The Armored Yak was known for its tough Defense, but it still wasn't enough to tank my Attack. My basic attack dealt 50k+ damage to it at least, and with the Phantom Wolf King's aid, the mobs went down very quickly. At first, I played it cautious and aggroed one Armored Yak only. Then, I aggroed two at the same time. In the end, I aggroed an entire group of Armored Yaks, CC'd them with Ice Cyclone Domain, and ended their lives with Burning Blade Slash + War Crush + Coiling Dragon Revolution combo. I could add an Ancient Seal into my combo, but I decided to save it for when it was really dangerous. I could always spend it if my Divine Energy Points exceeded 180.

A while later, I checked the time and noted that it was almost time to meet up with Chaos Moon. So far, I had gathered 54 Yak Meat, or half of what was needed to complete the quest Requirement. A red dot appeared in the distance just as I returned to the foot of the mountain range.

Rustle rustle…

A low-hanging red maple tree shuddered unnaturally until a sword cut through it, and Chaos Moon emerged. Her ID was blood-red, her short hair was covered in maple leaves, and her s.h.i.+rt was drenched in dew that made her cleavage almost visible. It was a very attractive look for her.

"You're right on time…" I greeted her with a smile.

After Chaos Moon got close to me and dismounted, she said with a disbelieving expression, "Did you know that I cleared out my bag so well that I dropped my potion stack in the warehouse as well? Worse, I ran into three a.s.sa.s.sins along the way and was almost killed by them. That would've been the most embarra.s.sing moment of my life…"

I shot her an equally disbelieving look. "Seriously? You're normally smarter than this. Sure, I've only told you to clear out your bag, but that doesn't mean you couldn't bring me some potions and bread…"

"Ah?"

Chaos Moon's mouth remained agape for a moment before she slapped her thigh suddenly. "OMG, what is wrong with me today? I must've been too concerned about your safety that I even forgot about common sense. Here, I have three loaves of bread and a couple of potions…"

I shook my head amusedly. "It's fine, my kills drop a ton of free bread and potions when they die, so it's not like I'm completely out of supplies. Just take my equipment back with you as we discussed."

"Okay."

However, Chaos Moon's mouth fell open again as I traded my equipment to her. "OMG, you blackhearted b.a.s.t.a.r.d! This is insane! Just how many j.a.panese players did you kill in Final Duel Valley? There's… there's even Outstanding Heaven-grade equipment? Can… can I have this bracelet? Please?"

I was so not used to Chaos Moon acting coy that I almost spat blood. "Just take whatever you want, it's not like I can have any use for them. Anyway, this Level 120 Heaven-grade ring is for Chengfeng. It adds 30% Attack and 15% movement speed, and it has low requirements. I'm sure he'll like it. This Level 180 Heaven-grade s.h.i.+eld is for Heaven's Rain. Its defensive capabilities are super amazing, and I'm sure it'll motivate her to hit Level 180 as soon as possible. This metal armor is for Diamond Dust… this helmet's for Diamond Dust too… oh right, just trade these to them in private so they don't need to spend guild contribution points to get them. Tell them to save it for when the guild grinds Immortal-grade equipment or something!"

"No problem! I've jotted it all down!" Chaos Moon said smilingly.

Ten long minutes later, I finally filled up Chaos Moon completely. Her bag was jampacked with equipment of high or even super tier, because the enemy knew that anyone weaker would just be fodder to me. Unfortunately for them, they still underestimated the prowess of my Purple Ying Sword, but it was too late for regrets now.

"Where's your equipment? I'll take them back and repair them for you!" Chaos Moon said.

"It's fine."

I raised my weapon in a gesture while replying, "I just received a quest from an undead NPC that'll give me access to equipment repair once I complete it, so don't worry. Also, you should avoid coming to Final Duel Valley as much as possible. This place is way too dangerous. Also, greet Eve and Lin Yixin for me, will you?"

"Got it. Take care not to die."

"No problem." I smiled rea.s.suringly. "I'm going to bed after I'm done with this quest. Purple Grape City can search the valley all they want, they won't find me there. Once I'm refreshed, I'll head over and teach them a lesson again!"

"Got it. I'm sleeping after I deliver these items as well. You want me to wake you up for porridge tomorrow morning?"

"Sure!"

……

After I sent off Chaos Moon, I continued killing the Armored Yaks and regained some levels for my Phantom Wolf King. My poor little buddy had lost nearly 70 levels by the end of the Nation War. It would've become unusable if it wasn't able to kill some players and obtain their experience at Final Duel Valley.

I finished gathering 100 Yak Meat before midnight. I then returned to the NPC and turned in the quest!

"Oh, you actually completed the quest successfully, young warrior!"

The NPC captain exclaimed in astonishment while staring at me. To be honest, I wanted to tell him that he had quite the pair of b.a.l.l.s to condescend me when I was an Asura King and he was just an Asura, but in the end I decided that it wasn't worth the effort.

Beside him, the NPC blacksmith laughed loudly. "Oh, you are almost as good as I was back when I was younger, young undead. Very well, you may now repair or even purchase some equipment at my humble shop, but just so you know, the price is ten times the normal price…"

I bared my teeth at him and swore inside my head. "Motherf.u.c.ker!.

I walked up to the blacksmith and repaired all my equipment. When everything was said and done, I was 270k gold poorer than before. What a scam!

Some time ago, the players complained that high-level equipment cost too much to repair, so Eternal Moon Corporation decided to reduce the repair fee by a whopping 75%. It did nothing to help my current situation though!

Still, I shouldn't complain too much. The fact that I found a place to repair my equipment in a hostile country and a hostile map was a blessing from Lady Luck already, not to mention that I was an unaffiliated player who had been abandoned by my own country. Compared to that Tang Long who called himself a bureaucrat, these blackhearted NPCs were practically endearing to look at.

……

I was just about to leave when the NPC captain suddenly called out to me. "Young undead…"

"Yes, officer?" I turned around and asked.

He let out a cough before starting, "I was just wondering if you found any useful items while fighting the monsters. If you did, please trade with me. Lady Sophie is currently attacking Purple Grape City, but she doesn't have nearly enough equipment to field her troops. If you trade me your equipment, I will reward you with either gold, experience, Reputation, or refinement points. Your choice."

"Oh?!"

A grin appeared on my face. I spoke to the captain again, and this time an equipment recycling screen showed up. I selected a Spirit-grade sword—it was one of the lousier items in my bag—and pa.s.sed it to the undead captain. I immediately received a system notice—

System Notice: "Blade of the Shadowfang" can be exchanged for the following rewards—

A: 1740 gold

B: 1740000 experience

C: 1740 Reputation

D: 1740 refinement points

……

I couldn't stop myself from blurting, "Holy s.h.i.+t, is the system trying to help me cheat? This… this is too awesome…"

The NPC grinned when he saw my silly grin. "Young undead, this is the chance of a lifetime, and you're the only one whom I'm offering this service to! Don't miss it!"

I rubbed my eyes just in case I was seeing things before thinking seriously. There was no way I was picking the gold option because it was basically the same price of what I would've gotten from selling it at the marketplace, not to mention that I wasn't lacking in money right now. The experience reward was a lot more enticing, but I could just get it by killing Purple Grape City's players at Final Duel Valley. Just the same, I wasn't lacking in Reputation points right now. As for the fourth option… What the h.e.l.l are refinement points again?

I shot the NPC captain a puzzled look. "Er captain, what are these refinement points?"

He smiled at me before answering, "It is something you use when my blacksmith refines your equipment for you. When your equipment is fully refined, its grade will increase. However, it only applies to evolvable equipment, which is something I haven't seen since as far back as a couple centuries ago, so feel free to ignore the option…"

I broke into a grin and nodded. "Very well, I would like to exchange for refinement points, please!"

"What?"

The NPC captain stared at me in shock before breaking into a small grin. "Incredible, young undead. You have surprised me yet again. I'm starting to think that the future of the undead lies with you…"

I simply accepted the compliment without a word. I had had the Purple Ying Sword for quite some time now, but it hadn't shown any sign of evolving at all. This was the perfect opportunity to hasten its evolution. The Purple Ying Sword was an Archean Immortal-grade weapon right now, so the next stage should be Divine Armament, right? It would be so nice if that was true. I couldn't wait to wield one already!

I exchanged almost all the equipment in my bag for refinement points until only 17 were left. These remaining equipment was fairly valuable and could be better used elsewhere. When all was said and done, I had over 2.5 million refinement points in total. Next, I walked up to the blacksmith and brought up the refinement system. After depositing the Purple Ying Sword at the equipment slot, I tapped the Refine b.u.t.ton and… What the f.u.c.k?! As it turned out, 2.5 million refinement points was only enough to refine the Purple Ying Sword to 17%! This is crazy! I will have to kill a lot more people if I wish to upgrade the Purple Ying Sword further!

I was still very excited though. The work might be tedious, but the important thing was that it worked. When one door closes, another opens. Tang Long might've taken away my Nation War contribution point reward and MVP reward, but because of that, I found a place to upgrade the Purple Ying Sword. Maybe this was the heavens' way of compensating me for everything I had lost?

……

Bubbling with joy, I was searching for a place with a good feng shui to log out of the game when suddenly, the system dinged beside my ears—

Ding~!

System Notice: You have been kicked from the “Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls” guild by player “From Water”!

……

"What?"

My mind turned blank. I looked to my shoulder and saw the emblem of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls slowly fading away into nothing. It was the last proof of my status as a player of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and a Chinese player, and it was gone just like that...

I didn't know how long I stood in a daze. Why? Did… did He Yi really exile me from the guild I protected for years just because of some pressure from Tang Long?

My heart hurt. I slowly dropped to my knees. Reluctance and shame gripped my heart and refused to let go.

Thud thud thud...

Suddenly, two Purple Grape City cavalrymen appeared at the distance and saw me. They immediately shouted, "He's over there! Kill him!"

I didn't look up. I couldn't. I even thought that dying in their hands wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

It was at this moment the image of a hill flashed, and the two Purple Grape City players dropped dead. A beautiful woman entered my sight. It was Chaos Moon.

……

The girl dismounted and hugged me. "What's wrong, Lu Chen?"

I looked up and stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "Why… why was I kicked out of the guild?"

Chaos Moon s.h.i.+vered from head to toe before replying, "That's why I came back. Eve told me to find you…"

"Just why!?"

"It's Tang Long. He threatened to exile everyone in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls if we didn't remove you from the guild. He's gone mad, Lu Chen. The endless criticisms he received due to his actions got to him, and he's willing to do anything to get some measure of vengeance…"

Chaos Moon sighed before adding, "Eve has her own difficulties. She definitely hadn't made this decision w.i.l.l.y-nilly. Here, let me show you something…"

"Mn!"

……

Swhoos.h.!.+

It was a video; a scene at Dark Moon City. He Yi was standing at the front of the territory hall with her sword in front of her, and standing right in front of her was Gui Guzi, Du Thirteen, Yamete and more.

He Yi said softly, "We must remove Lu Chen from Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls temporarily. Li Chengfeng, Lian Xin, Beiming and Xu Yang have all agreed to this decision. Is there anyone who would like to say anything?"

"How could you kick Boss Broken Halberd out of the guild?! Can't you see that he did everything for us all? Without Boss Broken Halberd, there wouldn't be the WEL champion t.i.tle or today's Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls! The reason humans are different from animals is because we have a heart, dammit!"

With blood-shot eyes, Gui Guzi walked up to He Yi before stabbing the Spear of the Knight G.o.d on the ground. As he pointed a finger at her, he burst out in tears before growling, "Boss Broken Halberd is the one man that I acknowledge in the entire Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls! The rest of you are nothing to me, understand!? If Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls cannot stomach Boss Broken Halberd, then b.l.o.o.d.y Mercenaries and I will leave the guild!"

Gui Guzi then turned around and shouted, "Let's go! We return to b.l.o.o.d.y Mercenaries! Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls only because Lu Chen is here! Now that he's gone, there's nothing left for us here anymore!"

He abruptly ripped the emblem on his arm and flung it against the ground. His eyes were filled with tears and determination.

Du Thirteen, Yamete and many more people also removed their guild emblems, leaving behind only the mark of b.l.o.o.d.y Mercenaries. Then, Gui Guzi got on his mount and declared, "It is death or vengeance, and I fear neither! Follow me to Sword Lord of Jianghu's territory! We're going to flatten those motherf.u.c.kers!"

1. T/N: I'm not tling as it is and saying that her bag has 500 max equipment like the author did because that's dumb as s.h.i.+t when he just mentioned she still had bread and pots with her