Chapter 452: One Punch, Instant Kill

Yang Ling first retrieved the Quenched-Gold Armor-Piercing Flying Daggers, then had Little White transport the corpses into the mine shaft.

One Sixth-Rank expert saw this, and suddenly bolted toward the outside.

The other Sixth-Rank experts followed suit, scrambling to flee the area.

From Yang Ling's perspective, their choice was correct.

After all, they weren't players, so they couldn't leave this dungeon after ten days.

Staying here would only mean being slowly ground to death.

"This..."

A somewhat chubby young man appeared at the mine shaft entrance, seemingly unsure how to address Yang Ling.

"Did you receive the Main Quest?"

Yang Ling asked casually.

He was busy looting the corpses.

The chubby young man froze for a moment, looking a bit lost:

"There's no Main Quest..."

Yang Ling stood up and looked at him, speaking in a low voice:

"What's your name?"

"I'm Liu Yu. I saw exactly what you did just now, Big Brother. That was seriously badass!"

Liu Yu wore a flattering smile: "I was wondering what Big Brother's plans are next."

"Liu Yu, which Server Region are you from?"

Yang Ling asked again.

Liu Yu paused slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He seemed to understand that revealing his Server Region name might not be wise at this time.

After all, no one could be certain how the Divine Realm defined the relationship between Server Regions.

Were they mutual allies, or competitors?

After about a few seconds of silence, Liu Yu clenched his teeth:

"Big Brother, I'm from You State. You as in the underworld."

Yang Ling opened Liu Yu's Status Panel and took another look.

This guy's class was Swordsman.

Level 69, lower than his, but still considerably higher than Lin Caiyi, who currently ranked second in Zhao State.

"My plan is simple. Just wait here for ten days. Once the dungeon ends, I'll leave naturally."

Yang Ling said: "You saw it too. Fifth-Rank and above experts can't stay here for long.

The Fire Spirit Pearl likely carries some kind of Radiation Source that affects them."

Liu Yu nodded thoughtfully:

"Then I'll hide here for ten days too. The mining shafts below are pretty complex anyway. Ten days will pass if I just tough it out."

Having said that, he asked curiously:

"Which Server Region is Big Brother from?"

"I'm very busy right now. Go back and hide first."

Yang Ling waved his hand and continued looting the scattered items from the corpses.

Liu Yu left sheepishly, silently grumbling to himself.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Yang Ling finished his looting.

There wasn't much. Scattered bits of silver and some silver notes.

If he could bring them out, the silver would be useful.

The silver notes, not so much.

Aside from these things, each person carried some Foundation Consolidation Pills and Spirit Nurturing Pills.

Collected together, the quantity was considerable.

"Foundation Consolidation Pills are almost at a hundred again, and over three hundred Spirit Nurturing Pills..."

Yang Ling felt a bit emotional. These guys really lived up to their First-Rate background, far wealthier than ordinary martial artists.

"Can't be sure if these things can be brought out either. After all, they didn't come from official reward channels."

Yang Ling thought for a moment, then left the Foundation Consolidation Pills alone for now and dealt with the Spirit Nurturing Pills first.

He glanced at his Status Panel.

Ethereal Steps and Wind God Vajra Legs were at Transcendent, no need to bother with those.

Heaven's Will Divine Blade couldn't be improved due to the environment.

Boulder Crushing Fist was negligible.

The only martial arts techniques he could improve right now were two: Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique and Candle Dragon Seven Star Sword Technique.

"Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique still needs seventy-nine thousand Proficiency to break through to Skilled."

"Candle Dragon Seven Star Sword Technique still needs seventy-six thousand five hundred Proficiency to reach Skilled..."

"Combined, that's only a bit over one hundred fifty thousand Proficiency needed."

His eyes lit up, and he immediately began recounting the Spirit Nurturing Pills. The total came to three hundred and thirty!

"Both of these techniques can be raised to Skilled!"

Yang Ling continuously popped Spirit Nurturing Pills into his mouth.

As pill after pill went down, the Proficiency of the Candle Dragon Seven Star Sword Technique began skyrocketing.

It quickly broke through the one hundred thousand mark!

"Congratulations, Candle Dragon Seven Star Sword Technique has advanced to Skilled."

【Candle Dragon Seven Star Sword Technique】

【Skilled: Boost 48 Agility】

Yang Ling continued consuming Spirit Nurturing Pills.

After a while, the system notification appeared again.

"Congratulations, Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique has advanced to Skilled."

【Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique】

【Skilled: Boost 20 Agility, 20 Strength】

"Dragon-Capturing Saber Technique should have a follow-up First-Rate saber technique. I need to find a chance to ask Director Li Zhong about it."

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the mine shaft once more.

Yang Ling stood up and looked outside, but what he saw wasn't a Sixth-Rank expert. It was a Fourth-Rank.

A Fourth-Rank Grandmaster from the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect!

This Fourth-Rank Grandmaster arrived with several Fifth-Rank Lesser Masters, scanned the area, and slowly spoke:

"Is Yang Ling, the Supervisor of the Crimson Fire Iron Mine, here?"

Liu Yu and the other three players felt uneasy and uncertain.

Right now, the only Sixth-Rank experts hiding here were the four of them.

The remaining Sixth-Rank experts had either already fled or were still down below, unaware of what was happening up here.

Seeing that Yang Ling didn't respond, the Fourth-Rank Grandmaster sighed softly, his gaze fixed directly on the mine shaft where Yang Ling was:

"You're quite impressive. But the Divine Guard Bureau's Department Head already knows everything you've done here."

"He's willing to give you a chance. All you need to do is come with me to see him now."

Yang Ling still didn't respond.

The Fourth-Rank Grandmaster frowned slightly. He suddenly sensed something and let out a cold shout.

The next moment, he charged into the mine shaft like a primordial beast.

Chasing after Yang Ling, who was fleeing deeper into the mine shaft.

"What incredible speed!"

Yang Ling gripped the Swallowing Heaven Golden Sword. Three Top-Tier Internal Techniques circulated simultaneously, and he also deployed Ethereal Steps and Treading Emptiness.

His speed at this moment was fast as a bolt of lightning.

But the one behind him was even faster, closing the distance at a visibly rapid pace.

"Little White, take the other path. We'll split up!"

Without a word, Little White turned into a branching tunnel.

Sure enough, the Fourth-Rank Grandmaster didn't even glance at it. His target was only Yang Ling.

The distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

Every hair on Yang Ling's back stood on end.

Suddenly, he deployed Treading Emptiness once more to force a change in direction, diving into another branching tunnel.

Seeing this, the Fourth-Rank Grandmaster behind him threw out a direct punch.

The entire branching tunnel began collapsing from that punch.

The terrifying force of the punch struck Yang Ling's back from at least dozens of meters away.

Yang Ling had anticipated this. A golden radiance flowed across his entire body.

Vajra Bright King Body!

Exclusive Skill: Ironclad Fortress!

Fire Crocodile Set: Physical Damage Reduction 30%!

BOOM!

The Fire Crocodile Set shattered into pieces!

Immediately after, Yang Ling felt as if he'd been hit by a high-speed train traveling at three hundred fifty kilometers per hour.

He was launched into the air with a thunderous crash, slamming into the stone wall directly ahead.

He was deeply embedded in the wall, at least ten meters in.

With him as the center, the wall began to crack and crumble, finally turning into rubble that fell to the ground, forming a horizontal funnel shape. Yang Ling was stuck right in the middle of that funnel.

Every bone in his body creaked and groaned, his internal organs churning like a surging sea.

Yang Ling felt his mind hazy and dizzy. He instinctively glanced at his Status Panel.

HP: 1

He couldn't believe it.

Even with Vajra Bright King Body activated and Ironclad Fortress on top of that, though the Fire Crocodile Set had been destroyed, these two defensive boosts had failed to protect him. That single strike had wiped out his entire five thousand HP!

If not for Vajra Bright King Body's HP Lock ability, he would already be dead!

The next second, his HP restored to five thousand.

All the injuries from that punch recovered instantly as well.

But accompanying this, his Vital Qi had hit rock bottom.

He wouldn't be able to trigger HP Lock again in a short time.

Yang Ling didn't dare show the slightest hint. That Fourth-Rank Grandmaster had already arrived close by.

"One punch, instant kill... The methods of a Fourth-Rank Grandmaster are terrifying... I'll play dead first!"

That Fourth-Rank Grandmaster stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly examining Yang Ling.

His neck, too, had begun showing signs of festering, affected by the Fire Spirit Pearl's emergence.

"You're quite impressive. Perhaps... you can preserve our Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect's legacy seed..."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of sorrow.