-Grade Eternal Crystal (Shattered) x2, Material
Used to craft certain special weapons

Reading the item description, Huang Yunshuo’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately pulled out the rocket launcher’s materials list.

Required Material: Low-Grade Eternal Crystal (Flawless) x1

"It’s coming together!"
Huang Yunshuo was beside himself with delight. Of all the materials needed for the rocket launcher, the Eternal Crystal was one he had never even heard of. He hadn’t expected it to drop here.

Rocket Launcher Materials List:
Low-Grade Eternal Crystal (Flawless) x1
Refined Steel x8
Basic Engine x1
Heat Dissipation Matrix x1

He had a general idea what the engine, refined steel, and heat dissipation matrix were for, but the Eternal Crystal remained a mystery—he’d have to wait until he actually had the rocket launcher to see what it did.

Checking the synthesis process: nine shattered crystals make one flawed crystal, nine flawed crystals make one flawless crystal. In other words, with only two shattered crystals now, he was still far from enough—he’d need seventy-nine more to synthesize one flawless Eternal Crystal.

"Looks like I’ll have to buy them from others," Huang Yunshuo mused, rubbing his chin.

The advanced-difficulty starter village redemption quest required eight chicks—each with 5 defense, 50 health, and 30 attack, while the rooster, Gegelo, had 200 health, 5 defense, and 40 attack.

To solo this, you’d need at least 20 in both attack and defense—just a notch below Huang Yunshuo’s own stats. Ordinary players would need to be at least level 10 and wield a weapon with a significant attack boost; otherwise, their damage would fall far short.

After all, not everyone had Huang Yunshuo’s monstrous strength.

In a team, the requirements were more forgiving—three level 10 players with enough health potions could brute-force their way through.

"The fourth difficulty, advanced, seems tailor-made for players above level 10. As for disaster difficulty, I doubt anyone can clear it right now," Huang Yunshuo surmised. Judging by the combat power rankings, there weren’t many scoring higher than him; out of a possible 10,000, he had 8,900. In terms of attributes, there wasn’t much difference between him and the top players, and when it came to attack alone, there were likely only a handful in the entire server who could surpass him now.

"I’m leaving the party," Huang Yunshuo called out, waving to his companions as he exited the instance and left the group. He suddenly noticed activity in his chat window.

Curious, he opened the messages and saw he’d been added to a group chat, where several members were chatting animatedly.

It turned out to be some friends from the Bright Mirror.

Huang Yunshuo opted to receive but mute notifications, then glanced through the chat.

Golden Savage Bear (Jin Xiong): "You can’t form cross-village teams in PVE instances! Damn, I wiped in Pressure difficulty—the attack just wasn’t enough, and that big rooster wiped out my whole group."

Endless Poem (Yu Shiyin): "If we could team up across villages, we’d just go find Big Huang and get carried. Guess where he’s at now?"

Slim Waist, Long Legs, Canvas Shoes (Song Na): "He’s probably off killing people in the arena."

Jungle Shadow Fox (Zhao Shengsheng): "Do you think he’s as much of a PK maniac as Piaoxue? I bet he’ll finish the PVE before heading to the arena."

"I just cleared advanced difficulty, planning to finish all four difficulties and carry people for cash. Fifteen hundred thousand credits per person," Huang Yunshuo replied, sending a laughing emoji.

"What the hell!"
Breaker Apostle (Chu Jun) exclaimed, "That’s insane! We were never this far apart in Glacial Glory… (crying emoji)"

"One hundred and fifty thousand credits—will people really pay that?" Yu Shiyin asked in disbelief. That kind of money was astronomical; even if someone wanted a carry, the instance rewards couldn’t be worth that much.

"When I entered the easy instance, I was a third of a level away from nine. By the time I finished advanced, I was level ten—and that’s just counting experience, not to mention the copper coins. I got at least six or seven hundred coins in total."

"Hiss…" Jin Xiong sucked in a breath. Six or seven hundred copper coins—that alone was worth over a hundred thousand credits. No wonder Big Huang dared to charge so much.

"The early stages of the beginner period are mostly about luck—don’t stress," Huang Yunshuo reassured everyone. With ten thousand people at level ten on the rankings, anyone would feel anxious, but there was nothing he could do; his own rapid progress was due to luck, and saying too much would just sound smug.

"All right, hurry up and grind. Make sure you get some gear ready for Piaoxue, or she’ll blame you if she keeps getting killed in the arena," Yu Shiyin sent a giggling emoji.

Huang Yunshuo replied with an ellipsis and closed the chat window.

"Carrying teams through—all four stages: easy, normal, pressure, and advanced. Two slots, one hundred and fifty thousand credits each. Transfer and hop on!"
Standing before the instance NPC, left hand on his iron shield, right wielding the iron sword, his chick cloak fluttering in the wind, the bold level ten marker above his head, Huang Yunshuo called out loudly.

"Are you robbing us?!"
Someone cursed. It had just been a hundred thousand; now it was a hundred and fifty. As if no one else could clear the instance—they could just do easy mode and still get the proof of truth, couldn’t they?

A crowd gathered to watch. Most players were just here for the spectacle, and the few willing to pay hesitated—the price was steep, and the instance rewards uncertain. Was it truly worth the fee?

No one doubted Huang Yunshuo’s ability; with his gear and level, if he couldn’t clear the fourth difficulty, they might as well give up.

"Brother, take us—transferring credits now!"

Just then, two middle-aged human players hurried over. One was stocky with a bit of fat, the other tall and thin; their faces bore a striking resemblance, likely brothers.

"Harmony Breeds Wealth Su Honest has transferred one hundred and fifty thousand credits to you. Please confirm receipt."
"High-Interest Credit Su Cannon has transferred one hundred and fifty thousand credits to you. Please confirm receipt."

In less than three seconds, Huang Yunshuo received both transfers and was quite pleased with these decisive customers.

"Join the party… Wait, are you two moneylenders?" Huang Yunshuo asked with a grin, inviting them into the group and entering the easy instance.

"My brother’s a moneylender—his rates are high, but he’s absolutely trustworthy. I’m more of a general merchant," the portly Su Honest replied with a beaming smile, then eagerly asked, "Would you add me as a friend, expert?"

Credits above all!

Huang Yunshuo was happy to make connections with merchants—they could bring him both credits and convenience. He searched their names and added them.

"I’m really envious of people like you with unique names," Huang Yunshuo remarked, slashing down a chick as he spoke.

"Damn it, even my name’s taken; I give up!" Su Cannon grumbled. Looking up, he saw all four chicks had already been slain, and the rooster had let out a tragic squawk and dropped a pile of copper coins.

"It’s over already?" Su Cannon exclaimed in astonishment.