Chapter 48: Something’s Wrong... Very Wrong!

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Something’s Wrong... Very Wrong!

Above Blue Star, in the Divine Revelation Hall.

On the top floor of the highest tower in the hall, a meeting involving all the higher-ups of the Divine Revelation Hall was underway.

"The net-closing operation has concluded successfully."

Seated at the first spot below the head of the conference table, Ji Ruoxu rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, delivering his report. Beside him was Asoka, the Strongest Assassin, shrouded entirely in a black robe with only his eyes exposed.

"This operation unearthed over a thousand rats hiding in the dark. The strongest among them had reached Lv59, just one step away from the Second-Turn."

"Good thing we found them early. If human traitors like that had entered the Second-Turn Trial, heaven knows how much damage they would have caused," Lillian scoffed coldly. A sharp glint flashed in her azure eyes, showing true anger.

"The Intimidation effect this time should be enough to keep the rats quiet for a while," Zhu Xiuming, sitting at the head of the table, said in a deep voice. "Consider it buying that kid some time to develop in peace."

After Zhu Xiuming finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a moment.

"By the way, Boss." Lillian looked at Zhu Xiuming with an intrigued expression. "You’ve met that kid named Yu Zhun, right?"

"Yes," Zhu Xiuming nodded slightly. "Not just me, Asoka has met him too. We can’t tell much for now, but his character is good."

He paused, a profound look appearing in his eyes. "Also, he founded a guild called [Godslayer]."

Godslayer...

The conference room abruptly fell quiet. The several Strongest looked at each other, bizarre expressions surfacing in their eyes simultaneously.

"Godslayer, huh..." Lillian suddenly laughed out loud. "I’m starting to like this kid."

Ji Ruoxu smiled faintly, remaining silent.

"Currently, he is the only member of this guild. He is raiding the [Bloody City] Dungeon. Judging by the time, he should have been in the challenge for a while now." Zhu Xiuming tapped the table. "This is a perfect opportunity to observe his other abilities."

The Strongest nodded slightly.

An SSS-grade talent was exceptionally rare in the world, but sometimes, mere talent wasn’t enough. If Yu Zhun ever had the chance to reach their level in the future, the vast majority of the opponents he would face would also possess SSS-grade talents. Being a genius was sometimes just a threshold. Beyond that threshold lay a despair-inducing truth.

"[Bloody City]... I remember this Dungeon." Ji Ruoxu raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Oh?" Zhu Xiuming couldn’t help but look over. "I’ve looked into this Dungeon. It has never been cleared perfectly. If you’ve been there, surely it wouldn’t be like this?"

Ji Ruoxu had the highest perfect Dungeon clear rate among the nine Strongest. A mere [Bloody City] wouldn’t stump him.

"I haven’t entered it; I just know about it," Ji Ruoxu shook his head slightly. "The first time I went to Divine Strategy City, I was already above Lv20.

"But I met someone in Divine Strategy City back then who had done a lot of research on [Bloody City] and even compiled an exclusive guide."

"The Hanlong Guild?" Zhu Xiuming asked suddenly.

"I think his guild was called that," Ji Ruoxu nodded. "Judging from some details he mentioned, this Dungeon is not simple.

"The Dungeon storyline outlined in that guide is wrong.

"I wasn’t well-acquainted with him, so it wasn’t appropriate to speak out of turn.

"However...

"By following that guide, one could never achieve a perfect clear."

"That makes things interesting," a hint of oddity appeared in Zhu Xiuming’s eyes. "That kid went in with that exact guide."

Ji Ruoxu fell silent.

After a moment, he suddenly smiled. "Then let’s see if he’s smart enough to spot the flaws in it."

***

"ROAR—"

Emitting a roar filled with astonishment and confusion, the Blood Corpse King’s massive, mountain-like body crashed to the ground. Amidst the large amount of Blood Red Mist rising from it, the creature rapidly shrank, eventually becoming akin to a regular Blood Corpse in size.

[Congratulations on unleashing your divine might in the Bloody City to defeat the Boss, Heavy Hammer Blood Corpse King (Lv25)! Level Experience +10,000!]

[Congratulations! Your Level has increased to Lv18!]

[The Dungeon Boss, Heavy Hammer Blood Corpse King, left you a surprise upon being slain. Dropped item: Level-retaining Talisman]

[The Dungeon Boss, Heavy Hammer Blood Corpse King, left you a surprise upon being slain. Dropped item: Blood Red Assault Helmet (Master Level)]

[The Dungeon Boss, Heavy Hammer Blood Corpse King, left you...]

[Congratulations on meeting the clear conditions for the [Bloody City] Dungeon!]

"It actually dropped a Level-retaining Talisman! This is a huge profit." Yu Zhun grinned, baring his teeth in delight.

The 3A-difficulty [Bloody City] could steadily drop one or two pieces of Purple Equipment, and had a chance to drop the Three Divine Talismans along with various other rewards. In a single run, if one was lucky, the profits could even exceed ten million.

Yu Zhun’s luck was only average this time, as only one piece of Purple Equipment had dropped. But with the Level-retaining Talisman, it wasn’t a loss either.

Gleefully storing away the Level-retaining Talisman, Yu Zhun tapped open the Purple Equipment’s details.

[Blood Red Assault Helmet]

[Equipment Introduction: A powerful helmet originating from the Bloody City. The Curse power attached to it can deliver a fatal blow to enemies at critical moments!]

[Equipment Level: Lv20]

[Equipment Quality: Master Level (Purple)]

[Equipment Slot: Helmet]

[Equipment Durability: 100]

[Equipment Attributes: Physical Attack +320, Life Value +1000]

[Equipment Effect 1 (Assault): Physical Attack increased by 20%, up to a limit of 800 points]

[Equipment Effect 2 (Cursed Life): Immediately lose 50% of your Life Value; the next attack will deal bonus damage equal to 20% of the target’s lost Life Value]

"It’s a helmet, and the skill effects are decent." Yu Zhun casually tossed it into his inventory. "It should fetch a good price."

Players would unlock their fourth Equipment slot at Lv20: the helmet. The attributes of a helmet generally fell between those of weapons and Armor, making it a piece of Equipment that balanced both offense and defense.

Having leveled up to Lv18, Yu Zhun wasn’t far from Lv20. It was about time he prepared a helmet for himself. However, the Equipment effects of this helmet were clearly not suited for him.

Hurriedly gathering the rest of the dropped Equipment, Yu Zhun glanced up at his Infection Level overhead.

The cup of water he drank earlier had reduced his Infection Level by 20 points, but the subsequent raiding process had also consumed quite a bit of time. By now, his Infection Level had reached 33 points.

[You have inhaled a certain amount of Blood Red Mist. Infection Level +2. Your current Infection Level is: 35]

[You have received a debuff: Physical Attack and Magic Attack -35%]

After its death, the Heavy Hammer Blood Corpse King would release a massive amount of Blood Red Mist, causing the mist’s concentration to drastically increase. If he continued to stay here, the Infection Level gained per minute would double.

This was also mentioned in the guide. Because of this, very few people chose to continue exploring the Dungeon after meeting the clear conditions.

Yu Zhun casually pulled out his badge, preparing to teleport out, but after a moment of pondering, he put it away again.

"Wait... Something is very wrong!" he thought.