Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Seventy-One: Return to the City of Mists

Just as Lu Ningyu was about to make her move, she sensed something in the formation before her that differed from what she’d read in the books. When she tried to study it more closely, a cloud of darkness suddenly surged from within the array. Before she could react, the shadows engulfed her.

In that instant, the wind ceased, the rain stopped, and the storm clouds scattered with unnatural speed. A single ray of sunset fell upon Lu Ningyu, stretching her shadow long across the ground. Yet in the glow, her silhouette was not hers, but the twisted, hideous outline of a monstrous creature.

With a metallic clang, the blade in her hand dropped to the ground. She lifted her hand and gazed at it, then threw back her head and laughed aloud.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Fang Hao arrived in tattered clothes before a ruined building. From within the debris, a flash of blade light erupted, and Mad Blade leapt out. “Ha! Is it over already?”

Mad Blade swept his gaze around indifferently, and caught sight of Ao Emperor, who sat silently cradling Xia Rong’s corpse—with the bodies of his two other teammates strewn beside him.

Upon Fang Hao’s arrival, Ao Emperor finally raised his head, his eyes hollow as he looked at him. “You did all this, didn’t you?”

Mad Blade’s interest was piqued by the question.

“No,” Fang Hao replied, clearly unsurprised by the situation. He shrugged. “I never went to that hospital. The only ones who could affect things there are you seasoned veterans, aren’t they?”

As he spoke, Fang Hao swept his gaze over those present, then muttered to himself, “They didn’t come, which means the danger at the hospital was held off by them.”

He glanced aside, a smile tugging at his lips; he had just seen Xiao Wen and Jia Jun.

“So that’s how it is,” Mad Blade chuckled, looking at Ao Emperor. “Trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead, eh?”

“Mad Blade!” Ao Emperor erupted in fury, rising to attack, but was quickly stunned by Mad Blade’s strength. “You—you!”

Mad Blade grinned wickedly. “That’s right. I should thank you. If you hadn’t made things harder, it might have taken me longer to enter Level Two difficulty.”

As he spoke, a doorway of light slowly formed.

“What a pity—I still haven’t figured out that kid’s abilities. But his power now is hardly worth mentioning. Hope we meet again.” Mad Blade looked toward the hospital as he finished, then stepped into the portal.

Behind a shattered wall, Xiao Wen and Jia Jun seethed with anger. “It was them! No wonder I kept feeling something was wrong in the dream. It was all their doing,” Xiao Wen growled bitterly.

“We absolutely can’t let this go,” Jia Jun echoed, his appearance wretched—he had lost his left arm in the recent attack. But in the crisis, both had awakened their innate talents.

As the sunlight finally spread to every corner of the city, Fang Hao sat upon a stone, savoring a rare moment of peace.

Ao Emperor slowly stood, taking a deep breath and looking at Fang Hao. “I hope that when we face missions together in the future, you’ll cooperate openly.”

Fang Hao said nothing, simply watching him.

Just then, a gust of wind swept in, and thick fog quickly enveloped them all.

“Preparing to return to Mist City. You have a temporary team not yet formalized. Would you like to formalize it?”

“No,” Fang Hao replied without hesitation.

“There are three members in your current squad. One has chosen ‘no,’ the other two abstained. Temporary team disbanded. Items in team space will be destroyed.” As the voice faded, everyone vanished from the spot.

Lu Yi felt himself drifting in darkness. He didn’t know how much time had passed before a mechanical prompt finally roused him from that state.

“Welcome back to Mist City. Evaluating your performance as a challenger.”

A light screen appeared before Lu Yi, rapidly displaying the key events he’d accomplished in the challenge world: Sandnell beset by monsters, wagering with the Helian sisters… and, at the end, his spectacular expulsion of Andil.

“For this mission, you receive a base reward of 880 points.”

“Devouring the evil spirit’s avatar earns you 3,000 points.”

…

“Expelling the demon Andil earns you 5,000 points.”

“Total reward: 10,050 points.”

A smile broke across Lu Yi’s face. Over ten thousand reward points—this was a boon indeed.

But his brow soon furrowed. He tried to open the team space, but nothing happened. He sighed, feeling a pang for the two Source Fruits and other supplies lost.

Just as he was thinking this, a mirror suddenly appeared before him. In its reflection, he looked gaunt and frail, as if he were about to breathe his last.

“In the final battle, you overtaxed your body and depleted a large amount of your life force. You now have two options:

First, the city provides every novice challenger with a free treatment after their first mission, but this will only restore you to your state upon entering the challenge world.”

Lu Yi was momentarily stunned. Restoring to the state before entering meant losing the enhancement from the original Witch’s Blood, and the boost from the Fierce Soul Fruit.

“Second, you may pay 5,000 reward points, merging free treatment, to return to your physical condition just before the final battle.”

Five thousand! Lu Yi mentally gave the city the finger. Wasn’t this blatant extortion? He couldn’t enhance himself now, and saving reward points for the next mission could mean everything.

When it came down to it, apart from the four Demon Hunter rings, he was left with nothing but reward points after this mission.

“I choose the second option,” Lu Yi declared without hesitation.

“Deducting 5,000 reward points. Initiating treatment.” With the mechanical voice, a white light descended. Lu Yi felt himself soaking in warm waters, energy pouring through his pores and into his body.

He watched as his muscles filled out again, and his skin lost its malnourished look.

Treatment soon completed, Lu Yi felt the space around him shift.

He found himself in a tidy living room, looking around to find he was alone. As he had expected, he sighed. “So, the team didn’t survive after all?”

Lu Yi shook his head. Well, perhaps they’d meet again someday.

He sank onto the sofa and began reflecting on the mission. It was clear that the group had veered off course from the start. If they’d worked together more closely, if Fang Hao had been open about his suspicions in time, they might have passed with fewer casualties.

To Lu Yi’s mind, the two threads could have been perfectly exploited: some members entering the hospital first, forcing the veteran challengers to protect fewer people, then swapping inside and outside members after a while. That way, the difficulty on Andil’s thread wouldn’t escalate too quickly, and the rookie challengers outside could consolidate the native forces for decisive use. Of course, this plan seemed perfect in hindsight, but starting over, Lu Yi doubted it would be easy to implement.

He opened the nearby refrigerator, stuffed full of food, grabbed a few items, and began to sate his hunger.

According to the information in his mind, after each mission, there was a fifteen-day rest period. Once time expired, the city would eject the challenger, who would then find the entrance to the next challenge world somewhere in the mist, at random.

So he planned to spend the days ahead training and reflecting on his previous experiences.