Nightmare-Level First Kill
Tang Xuan chatted with Jiang Wanwan for a while, then entered the Blackwind Stronghold instance again through the Shaolin Temple’s instance messenger.
Just as he had expected, after he was forced to leave the Dynasty Club, Jiang Wanwan suffered more than just exclusion. Even the president of Eternity Guild, one of the club’s four major guilds, gave up his position because of her. All because she had been too close to Tang Xuan in the past.
Were it not for Jiang Wanwan’s status as a famous goddess-level player in the online gaming world, with countless fans and admirers, as well as her network within the Dynasty Club, her fate would have been much worse. Otherwise, she would not have been able to secure a spot as an inner disciple, even at lesser sects like Coconut Flower Island on the South Sea, let alone in one of the great sects.
It should be known that all the major gaming guilds were subordinate to the great online gaming clubs. The actions of these guild celebrities and elite players in-game were all strictly regulated. If they told you to join a particular sect, you had to join that sect!
Only Tang Xuan, once known as the “Number One Player” and a “Textbook of Online Gaming”, as the top-ranked player under Dynasty Club, still did things his own way, refusing to be controlled. This was also one of the reasons for his forced retirement.
“It’s a pity that these people will never understand the consequences of offending a cheater.”
Tang Xuan shook his head with a smile.
Offending someone with a protagonist’s cheat template—did the Dynasty Club really think they’d come to a good end?
By now, several players had already appeared in Shaolin Temple, becoming its outer disciples.
The appearance of “Half a Step to Heaven” made these players exclaim in awe, realizing that the inner disciple spot of Shaolin Temple had been taken by this extraordinary figure!
Could it be that this remarkable player had learned some peerless martial arts from the “Sweeping Monk”, allowing him to single-handedly clear the hard difficulty of the Blackwind Stronghold instance?
...
At the foot of Blackwind Mountain.
A vast crowd of players was preparing to clear the normal difficulty of the Blackwind Stronghold instance to obtain their entry tokens.
The arrival of “Half a Step to Heaven” caused a stir among many.
Ignoring the crowd, Tang Xuan selected the Nightmare difficulty (level 16–20, 1–10 players) for the Blackwind Stronghold instance and entered.
“Halt! Who dares trespass here?”
A familiar opening line.
Tang Xuan had already run the Blackwind Stronghold instance many times. Without waiting for the dozen or so bandit lackeys to charge, he rushed straight at them.
With a flurry of fists and kicks, he gained some experience.
For him, now at level 16, these humanoid monsters between levels 5 and 7 offered very little experience.
He pressed deeper into the stronghold, encountering waves of progressively higher-level bandits—level 8, then 9, then 10—each providing slightly more experience.
Finally, before the checkpoint gate, two level 15 elite bandit leaders appeared, leading a group of underlings.
Tang Xuan defeated this group of monsters and entered the checkpoint, where he once again encountered the familiar utility NPC.
[You have slain a level 20 boss monster: Third Chief of Blackwind Stronghold. Gained 800 experience.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: Tiger Fang Sabre (Green).]
“Another green item.”
Tang Xuan smiled. As expected, on his first run of the Nightmare difficulty, a green item had dropped. Previously, when he repeatedly farmed the Hard difficulty to level up and killed the Third Chief multiple times, only the first Hard run yielded a green equipment drop; after that, nothing.
Tang Xuan continued into the main hall of Blackwind Stronghold.
A dozen level 15 elite bandit leaders provided another wave of experience, much more than the lackeys outside.
Next came the level 25 boss: the Second Chief.
[You have slain a level 25 boss monster: Second Chief of Blackwind Stronghold. Gained 1,000 experience.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained: Cloud Tip Dagger (Green).]
“Another green item?”
Tang Xuan paused, then checked the details.
[Cloud Tip Dagger (Green): Attack +30]
This dagger, wielded by the Second Chief, was short and shaped like a cloud tip.
Though its attack was only 30, not as strong as the Tiger Fang Sabre’s 35, being a short weapon, it allowed for a higher attack frequency.
After defeating the Second Chief, Tang Xuan suddenly heard a sharp shout:
“Scoundrel! How dare you massacre my Blackwind Stronghold! Take this!”
Before the words had faded, a figure flashed in from outside the hall, lunging straight at Tang Xuan.
With a hiss as blades cut the air, two short stingers aimed for Tang Xuan’s vital spots.
Emei Stingers!
Tang Xuan’s brow twitched; he had already identified the weapon. In a split second, he activated his “Grass on the Wind” movement skill, his speed surging instantly from 1,260 to over 4,700!
At the Perfected level, this third-tier movement skill made his short-distance maneuvering as swift as a gale.
In the next instant, Tang Xuan appeared at his opponent’s side and struck with a punch.
Shaolin Arhat Fist—its force overwhelming like a tidal wave!
His opponent’s attack missed, and before he could react, Tang Xuan’s punch sent him flying as if struck by a sledgehammer!
-6450
With Tang Xuan’s current use of the Arhat Fist, his attack power reached 7,072, delivering over 6,000 damage in a single blow.
His opponent was gravely injured in one punch!
Tang Xuan lunged and followed up with another Arhat Fist!
-6620
Another heavy blow.
The opponent crashed to the ground, barely clinging to life in a near-death state.
-2080
Tang Xuan finished him off with a regular attack.
[You have slain a level 30 boss monster: Chief of Blackwind Stronghold. Gained 2,400 experience.]
[Congratulations, you have completed the Nightmare difficulty of Blackwind Stronghold. Reward: 15,000 experience.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained...]
At the same time—
A game-wide announcement appeared.
“Congratulations to player ‘Half a Step to Heaven’ for achieving the first clear of Blackwind Stronghold (Nightmare difficulty)!”
The moment this announcement appeared, the whole “Grand Wuxia” game erupted!
While the celebrities and elite players from the top guilds were just clearing the normal difficulty of Blackwind Stronghold to get their entry passes into the various sects, and regular players were still striving to beat the normal difficulty for entry tokens—
Tang Xuan had already soloed the Nightmare difficulty (level 16–20, for 1–10 players) and achieved the first clear!
And he did it single-handedly, not with a team!
Such monstrous prowess was simply inhuman.
A torrent of discussion swept through the player base, and the major guilds all reacted in their own ways.
Wang Yajun, Jiang Wanwan, and others also sent him carrier pigeon messages.
Looking at the lifeless body of the Blackwind Chief he had just vanquished, Tang Xuan recalled his earlier suspicions upon entering the Nightmare instance.
In normal difficulty, the boss was the level 20 Third Chief; in hard, the level 25 Second Chief.
In Nightmare, it was the Chief himself—a level 30 boss.
A level 30 boss monster was already a formidable figure in the martial world, even if tackled by a team of players at levels 16–20.
Such a leader could be the master of a stronghold or the head of a minor sect. For example, Du Dajin, the head of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, was just over level 30.
Let alone facing the level 25 Second Chief and a dozen level 15 elite leaders, all without a pause; the Blackwind Chief would storm in immediately after from outside.
According to the Nightmare instance’s design, the Chief would return just in time to witness his Second Chief’s demise.
Just the knowledge of the Nightmare instance’s arrangements was valuable in itself. Selling this information to the major guilds would be worth a tidy sum, enabling them to prepare for their own future attempts at this instance.