The Soul Gate Dungeon reset once more, and the Iron Alliance party continued to attempt it. However, Li Yi did not join the party this time. He had Jiaojiao take his place, while he rode Onyxia all over the place, doing quests every day.
Although the King of Souls’ first kill reward was no longer up for grabs, many players still flocked toward the Soul Gate in droves. To many high-level players, the King of Souls’ equipment drops were no longer worth his time. Players like Brother Windcloud Nine, Li Yi, Confused Fox and their likes had almost all gotten a Tier 2 Equipment Set, the best possible equipment at this stage of the game. Whether or not they fought the King of Souls did not matter to them at all.
Only the players who had not obtained a Tier 2 Equipment Set had no choice but to upgrade themselves at the Soul Gate.
This time, the Iron Alliance party did not manage to kill the King of Souls. That was how it was with overpowered superbosses; you might kill it once, but that did not mean you could kill it every time. The first attempt was successful firstly because they were fully prepared, secondly because they got slightly lucky, and thirdly because the party worked well together. All three of the above were absolutely necessary, and if any one of the three was anything less than perfect, chances were high that they would stay stuck there, wiping out over and over again.
This attempt was slightly more embarrassing for the Iron Alliance party. Although the commander was still Shangguan Bailu, they had only reached boss number 27 when they ran out of Resurrections…
They left with their heads hanging, without so much as a glimpse of the King of Souls.
Of course, even if they only killed 27 minor bosses, the equipment they earned was still enough to send the party’s elites to the next level. The truth was that when it came to the Soul Gate Instance Dungeon, it did not matter much to the players whether they could defeat the King of Souls or not. The reason behind this was simple enough: the King of Souls was a very special boss in that it only dropped Class Weapons.
The Iron Alliance failed, but two other guilds, the Fluttering Snow Alliance and Reigning The World, successfully defeated the Hell-level King of Souls, one after the other. With that, they achieved the second and third kills.
It did not earn them any rewards at all, but their accomplishment proved that they were worthy.
…
The Brawl Tournament’s annual grand finals were about to begin in just three days.
The Brawl Tournament’s full name was the Brawl King Tournament, and it had a subtitle too, the Apex Battle. Only the four Seasonal Champions from each continent were allowed to participate. In other words, this contest was a battle between these twelve players.
The name list of the twelve had been revealed a long time ago,
The four participants from the Invincible Continent were Li Yi, Jiaojiao, Unending Unmatched, and Fengxi.
The four participants from the Ninth Continent were Brother Windcloud Nine, Faded Cloud Breeze, Shoot ‘Til Morning Light, and Night Moon.
The four participants from the Southern Continent were Amber Sword Heart, Brother Simon, Tyrant Sword King the Fifth, and Yellow-robed Priest Ah Ye.
The world of Pantheon was abuzz for more than half a month over Soul Gate’s first kill. Now that the Brawl King Tournament was beginning, it went without saying that all sorts of predictions and comparative analyses began to flood all the forums.
The favorite for champion was undoubtedly none other than Dark Wing!
The major casinos had all started accepting bets, and they published Li Yi’s odds early on as well. It was a mere 1.2, which meant that if you bet one buck on Li Yi winning and he did, you would only earn one buck and ten cents including your initial bet. In other words, one buck would only earn ten cents in return…
These odds were ridiculously low. After all, the twelve players participating in the Brawl King Tournament made their way into the finals over hundreds of millions of others. Not one of them was weak, and normally their odds should not be that different…
The odds this time scared even the most black-hearted of black-hearted people, Black Autumn.
Li Yi’s odds were 1 to 1.1, but another participant from the Invincible Continent, Fengxi, had 1 to 15 odds.
Betting one buck could earn you fifteen. Those odds were just as ridiculous…
“Brother Dark Wing…”
“Brother Dark Wing…”
Li Yi completed quests from dawn to dusk, but Autumn Love was not sitting still either. She chased him from dawn to dusk, trying to discuss things with him.
Li Yi was not trying to avoid her on purpose, but he was the continent’s Military Advisor, after all. He had the Teleport special skill, so it was only natural that Black Autumn could not keep up with him on her own two legs.
However, Black Autumn as no pushover. Every time she lost track of Li Yi, she would immediately shout out on the National Channel and mobilize the other players to tell her Li Yi’s coordinates. Women naturally had it easier when playing games, and many players were more than glad to help a ‘pretty lady’. It was a simple favor that would earn them a beauty’s smile, so why not?
“Autty, Dark Wing is at Black Rock Mountain, coordinates…”
“Missy Autumn, Dark Wing is in Frost Forest, coordinates…”
“Lil Love, Dark Wing is at the Curse Land, coordinates…”
Just like that, Li Yi ended up with a stalker behind him. No matter where he went, Black Autumn would somehow appear before him within the shortest possible period of time.
When Li Yi ran to the vicinity of the Newbie Villages, Black Autumn appeared once more. Finally, he lost his patience. “Just what do you want?”
“Let’s work together, start a gamble, and profit!”
As Black Autumn talked to Li Yi, she waved her staff and shot out a small fireball, killing a Small Wild Boar. She then ran straight up to it and retrieved its skin. The girl’s determination to earn money was worthy of respect in and of itself, because even while she was pursuing Li Yi, her hands never stopped working. If there were monsters, she killed them. If there were no monsters, she would harvest herms or mine. If that would not work either, she would refine potions. No matter what, she took every opportunity she could to earn money.
Li Yi could not bear to watch anymore. “Each Small Wild Boar pelt is worth one Copper Coin. You sure this is worth it?”
“Baby steps go a long way.” Autumn Love waved her hand again and another Small Wild Pig fell.
“Alright, tell me, how do you wanna work together?”
“I provide the funds and you provide the skill. We split the earnings 50-50. If you don’t believe me, we can sign a contract.”
Li Yi was stunned. “I don’t have to provide any money at all?”
Autumn Love nodded repeatedly. “Of course. Don’t think me stingy, I’m stingy toward others, but to you, Brother Dark Wing, I spare no expense.”
“Uh-huh. The day you’re generous will be the day pigs climb trees.”
Seeing how Autumn Love never stopped chasing the Small Wild Boars, Li Yi shook his head exasperatedly.
“Just tell me how you plan to do it.”
“It’s simple!”
Autumn Love finished skinning another Small Wild Boar and ran toward Li Yi. After she glanced around her to make sure that there was no one else around, she finally told him her plan.
“Brother Dark Wing, the bets for the Brawl King Tournament are nuts. All of the casinos have gone mad, crazy, they reduced your odds to 1 to 1.1. Oh my goodness, they think so highly of you! Well, I do too, but, teehee, don’t you think those payouts are just too low?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I’m saying is very simple. Others have started accepting bets, but I don’t dare to, it’s just too dangerous. That’s why I wanna try a different bet. Instead of betting on you to win, I wanna bet that you lose!”
“Bet that I Iose? Are you telling me to go easy on my opponent and throw the match? That way, everyone who bet on me would lose.”
Whoa, you’re so smart, Brother Dark Wing. I totally admire you.”
“Admire, my foot!”
Li Yi turned away to leave.
“Brother Dark Wing…”
Autumn Love gave chase and desperately tried to convince him.
“By my estimates, we could rake in at least 100 to 300 million in wagers. Oh goodness, that 300 million! All you gotta do is throw one match and you could earn 150 million just like that. Goodness, 150 million…”
Autumn Love’s whole body spasmed suddenly, and she collapsed to the ground.
Li Yi was taken aback. “What’s the matter with you? Don’t scare me!”
Autumn Love lay on the ground, her expression blissful as she murmured “150 million” over and over. She would even moan occasionally, and no matter how Li Yi tried to wake her up, she simply ignored him.
Could it be once a person’s greed reached a certain stage, it would turn into something like a drug addiction? If the figures became too large, would it strip them of their self-control?
Li Yi stared at Autumn Love for a long while, rather speechless.
“I don’t need the money, and I definitely won’t go easy on anyone during this Brawl King Tournament. I only have one goal, and that’s to become champion!”
Autumn Love, who had been lying on the ground, intoxicated, suddenly woke up with a shudder.
“Don’t, Brother Dark Wing! You’ll have plenty of chances to win the Brawl King Tournament, it’s more important to earn money, earn money…
“Earning money is important to you, but becoming champion is important to me. Don’t get in my way, I’m doing quests. Shoo, shoo shoo…”
Li Yi shooed Autumn Love away as though she were a fly. Autumn Love bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.
‘Black Autumn should really consider acting. What a waste of talent.’
Li Yi ignored her and summoned the Holy Light Warhorse, flying forth.
Autumn Love stared at Li Yi’s receding back dazedly, tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes. “There goes 150 million… Gone, gone… all gone…”
“Pfft!”
With a small fireball, she instantly killed a nearby Small Wild Boar. Autumn Love still stared dazedly after Li Yi, taking out her skinning knife robotically and floating toward the Small Wild Boar like a ghost…
…
Li Yi was running quests every day, not only the quests in the Invincible Continent but every available quest all over the Pantheon world. He did them all.
However, the way he did these quests was rather special. Every time he reached the final step, when he was about to obtain the EXP rewards, he would stop and then cancel this quest, moving on to the next quest. After rinsing and repeating for about a dozen days, he did more than a thousand quests.
All of his quests were just one step away from completion, and he had not claimed the EXP from any single one of them.
The Level 100 level cap would be abolished any time now, and then there would be a new level cap. If he did not start preparing ahead now, how could he be sure to be one step ahead of the pack later?
King of Pantheon had been running for over two years now, and the players were utterly familiar with the game now. Li Yi could take the lead in the game’s earliest days, but that did not mean he could stay ahead forever. It was like two identical bottles, one full of water and the other empty. Pour water into the empty battle and it would fill up quickly enough, but pour water into the full bottle and its volume would not change.
What Li Yi wanted to do now was smash his full bottle and continue to take the lead, breaking past the limits!
He ran into the Newbie Village and turned in the quest but cancelled it at the last step. Upon stepping out of the Newbie Village, he heard many newbie Summoners constantly cursing Fengxi’s name.
Li Yi took out his Divine Looking Glass and used it to see Fengxian’s statistics.
[Fengxi (Male)]
[Faction: Invincible Continent]
[Guild: Huashan]
[Level 100]
[Class: Cyclone Thief]
[HP: 222222]
[STR: 713]
[WIL: 523]
[AGI: 3573]
…
[Target’s Current Location: Invincible Continent, Eastern Mountains, Newbie Village exit. Coordinates: 1521155: 5431111]
…
“Well, f*ck me, a Thief with 20,000HP???”
Li Yi read Fengxian’s stats and was utterly shocked…
