Chapter 39: The Palace of the Royal Tomb

Nightfeather was the first to leave the arena. As he stepped outside and wandered through the Arena City, a female player dressed in a black robe appeared before him. At a glance, it was obvious that she played either a warlock or a mage-class profession.

Among mage professions, there was a path known as the Demon Venerable’s Way, whose practitioners were usually cloaked entirely in black. As for the warlock class, there was a path similar to that of Wine-Bound Hero. In God’s Lament, there were quite a few players who followed that path. When the black-robed woman appeared, Nightfeather could tell that her strength was extraordinary.

However, when he looked into the woman’s eyes, he could not help being stunned for a moment. Although a veil concealed most of her face, leaving only a pair of lively eyes exposed, Nightfeather could still vaguely make out the corners of her mouth curling upward beneath the veil. She was clearly smiling.

Nightfeather gave a slight nod and prepared to walk around her. But just as he moved, the black-robed woman suddenly reached out. Her slender, fair right hand emerged into view and landed on Nightfeather’s shoulder.

Nightfeather’s brows furrowed slightly. Looking at the woman before him, he asked in a low voice, “Excuse me, but do I know you?”

Although they were inside a safe zone, Nightfeather did not believe the black-robed woman was weak. She was only Level 80, but compared with the three Level 80 players he had faced earlier, she was countless times stronger.

“You little brat. Do you really not know who I am?”

The black-robed woman sounded distinctly displeased. She raised her right hand and smacked Nightfeather directly on the back of the head, complaining as she did so.

“Huh? Sis?”

Nightfeather froze for a moment before suddenly recognizing her voice. In his memory, only his elder sister, Night Frost, spoke to him in that manner.

“Night Frost, you’re actually free? Don’t you have anything to do?”

Nightfeather hurriedly smiled, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and spoke.

“Nothing important. I’ve been keeping an eye on your growth in God’s Lament, and I knew you would be coming to the arena today, so I came to watch you. Still, it’s rather surprising that you began directly in the Unyielding Silver tier. I didn’t expect that. It seems your talent for games is pretty good after all.”

Night Frost spoke with apparent annoyance before walking beside Nightfeather. The two strolled side by side through the Ancient City of the Primordial World.

“You have exactly the same bearing you had back when you competed. Looks like you still possess the spirit you had in those days.”

Night Frost linked her arm through Nightfeather’s and laughed. Although the siblings were formidable when it came to trading barbs, they were deeply attached to each other beneath it all. Night Frost, in particular, doted on her younger brother immensely.

“You flatter me. I only happened to win three matches in a row.”

Nightfeather glanced at her manner and expression, then curled his lips in response.

Night Frost shook her head slightly. “You’re being modest. I know your talent and skill perfectly well. Judging from what you’ve shown so far, reaching the Radiant Diamond tier shouldn’t be beyond you.”

Her assessment was certainly generous. Yet it was also a genuine affirmation coming from someone who had accompanied her to watch him. Although she might have been looking a little too far ahead, reaching the Radiant Diamond tier would not be especially difficult for Nightfeather. He possessed the ability to do so.

Moreover, since he had entered the Unyielding Silver tier from the very beginning, there was no need to explain that he had advanced there by winning three consecutive matches single-handedly. As long as he won roughly five more matches in a row, he would be able to reach the Glory Gold tier.

“And about what we discussed earlier—whether I should participate in professional competitions—I’ll think about it. I’ll give it my all.”

Nightfeather sighed.

“Don’t sigh so much. You’ll scare your luck away,” Night Frost said.

Hearing that, Nightfeather was momentarily stunned. He smiled warmly, then said earnestly, “The guild faction I belong to has already begun building a city. It’s the first city owned by a guild faction on the Xuantian server—Purple Void City. What do you think of the name?”

“Not bad. Still, I didn’t expect you to be the first to build a city. That is rather surprising.”

“I thought that once the city developed, I might be able to receive a share of the profits. Then I’d be able to support myself, and perhaps even start a small business.”

Night Frost brightened at once. “What kind of business? Why don’t you let me invest as well?”

“I’m planning to partner with that fellow Luo Feng and open a Western restaurant. We have some connections when it comes to resources, and his talent for Western cuisine is far greater than his talent for games. You know that yourself.”

Nightfeather sounded rather proud. Then he shook his head instinctively and said, “Wait, that’s not the point! Why did you really come to see me?”

“I simply wanted to see how far you had grown. Fortunately, you didn’t disappoint me.”

Night Frost smiled meaningfully, released his arm, and said, “All right. I should be going.”

“Sure. We’ll talk when you come home during the holidays. But don’t come watch me like this again. I’m not used to it.”

Nightfeather smiled as he spoke. He did not let her hear the last part. He watched as she gave him a slight wave before disappearing from view. Then he turned and stepped into the teleportation non-player character, leaving the arena server.

…

When Nightfeather appeared in Purple Void City, he saw that everyone from the Purple Void Illusion was waiting beside the arena non-player character. Nearly every face wore an expression of admiration.

“Our main character has returned!”

Knowing Warmth and Cold stepped forward and stood beside Nightfeather, laughing. “Boss, you really are the greatest! You reached Level 60, entered the arena, and won three matches in a row—all by yourself! You’re so incredible that catching up to you feels impossibly far away. Seriously, Boss, are we even playing the same game?”

At that moment, Ten Houses could no longer resist making a half-joking remark. “It’s only the Unyielding Silver tier. Isn’t this a bit too grand? When I reach Level 60, I’ll be able to defeat three opponents by myself as well. Those players were weak. With my strength, handling them would be effortless. Once you reach the Radiant Diamond tier, you’ll understand what a real arena is!”

“What you don’t know is that after defeating three opponents by himself, Cool Night still had more than half his health left. That isn’t so easy to accomplish.”

Warm and Cool could not hold back and immediately explained.

Ten Houses waved his hand, looking somewhat bored. “When the time comes, I’ll prove to you that defeating three opponents alone isn’t difficult at all.”

Nightfeather listened to Ten Houses’s somewhat grating words. The gentle smile at the corners of his mouth did not change in the slightest. He merely looked at Ten Houses with an amused silence.

Wine-Bound Hero, however, could not hold himself back. He stepped forward, fixed his eyes on Ten Houses, and asked, “So you’re a great expert? Forgive my disrespect. Do you currently have an arena rank?”

“My friend was a great expert on the old server. When he taught me how to play, I reached the Radiant Diamond tier myself. Of course, back then I was only using my friend’s account. Before the Radiant Diamond tier, there really wasn’t much difficulty.”

Although Ten Houses spoke casually, his face was already filled with pride. Luo Feng and the others could not help laughing when they saw his expression.

Old Hu, in particular, covered his mouth with one hand. Having once been a red-name player, he understood the arena tiers extremely well. Even within the Radiant Diamond tier, there were obvious differences in strength. In Old Hu’s eyes, Ten Houses was not particularly impressive.

“In that case, Great Expert, remember to try the arena when you reach Level 60. We may have gotten a slight head start, but we believe that once you enter the arena, you’ll catch up to our rank very quickly.”

Wine-Bound Hero’s lips curled into a teasing smile, though he spoke with an expression of complete sincerity.

“Heh. When the time comes, I’ll show you what a true great expert is. I hope you can reach the Radiant Diamond tier soon. Otherwise, if I overtake you from behind, it might be rather embarrassing.”

Ten Houses folded his arms across his chest. The smile on his lips carried a faintly mocking edge, and the two were clearly at each other’s throats.

Just as Luo Feng and the others were about to speak, Nightfeather waved his hand slightly and stopped them.

“All right. Weren’t we supposed to go level up?”

At that moment, Knowing Warmth and Cold, who stood behind Nightfeather, suddenly remembered something important. He hurriedly said, “Boss, while I was leveling outside earlier, I discovered a hidden dungeon in a relatively secluded area of the Mount Tai map. Almost no one has found it. I’ve secretly gone to check on it several times, and hardly any players ever go near the place, so the dungeon has never been cleared. You could go and try it. It’s still early, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, Boss, if you’re tired, we can do it another time.”

“A hidden dungeon in the Mount Tai map?”

Nightfeather’s brows drew together slightly. After hearing Knowing Warmth and Cold’s words, he turned his head toward Old Hu. Old Hu had once been a player on the old server, so perhaps he had some experience with hidden dungeons in the Mount Tai server.

“What hidden dungeon is it? What’s its name?”

Old Hu immediately understood what Nightfeather meant. He looked at Knowing Warmth and Cold and asked the question.

“It’s in the depths of the Demon Forest southeast of Mount Tai. I found it inside a cave covered by a pile of rocks. I didn’t notice the name of the hidden dungeon.”

Knowing Warmth and Cold answered awkwardly. He gave Nightfeather an embarrassed, apologetic look.

“I’ve never heard of a hidden dungeon in that area. On the old server, no one ever went that far. The outdoor bosses in that region could be found before reaching the deeper areas, so virtually nobody had explored further.”

Old Hu shrugged as he replied to Nightfeather.

“In that case, let’s head to Tai City first. After that, Warmth and Cold can lead the way.”

“Sure.”

Knowing Warmth and Cold nodded and immediately led them toward the place he had mentioned.

Because of the current level cap on the server, the monsters in that region were aggressive and attacked players on sight. However, Nightfeather’s group was simply too powerful. They advanced toward the Mount Tai Demon Forest without the slightest obstruction.

“I didn’t expect there to be a hidden dungeon in a place like this. If word gets out, players from the other servers will immediately rush over and seize it. After all, once a hidden dungeon is cleared, only the guild faction of the team that cleared it can enter.”

Old Hu looked around. His expression was somewhat bored, but there was still a trace of anticipation in his voice.

“Speaking of which, how bored did you have to be to come all the way here just to look around?”

Old Hu suddenly turned toward Knowing Warmth and Cold, who was walking at the front, and asked.

Knowing Warmth and Cold smiled awkwardly. “Brother Hu, all right, I admit I was pretty bored at the time. When I reached Level 40, I spent some time wandering around here. The monsters were quite difficult to deal with back then, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I came farther in and discovered this dungeon. I even obtained some documents and other materials concerning its backstory.”

Nightfeather studied the dungeon before him, his brows furrowing slightly. It could only be entered by players between Levels 55 and 70, and its difficulty had reached seven stars within that level range. In other words, it represented the peak difficulty of the middle stage.

“The King’s Tomb Palace. I can confirm that no one discovered this dungeon on any of the old servers of God’s Lament. It’s a chance-encounter hidden dungeon, so the rewards should be quite promising. It can even activate a chance-encounter achievement.”

Old Hu shrugged and continued, “That said, this dungeon is rather difficult. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes. Its difficulty is extremely high—seven stars. That proves how dangerous it is. I didn’t expect there to be a seven-star hidden dungeon within this level range.”

Nightfeather nodded as he spoke.

Knowing Warmth and Cold gave a helpless, bitter smile. “My level isn’t high enough, so I can only wait outside for you to come back. Be careful, and good luck!”

Nightfeather and the others nodded before activating the hidden dungeon before them.

A vortex suddenly appeared in front of them, and a system window materialized.

“Do you wish to enter the King’s Tomb Palace dungeon? This dungeon has a difficulty rating of seven stars and requires players to be between Levels 55 and 70. Only players who meet these requirements may enter. This dungeon has not yet been claimed or cleared.”

Nightfeather and the others immediately clicked the Enter button. They stepped into the vortex and vanished within it.

…

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