C16 Resources!!

As a formidable level seven and a disciple of Medicine Valley at level four, Chen Guo was finding it increasingly difficult to level up.

Once he leveled up, the slaughter points required to advance another level would quintuple, making it an impossible feat for him to become the Ten Mile Slope Sword God within the confines of Beginner Village.

The value of slaughter points from low-level monsters might not diminish, but as one progresses, they become as insignificant as a drop of water on a burning cart of hay.

Besides, Chen Guo's early lead, though significant, didn't mean he could corner the market on monsters in any given area—others were actively competing.

"It's time to head to Doonatel!"

"There, I'll reach level eight and then set my sights on challenging Sun Chengzong, the Ghost King of Medicine Valley!"

With his strategy set, Chen Guo didn't second-guess himself and swiftly made his way into Doonatel.

It was evident that Doonatel had once been a bustling metropolis, likely housing at least two hundred thousand permanent residents.

Now, however, Doonatel resembled a barren wasteland, devoid of any signs of life, permeated by an ominous aura.

Upon entering Doonatel, Chen Guo sensed several locations that sent shivers down his spine.

The City Lord's Mansion, for instance.

The Glow Building.

The Ten Thousand Clear Temple.

Each of these places radiated peril, hinting at the presence of formidable monsters within.

As Chen Guo delved deeper into this world, he began to piece together its history.

It seemed to have been a thriving realm, home to practitioners like the Mao Mountain Daoist, Lin Jiu.

But after an unknown cataclysm, the world fell to ruin, leaving behind a legion of creatures transformed into monsters.

The stronger the individual in life, the more formidable the monster they became in death.

Places like the City Lord's Mansion, Glow Building, and Ten Thousand Clear Temple were likely the abodes of masters whose spirits, now monstrous, lingered with undispelled malice, preying on the living.

Chen Guo had no immediate plans to take on the mighty monsters of Doonatel.

After all, one must eat one bite at a time, walk one step at a time. Taking too large a stride could lead to a painful misstep.

"Fresh meat!"

"Fresh blood!"

The creatures that haunted Doonatel were sinister Fiend Demons, shrouded in darkness. These demons slithered across the ground like mollusks, oozing a viscous yellow fluid that reeked with a foul stench.

Upon spotting Chen Guo, they launched an assault.

"You have slain a Level Five Fiend Demon, earning 500 Slaughter Points!"

"You have slain a Level Six Fiend Demon leader, earning 1,000 Slaughter Points!"

Fiend Demons came in two varieties: the common ones and their leaders. The common Fiend Demons were plentiful, each worth 500 Slaughter Points, and numbered in the hundreds of thousands throughout Doonatel.

Chen Guo had a strong suspicion that these common Fiend Demons were once Doonatel's own citizens.

Leader Fiend Demons were scarce but yielded double the Slaughter Points of their common counterparts.

While these Fiend Demons possessed considerable fighting capacity, they stood no chance against Chen Guo, who dispatched them with ease.

"I should reach level 8 in no time!"

...

In Blackwater Town, the Young Clouds Squad celebrated a milestone.

Wang Shaoyun was the first among them to hit level 5.

"Kudos to Wang Shaoyun for achieving level 5!"

"Wang Shaoyun, the mighty!"

"Wang Shaoyun has pulled ahead of Zhou Tao once more!"

The squad members lavished praise upon Wang Shaoyun.

Wang Shaoyun might not have had eon-level talent, but his Primitive Level ability "Stealth" was one of the most formidable, granting him brief invisibility to ambush monsters and dispatch them with high efficiency.

Moreover, Wang Shaoyun had a knack for rallying people. With the Hunting Dragon Squad decimated by Chen Guo, the Young Clouds Squad rose to become the most formidable team in Beginner Village.

Now, having advanced to level 5 ahead of the others, Wang Shaoyun was a rising star. Though his name was yet to grace the global or regional leaderboards, he ranked second only to Zhou Tao in the Beginner Village standings.

This achievement earned Wang Shaoyun a coveted purple treasure chest, from which he procured a wondrous skill named "Divine Hit."

"Divine Hit: Summons a random deity to possess you, significantly boosting your combat prowess. Normally, the effect lasts for one minute, but the more powerful the deity, the shorter the possession."

Wang Shaoyun had given it a shot before. Typically, he could only summon lesser deities like the Great Spirit God, Night Patrol God, Earth God, and the Ox-Head and Horse-Face Gods.

But when luck was on his side, Wang Shaoyun struck gold and managed to call forth the mighty Three Altars Sea God, also known as the Third Prince Nezha.

The summoning lasted a mere ten seconds, yet in that brief window, Wang Shaoyun slaughtered eight red-haired zombies, his fighting capacity skyrocketing.

After those intense ten seconds, however, his body paid the price, leaving him weakened for hours.

Regardless, Wang Shaoyun had ascended to level five and had honed the God's Punisher skill, elevating his strength to remarkable levels, earning him the awe of his peers.

In response to his team's compliments, Wang Shaoyun remained nonchalant, "Next to that elusive top-tier player, my feats are trivial."

"We're out of our league. That top-tier player is in a different world from us!"

"He's off soloing level five Fiend Demons by now!"

"We're not even in the same ballpark!"

The team internally mused that their leader was quite bold; the top-tier player's combat prowess was unmatched on the global leaderboard—were they even worthy of comparison?

Wang Shaoyun continued, "I'm not looking to measure up to that top-tier player, but you've all seen the corpses of Old Master Zhang and Yin Susu, right? And the body of that Maoshan Taoist, Lin Jiu?"

"Definitely noticed them."

Chen Guo hadn't obliterated the corpses, leaving them for latecomers to witness his combat achievements.

But since Chen Guo had already claimed the spoils, there was no benefit left to extract from the bodies.

Wang Shaoyun sighed, "Even though the Whole Heaven Battlefield feels like a game, the details betray a reality far from it—a world ravaged. In a real world, there's no such thing as respawning resources. Take Old Master Zhang; once killed, there's no second coming for him."

"It's a stark reminder that resources are finite. With a powerhouse like that hidden boss in our Beginner Village, he's likely to monopolize resources like Old Master Zhang, leaving us to scavenge his scraps."

Wang Shaoyun highlighted the impact that Chen Guo's presence had on the group.

Resources were indeed scarce.

It wasn't just formidable figures like Old Master Zhang; even regular monsters didn't respawn. The easily found red-haired zombies had already been wiped out by Chen Guo, leaving newcomers to scour more secluded spots.

It felt like scavenging for scraps.

"But what can we do when the hidden boss is advancing so quickly?"

"We can't even begin to compete with him for resources!"

The team members were visibly frustrated.

Having a powerhouse like Chen Guo in Beginner Village was hardly beneficial.

"After securing the purple treasure chest, I learned that monsters of level three and above could drop chests..." Wang Shaoyun explained, "That's why I've chosen to concentrate our efforts on strengthening our main force. With a mighty leader at the helm, our team can accelerate our pace and narrow the gap with the elusive boss."