Chapter 148 - 110: Breaking into the Top 50, Popularity Explodes

Chapter 148: Chapter 110: Breaking into the Top 50, Popularity Explodes

Before Elder Wang’s shocked eyes, a familiar name was shooting up the leaderboards like a rocket!

[Rank 77: Shen Xing, Current Points: 2946]

[Rank 75: Shen Xing, Current Points: 3125]

[Rank 72, Shen Xing, Current Points: 3246]

[Rank...]

Almost every few minutes, his points would surge, and his rank would climb rapidly.

Elder Wang’s fingers tightened around his cane, and a glimmer of light appeared in his cloudy eyes.

Around the world, a large number of players had also noticed this name that had burst onto the scene.

Many threads about Shen Xing also popped up on the forums.

"Celestial Star Country’s Super-Player Smashes 1000+ Points in Three Hours, Soaring More Than 30 Ranks!"

(P.S. Due to certain unavoidable circumstances, "Hua Country" will henceforth be referred to as "Celestial Star Country.")

"Biggest Dark Horse of the Leaderboards Appears! Overtook 30+ People in Three Hours, Almost One Person Every Five Minutes!"

"Who the hell is this Shen Xing? Is he the secret love child of some Master Level powerhouse?"

"Got the inside scoop on Shen Xing. 500 Soul Stones a piece. Get it while it’s hot."

"..."

Even in Bai Xiaosheng’s "Famous Figures of Celestial Star Country" thread, there were tons of discussions about Shen Xing.

Litang’s #1 Speeder: "Holy crap, what is this Shen Xing on? How did he pass so many people?"

Potato Shooter: "For real. He even passed Qu Qingzhu, Master Qu Zongyuan’s granddaughter. What a beast."

Critically Wounded: "To be fair, Shen Xing’s momentum is insane, but I don’t think he can keep it up. You know how it is with guys, they can get it up for a little while, but then they go soft."

Girl’s Stockings Tea: "Kinda makes sense. Reminds me of the time I lasted for three hours. I was completely useless for a week after that."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion. Some were amazed at his terrifying speed in climbing the ranks, while others were less optimistic.

But to everyone’s surprise, Shen Xing’s momentum didn’t slow in the slightest.

Over the next few hours, he shot up several ranks every half-hour.

As his rank continued to climb, the voices of doubt on the forums grew quieter, replaced by a growing chorus of amazement.

This terrifying surge started at noon and continued all the way until midnight.

The third day of the rankings officially came to a close.

And Shen Xing’s rank had shot up from 134th to 42nd!

In a single day, he had soared more than seventy places.

In all the years since the Mist Continent opened, such a terrifying climb had never been seen before.

On the forums, the threads discussing Shen Xing had exploded once again.

...

...

「Meanwhile, inside the Lava Cave in the Black Heaven’s Wings Mountain Range.」

"Phew..."

Sitting on the back of a Horned Eagle, Shen Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and pulled up the leaderboards for a look.

’I’m in the top fifty. The pace is decent.’

In fact, they could have been even faster.

It was just that the Hell Teleportation Gate only spawned a limited number of monsters, so they had to wait a while after wiping out each wave.

Otherwise, he estimated he could have conservatively broken into the top thirty today.

Now, looking around, there were hardly any Hell Creatures left in the massive cave, only the giant pool of lava still gurgling and bubbling.

Similarly, after a full day of fierce fighting, his Soldier Types were all exhausted.

The Beastmen’s movements had become sluggish, the swings of their axes growing stiff.

The chests of the dozens of Giant Wolves ridden by the Wolf Cavalry heaved violently, their long tongues lolling out as they panted for breath.

Even for the tireless Skeleton Archers, the Soul Fire in their eye sockets had dimmed. The time it took them to conjure a Dark Arrow slowed from 1.5 seconds to 3-5 seconds, causing a major drop in their rate of fire.

In addition, the ground was littered with the corpses of several Beastmen and skeletons.

Over the course of the day, their cumulative losses had reached twenty.

And that was only because they had Hei, the Death Knight Healer, in their ranks, who constantly absorbed Death Energy from the battlefield to heal the other Soldier Types.

Otherwise, the number of casualties would have been far worse.

But the high-intensity battles also brought rich rewards.

Besides the skyrocketing points, these Hell Creatures dropped large quantities of materials like Soul Stones, Refined Gold Grains, and Hellfire Seeds.

The Soul Stones and Large Soul Stones alone totaled over three thousand, at a minimum!

What was rather unfortunate, however, was that they had only encountered a single Extraordinary Boss Level monster today. Aside from a Large Soul Stone and a blueprint, it hadn’t dropped any Advancement Materials.

The other Tier Two monsters only had ordinary Potential, meaning they were just slightly stronger cannon fodder, not much different from Tier One monsters.

Shen Xing ordered in a deep voice, "Return to the territory! We’ll rest for the night and fight again tomorrow!"

At their Lord’s command, the Soldier Types breathed a slight sigh of relief and headed for the tunnel entrance.

They had killed most of the Hell Creatures in the area anyway, so their retreat would be unobstructed.

Back at the entrance to the passage, fat raindrops fell from the sky. They hissed as they struck the soldiers, sending up puffs of steam.

In stark contrast to the scorching heat of the cave, the outside world was caught in a continuous downpour. A thick fog hung in the air, carrying a damp, cold chill.

"Form up and advance!"

Hellish Roar took the lead, guiding the troops through the curtain of rain.

Riding his warhorse, Hei moved in the center of the formation, holding a level 6 Horse Lantern whose orange glow illuminated a 150-meter radius.

Shen Xing, meanwhile, controlled Fried Chicken, having him circle at a low altitude to take care of any witless monsters along the way.

After a journey of nearly forty minutes, the troop soon arrived near the territory.

In the distance, a white stone wall came into view, with rows of Arrow Towers and Ice Arrow Towers standing tall within.

Beams of light shot out from a lighthouse, cutting through the Fog and guiding them back to the territory.

"Phew, we’re finally back!"

Blood Roar leaped down from the back of his Giant Wolf, Maomao, and stretched. "That was a satisfying slaughter today! There were just too many of those monsters, it felt like we’d never finish."

Dahou chimed in, "By the ancestors, I’ve never fought for so long in my life. I feel completely drained, and I’m so hungry I could eat a yak."

"Who’s that saying they’re hungry?!"

A gentle voice drifted over from the distance.

Immediately after, a dark figure passed through the gate and glided over.

Nimue was cradling a large iron pot, its covered lid steaming profusely.

"Oh! It’s Miss Nimue." A smile appeared on Dahou’s rugged face when he saw who it was.

After spending the last few days together, everyone had become quite familiar with the Clam Maiden.

It was thanks to Nimue that the Soldier Types could now eat delicious bread and golden-brown roasted meat; before, they had just gnawed on it raw.

"I heard someone say they were hungry. Would you like to try the meat soup I made?" the Clam Maiden asked, her face full of anticipation.

Shen Xing glanced at the large iron pot in her arms. When he caught a glimpse of its contents from under the lid, the corner of his mouth twitched.

He tried to dissuade her tactfully. "Nimue, maybe not. Just let them have bread."

The Beastmen had been fighting all day and were hungry enough as it was.

If they drank her soup, Shen Xing was worried they wouldn’t be able to get out of bed the next day.

"Huh? But I worked so hard on this meat soup..." Nimue said, looking a little dejected.

But she wouldn’t disobey an order from Shen Xing, so she hugged the iron pot and turned to leave.

Just then, Dahou said with simple-minded earnestness, "Miss Nimue is such a great cook, her meat soup must be delicious. I’d love to try some."

Blood Roar chimed in, "That’s right. I’d like to try some too."

Nimue’s eyes lit up. She spun around and looked at Shen Xing with anticipation.

Shen Xing glanced at the Beastmen. "You really want to drink it?" he asked.

Dahou and Blood Roar nodded emphatically. Even Hellish Roar and Hei said they wanted to try Nimue’s cooking.

"Fine. Give them each a bowl."

Shen Xing waved a hand. ’Don’t come crying to me when you regret this,’ he thought.

"Yay! Uncle Dahou and Uncle Blood Roar are the best! I’ll be sure to give you extra big bowls."

Nimue happily lifted the pot lid, and a cloud of black smoke immediately billowed out.

As Blood Roar, Dahou, and the others watched with anticipation, the black smoke slowly dissipated, revealing a pitch-black broth that was bubbling ominously. GLOOP... GLOOP...

Floating on the surface were writhing tentacles, rolling eyeballs, twitching fingers, and more.

The smiles vanished from their faces, their expressions slowly turning rigid.

A smirk, however, had already formed on Grand Lord Shen’s lips.

Oblivious to their reactions, Nimue produced several large bowls as if by magic and ladled out a heaping portion of soup.

She then presented bowls to Blood Roar, Dahou, and Hellish Roar.

Not even Hei was spared.

These were the territory’s great generals, men who wouldn’t flinch when facing monsters that outnumbered them hundreds to one.

Yet now, faced with this bowl of the maiden’s "specialty soup," they couldn’t bring themselves to take a single sip.

"Go on, drink up. Why aren’t you drinking?"

Nimue leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Don’t be shy. There’s plenty more in the pot. I can make another batch if it’s not enough."

The three Beastmen and Hei all froze, trapped in a dilemma of whether to drink or refuse.

They looked to their Lord, their eyes pleading for help.

Shen Xing just shrugged, as if to say, ’I can’t help you. You asked for this.’

The four generals fell silent.

Blood Roar looked from the writhing contents of his bowl to the expectant face of the Clam Maiden beside him and gritted his teeth.

"Bottoms up, brothers!"

He was the first to raise his bowl, tilting his head back and chugging it down. GLUG, GLUG, GLUG.

The other three generals stared, dumbfounded. Even the less intelligent Beastmen gaped in awe at Blood Roar’s courage.

A moment later, Blood Roar lowered the bowl. A writhing black tentacle dangled from the corner of his mouth, and with a SLURP, he swallowed it.

"Uncle Blood Roar, was it good?" Nimue asked with pure innocence, cupping her face in her hands.

It had to be said, that expression, combined with her gentle, flowing voice, was utterly devastating.

Especially when he heard Nimue call him "Uncle," Blood Roar felt his heart practically melt.

"Delicious! Nimue, you’re a wonderful cook!" he said with a grin, giving her a thumbs-up.

"That’s wonderful!" Nimue laughed happily and turned to the other three generals. "Uncle Dahou, Uncle Hei, aren’t you going to drink yours?"

The three exchanged a look and, as if steeling themselves with some newfound resolve, downed the soup in one gulp.

GLUG... GLUG...

The clearing fell silent, the only sound being the three men swallowing, echoing in the quiet air.

A moment later, they all put down their bowls, their faces as pale as sheets of paper. They looked even worse than they had after an entire day of battle.

"Wow, all three of you uncles finished your bowls! My soup must taste good after all!"

The Clam Maiden looked quite pleased and asked, "Would you like another bowl?"

The expressions on the four men’s faces changed drastically. They frantically waved their hands, insisting they were full.

"Alright..." The Clam Maiden looked at the remaining half pot of black soup, still looking a bit unfulfilled.

"Nimue, go prepare dinner for the Warriors."

Shen Xing instructed, "Take the meat from the warehouse and make a stew with the wheat. And don’t add any... strange ingredients."

"Okay, Lord Human!" Nimue nodded obediently and left the clearing, hugging her iron pot.

The four generals breathed a collective sigh of relief, as if they had just survived a great battle.

Shen Xing chuckled. ’Let’s see if you’re so quick to eat Nimue’s cooking next time,’ he thought.

Still, as the strongest beings in the territory, their Constitutions were incredible. They could easily withstand the negative Effects of that black soup.

The fact that they weren’t showing any adverse symptoms now was proof of that.

"Alright, take the Warriors and go rest," he ordered.

"Yes, Lord!" / "Yes, Boss!"

The four generals each led their respective Soldier Types away; some returned to their rooms to rest, while others tended to their wounds by the Campfire.

Soon, only Shen Xing and his bird, Fried Chicken, remained in the village clearing.

He took out his wheelchair, slid down from Fried Chicken’s broad back, and sent the bird off to get some rest.

The bird’s wings drooped, and it walked away listlessly, looking completely exhausted.

Although Shen Xing was also exhausted, he still had to finish the day’s work.

There was no helping it. As the Lord, his Soldier Types only needed to fight and kill enemies, but he had to consider much, much more.

He not only had to provide for everyone’s livelihood, but he also had to manage his resources meticulously and plan for the future.

’Sigh, being a Lord is such hard work,’ Shen Xing thought, leaning back in his wheelchair.

"Alright, time to take stock of the spoils."