“Chong Chong, go heal Xiao Yue and the others. I’ll hold off these monsters here.”
Chen Xiaoyan released her hand and turned to face the approaching monsters, gritting her teeth as she deliberately took a sword strike to draw all their hatred onto herself.
Then, with a flash, she darted into a nearby ruined house, using the terrain and obstacles to evade the monsters’ attacks.
“Xiaoyan-jie…”
Watching Chen Xiaoyan disappear into the rubble, Chong Chong stomped her foot in frustration, reluctantly running toward Liu Yue’s position.
The village’s earthen walls were like soft tofu, completely unable to withstand the rampaging monsters.
With a single punch, they shattered anything in their path, unstoppable like a hot knife through butter.
However, their movement speed was hindered by obstacles, slowing them down to nearly match the speed of the Moon Shadow Step.
“Bang—”
A crumbling earthen wall was smashed apart by a monster’s fist, yellow dust billowing in all directions.
Chen Xiaoyan performed a dragon-leaping dive through a window, landing outside the ruined house, then spat out the grit from her mouth.
“Pfft, pfft, pfft.”
Covered in dust and dirt, she no longer looked the dazzling figure she had been before.
“Captain, I’m here!”
Hong Chen Ru Meng charged forward, carrying her spear and waving to signal.
Chen Xiaoyan’s face lit up at the sound, immediately rising to run toward her.
“You’re finally here.”
“Go pull aggro from the monsters; I need half a minute to restore my Fragrance Qi.”
“Understood.”
Hong Chen Ru Meng gave an “OK” sign, brandished her spear, and unleashed a Dragon Break, sending a monster floating, then swept across the area, shifting the hatred onto herself.
With her Body Domination active, she immediately retreated.
Without a healer, she couldn’t withstand the monsters’ damage—each sword strike felt like a blow to a major artery.
She could only drag two monsters around in circles nearby.
Though the Shen Ce Mansion’s movement speed wasn’t fast, she had a floating technique and Body Domination that made her immune to control effects.
Since no one was dealing damage, the hatred stayed on her.
For the moment, the monsters couldn’t touch her.
Half a minute passed quickly.
Once Chen Xiaoyan’s Fragrance Qi was fully restored, she hurried over to join Hong Chen Ru Meng.
Breathing heavily, Hong Chen Ru Meng dragged two monsters around with her, her health bar only half full.
Seeing Chen Xiaoyan approaching, she brightened up.
“Captain.”
“Good job, no more running. Let’s take them down.”
“Got it.”
A smirk curled on Hong Chen Ru Meng’s lips as she spun around, swinging her spear.
“Body Domination, Dragon Break!”
She launched a floating strike followed by a sweeping attack.
“Spring Breeze Draw, Umbrella Dance Heal, Rain Bath Radiance,” Chen Xiaoyan cast three continuous healing skills in quick succession.
Her health instantly surged back to 755.
“Hong Chen, my skills have a brief cooldown. Watch your positioning.”
“Got it.”
Ten seconds later, Umbrella Dance Heal faded.
Hong Chen Ru Meng immediately adjusted her position and began moving around, though she dared not stray too far.
If she got too far from the monsters, the hatred would shift, putting the backline at risk.
Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
With Body Domination active, Hong Chen Ru Meng took two hits, losing half her health instantly.
“Umbrella Dance Heal, Spring Breeze Draw.”
[+675]
Hong Chen Ru Meng stopped, took a deep breath, and pointed her spear.
She felt ready to fight again.
“Come on, let’s keep hurting each other.”
Chen Xiaoyan’s face twitched in disbelief.
“Don’t take damage if you can dodge it.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. As a seasoned tank, I know what I’m doing.”
Chen Xiaoyan’s expression darkened.
You think you know, huh?
Acting reckless just because you have Body Domination?
[Dao Ji Shi Kong: We’re good here. Heading over now.]
Huh?
That was fast.
Chen Xiaoyan was a little surprised to see the message from Liu Yue.
Only two or three minutes had passed, and those two bosses were already down?
Though they were both at low health, it still seemed too quick.
Within a minute, they arrived.
Chen Xiaoyan looked back—wow, each of them was just a bloody husk now.
“We’re here.”
“These two are almost dead too. Focus fire.”
“No way.”
“???” Everyone looked at Hong Chen Ru Meng in confusion.
“Leave these two to me. You all go rest for a bit,” Hong Chen smiled warmly as she turned.
“Be careful in fron—uh.”
Before Liu Yue finished, Hong Chen Ru Meng suddenly flew off in a parabolic arc.
“Ouch, you sneaky one! That’s an ambush!”
Sitting on the ground, Hong Chen Ru Meng rubbed her chest in pain—the sword strike had clearly hit an unfortunate spot.
Well, she was already flat on her luck; now she was even flatter.
“Ahhh!! So mad! Captain, I want to beat these two idiots up!”
Chen Xiaoyan smiled quietly, saying nothing as she cast Spring Breeze Draw, then gave a thumbs-up toward the two monsters.
Go on, young lady.
With the healer’s support, Hong Chen Ru Meng stood up, cracked her neck, and charged forward again, spear in hand.
“Ah! Die!”
“Hit my chest, huh?”
“Try hitting it again!!!”
Hong Chen Ru Meng swung her spear wildly, stabbing repeatedly at the monsters’ lower bodies.
Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t help but shiver; it sent a chill down her spine.
Too fierce—this tough woman.
Five minutes later…
Thanks to Chen Xiaoyan’s powerful single-target healing, the two bosses, tears in their eyes, were skewered by Hong Chen Ru Meng and vanished in a burst of starlight.
[Congratulations! Your team has successfully cleared the dungeon: Guaiwu Cun. Would you like to announce this in the world channel?]
“Yes.”
World Channel
“Where did the healer go? I waited under Tianxin Mountain forever and only one or two showed up.”
“Wuwuwu~ I don’t want to face those rats in Guaiwu Cun anymore. Too brutal.”
“I have trypophobia and basically died on the spot, haha.”
“The mutant rats are nothing, just small fry. You haven’t seen the bosses’ damage yet. I have two Shaolin Body Refining skills, and three sword strikes took me out. Two healers couldn’t even keep up.”
“This is so broken, seriously unplayable. This crappy game is doomed.”
[Congratulations to Chen Xiaoyan, Dao Ji Shi Kong, Chong Chong, Mu Qingxue, Qiu Xue, Qian Renxue, San Yue Bu Xia Xue, and Hong Chen Ru Meng for completing the first clear of Guaiwu Cun. Special announcement.]
“Who are these eight big shots?”
“I know Chen Xiaoyan and Mu Qingxue—they’re the top-ranked on Tianxiang Shushan.”
“Wow, how did those four demon soldiers with insane damage get through? Cheating?”
“Are you a cheater? Show me your hacks in this holo-game.”
“You’re the cheater. Have you even faced the four bosses in Guaiwu Cun? No? Then shut up.”
[Congratulations! You have completed the first clear of Guaiwu Cun. Rewards: Spiritual Energy ×200 (Captain bonus +100%).]
[Congratulations! You cleared the dungeon and received: 10,000 experience, Spiritual Energy ×136 (plus first-time monster kill bonus), Clear Heart Ring.]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]
“Open character interface,” Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t wait to check her stats.
Character ID: Chen Xiaoyan
Level: 17
HP: 3400
Cultivation: Mortal (increases damage against low-level cultivators)
Next stage: (Requires 1000 Spiritual Energy)
Spiritual Energy: 561
Fragrance Qi: 661
Gongfa: Fragrance Qi Technique (Level 1), Moon Shadow Step (Level 1)
Skills: Spring Breeze Draw, Tianxiang·Rain Bath Radiance, Tianxiang·Return Wind Umbrella, Tianxiang·Umbrella Dance Heal
Equipment: Tianxiang Sect Novice Gear, Clear Heart Ring (unequipped)
“Woohoo~”
“Spiritual Energy’s over five hundred now, sweet!” Seeing her Spiritual Energy more than doubled, she felt light and relaxed inside.
Now Umbrella Dance Heal and Spring Breeze Draw sustained healing at 1683 per second.