Chapter 10: The Black Wind Stronghold Dungeon

“Level 5? Not bad!”
Tang Xuan offered a sincere compliment, and as soon as he finished speaking, a delightful aroma wafted through the air.
Qin Yanran emerged from the kitchen, carrying the first dish she had prepared.
He didn’t stand on ceremony; he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.
“You lazy pig, all you care about is food. What level are you at, really? Is it that you haven’t reached level 5 yet and are too embarrassed to admit it?” Li Weiwei grinned mischievously, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Tang Xuan.
“Me? Level 9, I suppose.”
Tang Xuan chewed a piece of meat, swallowed, and replied calmly.
The four women had reached level 5, already among the top tier of players—a remarkable achievement.
In both games and real life, there were always admirers, and “Grand Wuxia” was a fully immersive virtual reality. Thanks to the women's real-life looks and figures in the game, they naturally attracted a few devoted followers who helped them with tasks and leveling up.
But compared to Tang Xuan, who seemed to be playing with a cheat, their levels were worlds apart.
“Level 9!?”
The women were stunned, then their expressions quickly shifted to disbelief, as if he were joking.
“Are you just bragging?” Li Weiwei was the first to retort.
They had all worked to exhaustion, and after an entire day, had only managed to reach level 5!
If the four of them had begun in the same starter village, working together, perhaps it would have been easier.
Unfortunately, “Grand Wuxia” had just launched and was wildly popular, with countless starter villages; players were assigned at random.
The four women were scattered, relying solely on their own abilities. Some used their skills, others relied on their beauty to attract teammates, and after a day of effort, they barely made it into the level 5 elite group.
Most players were still struggling at levels 3 and 4, a few rare ones were stuck at level 2.
Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, and Qin Yanran—who was eavesdropping from the kitchen while cooking—all felt Tang Xuan was teasing them, just boasting.
Unless he was one of the legendary figures from top online gaming clubs or major guilds, backed by the resources and manpower of an entire guild, only then could one hope to rocket up to levels 6, 7, 8, or even 9.
Tang Xuan was on his own; how could he possibly reach level 9?

This was already the peak for the first day of public testing!
“Don’t believe me?”
Tang Xuan had anticipated their reactions. These four beautiful tenants, his fans, still didn’t know that he was their idol.
First among players, the textbook of online gaming!
Tang Xuan smiled and said, “Add me as a friend when you log in—‘Defying Heaven’s Fate!’ I’ll take you to the ‘Blackwind Stronghold’ dungeon!”
“Defying Heaven’s Fate?”
“The Blackwind Stronghold dungeon!”
The women were once again stunned.
They were surprised by Tang Xuan’s game name, so full of character, and also by his mention of the Blackwind Stronghold dungeon!
This was the ultimate quest for the starter village, the first dungeon for new players.
In the starter village’s questline, only after reaching level 10 and completing the specified “Blackwind Stronghold” dungeon could players follow the sect emissaries to join the major sects, learn skills, and begin their adventures.
The Blackwind Stronghold dungeon required levels 5–10, with teams of 1–10 players.
It had three difficulty settings: normal, hard, and nightmare.
Even the normal mode wasn’t easy to clear; everyone knew that!
The “1–10 players” requirement meant that usually, a team of ten was needed, and those ten should not be low-level.
Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, and the others had just reached the minimum requirement of level 5–10, and there were only four of them.
Now Tang Xuan was offering to lead them into the Blackwind Stronghold dungeon?
Wasn’t that ridiculous?
But the “Blackwind Stronghold” dungeon, regardless of which starter village a player was from, would gather everyone at the foot of Blackwind Mountain when they entered.
By the rules, Tang Xuan could indeed lead the four women to form a party and tackle the dungeon.
Yet the women all thought he was just boasting, nearly rolling their eyes. Li Weiwei even snorted, “Forget it, the Blackwind Stronghold dungeon is full of level 5 humanoid monsters at minimum, and who knows how many high-level ones there are! Not to mention the boss at the end of each dungeon! Lazy pig, if you’re going to brag, at least make it believable!”
Tang Xuan smiled, didn’t explain further, and said, “Let’s eat quickly. After dinner, log into the game, add me as a friend, and everything will be clear.”

Seeing his confident demeanor, the women were left in a state of doubt and curiosity.
Could he really be a level 9 expert?
Or perhaps he was hiding a connection to a powerful gaming guild, which explained his rapid progress?
But those top guilds were all under famous online gaming clubs, with their own headquarters.
Online and offline, everyone acted as a unit—dominating in-game, enjoying premium amenities in real life.
There was no way a lone star from such a guild would be acting solo outside, and the clubs wouldn’t allow it!
Tang Xuan, originally known as the top player and “textbook” of online gaming, was once under the number one Dynasty Club.
A man with built-in hacks, he had many top-tier accounts and was always independent, refusing to be managed. That was one reason he was betrayed and suppressed by the Dynasty Club, forced into retirement, and made to surrender his accounts.
But the story was far more complicated than that.
With Tang Xuan calm and the four women deeply suspicious, everyone soon finished their meal and hurried back to “Grand Wuxia” to continue their struggle!

“Ding, you have a carrier pigeon message.”
“Ding, you have a carrier pigeon message.”
“Ding, you have a carrier pigeon message…”
Tang Xuan had just logged in when he received a string of carrier pigeon messages.
Carrier pigeons were the friend messaging system in “Grand Wuxia.” Tang Xuan opened them; they were from Wang Yajun, Li Weiwei, and the other two.
He accepted their friend requests.
Wang Yajun’s game name was “A Touch of Dust,” Luo Qingqing’s was “Midsummer,” Qin Yanran’s was “Early Summer,” and Li Weiwei used her real name.
“Wow, lazy pig, you really are level 9! You weren’t bragging!” That was Li Weiwei’s message; the friend system showed player levels.
“Brother Tang, you’re amazing.” That was Qin Yanran.
“How did you do it?” Luo Qingqing’s message, one could imagine her logical, thoughtful expression—she was a woman with many ideas.
“Landlord, you’re hiding your talents well!”
The eldest of the four, the refined Wang Yajun, seemed to be teasing him, but her words concealed her astonishment.